Injuries scare, but Flyers storm back for 15th straight win over Isles

by Travis Hughes on Mar 9, 2010 11:22 PM EST in 09-10 Game Recaps Comment 48 comments

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [New York Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

Michael Leighton looked shaky. The team looked lazy. The opponent looked the opposite. Lukas Krajicek caught a puck in the face. James van Riemsdyk took a puck to the finger. Dan Carcillo left the ice with a knee injury.

The story of the first period. Luckily, the Flyers wouldn't let any of this dictate the rest of the hockey game.

Krajicek returned. JVR returned. Carcillo returned, and the Flyers completely took over the second half of the contest at Wachovia Center on Tuesday night before leaving with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders. If you haven't heard, we officially own the Islanders with 15 straight wins. Unfortunately, that's basically equal to having hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean.

Down 2-0 in the second period, the Flyers decided to wake up, and for literally almost the rest of the hockey game, they kept the puck in the Islanders end. It was a complete contrast from the start, with a ton of puck posession, a ton of shots and a tired Isles defense.

Jeff Carter capitalized on this pressure just two minutes after Kyle Okposo put the Isles up two. It continued for the rest of the period, with the Flyers getting their chances but not capitalizing. That would change in the third, however, thanks in part to the lack of discipline displayed by the Islanders.

Mark Streit was called for boarding with 13 minutes left in the third, and on the ensuing power play, Mike Richards would feed Claude Giroux in the slot for a beautiful goal to tie the game. As Giroux cut to the net, he was impeded by Sean Bergenheim, who was whistled off for high sticking. Nothing would come of that man advantage, but the Flyers would quickly be up a man once more.

Trevor Gillies, the goon called up by the Islanders specifically for this game, got a little too physical with Scott Hartnell behind the play. He was called for boarding, and on this version of the Peco, the Flyers put together a work of art. Matt Carle started things with a gorgeous zone keep, and he would dish the puck down the boards where it would be picked out of the air by a glove-less Giroux. Giroux then cut to the middle and passed the puck over to Simon Gagne, who would bury the game winning goal behind Dwayne Roloson.

After the jump, questions with answers, a playoff race update and the comment of the night.

Questions With Answers

Does Michael Leighton put in another solid outing? The first goal aside, tonight was another serviceable outing for Leights. It wouldn't hurt to work on the rebound control, though.
Can Dwayne Roloson prove to the Flyers that they should've gone out and picked up another goalie at the deadline... like, I don't know... him? Roloson was very solid all night long, but I don't know if his play was much better than Leighton's.
Tavares has two goals in four games against the Flyers. Does he break his loooooong funk tonight? Of course he did. What did you expect? An young star on a division rival NOT scoring on the Flyers? Pleaaaaaaase...
What's the point cushion in 6th place for the Flyers at the end of the night, and are they any closer to Ottawa when it's all said and done this evening? Full playoff picture update below.

Tonight's Playoff Race Update

		GP	PTS	Tonight	gms left vs
2	Pittsburgh	66	84	didn't play	1: at PIT 3/27
3	Buffalo	64	79	didn't play	none
4	New Jersey	64	79	didn't play	1: vs NJD 3/28
5	Ottawa	66	77	at EDM later	1: at OTT 3/23
6	Philadelphia	65	74	win vs NYI	-
7	Montreal	68	72	win vs TBL	1: vs MTL 4/2
8	Boston	65	70	OT loss vs TOR	1: vs BOS 3/11
9	NY Rangers	66	67	didn't play	3: at NYR 3/14, 4/9; vs 4/11
10	Atlanta	65	66	loss vs NSH	2: at ATL 3/20; vs 3/21
11	Tampa Bay	65	65	loss vs MTL	none

Comment of the Night

I swear, if the Islanders ever beat the Flyers, the sky is probably going to turn purple like on Lost when they didn't push the button.

>> Ben Rothenberg, via text message

0 recs | Comment 48 comments | Add comment |

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Comments

I missed the first two periods due to a prior commitment. Oh well.

