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Flyers Skate Past Canes, 6-3 |
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Riding a fast-paced attack and showing no sign of panic even when they trailed 2-0, the Philadelphia Flyers (2-2-1) skated to a 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes (1-2-2) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
The Flyers overcame some breakdowns against the speedy Hurricanes and went on to win what turned into a high-tempo game after a fairly cautious opening period.
Jakub Voracek led the way offensively for the Flyers, scoring a pair of goals and making a perfect cross-ice feed to a pinching Brandon Manning for the games first goal. Voracek attempted 11 shots, putting six on goal.
Rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov played his best game in the NHL to date, and not just because he generated a pair of primary assists on accurate and deflectable points shots that Voracek and the red-hot Matt Read (scoring his fifth goal of the young season, and fifth in the last four games) tipped home. Provorov also played very well without the puck and when making first passes. In the third period, he made a confident and intelligent pinch in the offensive zone. He was also credited with four blocks, a takeaway and two hits.
Shayne Gostisbehere (one goal, two assists) and Wayne Simmonds (power play goal for his fourth tally of the season overall) also scored for the Flyers. Rookie winger Travis Konecny had a nice assist on the first Voracek goal.
"Ghost did some real good things with the puck tonight and I am happy to see that confidence with the puck. There are areas of his game that he will have to continue to work at and improve. He was a good player for us with the puck tonight and that is a positive thing for our team," said Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol.
Flyers goaltender Steve Mason had an ordinary looking stat line (27 saves on 30 shots) but made a host of tough saves at key junctures. He had no chance on any of the three Carolina goals.
“It was pretty solid. When we brought up the goals it was kind of like our own mistakes, and honestly we need to clean that up. But, when it came down to them, they were able to lock it down. It was a pretty good touch there. Especially coming down from a two-nothing deficit to start the game off, too," Mason said.
“Our mistakes that we made in the second period… it cost us. We were able to escape that, which is great to see us able to come back from two goals pretty quickly and kind of get us back in the game there. If they were to get the third goal there and make it three nothing it would be entirely different. The guys pressed right back and it was nice to see them, the forwards and defensemen, get right back in and put the pressure on them.”
At the other end of the ice, Carolina goaltender Eddie Läck looked shaky all game even before the Flyers started breaking through for goals. He finished with 21 saves on 27 shots. A late game five-hole goal by Voracek on a delayed penalty was particularly weak, although it scarcely mattered in the outcome by that point.
Justin Faulk (power play), Jordan Staal and Lee Stempniak scored for the Hurricanes. Sebastian Aho had a pair of assists in a losing cause.
The Flyers went a deceptive 1-for-4 on the power play. They generated strong pressure on all four man advantages, and the Read goal came right after a power play expired. On the PK, the Flyers were solid on a 4-for-5 night. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was especially good on the penalty kill for Philadelphia, blocking several shots, intercepting passing and generating zone clears.
Philly tweaked the defensive pairings in this game. Provorov was separated from Mark Streit and placed with Manning. Hakstol paired veteran offensive defenseman Streit with veteran defensive defenseman Nick Schultz.
No lead has been safe for the Hurricanes in the early going of this season. Twice, the team has coughed up three-goal leads and went on to lose in overtime. On Saturday, the Flyers made short work of their two-goal deficit in the second period.
"Whether or not it is pushing the pace we played pretty well without the puck tonight," Hakstol said.
"If you let that team get up and get going and have time in space you are going to be in trouble. We did a pretty good job overall of having gaps and carrying that into our own zones. We created opportunities but for the most part we did a pretty good job without the puck tonight not letting them get going."
After a scoreless first period in which the teams evenly split 12 shots, the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead on a carryover power play from a late first period Simmonds minor. With multiple layers of screens in front of Mason, Faulk's point shot deflected off Provorov's skate and changed directions on a helpless Mason at the 50-second mark of the second period.
At 3:07, the Flyers had a bad line change that turned into an outnumbered situation in the Philadelphia zone. After a perfect cross-ice feed from Joakim Nordström to Staal in the right slot, the Flyers' only hope was that the shooter would make a mistake or perhaps break his stick. No such luck for Philly.
