WRAP: CRAWFORD STOPS 35, FLYERS LOSE, 3-0, IN CHICAGO
The Philadelphia Flyers put forth a generally solid three periods of hockey, generating odd-man rushes and scrambles around the net galore, but could not solve Chicago Blackhawks' goaltender Corey Crawford and fell to a 3-0 loss at the United Center on Wednesday night.
Crawford was outstanding on a slew tough chances, fortunate on a few others where there were openings that weren't found and bounces that went his way, finishing with a 35-save shutout. It is the third time the Flyers have been shut out this season. Philly has dropped four of its last five games.
The game was scoreless until 8:58 of the second period. Artem Anisimov (power play, 4th goal of the season) pounced on the fat rebound of a Cody Franson shot. At 9:18, after Robert Hà¤gg had a puck hop on him at the offensive blueline, Jonathan Toews (4th goal) went off on a breakaway and slid the puck through Brian Elliott's five hole for a 2-0 lead. Alex DeBrincat added a third-period empty net goal at 18:11.
Elliott made some bang-bang saves of his own and also, like Crawford, got lucky on a few pucks that skittered right near but not over the goal line. The rebound on the first goal wasn't a great one but his overall game, on many nights, would have been sufficient to win. Elliott finished with 32 saves on 34 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play despite generating good puck movement and several strong scoring opportunities. They were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill, surviving some nervous moments during a late first period kill but getting beaten quickly on the Anisimov tally in the second period. The goal sequence started with a clean faceoff loss, and Patrick Kane got the puck quickly out to Franson.
Already shorthanded on the blueline, the Flyers had to play most of the game without veteran Radko Gudas. The rugged Czech defenseman left the game with an upper-body injury that appeared to be to his head.
Ivan Provorov set a new career high in ice time (29:51 on 30 shifts), eclipsing the mark he set in Monday's game in Philadelphia against the Arizona Coyotes. He finished at a hard luck minus-two because he was on the ice for the Toews breakway after Hà¤gg lost the puck and then was on for the DeBrincat long-range empty netter. Provorov was credited with three hits, one shot on goal in three attempts (one block, one miss) and one takeaway. He was charged with one giveaway.
Taking exception to a first period open-ice hit on linemate Taylor Leier by Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy (the son of Flyers assistant coach Gord Murphy), Scott Laughton dropped the gloves and fought Murphy late in the first period.
The Flyers return to action on Thursday in St. Louis.
NOTES:
* The Flyers won 35 of 61 faceoffs (57%), led by Valtteri Filppula's 11-for-15 and Claude Giroux's 12-for-17 showing.
* Among the Flyers best scoring chances were a 3-on-1 rush that fizzled out without a shot, chances off the rush for Voracek and Giroux (who had five-hole room but hit the goalie's pads in close), a point-blank chance for Travis Sanheim one-on-one with Crawford, a Sean Couturier jam-in attempt that did not cross the goal line, a Filppula wraparound and a Wayne Simmonds power play chance from the slot.
* Couturier put a half-dozen shots on net on Wednesday on eight attempts (two were blocked). Voracek had two shots on net, while Giroux had three.
* Hà¤gg broke up a 2-on-1 in the third period and logged 21:00 of ice time but the Toews breakaway will be the one that is remembered from the game. The Swedish rookie was also charged with four giveaways.
* Travis Sanheim had a much improved performance from some of his recent games, with only a low-percentage pinch midway through the third period that led to a Chicago 2-on-1 and a missed net with an open look standing out negatively. He was very involved in the play offensively, including the aforementioned one-on-one chance against Crawford that he couldn't quite finish, made several nice lead passes and broke up some Chicago forays in the Philly end. All in all, it was a positive step for him. Statistically, Sanheim played 19:55 across 23 shifts with four shots on goal in nine attempts (three misses, two that got blocked), one credited takeaway, one hit, and one charged giveaway.
* Brandon Manning played 20:18 and was sent out for the 6-on-5 with Elliott pulled. Mark Alt played 15:25. Gudas went 6:20 before he had to leave the game.
************
GAME 14 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ BLUES
Facing a gut-check game on the road, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (6-6-1) are back in action on Thursday night as they take on Mike Yeo's St. Louis Blues (10-2-1). Game time at the Scottrade Center is 8 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSN.
This is the first of two meetings between the inter-conference teams. The clubs will rematch at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 6. Last season, the Flyers went 0-2-0 against the Blues, getting doubled up 6-3 on the road on Dec. 28. 2016 and then getting shut out in Philadelphia, 2-0, on Feb. 6.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
Thursday's game is the final segment of a 3-in-4 and the second half of a back-to-back set. When this game is completed, Philly will have played six games in 10 nights.
