Apparently, one 5-4 loss in Philly wasn't enough yesterday, because the Flyers felt the need to lose by that exact score, too. The Penguins took the lead just 48 seconds into the game, and though the Flyers did their best to get back into it, Pittsburgh always seemed to have an answer as the Flyers lost their first game of the season.
As was the case against the Capitals, turnovers were a big problem for the Flyers last night. The Penguins took advantage, just like they always seem to do, including one goal that bounced in off of Ray Emery's skate without even touching a Penguin. The Flyers didn't play too badly last night, but the small mistakes will kill a team against Pittsburgh, and that's what happened to the Flyers.
There were some good things about the game last night. Both Danny Briere and Jeff Carter had two goals, and Carter picked up assists on each of Briere's goals as well. Emery didn't have his best game, as evidenced by the five goals he gave up, but again, some of that can be attributed to the turnovers that the Penguins were able to take advantage of. It's amazing what a difference losing James VanRiemsdyk and Brian Betts made on the third and fourth lines, but two players being out shouldn't make the difference in a game.
I can't even really complain about the penalty calls last night. Yes, a call 14 seconds into the game is a little extreme, but the Flyers actually spent more time on the power play than the Penguins did. Of course, the end of the game got a little bit crazy, especially after Jeff Carter managed to score once with the Flyers having an empty net. Once the game got to within a goal, the Flyers threw everything they had at the Penguins, and the end of the game got a little bit chippy. Mike Richards ran into Marc Andre Fleury, knocked the net loose and started a nice little scrum. Chris Pronger wrangled himself a Penguin, thus endearing himself to Flyers fans for as long as he plays here. The real story though was what Kris Letang claimed Scott Hartnell did.
It's a bit of a complicated story, but Letang came out and said that Hartnell bit his hand at the bottom of the pile. Of course, all the other Penguins backed him up on this, while Hartnell has been mum about the situation. I've never been at the bottom of a pile in the middle of a hockey fight, so I don't know what goes on down there, but I'd assume that it's somewhat like the bottom of a pile in football after a fumble. It had been a heated game, and if Hartnell thought Letang was giving him the business or face washing him, he might have decided to get even. I'm not saying it's right, but I'm sure it's not the first time something like this has happened. Apparently, the league is going to talk with Hartnell today about it, and I'm sure he'll have some sort of ruling passed down on him. I mean, he plays for the Flyers, and he may have done something to a Penguin! Sidney Crosby plays for them!
If this is how the first game of the season between these two teams ended up, it's going to be a fun year.
No comments:
Post a Comment