Observations from Thursday night's 5-1 Flyers exhibition victory over Boston
Nolan Patrick's first professional fight was notable for a few things; he fought a much older man, albeit one whose last fight came in 2011 , and he didn't hurt his hands. … Phew.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/L5XJUVCBUBD5BGTGZEJ6LSQSU4.jpg)
Observations from Thursday night's 5-1 Flyers exhibition victory over Boston:
The Flyers second goal late in the first period is a great example of how the Claude Giroux experiment could be an offensive windfall. The captain picked the puck cleanly from the boards as he crossed the blueline, slid it to his forehand, and laced a pass through a thicket of sticks to Radka Gudas on the other side of the ice. Jake Voracek picked up the initial save on Gudas shot and fired it past Tuukka Rask for a 2-0 lead.
So far, a Samuel Morin shift is must-see hockey, if for no other reason than the Flyers haven't had this kind of presence since Chris Pronger's career ended prematurely. He's not Pronger, but there is nothing sheepish about the 6-7 defenseman's game, as Boston's David Pastranak learned in the first period. Keeping both arms close and closing quickly, Morin crumpled the 6-1 Czech along the boards. And did so almost robotically.
Later, Morin used his long reach and surprising control to run down an errant slap shot before it crossed beyond the blueline. It led to an additional offensive zone chance and shot. The next time he used that reach, it was to step around a defender just inside the blueline and feed Wayne Simmonds at the goal mouth for the Flyers fourth goal.
Oh, and by the way, he prefers to be called Samuel.
So I'm calling him Samuel.
Especially after watching Pastranak wobble towards his bench.
Nolan Patrick's first professional fight … wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. Besides a long lead-up that was borderline delay of game, Patrick's eventual grab and punch affair with 31-year-old Boston assistant captain David Krecji was notable for a few things:
He fought a much older man, albeit one whose last fight came in 2011.
He didn't hurt his hands.
Phew.
Patrick did just fine, even getting in a few shots, before both players more or less exhausted themselves and were pulled apart by the on-ice officials. Afterwards he was asked who the oldest person he had been in a fight with before Krejci. "Not that old,'' he said with a smile. "Kind of happened. Wasn't really thinking so much… I'm not scared to do it if it happens. But it's not a huge part of my game.
Incidentally, Wayne Simmonds, who was also in a scrum and received a penalty, incurred an additional 10-minute misconduct penalty because he did not go directly to the penalty box, watching over the Flyers uber-prospect from a few feet away, ready to jump the fray should his linemate become overmatched by the veteran Bruin.
"Yeah, I heard him yelling the whole time,'' said Patrick. `He was yelling at me the whole time while I was fighting. He's obviously a great teammate. He gets a lot of respect on the ice out there. He's an awesome player and a great guy to play with.''
All Alex Lyon does is stop the puck. Rolled into action because of an illness to Michal Neuvirth and Brian Elliott's trip to Wisconsin – where tonight he will be inducted into the University's Hall of Fame – Lyon stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Flyers 5-1 victory Thursday.
"We practiced today in Allentown, and our coach Scott Gordon was like, 'Hey Neuvi is sick so you're in.'
"Alright, let's ride."
A standout for Yale University, Lyon is the sleeper in what has become a crowded derby of goalie prospects to anchor the blossoming team of the future. Mostly because he plays an unflappable game no matter what the circumstances around him.
For example: He and Leland Irving, the veteran signed by the Flyers after Anthony Stolarz was lost for the season, drove down together from Allentown. Irving is scheduled to play in an exhibition up there tonight. So…
"We're carpooling back up right now,'' said Lyon.
"I might have to drive back.''