MOST AWESOMEST GAME EVER!?!?! FLYERS BEAT HAWKS 3-2
by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 13, 2010 4:10 PM EST
in 09-10 Game Recaps
82 comments
Wow.
This game was scoreless through two periods, but even then it was awesome. These are two fast, offensively tilted teams, each of whom had a hot goalie to steal several goals along the way. A 4-on-4 late in the second period led to about fifteen odd-man rushes in each direction. And though no goals came of it, a tone of awesomeness was set.
Simon Gagne opened the scoring early in the third on a pretty (and possibly accidental?) feed across the slot from Daniel Carcillo. But a bogus goalie interference call on Danny Briere put the Blackhawks on a power play soon after, a power play which Kris Versteeg eventually converted on.
Marian Hossa, best known for being the brother of Dinamo Riga star Marcel Hossa, scored on a high bullet through a screen, beating Leighton stick side, and things looked bleak. But Scott Hartnell of all people, whose struggles have been documented below recently, scored a beautiful, gritty breakaway-type goal to tie things up with two minutes left, which was awesome.
And as if the comeback goal by a struggling fan favorite to send the game to overtime and secure a point wasn't enough, it was about to get even better. With two seconds left, Chris Pronger joined the rush and tapped in a beautiful Claude Giroux pass with 2.1 seconds left to give the Flyers a regulation win.
Bedlam ensued, and continues still.
While the late goal scorers will get all the ink, and largely deservedly, most of the credit for this win should go to Michael Leighton. Against a high-powered Chicago offense that averages about a dozen goals a game, Leighton was rock solid. He stopped 39 of 41 shots, and had no real chance to stop either of their goals. After getting pulled and looking generally mediocre on Thursday, this outing should hopefully silence some skeptics, at least in the short run.
Some parting thoughts, in bullet form:
- Once they develop the technology, I'm going to get an animated GIF tattoo of that last goal.
- Some of my absolute favorite moments in recent Flyers history have ended with Cristobal Huet breaking his stick over the crossbar after letting in a game-winning goal. Mike Knuble's 2OT winner in Game 4 against the Caps might have been more memorable, but wow, this one was awesome too.
- I'm very glad I got to do this recap. Not as glad that the game I bought tickets for was the Bruins game and not this one.
After the jump, questions answered, a comment of the day, as well as so! many! more! exclamation! points!
Comment of the night:
W T F!!!! OH MY GOSH! AWESOME! --flyrsfrk05
Questions to Answer:
- Does Michael Leighton bounce back after a rough Thursday? Yes!!!
- Does everybody else bounce back after a rough Thursday? Yes!!!
- Will Scott Hartnell continue to be snakebitten and useless? No!!!
- Has the Olympic bubble burst yet, or will Patrick Kane get any positive reception from the American Flyers fans? Unclear!!!
- Over or under eight total goals? These aren't teams that are very fond of defense... Under eight!!! But it was a quality over quantity situation!!!
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Not enough exclamations points
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s a little better.
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".
I always love Huet breaking his goal stick. This one was unique in that as I watched I was like here comes OT. Then boom here comes the Flyers hammer, I really wasn’;t expecting him to break it so it suprised me. Wished they would kept that in the replay.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
Pretty sure Hossa is best known for going to the Stanley Cup two years in a row with two different teams and losing both years.
And losing to those same two teams to boot.
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by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 13, 2010 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
I actually thought that game sucked. There was no defense to be found at all, and Ovechkin and Semin both made the Flyer D look like fools repeatedly.
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by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 13, 2010 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
there was horrible defense on both ends, which made it high scoring game, and high scoring games are always entertaining. Also, how can you beat a hat trick by Richie and Briere’s game winner in overtime?
With what I just saw. Two goals in the last two minutes for a come from behind win over a top team. And they were pretty goals at that.
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by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 13, 2010 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
But there’s really no wrong answer, I guess. Most awesomest is in the eye of the beholder.
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by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 13, 2010 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
I couldn’t watch the game, but sounded pretty awesome. I think the awesomeness made my internet break for about 5 mins (the last five :( ).
For what it’s worth, Caps-Pens on NBC is my favorite 09-10 game to date, and I think the best.
CИДHИ KPOCБИ: АЛEKCAHДP OBEЧKИH, OH CEЙЧAC TBOЙ ПAПA
by red army line on Mar 14, 2010 8:55 AM EDT up reply actions
High Scoring games are more of an adrenaline rush than entertaining in my opinion. I don’t find games with zero defense to be entertaining but more frustrating than anything else.
Yeah…pretty much any pitching by Moyer makes me want to cringe. A no no by Moyer would still probably last 3.5 hours.
insert MarioD’s needlessly pessimistic outlook and systematic breakdown of Leighton’s weaknesses here
I’ ll give it a go he let 2 goals in on 41 shots. If he was the goalie we should have it be like 1 goal wvwry thousand shots. HAHA.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 6:13 PM EST up reply actions
We are trying to deter him from posting we don’t want to hear anymore Flyers bashing.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 7:15 PM EST up reply actions
that might be but its rude to talk about someone “in public” without them being there to defend themselves . That’s all I ’m saying.
