Flyers-Canucks: Postgame Review

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The 20-year-old rookie sensation did it again. Carter Hart is becoming a regular rock star in South Philadelphia.

Hart was the center of attention again, making 41 saves in the Flyers eighth straight win, 2-1, over the Vancouver Canucks.

More in our Postgame Review.

Postgame Points

1. Carter Hart – With every start, Carter Hart is making a little more history. Monday's win was his seventh straight personally, making him just the fourth goalie in NHL history to put together a seven-game winning streak before his 21st birthday.

   Hart was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for January on Friday. He was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday afternoon. He posted a career-high 40 saves in Saturday's win and topped it with 41 saves on Monday.

   He would have completed his first NHL shutout if not for an unfortunate play where mis-execution caught him out of the net. It was a learning experience for Hart, who tried to come out of the net to play the puck and got burned.

   Other than that, Hart was phenomenal again, especially in the third period where the Canucks threw 18 shots his way. But by far, Hart's most impressive save came on Nikolay Goldobin on a rebound at the side of the net. Hart dove across and stopped it with his arm. Wells Fargo Center erupted. Hart made three more saves in tight seconds later. A huge scrum broke out in front of the net. Hart fished the puck out of the net, but it had crossed the line after a whistle.

   For the most part, Hart was making some tough and impressive saves look easy, but the spectacular, 10-bell save on Goldobin was the one that further announced his presence. The kid is here. He's going to play. He's going to succeed.

   For as well as Hart has played, it's got the rest of the team playing at another level too. The eight wins in a row as a team have closed the gap in the wildcard deficit from 14 points to five.

   It's one of those things where you don't want to buy in to the possibility that this team could find a way to make the playoffs. But if you are buying into Hart, you may want to buy in to the rest of the team. He's been their spark.

2. Sean Couturier - Sean Couturier had a hat trick against Boston in the second game of this eight-game winning streak. He then went scoreless in the next four games. Now, he has goals in back-to-back games, both on the power play.

   Couturier has already been a solid player, giving the Flyers a 200-foot game and adding a lot of stability to the second line. He's also solidified the second power play unit. 

   The Flyers only went 1-for-3 on the power play in Monday's game, but the collective 7-for-10 over the last three games has a lot to do with the balance that has been created with Couturier, Travis Konecny, Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom getting time on the second unit.

3. Jake Voracek – There are plays that Jake Voracek makes that can leave you scratching your head. This was one of the games where Voracek delivered all the goods.

   The move on his breakaway goal was beautiful, a perfect backhand to forehand move that completely fooled Jacob Markstrom.

   But Voracek's game was far beyond the box score. He made a couple nice plays backchecking. He looked more involved in the physicality of the game. He was involved in battles and helping the Flyers win them. This is the player the Flyers need Voracek to be. There are many nights when he is not this player and just blends in, even in putting some points on the board. This was a night that he needs to mirror to keep this stretch going.

4. Nolan Patrick – Patrick was probably the most determined player on the ice. He didn't get a goal, but he did have an assist on the power-play goal by Couturier.

   The start of this winning streak was really the start of Patrick's emergence. He's been a different player since scoring his first goal in 24 games, hungry for the puck, determined, using his size to win battles and get to the puck. It's made a lot of difference in his game.

   This game was one that showed what Patrick's high-end potential is. When he's on his game like he was on Monday, he's got a lot of skill and a lot of strength and looks the part of a high-end player. Now that's he found his confidence, you hope he can keep it going with so many important games down the stretch.

5. Ivan Provorov - Part of the Flyers stability at the back end has been a turnaround of sorts for Ivan Provorov, who looks far more like the player from a season ago than the one at the start of the season.

   Provorov had six blocked shots, one shot and played 25:42. More importantly than any numbers is his overall control of the situations on the ice. He's not having the puck roll off his stick anymore. He appears to be in control. His positioning is solid. His play on attacking forwards is good.

   Getting Provorov going is a big part of the success the Flyers have seen lately. 

By the Numbers

The Flyers had a 53.57 CF% in the first period at 5-on-5. In the second, the Canucks controlled possession, with a 61.22 CF%. In the third, it was even worse, with the Canucks holding a 76.19 CF%. The Flyers led with eight high-danger scoring chances in the game, but didn't have much of anything going in the final 20 minutes, while the Canucks generated.

Stat of the Game

The Flyers had 30 blocked shots in the game. Of the 30, 17 were by the defensive trio of Provorov (6), Travis Sanheim (6) and Radko Gudas (5).