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Wrap: Flyers Defeat Devils, 3-1 |
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WRAP: FLYERS DEFEAT DEVILS, 3-1
A dominating first period and a strong close-out in the third period propelled the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers built a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of the game and the lead was never in severe jeopardy as Philly navigated the crossroads on special teams in a helter skelter second period and then did a good job of finishing out the game.
"Our team is a whole lot more confident. With confidence playing the lead I mean we went through a stretch in November where we couldn’t get it right but beyond that I think our group is continuing to grow in that area. Tonight we got up by three early on and the second period was disjointed with specialty teams so that’s a hard period to evaluate almost. I feel that our third period down the stretch was solid and everybody was doing their part," Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said.
Travis Konecny (7th goal of the season), Valtteri Filppula (10th) and Ivan Provorov (9th) scored for the Flyers. Shayne Gostisbehere (24th assist of the season), Scott Laughton (7th assist of the season), Michael Raffl (7th assist), Radko Gudas (6th assist), Konecny (12th assist) and Claude Giroux (41st assist) contributed helpers.
"I think early in the season we were relying too much in our first line and it definitely helps when you get a good little help from other lines as well. ...I think we have been playing well defensively during the 60 minutes for the last little while here, if you’re not counting the Rangers game, but I think that gives us confidence and we don’t need another goal, but we need to shut the other team down, and so far it’s been working pretty well," Filppula said.
The Flyers top defense pairing of Provorov (six shots on goal on nine attempts, 23:13 TOI, two hits, one block) and Gostisbehere (20:09 TOI, two shots on goal on six attempts, two hits, two blocks) was dominant with and without the puck. Philly also got solid balance across all of it lines, with each contributing quality shifts at different junctures.
"Just, I think, doing the little things and taking care of the puck, I think if we take care of the puck and move it forward, we don’t have to play defense and that helps us to create offense and create energy," Provorov said. "Try to go north as much as possible and like I said if we play offense, the other team can’t score. Don’t give them the puck, play down low, wear them down and create chances."
Michal Neuvirth got the start in goal for the Flyers for the second straight game. Although he didn't have to be as spectacular as he was in the third period of Thursday's win over Toronto, the goalie made timely saves and a few tough ones. Overall, he finished with 28 saves on 29 shots.
"I thought the other night and I said it after, I thought he was our best player. The other night I liked our first to periods to be honest with you, I really liked the resiliency in the third period, but we gave up a lot and Neuvy was right there to slam the door, he was a huge part of that win. I felt the same tonight, he didn’t make the number of quality saves tonight but he was really good for our hockey team and a big part of this win," Hakstol said.
Keith Kinkaid, subbing for the flu-riddled Cory Schneider, made his second straight start for the Devils. He stopped just four of seven shots and got injured with an apparent groin pull on the Flyers' third goal (12:15 of the first period). That pressed 22-year-old Ken Appleby into relief duty for his NHL debut. He responded by stopping all 24 shots he saw.
Jesper Bratt (power play, 12th goal of the season) notched the lone Devils tally. Will Butcher (25th assist) and Taylor Hall (31st) got the power play helpers.
The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play, 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
With the win -- their second in regulation over the Devils in the span of one week -- the Flyers kept things very tight in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Exiting this game and pending the outcomes of the Rangers-Colorado, Penguins-Sharks, Islanders- , and Hurricanes-Red Wings games, the Flyers moved to within one point of the wildcard cutoff, three points of third place in the Metro Division and four points away from the Devils' current first-round home ice spot that comes from being in second place.
The Flyers, who will be playing on Sunday for the third time in less than four nights, are right back in action on Saturday. They will be in DC to take on the first-place Washington Capitals in a 12:30 p.m. nationally televised game.
1ST PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Skating in on the forecheck, Tyrell Goulbourne landed a solid hit behind the New Jersey net at 2:35, getting a rise from the home crowd.
After several minutes of tight checking hockey to open the game, the Flyers scored on their first shot (and the game's second). Konecny, just on the ice during a partial line change, found open room on the right wing, took a pass from Gostisbehere and rifled a shot that went through the five-hole and into the net at 3:29. The secondary assist went to Laughton.
Shots were 2-1 Flyers at a stoppage near the 6:30 mark. Neuvirth made a good stop from the right slot on Travis Zajac. That was followed by a routine save on a perimeter shot by Will Butcher. A TV timeout followed at 7:40.
