Unfortunately putting the puck in the net is about as difficult for the Flyers right now as knocking down the milk bottles at the boardwalk. But it’s not for lack of trying. You may have seen the 40 shots on goal on the scoreboard Wednesday, but the underlying numbers show 76 total shot attempts – that’s shots on goal, shot attempts that were blocked (20) and shots that missed the net (16). For context, most NHL games average about 45-55, and Buffalo had 37.
It's reflected in some eye-catching individual numbers. Owen Tippett had 10 shot attempts, Cam Atkinson had nine, and Travis Konecny had eight. Sean Walker also had eight, and blocked four shots at the other end – a solid night’s work.
Atkinson’s goal featured an underrated assist by Travis Sanheim. The defenseman started the rush up ice and fed Atkinson down the wing; after entering the zone, Atkinson dropped it back to Sanheim. Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett were along for the ride – Couturier a few feet to Sanheim’s left, and Tippett crashing the left post. Every eyeball in the building went to one of those two players, or to Sanheim to shoot. But Sanheim got stick-checked by a Buffalo defender, so he ended up instead sliding it right into Atkinson’s path to the right of the goaltender. All Atkinson had to do was let it hit his stick and deflect in.
