Flyers weekend game recap:
Good grief, I think I can safely say that no one saw that coming.
Not that anyone here in Philly didn’t want it to, of course. It’s plenty safe to assume that most everyone who follows hockey in this town was praying for what would be the eventual outcome of a weekend 2 game home and home tilt against in state rivals, the always fashionably unlikable Pittsburgh Penguins.
What began as a Saturday matinee affair filled with tension and hope turned into complete adulation for Flyers players from the twitterverse and blogosphere, mostly in the form of Matt Read’s absolute dominance on the penalty kill in both games, as well as Wayne Simmonds taking over the Sunday scrum. Steve Mason collected a shutout along the way, and in two games surrendered all of three goals to the Pens.
Let us begin with the first contest, shall we?
Saturday’s mid-day game had the Flyers playing host to the Penguins, who despite being injury riddled still was able to stroll out media darling and NHL proclaimed best player in the world, Sidney Crosby. I may have failed to mention that Evgeni Malkin also was in good health, and along with their star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, wasn’t in as bad of shape as made out to be. When it seemed that the Flyers weren’t on the same level of talent as the Pens, even with their injuries, that logic would be put on its head shortly into the contest.
A few minutes into the game, Zac Rinaldo skated near Andre-Fleury after he had made a stop, and was met with a high stick to the face by Penguin Simon Despres. The Flyers would go on the power play, and cash in not long after when Wayne Simmonds fed the puck from behind the net to Claude Giroux , who then found Scott Hartnell in the shooting lane for a laser quick one timer that came out of the net almost as swift as it had entered.
1-0, Flyers.
When those ever popular penalties in favor of the Penguins began, the Flyers turned the tide, attacking any Pen who touched the puck and never allowing Pittsburgh to set up. Forcing the Pens to collect the puck in their own zone, Sean Couturier stole the puck from behind Andre-Fleury’s net, then passed it to a swooping Matt Read right of the faceoff circle for another laser quick goal.
Up by two, the Flyers proceeded to do something that they really haven’t all year: play a 60 minute contest responsibly on both ends of the ice. They pressured on the penalty kill every time they were on it, they controlled the puck, and Mason made a few spectacular saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season. Vincent Lecavalier chipped in a sweet breakaway goal that stemmed from an even slicker pass from Luke Schenn. Read would collect another and that was enough to make the Wells Fargo crowd quite satisfied.
The Pittsburgh home crowd would await their turn to be pleased by their team’s effort on the following day when the Flyers came to town to visit the Penguins in their shiny new home, the Consol Energy Center. It normally does feel like home to the Penguins except when the Flyers play visitor, with Philly having completely dominated Pittsburgh inside their home base, not to mention a 8-1-1 record in their last ten while dashing Pittsburgh’s dreams. The Flyers would make that 9-1-1 in the last 11 after posting another Win in the proper column Sunday. The results played out a little differently, with the Flyers jumping to a 3-0 lead before allowing Pittsburgh back in it, yet Philly held on, despite allowing the Pens to come within one of the score to secure a much coveted 4 points in the standings.
This time around it was the Wayne Train chugging along to the tune of 2 goals and 1 assist, all in the first period. He still remains a force to be reckoned with, and it’s nothing short of astonishing to see just how good this kid really is. I say kid because Wayne is still only 25, and has most definitely outplayed Mike Richards, the man he was traded for, and that’s in spite of Richards winning a cup. Craig Berube would be somewhere close to insane if he ever considered taking Simmonds off the top power play unit at this stage, since Simmonds has become it’s heart and soul.
Giroux for MVP
While most of the world fawns over the golden child known as Sidney Crosby, all Flyers captain Claude Giroux has done is outplay him. And Malkin. And Ovechkin. And pretty much everyone else in the entire league. The most recent unreal Olympic snub case has turned that anguish and focused it on the NHL at large, racking up points at a swift pace, easily making everyone forget how horrible he and the club as a whole had started.
In his first 18 games, the first 5 of which he didn’t register a single point, he totaled a whopping 10 points, with only 1 of them being an actual goal. In the 39 games since? 22 goals, 37 assists, 59 total points. In short, he has been absolutely on fire since recording that first goal, a game against the Oilers which really feels like the starting point for the season’s turnaround. He currently sits fourth in scoring overall in the league and shows no signs of slowing down. He leads decisively a club laden with youth, a team desperate for a playoff berth, and his teammates have all banded together to ensure that the NHL and hockey fans in general knows who is behind the wheel of the Orange and Black machine barreling up the standings. Giroux was once a target for stripping the C off his jersey, and I am guilty of mentioning it as well, if only to relieve the stress and allow Claude to simply be a playmaker, but he has most definitely proven he has earned that letter, constantly reminding us the fans and everyone else in earshot know that he intends to leave it all on the ice in an effort to bring the Cup home to Philly once more.
The league would do itself some justice and actually consider Giroux for an MVP push, simply on willpower alone. If he continues at this pace, it just may be his to lose.
Up next? The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Are the Flyers ready for the next step up? We shall see indeed.
*Photos courtesy of NHL.com
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