Flyers-Kings: Postgame Points

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Riding the high of a 5-3 win on Wednesday night, the Flyers faced a difficult task by playing back-to-back days. In Los Angeles for the Kings season opener, the Flyers simply couldn't solve Jonathan Quick in a 2-0 loss.

Despite being blanked on the scoreboard, there were still some good things seen from the Flyers coming off a fast-paced game in San Jose on Wednesday that could and should have taken a lot out of them.

Here are 10 Postgame Points from Flyers-Kings.

  1. Michal Neuvirth was excellent in his debut. He may have come out on the losing end, but the two Kings goals were not going to be stopped no matter who was in net. His save on Anze Kopitar late in the first has been the best the NHL has seen in two nights of action. Neuvirth finished with 25 saves, but many of them were difficult and he looked poised and positioned to stop most of them.
  2. It was a solid debut for Travis Sanheim, but you saw the unfortunate mistakes that may make him the candidate to go back to the Phantoms. The four-minute double-minor for high-sticking late in the second could have been a backbreaker for the Flyers, and late in the game, he tried to pinch in the offensive zone and that led to the two-on-one between Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli, with the latter scoring the goal to ice the game.
  3. Even the Kings first goal came off an unfortunate mistake. With the fourth line on the ice, a neutral-zone turnover allowed the Kings to enter the zone with space. A nice cross-ice pass from Nick Shore to Trevor Lewis ended up in the back of the net.
  4. This fourth line means business. Scott Laughton and Taylor Leier in particular have excellent chemistry, and that's making the Flyers fourth line less of a liability and more of a potential scoring threat.
  5. The Flyers first period was a solid one considering it was expected they would be in survival mode coming off of a game on Wednesday. After getting their legs, they played a tremendous third period, taking 17 shots on Quick. Until the final three minutes of the game, they were within a goal and very much still alive in the game. That's a good sign for a team on the second end of a back-to-back.
  6. If anything, one night after the power play lifted the Flyers, it sunk the Flyers on Thursday night. The Flyers were 0-for-5 on the power play, including two chances in the third to tie the game. It's impossible to sustain the success that a 3-for-5 opening night on the power play brings, but the two chances in the third period were what the Flyers needed. It was a missed opportunity for both units.
  7. Give the Kings credit though. Aside from Quick being rock solid, time and space were limited for the Flyers, who were just a bit behind the Kings speed all game. Even in getting 17 shots on net, the Kings held the defensive zone well, especially on the penalty kill, and gave the Flyers nothing to work with.
  8. Of course, it helps when you have an elite talent like Quick in goal. LA's 2016-17 season took an instant turn when Quick was out of action for months, so for his season debut to be rock solid and a 35-save shutout bodes well for the team that was a Western Conference powerhouse less than five seasons ago.
  9. This looked like a much more comfortable game for Robert Hagg. Playing in his third NHL game, the rookie logged 19 minutes of ice time, blocked two shots, had four hits and was defensively sound.
  10. Give the Flyers penalty kill credit as well. In addition to killing off Sanheim's double-minor, split over the end of the second and the beginning of the third, they held the Kings 0-for-5 on the power play. After allowing two power play goals to the Sharks on Wednesday night, the results were much better in the second game of the season.
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