Nick Piccone
The Flyers ended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 9-game winning streak on Monday night, largely due to the contributions of a guy that’s quickly becoming – if not already – the most popular athlete in Philly. Shayne Gostisbehere netted two goals against the first place Lightning in a game that was surprisingly dominated by the orange and black.
Andrei Vasilevskiy looked nearly impossible to solve until late in the second period when Ghost was able to break through. He added one goal in the third and has been a huge part of the resurgent Flyers, who are now only two points out of a wild card spot.
Who would’ve thought we would see the Flyers becoming one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL at this point? It’s quite refreshing. And no team wants to play them. Except the Oilers.
Ghost spoke to the media after the game.
“It’s huge for us to get points in every game we’re playing right now,” Gostisbehere said of the win. “Every game is a playoff game to us. It’s very important to get those points.”
Gostisbehere, who was called up in mid-November, now has 14 goals in his first extended stay in the NHL. He surpassed Behn Wilson, who had 13 markers in 1978-79, for the Flyers’ franchise record for goals by a rookie defenseman in one campaign.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” Gostisbehere said. “There’s a lot of history, especially with our team. It’s a good feeling.”
And the captain, Claude Giroux is tired of him. LOL JUST KIDDING!
Very tired of talking about him,” Giroux jokingly said of Gostisbehere. “No, he’s clutch. That’s what he does. The power-play goal was a big goal. Even that five-on-five goal, we were getting a lot of shots but they weren’t going in.
“He’s learning fast and he wants to learn. He listens. When a young player comes in and wants to get better and listens to the people around him, good things are gonna happen.”
Brayden Schenn, your thoughts?
Obviously, he’s clutch,” Schenn said. “He’s got that shot from the point and he finds those openings. He’s been great ever since he stepped into our lineup and we’re only gonna need him to get better here in the last 18 games.”
More Ghost… a team first kind of guy.
We played a really good, sound defensive game tonight,” Gostisbehere said. “We want to be a tough team to play against. We don’t want teams to come in here and think it’s going to be an easy game.”
Even Gostisbehere is surprised by how his first year at the highest level has unfolded thus far.
You learn a lot as experience comes,” he said. “It’s been a fun ride. I’m learning more and more every day. I’m a sponge and I’m gonna keep learning and hopefully get better.
“I didn’t expect anything like this to happen. It’s about taking everything in stride and staying within yourself.”
Chip would’ve loved him.