FLYERS CONSUME SHARKS
Bringing a playoff-like intensity to every shift of the game, the Philadelphia Flyers attained one of their most satisfying wins of the season as they tore through the San Jose Sharks by a 5-2 count at the SAP Center last night. Philadelphia limited the Shark attack to 22 shots, generated 28 shots of their own and rode a four-goal outburst in the third period to victory.
The Flyers got an early power goal from Mark Streit. In the third period, the floodgates opened as Matt Read, Michael Raffl, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek scored. The tallies by Read, Raffl and Giroux took place within the first four minutes of the final period, as a 2-1 deficit rapidly turned into a multi-goal lead.
Steve Mason turned back 20 of 22 shots to earn the win. Unlike segments of Saturday's 2-0 win in Los Angeles -- in which Mason notched a 35-save shutout -- the Flyers' goaltender did not have be spectacular in this game. He had to stop pucks when there were makeable saves and keep second-chance opportunities to a minimum when it was within his control to do so. He did, and the team defense took care of the rest.
For San Jose, Matt Nieto showed good speed and agility in generating first-period power play and even strength goals for his fifth and sixth tallies of the season. Antti Niemi stopped 19 of 23 shots -- he might have liked a second crack at the Read and Giroux goals -- before giving way to Alex Stalock when the Flyers went ahead, 4-2. Stalock stopped four of five.
Philly put forth an outstanding two-way effort in this game. Everyone kept their feet moving, forwards helped out in the defensive zone and there was always a safety valve of puck support. Three of the most notable players in this regard were Read, Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell.
All night long, it seemed as if there were two white jerseys to every one in teal around the puck. The Flyers don't look like a slow team when the puck support and skating intensity are that high.
Last night's game marked the 10th time of the 2013-14 season that the Flyers came back to win a game they trailed at some point in the third period. That is a new franchise regular season record, eclipsing the mark set during the club's Stanley Cup Finals-bound 1996-97 campaign. All 10 successful comebacks this season have been since Nov. 30.
Unlike most of the previous third-period comeback wins, the Flyers were the better team last night even when trailing. They just couldn't bury their chances until the barrage of goals in the third period. They didn't get down on themselves and they didn't let a couple of isolated miscues snowball.
After trailing early in the game on Streit's power play center point shot through traffic, San Jose struck for the two Nieto goals spaced about five minutes apart.
The first goal, a power play tally, came about because Nieto sped to the net for a bang-bang scoring chance after the puck bounced off the lively end boards. On the doorstep of Mason's net, Nieto received a quick pass from Tommy Wingels and stuffed the puck home.
At the 12:32 mark of the first period, the Sharks capitalized on Philly's only significant defensive breakdown of the game. As is so often the case, there wasn't one single culprit. There were multiple small mistakes and it took good execution by the team that scored to make the goal happen.
Defenseman Braydon Coburn unwisely drifted way over to the boards on partner Nicklas Grossmann's side, abandoning the right side of the ice. Claude Giroux lost a battle on boards. Grossmann saw the overload on his side but became more concerned with positioning himself to cut off Joe Thornton from potentially coming out from behind the goal line on his side than with where the play -- and puck -- was actually moving.
With all of this happening, Nieto was able to find daylight and slip open. He got the puck from Brent Burns, move over to the unguarded right slot, and score.
To their credit, the Flyers immediately regained their equilibrium. They had the bulk of the pressure in all three periods. Outshooting San Jose -- the NHL's highest shooting team -- and keeping Thornton and company from creating dangerous scoring chances is no small feat. The Flyers outshot and outchanced the Sharks in all three periods. It just took time to reap the rewards.
Winning is a process. The instant gratification isn't always there in the scoreboard, but playoff-like wins and regular season winning streaks are born of doing the right things to eventually earn those reward. All three games of the Flyers' three-game California road trips were generally well-played by Philly, even the one they lost in Anaheim.
As long as the team is following the process it needs, there isn't always a need to tear them when it is trailing or even when it loses on a given night. That is something the chronically disgruntled internet keyboard warriors who seem almost happier when the team they ostensibly root for is losing and the radio-talk-show calling people who are perpetually "done with this team"don't understand.
The Flyers' loss in Anaheim was disappointing but it was something they could build from and improve upon over the remaining two games of the trip. That's exactly what they did.
Conversely, the night when the Flyers had a comeback 6-4 home win over the Islanders was nothing to get too excited about. For good reason, Craig Berube was an unhappy coach afterwards. That night's performance was the type of sloppy win that often precedes something like the ugly four-game losing skid -- including a pillar-to-post butt-kicking by the Bruins -- that came right afterward.
Starting with that high-tempo practice on Carnival Sunday in which the team basically hit the reset button and got back to re-emphasizing the elements that built a November winning streak, the Flyers have gotten progressively better. Now they have to sustain the level they showed last night, or at least play close to it.
As the Flyers return home for their final two games before the Olympic break, it is crucial that the club not lose sight of the process that won them two of three games against elite-grade opposition on their now-completed California trip. Every two points in the standings will continue to be a dogfight. Teams have little margin for error.
The Flyers play the Avalanche at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. Colorado has won each of its last four games and five of its last six. On Saturday afternoon, the Calgary Flames come to town. Struggling for most of the season, the Flames have been hot of late (no pun intended). Calgary has won five in a row.
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