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Wrap: Very Emotional Day Capped by 4-1 Win vs. Ducks |
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Wrap: Very Emotional Day Capped by 4-1 Win vs. Ducks
Putting a three-game losing streak to an end, the Philadelphia Flyers picked up a desperately needed 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.
Carter Hart was nothing short of outstanding in goal, both in terms of quantity and quality of saves. He stopped 40 of 41 shots and no had chance on the only one that got past him. At the other end, John Gibson was solid in stopping 27 of 30 shots but Hart was just a little bit better.
After a scoreless first period, Claude Giroux (11th goal), David Kase (1st NHL goal) built a 2-0 lead for the Flyers. Rickard Rakell (power play, 10th) got one back for the Ducks on a double-deflection tally. Jakub Voracek (7th) restored a two-goal margin the third period, and the Sean Couturier (9th) added an empty netter in the waning seconds of the game.
The penalty kill was a big positive factor for the Flyers in this game, getting back on the horse after a bad day in Winnipeg (2-for-5). Although Anaheim's lone goal was scored on a power play in this game, it was sheerly a bad puck luck one, and the Flyers were stout on four other kills that all came at key junctures of the game and created some momentum. The Flyers power play went 0-for-2.
"I knew it was going to be a hard game for us. It was going to be a hard game because we were coming back from the west coast there and a tough trip coming back and obviously seeing Oskar [Lindblom] this morning was going to be emotional for the group," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said.
"We're all happy, it was probably a bigger relief for us to be able to see Oskar and talk to him and he had a great demeanor about him. I just met his dad. Beautiful person also, so I knew it was going to be hard. I definitely knew we needed some saves. We got some saves. Instead of chasing the game, Carter made some big saves, permitted us to start to get going a little bit in the first. Find our ways, find the game a little bit. Thought I really liked our second period. And here we got a 3-1 lead with Jake. Jake scored that goal there and took a few penalties. A lot of guys are new in that area, and we just had to find a way, gut it out, and we did."
The Flyers came out with a lot of energy early in the first period, and the top line set the right tone by hemming the Ducks in their own end. As the period progressed, however, Anaheim controlled a large swatch of the frame.
A strong penalty kill by the Flyers on the game's first penalty stabilized things. Philly made a latter first period push. Shots were 16-12 in Anaheim's favor (shot attempts 21-17). Gibson made a great save on Sean Couturier off a perfect feed by Claude Giroux on Philly's best chance of the opening period.
Above all, though, the Flyers were backboned by their goalie throughout the game, but especially in a dicey first period.
The Flyers generated a lot of early pressure again in the second period and broke through this time to build a 2-0 lead. A tic-tac-toe goal -- the tac being a quick shot fake and tape-to-tape pass by Travis Konecny to Giroux -- gave the Flyers' captain a tap-in.
The lead grew to 2-0 at 4:14 on another slick puck movement sequence from Morgan Frost to Travis Sanheim and then Kase won a positional battle in front to tip home his first NHL goal.
"I just chipped the puck and Frosty took it back. He see Sanny free. I just went hard to the net. Sanny made very nice pass to me. I just had the stick on the ice and I scored. It was a nice one for me," Kase said.
The Flyers entire third-line combo of Kase, Frost and Voracek had a strong night, along with the top line trio of Giroux, Couturier and Konecny.
" I thought Morgan played one of his best two-way games since he's been here. I thought Jake was a real good leader on that line and kept talking to the two kids throughout the game offensively and defensively. Especially since he can talk to David in his own language, that's obviously helping the young man. I think tonight we got the better of the two brothers, so that was real positive," Vigneault said.
Hart had no chance on the double-deflected Rickard Rakell power play goal that cut the Anaheim gap to 2-1 at 16:33 of the middle frame. After Rakell tipped a Hampus Lindholm shot in the high slot, it deflected a second time off Travis Sanheim in front of the net and changed direction again.
Apart from the pinballing goal, the Flyers netminder was unbeatable in turning back 11 of 12 shots in the second period, including one from close range very shortly after the Rakell goal. With 1:58 left in the middle frame, Nicolas Aube-Kubel was called for kneeing Anaheim's Troy Terry. In reality, Aube-Kubel did not lead with his knee. It was just an unfortunate collision in which Terry had to be helped off the ice afterwards. The Flyers effectively killed it off to end the period.
Early in the third period, the Flyers clung to a 2-1 lead when they faced another crucial penalty kill with Matt Niskanen in the box for boarding Ondrej Kase. Philly staged a strong kill. Not long thereafter, at 4:11 Voracek led a 2-on-1 with Morgan Frost, thinking pass first but electing to shoot when the passing lane was taken away. Voracek beat Gibson for a huge goal.
Before the period was halfway through, the Flyers once again were forced to kill a penalty (Kevin Hayes went off for tripping). Once again, the PKers delivered. With Gibson pulled for extra attacker, Couturier scored an empty netter from the neutral zone, assisted by Ivan Provorov and Giroux.
The Flyers win punctuated an emotional day for the team. First and foremost, spirits were lifted for everyone by a visit from Oskar Lindblom; the first time his teammates have seen him since the young Swedish winger received the devastating news of a Ewing sarcoma diagnosis.
The Flyers players faced the challenge of making sure the emotions worked for them instead of against them.
"it’s not an easy thing to do obviously. You know it’s in the back of our minds and it will be for a while. It’s an unfortunate situation but what can I say? He wants us to do good and we’re going to do good for him," Voracek said.
Before the game, Flyers players re-wore their Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys during warmups -- now with a united purpose of everyone fighting together specifically in support of Lindblom. The jerseys will be auctioned off at MeiGrayAuctions.com, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Ewing sarcoma research at the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
During a stoppage of play in the first period, fans held aloft "I Fight for Oskar" placards that had been left on every seat.
"it was touching the tribute they did for him. There was definitely a lot of energy in here tonight for him. It’s tough. He’s a great kid and no one deserves it. It is tough when you know him pretty closely. We just have to support him," said Konecny, who is perhaps Lindblom's closest friend on the team along with countryman Robert Hägg.
Secondly, without the benefit of a practice since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 7 -- he had been skating on his own for most of the past week and then participated in the morning skate on Tuesday -- the Flyers were thrilled by the desperately needed return of leading scorer Konecny to the lineup. This was for a variety of reason, only one of which was the offensive pop that he brings.
"Give him full marks. I mean, he battled hard, blocked that shot in that first period. Just having him back. Him and Oskar are real tight. Every time you see one, you usually see the other not far behind. I think he was real happy to come back and help our group and it says a lot about this team," Vigneault said.
Lastly, Tuesday's game was one that Flyers rookie winger David Kase would never forget. With his parents in the stands on a visit from the Czech Republic and older brother Ondrej playing for the Ducks, the 22-year-old played for the first time in front of the home crowd. What's more he got the opportunity to play with countryman Jakub Voracek and fellow rookie Morgan Frost (a frequent linemate with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before their respective callups).
"It was big moment for me: first goal in NHL. We win tonight. It was against my brother so that is special, too. I feel so happy right now. First goal, I have to shoot more," Kase said.
By the time the night was over, Kase had his first goal in the NHL -- the game-winner, no less -- and was awarded the Player of the Game helmet by his teammates as well as official second-star honors, below only Hart on this night.
The Flyers will hold a noon practice on Wednesday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. They will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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