WRAPUP: FLYERS CLIP RED WINGS, 4-3, IN FINAL 2017 HOME GAME
Playing the last match of a five-game homestand and also their final game at the Wells Fargo Center for the 2017 calendar year, the Philadelphia Flyers parlayed a strong third period after two sloppy periods into a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
The Flyers led 1-0 in the first period but later trailed by scores of 2-1 and 3-2 in the middle frame. For 40 minutes, both teams turned over their share of pucks, allowed themselves to trade off scoring chances and had mental lapses. The third period, however, saw the Flyers take the play to a Red Wings club that played the previous night. Once Philly finally forged ahead, the Wings did not have a sustained push left in them as the Flyers continued to forecheck and finally began to take away time and space up ice.
"We played one complete period tonight and that was the third period. The first two periods we were too sporadic, playing against a team that played last night I don’t think we made it quite hard enough on them in the first two periods from some of the easy transition that they had for opportunities to some of the turnovers that we had in the first and second period," Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said.
"But I thought the players did a really good job, they flipped that switch in the third period and I thought made it a hard game for our opponent in that period and that’s what we needed to do for that final 20 minutes."
Dale Weise (4th goal of the season), Wayne Simmonds (power play, 11th), Robert Hà¤gg (1st NHL goal) and Sean Couturier (game-winner, new career-high 16th goal) scored for the Flyers. Claude Giroux (24th, 25th and 26th assists), Jakub Voracek (34th assist), Radko Gudas (3rd assist), Nolan Patrick (5th assist), Shayne Gostisbehere (20th assist) and Simmonds (10th assist) recorded assists.
Brian Elliott stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn the win in goal.
In addition to scoring, Hà¤gg was credited with four hits and two blocked shots that included a vital block with Philly protecting the lead in the third period. He was often matched head-to-head with countryman Henrik Zetterberg as the game progressed and did a strong job against him in the third period.
“It feels pretty good," Hà¤gg said of his 1st goal. "I had a few chances earlier this season, so to see that one go in feels pretty damn good.…
Giroux's playmaking talents, as so often throughout his career, were crucial to the win. Couturier also did a great job at throwing on the breaks and staying with the play near the net to follow up his own initial chance on what became the game-winning goal.
"You want to wait until a good moment during the game to do it or where it is on the ice. Usually you just try to put it in a place that the other player can handle it. That goal that Coots scored, I was just trying to find Wayne and he did a good job of handling that pass," Giroux said of the eventual winning goal sequence. Patrick, whom Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said earlier in the week is still working on picking up the pacing of his game at the NHL level, played one of his most complete games to date although he played just 10:56 overall. Patrick forechecked well, blocked a shot, won nine of 12 faceoffs and earned a secondary assist off one of those wins.
"I think Patty has been building the last few games here. Tonight, I thought throughout the game he was a solid, consistent player you know as we went into the third period I thought he, without changing his game, he was just very reliable in the third period and was still effective with the puck moving up ice. So, yeah, it’s steps in the right direction and tonight he was a significant player for our team," Hakstol said.
Weise said he can feel chemistry building on his line with Patrick and Jordan Weal.
"I think we are coming on. I think it has a lot to do with Patty. You see tonight, I don’t know what he was in the circle. I don’t know what his percentage would have been. He won a lot of face offs tonight. I thought he was unbelievable in the circle tonight. Hak’s got a little more trust on him in the D zone. So it gets us out there a little more, " Weise said.
"Patty is winning face offs. He is controlling the play in the middle of the ice. I think he is getting a little more comfortable out there. Starting to hang on to it a little more. So if we are going to have success it’s going to run through him."
Martin Frk (power play, 8th), Mike Green (power play, 4th), Gustav Nyquist (10th) scored for Detroit. Dylan Larkin (23rd and 24th assists), Green (17th assist), Andreas Athanasiou (7th assist), Henrik Zetterberg (19th assist) and Anthony Mantha (11th assist) chipped in assists.
Jimmy Howard took the loss in goal. He stopped 27 of 31 Flyers shots.
