WRAPUP: FLYERS WIN WILD ONE VS. CANUCKS VIA SHOOTOUT, 5-4
On his 29th birthday, Flyers captain Claude Giroux gave himself and his team a much-needed present: a bonus point from an action-packed and often sloppy 5-4 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
"That was ugly, wasn't it?" Brayden Schenn rhetorically noted after the game.
Giroux agreed.
"I think our game has been up and down, even tonight, we know we can play better. Obviously we got the two points and the result we wanted, but at the end of the day we look at our game again and it must be better. We know that. Just overall, Defense, Offense… everything. We need to play better as a unit of five,” Giroux said.
The Flyers survived a lot of adversity on Thursday night -- much of their own doing -- in order to get the win. Philly put itself shorthanded repeatedly in the opening period, as Brandon Manning (high-sticking double minor and later a slashing minor) and Michael Del Zotto (high-sticking double-minor and, later, a two-minute high stick) put the team down on a pair of 5-on-3.
Philly got the game to the first intermission tied at 1-1. After the Canucks forged ahead again, the Flyers responded for bang-bang goals to grab a short-lived lead, only for Vancouver to answer almost immediately and the re-take a 4-3 lead.
After a goaltending change, the Flyers forged even again in the opening minute of the third period, heavily pressured Vancouver and held the Canucks without a shot for the final six-plus minutes of the third period. After a scoreless overtime in which both teams had chances to win, the Flyers outscored the Canucks, 3-0, in the shootout.
“Just one of those games where sitting in the penalty box all night, PK did an outstanding job for us, power play came up with some big goals and Neuvy came in and shut the door so probably not the way we wanted to draw it up but at the end of the day we got the two points," Schenn said.
Travis Konecny (power play), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Sean Couturier and Schenn (league-leading 10th power play goal) scored in regulation for the Flyers before Giroux dialed up the game-winner in the skills competition. Markus Granlund tallied twice for the Canucks, who also got goals from Daniel Sedin (5-on-3 power play goal) and Brandon Sutter.
"The two points in the standings is real important. I think for our group, especially over the past couple weeks we have found a way to lose a point or two in games like this. Whereas tonight we found a way to push for a win in the third period, and that is the big positive," Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said.
"We didn’t sneak out the back door in the third period with the two points. I thought we played a real good third period and did an excellent job and we earned the two points in our own building. That is real important.”
Steve Mason had another uneven game in goal. He was only to blame for one goal (Granlund's second tally) but it was an ill-timed and leaky one; something that has happened a little too often this season. Mason stopped 20 of 24 shots before giving way to Michal Neuvirth in the third period.
"I'm not getting the job done. I totally understand where he is coming from and I just have to work at it to get better," Mason said.
The goalie said he particularly looked at the second Granlund goal as a save he had to make, but said he's unhappy with himself for more than an isolated play here and there.
"I am just not happy with where the game is at right now. I have to find ways to work through this and like I said, to get back to where I normally can be. ....It’s not mental, I’ve played a lot of hockey. There hasn’t been a lot of time to have practice and actually work on things. When you are playing a lot of hockey you just kind of keep going and keep going. I think it would be good to get some practice in.”
Informed of Mason's comments, Hakstol said, "I can’t change the schedule. It’s the same for all of us."
The coach then defended the goaltender.
"Mase will be fine," Hakstol said. "He’ll battle through that. It’s the nature of the schedule, everyone’s dealing with it. It’s a little more compact this year, there’s a little bit less good opportunity to practice. You really have to balance things between that valuable practice time vs getting yourself healthy and rested. That’s one side of it. When you do have practice time you have to get as much quantity as you can. Like I said, there isn’t a lot of quantity.
"I think Mase has had a good year up to this point in time. Every player has their ups and downs, as well as our team has had our ups and downs. I think he’s had a good year.”
Despite coming in cold, Neuvirth looked sharp. He stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third period and overtime and then went 3-for-3 in the shootout.
"I’m sure it’s not easy to get your mind straight after sitting for a few periods so came in, did a good job and great in the shootout and big win for us," Schenn said of Neuvirth's victory in relief.
Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller played better than his stats would suggest. He had little chance on any of the four goals he yielded on 35 shots before going 2-for-3 in the shootout.
The Flyers wound up winning the special teams battle on the night, going 2-for-4 on the power play and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill. On the flip side, there was a negative disparity of 15 charged giveaways to Philadelphia to 5 for the Canucks.
