Three Stars
1. Scott Laughton
Honestly, the entire bottom six could go here, but Laughton arguably stood out the most. He recorded a two point night, assisting on the Ivan Provorov and Michael Raffl goals. This adds to what has been just an incredible season for the 25 year old former first round pick. He now has 27 points on the season closing in on his career high of 32 which he set last season. Difference is, this year will be a shortened one for Laughts after missing time earlier this season with a broken finger.
On the first goal, it was Laughton winning a puck battle in the corner and then getting the puck to Provorov who waltzed in on goal. The second was just a simple play, starting the breakout with a pass to Pitlick who found a darting Raffl.
2. Carter Hart
Hart didn’t have to make a ton of big saves in this game, hell, didn’t have to make a ton of saves in general, but he got the job done. He continued his dominance at the Wells Fargo Center, and secured his 23rd win of the season. He’s allowed just 11 goals over his last six games, as he continues his hot streak down the stretch as the Flyers push for the playoffs.
3. Ivan Provorov
The Flyers number one defenseman was as advertised tonight. He scored the game’s first goal, and was stellar defensively. He ended the night among the leaders on the team in Corsi for the night and expected goals. He scored his 13th goal of the season, and his 36th point which is closing in on his career high of 41. He’s been everything we hoped he would be this season, and he’s heating up down the stretch with 11 points in his last 15 games.
Answering the bell
1. Can the Flyers weather the storm?
It was certainly sloppy in the beginning, but the Flyers handled the few rushes the Canes had very well. It didn’t take the Flyers long before they began to settle down and find their rhythm. Once they did, the storm turned into but a light drizzle, and the Flyers had complete control of the game.
2. Can they keep their energy up?
Again, tough sledding early on, but the energy quickly returned. It was pretty obvious the Caps game wore on this team both mentally and physically, as they didn’t get their skating legs until late in the opening period. Once they did however, they had them for the rest of the game for the most part. This has been a constant theme for the orange and black, except this time they still scored first, and held the lead the rest of the way.
Play of the game
It’s gonna go to the Raffl goal which was a thing of beauty from start to finish. The Laughton breakout, the tape-to-tape feed from Pitlick, and the top shelf snipe from Raffl.
Raffl with the snipe! pic.twitter.com/4CFkAf2dBh
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) March 6, 2020
