Slow starts killing Flyers
LOS ANGELES - Poor starts contributed significantly to the Flyers' 0-3 West Coast trip, but it isn't a new trend.
LOS ANGELES - Poor starts contributed significantly to the Flyers' 0-3 West Coast trip, but it isn't a new trend.
The Flyers have struggled in the first period all season, getting outscored, 34-15, in the opening 20 minutes of games. They have allowed the first goal in the last five games. Overall, they have surrendered the first goal in 23 of 37 games.
The Flyers, who host Montreal on Tuesday, have just six wins in the 23 games in which opponents have scored first, compiling a 6-11-6 record.
Defenseman Michael Del Zotto thinks the Flyers need to be more aggressive in the first 20 minutes of games.
"Maybe we're on our heels a little bit," Del Zotto said after the Flyers concluded their 0-3 California trip with a 2-1 loss Saturday in Los Angeles. "It's something we started to address before the break, and I thought we started to do a little better job."
In Saturday's first period, turnovers by Radko Gudas and Ryan White led to goals by the Kings, who had a 15-7 shots domination in the session. They carried that 2-0 lead into the final period and held on for their fifth straight victory.
"Hockey is about mistakes," said goalie Michal Neuvirth after stopping 30 of 32 shots in his first appearance in six games, "and we made a couple in the first period that cost us the game."
The Flyers (15-15-7) dominated the final period, but the damage had already been done.
"You saw us in the third; we were assertive and aggressive, and we were a tough team to stop," said Del Zotto, who returned from a wrist injury that had sidelined him for two games.
Thanks to an impressive 8-2-2 run, the Flyers had climbed to within three points of a playoff spot at the Christmas break. But after losing three straight in California, they have fallen seven points out of the playoffs.
They are closer to the league's worst record - four points away - than they are to the final wild-card spot.
If things don't pick up, the Flyers could be in the hunt for forward Auston Matthews, generally regarded as the player who will be selected No. 1 in the June draft. Heading into Sunday, only three teams had fewer points than the Flyers.
"It's obviously not the California trip we wanted," said Brayden Schenn, who scored his second goal in his last 16 games Saturday, "but we'll have a good test coming up with Montreal."
The Canadiens (22-15-3) have a plus-17 goal differential, while the Flyers are minus-23.
Breakaways. The Flyers are 70-78-30-6 in their history against Montreal, which won all three games against them last season. . . . The Flyers are 8-5-4 at home, and Montreal is 11-9-1 on the road. . . . The Flyers used a seven-defensemen rotation Saturday for the first time this season. "It's a little different and obviously not the best situation - trying to get into the game and you're playing with different partners and whatnot," Del Zotto said. "But it is what it is, and it's not an excuse as to why we lost."