The Flyers made a line change from Wednesday's practice units. Nick Cousins was inserted into the lineup and and played left wing on a line with Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek. The trio ended playing a strong game, especially Couturier.
"I thought that Sean had a heck of a night. Both directions, both specialty teams in the face off dot. In every phase of the game he was a real great hockey player for us tonight. He led the way," Hakstol said.
Matt Read, who practiced at left wing on the Couturier line, played right wing with Chris VandeVelde and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Roman Lyubimov and Boyd Gordon were both healthy scratches, along with semi-healthy defenseman Radko Gudas.
An Ivan Provorov giveaway on the game's first shift was erased by a pair of saves by Mason on Troy Stecher and Loui Eriksson. Near the three-minute mark, the Pierre-Edouard Bellemare line and the defense pairing of Michael Del Zotto and Brandon Manning got hemmed in deep in the defensive zone but a blocked shot and an errant shot that rimmed out of the zone averted any potential damage,
Around the 4:30 mark, Couturier side-stepped Nikita Tryamakin and, from the right circle, beat Miller cleanly. The shot, however, drew iron and stayed out.
Mason denied a Vancouver 3-on-2 rush on a delayed penalty. Manning went to the box for a high-sticking double minor at 5:31. During the kill,Read went slowly up the tunnel to the dressing room, and did not return until the second period.
With 50 seconds left on the penalty, Del Zotto clipped Daniel Sedin with a high stick. After a long conference by the officials the penalty was initially called on Chris VandeVelde (at least on the scoreboard) and then corrected. The Canucks went to a 5-on-3.
With 24 seconds of 5-on-3 time left, Mason made a stick save on a Stecher one-timer. With 10 seconds left, however, Daniel Sedin (11th goal) measured and sniped a center slot writer over Mason for a 1-0 lead and 3:20 of carryover 5-on-4 power play time. Stecher and Henrik Sedin got the assists.
The Canucks pressed heavily for a second goal on the power play. After a failed clear attempt by Couturier, Mason made a rather unorthodox looking stick save and then a clean save with no rebound for a stoppage.
The Flyers gained a rush after the penalty expired. Giroux took the puck toward the net and drew a slashing penalty on Tryamakin. The Flyer capitalized with the second unit on the ice.
The goal came on a broken play. An errant Couturier pass by Couturier went airborne off Dale Weise's skate and, after Weise bunted the puck down, bounced directly to Konecny in the slot for a quick finish of his seventh goal. Weise and Couturier got the assists at 14:30.
Said Konecny, "The entry is always important. It was kind of a broken play but Weiser knocked the puck down for me in the slot. When you are in front of a goalie like him you have to shoot it quick. I kind of whiffed on it to be honest and it found a hole. You just have to shoot the puck."
With 2:33 left, after a Vancouver turnover, Chris Tanev broke up what looked to be a sure goal for Cousins. Fed by Konecny in a mini 2-on-1, Cousins put a forehand-to-backhand shift on Miller and had half a net at which to shoot but the puck was poked away, went off Miller's skate and under the goalie's glove.
With 2:15 remaining, VandeVelde was stuffed by Miller on a jam-in attempt near the right post. Shots were 12-8 in the Canucks' favor at a television timeout at the 18:00 mark.
Caught on the wrong side of puck on a scrum along the boards, Manning slashed down on Jayson Megna's stick, receiving a minor at 18:33. Provorov made a nice body-and-stick play early in the kill, leading to a clear. With nine seconds left in the period and 42 seconds in the Manning penalty, Del Zotto took another high-sticking penalty (this one a two-minute penalty).
Vancouver won the ensuing offensive zone draw cleanly but Mason swallowed up a Stecher one-timer. The Flyers won the next draw and cleared the puck to knock the remaining time off the first period clock. The Canucks carried 33 seconds of carryover 5-on-3 time into the second period. The Del Zotto penalty still had 1:51 to run.
Shots in the first period, largely because of all the Vancouver power play time, were 13-8 in the Canucks' favor.
Failing to clear the zone on a first try, Couturier got the puck back and succeeded on a second try. With Manning out of the box, Couturier set up a shorthanded rush but Manning could not finish it.
After the Del Zotto penalty expired, Mason made an initial save on a point shot but the rebound went to Granlund (10th goal) who pounced it in upstairs on the backhand at 3:51. Tanev and Bo Horvat received the assists.
