Wrapup
On
February 22, 1988, the Flyers trailed the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 shortly passed the midway point of regulation. Philly went on to tally 10 goals over the remainder of the game and downed the Red Wings by an 11-6 score.
That was the last time the Flyers successfully erased a four-goal deficit and went on to win a game.
The Flyers played loose, sloppy hockey for 40 minutes tonight, but rode a wave of momentum and emotion in the third period to an extraordinary comeback win. The Flyers haven't been involved for awhile in a game where they trailed big early, but when they have been in games like that this season, they've at least stuck with it and mounted some comeback bids. Tonight, they put it all together in a staggering third period.
Antero Niiittymaki played a pedestrian game in the first two periods but came up huge in the third period, overtime and shootout. Likewise, key players such as Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards came up big after doing little right in the first two periods.
I was disappointed with the way we played the first two periods," said Flyers coach John Stevens. " It seemed like our role players were really providing the energy and the physically play but we were allowing their skill people to hurt us. ...We were playing a stretch game. The game plan was to get pucks in deep and put pressure on them with our forecheck.
"I just asked them to go out and play 20 minutes the right way. I never had any idea that we could come back from that kind of a hole from a team that was playing so well.”
One factor that unquestionably helped the Flyers' comeback tonight was Carolina's depleted blueline. Dennis Seidenberg didn't play after all and with the likes of Frantisek Kaberle, Niclas Wallin and Tim Gleason already missing, the Canes didn't have an NHL caliber blueline out there.
The Hurricanes had to dress a young, inexperienced blueline and once the Flyers got the ball rolling, you could see some panic starting to set in. The Canes had to overplay Joni Pitkanen and Joe Corvo, and the end results speak for themselves.
Notes and quotes:
* Joni Pitkanen led all players with 33:24 of ice time, while Kimmo Timonen (32:15) and Braydon Coburn (32:35) logged monster ice time for the Flyers.
* How inexperienced was the defense corps that the Canes started tonight? After Pitkanen (who is hardly a savvy, take-charge player) and veteran Joe Corvo, the other four starters had a combined 35 games of NHL experience: 21 games for Tim Conboy (8:12 played), 13 games for Casey Borer (6:20), and one game for Brett Carson (25:04). Bryan Rodney (23:39) made his NHL debut tonight.
* Most of Scott Hartnell's goals are of the dirty-but-good variety, and that was certainly the case tonight.
"I just focused on getting the net no matter what, and tonight the puck was finding me. It's a good feeling, because I haven't been getting as many going my way as I'd like," said Hartnell.
* Simon Gagne said of his shootout goal that his intention all along was to fake to the backhand (the move he uses 90% of the time) and then move to his forehand. Leighton committed so early that it became an easy goal.
* Antero Niitymaki said of the turnaround in the game, "In the second period I don’t really know what happened. It didn’t matter what I tried to do, the rebounds went straight back to them, and everything went in, and you’re just trying to think ‘what’s going on here.’ Then I got a couple saves after that, and we came out so hard in the third period, everybody kind of got fired up, and it’s kind of like a new game, and the guys just did an unbelievable job.”
* After the second period, John Stevens told the players that they weren't giving the fans who'd come out in the rain their money's worth.
Said Hartnell, “We came in, and he basically said you’re playing like a bunch of pansies, and we didn’t get the team game in motion in the first forty minutes. They had a lot of young defense back there, but we weren’t getting the puck in deep, we were turning it over, basically playing losing hockey. We turned it on for twenty minutes, you get one quick, you never know what’s going to happen, and we stuck with it, got a couple of great goals late, and we were able to get the extra point out of it.”
Overtime and shootout synopsis: Flyers 6 - Canes 5
Mike Richards buries Brandon Sutter with a big hit behind the Flyers net, alleviating pressure from the Canes.
Flyers nabbed for too many men on the ice at 3:20, setting up a 4-on-3 for the remainder of overtime. Canes keep feeding Joni Pitkanen, stationed along the half-boards. Richards forces a bad pass and the zone is cleared. Later, Niitty stops a side-angle Pitkanen shot. The Flyers' goalie goes on to make two more saves.
