Flyers Physically Dominated by Capitals, Lose Third Straight Game

Not only were the Flyers outplayed in their second back-to-back of the season against the Washington Capitals. They were bullied most of the game, getting out-hit 32-23, which cost them at both ends of the ice.

This lack of physical play allowed Washington to dominate the pace and handed the Capitals a 5-3 win in a game where it felt like the Flyers were back on their heels all game.

The Capitals didn’t waste time to get on the board with Alex Tuch redirecting a shot past Joseph Woll at 1:50, with the Flyers giving up the early lead in the first period for the first goal.

In the second period, the Flyers pulled even with Sean Couturier redirecting a Nick Seeler shot past Logan Thompson, his first goal of the season, pulling even at one. Shortly after that, on a slashing penalty to Trevor Zegras, Jordan Kyrou got a shot past Woll for his third goal of the season, making the game 2-1. Aliaksei Protas redirected a shot past Woll as time dwindled in the period, making the game 3-1.

In the third on the power play, Matvei Michkov took a perfect pass from Denver Barkey in front of Thompson to get within one at 3-2. Kyrou got his second goal of the game on an unfortunate play when a rebound went off the shin pad of Seeler, which Kyrou banged through for another goal, and he was at the right place at the perfect moment to get that goal back. Tuch got his second goal on an empty net as time wound down to give the Capitals a 5-3 lead, which is how the game ended.

Defense Lets Woll Down Again

Woll had a very solid game, even though his line will not show it, giving up four goals, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The two goals he surrendered were all on strange plays where he was not able to see the puck until the last moment. But when he was able to see the puck, he was making acrobatic saves. The fourth goal was bad luck with the puck bouncing off Seeler’s shin pad after a rebound from a Dylan Strome shot.

The defense in front of him was off-kilter all game, with the pairings not communicating well. On the first goal, there were two left-handed defensemen on the ice; Cam York was caught in a strange position, and Strome took advantage of this mistake, getting the puck to Kyrou in an advantageous angle.

These issues need to be addressed, and with York coming back, chances are these types of things won’t happen, but having two left-handed defensemen is a massive mistake that Washington didn’t let pass.

Michkov Continues to Dominate on the Power Play

Michkov started out the season hot, but nobody could tell what he had in store for his first 15 games. It was obvious from training camp that he had a hunger and a fire this season to prove people wrong about his lackluster sophomore season. What he has shown this season so far has been something that we didn’t quite expect: leadership on the power play. With him working on English in the offseason, it’s obvious he feels comfortable enough to let his natural leadership ability shine.

He scored on the power play just eight seconds after the initial faceoff on Wednesday night. The reason he has turned this page on the power play is that he doesn’t play low. He plays up at the top of the point and is taking on a leadership role on the ice. On a second power play right after the goal he scored, he was directing traffic and trying to keep people moving to open a shooting lane.

This is something that was not expected from him at this stage in the season, and this bodes well for the Flyers, even though this game ended in a loss. The missing factor has been someone taking charge with the man advantage, and ever since he took it upon himself to seize that role, the power play for the Flyers has turned around.

Flyers Not Sharp on Fundamentals Once Again

In Tuesday night’s game, it was sloppy passing that allowed the Columbus Blue Jackets to wait on the passing lanes and take advantage of the Flyers’ mistakes.

In this game, the passing was better; however, the defensive positioning was off all game. It’s hard to tell if this was because this defensive unit hasn’t played too much together, or if there were lapses in coaching, but there is no excuse to hang your goalie out to dry like the Flyers did Wednesday night.

Washington is a much bigger team than the Flyers, and for them to stand a chance in gritty games like this where the Capitals were playing with a physical edge, they need an answer. Though Hunter McDonald provided some big hits, as well as got under the skin of several Capitals players, including drawing the penalty that set up the last chance for the Flyers, he can’t be the only one playing physically.

It is early in the season, but it doesn’t stay early for long, and the Flyers must start to play better fundamental hockey and find the grit that they had in the three-game win streak once again if they have any desire to dig themselves out of the hole they’ve created with this slow start.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: