Flyers Fall Apart in Detroit as Penalty Kill Fails in Key Moments

The Flyers had a chance to keep their momentum going, but a disastrous second period flipped a tied game into a 6-3 loss to the Red Wings before they could recover.

The Flyers and Red Wings came into Thursday’s contest with both teams looking to close out the season strong and healthy, and possibly with a playoff ticket. While the Flyers have been playing the best hockey of the season, the Wings were sitting 3 points out of the playoffs, so the stakes were high for both teams.

The first period saw a pair of goals, with Alex DeBrincat scoring on the power play goal for Detroit, and Christian Dvorak evened the score with a goal with a redirected shot. The second period was another story. Moritz Seider scored on the power play, Dylan Larkin scored on the power play, and then he scored on a short-handed goal, which was the 9th short-handed goal the Flyers have allowed this season. Porter Martone scored his second goal of the season, both on the power play. A pair of third-period goals by Larkin and Patrick Kane widened the margin, and Luke Glendening answered back late in the third to make the game 6-3, tipping the season series to Detroit, and stalling the Flyers’ momentum.

Starting Goalies Don’t Survive the Second Period

Both Daniel Vladar and John Gibson started playing well. Gibson made several key stops that looked like certain goals for the Flyers, but he recovered well and kept the game tied at one, preventing what could have been a two-goal lead in the first. The second period continued the same until Trevor Zegras ran into Gibson hard while trying to transition back to defensive play. The hit was hard, but Gibson stayed in the game until a little later in the period, while during a stoppage of play, he was replaced by Cam Talbot, and taken into the back for medical evaluation.

Daniel Vladar, on the other hand, started well in the first, but the quick barrage of goals in the second period was so fast that Vladar went from solid to bewildered almost as fast as Detroit put up that crooked number in the second period. Samuel Ersson relieved him in the second and restored some calm to the Flyers’ defense, and was tested early, which buoyed the Flyers. It’s rare for Rick Tocchet to make a goalie change in the middle of a game, and especially for Vladar, but this felt more like an instance where he was protecting his guy from a night where his confidence could be on the line.

Detroit’s Forecheck Pressure Wreaked Havoc

The Red Wings forced the pace of the Flyers, and it wasn’t something that the Flyers could recover from. Even before the first goal was scored by Detroit, it was obvious that they were dictating the pace set early, and that was due in large part to their forecheck. They dominated the puck entries into the Flyers’ defensive zone, and that never gave the Flyers a chance to get into a defensive rhythm.

Fighting off stronger forechecks by aggressive teams like Detroit has been a problem for the Flyers all season, and Thursday night, that returned and cost them points in this tightening playoff race. Granted, this is one game, but this is a concern for the Flyers’ coaching staff going into the playoffs. The NHL is a copycat league, and the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers play with an emphasis on the forecheck, and that is something that all of the Flyers’ potential playoff matchups are using so far this season. This must be cleaned up if the Flyers have any hopes of a deep playoff run.

Flyers Special Teams Fails Again

The Flyers’ penalty kill has played pretty well this season, but Thursday night, that all fell apart. DeBrincat’s goal was a great shot to get by Vladar, but the next three goals were systematic failures in the penalty kill and even one on the power play as well. The power play has been criticized all season for being inefficient and not scoring well, but now another question has arisen: With Larkin’s second goal of the night, the Flyers have given up 9 short-handed goals, tying them for 4th worst in the NHL this season.

The bigger frustration is with the penalty kill in Detroit; the first 3 goals scored by Detroit were all given up by the penalty kill unit, which was frequently out of position, causing Vladar to have to make saves that he wasn’t capable of making, and the Flyers’ penalty kill really hung him out to dry. It was a rough night for the Flyers’ defense and goalies, which hasn’t happened too much lately, but this game and Detroit can be put in the rear-view mirror and refocused on Winnipeg and their last road game of the regular season on Saturday.

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