Less than a week ago, I posted that, “Although the Flyers have been open to the possibility of upgrading their goaltender position, I doubt they will bring in another netminder unless Sergei Bobrovsky comes back from the All Star break and bombs.”
Three goals on six shots later, I’m eating my words.
Bob let in two goals from forward Teddy Purcell in less than a minute and a half in the opening frame in tonight’s 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the defense didn’t provide much support, he was shaky throughout the first period and was pulled before the start of the second. I don’t know if it was a matter of not being ready to play after a break, but he’s going to have to be more focused if he wants to start Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
Brian Boucher provided more stability in net for the remainder of the game, letting in just 1 goal on 15 shots, but the Flyers were unable to take advantage of any of the four powerplays awarded to them by the referees. Surprisingly, the majority of the calls were in their favor, and yet they squandered every opportunity to even up the score.
The final goal from Steve Stamkos was an absolute embarrassment, as the puck just sat by the Flyers bench as two players went on a line change. Any hope the team had of coming back was thrown away.
The Lightning sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind the Flyers. They are also 3-0 against the orange and black this season, with the first two wins coming without veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson in net. Roloson was acquired from the New York Islanders in exchange for defensive prospect Ty Wishart and basically shores up the one weakness that the Lightning had coming into the season.
Should the Flyers face the Lightning in the playoffs, they will need to come up with a better strategy of shutting them down.
The first half of February is another tough stretch of games, with the Predators, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings and the final road game against the Tampa Bay Lightning all occurring before the 15th. If they can stay focused through this stretch, then they will be in good position for the next month of games, as the schedule is filled with teams either far out of the playoff picture or on the bubble.
Jody Shelley can’t be used as a whipping boy for tonight’s loss either, as he was out of the line-up with the flu.
