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Wrap: Flyers Grab Playoff-Like 4-3 Win vs. Wings: Gameday: 3/16/16 @ CHI |
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WRAPUP: FLYERS EARN PLAYOFF-LIKE 4-3 WIN OVER RED WINGS
Relentless puck pressure in the first period, opportune offense in an evenly played second period and spectacular third-period goaltending keyed the Philadelphia Flyers to a vital 4-3 regulation win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.
Two goals by Michael Raffl (11th and 12th of the season) led the way for the Flyers. Philadelphia also got tallies by Wayne Simmonds (25th) and Shayne Gostisbehere (16th). Mark Streit, Nick Schultz, Claude Giroux, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde each earned an assist apiece.
“I’m feeling pretty good right now, I’m healthy and everything. I really enjoy playing with [Sean Couturier] and [Sam Gagner]. It gives me confidence. Coots is very strong defensively, that helps," Raffl said.
Steve Mason saw only three shots in the first period but had to make 34 saves by the end of the net -- including stopping 20 of 21 shots in an-all assault by the trailing Red Wings in the third period -- to nail down the win. Several stops were of the spectacular variety.
“[The team’s growth is] fun to see, it’s fun to be a part of,” Mason said. “You see the internal growth the guys are having. These are the type of feelings you get around the dressing room that you want to be around, because it’s a lot of fun. Guys are going out there and battling for each other and that’s something you want to be a part of.”
Detroit got a goal and an assist apiece from veteran star Pavel Datsyuk (14th of the season) as well as Tomas Tatar (19th goal). Andreas Athanasiou (sixth of the season) got the Wings on the board early in the second period after the Flyers had their way with Detroit in the first period Riley Sheahan and Mike Green had an assist apiece.
Petr Mrazek yielded four goals on 46 shots. In a losing cause, however, he made several critical saves to keep his team in the game when the Flyers had a chance to put a stranglehold on the game.
The first period, which saw the Flyers rack up a 23-3 shot edge, was about as well as the Flyers can play in a 20-minute space. They forechecked doggedly, broke out of the defensive zone easily, denied carry-ins for the Red Wings, were harder on the puck and won most every 50-50 puck. They easily could have gone to the locker room leading 4-0 or 5-0 rather than with a somewhat uncomfortable feeling two-goal lead where the Wings were just one shot from creating exactly the sort of game that ensued the rest of the way.
Philly did well to respond to two Detroit goals in the middle frame and take a two-goal advantage to the third period. Hakstol denied there was any mental girding to prepare for a heavy Detroit push over the final 20 minutes.
"Go out and play. I don’t know, maybe you [media] guys are thinking about the storm, we’re thinking about going out and doing the job and playing the next shift. You push the envelope. There’s going to be ups and downs through every period. You worry about your next shift and go do the job," Hakstol said.
The Flyers captain and goaltender, however, said they knew the Wings were going to press the attack whenever possible and all hands would be needed on deck to win the game.
"Going into the second intermission there, you kind of mentally prepare yourself because you know they’re gonna be pushing hard and throwing everything they got. Come up with some big saves and feel good about yourself," Mason said.
In the end, the Flyers got the key plays -- a zone clear here, a forced turnover or box out there, and a host of vital saves by Mason -- to skate off with the win despite the late onslaught by th Red Wings.
“We did a good job. We bent but we didn’t break," Simmonds said. Every single player is contributing one way or another. We’re sacrificing our bodies for one another and we’re getting good results for it.”
Throughout the night, Bellemare and linemates Chris VandeVelde and Ryan White were especially good at hounding the puck in every zone.
The Flyers finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play, including an unsuccessful 5-on-3, but had all sorts of scoring chances and got unlucky on a hasty whistle in the first period. Philly stayed out of the penalty box for nearly 50 minutes, got a vital penalty kill, and finished 2-for-2 on a full PK and an abbreviated one.
With the win, the Flyers ran their home record for the season to 19-9-7 and their home winning streak against the Red Wings to 11 straight games. More important, it brought the Flyers to within one point of Detroit in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand. Philly remains four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the higher wildcard spot with one game in hand. Pittsburgh took a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Mrazek made the game's first save; an unscreened right point shot by Radko Gudas at the 1:45 mark. The game's first mini-squirmish started after the whistle but did not escalate and no penalties were called.
