The Philadelphia Flyers and their fans were feeling pretty good on the heels of a 2-1 California road trip where the Orange and Black nabbed four of a possible six points against some of the best the NHL has to offer in the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.
The Flyers kept the good vibes rolling when they returned home on Thursday night thanks in large part to goalie Steve Mason.
Mason made 38 saves and, while things got a little sketchy in the waning minutes, the Flyers held on for a 3-1 win over the visiting Colorado Avalanche.
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Mark Streit and Michael Raffl were able to beat Colorado netminder Semyon Varlamov and Claude Giroux told Team Canada and its general manager Steve Yzerman to stick it by adding the empty netter to seal the contest.
But the big story on the evening was the play of Mason, who stood on his head in the contest. And the Flyers needed him to, especially early on.
Philadelphia came out of the gate slow, sluggish and sloppy. Colorado skated circles around Philadelphia in the first 10 minutes of the game and had quality chances from stars like Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon.
But the Flyers were able to get their legs under them and get into the game thanks to the calming effect of Mason and his stellar goaltending. And the Avs weren’t just throwing softballs at Mason. They were bringing extended pressure with really good chances but the Flyers’ netminder had all the answers.
The game remained scoreless until the 6:21 mark of the second period when Mark Streit uncorked a rocket from the point that deflected off an Avalanche defenseman and past Varlamov for a power-play goal and a 1-0 Flyers lead. It was Streit’s eighth goal of the season.
Things stayed that way until just about halfway through the final stanza when Sean Couturier created a turnover behind the net and fed a wide-open Raffl, who slid it under Varlamov for a two-goal lead.
Things got hairy near the end of the game when Colorado coach Patrick Roy decided to pull his goalie with just about four minutes left.
The Avs brought more of that intense pressure they had at the start of the game but Mason once again had all the answers.
That was until MacKinnon – last year’s No.1 overall pick and likely Calder Trophy frontrunner – beat Mason from a sharp angle to cut the lead to one with 2:50 left in regulation.
The Avs again brought more intense pressure with the extra attacker but Mason punctuated his night with a huge save on a PA Parenteau one-timer from the slot with just under a minute left.
The Flyers then won the ensuing faceoff, caught up to a loose puck and Giroux iced it for the clutch two points.
By virtue of Columbus’ overtime loss in Los Angeles Thursday night, the Flyers slipped back into the third seed in the Metropolitan Division for the time being.
For those wondering about Mason and any potential injury, he says he was just dehydrated and cramping up and will be good to go on Friday. But don’t be surprised if he gets a break and Ray Emery starts Saturday afternoon when the Calgary Flames visit Wells Fargo Center.
Speaking of that game against Calgary, it’s the last game before the three-week long Olympic break. It’s always good to hit that kind of a break on a high note.