Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored. The peanlty kill was fantastic. Steve Mason made 37 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers were able to escape the Staples Center with a 2-1 victory ove the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers got off to another good start. Claude Giroux scored at 4:35 of the opening stanza to give Philly a 1-0 lead. Giroux buried a great give and go with Mark Streit and beat Jonathan Quick from the slot with a great one timer.
It was a tight checking first period for both teams as they managed just seven shots each. The Flyers skated hard and the forwards provided good support throughout the period.
The Flyers were able to kill their only penalty of the period. Matt Read took a tripping minor about halfway through the first. Los Angeles was not able to generate much on the power play.
The Flyers would start the second with 50 seconds of power play time. Los Angeles would take a second penalty and the Flyers converted.
Wayne Simmonds got his 11th of the season and 3rd in the last two games on the power play at 2:08. Simmonds took a pass from Sean Couturier and slipped the shot past Quick for a 2-0 lead.
Philadelphia would then give the Kings some time on the power play. Mark Streit took a holding call at 7:09 of the second. The penalty killers did a great job of not allowing the Kings to get set up.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare took another holding penalty just 20 seconds after the Streit penalty ended. This time it was all Steve Mason. The Flyers goalie made numerous saves on the kill to keep them ahead 2-0.
In total Mason made 15 saves in the period and the Flyers went to the locker room ahead 2-0 after 40 minutes.
Los Angeles was pressing hard over the final ten minutes of the period and it carried over into the third. The Kings had the jump early and finally got on the board at 4:09.
Justin Williams got his 6th of the season on a rebound in tight. Mason made two or three good saves on the play but Williams was left alone in front and put the puck in to bring the Kings to within one at 2-1.
The Kings kept coming, firing 16 shots at Mason in the final period. Mason came up big, time and time again. The Flyers netminder made 37 saves in the victory. The Flyers were outshot 38-16 for the game. IT was the first won on the road for the first time since an October matchup in Pittsburgh.
The Flyers will take the ice on Tuesday in Columbus. Game time is 7:00.
Bill Minchin is a contirbuting writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074
