Latest / Hattrick's Unofficial Flyers Podcast / Episode 10: Flyers vs Blue Jackets - March 24th, 2026
Transcript
- Rick Mullen: Hey everybody, welcome to Hatrix on official Flyers podcast. I'm Rick Mullen. I will be your host today for the show. And we went down to the game last night, me and my son, to watch the Flyers play the Columbus Blue Jackets. And I thought that it was gonna be a really good game. The Flyers lost to Columbus, I believe in overtime last game. They played them, I think they were winning like two nothing. And Columbus came back tied and then won in overtime. So I really thought after taking that loss last time we saw them that this game last night was going to be a real banger. It was going to be a heck of a game. Fliers were going to have something to prove and come out and really bring it to them. And in all honesty, they did. They played really, really well that first period. They went out, they went after them, they were hitting, they were shooting. They outplayed Columbus that first period. Sean Keturye, he looked really well. He went out and he smoked the Marchment on the boards and I think it's Marchment, right? Smoked Marchment on the boards, knocked him to his knees. I didn't think the guy was going to recover. He looked a little dizzy to me. Skates to the front of the net. Somebody puts the puck on net. The rebound falls in the back in the open crease and Kutz stuffs it. And it was good to see Kutz like drive that net and knock that rebound in. you know, right after that play, you know, Marchment went back down the tunnel and he left the bench and I thought good, you know, he's, he's out of this game, but he came back, unfortunately. ⁓ but it was a good first period. It was one-notten flyers going into the second and they were playing hard. They were looking good and a totally different game. When the second period started, you know, flyers looked, discombobulated. They didn't know how to pass to each other. You know, they were trying to do stick to stick passes and missing, they just couldn't find anything tape to tape ⁓ and, ⁓ Columbus did, Columbus bought it and the Flyers struggled and the Flyers started chasing again. Again, I don't know if that's a system issue, if Toc told them to sit back and play defense, but their entire system changed and we paid the price, the Flyers paid the price. They went down two to one ⁓ in the second. So ⁓ total stats for the game, Columbus had 19 shots, the Phillies 26. I think a lot of those shots came at the end of the game when the Flyers pulled the goalie, pulled Vlad with like three ⁓ minutes left in the game. The Flyers were down with three to one, I believe. you know, they did come back and score. Jamie came back and scored and there was about a minute left and, the Flyers couldn't put another one home to tie. ⁓ So ended up losing three to two. ⁓ Hits were 25 Columbus Blue Jackets, ⁓ the ⁓ Philadelphia Penalties were 11 minutes to Philly, nine minutes to Columbus. Faceoff percentage went 52 % to Flyers versus 48 % to Columbus. More things happened in Bizarro's world here for me and Taked is still making decisions that I don't like. I guess I'm never going to get on the same page with this guy because he... He baffles me again, like, you know, you go out and play what's three games out in the West Coast. You're short players. Andre steps up into this and he plays big role minutes. He's playing defense and he's playing winger. You know, he was asked a lot to play, play and fill some holes and he did and he did real well and he stepped up and did exactly what was asked of him. Fires come out winners in all three games. ⁓ And then lo and behold, come home and Andre sits, Grebenkin's out. They don't play Grebenkin. They put Juleson in who's like a turnover machine and we lose. We lose three to three to two. Terrible decisions again. Andre should be playing well before Juleson, well before Juleson. I don't get it. I don't know what he sees. know, Juleson must have some dirt on Toc, you know, from Vancouver. And that's the only reason he's on this team or Toc is just completely blindsided and doesn't see anything. He's got visors on. He doesn't see it. He just doesn't see it. And it has to be it. He doesn't see it. He likes Juleson because he's a hard hitter and he doesn't see the mistakes the guy makes. He doesn't see how much better the team moves the puck when Andre's in the lineup. ⁓ Anyhow, it doesn't make any sense. You know, I pick and talk a lot about, you know, in game changes and not being able to coach on the fly. And this time around, he did talk. He actually did. He changed the lines up. He tried to move a winger here, move a winger there. When we got into the third period, he ended up putting the top line out. I think it was like, what, Z-Risk, Tippett, and Konekni. They were playing together for a bit. So he did try to juggle lines. He tried to make something happen. But the Flyers couldn't. And again, it's Maybe these things were more glaring and in your face because the talent on this team isn't talent enough. You they're just not enough to score. And it's rare when they score. It just is, you know, it's just rare. Seeing a big game like this last night, just again, I expected more from them. I saw no heart and soul. I saw nothing after that first period that these guys wanted to win. The hits are disappointing, you know, and I know you know, so it's it's yeah hits dictate play They just do it hits do dictate play and you know in in this scenario to be out hit at home 25 to 13 when you're fighting to get into the playoffs That shows like these guys are scared. They have no heart. They don't want to bang They don't want to do what it takes and with that kind of core that's not good ever gonna win because when you ever get to the playoffs You got to play hard, heavy minutes. If they can't do it now, when a game counts towards getting into the playoffs, you know, they're not going to do it in the playoffs. So there's a lot to be said here that, you know, these guys just need to follow through. They need