If Radko Gudas is unable to play after leaving Wednesday's game in Chicago with an upper-body injury, the Flyers will give 29-year-old AHL veteran Will O'Neill his first-ever NHL regular season appearance. An offensive-minded blueliner at the American League level, O'Neill said after the Flyers' practice on Tuesday that he would try to stick to his game -- puck moving from the back end, looking for shooting lanes in the offensive zone -- if he got into the Flyers lineup.
There is a chance that Nolan Patrick (IR, upper-body injury suspected to be a concussion) and Shayne Gostisbehere (upper body, potentially similar situation to Patrick) might be able to return by Saturday but that is uncertain. Neither player is on the current road trip. Andrew MacDonald (lower body injury) is optimistic of being able to come back at the low end of the initial 4-to-6 week timetable from his Oct. 21 shot-blocking injury.
With the Flyers playing for the third time in four nights, it would seem to be a good time to get Michal Neuvirth back in goal. He was excellent in his first three starts, shaky in his fourth.
Through 13 games, Jakub Voracek leads the Flyers in scoring with 16 points (two goals, 14 assists), followed by Couturier (nine goals, six assists, 15 points, +10), Claude Giroux (six goals, eight assists, 14 points) and Gostisbehere (one goal, 12 assists, 13 points). Wayne Simmonds has bagged six goals among his 9 points and shares the team power play goal lead with three along with Valtteri Filppula (five goals, three assists, eight points overall).
The Flyers enter Thursday's game 10-for-46 (21.7 pct, 8th-ranked) on the power play while yielding two opposing shorthanded goals. The club is 37-for-47 on the penalty kill with one shorthanded goal by Scott Laughton. Overall, the Flyers have scored 41 goals and yielded 38. In five-on-five play, the team has scored 23 goals while yielding 21.
BLUES OUTLOOK
The Blues, who enter the game with a perfect 5-0-0 home record, have had two nights off since navigating a 4-in-6 stretch of their own with four straight victories (three home, one road). On Monday, St. Louis downed the visiting LA Kings, 4-2.
Thursday's game marks ex-Flyer Brayden Schenn's first game against his former team since being traded on NHL Draft weekend for 2017 (Morgan Frost) and 2018 first-round picks as well as veteran forward Jori Lehterà¤. Thus far, Schenn has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 13 games for the Blues with one of his goals and three points coming on the power play.
Speedy forward Jaden Schwartz leads the Blues with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists). Coming off back-to-back seasons of 39-plus goals, Vladimir Tarasenko has posted six goals and 14 points in the first 13 games. He is followed by defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (four goals, nine assists, 13 points), veteran forward Paul Stastny (four goals, seven assists, 11 points) and thne Schenn.
In goal, Jake Allen has made 10 starts, going 7-2-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .921 save percentage. Carter Hutton has appeared in three games, with a 3-0-0 record, 1.67 GAA and .950 SV%.
The Blues are 7-for-43 (16.3 pct, 20th-ranked) on the power play with one shorthanded goal allowed. They are 36-for-47 (76.6 pct, 26th overall) on the penalty kill. While these numbers are nothing special, St. Louis has dominated at 5-on-5, enjoying a stellar 30-16 goal differential in their favor. Across all manpower situations, the Blues have scored 43 times while opponents have lit the lamp 30 times.
Veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (ankle fracture) is on IR, as is veteran forward Patrik Berglund (left shoulder surgery). Robby Fabbri (torn ACL) is likely out for the season.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
Flyers
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek 11 Travis Konecny - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 17 Wayne Simmonds 40 Jordan Weal - 15 Jori Lehterठ- 22 Dale Weise 20 Taylor Leier - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl
9 Ivan Provorov - 8 Robert Hà¤gg 23 Brandon Manning - 39 Mark Alt 6 Travis Sanheim - 45 Will O'Neill
30 Michal Neuvirth [37 Brian Elliott]
Scratches: Matt Read (healthy), Radko Gudas (upper body, status will be updated), Nolan Patrick (IR, upper body), Andrew MacDonald (IR, lower body), Shayne Gostisbehere (upper body).
Blues
17 Jaden Schwartz - 10 Brayden Schenn - 91 Vladimir Tarasenko 71 Vladimir Sobotka - 26 Paul Stastny - 20 Alex Steen 56 Magnus Pà¤à¤jà¤rvi - 70 Oskar Sundqvist - 78 Beau Bennett 9 Scottie Upshall - 28 Kyle Brodziak - 23 Dmitrij Jaskin
4 Carl Gunnarsson - 27 Alex Pietrangelo 6 Joel Edmundson - 55 Colton Parayko 29 Vince Dunn - 41 Robert Bortuzzo
34 Jake Allen [40 Carter Hutton]
Scratches: Nate Prosser (healthy), Chris Thornburn (healthy), Ville Husso (healthy), Jay Bouwmeester (IR, fractured ankle), Patrik Berglund (IR, shoulder), Robby Fabbri (IR, torn ACL), Zach Sanford (IR, shoulder).