Detroit applied some forechecking pressure around the 2:00 mark. Ryan White blocked a shot to snuff out any threat. At 3:07, Gudas drilled a shot from below center point off Mrazek's shoulder and into the safety netting. On the next shift, Sean Couturier worked a little give-and-go with Michael Raffl and provided a partial screen for Raffl's shot. Mrazek stopped it and held on. Shots were 5-0 Flyers through the game's first four minutes.
Mason made his first save at 4:41, fighting off traffic to turn aside an Alexey Marchenko shot.
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 5:41. Raffl beat defender Kyle Quincey on the left side, saw Mrazek commit himself early to the ice, moved to his right and deposited the puck on the backhand. Mark Streit and Nick Schultz assisted on Raffl's 11th goal of the season
Shots became 9-1 in the Flyers' favor at 6:38 as Mrazek made a pair of save on Wayne Simmonds on the same shift. A scrum ensued after the whistle -- again with no penalties -- and a TV timeout followed.
Right after play resumed, the Flyers made it a 2-0 game at 6:55. Giroux won a left circle faceoff against Pavel Datsyuk cleanly to Schenn. Mrazek stopped the initial shot but Simmonds immediately grabbed the loose rebound and potted his 25th goal of the season.
"We set that play up off the face off. G won the draw and Brayden got the shot off and I went to the net. That's what we wanted to do. Usually Brayden will score on those but I got lucky and got the rebound," Simmonds said.
Shot number 11 came at 7:36 as Brandon Manning collected a Red Wings turnover and fired a left point shot on net. Mrazek got that one easily. On the next shift, Mason erased a mistake in front for a tough second save.
Gostisbehere wheeled a puck up ice and drew Mrazek well out of his net. However, there was no one home in front. On an ensuing faceoff, Giroux fired a puck right off the draw. Shots were 16-2 Flyers at 9:30.
Brendan Smith was forced to grab hold of Simmonds and take a penalty after a turnover in front to prevent a 2-on-1 down low. The Flyers got the game's first power play at 10:56. The Flyers applied immediate heavy pressure. With 55 seconds left on the Smith penalty, Marchenko hauled down Schenn in the right circle to create a 5-on-3 for Philly. The Flyers pushed heavily. The referee lost sight of an uncovered puck in the crease a split second before it was knocked in and Detroit survived the two-man disadvantage unscathed. Shots were 22-2 Flyers by this point.
The Red Wings nearly had a 3-on-2 break but took an icing with 3:41 left in the period. On the next shift, Streit forced a faceoff with a left point shot. Shots in the period wound up 23-3 in the Flyers' favor. Schenn (five credited his) and Ryan White (four hits) had as many as all of the Wings combined were credited with in the first period; no small feat considering the Flyers had possession of the puck most of the period. The Red Wings blocked nine Flyers attempts and the Flyers missed the net on six other shot attempts (four times by Simmonds).
"We were just trying to keep it simple. We know they are a dangerous team in transition and offensively. We didn't want to turn pucks over from the top of our circle to the top of their circle. We are fighting for our lives here. This was a pretty exciting game to get up for. It's pretty easy to get up for," Simmonds said.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the only other time in Flyers franchise history that they outshot an opponent by at least 20 shots in the first period came on April 4, 1982 when they held a 22-1 shot edge on the Toronto Maple Leafs after the first period.
The Wings had a territorial edge and the period's first shot on the first two shifts on the second period. Anthony Mantha then had a dangerous rush brewing but broke his stick.
However at 2:14, the Wings cut the gap to 2-1 on their sixth shot of the game. Athanasiou got open as the Wings attacked with speed, took a pass from Riley Sheahan and scored from the left slot. Sheahean and Gustav Nyquist got the helpers on the scorer's sixth tally of the season.
The goal energized the Red Wings, who flurried for the game's next three shots. At 4:22, the Flyers got their third power play chance on a Smith tripping penalty. Simmonds was not able to pot an early Gostisbehere rebound. The Wings got through the kill.
