Flyers stay the course as top line takes over in final period
The Flyers gave the Nashville Predators seven power plays in Thursday night's game. It took the Predators until the seventh to finally strike. When they did, it cut a Flyers 4-1 lead down to one goal at 4-3 with just under 10 minutes to play.
That could have been the beginning of the end for the Flyers. They had struggled to get into the offensive zone in the third and had limited chances through the first two periods, even with four goals on the board.
The Flyers never wavered.
Instead, they worked hard in the attacking zone, got a power play and capitalized quickly. Just 1:10 later, they added another goal to ice it.
The 6-3 victory marked the third straight win for the Flyers, who continued their climb back into the playoff picture.
This was a game where you can count the number of times the Flyers could have broken. Radko Gudas got called for a high-sticking double minor early in the game. The Flyers killed it off. The Flyers failed to score on a four-minute power play of their own and Nashville struck just moments later. After Shea Weber's goal in the third, there was plenty of time for Nashville to get the equalizer.
That chance never came.
The Flyers top line and power play unit took over every time. Wayne Simmonds scored twice. Claude Giroux scored twice. Jake Voracek assisted on both of Giroux's goals. Giroux added an assist on one of Simmonds' second goal. Simmonds assisted on Giroux's second goal.
That was eight points for the Flyers top line.
The rest was Steve Mason. The Flyers penalty kill did an admirable job, but the effort was led by the netminder.
While the offense produced a season-high six goals on just 19 shots, Mason faced 40 shots from the Predators, stopping 37 shots.
The only blemishes in this game were a rather poor effort in staying out of the penalty box by Gudas and the loss of Sean Couturier to injury, in just his second game back from a lower-body injury.
Otherwise, it all just kept rolling along for the Flyers.
What started as a hard-fought point in Washington that was more survival than success, has turned into six points in three games and the deficit in the playoff race is down to five with the Flyers still holding games in hand. In other words, the Flyers are gaining ground and have really lost no time.
Next up for the Flyers is a weekend back-to-back with the Rangers and Capitals, continuing a hellacious schedule.
The road will not get easier throughout the month. Almost every game for the Flyers will be against a major conference opponent or a team the Flyers are battling for position in the standings.
Thursday's game was a rare pause in that schedule, a trip to Nashville and a meeting with a Western Conference team, though still a difficult match. The Flyers passed another test and they carry a winning streak and momentum into one of their biggest weekends of the season.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
