For the better part of two periods, it looked the like the Islanders would finally break the Flyers' two-year old unbeaten streak against them, spanning 14 games heading into tonight's action. But, being the Isles, not only did they find a way to lose by squandering a third period lead, they seemed like they were actually pursuing the L.
After a noticeably silent night from the refs' whistles, the third period saw a brief but consequential parade of Islanders to the box, mostly in response to blatant infractions against the boards—the kinds of obvious penalties that decent teams don't take when leading in the third period. Well, the Islanders are neither a decent team, nor do they have much experience playing with a lead in the third, so I'm sure not many fans were surprised to see them get smoked for the final 20 minutes of play.
A few Flyers were seriously wounded during play, requiring a lot of needlepoint from the trainers, but they all returned to the ice after getting stitched up and tended to. Once the full complement of lines were back on the ice, the Flyers dominated at both ends, with some pretty sweet goals to show for it.
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We hadn't seen a dominant, confidence-inspiring game out of the Flyers since before the break, and even after Tuesday night's win, we still haven't. They let a lousy team get out to a 2-0 lead at the Wachovia Center, with the scoring opened by John Tavares, who hadn't scored in 17 games. I immediately wondered if any other streaks would be broken last night...
Both goals that beat Leighton were relatively soft, although on the second, he just got sniped. It happens at this level, and it was only two goals, so nothing to get in a twist over, Heighters.
Things got a little scary for three Flyers tonight though. Both Lukas Krajicek and JVR took shots to the face, drawing some blood and requiring stitches for JVR, and then Dan Carcillo hit the ice, skated gingerly to the bench, and seemed to have trouble getting down the tunnel, according to Tim Panaccio's vantage. It turned out it was nothing too serious—just a major gash over his knee caused by contact with a skate. Chico would take 27 stitches, and naturally, return to the ice.
No word yet on whether the GM's meetings will include a task force aimed at ushering in a new Duller Blades Era of NHL hockey, but we'll keep you posted on that as it develops.
Fortunately, Jeff Carter quickly answered the goal by Kyle Okposo midway through the second period, giving him nine markers in his last nine games. Danny Briere was in his office behind the net, controlling the puck dumped in from the point. He quickly hit Carter with a pass, and Carter buried it far-side on a short-angle shot for his 31st.
Looks like he'll hit that 40-goal mark after all.
The momentum had turned in favor of the Flyers, but it took the Islanders shoving the momentum in squarely in the back before the Flyers could really take advantage. Each of the first two periods featured just one penalty call. Then, in the third period, the Isles took three straight in span of about five minutes.
Mark Streit was lucky he didn't get a major or a double minor for his boarding of Darroll Powe. It wasn't too bad overall, and there were no sequelae, but it was simply blatant. The Flyers would score on the ensuing powerplay, a gorgeous goal by Claude Giroux, who was hit in full stride by a perfect pass from Mike Richards.
It was a home run play the Flyers try for somewhat frequently, hitting a cutting player at full speed, and it doesn't often work. Giroux handled it perfectly, then had the presence to beat Dwayne Roloson with a move and bury it behind him.
Sean Bergenheim high-sticked Giroux, re-starting the Flyers powerplay.
Next it was Simon Gagne's turn to stay hot. The Flyers were again on the powerplay, this time following a boarding call on Trevor Gillies, who almost deserves a pass for his awesome mustache.
Giroux lost his glove during the ensuing powerplay, but reached up and barehanded an airborne puck to himself, then found Gagne, who quickly made it five goals in as many games since returning from the break.
Just as we said after the win over Toronto, this probably wasn't a game the Flyers would have won against a better opponent. They haven't played solid hockey for most of the past two games, and they were fortunate to be facing the two worst teams in the conference.
The Islanders did, however, play some pretty good defense for two periods, looking much better than expected. Peter Laviolette was also dealing with a very short bench for an important stretch of the game, missing two forwards and defenseman all at the same time. Not long after the players started returning to the ice, and the tempo really picked up for the Flyers. The lack of discipline late in the game doomed the Islanders, allowing the Flyers to come back from a 2-0 deficit with the equalizer and the go-ahead goal both coming on third period powerplays.
Hey, we'll take it. It wasn't the type of win that instills hope in a strong playoff showing, but the two points did keep them close to the pack ahead of them in the standings. The Flyers remain in the 6th slot, but they're now just four points behind three teams that all have 79 points (Buffalo, New Jersey, and Ottawa). Getting a home seeding would be great, but most of all, the Flyers want to make sure that at worst, they face one of those teams, rather than the Capitals or Penguins, in the first round.