The Flyers grabbed another point in the standings on Monday night, somehow surviving the onslaught of shots that the New York Islanders fired on Steve Mason.
Mason was the Flyers star on Monday. The rest of the Flyers were bailed out constantly.
In a game where the Flyers had their top line shut down, the rest of the Flyers failed to step up. And Craig Berube is starting to see the light. Something must be done.
"Very frustrating," head coach Craig Berube said. "We didn't play good enough in front of him."
The Flyers started off the game strong, managing to keep up with the Islanders and trim an early shot deficit. At the 13:27 mark of the second, the Flyers had 14 shots. The Flyers managed just seven in the last 31:33 of regulation and overtime.
"We were on the outside most of the night," Berube said. "I'm disappointed we didn't play better. We don't have enough guys that compete hard enough, that show enough urgency throughout the game."
Much like after the Flyers 2-0 loss to the Rangers, Berube wasn't shy in his comments about his team's play. After the top line, the Flyers didn't get chances.
It stemmed from the Flyers struggles with outlets out of their own zone and entry into the attacking zone. Berube attributed that to the same urgency and compete level he referred to earlier.
"The thing that disappoints me is the urgency of some of our players and the competitiveness," Berube said. "In this league, if you're not competitive and you don't want to really get in there and play, you're going to be on the outside all night."
It's been several weeks where the Flyers have struggled to find consistency in their other three lines. It finally hurt them on Monday when the top line wasn't able to find the same success.
Jake Voracek was double-covered all night. Claude Giroux tried to find seams, but couldn't create enough space. The Flyers rotated several forwards into that line, trying to find a spark. At the end of 65 minutes, the shots favored the Islanders, 46-21.
"Mase stood on his head tonight,” Michael Del Zotto said. "It’s unfortunate we hung him out to dry there for awhile and weren’t able to get the two points for him because he played outstanding."
"We gotta get pucks on net," Giroux said. "We’re trying to find the perfect play. When you get pucks on net that’s when you get rebounds and greasy goals."
Mason tried to find the silver lining and understand the frustration of his own success. It was Mason's best game of the season, as there were several dazzling saves. For the rest of the Flyers, the third shutout of the season ranked right up there with the previous two performances.
"It's frustrating," Mason said, "at the same time, it has to be frustrating for the players when you don't perform well and you let in crap goals."
In the end, Mason summed up the night pretty well.
"It's just frustrating not being able to get the extra point," the goalie said. "We left another point out there. It’s unacceptable."
Unacceptable was a fitting word. And Monday was just another game where the word fit.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
