OK, I have a lot on my plate, so this will be a much shorter post than normal. I will put in the effort my favorite hockey team put in during the second half of the game tonight. There are some scary things to consider as you absorb this loss. First, in the past three games with ANY MEANING against the Flyers, we have seen the same goddamn thing. The Penguins come out like beasts, and ring up 2-0, 2-0, and 3-0 leads against the Flyers. The Flyers smile, step up the forecheck, and wait for the overly fancy Penguins to turn the puck over, and the Flyers attack and take advantage of those mistakes, and win all three games. The Penguins defense is a joke. Martin and Letang were on the ice for 3 of the 4 Flyers goals tonight. Martin is offensive to watch ATTEMPT to play defense. If he is not a healthy scratch the first game Niskanen is available, I could lose my fucking marbles. Michalek is not much better, and frankly Brooks Orpik was not impressive either, as has been the case a little too often this year. Martin and Michalke were signed to form a second shut down pair, and they have fallen short of that to say the least. And, as much as I love Letang's speed and offensive flair, he has not been great on the defensive side of things since his last return from injury. Special Teams also killed the Penguins tonight. Their power play which is now 1 for 44 in the post season dating back to 2010 was 0 for 3 tonight. The PK gave up a goal on its only opportunity as well. A lot of fans are complainig about the missed call on Briere's first goal, where he was clearly offside, and he was CLEARLY offside. However, that is part of the game, and it was one goal. We did nothing with 3 PP chances before the Flyers got their one and only chance. Our PK unit promptly gave up the tying goal on that power play. Championship teams respond to adversity, and this team did not do that. In fact you could see this loss coming from the early minutes of the second period given recent history. The Flyers outworked the Penguins for the final 40 minutes and earned a victory. The game winner was an example of how lethargic this team can be in big moments these days, as Jordan Staal got caught watching the game while Voracek scored the game winner. Holmgren is looking pretty smart tonight, when you see the guys he got in the Carter/Richards moves contribute. Schenn had 3 points and the game tying goal, Voracek got the game winner in OT, Couterier rendered Malkin a non-issue in the game, and Simmonds, though not a factor on the score sheet tonight, has been huge for the Flyers. Listen, it is only one game, and you need four to get the series win, but giving up a 3 goal lead on home ice to a team who has done that to you two other times recently is not an encouraging start. Wake up call to Penguins players....this Flyers team wants this series, and seems willing to pay the price to take it. Are you?
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