Gudas pinched up the wall and batted a loose puck behind the net. Raffl then passed out to Filppula, who found a big seam in the defense and was alone in the near right slot. He didn't miss and the Flyers had a 2-0 lead at.
Simmonds stepped out from behind the cage and attempted a backhander with Kinkaid not quite hugging the post but hit the side of the net. Neuvirth fought off a severe angle shot by Pavel Zacha from near the left corner. Shots were 4-3 Devils at 11:00.
Goulbourne blocked a shot up high in the defensive zone to enable a clear. After a line change, Raffl snapped off a quick shot from the right wing.
The Flyers opened a 3-0 lead at 12:15. Provorov, on the pinch, had two cracks at a loose puck in front of the net. Kinkaid appeared to pull his groin trying the make save as Provorov chipped it home. Konecny and Giroux earned assists. Appleby came in to replace the injured Kinkaid.
On what turned into an odd-man rush for the Flyers, Appleby made back-to-back saves: first on Simmonds from the bottom of the left circle and then on a point-blank rebound followup by Patrick.
With 5:42 left, after Provorov turned over a puck behind the net, Jori Lehterä blocked a shot by countryman Sami Vatanen. A scramble ensued around the blue paint and the net came off its moorings. A TV timeout followed.
At 16:28, Raffl dropped the gloves with Moore and fought. Moore knocked an off-balance Raffl to the ice but the Austrian forward got back, threw a punch and later landed on top after Moore lost his balance.
The Devils got the game's first power play at 17:36 as Laughton was called for a defensive zone trip. The Flyers took exception to Kyle Palmieri bumping a prone Couturier (who was on his knees) into the wall. Chirping and shoving ensued. The lone penalty was to Palmieri for boarding at 19:15.
Couturier had a chance from the middle slot. Appleby gloved it at the buzzer.
Shots were 13-5 Flyers. Faceoffs were 11-5 Flyers (Giroux was 4-for-5, Patrick was 3-for-4). Hits were 14-8 Flyers (three for Robert Hägg, two for Gudas and Goulbourne). The Flyers blocked eight shots to four blocks by the Devils.
2ND PERIOD SYNOPSIS
The Flyers generated heavy pressure on their carryover power play time from the Palmieri penalty but could not score. Catching a stretch pass as he stepped out of the box, Palmieri skated the puck into the Flyers zone but was stopped cold as Gostisbehere knocked him to the ice.
After Voracek was knocked into the boards by Stefan Noesen after a pass follow-through, Manning came to his defense. Manning got a roughing penalty at 4:35.
Neuvirth made a good save with no rebound on a Vatanen slap shot through traffic. The next save wasn't quite as clean -- there was a rebound on a Taylor Hall wrister from the top of the left circle but the puck was cleared to safety. Shots for the period were 6-1 Devils.
The Flyers killed the Manning penalty off but went right back to the PK. Laughton got the gate for an accidental high stick on Zajac at 6:41 but it was on the follow-through of a pass, which is not typically called. This time the Devils scored. Bratt fired a wicked wrist shot from the right circle that got in through a screen to make it a 3-1 game at 8:12. Butcher and Hall received the assists.
Neuvirth was quickly tested again, stoning Noesen 23 at the doorstep. At the other end, Filppula nearly scored and a scramble ensued around the net.
The Flyers went of their second power play -- first full one -- at 7:55 as Palmieri flipped a backhander over the boards from the defensive zone. The Flyers had a bang-bang chance with a wide open Simmonds taking a passout from Giroux at point blank range but somehow missing the net by a wide margin. On a partial change, Provorov had a right point blast with teammates in front but Appleby swallowed up the shot with no rebound.
Patrick turned in some really good puck possession work on the left half boards. On the next shift, Konecny had a breakaway but snapped it wide. Konecny had taken a lengthy early period shift but then did not get out again until 11:32 to 12:23 due to all the special teams play.
The Flyers went to their third power play at 12:23 as Hall was called for high sticking. Voracek was tripped on the delayed penalty and looked at the refs but there was not an additional penalty. The Flyers skated at 5-on-4 instead. Simmonds had a chance in front but couldn't bury it. Couturier was high-sticked and cut without a call and banged his stick on the bench in frustration as the second unit came out.
