The Flyers did enough things right to get two points in a 4-3 shootout win over the Boston Bruins at the Wachovia Center. While it was far from a flawless performance, Philly started well and finished strong.
The positives:
* Supporting cast. All three of the Flyers goals during regulation either came with the third or fourth line on the ice (the Chris Pronger and Darroll Powe goals) or came off the stick of one of the role players (Arron Asham, Powe). As a result, John Stevens was able to roll all his lines.
* Third defense pairing. Both Danny Syvret and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen turned in solid nights, and Tollefsen really made the most of his 11:58 of ice time. Tolly's two assists marked the first multi-point game of his NHL career. More importantly, his lopsided third-period fight with Trent Whitfield lit a fire under his team. After getting outplayed early in the third period, the Flyers really elevated their physical game. Friday's
Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com takes a look at the impact the Tollefsen fight had on the game.
* Pronger was a beast again tonight, logging huge ice time, scoring a goal on a one-timer and generally taking care of business.
* Apart from one bad rebound that turned into a goal, Ray Emery was outstanding when tested by the Bruins. He made several outstanding pad saves. On a night where Tuukka Rask was excellent in goal for the Bruins, Boston may well have stolen the game in regulation if Emery hadn't made some clutch stops.
* It was nice to see John Stevens give Claude Giroux a chance in the shootout, rather than going to Simon Gagne. The decision paid off in the game-winning goal. Giroux's skills are amazing.
* When the Bruins took a 2-1 lead, the Flyers answered right back.
* Ian Laperriere had an outstanding game tonight, setting a physical tone and playing-in-your face hockey. His presence is an asset to this team.
* After several ill-advised drop passes and missed shots early in the game, Jeff Carter started to assert himself as the game moved along. He also won 14 of 21 faceoffs.
* Marginal late-game hooking call on Simon Gagne aside, the Flyers did a good job of staying out of the penalty box.
The negatives:
* Boston was playing without two key players and was coming off a game the night before, yet they were the better team early in the third period with the game tied, 3-3. The Tollefsen fight was a catalyst in turning things around, but the Flyers' somewhat sporadic play remains an issue to watch.
* The Flyers were unable to build on their 1-0 and 3-2 leads and gave both leads back within five minutes of earning them.
* Simon Gagne doesn't even look close to scoring a goal right now.
* The Flyers got blanked on the power play and yielded a man-advantage goal to the Bruins. That's not a big concern, given the generally solid nature of the Flyers' special teams and the long layoff the team just completed. The Flyers staged a strong kill late in the game, and Carter nearly won the game with a shorthanded goal. But on the scoresheet at least, the Bruins won the special teams battle tonight.
*****
I am out of town this weekend, so this blog will serve as the game day blog (and message board thread) for the Flyers' tilt on Saturday night against the Panthers. When the clubs met in Sunrise last Friday, Philly got off to a good start but couldn't get any separation on the scoreboard. Florida gradually took over and won the game courtesy of a Radek Dvorak shorthanded goal in the third period.
The Flyers will likely go with the same lineup they used tonight. Coming off a conditioning assignment (and 4-2 victory) for the Phantoms, Brian Boucher will get one of the starts this weekend.
Lines:
Hartnell - Carter - Briere
Gagne - Richards - Asham
JVR - Giroux - Laperriere
Carcillo - Pyorala - Powe
Pronger - Carle
Coburn - Timonen
Tollefsen- Syvret
Emery/Boucher
*****
I will be doing book signings for the Pelle Lindbergh book on Nov. 4 at the Chester County Book Company (starting at 7 PM), on the afternoon of Dec. 12 at the Barnes and Noble in Deptford, NJ and on Dec. 14 at the Barnes and Noble in Plymouth Meeting.
You can order
Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask online at
Barnes & Noble, via
Amazon or through
Middle Atlantic Press.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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