Bruins knocked out by Flyers 2-0

The Philadelphia Flyers came to the Garden on Tuesday, allowing 4.44 goals per game in their first nine games and sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 2-6-1 record. Easy pick for the Bruins?

Yes, true. In 2024-2025, listing comes easily to “B” people.

The B team went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a long 5-for-3, and struggled with the puck all night en route to its second loss of the young season, this time a 2-0 loss to visiting Philadelphia.

Tyson Foerster scored in the second quarter and the Flyers had 28 blocked shots to keep it going until Joel Farabee scored on an empty net.

Despite Team B scoring a goal in the third period, Team B managed just three shots on net in the third period, and on the power play, they allowed only two shots to Sam Ersson, who kept a clean sheet after making 24 saves.

Right now, B players don’t play instinctively in the attacking zone.

“If you move the puck fast enough and think about shooting first, the ball won’t end up in the shot path. They have one player less, especially in the 5-on-3 game when they have two players less,” coach Jim Montgomery said, lamenting the power play issues. We don’t create plays, we don’t do enough to create risky scoring opportunities. Whether it’s the desire to go to those areas or it’s not the right game plan, we’re all at fault for not winning today.

The defeat ruined the good performance of Joonas Korpisalo (17 saves).

“He gave us a chance to win,” Montgomery said. “He didn’t get many shots, but there were some quality shots. I remembered three great saves that gave us a chance before it was a 1-0 draw.

As questions mount about this team and their ability to consistently score points, one has to ask if there is a cure. Spark plug veteran Tyler Johnson is still with the team and is expected to sign at some point, but it doesn’t appear to be a one-man solution.

Elias Lindholm, paired with one of the best goal scorers in the world in David Pastrnak, has been pointless for seven games and hasn’t shown he has good chemistry with the superstar. Considering management invested seven years and $54.25 million to keep Pastrnak in charge throughout their prime, this is a problem.

Meanwhile, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Pavel Zacha have only one goal. All these players will have to step forward soon or they will fail this season.

“In every team, star players have to carry the weight and burden of playing in attack. These are power play players and right now the offense is not effective for us,” Montgomery said.

Before the game, it looked like the B team might have a chance to pick up some wins after a thrilling overtime win over Toronto on Saturday. NO.

“Sometimes you are too confident. You have to respect every team, every night,” Marchand said. “We had opportunities today, especially in the first two periods. After the second half it could easily have been a draw. But we let it get away from us a little bit and we have to continue to build on the right things. In the third minute, we got away from the heavy play at the net and they did a really good job of breaking it down. They protected their goal very well, but we had to be better in this area.

The first half of the match was goalless thanks to several excellent saves by both goalkeepers. Junior defenseman Mason Lohrei experienced brutal puck handling issues early in the game, which ultimately resulted in him being benched for several substitutions later in the first minute.

But when he and partner Charlie McAvoy couldn’t clear the puck early, Korpisalo bailed them out. After a poor early Bruin turnover, Bobby Brink had half the net to give up, but Korpisalo, playing his first game since October 16, made a phenomenal save.

The B’s had a great chance to take the lead when Marchand was checked and 23 seconds later, Pastrnak made a hook shot that put the B’s up 5-on-3 at 1:37. But the Bs pulled a bupkus out of it when the Flyers somehow managed to take back their scoring lanes and gain an extended two-man lead. They also needed Korpisalo to make a good save on the Flyers’ first-down pass and get to his left to thwart Garnet Hathaway on a 2-on-1.

The B’s, who had an 11-7 shot advantage, had their best chance when Andrew Peeke took the puck deep and fed Elias Lindholm for what looked like a shot, but Ersson somehow got through to the end and thwarted the centerman. Peeke also hit the post later in the period.

The Flyers used all the offense they needed in 5:32 of the second. Player B lost puck battles on both blue lines, and eventually Emil Andrae fed Tyson Foerster in the top slot, who was able to beat Korpisalo under the pads with a strong wrister for a 1-0 Flyer lead.

The B’s then quickly gave the Flyers a power play, but they were able to finish it off.

Morgan Geekie, who also struggled offensively (only one assist), gave the B’s another chance on the power play when he buried a Flyer in the offensive zone and Morgan Frost responded with a high stick. But the B’s, tentative on the perimeter, didn’t put the puck in the net until Justin Brazeau’s tip was swallowed by Ersson as the PP was winding down.

The Flyers had 17 blocked shots and more pass breakups in the first 20 minutes, frustrating the Bruins. Team B had a 10-6 shot advantage in the second quarter, but scored in the third quarter.

The difficulty of putting pucks in the net became more and more difficult in the third quarter, and the B team, unable to break through the Flyers, got the result it deserved. Now that their record is 4-5-1, it’s back to the drawing board. After ten games, this position is already too familiar for them.

Originally published: October 29, 2024 at 9:44 pm EDT