

The Stars dynamic top line featuring Seguin and Benn absolutely dominated. As Bill Meltzer hinted at in his game preview, Benn/Seguin/Nichushkin combo has the potential to be one of, if not the best in the league. Every member of that line was +8 in scoring chances at even strength. Yikes. Speed kills in the NHL and Dallas has an abundance of it throughout the lineup. A slow, aging Flyers defense just couldn't hold out for very long against a Top-6 group that is this good. Overall chances were 27 to 15 in favor of Dallas. Things look only marginally better for Flyers at even strength with chances 16 to 11 for the Stars.

Forwards(Even Strength):

1st Line (Hartnell -3, Giroux -4, Voracek -1) F

Most Frequent Opposition: Eakin Line/Seguin Line

2 goals against and they got doubled up in scoring chances. Ouch. They split time against the Stars top-6, but got hammered by the top line for most of their chances against and both goals. Giroux was one of only two Flyers forwards to post negative Corsi numbers. To make matters worse, G's offensive zone turnovers were directly responsible for some of the goals against. Voracek managed to actually post some okay corsi and chance numbers, so I imagine he got some ice time away from the other two. So despite getting the most offensive zone starts of any line on the team, this line barely broke even in shot attempts and got badly outchanced. The recent play of this unit on the road has to be a legitimate concern for Berube.



2 goals against and they got doubled up in scoring chances. Ouch. They split time against the Stars top-6, but got hammered by the top line for most of their chances against and both goals. Giroux was one of only two Flyers forwards to post negative Corsi numbers. To make matters worse, G's offensive zone turnovers were directly responsible for some of the goals against. Voracek managed to actually post some okay corsi and chance numbers, so I imagine he got some ice time away from the other two. So despite getting the most offensive zone starts of any line on the team, this line barely broke even in shot attempts and got badly outchanced. The recent play of this unit on the road has to be a legitimate concern for Berube. 2nd Line (Raffl -2, B. Schenn -4, Simmonds -3) C

Most Frequent Opposition : Eakin Line/Horcoff Line

They got eaten up chance wise but were better at controlling shot attempts than the 1st line. On the positive side they combined with Mezsaros for the only Flyers goal. But that was their only even strength chance of the night. Would have liked to see them take more advantage of some relatively easy minutes compared to the rest of the Flyers forwards.

: They got eaten up chance wise but were better at controlling shot attempts than the 1st line. On the positive side they combined with Mezsaros for the only Flyers goal. But that was their only even strength chance of the night. Would have liked to see them take more advantage of some relatively easy minutes compared to the rest of the Flyers forwards. 3rd Line (Downie -2, Couturier +1, Read 0) C

Most Frequent Opposition: Seguin Line

This was the best Flyers line at controlling shot attempts and chances at even strength. And they spent the vast majority of their 5v5 time against the Star's top line. But they also got burned for 2 goals against. At least one of those goals is directly the fault of either Downie or Couturier losing their coverage in front of the net. (I'm leaning towards it being Coots' error) While defensively they suffered, they generated the most scoring chances for of any forward group. That's impressive considering that Read and Couturier spent almost half of their ice time killing penalties this afternoon. Not their best game overall, but at least they challenged Ellis with something and Sequin's line didn't completely run them over.

This was the best Flyers line at controlling shot attempts and chances at even strength. And they spent the vast majority of their 5v5 time against the Star's top line. But they also got burned for 2 goals against. At least one of those goals is directly the fault of either Downie or Couturier losing their coverage in front of the net. (I'm leaning towards it being Coots' error) While defensively they suffered, they generated the most scoring chances for of any forward group. That's impressive considering that Read and Couturier spent almost half of their ice time killing penalties this afternoon. Not their best game overall, but at least they challenged Ellis with something and Sequin's line didn't completely run them over. 4th Line (Rosehill 0, Hall 0, Rinaldololololol INC) D

Most Frequent Opposition: Seguin Line

What in the world was Rinaldo doing!? I hate to hold the entire line accountable for his stupidity but jesus.....7 minutes of powerplay time against for a split second of dumbassery. Otherwise, these two were okay. Lindy Ruff actually got Seguin's line out against them on occasion and they didn't get rolled. Nothing much else happened in their limited ice time.



D-Pairings(Even Strength):

1st Pair (Coburn -2, Timonen -2) C,

Most Frequent Opposition: Seguin Line

They gave up a goal and Timonen left halfway through the game with an injury, so that's troubling news. While they got outchanced overall, they did have a modest lead in shot attempts. Timonen was noticeable in a bad way a number of times. He was caught flat footed on a few breaks and didn't have the speed to recover. At least one of those times Kimmo was forced to take a penalty to defend the chance.



