Woll Deserved Better, and Nobody Should Be Panicking Yet

The Flyers got their first point of the season last night on the back of Joseph Woll. They were outplayed once again, but at least they got a couple of goals, and both came from the defense. Rasmus Ristolainen redirected one in front in the first, and Travis Sanheim hammered a slap shot from the left circle in the third.

New Jersey still won it 3-2 in overtime on a Jack Hughes rush goal, and the Devils earned every bit of it. Woll was outstanding in his Flyers debut. He made 41 saves, and he deserved to get the win.

Woll is the story

New Jersey outshot the Flyers 44 to 25, and it was 30 to 14 through two periods. Woll stopped 19 of the 20 scoring chances that reached him and 8 of 9 shots from the inner slot. The penalty kill went 4 for 4, and he was a huge part of that. Without him, this game isn’t close.

It’s nice knowing we have an upgrade over Ersson this year. Vladar will eventually come into form too, and having a true 50/50 split will be a big advantage this season. You can ride whoever is hot.

What’s going on

This was better than the 7-0 opener. The structure looked cleaner. But they were still outplayed. The InStat numbers tell the story. Shot attempts were 92 to 36. Scoring chances were 32 to 9. Expected goals were 4.6 to 2.2.

If you’re new to expected goals, it measures the quality of chances, not just the number of them. A shot from the slot counts for a lot more than a shot from the blue line. In plain terms, New Jersey created about twice as many dangerous chances.

The Devils owned the neutral zone all night. The Flyers couldn’t get the puck deep with possession, and they kept missing simple passes. Kevin Kurz asked Rick Tocchet after the game why the team looks so out of sync with the puck. His answer: “I have no idea. We just talked as coaches, we’re going to have to maybe change some practices. We need more skill work.”

Breaking down the goals against

Goal 1: Dougie Hamilton, 17:58 of the 2nd

It looks like the Flyers are running some man-on-man in their zone at times. Cam York goes out to the wall to finish a check on Jack Hughes and then stays up near him. At the same time, Matvei Michkov, the winger, is in front of the net. He blocks a shot and tries to get back out to the wing and the rail.

What that leaves is nobody picking up Anthony Mantha in front. Personally, I want Drysdale or York clearing him out. Instead, Mantha screens Woll perfectly. And if you give a guy like Dougie Hamilton that much time, he’s going to bury it.

Goal 2: Luke Hughes, 9:44 of the 3rd

You could go two ways on this one. It starts with a Christian Dvorak turnover, so it’s on him. But before Dvorak is even back in the zone, it’s basically a 3-on-3.

Dvorak probably thought he was backchecking to the puck, and Travis Konecny thought he had one of the guys. One of two things has to happen. Either TK realizes Dvo is backchecking the puck and moves off the guy he thinks he has, or Dvo realizes it’s a 3-on-3 and gets his head on a swivel to see what Luke Hughes, who’s right behind him, is going to do. Neither happened, and that’s what let Luke walk right down Broadway for the goal.

The benching

Down the stretch, Tocchet shortened the bench. Carl Grundstrom and Alex Bump got one shift each in the third, and as Charlie O’Connor pointed out, Porter Martone was basically benched late too. The Flyers rolled three lines, with Trevor Zegras moving up next to Sean Couturier and Noel Acciari. Tocchet said he was looking for the group that could control Jack Hughes.

Martone finished with 12:54 of ice time on 15 shifts. Grundstrom played 8:44 and Bump played 8:09.

I don’t love seeing young guys sit, but as a coach I get it. It’s a tie game on the road in the third period, and you go with the players you trust in that moment. For what it’s worth, the Zegras, Couturier and Acciari line was the Flyers’ best look of the night. In 3:25 together, they out-attempted New Jersey 3 to 1.

Don’t overreact

Here’s my big message. This isn’t a great start, but we can’t overreact two games into an 84-game season.

Nobody on this team won their minutes last night. Every single Flyers skater was on the ice for more shot attempts against than for. With Bump out there, New Jersey out-attempted the Flyers 11 to 2. But it wasn’t just the rookie. With Foerster on the ice it was 27 to 7. With Drysdale it was 31 to 7. With York it was 33 to 8. And look at the two goals above. That’s a veteran turnover and veteran coverage. This wasn’t the kids losing a hockey game. This was the whole team.

Bump is the perfect example of why we can’t overreact. In the opener, he was the only Flyer who finished on the right side of expected goals. The Flyers created more quality chances than they gave up with him on the ice, and they took 64% of the shot attempts. One night later, he got one shift in the third. That’s how fast things swing two games into a season.

Players need time to develop. A lot of these young guys have been the best player on the ice at every level they’ve ever played. They’ve never really had to deal with being the guy who struggles. The NHL is a different beast. Everybody is fast, everybody is strong and everybody is smart. The time and space they’re used to is gone.

I see this with my own players all the time. You learn the most about someone when things go wrong. Some players hang their heads. Others come back the next shift and compete harder. How mentally strong someone is during hard times will tell you more about his future than any highlight ever will.

One thing I’m watching: Martone

I’m not going to overreact, but this is something to keep an eye on. Porter Martone was at his best in college when he was physically engaged in the game. I don’t mean throwing a meaningless hit. I mean coming down quick, finishing his check on the defender and winning the puck battle. I just haven’t seen that jump out of him so far. At times it almost looks like he’s going through the motions.

The numbers back that up. Through two games, Martone has one hit in nearly 26 minutes of ice time. He doesn’t have a single shot attempt in either game. With him on the ice over the two games, the Flyers have been out-attempted 34 to 16. They’ve created 0.48 expected goals and given up 1.96. Put simply, when he’s out there, the other team is getting about four times the quality chances.

He was effective in the NHL last spring because he came in with so much confidence from the NCAA. That confidence is what makes his game work. If he doesn’t get going after 15 to 20 games, you have to consider giving him first-line minutes in the AHL to get it back. That’s not a punishment. That’s development.

It’s not just the players

And this isn’t only on the players. When veterans are missing simple passes too, that’s not a rookie problem. Tocchet said it himself. The practices need to change and they need more skill work. Good. That’s the right answer, and it has to show up fast.

What I want to see Saturday

The Flyers host Carolina on Saturday at 7.

• Clean exits and simple passes through the neutral zone. Get it deep, get on the forecheck and stop feeding their rush.
• Communication in our own end. Somebody has to own the net front, and everyone’s head has to be on a swivel off turnovers.
• How the young guys respond. If Martone and Bump are in the lineup, I want to see them win the next puck battle and make the simple play. That’s how you earn your minutes back.

Two games isn’t a season. Let’s see who these guys are when it’s hard.

Let me know what you saw @BroadStBreakout.