Anthony had a previous commitment, so I bravely (stupidly?) volunteered to take on the responsibility of the “Takeaways” column. It feels a bit wrong, kind of like the time I skated backwards down a hill holding a stick on my shoulders behind my head.

I fell flat on my face and chipped my tooth. Here’s hoping I have better luck this time.

Without further ado, let’s get into it:

1) A Third Period Turnover Proves Costly

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It seems fitting to start “Takeaways” with a giveaway. In the third period, the Predators pounced on a Flyers turnover and scored on a quick-strike 2-on-1. The goal was the difference in an evenly-matched contest.

Let’s break down the sequence of events. Wayne Simmonds, playing the puck along the boards, passed to Andrew MacDonald, who cut toward the net from the blue line. After making the pass, Simmonds skated back to cover MacDonald’s position on the blue line.

When A-Mac got the puck, he quickly ran out of real estate as two defensemen pressed in on him. Forced to make a quick play, he faltered. MacDonald lost the puck, and Predators forward Kevin Fiala found it. Fiala skated past a pinching Simmonds and started a counter rush. He hit the stick of Colton Sissons, who joined him on the break out, and Sissons beat Michal Neuvirth.

I hate to pile on MacDonald, who has a legion of critics within the Flyers’ fan base. He takes a lot of heat, some of which is undeserved. It’s not his fault Paul Holmgren offered him a $30 million contract (which has two years remaining on it after this year). And though he regressed in his first full season as a Flyer in 2014-15, he did work his way back from AHL exile to re-emerge as a serviceable NHL defenseman. His teammates voted him alternate captain, which says something about his leadership and dedication to his craft.

That said, it’s fair to demand that a veteran defenseman joining in on offense be more decisive with the puck. MacDonald also compounded his mistake when, while skating back to break up the Predators’ 2-on-1, he pointed his defensive partner Ivan Provorov toward Fiala.

Provorov knows how to play defense. He doesn’t need A-Mac directing traffic. As you can see if you slow down the play, Provorov was already skating toward Fiala, likely anticipating that the trailing MacDonald would take Sissons. MacDonald’s wasted motion may have cost him; he was a split second late in breaking up Fiala’s pass to Sissons.

As Anthony noted in his observations from the Flyers-Panthers game, it’s a fine line between success and failure in the NHL. A play that on one night looks like a calculated risk can, in another set of circumstances, become a foolish gamble. So it goes.

2) The 4th line looks pret-tay, pret-tay, pret-tay good

One of the issues that impeded the Flyers’ progress last season was the team’s lack of scoring depth. The Voracek-Giroux-(fill-in-the-blank) line was the only consistent point producer; if the top line slumped, the entire offense would shut down. Early signs indicate that secondary scoring will not be a pervasive problem this season.

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In particular, the 4th line looks like it can be a reliable contributor. The line features Scott Laughton, a former first round pick who has drifted between the NHL and AHL; Michael Raffl, who was getting minutes with the first line not long ago; and Taylor Leier, a winger who brings an element that has been lacking on the Flyers’ bench in recent years: speed.

All three are talented forwards whose collective commitment to playing a two-way game affords coach Dave Hakstol options when deploying his lines. Their potential was on full display early in the second period. They were matched up against the Predators’ top line, and more than held their own. The majority of the shift was spent in the Predators’ zone, and represented the first sustained pressure of the game for the Orange and Black. In particular, Raffl made a solid backcheck, and then skated up the ice and generated a quality scoring chance.

3) Let’s get physical

Peter Laviolette and the Predators seemed to have learned some lessons from their 6-5 victory over the Flyers on October 10. Nashville played a tight checking game, especially in the first period. They outhit the Flyers 11-4 in the first frame.

The commitment to checking blunted the Flyers’ offensive attack. Every entry into the Predators’ zone seemed to be contested at the blue line. Whereas in previous games the Flyers were able to dictate tempo and thus open up the ice, in this contest the Predators shrunk the rink. Though the Flyers were still able to generate chances, their attack was neutralized in a way that it had not been so far this season.

4) The power play fails to deliver

Despite 5 power play opportunities, the Flyers failed to light the lamp. Though it will be easy to rest this loss on the shoulders of Andrew MacDonald, the game was decided on special teams. Put simply, the Flyers need to be a good power play team. Their late-season struggles with the man advantage last season hampered their offense, which depended heavily on power play success. As the Flyers continue to develop in their even strength play, they will need their special teams units to capitalize when they have multiple opportunities. The top unit, which includes Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, and Shayne Gostisbehere, boasts too much talent to be shut out.

5) The kids are alright

I understand the Flyers’ cautious approach toward the development of their prospects, but there comes a time when such a posture looks more foolish than strategic. Look no further than the handling of Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim, both of whom thankfully made the team out of training camp. It wasn’t a sure bet, not with the ever-patient Ron Hextall making the roster decisions.