OT shots were 4 for Carolina and 3 for the Flyers (Flyers ahead 37-31 overall). Final faceoffs were 36-26 in Carolina's favor.
In the shootout, the Flyers shoot first.
1) Simon Gagne does not make his usual move to the backhand as Leighton commits early. Gagne fakes to the backhand, moves around the goaltender to the left and slides the puck into the net on the forehand.
2) Niittymaki stays with Tuomo Ruutu and makes a blocker save.
3) Mike Richards moves to the backhand and elevates the shot over Leighton for a goal.
4) Niittymaki seals the win by stopping Rod Brind'Amour with a glove save.
3rd period synopsis: Flyers 5- Canes 5
Incredible! The Flyers pot four goals on 15 shots in the third period to erase a four-goal deficit and force OT. Early this season, the Flyers flirted with a few comebacks like this, but weren't quite able to pull it off. Now they are a very confident hockey team.
Simon Gagne throws a solid hit on Matt Cullen along the neutral zone boards at 0:50.
Canes 5 - Flyers 2: At the 1:42 mark, Scott Hartnell nets his second of the game. Jeff Carter wins a faceoff back to Andrew Alberts and Hartnell goes to the net.
The Carter line stays out after the goal but at 2:28, Carter goes off for hooking. On the ensuing kill, Ossi Vaananen sweeps to safety a puck that got past Niittymaki. Canes get away with a tripping penalty on a shorthanded counterattack.
With Carter out of the box, the Flyers' center forces the Carolina D to back in as he gains the blueline with speed. Leighton makes a nice pad save on Carter's wrister.
Brett Carson off for holding Kimmo Timonen at 5:28. A fortuitious bounce late in the powerplay helps the Flyers.
Canes 5 - Flyers 3: Scott Hartnell shoots the puck over the net, but keeps heading to the net as the puck goes off the glass directly out into the slot. Hartnell finishes off the hat trick (9th goal of the season) at 7:12. Assists to Joffrey Lupul and Braydon Coburn.
A Flyers turnover leads directly to Patrick Eaves scoring chance, but Niitymaki does the splits and makes a skate save.
Darroll Powe with a big hit as the Flyers forecheck deep in Carolina territory with about seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Canes 5 - Flyers 4: At 15:08 , Scottie Upshall lifts a Lasse Kukkonen rebound over Leighton from the left slot for his 5th goal of the season. Andrew Alberts passed point-to-point to his defense partner and drew the secondary assist.
Mike Knuble comes close to tying the game. On the same shift, Carson goes off for hooking at 16:13. Niittymaki makes a glove save on a 2-on-1 to keep the game at one goal. The Flyers don't capitalizale on the powerplay, but the save proves critical.
Flyers 5 - Canes 5: Simon Gagne ties the game at 18:16 from near the right post. Mike Richards put the puck in toward the net and Mike Knuble sent it out in front to Gagne for his 15th of the season.
Shots were 15-6 Flyers. Faceoffs were
2nd period synopsis: Flyers 1 - Canes 5
Bad coverage, fat rebounds and slow reactions result in a disastrous period that would seem to make the result of the game all but a foregone conclusion. Eric Staal is having a dominant game. Rod Brind'Amour is owning the faceoff circle. Michael Leighton has been very sharp in goal. The Flyers haven't given up on games when they've been in this situation, but it's going to be a steep mountain to climb.
Canes 2 - Flyers 0: Loose coverage hurts the Flyers again at 2:10. Lasse Kukkonen throws a hit on Ryan Bayda at the blueline but play moves past him as Bayda gets the puck into the zone to Justin Williams. The former Flyer sends a pass across that Luca Sbisa attempts to get a stick on but can't quite stop. Matt Cullen gets the puck, cuts in from the circle with Andreas Nodl trying in vain to stop him. Cullen beats Niittymaki for his 8th goal of the season.
Scott Walker off for high sticking at 2:34. Mike Knuble comes within a whisker of potting a goal from the doorstep. At the end of the powerplay, Jeff Carter is stopped by Michael Leighton's skate.
Coincidental minors and 4-on-4 play at 5:25. Carolina's Bryan Rodney off for delay off game, Jeff Carter off for tripping.