The Flyers capitalized on their lone power play chance, generating lovely tic-tace-toe goal finished off by Simmonds. The penalty kill, which had not had to go to work more than twice in any of the eight previous games, was just 1-for-3 on the night. They yielded a 200-foot goal off a rush just before the end of the first period. In the second period, a Jordan Weal high-sticking double minor was cashed in on the front end by the Red Wings.
Taylor Leier was scratched from the lineup with an upper-body injury. He is officially day-to-day. Jori Lehterठre-entered the Philadelphia lineup in his place.
The Flyers finished off their homestand with a 4-1-0 record; an opportunity that slipped away on the opening homestand of the season (also a five gamer) in which the Flyers finished 3-2-0.
"It's one game's difference but it just looks a lot better [to take 8 of 10 possible points] and it feels better, too," Weise said. "This was big for us to play a strong third period like that and end the homestand with a win. Now we want to finish up strong going into the [Christmas] break."
The Flyers will have an optional noon practice on Thursday; likely a brief one for those who decide to suit up. The club faces a back-to-back on the road on Friday in Buffalo and Saturday in Columbus.
The team will then have four nights off, coinciding with the NHL's leaguewide Christmas break, before finishing their 2017 calendar slate with back-to-back road games in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers (Dec. 28) and Tampa Bay against the Lightning (Dec. 29). A four-game homestand awaits after New Year's Day.
1ST PERIOD
Claude Giroux collected a bouncing puck high in the offensive zone and put a harmless shot on net at the 13 second mark for an easy first save for Howard. The Flyers took an icing nine seconds later, but won the draw and broke out of the defensive zone.
On a 200 foot rush, Gustav Nyquist took a long pass and split the middle between Travis Sanheim and Radko Gudas at the blueline to go in alone on Elliott. The Flyers' goalie made the save on Nyquist's backhander in close at 1:56.
Simmonds turned a puck over inside the Flyers blueline but he and then Ivan Provorov blocked shot attempts by Jonathan Ericsson to prevent any danger.
At 4:55, Nick Jensen pinched in, steered around a sprawled out teammate and Gudas, and cut in front for a backhand attempt. The Flyers then turned over the puck on an ill-advised back pass from Valtteri Filppula intended for Shayne Gostisbehere and Detroit countered with speed. Elliott poked the puck away from Andreas Athanasiou to break up the play.
At a TV timeout at 6:11, shots were 5-1 in Detroit's favor.
Elliott blocker-saved a high shot out from long range into the slot. No harm resulted. At the other end, Couturier had the Flyers' first real scoring chance, getting the net and getting denied in tight by Howard at 7:40. That was followed on the next shift by an opportunity for Jordan Weal and then Nolan Patrick missed the net from the left hash marks.
As the period hit the midway point, an Anthony Mantha pass from behind the Detroit net went right to Couturier in front as Mantha broke his stick. He fed to Simmonds and then Simmonds passed to Giroux, who couldn't finish. Howard, who had lost his stick, was dead to rights as the puck went to Couturier in point black range from the right slot but Couturier flubbed the golden scoring opportunity. Shots were 8-4 Detroit through 10:30.
At 10:53, Elliott cleanly gloved a tough shot from the near the left hash marks by Athanasiou. The Red Wings iced the puck on an attempted stretch pass at 12:33. Patrick won the draw but the Flyers could not hold the puck in the zone. At the other end, Tatar went around an indecisive Sanheim but the Flyers recovered and Patrick blocked Tatar's shot attempt.
At 13:56, Gostisbehere pinched in and from the boards to the left of the goal line tried to find Couturier at the right post. Couturier jammed at it but Howard smothered the puck.
With time ticking down near five minutes, Andrew MacDonald had a shot attempt blocked. Provorov broke up the play at the other end. At 15:13, Couturier fed Giroux for a scorching one timer from above the right circle. Howard read the play and came out to stop it cleanly.
Finally, off the next faceoff, the Flyers got the board at 15:19 to take a 1-0 lead. Patrick won the right circle faceoff cleanly back to Gudas at the right point. Gudas' shot missed the net but Weise claimed the carom behind the cage and wrapped it inside the left post.
“It was a good face-off by Patty. He’s really been digging in the past couple of games here. He’s really been getting better in the circle. It was a pretty clean win by him. I kind of beat my D-man and it was a pretty good bounce off the wall. I think I banked it off his far leg," Weise said after the period.