Both Hagg and Sanheim acquitted themselves well against a dangerous Predators team. Hagg in particular made a heady defensive play early in the game to break up a developing 2-on-1. For his part, Sanheim earned third star of the game.

Going forward, I don’t see the value in seesawing between Sanheim and Brandon Manning. If Hakstol insists on inserting Manning into the lineup, Manning’s playing time should not come at the expense of the rookie defenseman.

The whole point of subjecting Sanheim and Hagg to an extended stint in Lehigh Valley was to facilitate their acclimation to professional hockey. Hagg spent three full seasons in the AHL, while Sanheim played one full season in Allentown.

After the Flyers concluded their training camp, both were deemed ready for the NHL. Thus far, Hagg has established himself as a solid defenseman. Why Sanheim has not been given an equal opportunity to do the same is hard to understand.

The conventional wisdom espoused by the old guard is that rookies have a difficult time adjusting to the speed of the NHL game. Never mind that this assertion implicitly condemns the quality of the AHL, which is often held up as a necessary stepping stone for prospects; someone needs to explain how a player can get accustomed to the pace of play in the NHL from the press box.

It strikes me that the only way for the Flyers to see what they have in Sanheim is to give him an extended look. While I appreciate cultivating an environment in which a rookie needs to earn his minutes, it seems counterproductive to create the impression that Sanheim will be pulled from the lineup if he makes a mistake.

Frankly, the whole notion of harping on rookie mistakes looks more and more ridiculous every time Radko Gudas takes a dumb penalty, Gostisbehere has a defensive lapse, and MacDonald finds himself out of position.

6) Couturier continues to gel with Giroux and Voracek

Sean Couturier’s career has been declared dead and resurrected more times than I can count.

Instability at the head coaching position has not helped Couturier’s development. The tenure of Craig Berube was an especially challenging period for Coots, whose line was frequently tasked with the most difficult defensive assignments.

Berube expected Couturier to blossom into Patrice Bergeron. It was an unreasonable expectation to place on a center who had exhibited excellent defensive skills, but was still developing his offensive game.

Insert Dave Hakstol, who moved the underachieving Couturier to the third line after the Flyers acquired Valtteri Filppula. With some of his defensive responsibilities lifted, Couturier excelled. When Brayden Schenn was shipped to St. Louis, there was an opening on the top line heading into this season. Hakstol gave Couturier the chance to fill the void. Thus far, he has seized the opportunity.

Although they were kept off the board, the top line continued to create scoring chances. In the third period, Giroux slid a no-look pass right on the tape of Couturier, who nearly beat Rinne for the equalizer.

Through six games, Couturier has 4 goals, 3 helpers, and a +9 rating. Here’s hoping this season Couturier will finally unlock his considerable potential.

7) Ed Snider is immortalized in bronze

Before the game, the Flyers unveiled a bronze statue made in the likeness of Ed Snider. According to the Associated Press, the statue was commemorated “on Thursday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Flyers’ first home game in 1967.” Snider, the team founder, presided over the Flyers until he succumbed to cancer in 2016.

Snider was no ordinary owner, at least not in Philadelphia. When I was growing up, Snider’s franchise stood apart from the hapless 76ers, the notoriously cheap Norman Braman-owned Eagles, and the “small-market” Phillies. Snider distinguished himself from his penny-pinching peers by sparing no expense in the pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Did the team need a boost on the blue line? Go get Paul Coffey. Was Jeremy Roenick available? We’ll take him! Eric Lindros didn’t want to play for the Quebec Nordiques? Here’s a boatload of prospects for the next Wayne Gretzky.

He took chances and mortgaged the future because he wanted to win, and he wanted to win yesterday. It was a great ride, and the strategy worked for a long time, until the salary cap era leveled the playing field and rewarded teams that could develop homegrown talent.

Even then, Snider couldn’t curb his aggressive instincts. When the Flyers lost the Stanley Cup in 2010 and then faltered in 2011 due to instability at the goaltender position, it was no surprise that the organization pursued the highest-profile name on the market. The Ilya Bryzgalov signing had Snider’s fingerprints all over it, and you could tell because no one was fired when the Bryz experiment inevitably failed and the enigmatic Russian goaltender’s contract was bought out.

Snider could be impulsive, particularly when it came to the employment of head coaches. Snider was no George Steinbrenner, but he certainly demanded results.

And so it seemed poetic that Laviolette, who guided the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010 before being unceremoniously fired three games into the 2013-14 campaign, was returning to the city with his defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators in tow on the same day as the unveiling of the Snider statue.

Firing Laviolette was an impulsive decision, and one that I believe Snider regretted. Indeed, it was the last major organizational change the team made before handing over the reins to Hextall and pivoting to a more patient approach that emphasized scouting and prospect development. At the end of Snider’s life, the owner seemed to come to grips with his team avoiding the splashy free agent signing and mega trade in favor of “trusting the process.”

He knew such an organizational philosophy would place his beloved franchise on the right long-term trajectory, even if it meant he would not be around to enjoy the fruits that would grow from the seeds he planted.