Highlights Beyond Highlights: Dec. 12 vs. Red Wings

Morgan Frost used some hustle and a bit of Detroit misfortune on this play, backchecking to a Red Wings player that lost his footing and executing a stick lift to take possession. Philadelphia headed the other way and proceeded to sustain pressure in the Detroit end for almost a full minute.

Little things that prevent big things – with Detroit breaking out of their zone and potentially having a 3-on-2 if this play continues, Cam York breaks up a pass that’s up off the ice, which shuts down Detroit’s zone entry.

Finally, here’s a nice backcheck by Garnet Hathaway followed by an example of what it means to play fast. Hathaway isn’t even on Detroit’s radar here when the cross-ice pass is made, but suddenly there he is to break it up.

What happens next is an example of some of the things John Tortorella talks about – playing fast and playing forward. Hathaway doesn’t need to gain possession here to be effective – all he has to do is deflect the pass towards Nick Seeler. Notice that as he does this, the other two forwards start up the ice, even doing so a split second before Seeler has the puck. They recognize the opportunity, as does Seeler, who immediately tries to play a pass ahead. This particular one didn’t work out cleanly - the Flyers did gain possession in the neutral zone and eventually gain the Detroit end – but that type of anticipation and decision making is what goes into playing the game faster and creating more opportunities.