So, who actually watched the game? I thought so.
It was a great game, Flyers ran out of steam in the 3rd period, partially b/c Michkov and Laughton missed most of the period after their collision and some other players had to double shift.
What stands out is how much faster this team is compared to two years ago. They can skate with fast teams and try to go toe to toe with physical teams, though they're still undersized.
They're young, which means they're inconsistent and mistake prone. Foerster made some great plays but also drew a careless high sticking penalty. They tried plenty of cross ice passes, but they also got a lot of passes intercepted, including a few by Michkov. He's dealing with a learning curve, the windows are smaller and players quicker, and he has a bullseye on his back.
TK had a beautiful goal off a great play by Cates to win a battle along the boards then feed TK in front of the net.
Tippett missed an open net, but it was a bad angle, I've seen TK miss that shot more than once. It happens.
They need to upgrade a few spots, replace Couts at center and move him to wing, replace Hathaway. That 4th line of Farabee - Couts - Hathaway just don't work, and Poehling needs to move back to 4C and forecheck, he's just not skilled enough to play with Tippett and TK, though he was better tonight than the last few games.
Fedotov wasn't bad, none of the goals was a "softee," two tough shots from Tavares and Matthews and a deflection that he had little chance to stop. His rebound control was much better, as was his balance for the most part. A work in progress, but he has some potential.
One player that concerns me is Sanheim, he's not playing badly, but he's not nearly the player he was earlier in the season, fumbling the puck too much, losing focus in the D-zone. Hopefully it's just a mid-season funk.
This team has a long way to go, but the improvement is obvious.
Don't care about the record, this season (and next season) is about young players improving and learning to play together and play smarter.