Shots were 10-8 Devils at a TV timeout at 14:53. The Laughton line took the next shift, starting with a left circle faceoff win. Later after the Devils turned a puck over at the Flyers' blueline, Laughton and Goulbourne had a 2-on-1 counter. Laughton, the puck carrier, shot from the left side but didn't get much on it. Appleby got it and pushing and shoving ensued. Things calmed down before hostilities between Goulbourne and Noesen bubbled over into a fight.
Hägg stapled countryman Marcus Johansson to the left boards on a clean check that knocked Johansson to his knees.
Neuvirth was alert to a quick wraparound try by Hischier at 18:20. The Devils then had a 3-on-2 rush against the Couturier line but turned it over on an errant pass by Miles Wood.
Voracek and Raffl worked a nice give-and-go and Zajac was forced to take a hooking penalty -- Raffl nearly scored anyway attacking the net-- at 19:30. The Flyers went on their fourth power play. Giroux ripped a shot from above the left circle off Appleby's glove and into the corner. Brian Boyle blocked a Gostisbehere shot attempt just before the buzzer. The Flyers took the remaining 1:30 of power play time into the third period.
Shots were 14-11 Devils (24-19 Flyers overall). Faceoffs were 9-8 Flyers (20-13 Flyers overall; Giroux 8-for-11 overall). Hits were 7-5 Flyers (21-13 Flyers overall, Hägg with five overall and two in the second period). The Devils blocked nine shots to six by the Flyers (14-13 overall Flyers; three overall by Gudas with two in the second period, three for New Jersey's Ben Lovejoy).
3RD PERIOD SYNOPSIS
The Flyers gave up a shorthanded 2-on-1 that Gostisbehere blocked as Lovejoy shot. Philly did not get much done on the remaining power play time.
Provorov pinched and created a rebound chance from between the circles as he fired a low shot at Appleby's feet. Raffl tucked it wide of the net. At the other end, Neuvirth hugged the post and stopped a Bratt short-side wrister.
Konecny got a tripping penalty at 3:59 as the Devils went to the power play with a chance to cut the deficit to one goal. Filppula won a battle behind the net and cleared down the ice halfway through the kill. Hägg cleared the lateral rebound of a Boyle wrister the length of the ice. Filppula forced neutral zone turnover and made the Devils go 200 feet again. Giroux cleanly won a late kill right circle draw in the defensive zone against Pavel Zacha and the penalty expired.
Shots were 3-2 Flyers through seven minutes. Gostisbehere showed a quick stick to break up a pass across the slot the defensive zone and then joined the rush the other way but a got caught a bit up ice after New Jersey got possession. Provorov canceled out any threat with a hit on Hall along the boards.
The Patrick line had a strong forechecking shift and the Devils took an icing at 9:08. Laughton and Goulbourne got a cycle going but after Lehterä turned the puck over trying to wrap it around the walls again, the Devils attacked. Neuvirth made an easy glove save on a perimeter shot by Wood.
Konecny poked a pass to safety on what otherwise would have been a one-timer setup. Two shifts later, Voracek occupied the puck in the offensive zone to allow for a line change and then slipped a pass to Weal. Shots were 5-4 Flyers through 12:15.
Neuvirth stopped a wicked deflection off a New Jersey rush as a Palmieri shot from the high right side was tipped by Wood and significantly changed direction.
The Flyers had a scrambling shift in the defensive zone with Filppula's line and the pairing of Brandon Manning and Gudas on the ice. Gudas laid out in front to block a pass but the Devils continued to press. Neuvirth had to author a pair of saves to keep the lead at two.
Laughton worked a puck free on the neutral zone with speed and attacked all the way to the net, but was stopped by Appleby's pad as the Flyer cut from right to left across the goal mouth.
Neuvirth made a good save on a pinching Damon Severson from the left circle after a missed defensive assignment by Raffl. Shots were 8-7 Devils with 1:38 left.
The Devils pulled Appleby for an extra attacker. Filppula canceled out an icing. The Devils nearly scored with 1.7 seconds left as they had numbers but Hägg drilled Stafford to the ice before he could pull in a loose puck near the post. He got a cross-checking penalty but it was a good penalty to take. Laughton won the draw and time expired.
Third period shots were 10-7 Devils (31-29 Flyers overall). Faceoffs were 7-6 Flyers (27-19 Flyers overall, Giroux finished at 10-for-14 for the game). The Devils blocked 4 shots to three by the Flyers (17-17 overall, Gudas had three for Philly, while Lovejoy led all players with four). Hits were 8-3 Flyers (29-15 Flyers overall; Hägg had three in the third period and finished with a game-high eight).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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