Defensive breakdowns, wayward shooting cost the Flyers again in loss to Canucks

It had been 186 days since the Flyers last skated in a meaningful game at the Wells Fargo Center.

That ice got melted and washed away, and with it the disappointment of coming agonizingly close to a playoff spot.

On Saturday night, like a kid being welcomed home by a parent’s warm embrace after being away at sleepaway camp for the summer, the Flyers fell into the welcoming arms of their fan base during their pregame ceremonies.

But then, like a horror movie watched this time of year, things took a turn — from the fans and on the ice.

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While the rest of the Flyers tried to find their game, Sam Ersson continued to do his best to hold down the fort. He may have just one win under his belt, a 3-2 shootout victory over the Canucks in the season opener, but the netminder has been steady despite the overall numbers of a 2.99 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.

On Saturday, he stopped 29 of 32 shots, including four high-danger shots. The blame for this one loss does not fall at his feet.

“Erss gives us a chance,” forward Scott Laughton said. “Erss played great. He plays great every game, and gives us a chance.”

Laughton was on for the first and third goals, with the final nail in the coffin coming off a face-off loss by him that went right to Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood for a one-timer.

On the opening goal, by a wide-open Nils Höglander at the right post, the blame can be spread around. There was a breakdown in the Flyers’ end. Erik Johnson let Höglander go, granted it was behind the net, but then no one picked him up on the other side and he slammed the puck in. Laughton also lost his man.

“Laughts just gets caught on the wall. Laughts should have been in the middle,” coach John Tortorella said. Laughton agreed.

“They’re a good, skilled team,” Laughton said. “They played fast against us. We just couldn’t catch up and chase the game. And then once the third [period] hits, we’re pretty disconnected as it went on.”

Disconnected is a good word to use. Disjointed has been thrown around a lot lately, too. Both words work for both ends of the ice. But defensively, especially at five-on-five, the Flyers have struggled, allowing 16 goals — tied for the third-highest total in the NHL, according to Natural Stat Trick. By comparison, they’ve scored only six goals at five-on-five.

The second goal given up to Vancouver, scored by Brock Boeser, happened after Owen Tippett checked Boeser along the glass and released him. Boeser went to the net unchecked and scored on a no-look-pass from Tyler Myers.

“It’s coverage,” Tortorella said. “We work on our coverage and show tape practically every day. But you’re going to make mistakes. ... We’re going to keep working on it, try to get better.”

The Flyers had 59 shot attempts, of which 10 were blocked, 26 hit the net, and 23 missed. That’s a lot of pucks not hitting their mark.

Tippett and Couturier missed the net four times each, with one two of Tippett’s going off the pipe. Michkov and Laughton also pinged a shot each, and Konency hit one post and one crossbar.

“I don‘t know. Maybe it is. Maybe it‘s not,” Couturier said about blaming the long road trip for the missed chances. “Just sometimes bad luck, Hockey Gods aren’t on your side at times. Just got to find a way to keep pushing through it, keep getting chances. We had some opportunities. We couldn’t finish but, yeah, I think overall we’ve got to be better.”

Across the Flyers’ five games, they’ve missed the net 76 times, tied for 12th most in the NHL. Tippett has missed 15 chances to find the back of the net, placing him second in the league despite playing fewer games than the guys around him.

But like Couturier, Tortorella wouldn‘t blame the road trip or return flight that didn’t see the team get into Philadelphia until Friday afternoon. For him, missing the net has plagued the team since the start of the season, along with overpassing. The bench boss wants things simplified.

“I think guys' intentions are there, right?” Johnson said. “I know you don‘t want to miss the net, but sometimes you can’t look for the perfect shot, if that makes sense. If you have a lane, you’ve just got to get it to the net sometimes.

“I know you want to pick a corner and bury it, but sometimes getting it on net is half the battle, and you’ll get a rebound or a chance from there. But it seemed like we definitely had our opportunities. ... Unfortunately, it [stunk]. We wanted to score for our fans and give them a good show, but unfortunately, couldn’t find the back of the net.”

The biggest issue for the offense right now, especially at five-on-five, seems to be chemistry.

Tortorella has tinkered with the lineup often, with Saturday night’s forward group being the most interesting and intriguing one to date.

Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Matvei Michkov remained together to start. But that was it.

Laughton, who potted two goals Thursday against the Seattle Kraken, was moved back to center and played between Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny. Jett Luchanko was still with Bobby Brink but now Tyson Foerster was the left wing. And Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway were joined by Couturier, who normally plays center, on the left wing.

“I found out right before the game,” Couturier said. “How different? I mean, I don’t know, a little adjustment. But I’ve played it before, playing with [Claude Giroux] for a couple of years, we would switch and flip-flop here and there.”

Well, the flip-flopping was throughout the game. On the bench, it looked like Tortorella was taking notes, but maybe it was him trying to figure out line combinations that would be sparked. He switched things up among the forwards and defense.

At one point in the second period, Poehling was centering Tippett and Michkov, and Frost was between Laughton and Konecny.

Couturier played almost five minutes with Foerster and Hathaway and, according to Natural Stat Trick, the trio had the best Corsi For Percentage at five-on-five with seven shot attempts for and just one against (87.5%). Poehling, Michkov, and Tippett were second with a 2:1 ratio of shot attempts.

This lineup is primarily the same as last season, outside of Michkov and Luchanko, but the group doesn’t seem to be “connected enough,” as Laughton said.

“Five-on-five, I think we‘re not creating enough off the rush. I know in [the offensive] zone, we’re a lot of one-and-dones,” Couturier added. “So, obviously, we’ve got to kind of try to find some chemistry and some lines that are going and that can take over, [get] time of possession, control more of the play, and make it a little easier on ourselves.”