When all was said and done, the Philadelphia Flyers gained ground on the second-place Washington Capitals after the home-and-home set between the two teams.
Yes, it was only an aggregate one point when it should have been four. However, the bottom line from Tuesday's 5-2 final at the Wells Fargo Center is that the Flyers rebounded from Sunday's horrific collapse by building another three goal lead and did not relinquishing their grip this time.
With the win, the Flyers returned to the .500 level on the season (15-15-4) and improved their home record for the season to 9-7-0. The Flyers are one point behind third-place Carolina and five points behind Washington.
Here are a half dozen important factors in Tuesday's victory:
1. Philly handled the second-period adversity well after trailing 2-1. They had played fairly well up to this point, but they've been in similar situations this season and wilted. This time around, the Flyers played with focused urgency rather than desperation (no matter how that word gets misused in coaching cliches, a truly "desperate" team by definition is one that becomes unfocused, reactive, undisciplined and error-prone out of their despair when faced with adversity).
The Adam Hall vs Aaron Volpatti fight six seconds after Eric Fehr put Washington ahead for the second time in the middle frame was an emotional jump-off point for Philly. Hall does not fight all that often. It was his third fight in the last three seasons. Volpatti -- who, in the first meeting between the clubs this season, socked Steve Downie with a devastating punch and then admirably let go when he saw his opponent was injured and in trouble -- had his fourth fight of the 2013-14 season and ninth in the last two seasons.
In general, the Flyers just kept plugging away after the trailed. They forechecked with intensity, re-established their defensive equilibrium and generally made themselves a team that was competing and making itself unpleasant to play against.
At 11:54 of the middle stanza, Matt Read's team-leading 10th goal of the season -- made possible by Downie keeping a rebound of a Nicklas Grossmann shot alive in front and poking the puck to an open Read -- tied the game at 2-2.
The ultimate turning point of the game happened at 15:17 of the middle period. That's when Tom Wilson earned a charging major and game misconduct for a reckless hit on Brayden Schenn. Despite the post-game protests of Capitals coach Adam Oates and general manager George McPhee, this was a textbook charge.
Grossmann came over immediately to confront Wilson. Wilson was ready for him and an indecisive fight (which was mainly a grappling match) ensued. In the ensuing scrums, Scott Hartnell and Eric Fehr also went off for roughing.
Schenn fell down a couple times and was woozy heading off the ice, not to return to the game. The early word is that he's OK, but the days that follow such a jarring hit are often more telling than the immediate postgame optimism.
2. The Flyers power play made the Capitals pay dearly for Wilson's boarding major. The Flyers' power play had been a miserable 6-for-62 (9.7 percent) on home ice this season and had gone 0-for-4 in Washington on Sunday. This time around, the Flyers potted a pair of goals before the end of the second period, forging a 4-2 lead at the second intermission.
The go-ahead goal was a blast through traffic by defenseman Mark Streit, who scored one goal apiece in each game of the home-and-home to bring his season total to three. This goal showed Streit using his best asset -- his explosive shot -- to maximum effect. It is also worth noting that fourth line winger Chris VandeVelde was out on the ice for this power play as the net-front forward. VandeVelde provided Streit with a screen on Braden Holtby (30 saves on 35 shots).
With 1:44 remaining in the second period, the power play struck again. Jakub Voracek cut in from the right circle and threaded a low shot past Holtby. The goal was Voracek's second of the game.
3. Voracek continued his recent stretch of highly productive offensive play and the Flyers got balanced scoring. With his two tallies against the Capitals, Voracek extended his point streak to five straight games. He's scored goals in four of the last five matches and assisted on both Flyers goal in last Thursday's 2-1 win over Montreal. Overall, Voracek has five goals and seven points in that span.
Voracek's first goal -- a quick response to the Caps going up 1-0 -- was a beauty that was reminiscent of his career-best season last year. The play started with Braydon Coburn firing a perfect stretch pass to him. Hitting the blueline with speed, Voracek ripped a shot from the right circle high to the long side.
It should also be noted that Claude Giroux, who assisted on the second Voracek goal, has posted points in four straight games (two goals, four assists, six points).
Voracek's two goals in this game were supplemented by a goal from the defense (Streit), one from a member of the Sean Couturier line (Read) and one from a member (Wayne Simmonds in the third period) of what had been an effective Schenn line prior to the incident with Wilson. I'd call that a night of good offensive balance.
4. No third-period letup. Unlike the latter half of the third period in Sunday's game, the Flyers did not stop pressuring the puck. They kept up the forechecking pressure. As a result, Philly narrowly outshot the Caps in the third period (13-12) and the three-goal lead held until the final buzzer.
5. Steve Mason held the fort. The first goal that Mason allowed was a questionable and ill-timed one early in the period. After a scoreless opening stanza in which Philly outshot the Caps, 10-9, the ever-dangerous Alex Ovechkin got Washington on the board first with a power play goal at the 40-second mark.
On this play, Mason was unable to control a puck as it slowly fluttered across the ice in front of him. He then allowed a leaky goal on a weak backhander from Ovechkin near the net.
After Voracek tied the game 58 seconds later, Eric Fehr restored the lead for Washington at the 5:31 mark. Mason had no chance on this one, which was a direct result of some poor defensive coverage by Erik Gustafsson. Fehr received a centering pass from Troy Brouwer, who was stationed by the net. Fehr converted the bang-bang scoring chance in front.
As the game moved along, Mason authored several tough saves. in between stretches of inactivity. He was especially good on a couple of clean glove saves in the third stanza.
Ultimately, Mason finished with 24 saves on 26 shots.
6. The Flyers largely avoided putting themselves shorthanded. This was an emotional game and a physical one with a combined 47 credited hits (24 for the Flyers), but the Flyers only found themselves shorthanded twice in the game. Considering how formidable the Washington power play is, that was a welcomed development for Philly.
Next up for the Flyers before the Christmas break is another home-and-home set. The opponent will be the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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