At 5:54, Simmons sped down the left side. He was denied from the circle by Miller. Shots for the period were 6-4 Flyers (17-14 Canucks overall). Cousins was knocked down by Eriksson in the Vancouver zone at 7:16, drawing an interference penalty.
The Flyers tied the game after the penalty expired. Standing alone in the high right slot, Bellemare (second goal) took a cross-ice pass from Read and ripped a puck over Miller at 9:21.
“It was a great forecheck from 'Vandy' [Chris VandeVelde and 'Reader.' Then he passed it to me and I was in the best spot you can ever be and I just fired it. I got lucky. I got all of it. I just wanted to make sure I touched the net and it ended up finding the right spot. It was a nice one.”
Philly struck again quickly, needing just 18 seconds to untie the game.
After a Vancouver turnover on a breakout following a Flyers 3-on-2, Philly had an immediate second 3-on-2 and didn't miss. Voracek fed the puck across to Couturier (eighth goal) for a tap-in and a 3-2 lead at 9:39. Voracek and Cousins got the assists.
The Canucks then responded quickly.
At 10:01, Vancouver won an offensive zone left circle draw. Granlund (11th goal, second of the game) moved in and, with Mason's paddle not down on the ice, stuffed the puck between Mason's pads and the left post for a 3-3 tie. Megna and Sutter got the assists. Shayne Gostisbehere defended poorly on the play, and Granlund had an all-too-easy path to the net but there should not have been anything at which to shoot.
"Mase would be the first to say he needed one more save in the second period," Hakstol said, referring indirectly to this play.
With 8:28 remaining in the second period, Mason stopped a point shot through traffic and covered the rebound with Henrik Sedin lurking nearby. On the next shift, Konecny led a 2-on-1 rush. Electing to shoot from the right circle, his short-side wrister was snared by Miller.
Vancouver took a 4-3 lead at 13:46. A neutral zone turnover by Schenn turned into a 2-on-1 in the Philly zone. Sutter (12th goal) took a pass from Megna and, from inside the left hash marks, wristed a shot over Mason. Stecher and Megna received the assists.
Mason stopped Megna on a partial breakaway to keep the deficit at one. Vancouver pressed hard on the next shift and the Flyers eventually took an icing with 4:43 remaining.
Michael Chaput, off a Vancouver left circle win, hit the crossbar with a shot. At 17:02, Schenn went off for interference on a neutral zone hit on Jack Skille away from the puck. With 36 seconds left on the kill, a promising shorthanded rush was whistled down for Simmonds playing the puck with a high stick. The Flyers killed off the rest.
With four seconds left in the period, Philly got its third power play as Chaput was called for an offensive zone slash. The Flyers took 1:56 of carryover power play time into the third.
Second period shots were 12-11 in the Flyers' favor (24-20 in favor of Vancouver overall). Neuvirth replaced Mason in goal to start the third period.
Miller covered the rebound of a Voracek shot and then stopped Voracek again, but there was no stopping Schenn from his 10th power play goal of the season at the 57-second mark. Simmonds kept the puck alive, Giroux fed out in front and, falling to the ice on his follow-through, Schenn (14th goal overall) ripped a shot from the left slot to tie the game at 4-4.
Neuvirth snapped up a right circle shot by Sutter. A stoppage ensued at 1:49. Neuvirth faced and stopped a tougher chance moments later from the bottom of the right circle. Neuvirth then snapped up a long, unscreened shot from Alexandre Burrows.
Chaput had a wide open chance to put the Canucks ahead on a 2-on-1 down low but chipped the puck just to the left of the long-side post. With 14:17 left, a neutral zone turnover by Provorov created a counterattack for Vancouver. Neuvirth juggled an initial shot but recovered for a stoppage.
Giroux set up a chance for Provorov but the defenseman shot wide of the net with a lot of traffic in front. Neuvrth made a save on a perimeter shot for a stoppage at 8:15. Third period shots to this point were 7-5 Vancouver.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 8:50 as Tryamkin was called for holding Couturier behind the Vancouver net. The Canucks cleared the puck on a scramble after an initial Shayne Gostisbehere shot. The Flyers continued to apply heavy pressure but did not score.
With 6:54 left, Miller made a good glove save on Raffl from the left slot. There was no rebound, and a TV timeout ensued at 13:06. Third period shots were 11-10 Flyers at this point.
