WRAP: FLYERS SHUT OUT DEVILS, 3-0, ON SCARY, BIZARRE NIGHT
One of the strangest and most frightening nights in memory ended with smiles on the Philadelphia Flyers' faces in a combined 3-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
Michal Neuvirth, who last started in Columbus a week ago, got the start in net for the Flyers. With Steve Mason ill with the flu, Anthony Stolarz (who was not on the ice for the pregame warmups or for the start of the game) got an emergency recall as the backup.
At the 7:28 mark of the first period, immediately after the Flyers scored a power play goal to take a 1-0 lead, Neuvirth collapsed in the crease. He lay on his back as emergency assistance personnel rushed to the scene. Neuvirth tended to by trainer Jim McCrossin and team orthopedic surgeon Peter DeLuca as well as EMTs on hand. Neuvirth was eventually starting moving his legs and was conscious as he was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
Neuvirth, like Mason, was apparently feeling ill during the day. Stolarz came in to replace the fallen Neuvirth (six saves on six shots) for the remainder of the game. Temple University graduate Eric Semborski, who was on the bench to serve as the Chicago Blackhawks' emergency goaltender for their game in Philadelphia earlier this season, served as Stolarz's backup but did not arrive at the Wells Fargo Center until about 6:55 p.m. after racing to Philadelphia from Wilkes Barre (where the Lehigh Valley Phantoms played a road game against the Wilkes Barre/ Scranton Penguins).
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall issued the following statement during the second period: "Michal Neuvirth is awake and alert. He is being taken to Pennsylvania Hospital for observation. We will have more information tomorrow."
After the game, Hextall provided a little more information.
"We sent him over to the hospital for precautionary reasons, everything so far has been good, things are positive," Hextall said. "Neuvy won’t be there [in New York to play the Rangers] tomorrow. We’re going to leave him here. The plan right now is to have him checked out by the doctor on Monday just to make sure. As far as Mason, I don’t know yet."
The Flyers players and coaches got some reassuring news on Neuvirth at the first intermission.
“We got a very brief update after the first period but not a whole lot of information. Probably the best information we got, as you see on the ice, he’s responding and he’s moving and communicating with everybody out there, so I think that was the most important update we got right there while he was still on the ice," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.
By the end of the night, Stolarz had made 26 saves and the Flyers had the third regular season combined shutout and fourth overall including playoff games in franchise history. The previous ones: Jan 9, 1999, John Vanbiesbrouck and Ron Hextall, Nov. 15, 2001, Brian Boucher and Roman Cechmanek, Game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Boucher and Michael Leighton.
“I was on the bus to Wilkes-Barre I want to say around 4:15, so I had to wait for the bus to get to Wilkes-Barre, unpack my gear for the car to come down. I didn’t get in until 6:55," Stolarz said.
The Flyers got a power play goal by Brayden Schenn immediately before Neuvirth collapsed. Later, Colin McDonald and Jordan Weal (power play) scored. The Devils had a would-be Andy Greene goal in the third period overturned by a successful challenge for offside by Hakstol.
"You just kind of forget about it as much as you can," McDonald said of the terrifying situation with Neuvirth. "We have jobs to do out there, obviously everyone is affected on both teams. You just have to put it out of your mind as quickly as possible, as hard as that is. I thought we did a pretty good job of doing that.…
Semborski. who was not eligible to play under NHL rules unless Stolarz were to become incapacitated, was sent onto the ice by Hakstol in the final half minute. He was promptly escorted back off the ice, but not before receiving a big cheer from the crowd and waving. Afterwards, he recounted his own strange day.
"I got the call. I knew Stolie was on his way down. I figured I would be here just until he got here if he got stuck in traffic or whatever. Then with the freak thing that happened with Neuvirth out there. I am glad he is doing well. Yeah, that was scary but I was here. They told me to go down and get dressed," Semborski said. Apart from a miscalculation on the McDonald goal, Cory Schneider played well for the Devils. He stopped 38 of 41 shots.
The Flyers went 2-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Philadelphia also won 51 of 71 faceoffs (72 percent) with Claude Giroux going 22 of 26 and Valtteri Filppula winning 10 of 12.
The Flyers lost Radko Gudas to an upper-body injury. He took a high hit from New Jersey's Dalton Prout in the second period then briefly returned late in the second period, taking a penalty on his first shift. Gudas did not return for the third period.
With the win, the Flyers improved their home record this season to 24-11-4 (52 points). The team swept its three-game homestand, has won four in a row and five of its last six with the lone blemish being a 1-0 loss in Columbus last Saturday in a game Philly dominated.
