This was the Philadelphia Flyers everyone was waiting for.
The big name free agent tallies a hat trick. The team plays a decent 60 minutes. The goaltending was solid(well, that’s been the case all year), and the Flyers defeated a team with quality talent to add a consecutive victory. Unlike the previous contest against the New York Rangers, the Islanders didn’t have any deficiencies, have been playing solid hockey all season, and provided a good measuring stick for where Philly resides in the division.
There were still some odd lapses throughout the game, but nowhere near as bad as it had been, where fans were treated to torturous stretches of hockey in which the Flyers flailed, flopped, and otherwise could not get an opposing team out of their defensive zone for what felt like entire periods. It was limited to minutes this time around, and a lot of that may have to do with how cohesive the new lines have become under Craig Berube’s direction. He has offensive minded players playing with the like, and defensive players in the right spots. Most notable of these changes has been the decision to finally develop Sean Couturier into a true scoring center, and pairing him with suddenly hot sniper Matt Read along with power forward Wayne Simmonds has been nothing short of genius. They seem to have gelled quite nicely, with results to show for it. Read now has two goals in two games since getting the young star as his center and is playing with fire on both ends of the ice. Sean needs this as this will help him possibly realize the potential he displayed when he registered 90 point campaigns in the juniors.
This evening truly belonged to the big fish in the free agency pool, as fans watched Vincent Lecavalier ring up goal after goal, finally notching the hat trick. Despite potting three scores it was more important how quickly these scores came for Vinny and the Flyers. This was not only the first game in which the Flyers had scored three goals, but they all came in the first period. This was huge, considering that they played with a sense of command in the game the rest of way, and when the Islanders began to try to even things up, Vinny struck again, sealing the deal and landing the hatty in the process.
Words cannot express how great this game felt to most Philly fans, and media reflected it. A lot of praise and one common word: relief. A game like this can take the weight of the world of a team’s shoulders, and springs hope for continued success. The Flyers still have a few kinks to work out, mostly defensively and on the blue line, but it’s forward progress. They not only scored in bunches, but held John Tavares, who has been red hot, to a mere assist, and Frans Neilsen, who has been working on a career year thus far, got a token goal.
There was a second consecutive scare for the Flyers when Zac Rinaldo got dinged by a tumbling puck near his temple, but came back into the game after being fitted with a visor, and seemed jovial while getting ribbed about his new look on the bench. The Flyers desperately need to avoid the injury bug that has plagued them the last couple of seasons, and seem to have dodged a few bullets for the most part. This club welcome the Anaheim Ducks into town next this Tuesday, with a shot to win three straight games, and against a club that’s been quite impressive this season.
Let’s hope third time is the charm, after all who doesn’t love a good “Knock Knock” joke?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