After the Flyers won a battle in deep, Provorov pinched in, took a pass and was denied by Miller on a backhander in close. The Canucks then went on their eight power play at 14:01 after Couturier was called for hooking. A hard-working penalty kill kept the Canucks at bay.
Miller fought off traffic with 1:31 left remaining in regulation to come up with a needed stoppage for Vancouver.
Shots in the third period were 14-10 Flyers (34-34 apiece through regulation). The game moved to 3-on-3 overtime.
At 1:06 of OT, Neuvirth absorbed a long-range but open shot for Horvat. On the next shift, Simmonds for froced a turnover and then was denied by Miller. Provorov, fed nicely by Voracek, blasted a wild one-timer from the right circle shot into the glass behind the net.
With 1:52 left, Neuvirth dived across the crease to cover a loose puck as a rebound of a side-angle shot pinballed around momentarily. As time ticked to the final minute, Giroux missed tucking the puck home on a chance off the rush.
Skating a shift with Couturier and Weise in the late seconds, Provorov moved in on the net and chipped the puck over the glass on the backhand. The faceoff came out of the Vancouver zone. Play moved to a shootout.
Shots in OT were four Vancouver and one (plus several missed nets) for the Flyers; 38-35 Vancouver through regulation. The game went to the skills competition.
Cousins shot first. He was stopped on the backhand at the right post. Granlund went in the bottom of the first. His low wrister was padded away by Neuvirth.
Giroux used a quick shot release to beat Miller five-hole. Horvat slowed down and tried to go high blocker side but was stopped by Neuvirth.
With a chance to seal the shootout, Voracek found no hole and wristed one right into Miller. Eriksson was denied by a right pad save by Neuvirth to end the shootout.
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PLAYOFF HEROES HONORED ON HERITAGE NIGHT
A host of Flyers Alumni -- both guys traveling from out-of-town for Alumni Weekend and numerous ones who live in the Delaware Valley -- were on hand at Thursday's game for Playoff Heroes Heritage Night as part of the team's series of celebrations of the team's 50th Anniversary Season.
Among others, the entire LCB line (Reggie Leach, Bill Barber and Bob Clarke) was at the game. So, too, were the likes of Dave Poulin, Danny Briere, Brian Propp, Brad Marsh, Simon Gagne, Bernie Parent, Keith Primeau and many more. Leach, Gagne, Briere, Poulin and Primeau were all interviewed on-camera by Brian Smith during stoppages in addition to a series of video highlight presentations.
On Friday night, a group of more than 50 Flyers Alumni will host the Golden Anniversary Reception at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia; a sold-out meet-and-greet event for ticket-buying fans and event sponsors. On Saturday, the Flyers Alumni Team will play the Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni in the 50th Anniversary Game at the Wells Fargo Center. A very limited number of tickets are still available, mostly single seats. The game will be televised on TCN, with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The proceeds from Alumni Weekend will go toward making good on the Alumni's $2 million pledge to Snider Hockey's rink-building project in the Delaware Valley.
For a full rundown of Alumni Weekend,
click here. For a background history, highlights and by-the-numbers rundown of the development of the Flyers vs. Penguins rivalry over a half century,
click here.
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AHL ALL-STAR GAME
The 2016-17 American Hockey League All-Star festivities are coming to the PPL Center in Allentown from January 28-30. The arena, of course, is the home of the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, there will be a "Phan Fest" (11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.). The event features carnival games, live music, prizes and giveaways.
Sunday, Jan. 29, is AHL Skills Competition night. Modeled on the NHL staple, the events will feature All-Star Game honorees competing in a puck control relay, fastest skater competition, rapid-fire shooting event, hardest shot competition, accuracy shooting, a pass-and-score drill and a final breakaway relay.
Monday, Jan. 30 is the All-Star Game itself. Three Phantoms players -- forwards Taylor Leier and Jordan Weal as well as veteran defenseman T.J. Brennan -- have been chosen for this year's game. As with the NHL All-Star Game, the AHL version will feature a 3-on-3 mini-tournament between All-Star squads representing each league division.
The PPL Center, an almost NHL-caliber arena now its third season, is a big reason why Allentown was chosen to host the event.
"We are proud our facility represents the new state-of-the-art for the AHL, and the revitalization of Allentown," said Phantoms owner Rob Brooks, who was on hand at Thursday's Flyers game.
The honorary captains for the All-Star Game will be Danny Briere and Terry Murray.
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