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Wrap: Flyers to Fall 5-3 to Columbus, Lead Down to a Tiebreaker

March 15, 2018, 10:50 PM ET [367 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
WRAP: FLYERS FALL 5-3 TO CBJ, LEAD DOWN TO A TIEBREAKER

In a vital game for both teams, a breakdown-prone Philadelphia Flyers team got out-worked early and then effectively closed out late as they dug a hole too deep to climb out of against a red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets team at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. The Flyers twice narrowed two goal gaps to one but never found an equalizer as the Blue Jackets played from ahead for 50-plus minutes and went on to beat Philly, 5-3.

Turnovers, coverage breakdowns, lost battles, and a bad line change contributed to each of the four non empty-net goals scored by Columbus. The Flyers actually also gave up an early game breakaway and 2-on-1 but emerged from those unscathed. Philly trailed 3-1 at the end of the first period, but it could have been worse.

"I thought we lost more of the 50-50 battles than we won and we gave a few too many of those pucks back. If you look at the first goal against, we had the puck on our tape and we gave it back to them under pressure. I love the will and fight of the guys to continually keep coming back. But there was a couple things we did that were sloppy mistakes that ended up in goals against. It made the hole too deep to dig out of," Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said.

"I’d say tonight for me the second goal against is a big one. Ten seconds after we gave up the first. So that coverage goal, you can’t duplicate that. Then the fourth one which was a puck that didn’t get deep and caught on a line change. Doesn’t matter how you want to categorize them. Those are two mistakes that I thought made it a deep hole to come out of. Like I said, I give the guys credit. They continued to battle to get out of it."

A quick power play goal by Shayne Gostisbehere got them back to 3-2 early in the second frame but the Flyers continued to be their own worst enemy.

"It was definitely just readiness, I think the biggest thing for us to realize what time of year it is, we can’t have any slow starts to these games. You know, then we’re just climbing an uphill battle the rest of the game, and it makes it hard on ourselves," Gostisbehere said.

The Flyers fell to 1-6-1 in what has so far been a disastrous month of March. In the meantime, Columbus won for the sixth straight game. The Blue Jackets pulled even in points with the Flyers, who retain third place in the Metro Division only via a 33-32 ROW tiebreaker. In the meantime, every other team in the up-for-grabs spots in the playoff race in the East won on Thursday, including a 3-0 shutout win for the Florida Panthers over the Boston Bruins.

"I’m not sure about the standings anymore, but I know we’re pretty tight with four teams and we just gotta beat them so we can still control if we make the playoffs or not, we just need to get back to work," Claude Giroux said.

Cam Atkinson (14th, 15th and 16th goals of the season) notched a hat trick for Columbus, with the final goal being an empty netter. Oliver Bjorkstrand (11th) and Boone Jenner (9th) also tallied for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky authored several brilliant saves among his 27 stops on 30 saves but also let in one leaky goal and another one, albeit screened, that he would often stop but went off him into the net.

Petr Mrazek lasted just 23:23, allowed four goals on 10 shots. He failed to make any clutch saves and was pulled after a potentially backbreaking fourth goal on a 3-on-1 counter off a bad line change where he guessed pass and guessed wrong.

"On the fourth one, three on one: If I would have made the big save we would have been there. You know the game could be different. I didn’t have any big saves in the first period, I think they pushed us hard in the beginning and they scored three quick goals so if that fourth one I would stop, I would have probably gotten momentum back and we would still have a chance," Mrazek said.

Alex Lyon relieved Mrazek with the score 4-1 and battled to stop all 18 shots he faced, including a key penalty kill. Some of his saves weren't necessarily artistic but they were much needed.

"It’s exciting for me to come in and play well, but at the same time, I think everybody’s objective right now has to be how can the Flyers secure a spot in the playoffs? I don’t want to excuse myself from that because I haven’t been here very long, I just want to embrace that mentality. It’s infectious, it really is, so just trying to kind of take that approach," Lyon said.

