In last night’s 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in London, Ontario, the Flyers chased the puck and achieved very little offensively. This, matched with Tuesday’s lifeless 3-1 loss to Detroit, has some of the Flyers’ brass unnerved.
“I think (Toronto) outworked us to be quite honest with you and that’s somewhat disturbing from a Flyers’ standpoint,” Flyers’ General Manager Paul Holmgren told the Fan 590 in Toronto. “Obviously (Toronto) has a lot of guys fighting for a spot and they had a lot of fight and spirit last night.”
The Flyers have been outscored a combined 7-1 in the preseason, with their only goal coming off a soft wrist shot by James van Riemsdyk that shouldn’t have beat Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. The Red Wings powered back scoring three unanswered goals, dominating Philly in its defensive zone. The Flyers have also tallied 11 minors in two games, three of which were double minors.
However, strangely enough coach John Stevens witnessed some improvement from the Detroit game.
“I actually thought the effort was a lot better tonight,” said Stevens. “Overall, I thought the guys worked a lot harder tonight.”
If Holmgren sounded disturbed about his team on public radio, he surely didn’t hold back in the locker room. The Flyers will head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs again on Saturday. But this time, look for a different effort.
Phila.Bright 