There’s no question that the Flyers will have rough nights from time to time, as all NHL teams will. There’s going to be some nights when they’re flat but can fight their way to a point or two in the standings. There will be some nights when their energy is fine, but they’ll make some mistakes that perhaps they can get away with.
But when they’re both flat and they make some mistakes, that will usually be too much to overcome, and that encapsulates the New Year’s Eve contest in Calgary. While the Flyers were playing their third game in four nights, Calgary had been off since Wednesday. None of them will ever be willing to use that as an excuse, but there’s no question that it’s a factor. That means they’ll have to do a better job playing through these situations, but it also means it’s not a reason for panic.
That being said, a few plays stood out in the contest. The Flyers had a couple opportunities that were created by the style of play they’ve been employing all season, but they couldn’t finish them. One came early on when Travis Sanheim pressured a Flame high in the Flyers zone and was able to force a turnover to Tyson Foerester. Sanheim saw the opportunity to spring the other way as the puck arrived on Foerster’s stick and ended up with a breakaway, but was bested by Jacob Markstrom.
