The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Montreal Canadiens in their second preseason game, but fell short of getting in the job done at the Bell Centre, falling 5-0 in the second of back-to-back games.
Head coach John Tortorella (who has not been behind the bench during both preseason games so far) has correctly emphasized that there shouldn't be too much weight assigned to "exhibition" results—whether the Flyers win or lose. However, these games do allow fans and coaches to get a better sense of which players look to be built for NHL minutes as the Flyers grow closer to trimming down their training camp roster.
Goalie Woes Strike Again
The Flyers sent a roster to Montreal that was largely different from the group that went down to Washington D.C. to kick off the preseason games (with the exception of Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell), including a new goalie tandem made up of Eetu Makiniemi and Cal Petersen.
Makiniemi is participating in the Flyers' training camp on a professional try-out offer, and, all things considered, looked pretty good in his first outing between the pipes. He made a number of saves that kept the Canadiens from taking a lead early in the game, and stayed consistent with the solid form he's been showing in camp practices.
Petersen, on the other hand, didn't fare so well when he came into the game. After a disappointing run of games last season when he had to scramble into the NHL roster to back up Sam Ersson, his mere presence on the Flyers roster antagonizes fans—and it wasn't helped by the fact that all five Montreal goals were scored on him.
While the Canadiens fielded a much stronger roster than the Capitals did, it does make the first game's pairing of Ivan Fedotov and Carson Bjarnason look even more promising, and gives some clarity as to who should be where in the call-up line should Ersson or Fedotov be unavailable for the Flyers this upcoming season.
Off Night For Offense
The forwards for the Flyers couldn't get things going in Montreal (they did have a goal disallowed on a goaltender interference call), which is a bit surprising seeing as how much NHL talent was included for this road trip. Veterans like Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton were expected to anchor a younger lineup that included the talents of Bobby Brink (who scored two regulation goals and one shootout goal against Washington), Tyson Foerster, and Massimo Rizzo.
Massimo Rizzo.
Treating viewers to the impressive offensive display in the first game set expectations rather high for this one, but this group of forwards just couldn't seem to mesh well enough across 60 minutes to get goals on the board.
You Either Have It Or You Don't
With a strong, competitive talent pool for this camp, there really isn't any room for players to have average displays on the ice. The Flyers want to build a winning team that can create sustainable success, and that's not going to happen if they allow players on the NHL roster that simply aren't NHL caliber.
When you're up against exciting talent like Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk, Carson Bjarnason, and Matvei Michkov (who transcends adjectives like "exciting" to veer more into the "generational" stratosphere), you have to dig deep to find a new level of ability you might not have thought yourself capable of. When your front office is as ambitious and strategic as this current Flyers one is, you have little to no room for mediocrity if you want to be a part of those long-term plans.
