Even when the Flyers gave back two goals of a three-goal lead in the second period last night, I never felt like the game was in serious danger of slipping away. As a matter of fact, if the Flyers were going to continue their recent bad habit of losing focus with a multiple-goal lead in hand, late in the second period was probably the least damaging time to do it in terms of the overall game picture.
First, the Flyers players figured to be mad at themselves and more likely to come out in the third period ready to play aggressive, focused hockey again. The team knows that its capable of doing better and had plenty of motivation heading into the final stanza.
In addition, you knew that Peter Laviolette -- who stalked off the bench already glowering after the horn sounded to end the second period -- was about to hammer home a message to his club that its sloppy play with and without the puck in the second period was unacceptable. If they wanted the two points, they'd still have to put in the work to earn them.
Lines were juggled to start the third period, with players whose heads were in the game (such as Darroll Powe) being moved up in the lineup to start the period and players who were guilty of lapses (such as Ville Leino) being temporarily moved down. The message got through quickly, and the usual lines (sans Nikolay Zherdev, who stayed on the fourth line for much of the final period) were restored.
Last but not least, even with the Flyers' letdown in the second period and good fortune in the Sens having a would-be goal waved off, it was still very clear that they would win the game (and quite possibly turn it into a blowout) as long as they came out with renewed energy in the final stanza.
The Senators are just not a good team right now, and haven't been for most of the season. They were getting shaky goaltending from Brian Elliott on this night, and the keeper still looked vulnerable to getting picked apart.
In hockey, there are plenty of times where things go awry for part of a game. The best teams are routinely able to play through the tough patches and recover to win the game anyway. The Flyers have shown that they are such a team, and the 6-2 final score last night reflected it.
That said, Philly cannot afford to keep letting opponents get up off the mat when they're down. The killer instinct the Flyers showed in the third period last night needs to there at all times, and not just as a result of having a scare thrown into them by blowing or almost blowing a big lead.
****
Regarding the fights and general nastiness of the third period, that was to be expected. Ottawa is a frustrated hockey team and was starting to get embarrassed on the scoreboard. Something was bound to happen.
As soon as Claude Giroux made that open-ice hit attempt on Jesse Winchester (good to see the Flyers initiating against a "tougher" team, by the way, and I had no problem with it), you knew the fuse had been lit even before the fights started to spill out seconds later.
From there, both clubs simply stood up for themselves and for their teammates. Jeff Carter engaged in a rare fight, taking on Winchester in proxy for Giroux. Good for both of them.
Chris Neil subsequently went after Giroux, and Jody Shelley then waited for his chance to get to Neil. There was nothing to be gained from dropping the gloves with Matt Carkner, which is the only reason why Shelley turned down a fight with him. Win or lose -- and he's lost his share of fights -- Shelley isn't afraid of anyone in the NHL. Neil was the guy he wanted, so he didn't take the bait from Carkner. I fully expect another challenge to be issued the next time the two clubs meet, and for Shelley to willingly oblige Carkner.
If this were true old-time hockey, by the way, Shelley wouldn't even have gone after Neil. He'd have been put on the ice specifically to grab a skill player such as Milan Michalek or Daniel Alfredsson and start pummeling him simply because Flyers skill guys had targets on their backs. But the game isn't played that way anymore.
Kudos to Nick Foligno for fighting Giroux on behalf of his teammate, and also to Giroux for being willing to answer the challenge. Ordinarily, you don't want your skill players such as Giroux or Carter to be dropping the gloves but the situation last night dictated it.
As for the Jarkko Ruutu vs. Scott Hartnell fight, that was the most predictable of all the matchups after Shelley vs. Neil: two yappers who already had past animosities.
That's just the way hockey goes. You can usually sense when these things are brewing, you just don't when the pot is going to boil over.
****
According to the Flyers' Brian Smith, the 67 points the Flyers have racked up through 47 games is tied for the third-fastest pace in franchise history at this point of the season. In 1979-80 (the year of the 35-game unbeaten streak), the Flyers had 76 points after 47 games. In 1975-76, Philly had 68 points at this juncture of the season.
