FINAL: 2-0 PHILADELPHIA

STARTING LINEUPS:

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Forwards
Giroux-Couturier-Voracek

Konecny-Filppula-Simmonds

Weise-Lehtera-Weal

Leier-Laughton-Raffl

Defensemen
Provorov-Hagg

Sanheim-Alt

Manning-O’Neill

Goalie
Neuvirth

Top Scorers
Voracek(16pts), Courturier(15pts)

ARIZONA COYOTES

Forwards
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko

Sobotka-Stastny-Steen

Paajarvi-Sundqvist-Bennett

Upshall-Brodziak-Jaskin

Defensemen
Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo

Edmundson-Parayko

Dunn-Bortuzzo

Goalie
Allen

Top Scorers
Schwartz(17pts), Tarasenko(14pts)

FIRST PERIOD

Dale Weiss takes a Slashing penalty on Dunn. Tarasenko missed a wide open net from a Pietrangelo pass halfway through the powerplay and the Flyers escape with the score still 0-0.
Blues look a lot more hungry through the first 5 minutes of the game. No surprise there.
Paul Stastny is called for a Holding penalty on Couturier 7:17 into the game. The Flyers will go on their first powerplay of the game.
Flyers have been outshot 10-1 through the first 9 minutes. Can’t get anything going on the powerplay and it’s back to even strength.
11 minutes in, Steen breaks through the defense and lays a big shot on net. Neuvirth stands tall and keeps it scoreless. He’s been solid.
Flyers get their first real pressure of the game 14 minutes in.
Couturier snags the puck behind the Blues net as Allen mishandles it. He looks for the slot pass rather than making a move to the wide open net and gives up a great scoring opportunity.
Flyers have controlled play in the back half of this first period. Some genuine chances but Allen has be up to the task thus far.
The period ends in a flurry of shots from the Blues but Neuvirth manages to end the period without letting one in. It’s been a battle of the goaltenders so far. 0-0.

SCORING

None

PENALTIES

(2:04) Flyers; Weiss, Slashing

(7:17) Blues; Stastny, Holding

SHOTS

Flyers 8

Blues 14

SECOND PERIOD

38 seconds into the period, Brandon Manning fires a puck into the net but the goal waved off due to incidental contact by Voracek. Hakstol challenges the call on the ice. Philadelphia wins the challenge and they take a 1-0 lead.
Hagg takes a penalty just 1:10 into the period and the Blues get a chance to tie it up. Provorov blocks multiple shots and the Flyers escape the penalty kill with no goals against. The Blues had relentless pressure.
St. Louis is controlling play through the first 7 minutes of the 2nd. Neuvirth somehow keeping the Flyers up a goal. Makes a huge glove save of a Brayden Schenn breakaway with 12:42 left to play.
With 8:21 left in the period, Schenn blindsides Couturier and he collapses to the ice. Schenn penalized 2 minutes for interferance.
Flyers don’t get significant pressure on the powerplay and we’re back to even strength.
Through 15 minutes, St. Louis has controlled the majority of play. Flyers pinned in their own zone much of the time. Excellent shot-blocking and goaltending are keeping them ahead in this one.
The period ends with no sign of Sean Couturier since being hit high by Schenn.

SCORING

(0:38) Flyers, G: Manning, A: Couturier, Giroux

PENALTIES

(11:39) Blues; Schenn, Interference

(20:00) Flyers; Provorov, Cross-checking

(20:00) Blues; Edmundson, Roughing

SHOTS

Flyers 10 (18)

Blues 8 (22)

THIRD PERIOD

Sean Couturier starts the period on the ice. Great news for the Flyers.
The period starts 4-on-4 due to Roughing penalties on Provorov and Edmundson at the end of the 2nd period. Blues come out swinging but still nothing gets past Neuvirth.
4 minutes into the period, the Blues get a fantastic string of chances. Neuvirth found himself scrambling on the ice but somehow the puck doesn’t find twine. Flyers with a fair amount of luck this period. Wide open hockey and they’re on their heels.
Flyers being outshot 6-1 through the first 7 minutes of the period. Have had almost no offensive pressure.
Play stops with about 8 minutes to play as Neuvirth goes down in his crease. Appears Mark Alt’s stick snuck through his mask. He’s able to shake it off and resume play.
15 minutes into the period, the Blues with constant pressure in the Philadelphia end. Flyers can’t stay out of their own zone for more than a few seconds. RELENTLESS.
Leier makes a huge effort to keep the puck in the offensive zone with 3 minutes left to play. Great shift by the 4th line once again, Flyers just killing time.
Blues pull Allen with just under 2 minutes left to play. Blues throwing everything they have at the net.
The puck pops out to Simmonds at center ice. 2-on-1 on the empty net results in a Giroux goal. 2-0 Flyers with 6 seconds remaining.
Flyers come away with a tough fought W. Great effort to get the lead and keep it that way.

SCORING

(19:54) Flyers; G: Giroux, A: Simmonds, Couturier (Empty Net)

PENALTIES

None

SHOTS

Flyers 5 (23)

Blues 11 (33)

TAKEAWAYS

The Blues wanted this win. They battled hard and outshot, outhit and largely outplayed the Flyers in this game but never found pay dirt. The Flyers simply had an answer for everything the Blues threw at them.
FINALLY, a coach’s challenge went the Flyers way. Is this real life?
With a greatly depleted defensive corps, the Flyers put forth their best effort in their own end of the season. The team was insanely outmatched on offense and it forced the puck to spend most of it’s time in the Philadelphia zone. With a plethora of shot blocking and unbelievable saves from Neuvirth, the boys in orange kept the puck out of their own net for a full 60 minutes.
Robert Hagg, save for a few rookie moments, looked very solid on the back end and stepped up when he needed to tonight.
Brandon Manning played a solid game and was rewarded with a goal.
Will O’Neill made his NHL debut and made quite a few noticeable plays when he was on the ice. He played almost 10 minutes of ice time, allowing the top pairing to catch their breath and get back on the ice. He was asked to play a very crucial role and did just that.
The 4th line continued their impressive play. They pinned the puck in the Blues zone on multiple occasions and were pivotal to running down the clock at the end of the game.
THANK YOU IVAN PROVOROV. Really, thank you, the fanbase owes you one tonight. He played perfectly in every facet of the game and should be really proud of how his game is progressing. He hasn’t missed out on his fair share of hype by any means; anyone who follows this organization knows what he’s worth. But it’s one thing to talk about a player being a franchise cornerstone and something entirely different to actually witness that player transforming into one. The future of this franchise rests largely on the 20-year-old’s shoulders and he shows no signs of crumbling under that pressure. It only gets better from here.

Prior to tonight, I had attended two games as a fan, recapped two away games from home and attended one game as a member of the media. The Flyers were 0-4-1 in those 5 games. So here’s to my first win of the season! This is a victory our young Flyers team should build off of. A hard fought 2 points against the best team in the league is certainly something to be proud of.