Raffl potted his second goal of the game at 7:01 The Flyers won a battle down low and Raffl followed up his own initially blocked shot to score upstairs on the backhand. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde got the assists as the Flyers made it a 3-1 game.
The Red Wings responded with a good forechecking shift shortly thereafter. Giroux took an icing. Detroit won the draw, recovered the puck after a blocked shot and Mason hung onto a point shot through traffic to get a line change out for Philly.
Gostisbehere showed good poise under some forechecking pressure to work a puck out of the defensive zone At the other end, the Bellemare line generated some forechecking time of their own. Shots for the period were 8-7 in Detroit's favor at a TV timeout at 10:54.
Detroit narrowed the gap to 3-2 at 14:21. Gudas got knocked off the puck behind the net and Datsyuk took a pass-out and scored his 14th goal of the season from the right circle just outside the hash marks.
Mrazek made a spectacular point blank save on Scott Laughton off a horrific Jonathan Ericsson turnover from behind his net right out into the slot with only Laughton there. However, at 18:54, the Flyers got a lucky goal to make it 4-2. Gostisbehere collected yet another Detroit turnover, skated in from the right point and his shot bounced in off DeKeyser's skate for the 16th goal of his rookie season.
"It was actually a really good play by Belly," Gostisbehere said. "I pinched and he had my back. He flipped the puck in and their guy batted it right to me. I just tried to hold it. I saw their guy slide as I was trying to pass it to Whitey back door and it went off their d-man and in. Lucky bounce."
A near breakaway for Nick Cousins created Philly's fourth power play of the game as Danny DeKeyser took a desperation holding penalty. A sloppy turnover by Gostisbehere led to a Detroit shorthanded rush but nothing further ensued. The Flyers took 1:23 of carryover power play time and a two-goal lead into the third period.
Shots in the second period were 14-13 in the Flyers' favor; 37-16 for the game to that point.
VandeVelde had a wide open point blank chance two minutes into the period and found the glass. Mantha hit the post on a breakaway where he beat Mason cleanly to the glove side. With time ticking down under 15 minutes, Detroit pressured hard and Mason made a couple of stops.
Gostisbehere caught an accidental Zetterberg high stick to the face with 14:41 remaining. He fell in a heap and then got up and went off to the bench. He was OK. No penalty was called on the play.
Detroit attacked the net again in close and Mason made a tough stop on Athanasiou for a TV timeout at 6:38. The Bellemare line created some more forechecking havoc and a good scoring chance about a minute later. After another wave of attack by Detroit, the Flyers called timeout. Mason made a save right off the next draw.
Mason swallowed up a Mantha right circle shot for a stoppage with 10:37 left. Shots were 10-6 Detroit at this point. Detroit went right back to the attack and Mason hung in for a pair of saves. Finally, at 9:45, Giroux got a tripping minor and the Red Wings got their first power play of the game.
The Wings won the first faceoff on the power play and Mason absorbed a point shot. Bellemare took a big hit on the boards to sacrifice himself for a zone clear and then Couturier cleared a puck on the other side. Mason then nabbed a one-timer from the right side and covered the rebound in front of him. Bellemare hounded the puck behind the Detroit net as the penalty concluded.
Mason made a spectacular one-on-one blocker save on Zetterberg moments before the Flyers took an icing with 7:11 left. Philly worked the puck to safety. A TV timeout followed with 6:54 left. Shots were 15-6 Detroit at this point.
Bellemare won yet another battle and forced Brad Richards into a hooking penalty with 6:28 left: exactly what the Flyers needed at that point. However, as Schenn drove the net 32 seconds into the power play, he was bumped from behind and crashed heavily into Mrazek. Schenn was penalized for goalie interference at 14:04.
During the 4-on-4, Couturier protected the puck in dangerous neutral zone territory. MacDonald later broke up a would-be 2-on-1 rush.
Philly got through a brief PK but then Detroit scored to get back within 4-3 at 16:14. Mason stopped a Datsyuk shot but Tatar claimed at potted the rebound for his 19th goal of the season. Mike Green got the secondary assist.
With Mrazek off for an extra attacker, Mason made a very difficult save off a deflection aand then Nyquist took a slashing penalty with 56.1 seconds left. For defensive purposes, the Flyers sent out Nick Schultz instead of Gostisbehere on the power play. Time expired.