Chad Larose off for holding at 7:39. The Flyers' cash in to get on the board.
Canes 2 - Flyers 1: Jeff Carter moves over the middle at the top of the zone. Scott Hartnell deflects it home as he sets up a screen directly in front of Leighton at 9:17.
The Flyers give the goal right back, however.
Canes 3 - Flyers 1: At 9:28, the Flyers coverage breaks down on a Carolina rush. Sergei Samsonov scores his fourth goal of the season off a feed from Eric Staal.
All hell breaks loose in the Flyers zone at 11:31 after a questionable hit. After the first round of scrums seemed to be settling down, Arron Asham kayos Scott Walker. Asham gets an instigator penalty, and Andrew Alberts gets a double roughing minor, setting up a two-minute long 5-on-3.
Carolina capitalizes on both ends of the advantage:
Canes 4 - Flyers 1: At 11:08, Joni Pitkanen tees up a shot that beats Niittymaki for his second of the season. Assists to Ryan Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour.
Canes 5 - Flyers 1: A long rebound comes out to Eric Staal, who fires it over Niitymaki at 15:13 for his second goal of the game and another powerplay goal. Assists to Corvo and Ruutu.
At 18:30, Lasse Kukkonen makes a nice play up to Mike Richards to start a Flyers rush and nearly finishes it off at the other end on a rebound, but chips the puck wide of the net.
At 19;50, Scottie Upshall carries up ice on a 2-on-1 rush and elects to shoot from the top of the circle. Leighton stops it cleanly with no rebound.
Shots were 11 for Carolina and 10 for the Flyers (Canes lead 21-19 through two periods). Faceoffs were 15-8 for Carolina (Brind'Amour 13-for-17 through two periods).
1st period synopsis: Flyers 0 - Canes 1
The Flyers get off to a sluggish start and fall behind early. Philadelphia looked very disorganized and prone to drifting around in the defensive zone. They got better over the second half of the period, but it was hardly a stellar opening stanza for Philadelphia.
Canes 1 - Flyers 0: At 1:01, Eric Staal takes a pass out of the corner from Tuomo Ruutu. He slides his 10th goal of the season on the backhand past Niittymaki.
At 1:55, Ryan Bayda goes off for hooking. Not much doing on the Flyers' powerplay.
Kimmo Timonen off for tripping at 5:08. The Flyers get through it.
Carolina continues to control the play. At 8:26, Niittymaki stops a pinballing puck along the goal line, but Eric Staal was called for high sticking, anyway.
In the waning seconds of the powerplay, Scottie Upshall is sent off for roughing at 10:22. Solid kill by the Flyers.
Scott Hartnell lands a big hit on Rod Brind'Amour and then thumps Casey Borer in a short fight at 16:23.
Shots were 10 for Carolina, 9 for the Flyers. Faceoffs were 7-7 (Brind'Amour was 5-for-6, Jeff Carter was 2-for-7). Hits were 6-1 in the Flyers' favor.
Preview (2:30 PM, EST)
The Flyers (14-6-7) and Hurricanes (13-12-3) have become very familiar with one another as of late. The clubs will complete their whirlwind four-game season series tonight at the Wachovia Center, marking the Flyers' fourth game with Carolina in their last eight matches overall. Two of the three previous games have been decided in overtime.
Even with the recent return of former Flyer Justin Williams, Carolina's lineup remains depleted. The Canes' blueline is even more of a hospital ward than the Flyers'. Ex-Flyer Dennis Seidenberg is expected to play tonight for the Canes, but Anton Babchuk (elbow), Frantisek Kaberle (lower-body), Niclas Wallin (leg) and Tim Gleason (leg) are all unavailable. Starting goalie Cam Ward also remains out of the lineup, with Michael Leighton expected to start tonight.
The Flyers will start the same lineup they used on Tuesday, with the exception of Antero Niittymäki starting in goal tonight.
FLYERS LINES
Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Metropolit - Nödl
Cote - Powe - Asham
Timonen - Väänänen
Coburn - Alberts/Sbisa
Sbisa/Alberts - Kukkonen
Nittymäki
[Biron]
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