Down, but never truly out.
That’s the going theme for these Philadelphia Flyers, as they have developed a reputation for furious rallies and late comebacks to spoil an opposing team’s hopes of victory. The visiting New York Islanders were the latest recipients of such treatment last evening as they fell to the Flyers by a score of 6-4, this after holding a lead through two periods, and beginning the game with a 2-0 lead.
As much fun as it was for the Flyers to land this win, it wasn’t as much fun for goalie Steve Mason, who after signing a 3 year 12 million dollar extension to be the Flyers starting goalie for the foreseeable future, was chased out of the game at the end of the second after being peppered with shots and surrendering all four Isles goals. Back up Ray Emery came in and stopped every shot he faced to land the win. The shock of watching their embattled goalie get pulled for a lackadaisical effort on defense in front of him must have helped spur the Flyers on, since the team went on a 3-0 tear after Mason’s yanking.
This isn’t to say Mason wasn’t completely at fault here, he did give up a terrible goal early on, but the others were a direct result of his defense not clearing screens in front of him, something the team has to stay on top of in order to start being successful early. Sure, 9 comeback wins are nothing to scoff at, but who really wants to play like that all the way to a Cup win? As astonishing as it is to witness a team roll over another one after being behind for two periods, it is a scary thought to know that this team doesn’t seem to really play high level hockey until after this outcome. The score could have easily been 5-3 Islanders if not for a disallowed goal thanks to Isles wing Tomas Vanek’s flop in the crease, as play where he held Mason’s stick with his legs and interfered with Mason during a Tavares goal. Had that goal stuck, perhaps the complexion of the game may have been different. Being down by 1 goal is way easier to deal with than 2 of them, and another example of the Flyers late game fortunes coming into play.
It was a nice game for defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who has been lighting it up lately to the tune of 3 goals and 6 assists in recent games. He looks like he is finally healthy after two seasons of lingering injuries, and for a guy who was once considered a defender with a quality offensive skillset, was actually benched at one point as a healthy scratch and even discussed openly as trade bait. He appears to have finally turned that corner and regained that offensive promise, and it was on full display this game as he deked a defender from the point and drove all the way to the net for a nice wrister past a vulnerable Kevin Poulin. This is the Meszaros I have been waiting for, as we all have, and can only hope he continues to stay healthy so he can keep contributing.
This game was especially chippy, with plenty of dirty tactics, and one can’t help but think how these messages in a bottle will play out since these two clubs go at it again on Monday in New York.
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