MASON MAGNIFICENT IN 3-1 WIN OVER AVS
Navigating a treacherous road in the waning games before the Olympic break, the Philadelphia Flyers have posted a 4-1-0 record over their last five games. They have done it against tough opposition.
Last night at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers had to elevate their two-way play and receive phenomenal goaltending to hold off the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1.
A second period power play goal by Mark Streit and a third period even strength tally by Michael Raffl were just to withstand a late Colorado goal by rookie Nathan MacKinnon. Claude Giroux sealed the win with an empty net goal in the final 20 seconds.
Flyers goaltender Steve Mason (38 saves on 39 shots) and Colorado counterpart Semyon Varlamov (32 saves on 34 shots) engaged in a marvelous duel as the momentum swung several times. From a Flyers' standpoint, it is a comforting feeling to know they play a high-tempo game against a good club and their goaltender can make a narrow lead stand up under pressure.
Both clubs worked hard to backcheck and block shots as well as to pressure on the forecheck and attack with speed. Nevertheless, it was the goalies who stood out above all on this night.
Mason battled leg cramps that started in the second period and got progressively worse as the night continued. He nearly had to come out of the game at one point in the third period. Nevertheless, Mason fought for every save, even when he had to make two or three in a row. The goalie's glovework, which is always a strength in his game, was especially strong in this game.
The Flyers had a poor start in the first 10 minutes or so of an opening period marked by frequent special teams play. They picked up over the latter portion of the scoreless period, which saw Colorado generate 14 shots to 12 by Philadelphia.
The middle period was the Semyon Varlamov show, as Philadelphia outshot Colorado by a 17-8 margin. The Flyers sustained a level of two-way play in this period similar to what they threw at the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.
In the middle puck, Philly cycled the puck effectively and hemmed the Avalanche deep in their zone. Additionally, Flyers kept their feet moving throughout the stanza and maintained good puck support. The breakouts were quick and crisp, and Philly generated speed through the neutral zone on many shifts. It took a spectacular goaltending period by Varlamov to limit the damage on the scoreboard.
At the 6:21 mark of the second period, the Flyers cashed in on their fifth (and final) power play chance of the game. With traffic in front of Varlamov, Mark Streit ripped a shot from the top of the umbrella at center point. The puck went off a Colorado penalty killer and deflected into the net. Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Couturier earned the assists on Streit's eighth goal and fourth power play tally of the season.
The third period saw Colorado turn the tables on the Flyers, as it was now the Avs who attacked with ferocity. It was Mason's turn again to shine. Colorado outshot the Flyers by a 17-6 margin in the final period but Mason -- flexing and stretching behind the play whenever he could catch a breather -- was equal to the task.
At the 7:05 mark, the Flyers got an opportunistic insurance goal. Couturier barreled behind the Colorado net on the forecheck, jarring the puck free and claiming the disc. In the meantime, Raffl saw a lane near the net. The Austrian Olympian took a quick centering feed from Couturier and stashed the puck home.
The insurance goal proved to be critical.
Down by two goals, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy pulled Varlamov for an extra attacker with over four minutes left in regulation. The goaltender temporarily returned to the net upon a stoppage of play and a right circle faceoff in the Philadelphia zone. He then returned to the bench for another 6-on-5 attack.
With 2:50 remaining in the third period, the Avalanche cut the deficit back to one goal. MacKinnon put a shot on net from a sharp angle on the right side. Making his lone miscue of the night, Mason didn't quite have the right angle on this one. It crawled up his arm and went into the net on the short side. Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog (extending a point streak to eight games) got the assists.
The MacKinnon goal set up a hair-raising finale to the game. The Avalanche pressed hard. Mason had to make a quick lateral move to stop a wide-open P.A. Parenteau from stashing a cross-crease pass into the net to tie the game. Twice the Flyers had to ice the puck to temporarily relieve pressure. Both teams used their allotted timeouts to rest their key personnel.
Finally, with time ticking down to 20 seconds left in the game, Wayne Simmonds raced down the ice to cancel out any chance of an icing. After easily winning a race to the faceoff dot, Simmonds got to the puck first and fed it out to Giroux. The Flyers captain stashed the puck into the empty net to make it a 3-1 final. Braydon Coburn got the secondary assist.
The Flyers close out the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon. The Calgary Flames, who have won six of their last seven games and are a hard-working team despite having the fourth-worst overall record in the NHL, will be in town for a 1 p.m. tilt.
QUICK HITS
* Over the last five games, Mason has posted a 1.41 goals against average and .955 save percentage. He has a pair of shutouts in that stretch and flirted with another last night.
* Streit's power play goal marked the eight consecutive game that Philly has scored at least once on the man advantage. Over the last 17 games, the power play has clicked at a 24.6 percent (15-for-61) success rate. The team has at least one power play goal in 14 of the 17 games.
* Kimmo Timonen returned to the Flyers lineup last night after missing the previous two games with a bruised foot. He played 19:16, starting slowly but getting better as the game moved along. Timonen blocked a half dozen shots.
* The Flyers as a team blocked 26 shots in last nights game. Seventeen were by Timonen, Nicklas Grossmann (four), Erik Gustafsson (four) and Luke Schenn (three).
* Grossmann missed one shift in the third period after taking an errant puck to the face in the neutral zone. He briefly went off for repairs and soon returned to the game.
* Prior to the start of last night's game, the Flyers paid video tribute to the late Keith Allen and observed a moment of silence. The video, which includes a heartfelt commentary by organization chairman Ed Snider on what the late Hall of Fame inductee meant to the history of the team and to him personally, can be viewed below.
Video from Flyers.NHL.com
* I am in periodic internet contact with Mr. Allen's grandson, Chase, who sent me the following message on Tuesday on behalf of his family: "It means a lot to all of us to see the Flyers community come together today."
* After the game last night, Mr. Snider spoke to the media in the Flyers' dressing room. He spoke further about the legacy of Keith Allen. He also addressed the spurning of Claude Giroux for the Canadian Olympic team and, in no uncertain terms, made clear that he is no fan of NHL participation in the Olympics.
On Giroux's omission from Team Canada: "It’s a farce. He’s one of the best players in the league. It’s ridiculous. He’s better than half the guys on that team.”
On the NHL in the Olympics: " If I had my way, we’d never go to the Olympics. We’re the only league that breaks up our season. Basketball plays in the winter, but they play Olympics in the summer. It’s ridiculous. The whole thing’s ridiculous."
On whether the NHL has gained anything positive from Olympic participation: "There’s no benefit to us whatsoever. If anything, I can only see negatives. The players want to play. The Players’ Association has a lot to say about it. As an owner, I think it’s ridiculous."
Responding to a question I asked on whether he'd prefer to see a return to the World Cup of Hockey format: "I’d like to see anything other than the Olympics. I mean, I hate ‘em."
Joking with another writer who reminded him that the last time there was an Olympic break (2010), the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup Finals: "Well, maybe I like it! I forgot about that."
* The Flyers' practice today at the Skate Zone in Voorhees starts at 11:30 a.m.
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