The Flyers finished up a brutal back-to-back preseason stretch Tuesday night in Boston, and after some promising early play, they spiraled into a third period meltdown, echoing their previous game against the Capitals. This matchup against a veteran-heavy Bruins lineup was always going to be tough, especially with the Flyers throwing out a squad heavy with prospects, NHL bubble players, and guys who had skated the night before.
Early Grit Meets An Unfortunate Exit
Despite the challenging circumstances, the Flyers showed real fight through the first 40 minutes. They delivered a reasonably solid showing, even after starting goaltender Dan Vladar went down with an upper-body injury in the first period. Talk about a gut punch! Concern mounted immediately. The lone goal allowed early was super fluky, only trickling through because Vladar seemed injured and was trying to make it to the next whistle. But the team didn’t quit. Jacob Gaucher came through with a stellar individual effort to tie things up, and the Flyers largely contained the Bruins’ offense after the first intermission. It wasn’t always pretty, but they hung in there.
The Third Period Unraveling Was No Accident
Ultimately, fatigue started to show its ugly face in that final period, and a handful of serious breakdowns pushed the Flyers deep into a hole they couldn’t climb out of. These later scoring plays felt wildly different from that fluky first goal, proving this wasn’t bad luck. The second goal saw them pinned on the penalty kill. Nick Seeler whiffed on a clear, Owen Tippett got to it but didn’t put enough on the puck to clear, and the Bruins kept cycling until they scored. Then, on the third goal, Hunter McDonald cleared his man from netfront but seemed to screen Aleksei Kolosov a bit on a bang-bang play off the faceoff, leaving Brian Halonen wide open to tip in a point shot. The fourth goal? The Flyers were running around defensively. Jack Studnicka initially had Elias Lindholm marked, but lost him after a pass into the corner and didn’t reengage quickly enough. Neither Seeler nor David Jiricek seemed to pick him up, allowing Lindholm to walk right into the slot for the pass and the goal. The fifth goal was more of that same scrambling play. You can’t let that happen.
These preseason games are about learning, right? The Flyers showed serious character through two periods, especially after losing their starting goalie. But that third period? The fatigue is real, sure, but those defensive zone breakdowns against a veteran team can’t become a habit. They need to hit the film room hard and clean up these glaring issues. You gotta wonder if those prospects and bubble players can handle the grind, especially when the regular season hits and the stakes are real.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Broad Street Hockey.
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