On the forecheck, Giroux was called for slashing the stick out of Dylan Larkin's hands on an attempted Detroit breakout. The Red Wings went on the game's first power play at 18:54. With just 1.3 seconds left in the period, the Wings scored off the rush to tie the game at 1-1. Larkin's cross-ice semi-saucer pass to Frk bounced over MacDonald's stick and Frk scored upstairs from the bottom of the left circle with Elliott deep in his net.
First periods shots were 11-10 Detroit. Faceoffs were 15-11 Flyers (Patrick was 3-for-3). Hits were 12-5 Flyers (Gudas led with three).
2ND PERIOD
Hà¤gg ripped a center point shot on net at the 21-second mark. The Flyers won the next draw and controlled the puck but, after a good feed from Voracek across to Filppula in the left slot, the ex-Wing shot wide of the net. At the other end of the ice, Justin Abdelkader had a good chance in close denied by Elliott.
At 2:56, Weal was called for a high-sticking double minor on a stick-checking attempt in the neutral zone. Provorov very painfully blocked a shot off his left glove, and was tended to immediately on the bench by Jim McCrossin. Ellott denied a Matha re-direct with 1:23 left in the kill. However, the Wings scored at 5:50 to take a 2-1 lead.
The Wings worked the puck around the wall, and out to the center point, where Green fired a shot through traffic and into the net. The assists went to Larkin and Athanasiou. Philadelphia killed off the remainder of the double-minor.
Konecny hustled up ice and drew a holding penalty on Ericsson at 10:03 for the Flyers' first power play of the game. The Flyers connected on a tic-tac-toe hookup to tie the game at 2-2 at the 10:48 mark: Giroux (left circle) to Voracek (right circle) to Simmonds (tap in at the left post).
The Flyers coughed the goal right back up again at 11:29. First, Philly yielded a 2-on-1. Detroit didn't score but the Flyers never recovered in the defensive zone. With Provorov and MacDonald caught near one another on the same side, Zetterberg fed Nyquist who scored. Mantha got a secondary assist.
Philly almost tied the game on the next shift. Sanheim kept a puck in at the left point. The puck then went to Gudas, who fired at the net. Patrick tried to jam in a follow-up but Howard got it with his skate.
The Flyers re-tied the game at 3-3 at the 13:40 mark. After a good keep by Gostisbehere and a feedf from Giroux, Hà¤gg blasted home a left point shot with some traffic in front for his 1st NHL goal.
On the very next shift, Raffl took a pass near the left hash marks and ripped a shot on goal that required a tough save from Elliott. Shots were 11-9 Detroit at 15:17. With 3:52 left, Gostisbehere blasted a rocket on net skating down to the top of the left circle.
Detroit flurried in the Philly zone with two good cracks at the net as time ticked down to 53.3 seconds left in the period. Prone to the ice, Elliott got a cover. The Patrick line ended the period with some cycling work deep in Detroit territory.
Second period shots were 13-11 Detroit (24-21 overall in Detroit's favor). Faceoffs were 14-12 in the Flyers favor (29-23 overall Flyers; Patrick led at 7-for-8 and Giroux was 7-for-9). Hits were 6-5 in Detroit's favor (16-11 Flyers overall; Gudas had one second period hit and four overall through two periods). Detroit blocked 16 shots through two periods (seven in the second period) to nine for the Flyers.
3RD PERIOD
Voracek tipped a pass from Filppula on goal in the opening minute of the period, capping off a good shift for the line to start the stanza.
Gudas got away with a holding penalty that he started to protest only to realize there was no call. Whoops.
Couturier went to the net and couldn't finish off an initial feed at the doorstep from Simmonds but stayed with it to bang in the rebound and set a new career high with his 16th goal. Giroux got the secondary assist as Philly took a 4-3 lead at 5:57.
Simmonds went to the net on a low to high play to set up a screen on a Gudas shot from the right point. Howard still made the save with no rebound at 7:14.
The Red Wings turned over a puck in the slot but it rolled harmlessly off Weise's stick. Provorov took a puck off the boards, found room to pinch and wristed a shot on goal. At the other end, the Flyers got disorganized and Zetterbergslipped open for a bang-bang chance in close. At 10:10, Howard snapped a Simmonds right circle snap shot out of the air for a TV timeout. Shots were 9-2 Flyers at this point.
