WRAPUP: FLYERS, NEUVIRTH RECORD SECOND STRAIGHT SHUTOUT
Riding the red-hot goaltending of Michal Neuvirth and a strong overall team effort, the Philadelphia Flyers blanked the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0, at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.
Neuvirth took a share of team history by recording shutouts in each of his first two starts as a Flyer. The only other goaltender to do it was Jeff Hackett during the 2003-04 season. Neuvirth's 30-save performance against the Blackhawks ran his shutout minutes streak to 132:05.
"It’s been unbelievable the last few days and the guys have been unbelievable as well," said Neuvirth. "Our penalty killing has been very strong, it’s been two great team efforts the whole 60 minutes. I’ve seen the puck pretty much the whole night, the guys did a very good job."
Neuvirth made a crucial pad save on a shorthanded breakaway by veteran star Marian Hossa in the second period to preserve a 1-0 lead. The Czech netminder also made an outstanding skate save on Jonathan Toews and a point-blank stop on Hossa in the third period among his other highlight-reel stops.
The Flyers limited Chicago to six shots in the first period and, after some anxious momets early in the second period, took over the majority of the middle frame and brought a 2-0 lead to the second intermission. The Hawks dominated the third period but Neuvirth was outstanding in making 15 saves.
"Just a real good team effort and that’s when you talk about a lot of good things, that’s what a good team effort is," said Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol. "You can look up and down the lineup and you can find different things that are good and positive from good goal tending, extra efforts on the penalty kill, finishing a power play goal and just a lot of second efforts all over the ice.”
Hakstol said he was not surprised that Neuvirth has stepped up in a big way with number one starter Steve Mason is unavailable due to a very difficult family situation.
“We know we have two good goaltenders. We felt that way coming into the year. It’s been a difficult situation the last few days for a teammate and Michal has stepped in and done a very good job," said Hakstol.
Philadelphia got goals from Sam Gagner (power play), Claude Giroux and Matt Read to provide Neuvirth with some offensive support. Corey Crawford stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause and played well in his own right.
The Flyers went 1-for-6 on the power play. The penalty killing was exceptional,going 6-for-6 including a 23-second five-on-three kill. Pierre-Edourd Bellemare and company did an excellent job and Neuvirth came up with several difficult stops among the eight saves he made during Flyers' penalty kills.
During one crucial penalty killing juncture, the Flyers were in desperate need of a clear. Bellemare delivered, sending the puck around the boards in the opposite direction. Afterwards, he credited it to strong communication with his teammates on the ice.
"One of the D yelled it. That’s what I am talking about, when you have the difference between two, four, and those four guys together. Like we were a unit and one of them called the weak side and I just fired it. I really didn’t see that much I just heard it. That makes the game really easy," said Bellemare.
With the win, the Flyers extended their regular season home winning streak against Chicago to 12 straight games, dating back to a loss on Nov. 9, 1996. Overall, the Flyers are 6-2-0 in their last eight regular season meetings with the perennial powerhouse Blackhawks.
Philadelphia had a great early scoring chance at the 6:47 mark of the first period. Sean Couturier was wide open between the hash marks about 10 feet from the net. Taking a centering feed from Brayden Schenn, Couturier partially flubbed the shot off the heel of the stick. The puck went in weakly on Crawford.
During the Flyers' first power play of the game, Giroux had Crawford beaten on a one-timer from the left circle. The puck ticked off the long-side goal post.
At 8:31 of the first period, Scott Laughton turned on the backchecking afterburners to catch up with the play in the defensive zone and break up a potential scoring chance. Neuvirth made his first non-routine save at the 12:55 mark, swallowing up an Artem Anisimov shot from the middle slot.
Defenseman Radko Gudas had an uncontested pass out the defensive zone but put it where Read couldn't get to it. Moments later, Gudas took an interference penalty with 5:58 left in the first period. The Chicago power play was canceled out by a Jonathan Toews at the 14:38 mark.
With time ticking down under two minutes in the first period, Chris VandeVelde had a giveaway in the neutral zone. Chicago seemed poised to potentially score until Brandon Manning blocked a Patrick Kane shot attempt from the slot.
Shots in the opening period were 8-6 in the Flyers' favor. Shot attempts were 22-14 Flyers.
