If it were any other competitor who had registered a goal and two assists against the Flyers, it likely wouldn’t have hurt as much.
But in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators, it was Shea Weber. Yes, that Shea Weber, who made the Flyers pay.
On display at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since the Flyers attempted to acquire him, Weber demonstrated exactly why the Predators kept him dressed in yellow and blue.
And Thursday marked the first time the Flyers fell to the Predators at the Wells Fargo Center since 2006.
Of course, it wasn’t just Weber who dictated the game’s outcome. Despite a rather energetic start, the Flyers started to lose their grasp on the game as the first period wore on, and never seemed to regain control -- even after tying it up in the closing seconds of the second period.
The Flyers did their best to fight back, but unlike in recent weeks, simply weren't able to claw their way to two points.
The strong start
As Matt Read said at Wednesday’s practice, the Flyers want to have the lead in games at least some of the time -- they can’t always be the Comeback Kids. Well, they started off strong against the Predators. Taking advantage of the time he was given, Andrej Meszaros took a shot that was batted home by Brayden Schenn just 1:26 after the first puck dropped to give the Flyers an early 1-0 lead. Ten minutes in, they led in shots, 8-4.
Giving too much
Giveaways were a problem, especially early. A Michael Raffl turnover led to the play that resulted in the Predators' first goal (an Eric Nystrom redirect that Steve Mason couldn’t do anything about). Another turnover led to the Flyers’ first penalty of the night, committed by Claude Giroux. That penalty became a five-on-three for the Preds when Kimmo Timonen joined Giroux in the box. (And the Flyers gave up another goal on that one, too). In the first period alone. The Flyers were credited with seven giveaways.
The turning point
As they know they need to, the Flyers hit the ice with energy Thursday night. They scored first and put plenty of early pressure on Predators goalie Carter Hutton. But things changed as the opening stanza went on. That aforementioned five-on-three, which resulted in the Predators’ go-ahead goal, hit the Flyers like a punch to the gut. They backed off and allowed the Predators to catch -- and then surpass -- them in shots.
The save of the year?
The Predators’ net was empty, as Hutton had mismanaged a wrap-around behind it. And Raffl was charging in on the net with the puck in his possession. But somehow … it didn’t go in. Hutton launched himself in front of the net and caught Raffl’s shot just in time.
And the Meszaros factor
Meszaros actually didn’t have a particularly strong night defensively. But he was creating pressure. He scored the goal that tied the game at 2 at the very end of the second period, and put in the bulk of the work that went into Schenn’s first period goal.
Downie’s return
Steve Downie returned to the Flyers’ lineup after spending the past two games as a healthy scratch. He played on the fourth line with Chris VandeVelde and Adam Hall, and finished the game with 10:38 of ice time.
Nashville finally does it
Nashville's win was its first shootout win of the season. The Predators were 0-5 and had scored just once in shootouts this season.
That’s it?
Thursday’s game was just the 17th time -- total -- the Flyers and Predators have met. Coincidentally, 17 is also the number of trades that have occurred between the two teams since the Predators entered the NHL in 1998.