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Wrapup: Flyer Grit Their Way Past Predators, 4-2; Phantoms Update |
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Owners of first five-game winning streak since March 15-22, 2014, the Philadelphia Flyers gutted out a tough 4-2 regulation road victory against the Nashville Predators on Sunday evening. The Flyers took three separate one-goal leads and brought a 1-0 edge to the locker room in the first period and a 3-2 edge to the second intermission before gritting their way through the final stanza and adding a late empty net goal.
Wayne Simmonds bagged a pair of power play tallies for the Flyers, while Michael Raffl scored a nifty goal off the rush. Staring for the fourth time in a span of six nights, Steve Mason turned aside 30 of 32 shots, with many key saves in crunch time to preserve the win. Late in the game, Mason and the Flyers benefited from a crucial block by Ivan Provorov before Chris VandeVelde iced the game with an empty net goal after Philly battled through a tough offensive zone entry.
Juuse Saros got the start in goal for the Predators and stopped 24 of 27 Flyers shots. Calle Järnkrok and Colin Wilson scored for the Preds.
Sunday's game was a physical one, especially on the Nashville side, and the Flyers had to deal with some attrition. After a crosscheck near the Nashville net by Filip Forsberg, Matt Read hobbled off the ice and up the tunnel with assistance midway though the first period. He did not return.
Andrew MacDonald also went off gingerly after blocking a shot during a first period penalty kill but returned later on the same kill. Late in the period, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare felt the effects of a check to the lower back. He went off before the opening stanza ended, but returned for the start of the second period.
Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead on a power play deflection goal by Simmonds (12th of the season) at 18:12 of the first period as he tipped home a Jakub Voracek right point shot. Brayden Schenn got the secondary assist.
At 3:17 of the second period, Järnkrok scored a wicked deflection goal in the left circle on a Mattias Ekholm shot from the left point for his fifth goal of the season. Austin Watson got the secondary assist. The goal came on Nashville's first shot of the second period.
Simmonds bagged his second power play goal of the game to restore a 2-1 lead for the Flyers at 6:47 of the second period. He corralled a Claude Giroux rebound near the left post, calmly moved slightly right and stashed the puck home. Shayne Gostisbehere drew the secondary helper.
At 11:19 of the second period, Wilson tied the game at 2-2 after a Flyers neutral zone breakdown created a 2-on-1 for the Preds. Wilson took a pass from Mike Fisher, cut in hard from the left circle and beat Mason in close for his fifth goal of the season.
Raffl pulled off a sweet-looking cut in from the right circle as he attacked with speed and beat Saros on the forehand for his fifth goal of the season to create a 3-2 Flyers lead at 16:37 of the middle frame. The assist went to Andrew MacDonald.
In the third period, Cousins took an accidental high stick in the face from Forsberg a split second after Andrew MacDonald caught Forsberg up high with the stick. Philadelphia was unable to capitalize on the ensuing four-minute power play.
The Predators pulled Saros in the final two minutes for an extra attacker. A clutch block by Provorov saved a heap of trouble as time ticked down near the final minute Vandevelde sealed the win with an empty net goal from the right half boards.
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Lehigh Valley Update: Phantoms Win Two of Three Over the Weekend
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms saw a late comeback bid on Friday fall short in a 4-3 home regulation loss to the Hershey Bears but then bounced right back to grab victories the next two nights.
On Saturday, Jordan Weal's overtime goal culminated a 3-2 Phantoms win in the home-and-home return match in Hershey and made a winner of rookie Alex Lyon, who stopped 34 of 36 shots. Bouncing back from a horrid night in his own zone in Friday's tilt, veteran offensive defenseman T.J. Brennan chipped in his seventh goal of the 2016-17 season while team captain Colin McDonald produced his 10th goal of the campaign.
On Sunday, backup goaltender Martin Ouellette got the start in the final game of the three-in-three gauntlet; something that all American Hockey League teams have to navigate periodically during the season but which NHL teams are spared. Danick Martel (5th goal the season) converted a nice setup by a pinching Robert Hägg to break a 2-2 tie in the third period against the host Bridgeport Sound Tigers with the game-winning goal in a 3-2 regulation win.
Phantoms forward Taylor Leier opened the scoring in the game with his sixth goal of the season and later assisted on McDonald's 11th goal of the season. Corban Knight drew helpers on both goals as well.
With Sunday's victory, the Phantoms improved their record to 15-6-1-0. Each of the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (14-4-3-0), Phantoms and Bears (13-4-4-1) have 21 points. However, the Penguins hold first place in the Atlantic Division by virtue of having one game in hand over the Phantoms and Bears.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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