Mason returns to lead Flyers to 4-3 shootout victory over Coyotes

Image courtesy Amy Irvin - 38Photography.net

by: Hal Greenblatt

Phanatic Hockey Writer

Philadelphia, Pa -- Wayne Simmonds scored in the shootout for the Flyers as Steve Mason made all three saves, as the Flyers beat Arizona, 4-3.

Wayne Simmonds, RJ Umberger and Michael Del Zotto all scored for the Flyers. Mark Streit, Claude Giroux, Andrew MacDonald, Sean Couturier, Jake Voracek, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare all recorded assists. Steve Mason entered the game in relief of Ray Emery after Emery allowed two goals on four shots. Mason finished the night with 24 saves. The Flyers have now won two in a row, and three of their last four.

Connor Murphy, Martin Erat, and Tobias Riedzer were the goal scorers for Arizona. Erat also had an assist. Shane Doan recorded two assists while Andrew Campbell, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Antoine Vermette each notched an assist. Mike Smith was strong in net for Arizona, making several highlight reel saves, en route to stopping 39/42 Flyer shots. Alas, the Coyotes have now lost seven straight.

In typical Flyer fashion, the Orange and Black jumped on the ice without a care in the world. Arizona would quickly jump on the lackluster Flyers, chasing Ray Emery to the bench, just 5:50 into the game.

"You feel for Razor," Mason said of Emery being pulled. "These games after long layoffs are real difficult for goalies. It was my job as the backup tonight to try and salvage something."

Connor Murphy got the scoring started, potting his third goal of the season at 3:33. Martin Erat would score on a big rebound, and severe defensive overplay by the entire team, as he shot the puck passed Emery.

Despite head coach Craig Berube's quick trigger on pulling Emery, he did not feel the team came out flat.

"I didn't think the team was flat, really," Berube stated. "I felt we needed something to boost us, give us life."

Steve Mason quickly entered the game, and the tide immediately turned. Rarely tested, Mason was up to the task saving all six shots he saw in the first period.

"It's almost probably easier not to expect anything and get thrown in," Mason spoke of his first game back since injury. "With the long layoff, there is obviously room for improvement."

Philadelphia would finally get on the scoreboard, as Wayne Simmonds notched his 17^th of the year, a power play goal, off a rebound from a Mark Streit shot.

The Flyers, despite losing 2-1 after the first period, controlled the final twelve minutes and would carry that momentum into the second period.

Philadelphia dominated the early part of the second period, and if it were not from some spectacular saves by Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith (particularly on RJ Umberger), the Flyers would have had an insurmountable lead.

"Since early December, I've accepted my role and understood it more," Umberger said, while discussing his improved play.

Despite getting rejected on three separate one-time opportunities, Umberger continued to attack, as he tied the score at two a piece with 6:05 remaining in the period. Umberger took a pass from Andrew MacDonald and roofed the tying goal passed Smith for his ninth of the year.

The Flyers would continue to attack, leading to a beautiful snipe by Michael Del Zotto at 18:59. Del Zotto came in along the left wing, took a pass from Jake Voracek and skated in towards Smith. As Smith attempted to take away the near side angle, Del Zotto beat Smith up high to give the Flyers a lead, albeit, a short one. Just 24 seconds later, Coyotes winger Tobias Riedzer took a Shane Doan stretch pass to beat Mason on a breakaway, leaving the teams knotted at three, entering the third period.

"Those are goals you can't give up," Mason said regarding the tying goal with under one minute remaining in the second. "We can't have those opportunities and they can't be scoring goals at that time."

The Flyers and Coyotes played to a scoreless third period, but it was not without its action, as both teams had their chances. Alas, sixty minutes was not enough, as these two teams would head to overtime.

An extra session would not decide a winner, so the dreaded shootout waited for the Flyers, who entered with a record of 1-5.

But tonight would be different for the Broad Street Bullies. Despite battling the flu all weekend, Mason would deny the Coyotes on their three attempts, and the fans screams reaching a crescendo, it would be the "Wayne Train" scoring to send the Flyers faithful home happy.