They gave up a goal and Timonen left halfway through the game with an injury, so that's troubling news. While they got outchanced overall, they did have a modest lead in shot attempts. Timonen was noticeable in a bad way a number of times. He was caught flat footed on a few breaks and didn't have the speed to recover. At least one of those times Kimmo was forced to take a penalty to defend the chance. 2nd Pair (Grossmann -4, Streit -1) C

Most Frequent Opposition: Seguin, Peverley Lines

You can blame Grossmann for the first Seguin goal. He got caught waaaaaaay out of position on an ill advised pinch, which led to the odd man and a ridiculous saucer pass by Jamie Benn. Mason had zero chance. Streit and Grossmann number's are almost polar opposites again. Streit 2nd best on the entire team in CF% and was at least on the ice for some offensive chances. Obviously some line shuffling went on. But overall will call it a wash and give them a C.

You can blame Grossmann for the first Seguin goal. He got caught waaaaaaay out of position on an ill advised pinch, which led to the odd man and a ridiculous saucer pass by Jamie Benn. Mason had zero chance. Streit and Grossmann number's are almost polar opposites again. Streit 2nd best on the entire team in CF% and was at least on the ice for some offensive chances. Obviously some line shuffling went on. But overall will call it a wash and give them a C. 3rd Pair (L. Schenn 0, Meszaros -3) D+

Most Frequent Opposition: Eakin/Peverley Line

2 goals against, both yielded to the Seguin line despite Berube doing his best to shield this pair. L. Schenn had a rough night tipping a puck into his own net on Seguin hat trick goal. On the 4th goal by Nichushkin both L. Schenn and Voracek went to cover the same guy which led to a wide open shot. It wasn't all bad though. This pair did have a hand in generating some Flyers offense, and Mez potted a goal after smartly joining in on the rush. L. Schenn had some surprisingly positive corsi numbers tonight, controlling 62% of shot attempts

Special Teams:

Power Play D, 5 opportunities, 8 shots, 2 chances, 1 goal against. Giving up a goal on the powerplay is never good. And overall the PP was ineffective at generating any type of sustained pressure on Ellis.

5 opportunities, 8 shots, 2 chances, 1 goal against. Giving up a goal on the powerplay is never good. And overall the PP was ineffective at generating any type of sustained pressure on Ellis. Penalty Kill B+, 5 opportunities, 8 shots against, 9 chances against, 0 goals against. I'm going to give the PK a little leeway because they got a ton of work again. Including a 7 minute long power play to start the game. It was inevitable that they we're going to get tired and yield some chances. But give them a ton of credit for not giving up a goal.



Goaltending:

Steve Mason/Ray Emery B, Neither goaltender could be expected to do much against the onslaught of quality chances for the opposition. Give Mason credit for keeping the Flyers in it as long as they were, as he made several amazing saves.

Overall Team Performance: D-

Getting blown out 5-1 never makes for a good scoring chance report. Take solace in the good PK effort and Mason giving a respectable effort despite being chased. Rinaldo deserves to watch a couple of games in the press box for letting his stupid out. And Giroux's line needs to get its shit together fast. Some people might say the 3rd line has lost its shimmer but I think the underlying numbers suggest they deserve a little leeway for this one. Still 2 more games in enemy territory before they can put this road trip to bed.

The Numbers:

