The Philadelphia Flyers are down 3-0 in their playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, drawing lessons from their recent series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who overcame a similar deficit. The Penguins' shift in intensity and desperate play helped them fight back in their series.
Eric Hartline-Imagn ImagesEric Hartline-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Flyers are down 3-0 in their second-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. Itâs a situation they are familiar with, considering they just had their rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the same spot in the last series.
The Flyers dominated Games 1, 2, and 3 against the Penguins. With their backs against the wall, facing elimination, Penguins head coach Dan Muse and company flipped a switch and turned up the intensity. They were playing desperate hockey, and it helped.
Pittsburgh fought its way back into the series, winning Game 4 in Philadelphia, before a gutsy Game 5 win to really put the pressure on the Flyers. Even in Game 6, you can make the argument that the Penguins were the better team, but they just could not outlast the Flyers in overtime.
Now, the Flyers find themselves in that same position. Trailing 3-0 to the Hurricanes in the series, their backs are going to be against the wall in Game 4. Itâs an elimination game â the season is on the line.
The Flyers are no strangers to facing adversity. They had been written off before, and beat the odds this season. âWeâre not going to quit. Everyone thought we were dead at the Olympic Break, and we fought our way into the playoffs,â said center Christian Dvorak.
Game 4 starts desperation time in Philly. Before they take the ice in Game 4, they can learn from the enemy, taking notes from the Penguinsâ late-series surge, but also how they reacted to it.
The Penguins increased their intensity and played desperate hockey, winning crucial games to apply pressure on the Flyers.
The Flyers are currently down 3-0 in their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Flyers can learn to increase their intensity and play with a sense of urgency, similar to how the Penguins responded when facing elimination.
The Penguins lost Games 1, 2, and 3 but won Game 4 and Game 5, demonstrating a strong comeback effort.
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âI think just obviously our desperation levels are going to be there, and we just have to keep playing the same way,â said Flyers captain Sean Couturier. He knows the Flyers have to turn up the desperation, but that canât get them to change their game.
What is that game? Couturier said, âSimple hockey, you know, patient, just capitalize on our chances, execute better, and be more disciplined.â In Game 3 alone, the Flyers gave the Hurricanes 9 power-play opportunities. âWeâve got to do better with that,â said Couturier, who knows the Flyers canât do that in Game 4, or even again.
Flyers forward Trevor Zegras drew from the experience of being up 3-0 against the Penguins. Instead of looking at Pittsburghâs surge, Zegras is drawing from what it was like being up 3-0.
âWhen youâre up 3-0, you feel in a sense that the series should be over, â said Zegras. âGet one tomorrow, theyâll tighten up a little bit. Getting that 4th win is the toughest one. Itâs our job to make it as hard as possible.â
âThey did not give up,â said Flyers goalie Dan Vladar about the Penguinsâ response to being down 3-0. âMaybe you can play a little more freely because you have nothing to lose, but for me, nothing is changing. I have the same mentality, and thatâs stopping the first shot of the game on Saturday.â
When talking about the Penguinsâ response, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said, âThey still had a belief.â He sees that with his team, too. âI look at our team all year, and they have that same foundation. Weâve been dead before, and weâve climbed out of it. We have played a lot of playoff games over the last two or three months.â
The word desperation was used a lot to describe the Penguins late in the series. Tocchet doesnât like that for his team. He prefers to be determined. And he knows his team can be more determined on Saturday night in Game 4.
Read More: Flyers One Game Away From Elimination, Lose 4-1 to Hurricanes on Thurday; Instant Analysis
The post Lessons from the Enemy: How the Flyers Can Learn From the Penguins Series appeared first on Philly Hockey Now.