HERSHEY — You can put Game 1 of the preseason in the books.
The Flyers, fielding a lineup missing most of the regulars, lost 5-2 to a Washington Capitals team stacked with NHLers.
But the score wasn’t the focus for coach Rick Tocchet. He was more concerned that certain concepts, like protecting the middle and the weak side, were not achieved. The bench boss also thought that his group was making tired mistakes as the game wore on. However, a couple of guys did catch his eye.
Here are four takeaways from the Flyers’ preseason lid-lifter .
Barkey’s injury
The Flyers did not come away unscathed.
Denver Barkey left the game roughly 15 seconds into the second period and did not return due to a lower-body injury.
Barkey, who was centering the top line between Zach Aston-Reese and Porter Martone, looked like he tried to generate speed after swinging low in the Flyers’ zone but pulled up once he hit the neutral zone. He went to the bench and later went down the tunnel.
The injury appeared to happen in the first period. With 4 minutes, 38 seconds left, Barkey won a defensive zone face-off and got the puck back on a pass by defenseman Helge Grans off the glass. The 5-foot-10, 171-pound forward, carried the puck up the ice, heading down the right side into the Capitals zone where Washington defenseman Martin Fehérváry, who is 6-2, 215 pounds, crushed him into the boards.
Barkey got up and seemed unfazed, but as he tried to take a few steps, it was apparent he was having issues. He quickly went to the bench but returned later in the period. With around 70 seconds left in the first, he got on the ice but was off 20 seconds later, as it was clear he pulled up by the bench.
Tocchet did not have an update after the game.
Woll was solid
Acquired in a trade alongside defenseman Simon Benoit in June, goaltender Joseph Woll comes to the Flyers with a career 2.94 goals-against average, .906 save percentage, and 63 wins in 117 games, all with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The expectation is he will be an upgrade as the backup to goalie Dan Vladař, and if his play on Monday is any indication, that should be the case.
Woll played the first two periods and allowed three goals on 19 shots — the first goal popped off his glove and rolled down his back before Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas scored on a two-man advantage; the second goal looked like Woll was screened; and the third came on a bad line change — but his saves, reads, and timing stood out.
Less than 30 seconds into the game, Woll stopped Washington’s Ethen Frank, who got past Benoit, with a stretching right-toe save on Ryan Leonard as he crashed down the left side.
Later in the period, during a five-on-three, Woll stoned Protas off a cross-crease pass at the backdoor, before robbing Leonard point-blank in the slot. In the second period, he stopped Theodor Niederbach on a short-handed breakaway.
“I think my skating, my athletic ability is definitely something I’m trying to prioritize and really use when I’m able to. I’ve talked about it, after the summer [it] is really my goal to balance the two between the technical part of the game and the athletic kind of instinctual part,” he said.
“So felt like I had a couple nice saves showing that part and a few things I can work on as well. So I think that’s the goal, when you come out of a game, is feel good, feel like you’ve made some good saves, [and] at the same time, feel like you have stuff to take you forward.”
Defense competition
Several blueliners who are in contention for the sixth and seventh spots with the Flyers were in the lineup in Hershey. Benoit, the veteran of the group, was paired with David Jiříček, Oliver Bonk with Hunter McDonald, and Ty Murchison with Grans. While Bonk had an assist and McDonald and Murchison brought the physicality — on one play, McDonald drilled Leonard cleanly and then was nailed in the face by Andrew Cristall, who was given a five-minute major — none of the defensemen separated themselves.
“There’s some good stuff, and there’s some stuff they’ve got to clean up,” Tocchet said. “Just things under pressure. Don’t get yourself boxed in. Sometimes Washington, they have three or four guys back; I think the D got to skate with it. A lot of times we were passing it instead of skating with it. Those are things that, as camp goes on, you’ll start to get used to.”
The expectation is that the veteran Benoit and Jiříček, who is no longer waiver-exempt, will make the Flyers roster out of camp. Jiříček had an up-and-down game as he was on the ice for two goals against, but showed what he can bring on the Flyers’ power play.
During the Flyers’ five-minute man advantage — they did not score across the power play — Jiříček fired off a low screaming one-timer on goal that handcuffed goalie Clay Stevenson, who came in halfway through the game. Seconds later, he turned it over at the blue line, allowing that Niederbach breakaway chance.
“A couple times there, I think he was overpassing, but yeah, like when he’s in the middle of the ice, unless somebody’s wide-open in front, I want him to fire it, and that’s the sort of stuff we want for him,” Tocchet said of the young Czech defenseman.
Did any forwards stand out?
Up front, the Flyers fielded some youth mixed with veteran players hoping to crack the roster.
Jack Studnicka, who played under Tocchet in Vancouver, had a power-play goal and was active and noticeable all night as he led the Flyers with five shots on goal; Noah Powell threw the body early, knocking down Washington’s Dylan McIlrath, who went back at him later on the shift, leading to Garrett Wilson coming to Powell’s defense and dropping the gloves. Jett Luchanko was flying as usual, especially in the neutral zone, and got a chance to slot in between Alex Bump and Martone when Barkey went down.
But the biggest standout was Cole Knuble. In his first NHL preseason game — he turned pro in March after finishing his junior year at Notre Dame — the son of former Flyers forward Mike Knuble showcased his high motor all night.
“I was a little nervous before puck drop for sure, to be honest,” Knuble said. “But just [thought] about like three things: work or compete, make plays, and skate. So I feel like if my legs are moving, I’m at my best and just try to keep my feet moving and have some energy out there.”
The younger Knuble consistently pressured the Capitals’ defense, sometimes creating turnovers. It’s something he worked on at college “because I know at the pro game, you’ve got to be able to do that if you want to play, and you can make a big impact and get in the lineup because of that. So that’s a focus every game for sure.”
Knuble tied the game at 2-2 in the second when he redirected a point shot by Bonk originally deflected by Ilya Protas’ stick. But his work at the start of the play showed what the 5-10 forward can bring to a lineup. Knuble picked up the puck in the neutral zone, carried it into the offensive end, and although he lost control, he stayed with it, outmuscling Protas for the puck.
The Michigan native passed the puck up to McDonald, and as the defenseman went D-to-D, he crashed the net for the goal. Knuble also had an assist on Studnicka’s power-play goal.
“Well, I kind of liked him last year. I was new here, like everybody else, I didn’t know a lot of these people, and [he] kind of caught my eye,” Tocchet said. “Just his hockey IQ, the way he can skate.”
Breakaways
As planned, goalie Carson Bjarnason entered the game to start the third period and made six saves on eight shots.
Up next
The Flyers get right back to action with a preseason game in Boston on Tuesday against the Bruins (7 p.m., NBCSP).
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