Bubble Update: Between Games 3 and 4

With the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens facing a three-games-in-four-days gauntlet in their First Round Series -- Game 4 at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Game 5 at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday on the other side of the Flyers' 1-0 win in Game 3 on Sunday night -- there was no on-ice work in the Bubble in Toronto on Monday. However, Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault and centers Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes had Zoom press conferences.

The following themes were prominent topics of discussion:

1. Fixing the Power Outage.

The Flyers are 1-for-14 (1-for-3, 0-for-5, 0-for-6) in this series on the power play -- and 1-for-25 overall in the postseason including the round robin. This has a whole lot to do with why Philadelphia has scored a combined three goals over the three games in the series.

Moreover, while the Flyers were a better club than Montreal on both ends of special teams over the course of the regular season, the Canadiens actually hold the head-to-head meeting edge on special teams over the Flyers both in the regular season and this series to date. The Flyers were 0-for-11 on the power play in the regular season against Montreal (Habs were 2-for-6), and are now a combined 1-for-25 on power plays in games against the Canadiens between the regular season and playoffs.

It's not just the bottom-line stats. The process has also been a concern. Except for isolated pockets of a few power plays, the Flyers have struggled to generate entries (whether controlled entries off the rush or chip-ins and retrievals) and puck movement that generates quality looks at the net.

There have simultaneously been too many forced cross-seam passes and, specific to Game 2, too many unscreened point shots. Traffic improved considerably in Game 3, at least. While the first power play unit, once set up, has generated some opportunities, the second unit has rarely gotten set up. The Flyers have also yielded three prime shorthanded counter opportunities over the three games, although they have not been burned with a shorthanded goal against to this point.

The Flyers have tried to throw some formation tweaks, with players moving to different sides and periodic double-netfront looks with an emphasis on funneling pucks to the net. A couple times, they've gotten Claude Giroux open for one-timers from the left circle: he hit a post in Game 1 and missed the net wildly in Game 3 with the puck rimming out of the zone around the boards. What can the team do to reverse these spells of ineffective play, which can kill momentum or, worse, create momentum for the opposition?

Vigneault: "There's no doubt that. with our power play ,we're going to make some adjustments there. Last night, at the same time, we forced Montreal to take six penalties.I tend to believe in these players that we're going to find a way to make it click,". We do need to execute better."

2. Grease is the word.

After Game 3, Vigneault described the victory as "greasy."

Vigneault: "It was a greasy hockey game. Sometimes you get these where guys are working extremely hard, not giving themselves or the opposition a lot of room. You just got to grease it out. That's what we did."

What that means: On a night where they generated just 20 shots on goal, it took a tight-gap and strong checking, hard-hitting (36-23 edge), frequent shot-blocking (24, including a half-dozen by Matt Niskanen), grind-it-out board work and strong penalty killing night (3-for-3) for the Flyers to make a 1-0 lead hold up for 54-plus minutes.

There were some breakdowns and turnovers along the way, including a pair of uncharacteristic defensive zone turnovers by Scott Laughton in the second period. Late in the third period, the Habs had a developing 2-on-0 as Jesperi Kotkaniemi penetrated through the Flyers defense and took the puck to the net. Luckily for the Flyers, Carter Hart saved the day .

Although Hart wasn't tested much in quantity of shots, he stepped up huge on some prime Montreal scoring chances to record a 23-save shutout.

Defensive coverages were strong for most of the game, and the Flyers particularly did a good job at defending their blueline to break up plays before they could turn dangerous. Travis Sanheim, who struggled with gap management early in his NHL career, kept almost airtight gaps in Game 3 and used both his size and mobility well.

Couturier: "I think we've been sound without the puck for the most part. We need to keep sticking with, being physical. We've done that in two of the games."

In Game 1, the Flyers closed out a one-goal victory in the third period by largely controlling puck possession (62.16% team Corsi across all man power situations). In Game 3, the Flyers were far more often stuck in their own end of the ice in the third period (38.89%).

Time seems to tick down much more slowly on the clock when you're in bend-but-don't-break mode rather than forechecking. However, the bottom lines were similar: only 2 high-danger chances allowed by the Flyers in the third period of Game 1 and a single HDCA in the third period of Game 3. More important, there were no goals against.

Given their druthers, the Flyers certainly would rather have a closeout like Game 1, because plenty of goals are scored in the NHL in non-"high danger" or "expected goal" situations. All it takes is a funky bounce or slight goalie tracking mistake and the one-goal lead evaporates, so it's certainly preferable to minimize the time in which that can happen.

From a strictly defensive play standpoint, though, the Flyers were very solid overall in both their 2-1 and 1-0 wins. Hart took care of the rest.

3. Penalty Kill back on track?

The Flyers went 9-for-10 on the penalty kill during the round robin but were burned three times over the first two games of this series (the Habs were a combined 3-for-7). In Game 3, the Flyers got back to doing what they did well on the PK during the regular season.

Specifically, the Flyers were effective in preventing entries and creating turnovers. They were aggressive in applying strong side pressure and getting sticks and bodies in passing lanes. Defenders paid the price to block shots, and were careful not to screen Hart in case the block attempt failed or caused a re-direct. Finally, the Flyers were efficient on their PK clearing opportunities. Hart, of course, did his part as well.

Moving forward in the series, Game 3's PK is the blueprint the Flyers hope to follow. It's now up to Montreal to adjust.

4. Getting more goal production.

Jakub Voracek's deflection goal was the Flyers only goal in the last two games. The tally came off a set play, and Voracek (for the second time in the series) scored a goal without ever getting his stick on the puck.

