Sean Couturier is a warrior and other things we learned from Penguins vs. Flyers
The series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers has ended, and there were lots of things we learned about these teams in this series.
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs after losing to them in 2012 in that crazy six-game series that a little bit of everything.
This series didn’t come close to that as there were no brawls or fights and not nearly as many high-scoring games. Overall, Pittsburgh won its ninth consecutive playoff series as it looks to take its third Stanley Cup in a row. Here’s a look at three things we learned from Penguins vs. Flyers.
1. Philadelphia still needs better goaltending
It seems like this has been a topic ever since Ron Hextall stopped being the starting goaltender for Philadelphia. The Flyers got terrible goaltending again this series, as none of their three goaltenders had a save percentage above .900, let alone .860:
https://twitter.com/twolinepass/status/988177759695405057
That’s just not going to cut in any playoff series.
Brian Elliott started the first four games of the series until Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol decided to start Michal Neuvirth in Game 5, who was just coming off an injury. It worked for that game, but he just wasn’t sharp in Game 6.
Goaltending prospect Carter Hart is still a few years away from being on the roster, so they’ll have to go out again this offseason and again try to fix their goaltending issues.
To win in the playoffs, a team needs at least average goaltending, and Philadelphia couldn’t even get that in this series.
2. The Sidney Crosby show
It wouldn’t be Penguins-Flyers without Penguins captain Sidney Crosby just feasting on the Flyers. He’s done it his entire career, whether it’s the regular season or in their previous three playoff matchups.
He had six goals and 13 points this series and is now the leading scorer in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He also is now the Penguins’ all-time leader in playoff points as he broke Mario Lemieux’s record of 172 this series.
He also has this going for him:
Crosby’s six goals from the first round is the same as the six goals he scored the entire 2016 Stanley Cup run when he won the Conn Smythe trophy. He was the best player for Pittsburgh in this series as he created scoring chances nearly every time he stepped onto the ice. From his natural hat-trick in game one to scoring in Game 6, he was an absolute force. It didn’t even matter who Dave Hakstol matched up against Crosby, either.
It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep up this outstanding pace in the second round.
3. Sean Couturier is a warrior
It was looking like after this series that Philadelphia’s best player was going to be Nolan Patrick, but things changed drastically after Game 5.
Sean Couturier scored the game-winning goal with just over a minute left then had himself a hat-trick in Game 6 to go with two assists. He had a point on every goal Philadelphia scored on Sunday. Overall, he finished the series with five goals and nine points.
After the series, it was announced that Couturier did all of that with a torn MCL. He suffered the injury in practice before Game 4 in a collision with Radko Gudas, and ended up missing the game. Couturier had the best season of his career as he’s a finalist for the Selke Trophy and had 31 goals and 76 points during the regular season. His points were third on the team behind Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.
If it weren’t for some costly turnovers and poor goaltending in Game 6, Sean Couturier would’ve been the big reason as to why this series would have a Game 7. Couturier is only going to continue to get better, as he’s just 25 and will definitely be a force again for Philadelphia next season and many more after.
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