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Wrap: Flyers Edge Blue Jackets in OT, 2-1; Phantoms Move into 1st

February 16, 2018, 10:44 PM ET [187 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
WRAP: FLYERS EDGE BLUE JACKETS IN OT, 2-1

A steadfast Philadelphia Flyers team ran into phenomenal goaltending but got strong netminding play in their own right and ultimately found a way to earn an important 2-1 overtime road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

Sean Couturier, who had numerous prime scoring chances and also returned to the ice from a second-period injury scare, took a lead pass from Travis Konecny and scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 1:52 of overtime to win the game. The goal was Couturier's 29th of the season. Konecny earned his 17th assist.

Until that point, goaltending heroics were the big story of the game, especially on the Columbus side.

Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky made about a half-dozen outstanding saves, including several 10-bell stops. The Flyers had all sorts of odd-man rushes and point blank shots. If they weren't finding Bobrovsky's stacked pads or shooting right into his chest because he was in perfect position, the Flyers were failing to getting shots blocked on initially on promising chances. Overall, Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 25 shots but the quality of chances stood out more than the quantity of shots, especially in the scoreless first period.

At the other end of the ice, Michal Neuvirth rebounded from an uneven performance on Tuesday night against New Jersey with an outstanding effort in a key game. He tracked the puck well, kept rebounds to a minimum and came up with multiple crucial saves in his own right. Overall, Neuvirth stopped 35 of 36 shots to earn the win.

The two regulation goals the teams traded off were not the goaltenders' fault.

With the game still scoreless in the middle stages of the second period, Nolan Patrick (9th assist of the season) cleanly won a right circle faceoff back to Shayne Gostisbehere (35th assist) at the right point. Gostisbehere's quickly shot was re-directed by Wayne Simmonds (20th goal) and slid between Bobrovsky's pads for a 1-0 Flyers lead at 11:25.

For the most part, the Flyers were at least good at keeping Columbus to the perimeter -- Artemi Panarin repeatedly skated circles around the offensive zone but Philly usually did a good job of staying in coverage -- but there were several shifts where the Blue Jackets started to break through. Whenever needed, Neuvirth would come up with a big save to keep Philly ahead.

The Flyers had the game's lone power play as the Blue Jackets were called for too many men on the ice at 5:45 of the third period. The Flyers attacked heavily but could not put a puck past Bobrovsky.

Finally, at 16:32 of the third period, the Blue Jackets pulled even at 1-1. Columbus won an offensive zone draw. Robert Hägg blocked David Savard shot, but the puck bounced over to Cam Atkinson in the center slot. Atkinson shoveled a tricky backhander that Neuvirth could not quite get to in time. Atkinson was credited with his 10th goal of the season, while Savard (7th assist) and Dean Kukan (4th assist) collected the helpers.

Late in regulation, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol sent out the veteran trio of Valterri Filppula, Jori Lehterä and Dale Weise, seemingly in order to try to the get to OT and take their chances in the 3-on-3. In overtime, the Blue Jackets controlled the puck early. Neuvirth made one additional save on an Atkinson shot. At the other end, Bobrovsky stopped Jakub Voracek.

Finally, Konecny stripped Panarin of the puck in the Flyers defensive zone and made a backhanded pass to Couturier in stride. Joined by Ivan Provorov on a 2-on-1 rush, Couturier elected to shoot from the right slot and beat Bobrovsky to the blocker side to win the game.

Back in the second period, the Flyers had a major scare. Couturier appeared to twist awkwardly on a play near the offensive zone circle. He went off in a lot of lower-body discomfort and went right up the tunnel. He returned later in the period, however, and seemed OK.

With the OT win on Friday, the third-place Flyers restored a two-point lead in the Metropolitan Division standings over the idle New Jersey Devils (the upper wildcard seed). New Jersey holds one game in hand but the Flyers hold a 28-25 tiebreaker edge in regulation/OT wins (ROW). The Devils face a tough task on Saturday, visiting the President's Trophy race leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Flyers moved back within two points of the second-place Penguins. Philly holds one game in hand but the Penguins, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, hold a 31-28 ROW edge on Philly. The Penguins host the even hotter Toronto Maple Leafs (five straight wins, 9-1-0 in their last 10 games) on Saturday.

The Flyers hold a four-point lead, a 28-26 ROW edge and two games in hand over the lower wildcard seeded New York Islanders. The Isles are idle until Monday when they host the Minnesota Wild. Columbus is one point behind the Islanders with two games in hand but a 26-23 ROW disadvantage. On Sunday, the Blue Jackets host the Penguins.

The Carolina Hurricanes are tied in points with the Blue Jackets but have played one additional game. The Canes hold one game in hand over the Islanders and have a 26-24 ROW disadvantage against the Isles but a 24-23 ROW edge on Columbus. The Hurricanes return to action on Sunday, hosting the Devils.

The Rangers, meanwhile, bring up the rear in the tough Metro Division and management has already put out notice it plans to be a seller before the trade deadline.The Rangers are on the road on Saturday, playing the Ottawa Senators before returning home to host the Flyers on Sunday afternoon.

The Flyers habitually have trouble beating the Rangers, especially at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are presently five points (with two games in hand but a 26-24 ROW disadvantage) behind the Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

*************

PHANTOMS BLOW OUT SPRINGFIELD, 8-2

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms took care of business on the road on Friday night, crushing the Springfield Thunderbirds by an 8-2 count.

Back-to-back first period goals by the returning Danick Martel (18th and 19th of the season) got Lehigh Valley off to a quick start. Corban Knight would later assemble a hat trick on his 10th, 11th and 12th goals of the season. The Phantoms scoring was supplement by Phil Varone (power play, 12th), Oskar Lindblom (power play, 14th) and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (15th). Goaltender John Muse stopped 36 of 38 shots to earn the win.

The Phantoms (32-14-6, 70 points, .673 points percentage) moved into first place in the Atlantic Division. The Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (30-14-4, 64 points, .667 points percentage) were on the wrong end of a 12-3 buzzsaw against the host Rochester Americans on Friday. However, the Pens hold four games in hand on the Phantoms.

On Saturday, the Phantoms return home to the PPL Center to host the Hartford Wolf Pack while the Pens host the Utica Comets. On Sunday, the Phantoms and Pens clash head-to-head in Allentown.
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