From a dispassionate point of view, all regular season wins are created equal. They're all worth two points in the standings. But from a psychological and emotional perspective, some victories mean more than others.
The Flyers' 5-1 win in Washington last night was impressive in terms of the scoresheet. Thirteen different Philadelphia registered at least one point. Ilya Bryzgalov was in peak form and made many quality stops among his 31 saves. But, even more importantly, the Flyers' effort last night demonstrated the team's character, depth and work ethic -- both to themselves and to the entire NHL.
"Total team effort" is a hackneyed phrase, but that's exactly what the Flyers put forth last night. The only way a team can survive the loss of its top forward and top defenseman for prolonged periods of time is for the rest of the team to unite collectively and challenge themselves individually to elevate their games.
Over the course of the Flyers' 6-0-0 run in December, for example, we have seen the Flyers' defensemen demonstrate this principle in the absence of Chris Pronger (concussion. knee surgery). Last night, virtually every player in orange and black brought their A-game, and the results were something to behold. To do it on the same day that the club learned it would be without Claude Giroux (concussion) indefinitely was a testament to the team's intestinal fortitude.
On the flip side, I'm still at a loss to explain what's happened to the Washington Capitals. It's mind-boggling to contemplate how a team that started the season 7-0-0 had to fire its coach by Thanksgiving and still hasn't righted its ship in seven games under Dale Hunter.
Last night's game was a case of a surging team that came ready to work and played a game of controlled aggression picking apart a dispirited club in which too many players played as individuals. It also didn't help the Washington cause that Tomas Vokoun played a lousy game in goal, allowing two soft goals (including the game's all-important first goal by Scott Hartnell) and never seeming to be in control.
I have always hated the hockey expression "playing with desperation", because a desperate team is one that looks like Washington did last night -- panicky, disorganized, impatient and making low-percentage plays as a result. A desperate team may work hard but it doesn't work smart. The Flyers have been there themselves (every team has), and it's not a fun place to be.
Conversely, when a team is playing as well as the Flyers are right now, everything seems doable -- including winning handily without its two most important individual players. Last night, I loved the two-way effort by the Philadelphia blueline in particular.
It was nice to see Marc-Andre Bourdon rewarded with his first NHL goal, for Hartnell to run his goal-scoring streak to six consecutive games, for Wayne Simmonds to make it three straight with a goal, for Jakub Voracek to notch a goal after knocking on the door numerous times in recent games and for the fourth line (especially the much-maligned Jody Shelley) to help produce a goal.
It was good for Philadelphia to stay out of the penalty box (only three minors) and for their five-on-five play to make it completely irrelevant that the team's 3rd-ranked power play only got one opportunity. It was a relief that Bryzgalov not only did not re-aggravate whatever forced him out of Saturday's game against Tampa, but for him to look so sharp in goal in the process.
After an awful day of news for the Flyers, it was a cathartic night of hockey. Combine the Flyers' win with a favorable night on the out-of-town scoreboard (the Rangers got shut out by Dallas and the Penguins were blown out by Detroit), and things don't get much better from the small-picture perspective.
In the big picture, of course, it was only one night and one game. The Flyers will need to duplicate last night's effort throughout the absences of Giroux and Pronger and must then routinely reach that level again in April and beyond.
There is always an ebb and flow to a hockey season. Regardless of the personnel that is or is not available, things won't always go the way they did last night. For whatever reason, Philly often seems to have its best months of the regular season in November and/or December and the period from mid-January to mid-March is often a struggle.
But when the inevitable ebbs happen again, last night's game is one the team can look back at and know that they are capable of pulling themselves up by their skate laces when they set their minds to it.
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Tonight marks the first installment of 24/7 on HBO. It should make for fascinating viewing.
This week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com looks at Marty Turco's decision to play for Austrian team EC Red Bull Salzburg at the Red Bulls Salute tournament taking place in Austria over the weekend. From a Flyers point of view, it was probably fortunate that Turco did not sign in Philly as a free agent in the summer of 2010.
Last week, I completed a prospect roundup article -- looking at Nick Cousins, Niko Hovinen and Marcel Noebels -- for the Flyers' official site. With all the Chris Pronger and Claude Giroux news updates, the article's publication date has been rolled back several times. I will post and Tweet the link when it eventually runs.
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In conjunction with our sponsor, Hockeytickets.ca, I am pleased to announce our next Flyers ticket contest.
Since we already gave away two seats to the Flyers-Bruins game on Saturday, which is the last home game until the Winter Classic, this contest will be one for a pair of ROAD GAME tickets to see the Flyers take on the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on Wed. December 21.
To enter the contest, simply send an email to
[email protected] with Flyers-Stars ticket contest in the subject line. A winner will be chosen in a random drawing on Thursday evening and announced on Friday.
Please note that we cannot provide transportation or other accommodations if the contest winner is someone who has to travel for the game. The contest is for the tickets ONLY. Thus, If you enter the contest, please make sure you will be able to use the tickets or else we will have to draw an alternate winner.
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Please visit our sponsors,
Philly Phaithful and
HockeyTickets.ca.
On Philly Phaithful, use coupon code "hb10" between now and Dec 31 to receive a 10% discount on your order.
On hockeytickets.ca, use coupon code "FlyersBuzz" between now and Dec 31 to receive a 10% discount on all ticket orders over $150 -- including the Winter Classic -- and also have a chance to win two free lower-level seats to a Flyers regular season game of your choice at the Wells Fargo Center.
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