Flyers - Panthers Recap

1st Period
After brining the game to a stop last night in Tampa, the Flyers looked happy to be able to stretch out their legs against the Panthers. After turning in a good performance the night before, Dan Carcillo was promoted up to the Richards-Versteeg line and showed his gratitude by assisting on Richards' first goal in the last 10 games. For the second shift in a row, Richards received a nice set up pass form Versteeg and was able to score on the second one, giving Versteeg his first point as a Flyer. The Flyers second goal was a result of patience and good passing. The defense cycled the puck in their own end as the forwards changed lines and then the team executed a perfect rush up the ice. Coburn started the rush with a pass to Timonen who found Hartnell at the blueline. Hartnell cruised in slowly from the left point as Nodl crashed the net and Briere rushed up the right side. Hartnell snapped a quick pass to Briere who hit Nodl directly in front of the net for an easy tip in.



It wasn't all good in the first. Early on the Flyers gave up a few bad rushes off turnovers and a few times the forward were late getting back into coverage, but Bobrovsky played great and stopped all of the Panthers chances. The powerplay also failed to convert on three opportunities. They did look better than the night before, but they need to start converting on all of these opportunities. The Panthers are the least penalized team in the NHL, and you have to make them pay when they make mistakes.

2nd Period
The Flyers came out rolling again in the second. They picked up on the forecheck and started to dominate large portions of the period. They played some great defense and prevented the Panthers from getting out of their own zone on multiple occasions. They continued to crash the net which resulted in a third goal. Chris Pronger hit Briere with a beautiful pass, which is by far his best breakout pass since returning from his foot injury. Briere gained the zone with speed and spun Dennis Wideman around with a series of nice dekes. Tomas Vokoun was able to stop his wrist shot, but left the rebound out in front for JVR who was crashing the net.

The Flyers had a great penalty kill where Powe skated without a stick for about 90 seconds. They also got lucky on a review that went in their favor. Personally, I thought the puck crossed the line, but there wasn't any angles that showed the puck over the line, so it was the right call. Carcillo was laid out on a late hit that wasn't called and wasn't responded to by anyone on the ice. The Panthers turned up the pressure late in the period, but were unable to get anything past Bob who has played a great game so far. He has made a couple of big saves and looks to be on top of his game tonight.

With about 6:30 left in the period, the linesman made a bad offsides call. Richards pushed the puck into the zone while Briere was still in it, but Richards didn't touch the puck once it was in the zone. The ref blew the play dead and Richards gave him a look that let him know he fucked up. It appeared that the linesman fessed up to the bad call judging by Richards reaction. Not really an important play, just thought it was funny that the linesman admitted his bad call.

3rd Period
Well, the third period started out with the Panthers scoring on the powerplay after Pronger was put in the box for being a man. Bob's rebound control was a little shaky to start the PK and then got tricked by a high-low deflection. After an initial onslaught by the Panthers, the next 10 minutes were pretty even. Both teams had extended periods of pressure, both teams had great scoring chances, and both teams made some bad plays in their own end. The Panthers were finally able to capitalize on a turnover at the blueline and bring the lead down to a single goal with seven minutes left in the period. The Panthers were sparked by the second goal and came on strong in the last five minutes. Bob made a couple of great saves to preserve the win for the Flyers.

With about four minutes left in the period, JVR took a hard hit along the wall and looked dazed as he was slow to get up. He didn't miss a shift, and the hit appeared to on his shoulder and not his head.

Other Thoughts
It would have been nice to see the Flyers put the game out of reach late, but they faded a little down the stretch. JVR had another great game, except for a brutal turnover in the third period. Luckily Bob was on his game tonight and was able to bail him out. I think that the Carcillo-Richards-Versteeg should stay together for a few games. They should good chemistry tonight, and I think Richards will become a bigger offensive threat with steady linemates.

A better game by the Flyers, but still plenty to improve on. I think the Flyers will play a more complete game on Friday against the Hurricanes. I expect the point streak to continue, and I don't think it will be a close game.