Finally Flyers Hockey Is Back In Good Ole’ Philadelphia- Game Notes And Quotes From The Game Against The Jets

Finalllllllly, the Flyers have hit the ice once again after a one-week hiatus. The mandatory bye was in full effect last week, and it seemed like the Flyers were missing for weeks.

The Flyers came into the Winnipeg Jets game riding a three-game winning streak. They looked to continue their winning ways against a Jets team that was missing some key pieces in Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Chiarot, and a Winger in Nikolaj Ehlers. The Flyers looked primed and ready to take advantage of an injury-riddled club, as it appears their more confident these days, “We’re a little more comfortable now and we just gotta build on that,” Sean Couturier said.

The Flyers had their legs early in this one, as it appeared Carter Hart would have a fairly easy night in net. The orange and black came out of the gate well, against a very good Jets team that will be primed and ready for the Playoffs in a few months. Hart got the nod again, as he backstopped 32 saves in the 3-1 victory. Without further delay, here are my notes from the game, followed by some post-game quotes.

Warm-Ups

– Hart skates out of the tunnel like a bolt of lightning. Only one shooter scored on him during 1-on 1 drills, and that was Andrew MacDonald over the right shoulder of Hart.

– Ghost got hurt in warm-ups, and per the Flyers, it was a lower-body injury. Christian Folin took his place for the game.

First Period:

– Mikhail Vorobyev’s first shift was ok. Not much sustained pressure between him, Phil Varone, and Michael Raffl, but Vorobyev did backcheck well.

– Hart made 5 saves thus far in the period, with 7:21 left in the first. He made a nice save after a Wayne Simmonds turnover in the Offensive Zone to keep the game scoreless at that point.

– This is the best I’ve seen Ivan Provorov in a long time. He had his long powerful strides back and looked confident with the puck. Provorov did seal players off well in the first period, as well.

– Hart gets a well-deserved standing ovation after making 5 big saves, in just one minute of Power Play time for the Jets to end the first period. He made 11 saves in a scoreless first period.

Second Period:

– Flyers kill off the remaining 1 minute of Power Play time for the Jets that was carried over from the first period.

– Hart really is tracking the puck very well. He has made 7 saves through the first 8 minutes of the period.

– Varone tallies his second goal of the season with 10:01 remaining in the period. Folin took a blast from the point that was deflected by Raffl, to which Varone slammed home the rebound. 1-0 Flyers.

– Roslovic tallies a goal for the Jets to even the score at 1. Shots are 21-15 in favor of the Jets.

– Travis Konecny…the electric one tallies his 13th goal of the season for a 2-1 Flyers lead. MacDonald with a beautiful shot from the point, to finish it off with an even better deflection from TK. Nice way to end the period.

Third Period:

– Hart comes out charging out of the tunnel to start the third period. Letttts go Flyersss. In Hart We Trust.

– “Woo” chants start to break out at the 11:08 mark of the third.

– Hart with 6 saves at the 9:18 mark of the period. Provorov continues his impressive play. He really has looked dominant like the old Provy we were all accustomed to seeing him.

– JVR tallied his 13th goal of the season on a nice give and go goal with Konecny. Van Riemsdyk continues his red hot play as of late. Hart with 32 saves to this point of the game, with the Flyers leading 3-1.

– Flyers win 3-1. Hart made 32 saves to preserve the victory.

Carter Hart:

“I mean, I’m just trying to play. I take things one play at a time and just compete and not try to overthink things. Honestly, just try and play. Play the game. I mean I feel comfortable at this level. I think after the first couple of games, or even after that first game against Detroit, my nerves were just crazy for that game and after that just kind of realized, hey, it’s another game. The boards are the same, the ice is the same, just got to go out and play. That’s the approach that I have to have.”

Claude Giroux:

“Well he makes those big saves to kind of give us momentum and he just makes us feel comfortable. He’s a pretty quiet guy, kind of does his own thing and that’s good for us. I mean he does it every day in practice, games, he’s a pretty mature kid for his age and he’s playing some good hockey for us, he’s given us a chance to win every night.”

Travis Konecny:

“You always worry when you have breaks like that, you worry about the Christmas break let alone this 7 day one. I think the coaching staff has done a good job at getting us back and prepared yesterday. We’re all pretty focused now as far as what we have to get done on the ice so I think everyone did the right things yesterday and day before.”

Head Coach Scott Gordon on Provy:

“Well, not just Provy, all of our defensemen that want to have a pass and go mentality and not necessarily be that person that needs to carry it the length of the ice as a defenseman, get the puck in the forwards hands, follow the play, be the late guy and if there’s opportunities to be part of a 3 on 1, by all means you have the green light to go. If you’re not moving the puck, not distributing the puck and you’re getting yourself caught up still looking for the perfect option, you’re not going to get those opportunities and I found there has been one area Provy has improved upon, it’s that.”