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Flyers Notes: Flyers' power play struggling

The Flyers' power play struggled at the Wells Fargo Center all season, and that puzzling pattern continued in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers.

Flyers forwards Wayne Simmonds and Vincent Lecavalier. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Flyers forwards Wayne Simmonds and Vincent Lecavalier. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

The Flyers' power play struggled at the Wells Fargo Center all season, and that puzzling pattern continued in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers.

While on the power play, they managed just four shots on goal, had 10 shots blocked, and went 0 for 5.

That will have to change if the Flyers are going to even the series - which the Rangers lead, two games to one - on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Coach Craig Berube was satisfied with the amount of zone time the Flyers had during their power plays, but not with the puck movement.

"We just didn't get enough pucks through. Too slow," he said after holding a team meeting Wednesday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. "We've got to move it quicker. It was too predictable. We'll change it up a little bit, do some things quicker and get pucks through to the net."

Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds "never had any rebound chances, so that means the puck never got there," Berube added.

The coach hinted that the Flyers will make changes in their power-play formation and the way they move the puck, trying to get more space and avoid so many blocks.

"We've got to be able to pump-fake shots and step around them and make sure we hit the net," Simmonds said.

During the regular season, the Flyers were just 25th in the NHL on their home power play, clicking at 15.1 percent. They were tops in the league, at 25.2 percent, while on the road.

Big 7 silenced

The Flyers had seven players score at least 20 goals this season, but they have combined for just one goal, excluding an empty-netter, in the first three games of the series.

Jake Voracek has the goal. Simmonds, who has the empty-netter; Claude Giroux; Matt Read; Vinny Lecavalier; Brayden Schenn; and Hartnell are looking for goals.

The Flyers have just five goals, excluding the empty-netter, in three games.

"Everybody in general, not just Giroux's line, has to find a way to will pucks into the net," Berube said.

Giroux has two assists and leads the Flyers with a plus-3 rating.

Breakaways

Goalie Steve Mason, who played the final 7 minutes, 15 seconds Tuesday, worked out for about an hour with reserves and call-ups and said he felt as though he was ready to start. . . . The Flyers have faced a 2-0 deficit in each of the last two games. "The start of our games has to be better," Berube said. . . . Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh are the Rangers' shutdown defensive pairing, but Berube praised the team's second 'D' unit - Marc Staal (plus-4) and Anton Stralman (plus-2) - for their work when matched against the Giroux line. . . . New York's Martin St. Louis has a series-high five points. . . . In Game 3, the Flyers attempted 80 shots, the Rangers 49. . . . The Flyers recalled eight players from the Phantoms to practice with them during the playoffs: forwards Brandon Alderson, Nick Cousins, Ben Holmstrom, and Petr Straka; defensemen Mark Alt, Oliver Lauridsen, and Brandon Manning; and goalie Yann Danis.