The Flyers also had 67 points after 47 games in their second Stanley Cup winning season of 1974-75. They had 66 points in 1973-74 (their first Cup season), 1985-86 and 1986-87.
With the exception of 1985-86, the season in which Pelle Lindbergh's death in November cast a pall over the rest of the campaign and left everyone mentally exhausted before the playoffs even started, the Flyers eventually reached the Stanley Cup Final in all of the aforementioned season.
Good omen? We'll see.
*****
The Flyers generated two power play goals against the Senators last night. If it seems to you as if there's been a major dearth of such games over the last couple months, you'd be absolutely right. Last night marked just the second time in 29 games that they’d produced multiple power play goals in a game.
The most recent time it happened was the second game of the post-Christmas road trip, when the Flyers tallied a pair of PPGs en route to victory in Los Angeles on Dec. 30.
*****
Yesterday's
Daily Drop dealt with the NHL's waiver rules for free agents signed in-season after leaving European clubs. The St. Louis Blues recently lost two players -- Marek Svatos and Kyle Wellwood -- to this process.
That issue is very much back at the forefront today, with the Detroit Red Wings now being forced to expose Evgeni Nabokov to waivers before they can add the goalie to the roster for the rest of the season.
If I were an NHL GM, I would consider putting in a waiver claim on Nabokov. He is only going to make a reported $570,000 over the balance of the season. Despite his "playoff choker" reputation and mediocre KHL performance this season prior to his release from SKA St. Petersburg, he is still a potentially better option than many of the goaltenders in the NHL. And yes, on a strict one-to-one comparativebasis, I would still include Brian Boucher on that list of goalies.
However, I don't expect the Flyers to put in a claim. Four reasons:
1) Nabokov had a chance to come here over the summer but wasn't interested and his salary demands at the time were way out of line with the buyer's marketplace. For good reason, the Flyers want players who want to be here (like Boucher) over guys who are reluctant for whatever reason -- be it family, money or just a preference to live and play in the other conference.
2) The Flyers have already tried the three-goalie approach for a brief time this season when Michael Leighton returned from back surgery. It didn't work, as is usually the case.
3) If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The rotation of Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky has worked well so far. Yes, I know there's the whole "a fellow Russian like Nabokov could be a great mentor the rest of the season for the rookie Bobrovsky" angle. But Boucher has actually been an excellent mentor for Bobrovsky, as has goaltending coach Jeff Reese. The language of hockey overcomes a lot of cultural or linguistic barriers, and Bobrovsky is already settling in nicely. He's self-motivated by nature.
4) While loyalty to a player should never stand in the way of potentially improving the team, Brian Boucher has earned the right to stay off the waiver wire. A trade for a mid-round draft pick might be a possibility but I just couldn't see him being waived to Adirondack (assuming he went unclaimed) at this point, especially with Leighton already playing there the rest of the season. The biggest question is whether Nabokov is really that much of an upgrade at this point that it'd be worth shuffling around the roster.
To me, the answer is no.
It all may be a moot point, anyway. It has already been rumored that the New Jersey Devils -- the first team on the waiver priority list -- may claim Nabokov and then put him right back on waivers, which would then allow Detroit to potentially reclaim him. NHL rules forbid the Devils or other teams from claiming Nabokov and then trading him to Detroit, but there is nothing to stop an indirect favor being done by the Wings in return.
****
Has there been a more enigmatic team in the NHL this season than the San Jose Sharks? Just when they seem to be spinning their wheels, they crank out a couple gems, as they did in outlasting Vancouver last night (one game after they won on the road in Phoenix). But every time you think the Sharks have turned the corner, they find ways to shoot themselves in the foot. So I'm reluctant to declare last night's win for San Jose a turning point in the season for the Sharks.
Today's
Daily Drop looks at the Sharks' inconsistency.
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