The Flyers got goals from Giroux (26th), Gostisbehere (11th) and Andrew MacDonald (6th goal, 11th assist). The time put some pushes together but Columbus wasn't let much get through late in the game when protecting the lead.

"I’s a tough one, it’s frustrating. But we have 11 games left. We’re there right now so obviously if we can take care of business down the stretch here, we’ll be fine, I think we just have to adjust and make sure we take care of things," MacDonald said.

Overall, the Flyers did not quit on the game even when down by two goals but there were far too many times in the game where the attention to detail was lacking far more on the Philadelphia side than the Columbus end.

"We don’t want to go back and forth with them, I thought there were spurts of the game where we controlled, and we dominated in their zone. [Bobrovsky] made some key saves on the other side there too. It’s just we got to regroup here and we know we have it in this room there’s no doubt about it. We just got to put together some good games here and keep playing the way we are," Travis Konecny said.

The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. They were 1-1 on the penalty kill, but it was a frightening one despite being an abbreviated man advantage.

Giroux took stitches over his top lip after getting hit with the puck on a shorthanded foray for Columbus in the Flyers zone in the second period. He returned late in the period. The Flyers took a too-many-men penalty on a power play due to confusion on line change assignments.

In the third period, Valtteri Filppula skated with Matt Read and Jori Lehterä.

1ST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Blue Jackets iced the puck 1:42 into a shotless early period. Valterri Filppula lost the ensuing right circle draw, and Columbus broke out of the defensive zone. A side-angle shot by Brandon Dubinsky to the right of the Flyers' net at 2:30 was stopped by Mrazek.

An offensive zone turnover by Giroux led to a breakaway opportunity -- but not a shot on goal -- by Cam Atkinson. Two shifts later, Andrew MacDonald broke up a 2-on-1 rush for Columbus.

Giroux won a left circle draw back to Couturier at the top of the circle but Couturier's shot missed the net. Shots were 3-0 Columbus at 7:11 as the Flyers were guilty of an icing. Filppula lost the draw and the Blue Jackets forechecked well. Mrazek melted down the play by snaring a Zach Werenski slapper from the left point for a TV timeout at 7:25 (shots 4-0 Columbus).

A harmless right point shot from Radko Gudas was the first one on net for the Flyers. A much more dangerous chance developed off a Gostisbehere pass to Konecny going to the slot. Bobrovsky made the glove save at 9:02.

A soft play on the puck by Sanheim resulted in a turnover in the defensive zone, and a scoring chance moments later that turned into a 1-0 lead for the Blue Jackets. At 9:41, Bjorkstrand, from the ice beat Mrazek (also down on the ice) high to the short side. The assists went to Jones and Milano.

Columbus scored again on the next shift to make it 2-0. Gudas kicked a puck up the left wall right to to Columbus player with defensive partner Brandon Manning also along the same wall. The middle of the ice was wide open as Boone Jenner went to the net for an all-too-easy redirect of a Jack Johnson slap pass. Thomas Vanek got the secondary assist.

Giroux had a breakaway chance, had Bobrovsky beaten but slid the puck off the right post and through the crease. The Flyers kept possession. From the right slot, Konecny worked a pass to Giroux in the left circle and he fired a shot through a Couturier screen that leaked in off Bobrovsky to cut the gap to 2-1 at 11:34. The assists went to Konecny and MacDonald.

A Voracek turnover high in the offensive zone led to another near disaster but a hustling Ivan Provorov broke up the play in the defensive zone.

Koencny sped down the right wing for a good chance from the right circle. On the next shift, Oskar Lindblom had two good chances -- including a near-goal on a backhanded wraparound and a feed to him in the right slot -- but he remained snakebitten. Lindblom was dragged down in front but there was no call.

A failed clear led to a 3-1 lead for Columbus at 18:08. Atkinson got in front of the net and tipped home a Warenski point shot that was nearly double-deflected. Panarin got the secondary assist.