It was a welcomed sign for the Flyers to get a goal from the top line. However, the followed players are all still looking for their first goal of the postseason: Couturier (2 assists in round-robin, 0 points in this series), Claude Giroux (two assists in this series, 2 points overall), Kevin Hayes (4 assists in playoffs, 0 points in the series or in his last four games), Travis Konecny (two assists in the playoffs, zero points in this series), James van Riemsdyk (0 points) and Ivan Provorov (2 assists in the postseason; originally credited with Voracek's Game 1 power play goal).

Vigneault: "Offensively it's been real challenging for both teams to generate opportunities, except [for Montreal] in Game 2. It's the playoffs. It's very competitive. It's very physical. There's not a lot of room to make plays. Most of the games are hard-fought and tight. That's what makes the playoffs such a great test. When the opportunities come, you have to take advantage."

Hayes: "I think in the two games we won, we played the right way defensively. We need to do more to get pucks on net. Everyone is trying to score goals. They're just trying to put it on net, You might need a perfect shot to beat [Carey] Price, but we're just trying to get pucks on the net, and create some rebounds, some tips."

In Game 3, Voracek made a power move to the net and narrowly missed tucking home a puck. The Couturier line, after struggling territorially against Phillip Danault's line in the first two games, got the better of it for two-thirds of Game 3. The cycling game, and especially the traffic going to the net, improved from Game 2 to Game 3 despite the Flyers' modest shot totals.

QUICK HITS: August 17 edition

1) Nicolas Aube-Kubel twice paid the price for blocked shots; hobbling off after taking pucks off his skate in Game 3 but there were both timely blocks. Overall, he had the two blocks and one hit in 9:57 of ice time (including 2:48 on the second power play unit) across 16 shifts.

2) On a night where Joel Farabee was a healthy scratch with Michael Raffl returning to the lineup, Vigneault went with the lineup the team featured after the trade deadline until it was interrupted by a couple injuries (James van Riemsdyk and Phil Myers) and then by the NHL's pause for the COVID-19 pandemic. On the blueline, Robert Hägg returned to the lineup, with Shayne Gostisbehere coming out. Dressing for the first time since the team's 3-1 round-robin win over Washington, Hägg was credited with 3 hits and 3 blocked shots in Game 3. He also earned the secondary assist on Voracek's goal.

3) Although van Riemsdyk was chosen for the Game 3 starting lineup over Farabee, his hold on a starting spot still appears tenuous. In Game 3, JVR played a modest 9:36 of ice time across 18 shifts (5:32 at even strength, 4:04 on the power play). He did not have a shot attempt, although he did drive the net at the expiration of a power play and a pass intended for him missed the mark. JVR did make a couple defensive contributions. In one instance he hung back to cover for Hägg, who was up-ice, and helped break up a Montreal foray in the Philadelphia zone. In the third period, he blocked a shot to relieve pressure. Make no mistake, however: JVR is in the lineup to be a goal-scoring threat and he's not getting into open areas nor creating for others (he's actually an underrated passer). He will need to do more if he's to re-solidify his starting job.

4) Aug. 17 Flyers Alumni birthday: Today, one day after Carter Hart supplanted him in the franchise record book as the youngest goaltender to record a playoff shutout (April 19, 1980 at New York Rangers), Pete Peeters celebrates his 63rd birthday.

The two-stint Flyers goaltender Pete Peeters was born August 17, 1957 in Edmonton, Alberta. The Flyers selected the six-foot, 185-pound Medicine Hat Tigers (Western Hockey League) netminder in the eighth round (135th overall) of the 1977 NHL Draft.

Peeters was a two-time All-Star goaltender with the Flyers and a Vezina Trophy winner the season after he was traded to the Boston Bruins, turns 58 today. As a rookie in his first full NHL season of 1979-80, Peeters played in the NHL All-Star Game and, in tandem with veteran Phil Myre, backstopped the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in a season best remembered for the club's record 35-game unbeaten streak.

The Flyers dealt Peeters to the Bruins on June 9, 1982. In return, the Flyers received young defenseman Brad McCrimmon. The move also cleared a path for top goaltending prospect Pelle Lindbergh to be promoted to the NHL on a full-time basis.

Peeters returned to the Flyers for a second stint in 1989, signing as a free agent on June 17. In a series of roster moves that later influenced a change in the NHL waiver rules, the Flyers traded Peeters and forward Keith Acton to the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations before the NHL waiver draft. The Jets protected both players.

After the draft, the Jets returned Peeters and Acton to the Flyers in exchange for a 1991 fifth-round pick (Juha Ylonen) and the cancellation of the future considerations from the original trade. Peeters then spent the 1989-90 and 1990-91 season as a backup goalie for the Flyers.

Overall as a Flyer, Peeters played in 179 games, posting a record of 85-57-20, 3.19 goals against average, .888 save percentage and five shutouts. For his Flyers playoff career, all in his first stint, he played in 20 games, with an 11-8 record, 3.30 GAA, .879 SV% and one shutout (vs. the New York Rangers on April 19,1980).

Following his retirement as a player, Peeters went into coaching. He had a one-year stint as the goaltending coach for the Winnipeg Jets (1994-95) and five seasons with the Edmonton Oilers (2002-03 until 2008-09).

5) Community Caravan: Late on Monday afternoon (4 to 5 p.m. ET), the Flyers Community Caravan will be in Warminster, PA in a socially distanced mobile pep rally over a 3-mile loop of residential streets. The purpose, of course, is to get Flyers fans pumped up with the team two victories away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Flyers Alumni members Brad Marsh and Bob "the Hound" Kelly will be on hand along with in-arena host Andrea Helfrich, the Flyers Ice Team and, of course, Gritty.