Then I will say I’m sorry.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 8:25 PM EST up reply actions
Quick Leighton comment: this game doesn’t prove anything we didn’t already know.
He can get very, very hot, and has before. He can let in weak goals, and has before. Most of the time, he stops the first shot. I don’t how this is not a goalie the Flyers can ride in a playoff run. Pessimists be damned.
When is the last time we won a game with under a minute left? When’s the last time we tied a game with less than 5 minutes left? Even if either of those have happened once this season, I don’t think more than that. Epic win.
I think maybe that come from behind 5 goals down last year.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 7:16 PM EST up reply actions
Wasn’t Leighton the goalie for Carolina in that game?
by SanDiegoScraps on Mar 13, 2010 8:10 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Are you sure? I thought it was Ward, but it could be leights maybe both were in.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 8:27 PM EST up reply actions
I actually dug up that game review and posted a fan shot about it as a joke a while ago, and Leighton finished the game. He was atrocious in the shootout, but Ward may have started and gotten pulled. Not sure, but Leights played.
by You don't have to be sweet, to be good on Mar 13, 2010 9:04 PM EST up reply actions
That’s what I thought Ward started then we came back in third, then they put Leighton in.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
I mean I knew Ward was pulled I just didn’t know Leighton was the guy.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 9:56 PM EST up reply actions
I just read a stat that the Flyers have beated Chicago 8 straight times in Philadelphia. Last time they lost was Nov 1996.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
Should be “beaten,” not “beated”. Blah.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
Yeah, the Flyers haven’t beaten the Wings in Detroit since 1988.
Oh, This is bound to be good
You can't, but you thought that You could
Yeah but in both cases, until recently you could go years without playing a team from the Western Conference.
Imagine if we beat Atlanta all this year. There would be 2 teams we beat over 13 straight times in a row at the same time. That would have been awsome.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 8:29 PM EST up reply actions
which is dumb…it’s not baseball which I believe does things this way (other than tradition) because it over complicates a 162 game scheledule
Wrong. When it happens to your team in baseball it just means your team sucks that year. Nothing spectacular. But here in Hockey it means you beat that teams ass for years. Ouchie.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
by Christopher A on Mar 13, 2010 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
no your taking this out of context…I was responding to EDREX’s comment regarding teams not playing one another from different conference which is dumb if you only have 88 games to play. I have no idea what your talking about. Take a look, I wasn’t replying to your comment.
the idea that conferences playing one another more gives you a better idea who the stronger conference is and it also spreads the data out more to give it more statistical relevance esp. in a sport like hockey which depends too heavily on the on the hard to quantify aspects of the game being filtered out as noise in linear regressions.
here's a question
are those supposed to be sperms on Leighton’s helmet?
by birds'n'raiders on Mar 13, 2010 9:04 PM EST reply actions
Observations I read from Second City website
-I don’t know if Michael Leighton can keep up this standard, but if he can the Flyers are an intriguing team to watch. They’re one of two teams in the East that can skate with the Caps, and they can go the other way too if they need to. No one will fancy catching them in the playoffs.
-Someone should take game film of Scott Hartnell and show it to Jack Skille, and tell him, “Do this.”
Apparently, they think more highly of our team and players than many of us do. It’s refreshing to get an outside opinion from time to time.
They also think Ville Leino sucks, so I bet they’d get a chuckle out of reading how quite a few Flyers’ fans wanted him to replace Hartnell on the ice.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
Interesting observations, I mean Hartnell is a 30/30 guy. He may be a on a massive career cold steak, but the guy can be a damn good player. I read it as well and I think their view on Leighton is pretty funny
.
by You don't have to be sweet, to be good on Mar 13, 2010 10:01 PM EST up reply actions
Perhaps their views are, in part, a rationalization for why their team lost today—but Hartnell is a very good player who has just had some troubles hitting the net this year. In terms of Leighton, who knows? But he’s all we’ve got, so for better or worse, we have to ride that horse and hope he gets us to the Oasis.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
True, our team is maddeningly inconsistent, but then again, they feel theirs is, too. It’s just funny to read others’ observations.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
Agreed. I think he tries too hard; he had huge expectations on him, and when he doesn’t quite live up to them he gets all jumpy and nervy. You can see he’s talented, but he gripped the stick too tight in Detroit. He looked good in his couple games with Philly.
by penguinsfan on Mar 14, 2010 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with j reed that we need to see him more, but certainly what we have seen looks to be more than worth OKT and a fifth-round pick.
by Ben Feldman on Mar 14, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
AWESOME GAME.
i nearly gave up after the Hossa goal…i thought the ref gave Chicago all the momentum after that goalie interference call on Briere, which in turn, ended up being a GTG for Chicago. Right as I go to change the channel, BOOM, Hartnell makes a doozy of a goal and ties it up. Thinking it was going to OT, a strong final attack that ended with a beautiful tip in by Pronger sending Philly Faithful into a frenzy. I was standing up when that happened….
anyone else outraged by this goalie interference crap??? They should address this more clearly because a lot of shady calls and with high powered teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Washington, even our boys have a deadly Special Teams on the PP, just damn teams that can’t match that type of firepower. Maybe video review to see if it was the player or other causes for the interference to be caused.?