The Flyers got the game's first power play at 18:18. Konecny was drilled in the right offensive corner by Ian Cole, who went off for cross-checking. Couturier got blocked out play on a one-timer try from the left slot off a Giroux pass. Gostisbehere fired a pair of shots on net, while Voracek one-timers were saved by Bobrovsky the first time and missed the net the second. The Flyers took 18 seconds of carryover time into the second period.

Shots were 9-8 Flyers but the cash register read 3-1 Columbus. The Flyers blocked 12 shot attempts (led by Provorov with three blocks). Philly missed the net on eight of their 21 attempts.

2ND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers scored to make it 3-2 with four seconds left on the power play. Couturier won a right circle draw sent by Provorov over to Gostisbehere, who pinched up into the right circle and wristed a shot that went under Bobrovsky's right arm at 14 seconds.

Raffl started a counter attack out of the defensive zone and then nearly scored at the other end.

The Flyers got caught on a bad line change and a statue-like Mrazek had Atkinson simply blow a puck past him from the right circle for a 4-2 Columbus lead at 3:23. David Savard got the lone assist. Lyon replaced Mrazek (six saves on 10 shots) in goal.

Columbus was called for too many men on the ice at 4:16. The Flyers yielded a shorhanded 2-on-1. Giroux took a puck to the face in the defensive zone and went up the tunnel. Back in the Columbus end, Bobrovsky made a 10-bell lateral save on Patrick from point blank range after a flubbed Voracek try from the right side nearly worked to Philly's benefit.

With Giroux unavailable, Raffl moved up to play left wing with Couturier and Konecny.

The Blue Jackets had a flurry around Lyon's net with the Laughton line and Manning-Gudas pair hemmed in on on a long defensive shift.

MacDonald made it 4-3 at as the Flyers cashed in a strong forechecking shift. Moving right left across the blueline, he slapped a shot through traffic and past Bobrovsky. The assists went Sanheim and Konecny.

Read had Bobrovsky beaten on a backhander near the net but missed the cage.

The Flyers went to their third power play -- with a chance to tie the game -- as Vanek slashed Laughton in the neutral zone and went to the box at 13:32. Patrick replaced Giroux on the top power play unit. With 36 seconds left, the Flyers had a very sloppy change and got called for too many men on the ice at 14:56.

The Flyers were hemmed in the entire Columbus power play unable to get a clear. Lyon fought for three saves to keep the deficit at one goal. Through 17 minutes, shots were 14-9 Columbus.

Giroux returned to the bench late in the period.

Voracek refused to touch a puck -- which would have resulted in a stoppage -- and the Flyers got an offensive zone faceoff out of it as two Columbus players also did not touch it. Giroux returned for the shift.

Shots were 14-9 Columbus (22-18 overall for Columbus).

3RD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Lindblom and Patrick worked a give-and-go for the period's first good scoring chance. Bobrovsky stopped Patrick from below the left circle. Laughton won the ensuing left circle faceoff for a Gudas point shot. The Blue Jackets benefited from a hasty whistle with the puck loose around the net.

At 2:31, Couturier took a pass-out in the left circle. Bobrovsky stopped him.

Sanheim was a bit indecisive in reading a rush and got caught backing in. A dangerous chance resulted by no goal.

Giroux took a quick route to a get a puck in deep and then a precision pass out to Gostisbehere at the point for a shot on net. The puck rebounded too far any Flyers to get to it.

The Blue Jackets, hemmed in, took an icing at 9:49. The Patrick line came out but could not establish puck possession before a high flip out of the zone. Columbus iced again at 10:34. Giroux won the draw and Provorov had a point shot off a pass around the wall from Couturier. A TV timeout ensuted at 10:42 (shots were 10-3 Flyers).

The Giroux line got hemmed in defensively but everything was kept to the perimeter with time ticking down near eight minutes left.

The Filppula line with Lehterä and Read got a puck in deep. The Couturier line started with an offensive left circle faceoff but lost it.

The Flyers pulled Lyon for an extra attacker with 1:53 left. Atkinson completed a hat trick with 0.8 seconds left to finish a 5-3 win for Columbus.

Shots were 12-8 Flyers (30-29 Flyers overall).
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