Nevertheless, the Flyers inched even closer to mathematical elimination from the Eastern Conference wildcard race. The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs both won their games. Philadelphia remains seven points (factoring a tiebreaker disadvantage) out of the final playoff spot with just four games remaining.
1ST PERIOD
Fed by Sean Couturier, Dale Weise had a backhand chance off the rush in the opening half minute of play. Brayden Schenn attempted to follow up the rebound at 28 seconds. Neuvirth denied Andy Greene in front on the next shift.
Neuvirth left out a rebound on a routine shot by Pavel Zacha. Michael Del Zotto hooked him as he went past in pursuit of the puck, and took a penalty at 1:51. On the PK, Neuvirth made two quick saves on perimeter offerings. Fifty two seconds in, Radko Gudas joined a counterattacking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde as a trailer and ripped a slap shot from the deep right slot right into Schneider's chest. The Flyers killed the penalty.
Konecny made a clever bank pass to himself to work past a defender at the Flyers' blueline and trigger a chance off the rush. Voracek was denied on a backhander and then Giroux missed the net from the left circle on a one-timer attempt.
Shots were 7-6 Flyers at a stoppage in the New Jersey end at the 4:38 mark.
The Flyers went on their first power play at 6:29. Travis Zajac went off for a defensive zone hook. A Shayne Gostisbehere point shot with no screen was easily saved by Schneider 19 seconds into the Flyers' advantage. Schenn missed the net and then Giroux put a shot on Schneider that was stopped off the blocker, hit the end boards and came out on the other side. The rebound went directly to Schenn near the right post, and he deposited his 24th goal (17th power play goal) of the season into the net at 7:28. Giroux and Gostisbehere earned the assists.
Before the center ice faceoff, Neuvirth collapsed in his crease. Tended to by emergency personnel, he was wheeled off for further evaluation after moving his legs and being placed fully conscious onto the stretcher. Stolarz entered the game.
Shots were 11-6 in the Flyers' favor as New Jersey iced the puck at 8:38. Stolarz made his first save on the next shift, denying an Adam Henrique snap shot from the high slot with no rebound allowed. Midway through the period, Couturier lost his stick as he tried to go to the net for a cross-ice feed from Weise.
Playing the first shift of his first NHL game this season, veteran forward McDonald scored his second goal as a Flyer (he had one in five games last year). Schneider unwisely tried to dive out after a puck. With the goalie way out of the net, McDonald beat him to the puck, moved right and stashed the puck in a vacant cage at 11:28. Chris VandeVelde and Gudas received assists.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 12:41 as Beau Bennett was whistled for holding Schenn with Philly on the attack. The Flyers did very little on the advantage. As it ended, the Devils nearly scored but Konecny broke up the play on the backcheck.
Provorov joined the rush to take a pass from Voracek in close but the puck was blocked. Shots were 16-8 at the ensuing TV timeout with 3:55 left in the period.
Gostisbehere was whistled off for a neutral zone slash away from the puck at 17:35. Stolarz made an excellent save squaring up to a wide-open Zacha who received the puck in good shooting position at the bottom of the right circle. The Flyers killed the penalty.
Stolarz left out a big rebound that the defense cleaned up on a shot by. With the period about to expire (1.6 seconds), Couturier drove toward the net after the puck and was pushed by Blake Coleman heavily into Schneider. Coleman received an interference penalty -- the lone one to come out of an ensuing scrum after the whistle -- and the Flyers took their third power play of the night as a 1:59 carryover into the second period.
First period shots were 16-10 in the Flyers' favor. The Flyers also won a whopping 21 of 26 faceoffs (81 percent) in the opening period. Giroux was a perfect 11-for-11.
2ND PERIOD
The Flyers generated two shots on the power play that started the second period. The Devils survived the disadvantage.
Stolarz fought off an Andy Greene point shot after a failed clear by the Flyers but the Devlils maintained possession. Couturier came up with a key shot block to end the threat. The next faceoff stayed in the Flyers' zone, but Giroux won it and the Flyers got out of the defensive zone.
New Jersey's Stefan Noesen attempted a wraparound but was denied by Stolarz. At the other end, Schenn almost scored his second goal of the game and then, on the next shift, Konecny created a chance. Stolarz made a 10-bell save on John Quenneville.
At 7:59, moments after dropping John Quenneville with a hit in the Flyers' defensive zone, Gudas took a high hit from Dalton Prout and went down in a heap to the ice. Simmonds made a beeline for the Devil and the two engaged in a very active fight. Simmonds doesn't lose many fights, but Prout go the better of this one; not the important part in a situation such as this. Prout received dual major penalties -- interference and fighting -- and the Flyers received a five-minute power play.