to hit. Maybe if they hit a little more, you know, things would happen. And a prime example of that is, picking on Couturier all year that he's slow and he can't do this and he's not the player he was and he should be on the fourth line and You know what? Couturier buried Marchman on the boards. He caused a turnover with that hit and it also turned into a goal. Meeley from a big hit, a big clean hit. And that's what the Flyers should have been doing. They should have been burying these guys, slowing them down, making that other team fear getting hit so they throw a quick pass or a bad pass and make a mistake. or they try to skate out of the zone and they can't they get knocked off the puck and we steal it and we create something. I'm just not happy with how they play last night. I'm sure they're not happy either. But you know, that's that's just what they did. So, is there still a way to the playoffs? Yes. You know, I think we had like a 12 maybe 12.7 percent chance or something like that. I saw the other day and I think it's down to like 5.2 percent or 5.7 percent now. we're still chasing some teams. Blue Jackets, we're probably not chasing anymore. You know, the wild card spot right now is Boston Bruins, I believe, and the two wild cards. Boston Bruins in the first one and Ottawa Senators are in the second one. the New York Islanders are right behind them with 85 points. Detroit's right behind them with 84 points and the Flyers are right behind them with 80 points. So, ⁓ we're Detroit what three times towards the end of this year. You know, we could make up some room on them, maybe six points possibly, ⁓ but still have to try to catch Otto or the Bruins and you know, is it possible? Sure. But it's going to be hard and they can't show up like they did last night. If they play any of remaining games like they did last night, ⁓ it's ⁓ It's So anyhow, with that said. It was a tough game. It was a sad game to watch merely because again, they should have came out with much more heart. ⁓ I remember days past when these Flyers were behind and they knew like this was a big game. They might not have won the game, but they had some shots. had a couple goals and they'd have physical play. Like you could tell they were in the game. They were cycling. They were skating. They were hitting. They were trying. This team don't hit. This team don't hit. They don't hit half as near as much as they should. When you don't have skill, you got to slow the other team down. You got to create things off of hits. And again, if they're not willing to hit, that's part of this game. When it's a big game on the line, you got to set the precedence. You got to have the other team nervous. You have to. You know, when we hit that, when Keturye hit that guy in the corner, Marchman in the boards, that created a play. You know, he made a mistake. He got hit and he made a mistake and you know, They should have been doing more of that, but no one did. Like nobody did. I was sitting there at the game watch and thinking, you know, they come in, they for-check and right at the last minute the guy gets rid of the puck, but it's still close enough where we could have banged them. You know what I mean? Set a message and we didn't, we just peel off and skate back chasing the puck. I wish we had some of the heart from the old flyers because I think it's needed here. I think the flyers need to start. being a little more physical with these teams, making these teams earn a win and not just hand it to them. And we did. And what I mean by handing it to them too is we just handed it to them. Like we couldn't play offense. We couldn't get anything offensively going in that second and third period until we pulled our goalie and went 6 on 5. The Flyers were trying to take the tape pass and they couldn't. They would miss. They would mishandle the puck. They wouldn't be able to skate in the zones again. And, we just gave possession time away to Columbus. ⁓ And, you can't control the puck yourself, you're chasing a game, what's the best way to get it back? And it's for checking hit, you know? So if you can't puck possess, you should be hitting. They try to get plays, you know? They try to make your create plays. And if you're just chasing and circling and chasing and circling and not hitting and chasing and circling, Just maritime before they scored and they did. They scored two real quick and then went up with another one, three one at one point. So ⁓ ugly game for the Flyers. It's good to put this one behind us again. And I said this last time we played the Blue Jackets that they're gonna put that one behind them and the next one they're gonna come at them and they didn't come at them. So disappointing for sure. I hate to say it. it's a, it's a loss that we might look back on and say, that's the one that broke the back here. So with that said, that's it real, real quick review of the game. ⁓ Flyers got to get it together here. ⁓ And not sure if they can talk. It needs to ⁓ do with the, who we line, who he puts on the ice. mean, Joel sin over Andre makes no sense at this point. Zero, you know, just zero, you know, the kids should be getting more time. It's the end of the year. We're probably not making the playoffs. Jolson in doesn't help you make the playoffs. Andre in may make you help the playoffs, which he showed he can do. He can bring that puck up the ice. He can be one more guy who can skate the puck into zone possibly or make a good pass or get the speed breakout that Jolson can't do. Grubbanking last night's game was made for Grubbanking. Didn't play him. You know, it should have been a grittier game. Grubbanking is a grittier player. Didn't play him. And bad decisions, think all around for target bad decisions by the players, bad execution by the players and it would turn into a loss. anyhow, let's let's look at the next one that we have coming up here tomorrow night and we'll do another hopefully another show another episode to recap that that game and I will be down at that one as well. So hopefully they play better and go flyers.