FLYERS MAKE JUST ENOUGH MISTAKES TO LOSE TO ANAHEIM
The Philadelphia Flyers came to Anaheim knowing that they had scant margin for error against the team with the best overall record and top home record in the National Hockey League. The good news is that Philly played a generally solid game and stayed out of the penalty box. They stayed competitive throughout the night.
The bad news is they still gave up five goals and lost the game, 5-3.
Vincent Lecavalier (power play goal), Matt Read and Michael Raffl scored for the Flyers in a losing cause. Steve Mason stopped 23 of 27 shots. For Anaheim, Ryan Getzlaf had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, while Corey Perry, ex-Flyers' prospect Patrick Maroon, Daniel Winnik (shorthanded) and Saku Koivu (empty net) also scored. Frederik Andersen stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn the win in goal.
Five pivotal plays -- including two mistakes that ended up in the Flyers' net and two glorious scoring chances in the Anaheim end that were not finished off -- ended up swinging the outcome of what was overall a pretty evenly played game.
1) With the score tied 1-1 in the opening period and the Flyers on their third power play of the period, earlier goal scorer Lecavalier had the go-ahead goal on his stick at point blank range. Andersen stuck out his glove and came up with a spectacular save.
2) The Flyers outshot Anaheim in the first period by a 10-5 margin. However, two of Anaheim's shots were nasty deflections that ended up in the net. Midway through the period, Maroon tipped in a fluttering shot by Francois Beauchemin. After Lecavalier tied the game on Philly's second power play and narrowly missed putting the Flyers ahead on their third, it seemed that Philly would at least still go to the first intermission tied.
It wasn't to be. With 36 seconds remaining in the first period, leading Anaheim scorer Getzlaf stepped out from behind the net and deflected a Hampus Lindholm shot past Mason to put Anaheim ahead, 2-1.
That goal stung Philly. They had the better of play for much of the period and a three-to-zero edge in power play opportunities and yet went to the locker room trailing against a club that tends to get better and better as the game progresses. It was a bad omen.
3) In the second period, Anaheim did step up its game and the Flyers had to work hard to stay within a goal in what was a fast-paced and chippy period. The Ducks showed what makes them so lethal -- their ability to win with grit or finesse as needed. At the 10:29 mark of the frame, Anaheim extended its lead to 3-1.
The Flyers had a foray deep into Anaheim territory, with both Sean Couturier and Matt Read attacking down low. The situation called for the third member of the line, Steve Downie, to stay up high as a defensive support valve. Instead, Downie skated in deep and the Ducks' deadly top line ended up with an odd-man rush with all three Philadelphia forwards on the wrong side of the puck with little chance to get back.
Showing the form that makes him one of the NHL's best playmakers, Getzlaf threaded the needle for linemate Perry. The former Hart Trophy winner made no mistake from prime shooting range, pumping home his 29th goal of the season.
It would be unfair to blame Mason or the Flyers defensemen -- the duo of Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen was the pairing out for the Getzlaf and Perry goals -- on this sequence. First of all, Getzlaf made a superstar play to set up Perry. Secondly, the "big mistake" that set up the sequence was Downie getting himself caught with two linemates already out of the play once defenseman Cam Fowler got possession.
4) In the latter portion of the second period, Claude Giroux weaved a little playmaking magic of his own, and Anaheim had no coverage of Scott Hartnell in the left slot. Andersen stopped Hartnell's shot from prime shooting range. Anaheim maintained its 3-1 lead.
5) In the third period, the Flyers got back within a goal on a Matt Read deflection of a side-angle shot by Mark Streit. With 8:34 left in the game, Philly got a power play (its fourth to one for Anaheim) when Lindholm inadvertently high-sticked Giroux. If Philly could manage its second power play of the game, the game would be tied.
Instead, the Flyers put the final nail in their own coffin by yielding their ninth opposition shorthanded goal of the season (tied with Edmonton for the most in the NHL). Timonen attempted a pass with countryman Koivu challenging the passing line. The longtime former Montreal star poked the poke toward the wall and then quickly retrieved it to break out on a 2-on-1 rush (with Timonen retreating as the lone defender) joined by Winnik.
As Koivu carried the puck into the Philly end, Timonen tried to make a do-or-die play to prevent the pass from going across the ice. He failed, and once the puck got to Winnik, there was half of the net at which to shoot. Winnik did not miss, scoring just his second goal of the season.
The Flyers pulled Mason with two-plus minutes remaining and spent most of the remainder of the game either pressing for scoring chances, regrouping after pucks sent to the point bounced out of the zone, skating back to retrieve cleared pucks or racing to the faceoff dot for icings.
Finally, with 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Anaheim got possession on the Philadelphia side of the red line. The rest was a foregone conclusion, as Koivu advanced the puck and guided it into the empty net for a 5-2 lead. Raffl got the window-dressing goal back with a goal in the final 10 seconds.
Taken on the whole, the Flyers played well enough to have beaten many clubs in the NHL. Playing against Anaheim, though, a couple of unfinished scoring chances plus a couple of odd-man rushes allowed almost always equals a loss.
The Flyers' three-game road trip moves to Tinseltown on Saturday. Philly will take on Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and the rest of the Los Angeles Kings in what will a West Coast matinee (4 p.m. EST). The Kings lost to Pittsburgh last night. LA has not played well overall as of late and has been struggling for goals. However, the former Stanley Cup champions will no doubt be a determined bunch when the Flyers come to town.
QUICK HITS
* The ice in Anaheim last night was a disgrace. Both teams battled bouncing pucks all night, which made life especially miserable for defensemen trying to hold pucks at the offensive blue line or trying to make breakout passes.
* Zac Rinaldo returned the Flyers lineup after missing most of the month with a high ankle sprain. A clean hit on Anaheim's Nick Bonino in the first period ended up forcing Bonino out of the game with an upper-body injury.
* Timonen played through the bruised foot that held him out of the final 28 minutes of Tuesday's game. Flyers coaches Craig Berube and John Paddock tried to manage his ice time carefully. Timonen skated just 10:53 at even strength among his blueline-low 15:55 of ice time in the game. Mark Streit picked up extra time, skating 23:51.
* The Adirondack Phantoms will host the Hershey Bears at the Wells Fargo Center in a Saturday afternoon matinee. Game time is 1 p.m.
* Samuel Morin, the Flyers' first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, is facing a suspension in the QMJHL for his actions at the end of a game on Wednesday. Frustrated at the end of a 5-2 loss by his Rimouski Oceanic team, Morin angrily broke his stick and then heaved the remnants into the stands. Fortunately, no one was hurt but a wheelchair-bound spectator was nearly struck. Morin received a game misconduct with time expired. It is unlikely that the player will avoid supplemental discipline.
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