Playing their final preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center until the home opener on Oct. 20, the Philadelphia Flyers pulled out a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Monday night. The Flyers (3-2-1) have games remaining in New York on Thursday and in Boston on Saturday.
The Flyers built a 3-0 lead within the first 32 minutes of the game but watched it disappear before winning in overtime. With both teams dressing something closer to a "real" lineup than in most of the previous preseason games -- in each of the first four games, either the Flyers or their opponent had a "B" lineup of prospects and AHL veterans -- this game was a better test for both the Flyers and the Rangers.
Jakub Voracek scored twice, including the winning goal in overtime. The first, scored on a 5-on-3 power play, was a one-timer from the right circle teed up by a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere. The puck squirted through the pads of Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves on 33 shots) and crossed the goal line. The overtime winner was a tremendous solo effort in which Voracek forced a Rangers turnover, controlled the puck and weaved around the offensive zone. Finally finding a lane to the net, he cut in and scored.
Earlier in the game, Jordan Weal got the Flyers on the scoreboard first. On a delayed penalty against the Rangers, Gostisbehere (two assists) fired a puck off the end boards, which Roman Lyubimov shoveled to Weal in the right slot. Weal released the puck quickly and beat Lundqvist for his third goal of the preseason.
The Flyers made it 3-0 shortly after the Voracek 5-on-3 goal. With the Flyers skating 5-on-4 and the second power play unit on the ice (as PA announcer Lou Nolan was announcing the official scoring on the Voracek goal), Ivan Provorov moved right to center point and snapped a wrist shot through traffic on goal. Nick Cousins kept the puck alive in front and Travis Konecny then potted the loose puck into the the back of the net.
According to the NHL, it was Konecny's first goal of the preseason. It was actually his second, but the league does not recognize his goal scored against the Devils in the game at the PPL Center in Allentown because there was apparently not an NHL off-ice crew at that game. That was also why his assist against the Bruins the other day was deemed his first of the exhibition slate.
Steve Mason, whose fiancee is slated to deliver a baby girl on Thursday, made his second start of the preseason. He stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn the win.
Ryan Graves scored from the right slot to make it 3-1 at 16:23 of the second period; the first goal Mason had allowed in his first 96:23 of preseason action. In the third period, Flyers turnovers proved costly.
Samuel Morin, stationed behind the net, gave the puck away directly to Brandon Pirri the right slot and Pirri fired a turnaround shot over Mason with 15:14 remaining in the third period to cut the gap to 3-2. At 10:51, with the Rangers on the power play, Mason's own giveaway behind the net came back quickly to bite him as Jimmy Vesey had an empty net in front once he received a centering pass from Derek Stepan. Mason had a lot of room to go around the boards the other way on his forehand but opted instead to backhand it; catching Michael Del Zotto off-guard. That goal was on Mason, but it didn't help that Del Zotto was coasting back and was caught flat footed as the puck was centered.
Provorov led the Flyers in ice time with 25:44, including 6:03 of penalty killing time. He didn't play a flawless game, but did not let mistakes compound and made a lot of good plays along the way. As indicated before the preseason, the Flyers were going to set the bar high for him in the preseason, testing him to see if he could handle the hefty workload of a top three or four player on the blueline. He continued to make the decision tough on whether to keep him on the roster or return him to his WHL junior team, the Brandon Wheat Kings.
"He's got great poise back there, he stepped in and done a great job in this game," said goaltender Steve Mason to the attending media. "He's still got some work to be done. I think he's pushed himself both on and off the ice, and he's come in and worked hard."
Flyers captain Claude Giroux made his first appearance of the preseason after his return from the World Cup of Hockey. He centered a line with Brayden Schenn on left wing and Konecny on the right side.
"He is aggressive, competes," Giroux said of Konecny to the attending media. "He is not scared of going to the net. He wins a lot of battles. He is definitely fun to play with."
The Flyers spent much of the game with only five defensemen. In his first game of the preseason after being medically cleared from a wrist injury, Radko Gudas received a boarding penalty, game misconduct and ensuing fighting major (with Dylan McIlrath, who got tagged with an instigation penalty) for a hit on Vesey. On the play, Vesey turned toward the boards and put himself into a vulnerable position just before he got hit. Fortunately, he was not significantly injured on the play.