Chance by Chance Summary

Team Period Time Note Home Away State Home 1 19:34 Dillon 4 14 30 33 43 91 8 19 28 32 35 93 5v5 Home 1 19:32 Seguin 4 14 30 33 43 91 8 19 28 32 35 93 5v5 Away 1 18:28 Chance: Couturier, Result Shot 12 13 14 30 33 91 5 14 24 35 44 5v4 Home 1 16:17 Cole 10 20 30 33 55 72 8 14 24 35 44 5v4 Home 1 14:14 Whitney 10 20 24 30 55 72 8 12 18 35 41 5v4 Home 1 14:07 Cole 10 20 24 30 55 72 8 12 18 35 41 5v4 Home 1 12:30 Seguin 12 13 14 30 33 91 8 12 14 22 35 5v4 Home 1 11:50 Whitney 12 13 14 30 33 91 10 14 22 35 41 5v4 Away 1 7:53 Set Up Giroux Chance Voracek Result Shot 13 17 20 24 30 55 19 22 28 35 41 93 5v5 Home 1 2:28 Whitney 12 13 14 23 30 55 8 14 22 24 35 5v4 Home 1 1:21 Eakin 4 5 20 21 30 43 10 12 17 32 35 41 5v5 Away 1 1:10 Set Up Simmonds Chance Mezsaros Result Goal 4 5 20 21 30 43 10 12 17 32 35 41 5v5 Away 1 1:00 Set Up Hartnell Chance Voracek Result Shot 10 17 24 30 55 72 14 22 24 32 35 93 5v5 Home 1 0:19 Goligoski 4 14 16 30 33 91 5 9 24 28 35 44 5v5 Home 2 19:23 Seguin Goal 5 14 23 30 43 91 8 9 14 24 32 35 5v5 Away 2 19:08 Set Up Voracek Chance Giroux Result Shot 4 12 13 20 30 33 5 19 28 35 44 93 5v5 Away 2 17:51 Set Up Voracek Chance Rosehill Result Miss 4 10 17 30 33 72 8 18 32 35 37 93 5v5 Away 2 17:05 Set Up Grossman Chance Downie Result Shot 14 24 30 43 55 91 5 8 9 14 24 35 5v5 Away 2 16:15 Set Up Hartnell Chance Giroux Result Miss 5 16 20 21 30 33 19 22 28 35 41 93 5v5 Home 2 13:50 Benn 14 24 30 43 55 91 5 9 14 24 35 44 5v5 Home 2 13:25 Benn 12 13 14 30 33 91 5 8 14 24 35 5v4 Home 2 12:26 Seguin 12 13 14 30 33 91 5 8 14 18 35 5v4 Home 2 11:59 Eakin 5 10 20 30 55 72 12 22 24 35 41 5v4 Home 2 10:41 Roussel 4 16 17 21 30 33 8 9 10 17 32 35 5v5 Away 2 6:18 Chance Read Result Shot 4 14 30 33 43 91 5 9 14 24 35 41 5v5 Home 2 3:13 Benn 4 14 30 33 43 91 5 9 14 24 35 44 5v5 Home 2 2:57 Seguin Goal 5 16 20 21 23 30 8 10 12 17 32 35 5v5 Home 2 2:18 Seguin Goal 4 14 30 33 43 91 19 22 28 35 41 93 5v5 Home 2 1:56 Nichushkin Goal 4 14 30 33 43 91 19 22 28 35 41 93 5v5 Away 3 19:16 Set Up L. Schenn Chance Couturier Result Shot 5 12 13 20 23 30 9 14 22 24 29 32 5v5 Away 3 19:15 Chance Couturier, Result Shot 5 12 13 20 23 30 9 14 22 24 29 32 5v5 Home 3 16:54 Garbutt 4 16 20 21 30 33 19 22 28 29 41 93 5v5 Away 3 11:59 Set Up Simmonds Chance Hartnell Result Shot 4 20 21 30 33 17 19 28 29 32 93 4v5 Away 3 10:45 Set Up Giroux Chance Simmonds Result Shot 4 20 21 30 55 17 19 28 29 32 93 4v5 Home 3 9:41 Goligoski 5 14 23 30 43 91 5 9 14 24 29 41 5v5 Home 3 8:17 Dillon 4 10 17 30 33 72 19 22 28 29 41 93 5v5 Home 3 7:03 Benn 14 23 30 33 43 91 5 8 10 18 29 37 5v5 Home 3 5:12 Peverley 10 17 24 30 55 72 10 12 17 22 29 41 5v5 Home 3 4:35 Eakin Goal 4 20 21 30 33 17 19 28 29 32 93 4v5 Home 3 1:39 Eakin 20 24 30 55 17 19 28 29 32 37 3v5 Away 3 1:18 Set Up Giroux Chance Hartnell Result Shot 20 24 30 55 17 19 28 29 32 37 3v5 Away 3 0:27 Chance Read, Result Shot 5 14 17 23 30 91 22 24 28 29 41 5v4

Away Team Player Summary

# Player EV PP SH 5 COBURN, BRAYDON 15:45 3 5 00:46 0 0 06:06 1 2 8 GROSSMANN, NICKLAS 17:16 2 6 00:19 0 0 05:05 0 7 9 DOWNIE, STEVE 12:43 4 6 03:13 0 0 00:00 0 0 10 SCHENN, BRAYDEN 11:58 1 5 03:07 0 0 00:33 0 1 12 RAFFL, MICHAEL 09:08 1 3 00:00 0 0 03:21 0 4 14 COUTURIER, SEAN 10:55 5 4 02:50 0 0 04:38 1 6 17 SIMMONDS, WAYNE 10:56 1 4 03:54 3 2 00:00 0 0 18 HALL, ADAM 04:58 1 1 00:00 0 0 05:18 0 3 19 HARTNELL, SCOTT 12:33 3 6 04:01 3 2 00:00 0 0 22 SCHENN, LUKE 12:49 5 5 00:07 0 0 04:18 1 4 24 READ, MATT 14:15 5 5 03:30 0 0 05:09 2 4 28 GIROUX, CLAUDE 14:37 3 7 04:24 3 2 03:55 1 0 29 EMERY, RAY 2 5 3 2 1 0 32 STREIT, MARK 16:33 5 6 04:29 3 2 00:32 0 0 35 MASON, STEVE 8 11 0 0 1 9 37 ROSEHILL, JAY 05:02 1 1 01:14 1 1 00:00 0 0 41 MESZAROS, ANDREJ 13:33 4 7 01:39 0 0 02:00 1 4 44 TIMONEN, KIMMO 06:04 1 3 01:06 0 0 04:53 1 1 93 VORACEK, JAKUB 14:57 5 6 02:47 2 1 00:00 0 0

Away Team Period Summary

Period Totals EV PP 5v3 PP SH 5v3 SH 1 4 10 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 2 5 10 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 6 7 2 5 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

Shot Attempts Courtesy of Extra Skater

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