Complete with real, live goals! Flyers surprise Devils, win 3-2
by Travis Hughes on Feb 8, 2010 10:56 PM EST
in 09-10 Game Recaps
38 comments
With the way the Flyers offense has played lately, a two goal, second period deficit against the defensive minded New Jersey Devils seemed like an insurmountable cliff to climb.
Not so fast. The Flyers took over the hockey game after Anssi Salmela scored early in the second and never looked back. James van Riemsdyk opened the scoring on a great individual play and shot that beat Martin Brodeur late in the period. With time continuing to run down, Jeff Carter actually somehow didn't miss a shot and beat Brodeur to tie the game with 24 ticks remaining.
Somehow, it was a hockey game, and the Flyers had all the momentum. In the third period, Philadelphia would add a tie breaking goal from Mike Richards to give the home team the lead for good. They won this game by doing all the things we talked about; they were opportunistic offensively and solid defensively and in goal.
One place where they could've used serious improvement, though? Specialty teams. Ilya Kovalchuk had an absurd 11:02 of power play time, and being a man down for six whole minutes of the first period didn't help the Flyers gain any edge off the bat. That's not an excuse, though, because a solid penalty kill can lead to momentum. The Flyers didn't do that, and when they finally got a power play of their own, Salmela scored his goal shorthanded.
Sticking with Salmela: he was seriously injured tonight when, just after his goal, he took a shot from Carter. Much more on that here. He's walking around and talking and didn't go to the hospital, but he has some teeth and a broken nose. He should be fine, though.
Salmela's fine, Flyers win. See you on Wednesday, Devils. After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.
Playoff Race
- 4th: Pittsburgh - 59 GP, 72 pts (didn't play)
- 5th: Ottawa - 59 GP, 70 pts (didn't play)
- 6th: Montreal - 60 GP, 62 pts (didn't play)
- 7th: Philadelphia - 57 GP, 61 pts (won tonight)
- 8th: Tampa Bay - 57 GP, 61 pts (didn't play)
- 9th: Boston - 57 GP, 59 pts (didn't play)
- 10th: NY Rangers - 59 GP, 59 pts (didn't play)
- 11th: Atlanta - 57 GP, 58 pts (didn't play)
- 12th: Florida - 58 GP, 57 pts (didn't play)
- 13th: NY Islanders - 58 GP, 54 pts (didn't play)
Questions With Answers
- Can the Flyers keep Kovalchuk off the board? Yep. Very impressive considering he had so much PP time.
- Do they focus too much on the Kovalchuk/Elias line, giving room to Parise? Generally speaking, no. Parise scored but special teams are a different animal.
- Can the Flyers offense finish their chances and be opportunistic? Yes. They still missed a lot of chances (looking at you, Jeff) but they were still good in this department. Improvement.
- Leighton hasn't been the reason for recent losses. Is he the main factor towards the decision tonight? Leighton came up big several times, including on a late PP where the Devils were trying their hardest to tie the game.
Comment of the Night
Why did that loud horn go off all of a sudden? Why are some of the fans standing and cheering? I don’t get it…
>> Ben Feldman
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I’m very disappointed…. in the game thread we seemed to feel that Kimmo deserved the first star and JVR the second, but neither one got a star at all! I still think Kimmo deserved it more than Richie.
And they finally crowded the net, at least for a little while. Baby steps….
But hey, at least we won. One game at a time though, we’ll see what happens Wednesday.
Wow MarioD, I’m very proud of you that you stepped up and kind of compliment the Flyers on a well played um… period???
by orangeandblack20 on Feb 8, 2010 11:53 PM EST up reply actions
I’ll give them 30 minutes at least. Agree to disagree.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Come on mikefive that wasn’t necessary. Mario was making some nice progress without being poked at by you. It is like when you get one A and two B’s and your dad says why not three A’s. This is a work in progress man. :-)
by M from Pdaddy on Feb 9, 2010 8:20 AM EST up reply actions
comeback victory from 2-0 was a pleasant suprise. They owed us for the time we spent watching that the dreadful edmonton game.
The Minnesota game had that moment of theraputic cheering, but at the same time, I felt their overall performance in that game was crappier than the Edmonton shutout.
Both games were craptacular, though, so arguing which one is worse is like arguing which member of The Who did worse at the Super Bowl.
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".