MacDonald and Nyquist waged a jostling and slashing battle near the net on a Detroit cycle. The refs let them play on and the Flyers ultimately won this battle. The two teams' tempers flared again after a whistle on a scrum on the side boards but calmed down before any penalties were called. The faceoff with 6:10 left was in the neutral zone.
The Giroux line applied very heavy pressure on the next shift, hemming Detroit in deep and getting a line change out there with the same tired players stuck on the ice for the Wings and the puck deep in Detroit territory. The Filppula line came out and kept right on forechecking. The dead-tired Wings finally benefited from a desperately needed whistle and TV timeout with 4:25 left on the clock.
Hà¤gg blocked a shot, skated a puck to the red line and dumped it in deep to allow a line change. Shots were 10-2 Flyers with 3:10 left. Giroux chipped a puck out of the defensive zone and Couturier had a power rush the other way, cutting inside and losing control of the puck at the last moment.
With 2:06 left, Voracek got an elbowing penalty and Athanasiou received embellishment in the Flyers' left corner. The Wings pulled Howard for a 5-on-4 attack. MacDonald got a clear without an icing with 1:05 left. Filppula cleared the puck after Hà¤gg batted a perimeter rebound to him.
Third period shots were 10-4 Flyers (31-28 Flyers overall). Third period faceoffs were 10-7 Flyers (39-30 Flyers overall, led by Patrick's 9-for-12 and Giroux's 9-for-13). Third period hits were 10-4 in Detroit's favor (22-21Flyers overall, led by Gudas' five and Hà¤gg's four). Detroit blocked 10 third-period shot attempts (26 overall) and the Flyers' blocked six (15 overall).
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PHANTOMS UPDATE: LV RALLIES TO RESCUE POINT VS. HARTFORD
Continuing to play with a roster that is heavily injury-depleted (Samuel Morin, Philippe Myers, Mike Vecchione, Mikhail Vorobyev, team captain Colin McDonald, and Cole Badreau among others) and NHL recall-depleted (Mark Alt and Alex Lyon), the Lehigh Valley Phantoms nevertheless rallied to gain one point from a 5-4 overtime loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the PPL Center on Wednesday night.
The Phantoms, who are 3-1-1 over their last five games despite recently dressing a roster that included five recalls from the ECHL's Reading Royals, trailed Hartford by scores of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 but battled right to the end and had a 17-9 shot edge in the opening stanza despite finishing it down by two on the scoreboard.
Oskar Lindblom had a game-tying power play goal on a bang-bang play from inside the left hash marks in the third period. He also had an earlier secondary assist. The Swedish rookie has posted four goals and seven points in his last eight games.
Second-year defenseman Reece Willcox also had a goal and an assist for Lehigh Valley, while Greg Carey and Reading recall Steve Swavely also tallied. Phil Varone collected a pair of assists, while Matt Read, and Royals callups Alex Krushelnyski and James de Haas chipped in one apiece. Tyrell Goulbourne, defending Lindblom after a high elbow by Brandon Crawley at 8:18 of the second period was tagged with an instigation penalty and misconduct from the ensuing fight.
Dustin Tokarski got the start in goal and stopped 30 of 35 shots. The game winner, scored at 1:40 of OT, was notched by New Jersey native Anthony DeAngelo.
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WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS PREP GAMES
* In pre-tournament prep action on Wednesday in London, Ontario, Flyers goaltending prospect Carter Hart posted an 18-save shutout against the Czech Republic. He had plenty of goal support as well. Canada breezed to a 9-0 blowout win. Erie Otters (OHL) right wing Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning 2016 second-round pick) led the attack with two goals and two assists.
* Team USA posted an even more lopsided win in their WJC prep game on Wednesday, crushing Belarus, 14-0, in Jamestown, NY. Flyers prospect Maxim Sushko plays for Belarus. Team USA will have another prep game on Friday against Sweden in Erie, PA. Flyers defense prospect Linus Högberg plays for the Swedish side.
* Flyers 2016 first-round pick German Rubtsov is likely to center either the first line or second line for Team Russia when their tournament opening lineup is set.