Perhaps seeking a bit payback 19 seconds later, Weise came in with an elbow to Kyle Palmieri's chest with the puck gone after an initial Voracek/Palmieri engagement near the side boards, touching off another round of hostilities. Travis Zajac, came to his teammate's aid, and got a two minute penalty for roughing. Weise received a boarding major and game misconduct. That set up a 4-on-3 power play for the Flyers for two minutes.
Giroux moved in and missed the net and then was stopped by Schneider's glove. Voracek had a chance from the left slot but was stopped. Late in the 4-on-3, with a penalty killer having lost his stick, Del Zotto put a slap shot on net from the deep center slot and, with assistance from Voracek, Weal claimed and stashed the puck from the left side for a 3-0 Flyers lead at 10:96. It was the fourth straight game with a goal for Weal and his eighth since his AHL recall. Voracek and Del Zotto collected the apples.
Stolarz made an excellent kick save on Coleman at one end and then the Flyers almost scored at the other end on a Bellemare tip shot. Shots were 9-8 Devils (24-19 Flyers overall) at the ensuing TV timeout at 13:41.
With about 3:30 left in the period, Gudas returned to the Flyers' bench (after undergoing concussion testing protocols following the high hit from Prout). At 18:52, Gudas was called for a holding penalty behind the Flyers' net. Stolarz made a difficult save in the waning seconds on a Quenneville re-direction in front. The Devils took 52 seconds of carryover time to the third period.
Second period shots were 9-9 (25-20 Flyers overall).
3RD PERIOD
Gudas did not return for the third period due to what was reported as an upper-body injury (with the Prout hit the seeming cause). Konecny served the remainder of his penalty. Stolarz made a clean stop on a Cammalleri blast from the right circle late in the kill. After the penalty expired, Giroux had a good denied by Schneider.
Shots were 3-2 Flyers at a Devils offside at the 4:05 mark (28-22 Flyers overall). With 14:43 left, Schneider snapped up a Schenn shot from the deep slot off a good feed from Couturier.
Miles Wood went into the boards awkwardly near the New Jersey bench. Then Henrique and Manning jawed and jostled going up the ice. Both were dispatched on unsportsmanlike conduct minors at 7:46, setting up 4-on-4 play for two minutes.
Twenty five seconds later (8:11), the Devils seemingly got on the board on a tipped-in puck in front.The Flyers challenged the ruling, however, claiming an initial offside by Quenneville. Replays revealed that Quenneville was, in fact, offside. The goal was disallowed. The Flyers retained their timeout.
Gostibehere had a spectacular shift in the offensive zone, bobbing and weaving at will but no good scoring chance developed. At the other end, Stolarz made a clean save on a long range John Moore shot and held on for a stoppage and TV timeout at 10:02. Shots were 7-5 Flyers (32-25 Flyers overall).
Another scrum broke out after the whistle in the Flyers' zone with 9:41 left. Eventually both Wood and Simmonds received 10-minute misconducts and roughing penalties. The teams went back to 4-on-4 manpower. As play resumed, Schenn wheeled around the offensive zone, moved in and was stoned by Schneider.
Provorov broke up a scoring chance off the rush with about 8:15 left and then Weal was robbed at the other end by Schneider as the Flyers pounced on a turnover.
Filppula went off on one foot with 6:55 left after he lost the blade on a skate.
Stolarz made his 21st save on a long-range shot with 3:51 left. He covered the rebound for a stoppage. With 1:49 left, he stopped an unscreened Michael Kapla shot from above the left circle. Couturier was stopped in close to Schneider with 1:02 remaining.
The Flyers iced the puck with 40.7 seconds remaining. Semborski stood in the tunnel after having been back in the locker room up until that point.
With another defensive zone faceoff upcoming. Semborksi was put it with 24.5 seconds remaining but was forced to leave the game as he was ineligible to play in lieu of a Stolarz injury. Stolarz returned to finish up the shutout.
The Flyers return to action, playing for the fourth time in six nights, on Saturday against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. If Stolarz starts, he will be playing for the third time in three nights (this is periodically done by goalies in the AHL, and he has done it before). Hextall said that Mason was feeling quite ill as Saturday progressed. If Mason cannot start or back up on Sunday, the Flyers will recall Alex Lyon from the Phantoms.
Lyon was removed from the Phantoms game against WB/S in the third period with the team trailing, 3-0. However, this was just a respite. He is not injured.