This game was messy and sloppy and as much as I hate the way we played, I am secretly so happy I got to see it. This was one of the most entertaining games I have seen since the playoffs have started, and there wasn’t a minute of this game where I was sitting (seriously my neighbors are already sick of me). The second period felt like I was watching a Flyers game from 3 or 4 years ago, and while that was not as enjoyable, knowing that I still had faith in this team and especially in Carter Hart to pull it off in the end; it was genuinely fun gritting my teeth through this one.
Below, I’ve singled out some individual performances that I feel went hand-in-hand with the game’s ebbs and flows
Matt Niskanen (15)
Ughhhh! I thought he looked a little slow in the RR games, but I just chalked it up to rust. Enough is enough, this is where it starts to matter most and Niskanen turned in his worst performance in a Flyers sweater in recent memory. He was slow, he looked lazy, his decision-making was deplorable, and his passing was as far from crisp as it can get. He was not this bad during round robin play, and he was generally steady, but tonight he looked lost among other things. In an ugly effort, he stood out below the rest of the team.
Joel Farabee (49)
What a nice answer back. Montreal had a tie game for 16 seconds before the heart breaker Philly Joel shut down any momentum they thought they had after redirecting a Sanheim point shot and then scrounging his own rebound for a pivotal game-saving goal
I was worried Farabee might be too immature as a professional player to be a real factor once the playoffs really got under way, but I was wrong and he was great. A definite bright spot in spite of everything. He was physical, and he stayed strong to the puck especially as the game went on.
Claude Giroux (28)
I only mention the Cap here because I know people seem to miss the reality that he is a truly great player. He had an assist tonight, and while he didn’t carry an entire team on his own, he was never a problem on the ice. He was absolutely steady in playing his game and his experience showed.
Same could be said for Coots. Solid play from the two leaders tonight.
Ivan Provorov (9)
What a first playoff goal! An absolute rocket right over Price’s pads, and on the power play no less. It really doesn’t get better than that… Seriously after this and once the first period ended we let off the gas so much things got out of hand. But back to Provy, way to come out strong early and net one on the power play with assists coming from TK and G.
Shayne Gostisbehere (53)
I think he played well early on and while he had his fare share of mistakes, so did the whole team. Midway through period two he had that spin-o-rama tumble in his own zone which led to a turnover which is classic Ghost, but looking past that as well as some questionable decision-making later on, I think he drove play nicely up the middle. He was key to some offensive pushes and even put in a few strong attempts. His whole performance considered I truly believe he earns the right to stay in the lineup or at least didn’t do enough to scratch himself just yet.
He played well offensively and defensively and I would think his partner (Braun) should deserve more criticism for his unreliable performance than number 53.
Carter Hart (79)
Came as close to single-handedly winning a game for his team as any one player ever has. He was beyond astonishing in his first really chippy playoff game; Carter Hart kept his team in the game and is the number one reason I’m writing this with a smile still on my face. He didn’t just match Price, but came out ahead of him. I could go on and on, but its all so redundant and it all boils down to this: Carter Hart is even better than you already thought he was.
Impotent Referees
Wow! I get the idea of ‘letting them play’ and I’m in favor of it, but there still is a job to do: a basic responsibility these refs have to fulfill and tonight they consistently didn’t. Where was the countless holds on Meyers’ stick? What happened to the blatant interference when TK was driving in on net poised for a breakaway opportunity? AND don’t even get me started on that diva trolling the Montreal net when his own defenseman shot Grant right into him.
Yes I know they were mostly positive points, but we won; let me have this. Lets Go FLYERS!!!
Its still early and this is the team’s first taste of playoff hockey where the stakes are truly elevated to meet the occasion. I am not too worried about the weak performances, but they are definitely on notice for the next game. It’s a different animal for this team and if this season has shown anything we react better than any team in the league. Its weird to feel this way after a win, but Friday its going to be time to rebound.
Delayed Call 