Mason Gets 200th Career Win as Flyers Down Blue Jackets

(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

After three previous meetings this season, the Flyers were finally able to solve Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Flyers scored two goals in the first and two more in the second to take a 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets in their penultimate game of the 2016-17 season on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

Columbus held the advantage in the game early, taking the game's first four shots. But the Flyers pushed back in the second half of the first, outshooting the Blue Jackets, 10-3, for the rest of the period and scoring two goals.

The first came from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who took a drop pass from Chris VandeVelde and lasered a shot over the shoulder of Bobrovsky to make it 1-0 Flyers at 12:52.

Just 92 seconds later, Michael Del Zotto got in on the scoring. Del Zotto caught Bobrovsky out of position with a shot that went in, but was immediately waved off for goalie interference. The Flyers challenged the play, as replay showed Bobrovsky was badly out of position with minimal contact being made, and the call was overturned to make it 2-0 Flyers.

The Flyers led in shots after 20 minutes, 10-7.

Columbus got on the board early in the second, thanks to a power play opportunity. Seth Jones fired a shot from the point that deflected off of VandeVelde and Ivan Provorov on the way in and hit off of Steve Mason as well before going in to cut the Flyers lead to one.

The Flyers would get the goal right back with a power play of their own. Claude Giroux spotted a wide open Jake Voracek and fed him with a perfect pass. Voracek cut in on Bobrovsky and beat him five-hole to extend the Flyers lead back to two. It was Voracek's 20th goal of the season.

Provorov got in on the scoring with a wicked wrister from the high slot, going bar down at 13:48 for his seventh goal of the season.

Columbus answered with another strange goal, as Boone Jenner's shot from the slot deflected off of Del Zotto's stick, off the ice and over Mason to cut the lead to two.

That score held for the final 20 minutes, as the Flyers held off the Blue Jackets, who took 10 shots in the period, to claim the win.

Mason made 20 saves on 22 shots, getting his 200th career win. Bobrovsky also had 20 saves.

Giroux's assist on Voracek's goal was the 395th of his career, tying him for fourth place all-time in Flyers history.

The Flyers close out the 2016-17 season on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (4) (Chris VandeVelde, Roman Lyubimov) 12:52
• PHI Michael Del Zotto (6) (Brayden Schenn, Dale Weise) 14:24

2nd Period

• CBJ Seth Jones (12) PP (Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno) 1:07
• PHI Jake Voracek (20) PP (Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds) 6:42
• PHI Ivan Provorov (7) (Andrew MacDonald, Schenn) 13:48
• CBJ Boone Jenner (18) (Sam Gagner, Scott Hartnell) 16:00

3rd Period

• No Scoring

Game Statistics