I missed the first half of the game because I was at work, but the second half of the game our goaltending was quite bad. Ersson was lucky not to allow 5 goals in regulation alone. He’s been really good for a while now, but despite the other flaws in the Flyers’ game last night they still win if he just makes one key save. Both Karlsson goals, for instance, were one he’s going to want back. Getting deked and beaten pretty badly two games in a row by Phillip Tomasino isn’t a good look either. Was he good in the first period? I’d give Fedotov the next start just to give Sam a break.

As for the hit on Hathaway, my problem with it is that it wasn’t a hockey play at all. At least with, for instance, the Tsyplakov hit against Poehling that concussed him, while it was a hit to the head he was at least trying to separate Poehling from the puck and prevent a scoring chance. This was a hit far away from the play on a defenseless player. I’m generally not a fan of punishing a player after the fact simply because the guy he hit was injured, but those are hockey plays. This was predatory and unnecessary. I’m also disappointed that no one on the Flyers pounded the guy into a fine paste. This is why Nick Deslauriers needs to play 82 games a year! (Just kidding, but he definitely would have at least tried to fight the guy).

Great point Charlie about Michkov not getting more time. Let the kid play. So what if they lose, its a friggin rebuild, right? Let the kid develop his skills, his confidence, and at the same time, stop trying to make the playoffs with an under-talented roster. Get into the top 10 or top 5 of the draft a couple of years in a row, and at the same time let Michkov evolve on his own with tons of playing time and experiences. Torts is a great coach for a superstar experienced talented roster, on all three lines, will probably lead that group to a cup, but is the wrong coach for a rebuild or for developing a young elite talent like MM. Time for Torts to get bumped upstairs and to get real with this rebuild.