Phil Myers
Alain Vigneault addressed the media on Monday for the first time since the Flyers lost Game 7 to the Islanders nine days ago. His comments focused on a bright future ahead. “I believe that we’re on the right track as far as moving forward to win a Stanley Cup,” Vigneault said.
A look at some of the things on the Flyers offseason agenda, areas they will look to address, the signings they have to make and some potential trade targets, trade options within the current roster, and free agents that could end up on their radar.
This is what is so hard about this Flyers loss. It’s not that it’s the end of the season. This happens for 15 other teams in the playoffs without a reward. Only one team comes away with the Stanley Cup. What’s so hard is having to once again hear “there’s always next year,”… and not knowing when next year really is.
The Flyers never had the answers. They could never counter the Islanders desire to finish this series. So it goes in the playoffs sometimes. Make no mistake, it’s disappointing, and this loss stings knowing the season is over, but there is a lot to take from this season. For now, let’s take a closer look at the game that did the Flyers in.
Just like in Game 2, when the Flyers let another 3-1 lead in the third period get away, they had the answer in overtime. It took over 12 minutes, but the Flyers remain alive in the series with a deflection goal by Scott Laughton. 5 takeaways from Game 5.
The Flyers are not dead yet. A point shot by Ivan Provorov was deflected by Scott Laughton and beat Semyon Varlamov to give the Flyers a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 that keeps their season alive.
It played out so much like the other games in the series. The Flyers had their moments. The Islanders had more of those moments. They used turnovers and transition plays to their advantage again. And while the Flyers had more shot volume and traffic to the net than in previous games, the goalie who kept them in Game 2 made sure they were in Game 4 and got the result needed.
The Islanders scored twice in the third period, helping to put away the Flyers in the game and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 3-2 win on Sunday night.
The Flyers need more from these players, especially if they are to see this playoff run go any further. They need their top scorers. They need their best performers. They need the guys who get the most ice time to really earn it. They need their leadership group to step up on the ice. 5 takeaways from Flyers-Islanders Game 3.
The Flyers had the first period everyone wanted to see, then let the lead they took in the opening period get away, only to erase it all with an overtime goal that evened the series. 5 takeaways from Game 2 of Flyers-Islanders.
