The Flyers wrapped up their four-game exhibition slate last night with a rematch against the Capitals on home ice, looking to even the score after an earlier tough loss to the same squad. It was a golden opportunity, too, with the Flyers rolling out their closest thing to an opening night lineup against the Capitals’ B-squad. But man, did that matchup still end up a long way from what the Orange & Black faithful were hoping for. The final score was seriously lopsided, thanks to a few breakdowns, missed chances, and some goaltending woes. “Yeah, I mean, ugly. That’s the only way to, you know, talk about the game,” defenseman Jamie Drysdale said after it was all over. “It was bad, but that’s not how we’re going to play hockey. That’s just not a winning brand, how, whichever way you chop it up. So, yeah, we’ll be better.”
Kolosov’s Struggles and Key Breakdowns
Despite the Flyers doing a great job of tilting the ice for long stretches and piling up offensive zone time and chances, goaltending absolutely made the difference. The Capitals’ tandem of Charlie Lindgren and Cal Peterson put on a stellar show between the pipes, while Aleksei Kolosov struggled in a big way for the Flyers. Combine that weaker netminding with a couple of defensive breakdowns in front, and you’ve got the recipe for a rough night. There were certainly moments when the skaters were a bit careless with the puck and inefficient in other areas, but the sheer volume of chances created can’t be overlooked. They definitely generated more than we saw through much of last season, and that’s a small spark of promise we can cling to.
Tilted Ice, Unfinished Business
Head coach Rick Tocchet pointed directly to the power play’s progress postgame, saying, “Well, it’s getting some looks. I mean, we just, the same old you got we need to finish, you know? I mean, I don’t know what else to say, there’s some good looks out there, but you got to finish, you know. You can’t just ‘oh well,’ and we need some guys to finish for us. So, but I do like the looks, got to give them credit. We’ve just got to now, we just got to execute scoring.” The Flyers showed their biggest flashes on the man-advantage, but that work creating quality chances extended nicely into their 5-on-5 play too. In the larger sample at even strength, the Flyers dramatically tilted the ice in their favor, putting up a whopping 69 shot attempts and 3.31 Expected Goals, good for 65.09 percent and 60.93 percent respectively. The looks are there, the execution needs to be.
The exhibition games are done. Now, the real work begins. Opening night is just around the corner, and the Flyers have to prove that “ugly” isn’t their brand, and those good looks turn into goals when it counts. We’ll be watching!
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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