Flyers vs Predators: The Flyers score more goals, win game 6-3

Going into tonight’s contest, the Nashville Predators had only allowed five goals in their last five games. Against the Flyers, they allowed six, which is more than five. And in four less games. That is very impressive.

To open up this game, the Flyers quickly realized they needed to be sharp through the neutral zone in order to gain any sort of offensive pressure. Thirteen minutes in, they managed to snap the Predators defense.

Matt Read made a nice move, head-faked, and got one through Pekka Rinne’s five-hole. The Nashville Predators and their fans were unhappy that the goal stood because they believed that one of their players had been interfered with, thus leading to the Read’s goal. I, like many others, didn’t believe there should have been a penalty because I prefer when the Flyers are scoring goals rather than serving out penalties. The goal stood, and I was happy. Someone said that Read got a monkey off his back, but personally, I didn’t notice a monkey there before so I don’t really know what they meant by that.

The Flyers managed to add to their first period lead, with Brayden Schenn tipping in a pass from Sean Couturier. I don’t remember a lot of it, probably because I was so excited that the Flyers were having a good game.

The best play that Nick Schultz made was getting high-sticked at the end of the first, giving the Flyers a chance to score again. They didn’t, but it was okay. There was still power play time to start the second.

The Predators killed off the tail end of the double minor to begin the second period, and then were able to net their first of the game. Recently acquired forward Ryan Johansen was the goal scorer, and normally I would say it was a very good goal, but Johansen is on the Predators, so I don’t like saying anything nice about him or his team.

The Flyers didn’t take too long to respond. Just a couple minutes later, Wayne Simmonds received a gorgeous pass from Scott Laughton. Pekka Rinner was able to make the first stop, but Simmonds followed up and got his own rebound, giving the Flyers their two goal lead back. Simmonds looked really pumped up afterwards, probably because he likes scoring. I was pumped up afterwards too.

Claude Giroux added to the lead later in the period, lasering a wrister past Rinne. It was a great goal. What’s better than a two goal lead? A three goal lead. He wanted to celebrate with a member of the Nashville Predators, Viktor Arvidsson. It seemed like he didn’t want to be a part of the hug. Arvidsson struggled to get away, probably because he doesn’t like the Flyers scoring goals. I do, though. I was pretty happy with the game at that point.

Calle Jarnkrok got the game within two again to close out the period. Like I said previously, three goal leads are better than two goal leads, but I was content. Also, Jarnkrok is a cool name, so I didn’t mind his name being said aloud.

The Flyers went into the third protecting their lead. However, it must have been very hard to protect because they weren’t able to protect it all the way. Radko Gudas took a high-sticking penalty, his second penalty of the game, and Shea Weber blasted one from the point past Mason. It was not good. In fact, it was actually bad. I don’t like when games are close because that’s when my anxiety is highest. I pulled at the collar of my shirt and grimaced as a joke.

Wayne Simmonds drew a penalty not long after, and I hoped that perhaps the Flyers would be able to score a goal to give themselves some breathing room. They did score on the power play which made me really happy. Scoring gave them a wider lead, meaning it was more likely they would win.

Not long after, Claude Giroux scored his second of the night, effectively ending the game. The Predators looked sad, probably because they knew the Flyers were going to win.

• Tonight the Flyers scored six goals, which is more than they have scored all season. That helped them to win the game because the more goals you score, the easier it is to win.
• Mark Streit lead the Flyers in ice-time. If I could talk to him, I’d say “hey, you must need a nap after that game.” He would probably say yes. Skating is hard work, he’s probably tired.
• Wayne Simmonds has continued to play incredibly well, scoring two goals and three points tonight. That’s his second two-goal game in the past two games! A lot of people on twitter were saying he’s on fire, but I don’t think he is. If he was on fire, he could probably not play hockey very well, definitely not as good as he’s playing now.
• This is the second game in a row the Flyers have scored two goals in the first period. It’s much easier to win when you have a good start, so I bet the Flyers like this streak. I do too, because I’m a fan of the team.
• The team took a lot of penalties tonight, which isn’t a good strategy. Basically, if you take penalties, you play with less people. That is not how you should play. It’s way harder.
• Sean Couturier had another good game, but I didn’t see him in the third period which made me think that he is injured. That wasn’t good news because he’s a really good player. The Flyers tweeted that he is indeed injured, and that there will be an update on him tomorrow. I hope that when that update comes, it is a good one.
• Pierre-Edouard Bellemare took a hit and got up shaky in the second. He continued to play. My dad would say it’s because he’s a hockey player and hockey players are tough. I hope he’s not playing through injury. That isn’t healthy. Doctors would agree, I think.
• Steve Mason made 37 saves. A number of his saves were good enough to make me say “wow!”
• Scott Laughton had two assists tonight and had a very good game. I asked my sister if she believed he ate his Wheaties this morning. She said she didn’t know his breakfast habits. When I thought about it, I realized that I don’t either. He might prefer a different cereal.
• Predators fans demonstrated several long chants throughout the game. I thought “what am I watching, soccer?” And then I laughed to myself. I wasn’t watching soccer. I was watching hockey. It was pretty silly.
• Shea Weber used to be a Philadelphia Flyer, but he isn’t anymore. That’s actually a joke. He wasn’t a Flyer. The Flyers tried to offer sheet him, but it didn’t work. He scored a goal tonight, but his team didn’t win, so he was probably mad.