At the game
I was at the game you could hear a pin drop until about the JVR goal than it was on they were looking slow 2 bad goals prongers toe and just some bad D on the PK but for the last 21 mins the game was played well I did think there were alot of no calls against the flyers and what was the deal with the net coming off at the end and richards with the empty net and they bring the faceoff back
Was it just me or was it a bit surprising that after Carter’s hit and the Devils player laying on the ice motionless, that no one on the Devils went after Carter? Not saying they should have, but that is generally what happens in similar situations. Glad to hear Salmela is doing well though.
I think everybody was kinda in shock about it, nobody really knew what happened. Carter even turns around wide-eyed
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Feb 9, 2010 9:56 AM EST up reply actions
See Lemaire should have played Danis, we are fine against starting goalies, I’m sure Danis would have made the shutout stand up.
also, if the Flyers play the Devils and have an amazing comeback, but half the US doesn’t see the game because comcast and vs. are still fighting over a contract, does it still count?
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
ah yes, you are correct, i’m just bitter because i obviously could not watch the game. Or maybe that’s a good thing, i probably would have turned it off after the middle of the second, haha.
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Feb 9, 2010 10:32 AM EST up reply actions
On March 5th that changes, I think
Direct tv and Comcast have been order to make nice and shake hands.
Crossies dont count
by Prometheus74 on Feb 9, 2010 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
Puck Daddy just put up an new article about this.
Forget everything I just wrote about a truce by March 5th.
:(
by Prometheus74 on Feb 9, 2010 12:36 PM EST up reply actions
Not that impressed with the game last night. It seemed to me almost all our cross ice passes got intercepted or we missed them, and everytime we got into their zone, we didn’t know what to do. Blind passes from the point getting picked off leading the other way. No precision (not that that’s our forte)….but tonight seemed very sloppy to me.
So curious thoughts on Leighton’s performance….some nice saves but were the two goal on him or defense?
First goal was a deflection from a cross ice pass off Prongers skates. Hard to blame him really, maybe he should have lead with his stick. I can’t remember the goal but thats generally the problem on those types of goals from my experience.
Second goal, has to be on Richards. That was the weakest attempt at holding up a player I’ve seen in a long time. It was a really good goal. Again, I don’t think Leighton was at fault.
Also, Leighton absolutely snatched an Elias wrist shot wired to the top corner. I thought it had gone in for sure. Such a sweet save.
hartnell played somewhat better last night-especially in the first when he drove the puck hard to the net on brodeur.
he still made one foolish pass across the ice leading to a turnover. still, it was only one bad turnover, and i was legally allowed to drive.
any news on carbombs right hand? i noted in the fight that he really couldn’t throw that hard haymaker.
please let brodeur be in net for wednesday.
Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance
Seems like the Flyers have been doing that for years… making goalies no one has ever heard of look like a hall of famer. I’d rather see anyone of the proven greats in net against the Flyers as oppossed to someone making their first career start. I’d be curious to see the Flyers record when playing against goalies with less than 5 career starts in the last decade… it’s got to be terrible.
We make Mediocre Average Fleury look like a stud, too. Depressing.
by You don't have to be sweet, to be good on Feb 9, 2010 8:40 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, but in the playoffs…. When it matters….
by You don't have to be sweet, to be good on Feb 9, 2010 10:24 PM EST up reply actions
He was great in the playoffs last year. He won them that series, hands down.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Feb 9, 2010 11:53 PM EST up reply actions
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Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Jersey
|
82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 103 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 101 |
|
Philadelphia
|
82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 88 |
|
New York Rangers
|
82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 87 |
|
New York Islanders
|
82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 |
(updated 4.12.2010 at 9:21 AM EDT)
Flyers Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
@
Pittsburgh
|
Thu 10/07 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
@
St. Louis
|
Sat 10/09 | 8:00 PM EDT |
|
Colorado
|
Mon 10/11 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Tampa Bay
|
Thu 10/14 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Pittsburgh
|
Sat 10/16 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
|
Chicago
|
Wed 06/09 | OT - L 3 - 4 |
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@
Chicago
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Sun 06/06 | L 4 - 7 |
|
Chicago
|
Fri 06/04 | W 5 - 3 |
|
Chicago
|
Wed 06/02 | OT - W 4 - 3 |
|
@
Chicago
|
Mon 05/31 | L 1 - 2 |
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