Chicago came a whisker away from scoring just 26 seconds into the second period on a wrap-around attempt by Toews. Neuvirth got over just in time to make a skate save as he sealed off the post to his left.
At the 5:35 mark, the Flyers' second power play unit broke through for the game's first goal. Gagner took a pass up high from Michael Del Zotto and shot from above the right circle using Viktor Svedberg as a screen. The puck, which may have slightly deflected off the stick of penalty killer Andrew Desjardins, went into the net. Brayden Schenn drew the secondary assist on Gagner's first goal as a Flyer.
"I just wanted to get the puck past their first man. That's all you can do. Guys are so good at blocking shots now days you just have to get it by their first man and let the guys in front do their jobs," said Gagner.
As the game neared the midway point point of regulation, Laughton sped past Brent Seabrook, cutting in for a scoing chance. He did not score but created a power play chance on a Viktor Tikhonov hooking penalty.
During the ensuing man advantage, Svedberg sprung Hossa on a breakaway. With a tie game on Hossa's stick, Neuvirth made a butterfly save with his right pad to stone the 486-goal scorer.
The Flyers went right back to the power play at 11:12, as Artemi Panarin took an elbowing penalty. Schenn took a high-sticking penalty as the Philadelphia man-advantage ended. Philly survived but Chicago had several good looks.
Giroux extended the lead to 2-0 at the 16:21 mark. On the goal sequence, the Flyers worked puck down low and Michael Raffl came out from behind the cage. Giroux got to the net unnoticed by Seabrook, who skated toward Raffl. From the doorstep, Giroux buried the puck past Crawford. Jakub Voracek drew the secondary assist (his first point of the season) on Giroux's first goal of the year.
The Flyers outshot the Blackhawks by a 15-9 margin in the second period. Attempts were a narrow 23-22 in Philadelphia's favor but Chicago missed the net 14 times.
Things got hairy for the Flyers in the third period. Chicago pressured heavily throughout the final 20 minutes and Philadelphia had to kill off three penalties.
“I think again, we played a solid checking game when they had some scoring chances and we were good in the back of the net,” said Jakub Voracek. “One thing that we could do better is just a little bit of a better job in the third period. They came out flying, we knew it, we just have to do a little bit better of a job of keeping the puck on our sticks and we’ll be fine, but it’s a big win for us.”
In the opening minute of the period, Raffl limped up the tunnel after awkwardly blocking a Niklas Hjalmarsson point shot. He returned to the ice shortly thereafter and had one of the Flyers' few scoring chances until late in the period.
Neuvirth came up big repeatedly in the third period, making one dynamic save after another. Perhaps his best was a chest save on Hossa with 11:22 left in the period.
Ryan White took a needless slashing penalty in the neutral zone at 10:47. With 23 second left, Gudas flipped puck over glass for a delay of game penalty. The Flyers survived both the two-man disadvantage and the remaining 5-on-4 time.
The Flyers put the game away with 2:35 left in the game, as Read scored his second goal of the young season. On the play, Read got to Simmonds rebound first after Crawford could not quite control the tough shot and squeezed it just past Crawford. Couturier got the secondary assist as Philadelphia built an insurmountable three-goal lead.
Chicago outshot Philadelphia by a 15-6 margin in the final period. Attempts were 26-12 in the Hawks' favor but the Flyers got the only one that ended up in the cash register.
Postgame notes
* Steve Mason took part in the morning skate but is temporarily designated as a non-roster player for family leave. The leave was approved by the NHL, and is a different designation than a non-roster injured player. Rookie defenseman Christian Marti falls in the latter category. The word from the Flyers is that there is no set timetable for Mason to rejoin the roster.
* R.J. Umberger remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
* The Flyers have five nights off before hosting the Dallas Stars next Tuesday. After an off-day from practice on Thursday, practice resumes on Friday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ.
* The Flyers blocked 17 shots for the game. Mark Streit led the way with four. White led the team with five credited hits, followed by four apiece by linemates Bellemare and VandeVelde. Gudas and fellow defenseman Michael Del Zotto were also awarded four hits apiece.
