Anthony Mazziotti
The Flyers beat the Canadiens at home by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday night, even though they didn’t hold a lead at all during the game.
This game brings the Flyers’ point total for the season to 72, three points behind the first place Capitals, one point behind the second place Penguins, and five points ahead of the Blue Jackets who currently hold the second Wild Card spot.
The Flyers rolled with Alex Lyon in net as the newly acquired goaltender Petr Mrazek was suited up but remained on the bench. The game was pretty back and forth for the better part of the first period.
update on fan chants: what sounded like 8 people started a “Go Habs Go!” chant. #Flyers fans came in strong with boos
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) February 21, 2018
There are a total of 11 shots on net, with under 5 minutes to go in the period
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) February 21, 2018
Just check the time stamps.
Shortly after I tweeted that, the Habs drew first blood as Jeff Petry deflected one past Lyon with 2:13 remaining in the first.
The Flyers got their first power play of the game when Jordie Benn got called for interference on Claude Giroux. Not long after that, Nolan Patrick (brand new to the top power play unit) found twine to tie the game. Claude Giroux assisted on the goal, that was his 70th point of the season.
Meanwhile pic.twitter.com/Ty5GwXn0QN
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) February 21, 2018
The second period ended without any other goals.
The Habs took their second lead of the night 8:45 into the third period when Paul Byron got the puck past Lyon.
The Flyers never said die and despite the Canadiens’ best effort the Orange and Black battled back to tie the game. Jake Voracek’s laser from the point was enough to send the game to overtime.
Voracek went on to pot the game winner in overtime. Voracek now has 68 points on the season. Catch both goals here:
Voracek scores the game-tier and then the game-winner in overtime pic.twitter.com/jmO5wwip7D
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) February 21, 2018
The Canadiens are not a good team, but Carey Price is one of the better goalies in the league. He almost stole the game for the Habs. The Flyers found a way. Man, I’m not used to writing that.
Here are my five takeaways from the game:
1. Keep an eye (ear) out for Travis Konecny.
Dave Hakstol’s go-to first pairing for overtime is Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov. Jordan Weal was given the first shift with Coots and Provy instead. Considering TK was injured earlier in the game, maybe Hakstol was just being cautious. This is something to monitor moving forward.
2. Nolan Patrick is really coming on.
This is the kid’s second goal in as many games. He looked like a natural out there on the first power play unit. I can’t wait to see him continue to develop, he’s going to be really fun to watch.
3. Oscar Lindblom’s first game.
Lindblom looked really comfortable on the ice. He finished the game with 15:11 of ice time. He had one shot, one shot blocked, and two misses. His performance on Tuesday was impressive, this should be easy to build on in the next two-to-three weeks while Wayne Simmonds is recovering.
4. The Lyon King.
I know the Flyers just traded for Mrazek on Monday night, but Lyon looked solid in net. He allowed two goals on 27 shots, good for .926 save percentage. While it is expected that Mrazek will carry the load until Elliott returns from injury, it’s good to see that Lyon can perform well in a pinch if Mrazek is slumping or needs a night off.
5. The perfect record lives on.
Philly sports teams are still undefeated in regulation since the Eagles won the Super Bowl, 12-0-1.
The Flyers return to action on Thursday to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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