3rd period synopsis
Excellent chances for Mike Richards and Simon Gagne in the first minute of the period, but both shots are steered wide of the net.
Andrew Alberts hit in the foot by a shot at the 3:02 mark. He had to be helped off the ice by defensive partner Ryan Parent and Scottie Upshall.
Glen Metropolit sent off for a boarding minor at 3:09. Once again, the Flyers get through the penalty.
Mike Richards gets sent off for hooking at 9:27. The penalty not only gave the Kings another 5-on-4 opportunity, it also took the NHL’s most dangerous penalty killer off the ice. But the team responded with one of its strongest kills of the game.
Wayne Simmonds has an excellent chance to tie the game, but Martin Biron stones him at point-blank range at about the 14:50 mark.
Mike Richards takes an icing at 18:43. The Flyers take a timeout. As play resumes the Kings pull Ersberg for an extra attacker.
Richards takes a pass from Gagne and misses the empty net on the backhand at 19:33. LA takes its timeout.
Flyers 2 - Kings 0: Simon Gagne punctuates the game with an empty netter at 19:59. The goal, Gagne's 23rd of the season, was assisted by Jeff Carter.
Shots were 9-6 Los Angeles, 34-20 LA for the game.
2nd period synopsis
The first half the second period was very uneventful.
Jeff Carter took a tripping penalty at 12:11. The Kings generated a flurry of chances but Biron had the answer every time. After the penalty expired, Carter sped off on the rush, drawing a holding penalty on Matt Greene at 14:31.
Flyers 1 – Kings 0: Stationed in the circle, Jeff Carter passes to Joffrey Lupul and goes to the net. Ersberg stopped the initial opportunity but Carter jammed home the puck for his 26th goal at 16:11.
Darroll Powe off for hooking at 16:49. Biron enables the Flyers to survive.
Second period shots were 13-5 in the Kings' favor.
1st period synopsis
The Kings applied the pressure early, controlling the puck in the Philadelphia end of the ice and generating five shots on goal within the first three and a half minutes of the opening faceoff.
At the 4:02 mark, a shot trickled past Erik Ersberg and inched along the goal line as the goalie fell backwards. The call on the ice was no goal.
Two excellent scoring chances from the Giroux line denied by Ersberg at about the 6:00 mark. Best chance was a Giroux feed to Powe in the slot. Shots 7-3 through 6:38.
Randy Jones charged with third giveaway in three shifts (2:47 of ice time).
Mike Knuble blocks a shot and feeds ahead to Simon Gagne. At 7:31, Matt Greene is forced to take a holding penalty as Gagne goes in. Best chance was from Jeff Carter at the end of the advantage.
Sean O’Donnell breaks his stick on a point shot and the Giroux line counterattacks. Playing without a stick, O’Donnell blocks a Powe shot at about the 12:00 mark.
At 13:30, Braydon Coburn goes off for tripping Alexander Frolov at the blueline. Biron denies Frolov in close on the rebound of a point shot.
At 18:00, Jack Johnson knocks down Scottie Upshall in front and gets a crosschecking penalty. The Flyers get good pressure on Ersberg but can’t find the net.
Shots were 12 for Los Angeles, 9 for the Flyers.
Preview
Fresh off last night's rousing comeback victory in Washington, the Flyers (32-17-9) return home to take on the pesky Los Angeles Kings (26-24-6). Both clubs are playing on consecutive nights. The Kings prevailed over the Minnesota Wild in a shootout, 2-1, arriving at their hotels in Philadelphia at 3 AM.
Los Angeles is in the second leg of a five-game road trip that will also take the Kings to Detroit, Chicago and Columbus. Terry Murray has the youngest team in the league playing competitive, hard-working hockey. Prior to last night's win in Minnesota, they were five points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The club is 5-3-2 in its last 10 games.
The longer the Kings hang around in games, the greater the chance they'll win. Los Angeles has scored just 44 goals in the first period while allowing 52 goals. But if they get out of the first period leading or tied, LA becomes a dangerous foe.
The Kings have outscored the opposition 58-53 in the second period, and boast a 14-2-1 record when leading after the opening period (10-9-4 when tied). On the flip side, LA is just 4-18-6 when allowing the game's first goal, and 2-13-4 when trailing at the end of the first stanza.
Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg have generally been solid in goal for the Kings. Quick, who started last night, has the superior save percentage (.912 to .899). The hallmark of a Terry Murray team is a commitment to team defense. Despite the club's youth, Los Angeles is usually sound defensively.
Flyers player to watch: Joffrey Lupul came on strong in the third period last night after being restored to the Jeff Carter line. Lupul played an important role in triggering the Flyers' three-goal explosion in last night's game. With Claude Giroux playing excellent hockey and Daniel Briere on the brink of returning to the lineup, Lupul needs to play more consistently.
Kings player to watch: Anze Kopitar has one point (a goal) in three career games against the Flyers. The NHL's first Slovenian star, have seven points in his last five games. He's one goal away from his 20th of the season. When he scores it, he'll be only the second Kings player to start his NHL career with three consecutive 20-goal campaigns. The first was Luc Robitaille. With team captain Dustin Brown unlikely to join the team in Philadelphia shortly after the birth his second child, Kopitar will be even more important than usual to the LA attack.
By the numbers
5-on-5: Flyers 106 GF-104 GA, Kings 82 GF - 97 GA
4-on-4: Flyers 7 GF - 9 GA, Kings 5 GF - 6 GA
Empty net: Flyers 9 GF - 2 GA, Kings 9 GF - 8 GA
Penalties: Flyers are the NHL's most penalized team, Kings are 9th most penalized
Flyers powerplay vs Kings penalty kill
Overall: Flyers 22.9% (4th in NHL), Kings 82.0% (T-13th in NHL)
Home PP/Road PK: Flyers 32.1% (1st in NHL), 81.6% (16th in NHL)
SHG: Flyers 0 SHGA, Kings 4 SHGF (Frolov, Kopitar, Handzus, Sullivan)
Flyers penalty kill vs Kings powerplay
Overall: Flyers 82.9% (8th in NHL), Kings 20.1% (11th in NHL)
Home PK/Road PP: Flyers 84.6% (T-6th in NHL), Kings 19.2% (12th in NHL)
SHG: Flyers 16 SHGF (Richards 7, Carter 4, Gagne 4, Hartnell 1), Kings 7 SHGA
Potential lines (subject to change)
Flyers
Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Giroux - Powe
Cote - Metropolit - Asham
Timonen/Väänänen - Parent
Coburn - Carle
Alberts - Jones
Biron
[Niittymäki]
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