Notes: The Flyers improved to 2-5 in the shootout while the Coyotes dropped to 3-4. . .Claude Giroux led the Flyers in hits with 9. . .Petr Straka had 13 shifts and 10:08 of ice time in his NHL debut...Ryan White won three of eight face-offs in his Flyer debut. . .Jake Voracek improved his league leading point total to 57 with a second period assist. . .

Overtime thriller: Brayden Schenn's breakaway gives Flyers 3-2 win

Image courtesy Philly.com

by Hal Greenblatt
Phanatic Hockey writer

Brayden Schenn scored on a breakaway in overtime to lead the Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Michael Raffl and Chris Vandevelde both scored for the Flyers. Jakub Voracek had a pair of assists while Claude Giroux and Nick Schultz each had one. Ray Emery was strong in net for Philadelphia, stopping 38 of 40 Los Angeles shots.

Tyler Toffoli and Mike Richards were the goal scorers for LA, while Drew Doughty and Kyle Clifford would both notch an assist. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick would begin the game shaky, but ultimately stand out while stopping 40 of 43 shots.

Philadelphia came out ready to play Tuesday night against the Kings. The Flyers attacked the Kings zone early and often, and were quickly rewarded as Raffl potted his fifth goal of the season.

As Philadelphia kept the pressure on, Voracek skated with the puck around the net and found Giroux in the slot for a one-timer that would be blocked by Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin. Raffl would be “Johnny-on-the-spot” as he spun around and beat Quick glove side to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

“He plays hard. He competes,” Coach Craig Berube remarked on Raffl. “He plays a straight forward game and again, he stopped at the net and got a goal. You want to score goals in this league, you go to the net.”

Los Angeles would strike back at the 13:08 mark, as Philadelphia’s inept second power play unit would allow Toffoli a breakaway opportunity on Emery. Matt Read sent a pass back to Michael Del Zotto, who had the puck hop over his stick, which allowed Toffoli to beat Emery high glove side to tie the game.

The Flyers, badly outplaying Los Angeles for most of the period, would not allow the Kings to head to intermission with the score tied. With just 44 seconds remaining, Voracek again found himself behind the net and saw Vandevelde in the slot for a one-timer that beat Quick.

For the first time all year, the Flyers dominated the first period. Philadelphia pumped 20 shots on net, but despite the dominance, Philadelphia only clung to a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The second period would be quite different than the first. After outshooting LA 20-11, the Flyers were outshot 10-7, but with even fewer scoring chances. Despite being outshot and outplayed, the Flyers maintained their 2-1 lead with a solid defensive period, which saw both teams skate nonstop for more than seven minutes.

The Kings would not go quietly into the night, as the team from LA from comes out strong in the third period. Los Angeles would fight off two Philadelphia scoring chances before Richards, the former Flyers captain, would pump in a Doughty rebound passed Emery to knot the game at two with 14:59 remaining in the third period.

Emery would come up big time and time again for the Flyers, including a save on Toffoli late in the third period.

“You take things game-by-game,” Emery said. “It’s nice to contribute and get some points as well.”

The teams would battle hard until the final whistle, but a winner would not be come about without an extra period.

Los Angeles dominated the first half of overtime until a turnover in the offensive zone led to a Schenn breakaway. The fourth-year forward took the puck at the blue line and skated in all alone against Quick. The Kings goaltender made the initial save, but slipped back into the net for the apparent game winner.

The referees would initially declare no goal, but would ultimately go to the control center in Toronto for confirmation.

"Yeah I saw it go over the line," said Wayne Simmonds. "I think they said no goal because I pushed him over. But the puck was over the line far before I even got to the crease."

Simmonds would be correct and the Flyers found themselves on the winning side of a 3-2 game as well as a three-game winning streak to improve their record to 4-3-2.

“You got to stay with it, keep working, and competing,” said Berube.

Notes: Former Kings Schenn and Simmonds were both on the ice for the game-winning goal...Emery has recorded a point for the Flyers in every start this season…Voracek has recorded a point in 8 of 9 games…Shayne Ghostibehere played 12:40 and did not record a shift in overtime…