For the fifth time this season, the Flyers pulled out a victory after trailing at the second intermission. They are 5-20-2 in such games after going a paltry 1-16-5 last year. Philly also improved their league-best record (20-21-4) when getting scored upon first.
Although last night's game was just a one-goal deficit, the Flyers' resiliency this season has been amazing. The club has picked up points in 10 games (7-22-3) in games that they trailed by at least two goals at one point of the game.
Of course, the Flyers have gotten way too much practice at playing from behind in the second half of the season. But it inspires a lot of confidence heading into the postseason that the team has shown time and again it is rarely out of a game -- even against top opponents such as the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last night, a tired-looking and banged-up Buffalo Sabres team tried to hold on for dear life with a 1-0 lead in the third period, but Philly dominated over the final 15 minutes and ended up winning 2-1 in regulation against a team that had not lost in regulation this season when leading after two periods. The Sabres looked spent from their big comeback win against Toronto.
The game was pretty boring for the first 30 minutes or so; the highlight of which may have been Jody Shelley nearly bagging his first goal of the season (twice). There were a few other near-misses (Jaromir Jagr feeding Braydon Coburn on the doorstep but Coburn getting puck off heel of the stick; a missed net from the same spot by Brayden Schenn). Overall, though, there was not too much action to speak of.
Ville Leino scored Buffalo's only goal on the rebound of a Drew Stafford shot that hit the post. On the play, I thought Matt Carle should have cross-checked or grabbed Leino to attempt to prevent the goal. As it was, there was no price to pay and it turned into an easy goal on a shift where the Flyers collectively were running around in their own zone.
Ultimately, a wide-open Marc-Andre Bourdon blasted a shot past a screened Ryan Miller to tie the game at 1-1 with 13:55 left in the third period. With 4:21 left, Matt Read beat Robyn Regehr off the rush and went in to beat Miller. Earlier, Miller had stoned Read on a shorthanded break.
Late in regulation, Jagr controlled the puck in the offensive zone for what seemed like an eternity, and the Sabres lost a lot of the remaining time off the clock simply trying to regain the puck. When they finally did, Jagr saw Miller follow the play to the bench for an extra attacker but unselfishly went off for a line change rather than staying out to try for a crack at an empty net goal. Jagr, who has been stuck on 18 goals for weeks, has shown time and time again that he's long stopped caring about personal statistics.
The single most positive development in the game for the Flyers was the play of Ilya Bryzgalov. He appeared to be moving around faster and more confidently than he was in the Rangers game. After the game, Peter Laviolette called it another step in the right direction and basically conceded that he knew Bryzgalov might struggle a bit early in the Rangers game but it was a necessity to start getting him ready for the playoffs while dealing with a chip fracture in his right foot.
The Flyers win, coupled with Pittsburgh's win over a coasting New York Rangers squad tonight, ensures that Philly and the Pens will meet in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. It also renders Saturday's game meaningless in the final standings. Buffalo's loss knocks them out of the playoffs with Washington winning tonight.
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Although I am not a member of the PHWA, I was invited by the local beat writers to participate in the voting for the Yanick Dupre Memorial (AKA Class Guy) Award this year. I truly appreciated the gesture.
There were no surprises in the team awards this year. Claude Giroux took the Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP. Kimmo Timonen won his third Barry Ashbee as the club's best defenseman. Jagr won the Dupre. Scott Hartnell was chosen by his teammates for the Pelle Lindbergh Award as the most improved player from the start of the season. Wayne Simmonds won the Flyers Fan Club's Gene Hart Award.
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