One thing worth mentioning is that Richards has looked like his 2007-08 self since the Olympics. Before the break he noticeably picked up his play, as did the rest of the team. But he seems to be a man on a mission now. Maybe that whole chase for the gold medal and the subsequent thrill of winning it was just what the doctor ordered for our captain. It seems like he’s progressed a lot this year (media issues aside) to the point where I’m starting to feel like good things will happen when he’s on the ice.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 9, 2010 11:36 PM EST reply actions

In buffalo, that mission seemed to be “skate to center ice while the OT winner is scored against us”

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 12:29 AM EST up reply actions

man you do enjoy bringing up past transgressions to flatten any sort of argument against what you believe. A tactic you have no doubt nurtured in the courtroom.

grats

TAKE THE FALL, ACT HURT, GET INDIGNANT

by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Mar 10, 2010 12:36 AM EST up reply actions

“past transgressions”… “four days ago”… same thing?

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 12:39 AM EST up reply actions

i’ve seen people put up logical arguments against urs and u still hold urs over others. Even if i were to argue, I wouldn’t change your mind

TAKE THE FALL, ACT HURT, GET INDIGNANT

by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Mar 10, 2010 1:02 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

TRUTH!

by flyrsfrk05 on Mar 10, 2010 11:01 AM EST up reply actions

Chris Pronger was a -1 in 07 with the ducks so he MUST of been a bad pick up for us.

Flyers were awful in 06-07 so don’t count on making the playoffs this year

Mike Rathje is still injured..we’re screwed!!!

come on dude all you ever do is dwell on everything orange and black..i couldn’t call myself a fan if all i ever did was complain..go be a pens fan maybe they are perfect enough for you

by Carcillo's Mustache on Mar 10, 2010 6:42 PM EST up reply actions

dig the screen name

let’s hope he lasts.

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 10, 2010 7:37 PM EST up reply actions

thanks i hope so too. i love the old school hockey look he has..now if we could only get him to play without a helmet…haha

by Carcillo's Mustache on Mar 10, 2010 8:03 PM EST up reply actions

Cool story bro, I didn’t realize this was the discussion thread about the game we played days ago.

by Boog609 on Mar 10, 2010 3:14 AM EST up reply actions

I assume this was a comment to Mike, since he only saw a third of last night’s game and brought up how Richards was playing “before the break” and “since the Olympics”?

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 9:36 AM EST up reply actions

Did I say he was perfect? No.

By the way, we don’t even get to OT in that game if not for him.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 10, 2010 9:22 AM EST up reply actions

I just don’t think he’s playing very well.

I can’t remember the last time I noticed him in the defensive zone, even on the PK.

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 9:37 AM EST up reply actions

Also, I have trouble saying the captain of a team that mailed in the first half of a hockey game, at home, is doing his job well.

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 9:38 AM EST up reply actions

Well we’re going to have different viewpoints on the guy because we have different opinions of him. I like him and you don’t, so of course I’m going to have a more favorable view.

Say what you will about defense, but he’s definitely doing his job offensively.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 10, 2010 9:52 AM EST up reply actions

I agree he’s been strongly offensively. But I think its come at the expense of his defensive game.

by MarioD on Mar 10, 2010 9:54 AM EST up reply actions

They haven’t been using him as much on the PK. That was the idea of getting Lappy and Betts.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 10, 2010 9:49 AM EST up reply actions

Not noticing someone in the defensive zone isn’t always a bad thing. It’s usually when you notice people in the defensive zone that your noticing them doing something wrong.

by Pondhockey on Mar 10, 2010 9:50 AM EST up reply actions

I have got to know, are you really a Flyers fan. I mean shit you could find a bad spot in heaven and then spend the rest of eternity complaining about it.

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 10, 2010 11:20 AM EST up reply actions

Seems we could catch Ottawa on our own

with a win in the game in hand and then the game vs. the Sens.

I don’t know that I want to be the 5 seed, unless the 4 is Ottawa. I hate facing division rivals in the playoffs, and wouldn’t want Jersey out of the gate.

by chillicothe20 on Mar 9, 2010 11:38 PM EST reply actions

New Jersey is extremely cold right now and if Martin Brodeur is overworked now, imagine how he will be come playoff time in a month with the lack of rest for all teams in this regular season. I imagine we would fare well in a series against the Devils. That being said, I want to avoid the Penguins at all costs.

Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".

by JFein on Mar 9, 2010 11:44 PM EST up reply actions

It’s weird. Part of me wants to play them really, really badly. The other part of me wants no part.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 9, 2010 11:49 PM EST up reply actions

smack thyself

by j reed on Mar 10, 2010 2:23 AM EST up reply actions

That is the exact way I feel about playing the Pengiuns in the playoffs. On one hand, I wanna be the ones to knock them out but I the other, I don’t really the Flyers can . . .

At this point, I just wanna make it to the second round. Who knows what can happen from there . . .

by flyrsfrk05 on Mar 10, 2010 11:05 AM EST up reply actions

make your decision after we play them on the 27th(?)

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 10, 2010 11:24 AM EST up reply actions

For the Flyers to play deep into the playoffs this year, we’re going to need a bunch of things to break right for us. The first is going to be a first round matchup with Ottawa. Ottawa is basically a smoke and mirrors team and anybody (even Ottawa fans) will tell you that.

If we can draw them in the first round, that should be a series we can win. As there is very little chance that either the 7 or 8 seed is going to beat either Pittsburgh or Washington, I think it’s a safe bet to plan on facing the Capitals in round 2.

At which point, I will be praying that somehow Leighton channels his inner Patrick Roy, Theodore plays like, Theodore and not the goalie he has been playing like lately and Pronger channels his inner Canadian and is able to shut down AO.

The sad thing about NJ choking down the stretch is that Pittsburgh wins the division, meaning that the Capitals and Penguins won’t knock each other out before the ECF at the soonest. Which obviously means that the EC champion is going to have to go (probably) through both of those teams.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 10, 2010 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

remember our epic fall in the standings last year?
That could happen to anyone so its impossible to say with any certainty who the match ups will be.
Except Its a safe bet the 8th seed will play in Washington
Im all for moving on up and let everyone else worry if they have to play us
And as for the penguins, I saw lets take them on and finnish it right this time.

by Prometheus74 on Mar 9, 2010 11:52 PM EST up reply actions

that epic fall also had to do with the refs basically finding new ways to screw us down the stretch, if you remember.

for example, biron getting pushed into the net against the rangers. or not blowing the whistle when biron had clear posession against the rangers.

ugh. i didn’t want to think about that.

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 10, 2010 11:26 AM EST up reply actions

or how many goals did Crosby kick in during the 1st round and all the damn calls in that series it was ridiculous we had the edge on the Pens at even strength too bad the refs called 42 minor penalties after the 1st 3 games, practically half of the game was played on special teams, a sharp contrast to the finals where DET was running a 30% PP only 12 minors called after the 1st 3 games, it is a crazy league this it is probably Ovie’s turn so avoiding them is key

by chrislanci on Mar 10, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

As much as I love Gagne and the way he’s been playing since the break, I think Giroux deserved to get the first star selection tonight. Yet they totally snubbed him and didn’t give him one at all. Sometimes I never will understand how they make those decisions…. Carle over Giroux, seriously?

The game has me a bit rattled, though, because we’ve looked shaky for parts of every game since the break. I think we’ll be alright against the Savard-free Bruins, but I’m pretty nervous about the Blackhawks game on Saturday.

by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 10, 2010 12:12 AM EST reply actions

Maybe this is the game where Lavi will finally play Boucher. Pff…..wishful thinking, no doubt.

Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".

by JFein on Mar 10, 2010 1:05 AM EST up reply actions

I completely agree with your feelings about this game. Completely terrible first 30 minutes. Even at the end of the second period, they were making a ton of mistakes – giveaways, passes to nowhere, telegraphing their passes – which should have cost them. Plus, as soon as they scored the third goal, you knew they were going to sit back and let the Islanders pressure. Luckily, the Islanders aren’t very good.

Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 10, 2010 8:55 AM EST up reply actions

Exactly. And while the Bruins may have a little bit better chance of making us pay for those mistakes, you know the Blackhawks will make us suffer if we continue making them. I haven’t really liked the way any of our games as a whole have looked since the break, even though I’ve liked parts of them and liked individual performances. I said Leighton made me feel hot and cold with his performance a few days ago, but for the past two weeks the whole team has been making me feel hot and cold, even more so than usual.

by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 10, 2010 9:34 AM EST up reply actions

agreed that being said we played like we did under Stevens with all the damn line juggling we were all over the place and out of sync but once everyone got back in the lineup we took over the game PP is red hot right now which is going to be huge down the stretch, despite Leighton’s suspect play he still only allowed 2 goals and again maybe key timely saves despite two rather underwhelming goals allowed

by chrislanci on Mar 10, 2010 9:59 AM EST up reply actions

Is it just me or does Leighton need to get his five hole looked at? Maybe he needs to get some better pad flaps or something.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 10, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions

we either have scoring orgies or play chicken with head cut-off desperate hockey. We need some Abilify. Stat.

by j reed on Mar 10, 2010 2:37 AM EST reply actions

Corsi/Fenwick

I got that Corsi is total shots attempted +/- but what is Fenwick?

by orangeandblack20 on Mar 10, 2010 6:09 AM EST reply actions

Fenwick is the same thing, minus blocked shots. So where Corsi is shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots, Fenwick is just shots on goal and missed shots.

The reason is that sometimes, a blocked shot is collected, and is just fired on net immediately after. Not all the time, obviously, but sometimes.

Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 10, 2010 8:57 AM EST up reply actions

Again, updated stats through 5 games.

http://tinyurl.com/ygk54c9

by SwimminDave on Mar 10, 2010 9:28 AM EST reply actions

a win is a win but that was ugly as sin

by chrislanci on Mar 10, 2010 9:50 AM EST reply actions

If it’s ugly, but it’s a win, it’s still a win. I’ll take whatever I can get.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Mar 10, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions

I was at the game, and boy was I scared that my new Richards jersey was going to get christened with a loss to the freaking Islanders. I might have burned it, that thing would’ve been cursed.

by You don't have to be sweet, to be good on Mar 10, 2010 10:24 AM EST reply actions

i liked the line in the recap, “we officially own the Islanders with 15 straight wins. Unfortunately, that’s basically equal to having hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean.” So true.

by TheGrizz on Mar 10, 2010 10:52 AM EST reply actions

haha, I love Monopoly references. Besides, it may not be big, but it’s definitely beneficial to have hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean.

Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 10, 2010 11:01 AM EST up reply actions

playing the bruins without savard is like landing on kentucky ave right after the owner had to sell some some houses to pay rent.

by TheGrizz on Mar 10, 2010 11:06 AM EST up reply actions

I would say it is more like landing on Free Parking depending on what your house rule was for that one. The fact Pittsburgh took him out without getting a penalty or a suspension makes the whole thing feel like 2nd Place in a Beauty Contest.

by chrislanci on Mar 10, 2010 11:09 AM EST up reply actions

I agree…. may not be worth much, but people always seem to land there so there’s definitely benefit.

by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 10, 2010 11:11 AM EST up reply actions

of course it is. you get a decent shot of reposessing everyone’s welfare check collected at “go”.

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 10, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions

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Atlantic Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
New Jersey In Lou We Trust	82	48	27	7	103
Pittsburgh PensBurgh	82	47	28	7	101
Philadelphia Broad Street Hockey	82	41	35	6	88
New York Rangers Blueshirt Banter	82	38	33	11	87
New York Islanders Lighthouse Hockey	82	34	37	11	79

(updated 4.12.2010 at 9:21 AM EDT)

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Next 5 Games

@ Pittsburgh PensBurgh	Thu 10/07	7:00 PM EDT
@ St. Louis St. Louis Game Time	Sat 10/09	8:00 PM EDT
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Mon 10/11	7:00 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Raw Charge	Thu 10/14	7:00 PM EDT
Pittsburgh PensBurgh	Sat 10/16	7:00 PM EDT

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@ Chicago Second City Hockey	Sun 06/06	L 4 - 7
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@ Chicago Second City Hockey	Mon 05/31	L 1 - 2

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