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FLYERS HONOR TIMONEN
Photo: Flyers
Prior to the opening faceoff of the game, the Flyers held a special ceremony to honor recently retired defenseman Kimmo Timonen. After a nicely packaged tribute video that encapsulated both his NHL and international career, the five-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner soaked in a raucous standing ovation and chants of "Ki-mmo! Ki-mmo! Ki-mmo!" from the crowd of 19,779 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.
"I wanted to take my jacket off and raise my hands really high. I’m not that flexible anymore," joked the 40-year-old Timonen.
"You can’t have that in life other than playing sports and have this kind of respect. There’s no way to put it other than saying thank you to the fans. I had a great time here in Philly. Hopefully down the road I can do that for this team [working in some sort of hockey operations capacity] to help get to the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. I wish that everybody could get a chance to win it because it’s something special.”
During stoppages of play, the Flyers ran video tributes from Timonen's former teammates, including ones from best friend Scott Hartnell and longtime defense partner Braydon Coburn. The one from Hartnell was particularly moving and heartfelt; at turns poignant and humorous.
Over the final season of his career and into retirement, a host of tributes from teammates and opponents alike have poured in for the five-time NHL All-Star Game selectee. Timonen tried afterwards to articulate what the universal respect of his fellow players meant to him.
"“Obviously, it’s awesome but I always try to be the same person. The way I prepare for a game I expect it from every player. It doesn't matter to me if it’s your first year, tenth year, eighth year, or eighteen years. Sometimes it’s hard. You can’t expect people to play the same way or put the same effort," said Timonen.
"Talk about leaders, I’ve seen a lot of different players and leaders. Perfect example is Jonathan Towes with Chicago. He’s my top one or two captains I’ve ever seen in my life. The way he prepares for the game, how he does everything right and that’s commitment. I try to do the same way. I couldn't achieve the level he is but we all can do it. It requires a lot of commitment.”
Timonen, who finished his career by winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Blackhawks last season, said that although he will always be a Flyer first and foremost at heart, he looks fondly at his brief time with Chicago as well as blossoming to stardom as a member of the Nashville Predators before joining the Flyers in 2007.
"Chicago is a nice town. It was so easy to walk in there. I played a lot of hockey, see a lot of players, but those guys are a special group. When you win 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years it’s something special. I’ve seen a lot of hockey, I’ve seen a lot of teams get ready, and I’ve seen a lot of players that’s something special. I was able to, even in my old age, able to see something new. It was impressive," said Timonen.
For more on Timonen's career and how much he meant to the Flyers in particular,
click here.
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NHL/NHLPA DONATE $950K TO SNIDER HOCKEY
Photo: Flyers
Roughly two hours before the Kimmo Timonen Retirement Night ceremony, another special event took place at the Wells Fargo Center. National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly were on hand to present a $950,000 check to the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation on behalf of both the NHL and the NHL Players' Association.
The funds will go toward Snider Hockey's rink development program throughout the Delaware Valley and for its "Hockey is for Everyone" (HIFE) program for encouraging both youth participation in hockey and for scholastic achievement. Snider Hockey, which currently has over 3,000 participants, targets participation among inner-city youths who would otherwise not have access to the game.
Snider Hockey provides learn-to-skate programs, public skating opportunities, ice hockey instruction, and league play. The foundation provides all equipment, as well as supplemental academic services at no charge to its participants.
"When it comes to programs for youth that use education, after school programs, rink development, and combines it with education to provide a framework for teamwork, hard work, studying, diligence, and really getting yourself into a position where all the important values in life are instilled upon you, there’s no program that does it better than Snider Hockey," said Bettman.
"The number of students in a school system where there is so many dropouts that have actually completed high school and gone onto college is incredible. It’s a testament to Ed’s determination, his commitment, his vision, financial resources, and that’s why we’re here tonight."
Snider Hockey chairman Bill Whitmore, foundation president Scott Tharp and three Snider Hockey student-athlete participants accepted the check. Injured Flyers winger R.J. Umberger was also on hand for the presentation. Flyers chairman Snider, who is California recuperating from recent medical treatments, was unable to be there.
"Obviously, we wish Ed Snider would be here with us tonight, because there is no one more passionate about hockey, the Flyers and the city of Philadelphia than Ed, but he also has another great passion that I’m going to speak to in a minute. Ed will be back with us soon I have no doubt and we’re wishing him well. Snider Hockey is the other passion of Ed’s that I was alluding to," said Bettman.
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