Sean Couturier
The Flyers look to keep the success going against the Sabres, who are dealing with some struggles and injuries that have hindered their play in the last few weeks.
Brian Elliott was on point, making 23 saves to secure his second shutout of the season, both coming against the Sabres, once again in a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon.
It wasn’t a pretty win, and it wasn’t going to be pretty with the Flyers still plenty shorthanded from their COVID situation. But Claude Giroux marked the first player to return on a list that will only be increasing with each passing day, and he showed just how motivated he was to come back strong.
With a shorthanded lineup once again, the Bruins got another late second-period goal that started the unraveling. This time, it didn’t even take until the third. Three goals for the Bruins in 1:39 capped off a four-goal period, as the Flyers were routed in the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe by a score of 7-3 on Sunday night.
While the Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak and earned just their fifth win of the season against the Flyers on Thursday night, the circumstances the Flyers were in made this an uphill battle from the start. The Flyers got off to a good one at that, but ultimately had to overcome too much to secure that second point.
When it came down to the wire, a late goal managed to get them a point in the standings and force overtime, but in a shootout, the Rangers would prevail over the Flyers with a pair of goals in a 3-2 final at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
The Flyers face the New York Rangers in their first game since last Sunday. The Rangers enter this game on a four-game losing streak, fresh off a loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in the Devils’ first game back since their own COVID situation.
The Flyers were back on Tuesday for practice with a limited group and more players are expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers. The Flyers also had five games rescheduled by the NHL in the wake of COVID-19 caused postponements.
Perhaps the biggest moment though was the return to the lineup of a player the Flyers had desperately needed to get back, and while his presence didn’t solve all of their problems, it did help them get back in the win column. Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s 7-4 win over the Capitals.
The guys look at the pair of losses to Boston this week and react to the win on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Capitals. They also discuss Sean Couturier’s return to the lineup, Joel Farabee’s continued evolution and James van Riemsdyk’s resurgence.