Let’s take a deep breath and step back. There’s a technique I like to use called square breathing. I highly recommend it, especially after the last two Flyers games. Here’s how it works:
Find a comfortable, quiet space. Put your feet flat on the ground and rest your arms on your legs, palms up or down. It’s your choice. Close your eyes — after you finish reading the instructions, of course. Now, breathe in for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, then hold again for four seconds. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Find your happy place
We’re all a bit manic at the moment, rapidly alternating between the highs of feeling like the Flyers are invincible to the lows of demanding heads roll. Let’s aim for the middle. Find your happy place.
Still, it’s okay to be upset at the outcome of the last two Flyers games. Nobody likes losing, especially in Philly. We just need to take a cue from athletes and have short memories. What happened is in the past. It’s time to look ahead now.
That being said, there is no real reason to be nervous. The Flyers weren’t dominated. They didn’t look lost or outmatched. The fact of the matter is that the last two games could have gone either way.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 4 on the two goals Dan Vladar would love to have back. Game 5 went to the Pens off a fluky goal that careened off the boards, off Vladar, and into the net. It’s disappointing but not devastating.
Goaltending situations
The only real concern after Games 3 and 4 was Dan Vladar’s injury status. After suffering an undisclosed injury during Game 3, his ability to return to form in the next game was a question mark. The two bad goals he let that next game may very well have been a result of that. Then, he bounced back. He was solid from that point on.
Starting Vladar in Game 4 was the only red flag I saw from head coach Rick Tocchet. With a 3-0 lead, the Flyers had a bit of a cushion. Backup goalie Sam Ersson was lights out for a long stretch to end the season and there was no indication that would cease to be the case in the postseason.
Tocchet had the opportunity to start Ersson in Game 4 but opted to stick with his injured starter. This was questionable from a big-picture standpoint. If the Flyers are to make a long run in the playoffs, they need Vladar healthy for the stretch. Giving him a game to recover would have a better long-term impact.
As for the skaters, they got away from what worked best in the first three games: active sticks. The Flyers were everywhere, intercepting passes and generating offense from the neutral zone. The Pittsburgh Penguins adapted and the Flyers regressed. The players need to get back to that game to slow down an aged Penguins team, get breakaways, and rattle their young, untested goalie, Arturs Silovs.
Silovs has not been a brick wall. He has not stolen any game. He has not made any flashy saves that would make a highlight reel. The Flyers simply haven’t been able to test him.
What can and can’t be controlled
The deficits the Flyers experienced in the previous two games are all fixable. It’s simply a matter of being cognizant of those issues and working to fix them. Despite being a young team, the Flyers have veteran leadership and a solid coaching staff. They likely will discuss these issues and come up with a game plan.
There are items that are out of Philly’s control that are primarily distractions. The team cannot control the officiating. They cannot change the questionably dirty play of the Penguins. Conversely, they can make sure these issues do not get to them. Once that happens, bad decisions and poor penalties are inevitable.
One of four
After Game 3, Philly simply needed to win one of the coming four games. We’re still in that window. Two are behind us, but two remain ahead. The situation may feel dire, but it is no different than it was a few days ago.
The Flyers dominated Pittsburgh in their first three games and kept Sidney Crosby off the scoresheet. Their effective play frustrated him and landed him in the penalty box. The losses in Games 4 and 5 were primarily the results of a couple bad goals on an injured goalie and an incredibly fluky goal. Those games were close and easily could have gone Philly’s way.
Pittsburgh came into these last two games with more energy and determination. Expect Philly to respond the same way in Game 6.
