For the first time in the series, the Philadelphia Flyers are looking to bounce back from a loss. The Pittsburgh Penguins took Game 4 from the Flyers in Philadelphia and extended the series to Game 5 back in Pittsburgh.
That means, for the first time in this series, we can look at some adjustments the Flyers can make to ensure the series does not return to Philadelphia, but they have to be quick fixes.
Sure, I could tell you that the Flyers need to stay out of the penalty box, but at this point, that’s just a known fact, so I won’t waste time explaining why that’s important. The same goes for the Flyers’ power play and even just setting up zone possession.
Instead, the quick fixes the Flyers have to make aren’t about doing something different; rather, it’s about getting back to what made them successful in the first three games of the series.
Here is how the Flyers can bounce back and take the series in Game 5.
Read More: Flyers-Penguins Playoff Game 5: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch
After getting their first win of the series, the Penguins will be coming in with energy, and the Pittsburgh crowd will be rowdy. If the atmosphere was not hostile for Games 1 and 2, it certainly will be for Game 5.
The Flyers cannot trail early in this game. Despite their almost league-best ability to come back after giving up the first score, that should be a non-negotiable on Monday. The biggest key to success for the Flyers is to go up early and try not to look back.
Not to mention, trailing early will be different for the Penguins this time around. Unlike Games 1 and 2, where the Flyers scored first, this time, Pittsburgh’s season is literally on the line. If the Flyers can take a lead into the second half of the game, the Penguins will start to scramble.
That’s where the Flyers can break them and take advantage of their mistakes, as long as Philadelphia does not break its structure.
Go up early and apply pressure. Make the Penguins take it from the Flyers. You don’t want to be chasing, not in that environment.
Artus Silovs is getting his second crack at the Flyers after winning Game 4 for the Penguins.
If you watched Game 4, or even just watched Silovs at all this season, you’d see he gives up a lot of rebound opportunities. He tends to stop pucks with his pads or blocker. There were a lot of hard rebounds. The Flyers did not capitalize.
I thought that would have been a good adjustment after the first period, but it did not seem like it really caught on. Tyson Foerster had a good chance off a rebound with Silovs well away from the right post, but Foerster went wide.
For Game 5, that should be the message from the start. Get bodies to the net, then shoot the puck. If you have guys around the paint waiting for a second chance instead of it just getting a lucky bounce, it’s much easier to make the play.
Of course, doing so would require sustaining possession and actually having guys get into position. That was a flaw in Game 4 as well. Too many one-and-done rushes or turnovers while trying to set up possession.
Target the blocker or go low when there are bodies in front. Do something to break through.
The Flyers simply got away from the game that made them successful in the first three games. While the Flyers did seem to regain some of that edge in the second half, they still lacked the intensity they showed early.
Maybe the fact that they were no longer underdogs led to a sense of complacency. Though head coach Rick Tocchet got ahead of it and said it wasn’t that after Game 4. Still, there was something missing.
The Flyers have to find their swagger again. They were playing like a team on a mission in the first three games of the series, and seemed to have just taken their foot off the gas in Game 4. If they think the Penguins will let up after winning Game 4, that’s just wrong. They did not bring the series back to Pittsburgh to let it end there.