The Flyers responded fast, scoring the next three goals. At 4:50, a pinching Manning took a perfect cross-ice feed from Voracek. Beat Läck (who slid out of position to make a save) to the left post, Manning shifted to his backhand and stashed the puck in the short side from tight quarters near the post.
The Flyers knotted the game at 7:19 on a beautifully executed sequence. Konecny threaded a perfect pass to an open Provorov at the right point with Voracek moving directly in front of the Carolina goaltender in screening/deflection position. Voracek tipped the accurate blast home past Läck, who had no chance on this one.
Philly then took the lead at 15:51. Right after the expiration of an high-pressure power play, Provorov shot (this time a wrister) where Read, from the middle slot, deflected the puck home to forge a 3-2 edge. Sean Couturier drew the secondary assist.
The Flyers opened a 4-2 lead at 17:17. Gostisbehere received the puck from partner Andrew MacDonald, skated into the right circle and beat Läck to the blocker side. Simmonds received a secondary assist on the goal.
Carolina made the score tight again shortly thereafter on what was perhaps Philadelphia's worst shift of the game. It started with Couturier getting knocked down -- and then held down -- on a lost offensive left zone faceoff. In the neutral zone, Konecny floated instead of backchecking and then inexplicably switched side of the ice where Voracek was already the lone forward in the defensive zone. Meanwhile, Gostisbehere turned a puck over and then made a soft play defensively on Victor Rask. MacDonald then went over to his partner's side of the ice.
With Gostisbehere, MacDonald, Voracek and the late-arriving Konecny all on left side, there was a wide open lane for Stempniak to skate unimpeded to the slot, pick a spot to the blocker side and score an easy goal once he took a pass from Rask at 18:54. Jeff Skinner got the secondary assist.
Shots in the second period were 14-13 in Philadelphia's favor.
In the third period, Mason stepped up big several times to preserve the one-goal lead. At one juncture, he was handcuffed by a long-range flip-in and boxed the puck barely wide of the net but was otherwise in firm control. He tracked pucks well and controlled his rebounds.
At 10:35, Read got a step on young defenseman Noah Hanifin and had clear sailing to the net until he was tripped in desperation by the Carolina defender. The Flyers received a power play, although penalty shots have been awarded on similar plays.
"I didn't know what the call would be but I was tired at that point of my shift, and it worked out [with an ensuing power play goal] for us. Besides, I wasn't going to score on a penalty shot anyway," Read said with a big grin.
Instead, Simmonds did the scoring honors on the power play, claiming and potting a Gostisbehere rebound off an initial feed by captain Claude Giroux at 11:50. At 17:33, Voracek scored on the rush off a delayed penalty, putting a 38-foot straight-on shot through the five-hole. Gostisbehere and Chris VandeVelde collected assists.
Hakstol made some defensive-oriented switched before the Flyers tacked on their insurance. Read and VandeVelde skated wing shifts with the top lines. Konecny (12:15 of ice time over 17 shifts) was skipped with Philly protecting the lead.
Giroux, who took a maintenance day during the morning skate, finished with an assist, three shots on goal (plus one that got blocked and two that missed the net and rimmed out of the offensive zone) and an 11-for-17 night on the draw. Staal was Carolina's best player even apart from his goal, logging 21:46 of ice time, being credited with three hits and dominating the faceoff circle to the tune of going 15-for-19.
For the Flyers, Saturday's game marked the fourth straight game in which the team gave up the game's first goal -- in three games, they spotted the opposition a multi-goal lead -- but battled back to erase the deficit. In both games that the Flyers have led going into the third period, they've won in regulation. They've lost the three games that they were tied within the final stanza.
The Flyers have an 11:30 a.m. practice -- which very well could end up being optional and, in any event, will be a brief one -- planned on Sunday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ before the team departs for a flight to Montreal. The Flyers play the Canadiens on the road on Monday and then return home immediately to host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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