The Flyers season opener fully portrayed the dangers of playing on your heels. A late penalty kept the tilted ice in the Boston Bruins favor. But it was a broken play, and a broken stick, that did the Flyers in.
Steve Mason attempted to adjust to Adam McQuaid's shot as it fluttered off the broken stick, but left a rebound right in the crease for Chris Kelly, who scored the game-winning goal for Boston with 1:51 remaining in the third period on Tuesday night in a 2-1 Flyers loss.
The effort was solid by the Flyers. This was a Bruins team that Ron Hextall called elite during the offseason. What may have hurt the Flyers most was uncertainty. First game jitters can certainly prove costly.
"The first, two periods were tight and we weren’t making plays we know we can make," Claude Giroux said. "It was like we were trying to make plays too quick."
"We worked hard all game long," Wayne Simmonds said. "We have to simplify. We tried to do too much. It didn’t take that long to catch up to them. We weren’t taking shots."
The Flyers managed just 20 shots on reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask, a relatively light night for the Bruins netminder. Through two periods, Giroux, Simmonds and Jake Voracek were held to no shots.
"They got what they deserved," Mason said. "They were trying to create chances off the rush. That’s what we try to preach and practice, too.
"They had some good opportunities. They were the better team tonight. That’s why they won."
Scoring didn't seem to be an issue during the preseason, but the defense was a serious question mark entering the regular season. The Flyers allowed 33 shots, 31 of which were stopped by Mason, but did a nice job of keeping the Bruins at bay.
Very rarely will you hear Craig Berube talk about the forwards needing to have energy as compared to the play of defensemen. But on Wednesday night, Berube praised the defense for working well with the puck and criticized the forwards for lack of positioning.
"I thought at times in the first period we looked stagnant with the puck in transition," Berube said. "Our D had it, but we weren’t in position quick enough. We didn’t move the puck quick enough and get skating."
Of course, a defensive lapse by Braydon Coburn led to the first Bruins goal by Reilly Smith. Coburn left his post at the front of the net as Smith crept in and was in perfect position for a quick release from the slot.
Despite the tough bounce costing the Flyers at least a point, they did a lot of things right for a first impression. Some players had plenty of jump, most notably Vincent Lecavalier. Others did not, like the top line which registered just one shot on goal through two periods.
"When you’re two minutes away from getting at least one point, you can’t, whether you have the lead, you can’t lose hockey games in the last five minutes," Mason said. "You got to shut things down."
"We had a tough night," Berube said. "I don’t base the whole game on the power play. It’s got to be better."
The Flyers get that chance in front of the home crowd on Thursday night against the Devils.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
