Special teams, loss of Couturier hurt Flyers
The story of the Flyers 2-0 loss in Game 1 to the Washington Capitals comes in three parts.
There's the special teams part, the Sean Couturier part and the Steve Mason part.
All three were a key factor in what went right and what went wrong for the Flyers.
What went right? Steve Mason. The Flyers netminder was again excellent, making 29 saves on 31 shots in the loss. One of the goals against was a deflected shot through a screen from the point. Nothing Mason could do. The other was off a bad turnover that led to an odd-man rush.
Otherwise, Mason was up to the task on everything, continuing a stretch of terrific play in goal. But a team can't rely that heavily on a goaltender the whole game and the Flyers did.
The part that went right and wrong: Sean Couturier. The Flyers did a fairly good job of containing the Capitals top line. There were spurts and Mason had to be up to the task on scoring chances, but the Flyers really took some of the more dangerous chances and thwarted them early.
Then Alex Ovechkin put an end to his matchup with Couturier. A shoulder into Couturier threw the Flyers forward into the boards awkwardly with 8:48 remaining in the second period. Couturier left the game and did not return and the Flyers may have to carry on without one of their MVPs on defense.
The game changed greatly after that. Washington controlled the pace, got better chances and as a result, scored two timely goals that put things out of reach for the Flyers.
Which is where we turn to the special teams part. The Flyers did a great job to draw three penalties in the first period. But they were incredibly limited on those power plays.
The first power play came and went with just two shots on goal, both by the second unit. The second power play featured two good chances for the top unit in the first 30 seconds, then nothing else. The third featured more possession time, but the Capitals blocked all shooting lanes, leaving the Flyers with just two shots on the power play.
The special teams battle shifted the other direction in the second period. The Flyers failed to score on their fourth power play, then proceeded to allow three power-play opportunities in the period. Washington scored on the third.
The Flyers took three more penalties in the third. A late power-play opportunity for the Flyers on a Tom Wilson charging call was erased from Wayne Simmonds fight with Wilson, a call Simmonds with which Simmonds did not agree.
Questionable calls or not, the Flyers had the momentum early from four power plays and two successful penalty kills and didn't use it to their advantage. One chance on the man-advantage too many for Washington was enough to turn the game into their favor for good.
What the Flyers learned from that is what happens when the Capitals get a lead. The Flyers finished with just 19 shots, four in the final period. That was no mistake on the Capitals part. They swallowed up any chances and the Flyers were never going to be able to solve Braden Holtby with minimal traffic and a lack of quality chances.
If the Flyers want to really be players and not just satisfied with the playoff appearance, then there is a lot to learn before Game 2 on Saturday.
But what we learned is what we already know — how valuable Steve Mason and Sean Couturier have been to the Flyers success and how streaky the special teams have been all season long. All three played key factors in the game and, at the end of the day, it turned in Washington's favor.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
