I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this may have been the best best game of the season so far. You may quickly recall the come-from-behind win against the Hurricanes, when the Flyers erased a four-goal deficit and won in a shootout. That was probably the most dramatic ending. But there are two things I like better about tonight's game: First, it was great for all 60 minutes, versus the 'Canes game only being amazing for about 20, and second, there was no silly breakaway competition.
Both teams played well for most of tonight's game, which the Flyers won by a 4-2 count, scoring three unanswered third period goals. Both teams hit often, shot at will, and pursued the puck hard. Questionable calls went both ways, and each team got a little help from the power play, but not too much. Finally, both goalies made some amazing saves. Antero Niittymaki was on top of his game, giving up just two goals—both the result of outstanding plays by the game's most talented scorer, Alex Ovechkin, who finished with a goal and an assist, and nine shots.
Ovie played 25 minutes tonight, while Mike Green logged more than half the game. I'm impressed with their ability to play those kind of minutes, but at the same time I wonder whether the Caps got smeared in the third period because they couldn't rely on their non-superstars to hold or add to the lead. That may be overevaluating things, but seeing the Flyers win on the strength of a great game by third-liner Claude Giroux, the resurgence of the Carter line after a two-week drought, and even a tenacious (yet soft-handed) goal by Arron Asham. Giroux's composure with the puck around the net was simply amazing.
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This isn't to take away from the Caps, who played hard and led for most of the game. Like many fans of both teams, I wish to Bettman they were in the Atlantic Division, because they play an exciting brand of hockey, and four regular season games with them just isn't enough. Philadelphia now leads the season series 2-1.
Without their top defender, power play QB, and key penalty killer in Kimmo Timonen, the rest of the Flyers defense corps really stepped up, including Ryan Parent, Randy Jones, and Andrew Alberts, all of whom finished at +1, and Ossi Vaananan, who was a +2 in spite of my pre-game doubts.
Mike Richards had a quiet night on the score sheet (by his recent standards, anyway), with just one assist. But watching the game, the captain set the tone all night, finishing checks and staying all over the puck carrier. By far the highlight of the night:
The Flyers will now come home to face the Kings on Wednesday night, followed by a tilt with the Habs on Friday. After stumbling late in an otherwise decent game against the Pens this past Saturday, the Flyers look to be back on track heading into these next few games. Sure, we'd like to see them start with the lead and keep it, but tonight and even in the loss to Pittsburgh, they've shown the ability to come back in games in which they find themselves down rather than just give up. That shit counts when the playoffs come around.
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