Flyers-Bruins: Postgame Points

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

How do you sum up the Flyers latest loss: frustrating. Frustration before the game, frustration during, frustration after.

The Flyers were embarrassed by the Bruins in a 6-3 loss. Losses like this make the negatives all the more present and easier to identify. So let's get to it.

Here are 10 Postgame Points from Flyers-Bruins.

1. So, Brad Marchand, Flyers killer. Marchand's five-point game gives him 19 points in 24 games against the Flyers. But it isn't just Marchand. Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron each made a mark in the game on the scoresheet. That's what a top line looks like. The Bruins top three have been unchanged, consistent for the most part and have the ability to dominate a game as they did on Saturday.
2. Marchand got the scoring started for the Bruins with a shorthanded goal. That's the eighth shorthanded goal the Flyers have allowed this season, which leads the league. More than just the added tally to shorthanded goals allowed for the Flyers was the overall execution that led to the goal. Dale Weise made a bad pass. Sean Couturier gave the puck away. Ivan Provorov took an obvious penalty trying to get back into the play. Michal Neuvirth failed to seal the bottom of the net and Marchand's shot, which wasn't even a real attempt, drifted through the five-hole and in. While Marchand probably gets a penalty shot for not getting a real attempt, at least you take your chances there instead of allowing an easy goal.
3. So let's get into the Shayne Gostisbehere benching, his second of the season. One one hand, I understand what Dave Hakstol is trying to do. Gostisbehere's offensive production is down. His defensive play has not been great either, right on par with the rest of the team really. He did not have a particularly good game on Thursday, which probably set up this situation. But why sit your top power-play defenseman? The situations Gostisbehere plays in certainly has to factor into this. Hakstol isn't going to sit one of his most-used penalty-killing defensemen like Ivan Provorov or even Andrew MacDonald, but to sit your top power-play defenseman only to replace him with a player making his return from injury for 13 games is a recipe for disaster. What seems most frustrating to fans is that Hakstol seems to be doing this to the youngest players, giving them a look from a different angle as a way to learn and be able to make adjustments to their game. Fans want to see Gostisbehere, and rightfully so. He has a bright future. He'll be a part of this team for years to come. Soon enough, guys like Nick Schultz and MacDonald and Streit will be on their way out. So trust the process…or something like that.
4. The Flyers had 15 penalty minutes in the game, including a five-minute boarding major by Jake Voracek and a two-man advantage for Boston in the third. While the Flyers did a good job on the penalty kill, all things considered, this is the second straight game where the Flyers got themselves in penalty trouble.
5. Voracek's penalty was the turning point in the game. While there is question over whether it was a penalty or not and to what level, the timing was what proved to be most crucial. The penalty came seconds after the Flyers scored on the power play to cut the lead to one. Additionally, Voracek tried to avoid the type of hit that warrants a major penalty. Kevan Miller was in a vulnerable position, Voracek tried to turn his back and hit him that way and the end result ended up being the same. That's the reason a penalty was called, the end result — the look of the hit and the injury — was what drew the officials attention. But a five-minute major was excessive. The Flyers nearly killed it all off before Bergeron's goal with 24 seconds left in the five-minute penalty.
6. Another area where the Flyers had serious problems: turnovers. The Flyers were very sloppy all game with passing, outlets, zone exits and it's been an inconsistent area all season. Any team in the NHL is going to take advantage of turnovers. The Bruins capitalized on one shorthanded, another at even strength and one more on the power play. The Flyers are not a good team when it comes to protecting the puck, and controlling possession is half the battle.
7. Neuvirth was not particularly sharp either. While he played well in the third period, you could see he was struggling to see and track the puck during the middle period, where the Bruins scored four times. Neuvirth likely wasn't going to get the start on Sunday anyway, but this see-saw battle with Steve Mason isn't helping the Flyers make any decisions in the net.
8. The Bruins played a perfect third period. The Flyers didn't get any real chances in the final period. They started the period with a power play and never got set up. For the remainder of the period at even strength, the Bruins clogged the neutral zone and pushed play. They also continued to force mistakes from the Flyers and drew two penalties. That's how you close out a game.
9. The Flyers have lost eight straight road games and have an 8-11-3 record this season away from Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers certainly know how to play in front of the home fans, but on the road, they have to get better to be a true contender in the race for a playoff spot. Naturally, the Flyers need to find a fast fix, as four of their next six games are on the road.
10. The one thing that remained consistent for the Flyers was another game with a power-play goal from Brayden Schenn. That's 11 of Schenn's 15 goals that have come on the power play. He also now has 19 power-play points, tied for second in the NHL and two behind the league leader, teammate Claude Giroux.

Bottom Line

This was a crucial weekend for the Flyers, so they came out as flat as ever. And the second half of the back-to-back ends in Washington against the red-hot Capitals. 

Many people will view the 10-game winning streak from last month as the tease that made us think the Flyers were a legitimate playoff team. Realistically, they still are so to speak. The Flyers didn't really play poorly over the course of October and November to the point where they were so far out of the picture. That's what makes this month so brutal. To open 2017 with a 2-3-2 after closing 2016 with three embarrassing losses has shown the team's inconsistencies and struggles through a magnifying glass.

But this is not a playoff team at the moment. They are in the standings, but this is not how a team with playoff hopes plays. Not with this kind of discipline. Not with this many turnovers. Not with the worst defense in the league.

The Flyers need to buckle down on Sunday, a tall order to ask, and then comes the mandated bye week.