Skip the Pitt, Move on down to Broad Street....
Philadelphia Flyers / Columbus Blue Jackets, 'nuff said.
Best game?
Not the best game ever but it was great to see the Flyers win in the last seconds.
That 12/11/2008 Carolina game was Leighton vs Nittymaki. Flyers won 6-5 in the shootout. I think that will always be my best Flyers game ever. Scott Hartnell made that happen. Maybe he has turned a corner and can shake off the cobwebs.
POWER OUTAGE, Son a !!@#$$%
Friggin power outage after the Gagne goal so I didn’t get to see that damn end of the game. Thank god for the iphone I was to download the CBS Radio APP and listen to the last 8 minutes. Thank god Pronger ended it in regulation because I didn’t know if my battery was going to make it through the OT. Great game and I love modern technology.
The only bad part was that the battery didn’t die and I continued to listen to WIP and of course it is filled with calls ripping but Leighton for getting beat by Hossa on that goal and people ripping Pronger because he is old and we gave up too much up to get him. The hosts “Hater” Rob Cherry and Ricky Bo couldn’t agree with them more. I mean after all the games, Leighton stops 40 shots and Pronger scores the game winner with 2 seconds left. Why do you have to rip those guys less than 20 minutes later after the factored so prominently in such a great comeback win. Cherry berated every fan saying you seriously don’t think this team can win a championship do you now do you, it totally killed my enjoyment. He said Flyers fans just enjoy going to game and don’t really care if the team wins a championship as long as we are entertained. Thanks WIP as soon as I get the money I am going over to Sirius XM, radio in this city is nothing but infuriating.
Ricky Bo was doing Flyers post-game calls? I don’t listen to WIP, but that seems like a strange host, no?
And I apologize to Cherry that I’m not a frontrunner and I actually enjoy the game, not just the team. Does he say the same thing when literally 40-50% of the Philadelphia area tunes into every game of the Eagles, who haven’t won a championship in half of a century?
by Ben Feldman on Mar 14, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
yes he pretty much does it is championship or bust, if the Eagles win it is always tempered with this team is still not good enough to win the Super Bowl. It is like if your team is not a contender then why do you waste your time watching them type of ban wagon attitude. I never understood that attitude. Of course I want a Cup and Super Bowl etc.. but there isn’t an aquisition or draft pick that can guarantee such a thing. So why not just enjoy the ride and see how things shake out.
If the Phillies World Series win taught me anything it is how awesome that ride was it lasted like an entire month of excitement throughout the playoffs even last year with the Yankees it was awesome despite losing in the end. The 08’ parade was also amazing but that World Series high really only lasted a week then it was all about getting ready with excitement for the folllowing season. Many people on WIP said they would give up 10 winning seasons for a single Stanley Cup or Super Bowl. I say 10 years of entertainment and excitement the end’s in heartbreak is better than a parade followed by absolutely nothing to look forward to for the next decade. It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
Is Boucher going to play vs NYR or is it gonna be Leighton?
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 14, 2010 12:19 PM EDT reply actions
QUESTION TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF BSH
is there anywhere on the net where i could find a list of advanced stats on ice for players? looking for GVT, goals for on ice and goals against etc. just wondering if there is somewhere i could find this stuff. i know certain stats are linked sometimes in the flybys but was looking for some sort of database. ne help is appreciated
by MadmanSamCarcillo on Mar 14, 2010 2:18 PM EDT reply actions
This might be what you’re looking for:
http://www.behindthenethockey.com/2009/10/9/1078607/frequently-asked-questions-about
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 14, 2010 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Best Flyers game ever
I was at the 2OT Washington game a few years back and that was one of the most amazing sporting events I’ve ever attended. The fact that we bleed orange and black in this household made it all that much better and that game is probably one of the top Flyers games ever.
Primeau’s 5OT game winner against the Penguins was pretty amazing also and I think deserves a mention.
Yesterday’s game has to be one of the best regular season Flyers games of all time. Great to see Hartnell get his head out of his ass and get on the scoresheet with such an important and pretty awesome goal.
Now……let’s go beat on Avery and the rest of those clowns in their own building!
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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 |
|
@
Chicago
|
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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