Flyers Take 3 Of 4 Points Over The Weekend, Continue Their Push For The Playoffs
Flyers 2, Rangers 3 (SO) ; Flyers 2, Red Wings 1 (SO) | (20-15-8, 5-0-1 in last 6)
Two shootouts in one weekend. The past 48 hours may have taken at least 10-15 years off my life but what a weekend it was for the Philadelphia Flyers as they grabbed 3 out of a possible 4 points. They are now just 2 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference with 3 games in hand on the Canadiens. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but the Philadelphia Flyers have put themselves in a position to backdoor their way into the playoffs this season and these next two months are going to be wild. So sit down, buckle up, and enjoy the ride. Let’s get to the recap. Before we talk about the actual games though, this needs to be addressed…
So it looked like the Flyers really didn’t want to make this easy on themselves. They were on a 4-game win streak when they inexplicably decided to bring JJ Watt into the mix. Watt was in town getting a surgery and decided to be the biggest dickhead in the world and stop by the Flyers practice facility. He was even at the game on Saturday wearing a Flyers pullover. But as much as this wold appear to be a death sentence for the Flyers, they weren’t about to let JJ Watt ruin this season. So let’s get to the action. (We’ll start with the Detroit game then end with a real quick recap of Saturday’s game against NYR)
Top Line Doing Top Line Things
Last night’s game was 65 minutes of non-stop entertainment. There were plenty of chances all night for both teams to score but the goaltending match up between Neuvirth and Mrazek was incredible. It’s games like the one last night when you realize that the Flyers are so so very close to being a serious threat in the NHL. If I’m a fan of any other team in the Metro, I’m clenching my butt right now. Because in about 2 years, the division belongs to Philly and there’s nothing you can do about it. Anyway, remember all those people in the beginning of the season chirping the Flyers for overpaying Jake Voracek? Well all those people can go find themselves a decent sized fist to go sit on because Jake and the rest of the Flyers top line have been absolute animals over the past few games. They combined for 6 points and 23 shots over the weekend and have been impossible for teams to match up against. The Flyers went into the 2015-16 season with a lot of question marks in their top 6. But right now between the Voracek-Giroux-Simmonds line and the Raffl-Couturier-Schenn line, well it’s good times all around. Just imagine what it’s linke when Konecny pops in on that 2nd line next year.
HE SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN STANDING THERE!
In the dying moments of regulation, Sean Couturier makes a great hustle play that results in a breakaway and a drawn penalty. At worst, it looked like the Flyers were going to head into the overtime period on a 4-on-3 powerplay. At best, the Flyers had just enough time to win the draw back, work it to the point and try to stuff home a buzzer beater rocket to end the game in regulation. Which is exactly what happened, except not because Petr Mrazek is a fucking idiot and his face got in the way of Wayne Simmonds’ ass. Seriously. I get that the contact here looked pretty violent but just look at where Mrazek is posting up shop. He’s not even in the crease. What is Simmonds supposed to do in that situation? We were this close to adding yet another page to the legend of Shayne Gostisbehere, speaking of whom made a few ridiculous plays over the weekend just by being alert and picking the right times to step up. He’s learning how to create his offense via defense and it’s a beautiful thing. I mean just look at this kid go. I love him.
Now just imagine when the Flyers also have Provorov back on the blueline as well who may be even better at turning defense into offense than Ghost is. Then you have Sanheim coming up the ranks who is just as smooth with the puck as the rest of them and Morin on the back end just being a bully. I’m getting a little too ahead of myself now so let’s check in on how the shootout went for the Flyers this go around against the Red Wings and oh my fucking god….
It’s not very often that I get to type the words “the Flyers win in a shootout” so you can bet your sweet ass that I’ll be taking full advantage of it this time around. I’m still a little undecided on if Giroux meant to make that move or not. Like it looks like he lost the puck for a split second here but this is Claude we’re talking about. One of the biggest shit heads in the league and I wouldn’t put it past him to have this move in his head the whole time. Now let’s go to a couple quick highlights from the Rangers game on Saturday and call this one a wrap.
Coots-Schenn-Raffl Continue To Impress
I’ve been saying it for like 15 games straight at this point. Sean Couturier is finally coming into his own this season and silencing all of the doubters. He’s getting more confident with the puck on his stick while still being one of the premier shutdown centers in the league. There’s just so much patience on display there. The poise when he enters the zone, the ability to get that pass to Schenn on the doorstep. The fact that Couturier is hitting his stride now as a player right as the Flyers are about to build into a legitimate Cup contender should have every Flyers fan looking exactly like this right now.
In case you weren’t sold on Jake-Claude-Wayne earlier…
Overall just a really solid weekend for the Flyers. They got contributions from the guys that they needed to contribute and both Mason and Neuvirth looked great between the pipes. There are a few weak links right now holding this team back a little and I think now that the Flyers have a day to rest, Hakstol will look to make a few minor roster adjustments. First off, Ryan White will most likely get some time off for this hit on Jurco last night.
Just a real bonehead hit from Ryan White there. Came at him from a bad angle and goes right for the head. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a game or two for that one, and even if he doesn’t get suspended I think he would have to be a healthy scratch anyway. Also, I can’t come up with one justifiable reason to keep RJ Umberger in the lineup right now. He’s terrible. I know it, you know it, the whole world knows it. Take White and Umberger out, and bring up Jordan Weal and Sam Gagner. I’d be really interested in seeing a Weal-Laughton-Gagner 3rd line just because we need to see what Laughton can do with some actual talent around him instead of just setting him up to fail with Umberger. Laughton could very easily become a guy the Flyers need to move if they can’t get anything out of him so the next few games are his chance to make an argument for himself.
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