Claude Giroux needs to respond, and two other keys for the Flyers in Game 2 vs. the Islanders
The Flyers aren't in desperate times ... but it's getting close.
How important is Game 2 for the Flyers, who lost an Eastern Conference semifinal opener to the New York Islanders?
Well, they are 3-15 when trailing a playoff series, 2-0, and 18-18 when a series is knotted at one game apiece.
Enough said.
Here are three keys to the 3 p.m. matchup in Toronto:
1. Get off to a quick start.
Watching the first period of Sunday’s closer-than-it-looks 4-0 Islanders win left Flyers fans asking the same question: What the heck was that?
The Islanders dominated with their forecheck, their energy, and their hunger for loose pucks.
Hard to believe the top-seeded Flyers could come out so flat for a playoff game, but give the Isles credit for setting the tempo and carrying the momentum of their previous series into Game 1.
“Probably the worst period we’ve had since we’ve been in the bubble,” captain Claude Giroux said.
The Flyers need to establish the tempo early Wednesday. That means getting Kevin Hayes’ line out there as much as possible and have their forecheck do damage to the sixth-seeded Islanders, who are playing with much more confidence than their opponents.
The Hayes line (with Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny) was, by far, the Flyers’ best unit in Game 1. That trio needs to be on the ice a lot in the first 10 minutes Tuesday.
2. The captain needs to back up his words.
After Game 1, Giroux, aware the Flyers are 10-0 after a loss since Jan. 7, said: “We haven’t lost two in a row in a long time, and we don’t plan to lose the next one.”
The 32-year-old Giroux later added: “Our top players need to play better, and, obviously, I’m one of them.”
He needs to lead the way and start producing. Inexplicably, Giroux has one goal in his last 23 postseason games.
3. Move your feet and create chances.
In the postseason (including round-robin games), here are the numbers of power-play chances the Flyers have had in their 10 games: 2, 6, 3, 3, 5, 6, 3, 7, 4, and 1.
The one chance came in the last game, showing they weren’t moving their feet and forcing the Islanders to take a penalty to slow them down and disrupt a scoring chance.
That has to change in Game 2.
It should also be noted that the Isles also only had one power play in the opener, and, they, too, had a bad period (the second). Islanders coach Barry Trotz didn’t think his players brought their A-game, saying he “didn’t care for” New York’s overall performance.
That said, the defensive-minded Isles kept the Flyers to the perimeter, and that was a pretty good recipe for success.