Flyers win by the skin of their teeth against Avs

The Flyers took a commanding 4-goal lead after a 5 minute penalty to the Avalanche late in the 1^st period. Throughout the 1^st and 2^nd period the Flyers kept the Avs chasing a fast paced game, where they dominate, pushed the pace and exhibited outstanding puck control. But, the Flyers left enough space for the Avs to mount an impressive come back during the 3^rd period, forcing the Flyers to bare down and Steve Mason to come up with important saves. The Flyers killed off a huge 6 on 4 power play in the last moments of the game to notch the 4-3 win.

Three Stars of the game: Steve Mason, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds

Steve Mason has come back into the net with refreshed confidence and stands tall as the Flyers starting goaltender. The win tonight largely laid upon his shoulders as managed to keep the puck out of the net during the last seconds of the game to notch the win for the Flyers. Claude Giroux had his first multi-goal game and sniped a beautiful goal in the first period, which earned him a star. This was Wayne Simmonds first game on the top-line and he was a perfect fit, contributing to the win.

The Flyers are approaching the season with different style, which could explain the slow start they got to the season. But now in full swing, they are exhibiting a great power play and penalty kill, areas in which they have struggled in the past.

It was great to see the Flyers come out of the gate strong for 40 minutes tonight but they can’t sit back and stop skating once they grab a lead. The most notorious instigators for the Flyers, Zac Rinaldo, showing restraint and not taking untimely penalties forcing extra work for the specialty teams is a welcomed change. Thankfully, it is still early enough in the season for the Flyers to completely change momentum and make their early season loses a distant memory.

Looking ahead, the Flyers will take a 5 day break and face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.  

Philadelphia Flyers win over LA Kings

The Philadelphia Flyers showed up and showed out last night against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the LA Kings. A few keys to the game last night was Ray Emery’s outstanding performance in goal and the strategic/physical play the Flyers exhibited.

Although the Flyers took some time to get their feet underneath of them this season, they are making smarter plays and fewer of those frustrating/poorly timed penalties.   Compared to last season’s start the Flyers are doing extremely well and assuming that their awkward adjustment period has passed, they have taken to Head Coach Craig Berube’s guidance and the team seems to finally be clicking.  

The fact that Philadelphia finally has a great goaltending tandem deserves a moment of silence. Steve Mason has been great for the Flyers, no doubt will continue to be great and keep his starting goaltender position.  It’s a relief that their backup goaltender is outstanding in goal as well and the Flyers couldn’t ask for a better back-up, who knows his job description and supports the team. Emery only makes Mason stronger.

Last night the Flyers gave us a glimpse of how dangerous they can be when they play a smarter and harder full 60 minute game. Is this the start of something new? I sure hope so, as the Flyers have been progressively getting better. They wrap up this challenging month of October and look to build more momentum.  The Flyers have finally linked together 3 wins and are looking for more, as they take their show on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning this Thursday.

Will the Flyers keep up their fast and stronger style of play, or were they just putting on a show for the LA Kings?

Surprise performance from the Flyers leads the series to Game 7

Much like their late start to the regular season, third period come backs and their last minute playoff push, the Philadelphia Flyers second wind has finally arrived. It is not too late and the momentum is welcomed in a series that will now be decided during Game 7.  The New York Rangers will take home ice in a game everyone has to win but only one team will be moving on tonight. Will we finally see some over time from this series?

 Last night, on home ice facing an elimination, the Flyers surprised everyone as they held as much as a 4 goal lead going into the third period. The Rangers started off the game dominating but by the end of 40 minutes looked disjointed and unorganized, they looked tired and were not playing as a team.  The difference of play between Game 5 and Game 6 was like night and day for both teams. After a very disappointing Game 5 that showed little promise for the Flyers, the comeback kids have risen and will take this series to Game 7.

 The Flyers have slowly regained their goal scorers. Claude Giroux netted his first goal during Game 5 and Wayne Simmonds made huge contributions in Game 6 with 3 goals. I think that when the top players are scoring for the Flyers it adds to their confidence, instead of building the frustration they get when they cannot find the back of the net. With Steve Mason's huge sprawling saves in goal the team is set to win Game 7 and move on. But, before we think about that let’s talk about what they have to do in Game 7: Keep it simple. Play the game. Exploit the Rangers weaknesses. Up until now the Rangers have been a solid competitor. Last night we saw a different side of the Rangers and with their confidence deflated the Flyers need to go into Madison Square Garden and dominate.

 Fingers crossed.

Game 4: The return of Steve Mason in time to tie the series at 2

The man, myth and legend returned to his rightful place in net tonight for Game 4 in Philadelphia.  Steve Mason had been out for two weeks, seemingly not missing a beat last night as he returned to block 37 shots and help tie the series.  Veteran Ray Emery had been holding it down and kept the Flyers alive in this series, while Mason was recovering.  Having their number one man back in goal gave the Flyers the added confidence that could now serve as their launching pad to win the series. The way that Mason defenses the net is outstanding, he has been able to reclaim his career probably largely in part to the veteran that has been backing him up all season.  Emery is largely important to the team as well but when it comes to incredible saves Mason is the guy that has shocked and awed us and has gotten the job done.

Looking forward to Game 5 in New York, the Flyers need to continue to build on the play that they exhibited during Game 4. During the playoffs they need to play better and better each game if they have their eye on advancing. I look forward to a line shuffle by Chief, his changes usually result in opportunities for their top guys to score goals. Speaking of their top scorers ,there has not been too much action from their top guys and all eyes are on Captain Claude Giroux waiting for a goal.  I think that Game 5 is when Giroux will notch a goal.

The Flyers have to keep it simple and stay patient on Sunday if they want to claim a win on the road. Mason has been a huge part of the teams wins all season and now that he is back in net he will be the reason that the Flyers are successful but they cannot only rest on him. All the elements need to be in place to make it past Round 1. In past games the Flyers seemed to try to spot correct some of their weaknesses instead of playing and even keeled game. The Flyers need to have everything working at once: good defense, puck control, great goaltending and keeping it simple for 60 minutes. They have yet to play a 60 minute game which is something they struggled with all season.

With Grossman’s future unclear, as he was taken out of the game with a lower body injury, there could be some additional changes coming to the line-up for Sunday. The big question is who should they put in for Grossman, I think that Hal Gill would be a great choice. Right now the Flyers have the momentum and if they play their game, they should be successful. Regardless of what is to come, the Flyers have a top of the line ace in goal for them and if they give him the space and the defense they could take it all the way.