Shots in the third period were 22-9 Detroit: 46-37 Flyers for the game.
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PREVIEW: FLYERS @ BLACKHAWKS
With a chance to move into Eastern Conference wildcard playoff position with a win, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (33-23-12) are in the Windy City on Wednesday to take on Joel Quenneville's defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks (41-23-6). Game time at the United Center is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the inter-conference teams, and the lone game in Chicago. The Flyers earned a 3-0 shutout win at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 14 -- Kimmo Timonen Night -- behind a 30-save shutout by Michal Neuvirth and goals by Sam Gagner (power play), Claude Giroux and Matt Read. Corey Crawford stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause. The Flyers went 1-for-6 on the power play. The penalty killing was exceptional,going 6-for-6 including a 23-second five-on-three kill.
The Flyers have had considerable home-ice success against the powerhouse Blackhawks, winning 12 in a row against Chicago.
The Flyers own a 12-game regular season home winning streak against Chicago. Including the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, the Flyers have won 14 of their last 15 games at home against the Blackhawks. That's the good news for Philly. The bad news: The Flyers have struggle to win on the road in Chicago, and have lost back-to-back games at the United Center by a combined 11-2 (7-2 and 4-0).
Philly is also playing the second half of a home/road back-to-back set and coming off a grueling and emotional 4-2 win against Detroit on Tuesday. The Hawks have had a day to regroup after being on the business end of a 5-0 home drubbing by the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers are 7-1-1 over their last eight games. Eight of the Flyers' remaining 14 games are on the road, where the team currently has a 14-14-5 record compared to a 19-9-7 mark at home.
Shayne Gostisbehere has scored goals in back-to-back games, as has Michael Raffl. Steve Mason has made five starts in a row (4-0-1, .918 save percentage in March to date) but Neuvirth seems to be the more likely starter on Wednesday.
Jakub Voracek is now day-to--day lower-body injury. He skated briefly on Sunday and practiced on Monday but did not feel ready to play yet in Tuesday's game against Detroit. Top-pairing defenseman Michael Del Zotto (torn ligaments in his left wrist, suffered on Feb. 13) is out for the rest of the season. Sparingly used forward Jordan Weal (upper body) has been out since Feb. 16. He has been activated from the injured reserve list but is likely to be a healthy scratch.
Gostisbehere has set two franchise records and an NHL record this season: most goals by a Flyers rookie defenseman (16 to date), and longest consecutive-game point streak (15 games) by a Flyers rookie or any rookie defenseman in NHL history. Gostisbehere needs 10 points to match Behn Wilson's franchise rookie defenseman season record of 49 points (set over 80 games in 1978-79). The top four in points are Wilson, Janne Niinimaa (44 points in 77 games in 1996-97), Thomas Eriksson (44 points in 68 games in 1983-84) and Tom Bladon (42 points in 78 games in 1972-73). Gostisbehere is currently fifth.
Team captain Claude Giroux leads the Flyers with 18 goals, 40 assists and 58 points in 65 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Wayne Simmonds (25 goals, 23 assists, 48 points, 129 penalty minutes), Voracek (10 goals, 38 assists, 48 points in 60 games) and Brayden Schenn (23 goals, 24 assists, 47 points). Among Gostisbehere's 16 goals, seven have come on the power play, and four in overtime and he has scored five game-winners overall to go along with 23 assists and 39 points in 50 games. Sean Couturier rounds out the top six with nine goals, 20 assists and 29 points in 50 games.
Mason has appeared in 42 games this season, posting a 17-15-8 record, 2.61 goals against average, .915 save percentage and four shutouts (five regulation shutouts). Neuvirth has appeared in 30 games, posting a 16-8-4 record, 2.29 GAA, .925 save percentage and three shutouts.
Blackhaws Outlook
The Blackhawks caught fire after the Christmas break and were the hottest team in the NHL for the next month. After a rough patch of three regulation losses in four games leading up to the All-Star break -- the Hawks temporarily short-circuited, especially offensively, in that span -- Chicago came back and rattled off three straight wins to start the month of February. That included thumping the Stars at the AAC on Feb. 6.
