The Philadelphia Flyers had a busy week, with a four-game stretch that had some surprising highlights – and, as usual, some unfortunate lowlights. On Sunday, the Flyers silenced Madison Square Garden in a rare shootout win over the New York Rangers. Then came two consecutive games against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although the Flyers were defeated at home, they did manage to pick up a win in Columbus. But to finish out the week, they fell into losing ways once again as they let an early lead slip away against the Anaheim Ducks. Through these three games, some players facilitated the team’s success. However, others did not perform quite so impressively. Each week, we’ll take a look at Philadelphia Flyers players who have been heating up and cooling off. This week, we’ll examine Travis Sanheim and Carter Hart.
Be sure to check out the last edition of Flyers Weekly Review as well.
Flyers Weekly Review With Travis Sanheim
Heating Up: Travis Sanheim
Travis Sanheim has quietly become not only one of the Flyers’ most dependable defencemen, but also one of their most effective offensively. He looked almost like a forward at times as he jumped up to join the rush and was rewarded with three assists – and a goal – in this week’s four games.
The first assist was the nifty dish on a two-on-one that gave Joel Farabee an open net to chip the puck into. That was the third goal against the Rangers – a goal that would prove essential in taking the game to extra time, as New York would come storming back with three of their own in the third. Sanheim logged his next two helpers against the Blue Jackets, including the primary assist on what would turn out to be the game-winning goal. And his own tally, against the Ducks, was a shot through heavy traffic that began a promising first period for the Flyers (before the lead eventually slipped away).
Sanheim has really taken a step up as an offensive defenceman. It’s odd, then, that he has not been one of the many blueliners tested out on a power-play unit this season. Given his scoring pace recently, maybe a good next step will be to see what he can do for the floundering man advantage.
Honourable Mention: Noah Cates
It was difficult to choose just one honourable mention for this week, as several of the Flyers’ youngsters achieved milestones. For Owen Tippett, it was the first and second goals as a Flyer. For Ronnie Attard – a defenceman – it was the first NHL assist and first NHL goal. And for Noah Cates, it was the first two NHL goals – in two consecutive games.
Ever since his first game with the Flyers, Cates has been doing a lot of good things. He’s aggressive on the forecheck, sticks with the play (particularly when hemmed in along the boards), and has a keen hockey sense. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before he’d be rewarded. Cates finally broke through against the Blue Jackets, snapping a quick wrister past Elvis Merzlikins to open the scoring for the Flyers. In the next game, his shot from the goal line ricocheted off Merzlikins’ back and into the net. Even outside of his scoring, Cates seems to have a well-rounded game. It has helped him adjust well to the professional level. It’s nice to see him and the rest of the youngsters accumulating NHL experience and getting a taste of success.
Cooling Off: Carter Hart
Having come back from a “nagging injury” just last week, Carter Hart looked…rusty. He played only one game (at home against the Blue Jackets), and it was a rough one. He allowed three goals on 29 shots for a .896 save percentage. But it was the way he let in those goals, rather than the actual quantity of scoring, that was worrisome.
In that game, Carter Hart showed shades of his early-season errors. Columbus was able to poke the puck past his skate for the first tally, a play reminiscent of what the Vancouver Canucks did in the first contest of 2021-22. The second goal was another case of the puck just slipping by. This time, Hart’s pad wasn’t quite against the ice, and it slid right under. And the third and final goal came when he failed to corral the rebound with his stick, a move that he can typically perform without a hitch.
Overall, something just looked off about Hart this week. He very rarely lets in three soft goals in a single game. As two went in on the left, perhaps it was something in his left leg that was still bothering him. With not much to play for through the remainder of the season, the Flyers can give Hart some rest. Hopefully, though, Tuesday’s loss was just an uncharacteristic flub, and he’ll bounce back quickly for his next start.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
