1st Period
Highlights
- :28 seconds in and Provorov puts the Flyers up. Great give and go, with the assists going to Giroux and Gostisbehere.
- 3:48 Hagg takes the games first penalty, 2 minutes for holding the stick. Flyers killed the penalty.
- 7:14 Hagg walks the puck into the zone and wrists one past Anderson, putting the Flyers up 2-0. Unassisted.
- 11:22 Gostisbehere takes the games second penalty, two miutes for hooking.
- 12:14 Mike Hoffman scores on the PP, Chabot and Bobby Ryan assist. 2-1 Flyers.
- 16:15 Voracek spurned on a breakaway, doesn’t pull the trigger and runs out of room, nothing comes of it.
- 17:41 Ben Harpur to the box for cross checking Travis Konecny, Flyers can’t capitalize.
Analysis
The Flyers got off to a ridiculous start. 28 seconds and they take the lead, add to it 7:14 in. After that, things kind of fell apart. The Senators dictated the pace of play for essentially the rest of the period, cutting their deficit in half with the Mike Hoffman PP goal at 12:14. One thing that most have noticed is that Travis Konecny looks to be back to normal. He’s skating with that edge that has made him a favorite to the fans, and still has that pesky presence about him. Overall, the first period was a positive because the Flyers got out of it with their lead still in tact.
2nd Period
Highlights
- 12:16 Z. Smith of Ottawa buries one to tie the game. Hakstol challenges for an offsides call. Whaddaya know! It was offsides! Call was reversed and it remains 2-1 Flyers.
- 15:02 Hagg takes another penalty, this time for tripping. Flyers kill it off.
- End of the period for the last 30 seconds or so, the Flyers withstood a flurry of shots from the Senators. Did well keeping the puck out of the back of the net.
Analysis
This was a textbook back and forth period. Both teams had some great opportunities. Oskar Lindblom almost had his first goal as a Flyer. Some great chances by both teams, including the overturned goal call for Ottawa. Mrazek looks like he is hanging in there. Nothing outstanding by any means, but he has looked very solid in net for the Flyers. Anderson has been gaining steam and looking better as the game has gone on. The Flyers need to find away to put one more up on the board before the end of the game.
3rd Period
Highlights
- 4:15 and Brandon Manning spurns Claude Giroux on a breakaway, Giroux drifts the puck left and dekes quick back to the right and finishes behind Anderson, Flyers go up 3-1.
- 7:05 and Brandon Manning rockets one passed Anderson. Later reviews show Nolan Patrick redirected the puck, so the goal goes to Patrick, his fourth goal in as many games. Patrick appears to be going streaking.
- 8:56 and Manning goes to dump the puck in the Ottawa zone. Puck takes a funny bounce off a partition from the boards, Anderson goes behind the net to play but the puck ends up in the back of the net. Manning finally gets his goal, and his third point of the game, and the Flyers go up 5-1.
- 10:26 Ottawa takes a (pretty dumb) penalty as Gaborik gets caught tripping Mrazek behind the net. Ottawa kills it off.
- 14:53 Coincidental minors. Lehtera goes down, takes exception, gets up and goes after the closest Senator. Scrum ensues by the benches. Player from each team ends up in their respective box.
- 16:47 Dzingel snipes one short side on Mrazek. 5-2 Flyers.
- 19:04 Matt Duchene hammers home a rebound and the Senators add one more and make it 5-3.
Analysis
The Flyers have six straight road wins currently, and have won five in a row, and this win puts them in a tie for first in the Metropolitan divison. If you would have told me that the Flyers would be at least tied for first in the division two months ago, I would have suggested a mental institution. Mrazek was good when he had to be, even though the Senators snuck two past him at the end of the game. Giroux looks every part of a Hart trophy winner. Shayne Gostisbehere looks every bit of a Norris trophy winner. The Flyers had that killer instinct today and kept their foot on the gas as the game went on. They got a few lucky bounces, most notably the goal by Manning, but they also capitalized on their chances. Next game is Monday against Montreal, hopefully they can keep the momentum going and get another W, this time meaning SOLE possession of the Metro division.
Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