Since that time, the Hawks been inconsistent, going 5-7-2 over the last 14 games and 0-2-1 over the last three games. There have been rousing wins but also a few rather ugly losses in that span. As a result, Chicago has tumbled from first to third place in the Central Division -- albeit within three points of the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues with a game in hand on both teams. The Hawks managed just one point from games against St. Louis, Dallas and LA over the past week.
The Blackhawks shook up their lines at practice on Tuesday. Quenneville also announced that backup goalie Scott Darling would get the start against the Flyers to give Crawford, who has not had his "A" game of late, some rest. Of Darling's last six appearances, four have been in relief of Crawford. Darling has yet to face the Flyers in his career.
Up front, Tomas Fleischmann will open Wedesday's game skating on the top line with NHL leading scorer Patrick Kane and team captain Jonathan Toews. Marian Hossa, who recently returned from a nine-game injury absence, will skate on the second line. The third line will have recent re-acquisition Andrew Ladd and Andrew Shaw flanking Teuvo Teräväinen (who is dealing with an illness) with Andrew Desjardins playing the pivot on the fourth line.
One big reason for the Blackhawks' inconsistency of late: the penalty kill has been having major trouble. Over the last 14 games, the club has given up 16 opposition power play goals. Chicago has plummeted to 25th in the NHL on the penalty kill, dropping to a 78.5 percent success rate for the season. On the other side of special teams, the Hawks' 22.9 percent power play efficiency ranks third in the NHL.
Kane leads the NHL with 89 points (38 goals, 51 assists) in 70 games and, barring injury, could be the only NHL player in the league's most recent two seasons to hit the 100-point milestone. The 24-year-old Artemi Panarin has made his case for the Calder Trophy with a 25-goal, 62-point season. Toews has 24 goals, 24 assists and 48 points, while perennial Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith has 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) in 58 games and fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook has added 13 goals, 29 assists and 42 points.
The supporting cast includes Artem Anisimov (19 goals, 17 assists, 36 points), Shaw (11 goals, 20 assists, 31 points) and Teräväinen (11 goals, 19 assists, 30 points). Ladd has four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games since coming over from Winnipeg. Hossa has 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 56.
Crawford has appeared in 57 games this season, posting a 35-18-4 record, 2.32 goals against average, .926 save percentage and seven shutouts. Darling has gotten into 18 games (13 starts), with a 6-5-2 record, 2.57 GAA and .912 save percentage.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.59 (T-19th), Blackhawks 2.77 (8th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.59 (T-13th), Blackhawks 2.46 (T-7th)
5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 113/107, Blackhawks 109/106
Power play efficiency: Flyers 18.4% (17th), Blackhawks 22.9% (3rd)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 79.8% (22nd), Blackhawks 78.5% (25th)
Shots per game: Flyers 30.7 (T-7th), Blackhawks 30.7 (T-7th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 31.0 (T-23rd), Blackhawks 30.8 (21st)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.2% (13th), Blackhaws 49.5% (T-20th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
10 Brayden Schenn - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 14 Sean Couturier - 89 Sam Gagner
21 Scott Laughton - 52 Nick Cousins - 24 Matt Read
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White
47 Andrew MacDonald - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
30 Michal Neuvirth
[35 Steve Mason]
Scratches: Evgeny Medvedev (healthy), R.J. Umberger (healthy) Jakub Voracek (day-to-day, lower body), Jordan Weal (healthy), Michael Del Zotto (IR, wrist).
Blackhawks
12 Tomas Fleischmann - 19 Jonathan Toews - 88 Patrick Kane
72 Artemi Panarin - 15 Artem Anisimov - 81 Marian Hossa
16 Andrew Ladd - 86 Teuvo Teräväinen - 65 Andrew Shaw
53 Brandon Mashinter - 11 Andrew Desjardins - 25 Dale Weise
2 Duncan Keith - 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson
57 Trevor van Riemsdyk - 7 Brent Seabrook
52 Erik Gustafsson - 32 Michal Rozsival
33 Scott Darling
[50 Corey Crawford]
Scratches: Christian Ehrhoff (healthy), Richard Panik (healthy), Dennis Rasmussen (healthy), Marcus Kruger (IR, wrist surgery).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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