Despite two late third period goals from Sean Walker and Tyson Foerster, Jack and Luke Hughes pushed the Devils to victory on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia remains winless when surrendering the first goal this season. Let’s dive into the contest:
Garnet Hathaway gets Ejected After Thunderous Hit
At the 3:45 mark of the opening period, Garnet Hathaway blasted Luke Hughes with a huge hit that drew the ire of the Devils on an icing touch-up call. Hathaway was accessed a five minute major for boarding which, from my perspective, felt excessive. The hit, while violent, was not inherently dirty; Hathaway never left his feet or targeted the head here, but instead tried to remove the player from the play.
Besides, there is a significant portion of blame that falls on the officiating, as the whistle to halt play came late. There’s no way Hathaway would’ve been able to hold up after already committing to contact.
Hart’s Numbers Won’t Tell the Story
Carter Hart as had a strong season on the whole to start the year. He surrender four goals and posted in a .886 save percentage, but those numbers won’t tell the story of how good he was in this game. Hart was especially the ultimate equalizer in the second period. He’s been outstanding and appears to be tracking the puck really well right now.
Farabee Benched, Sees :56 Seconds of Ice Time
Generally, I am not typically in favor of sitting players. I think there better forms of communication available that don’t include embarrassing a player by playing him 56 seconds. If Farabee’s play this season can’t buy him an opportunity to correct mid-game or the benefit of the doubt, then it could be a quick way for a staff to lose a locker-room. Playing only 10 forwards last night compounded a tough situation and it made it worse. At it’s best, this felt like a overcorrection on Tortorella’s part.
Accountability is a two-way street and there is always more than one way to teach a player a lesson. Especially during a rebuild, I’d expect more of a ‘give-and-take’ as opposed to the coaching staff simply taking all the time.
Did You Know?
According to NHL Stats, Devils’ Luke Hughes became the seventh rookie defenseman in NHL history with multiple overtime goals with his extra frame tally. He joined former Flyer Shayne Gostisbehere, Moritz Seider, Cam Fowler, P.K. Subban, Jamie McBain and Brent Seabrook.
On Deck
The Flyers will return to action on Saturday when they head up to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.
