Well just hours after the aquisition of Steve Mason as the
new backup for Brygalov the high flying Canadiens took on the Flyers at the
Wells Fargo Center. High flying is an understatement as the game started with
end to end action. The shots were abounding the first 10minutes, 7-6, and with
about 6:30 left in the first, the Montreal Canadiens struck first. Alexei
Emelin wrists a shot from the point through about four Flyers and a
Canadiens player.
The rest of first period
continued in the same way with both teams trading chances back and forth, posts
hit and missed oppoutunities in front. In the last minutes of the period, P.K
subban got drilled and then tried at the horn to draw a penalty by crumpling to
the ice after Braydon Schenn pushed. It was a very weak attempt and he should
of gotten 2 minutes for diving, but the Flyers end up with the penalty instead.
When all was said and done, 11 shots for the Canadiens and 8 shots for the
Flyers plus one lame penalty on the Flyers at the horn.
The Flyers started out the
second period on the penalty kill with Fedetenko and Couturier pretty much
taking care of the penalty by themselves. The Flyers actually had more chances
on thier power play than the Canadiens did. After the power play was killed the
fighting began with bouts between Simmonds and Moen, and another fight a few
seconds later between Rinaldo and Prust. They seem to have a little bit of
"bully" in them, with stacking the box with bodies. Then after the
Flyers had a failed power play they kept the pressure on and Sean Couturier
puts the puck past Price with a lucky bounce off the hated P.K. Subban.
Halfway through the second
period the Canadiens still didnt have a shot on net and the Flyers seemed to
spend the entire first half in their zone, including the first two minutes the
Canadiens had on the power play. The Flyers actually played some defense and
contained the Canadiens keeping them on the outside.
Then that all went down in
flames. Gagne made it 2-1, but that was quickly followed by the Canadiens
scoring twice in 30 seconds to go up 3-2. As the second period ended in a
Flyers flurry of shots and chances they ended it still on the power play thanks
to an Emelin penalty and with 20 shots to the Canandiens 15.
The third period was back and
forth with on one really getting control of the period. Although the Flyers got
better shots and chances through the first 10 minutes of the period it didn't
amount to much. With 5:00 minutes left Wayne Simmonds put his 12th goal of the
season past Price on his 7th chance and the Flyers 32nd shot of the night. It
was a bank shot coming from the pointman Bruno Gervais. Then about 30 seconds
later, just as the Canadiens did in the second period, the Flyers score again
to go up 4-3. Erik Gustafsson dekes around a fallen Canadiens player and then
banks it in off another Canadiens defensemen and in past Carey Price. Carey
price stopped almost everything thrown his way and the goals were a product of
just bad luck.
Then with about :30
seconds left Jake Voracek seals the deal with an empty goal and gets the Flyers
a much needed 2 points twords the playoff run. The playoffs are still a little
bleak given they need to win about 10 more times in a row to make and keep a playoff
spot, but there's always hope. Keep hope alive, keep hope alive Philadelphia.
