Flyers Road Trip Ends with Learning Experience

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers start to the season was truly a roller coaster of emotions, ending with a roller-coaster game. The score read 7-4. At one point, the Flyers trailed 4-0. It wouldn't be shocking if you saw that and thought it was never close.

The Flyers, at one point, struck for four straight goals and tied the game early in the third period. That was just one of the many parts of a road trip filled with learning experiences for a young Flyers team that, despite a 1-1-1 record and back-to-back losses, is on the rise.

So here's what we learned from Tuesday's loss.

For one, the Flyers are a team that never quits. On Saturday, a slow start put them in a 3-1 hole. They rallied out of it to force overtime and nearly won the game in the early stages of the extra session before falling to Arizona in the overtime on a delayed penalty call.

On Tuesday, the Flyers essentially looked like they were folding, mailing it in after falling behind 4-0 with less than five minutes to play in the second. They got a late power play goal from Matt Read to make it 4-1. Then the third period started and three quick goals wiped out the rest of the deficit. The Flyers erased a four-goal lead in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks. That's impressive.

That's something the Flyers need to carry with them throughout the season. If they proved anything, it is that no lead is insurmountable, even a four-goal lead against a team as potent and star-packed as Chicago.

There were several Flyers who did not have great nights though. Michal Neuvirth was not completely on his game. While the goaltender was helpless on some of the Blackhawks first period goals, Marian Hossa's goal in the second was a soft goal that forced his exit.

Ivan Provorov finished the game as a minus-5. He left his feet on the first goal, allowing Patrick Kane to get separation and score on a wraparound. He fell down carrying the puck back into his own zone and the turnover led to the second goal for Chicago. His drop pass and miscommunication with Sean Couturier set up a two-on-one late that sent Artemi Panarin and Kane streaking the other way for the goal that iced the game and made it 6-4 with four minutes left.

For as bad as Provorov's mistakes were, they were even more easily exposed by being on the ice trying to defend a line of Kane, Panarin and Artem Anisimov that registered 11 points on the night. That line was everywhere and Provorov was the victim.

The 19-year-old rookie will have to take that one on the chin. It's a night he'll want to forget. But he'll need to remember it and overcome it to become the player that he could be.

It's also unfair to pin the whole thing on Provorov and his minus-5 rating. The entire defense, at one point or another, looked lost and step behind the powerful Blackhawks offense. As a whole, the defense needs to chalk this up as a learning experience, veterans and young players alike.

The Flyers played a strong game in Los Angeles and followed it up with a solid finish in Arizona. With the exception of the exception of a 10-minute stretch in the first period and the first 10 minutes of the third period, the Flyers never caught up with the Blackhawks.

The learning experience comes from the road trip as a whole, because the Flyers have yet to see a team within their own conference or division. Playing three West teams to start the season, all on the road, and at obscure times is a tough task for any team. Knowing the potential is there and seeing it nearly come to fruition in all three games is surely a sign of things to come.

Yes, the start on Tuesday was disastrous. The final five minutes of the first period saw the Flyers come completely unraveled and the game seem out of reach. What you saw was experience over rawness. The Blackhawks pounced on every Flyers mistake. It was just one of those games. The Flyers have the raw talent and ability to be a solid team. What they lack, from a lot of players, is the experience. That can only come with time and learning from mistakes.

It starts on Thursday, as the Flyers return home and try to rebound from back-to-back losses.

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