Keeping with the narrative developed over this three-game home stand, the Flyers capped off the stretch of games with a loss 4-3 to the Anaheim Ducks tonight after taking them to a shootout. The Flyers now sit at 0-2-2, the same amount of points they had in the first 4 games last year. (1-3-0)
The Flyers battled back from an 0-2 deficit with second period goals from Wayne Simmonds and Mark Streit. After going down 3-2 Jakub Voracek brought the Flyers level again at 3-3 to force the shootout. Giroux would score, but he would be the lone Flyer to do so. Jakub Silfverberg and William Karlsson scored for the Ducks to escape Philly with a win.
Tim Jackman scored for Anaheim 12 minutes into the game, then Devante Smith-Pelly added one four minutes later to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead at the first break.
Mark Streit put the Flyers on the board during a 5-on-3 power play in the second. Claude Giroux faked out the defender and sailed a pass to Streit who was making his way right to the front of the net. Streit buried it with no hesitation for his first goal of the season.
Wayne Simmonds capitalized on a pile-up in front of the net on a later power play that period and jabbed the puck in for his 5th goal of the season. This would have made him #1 in the NHL for goals scored if Rick Nash didn't have to go scoring one tonight too.
The Flyers couldn't make it to the second intermission without giving up a goal though, as Matt Beleskey scored to make it 3-2 Ducks with only 16.8 seconds left in the second period.
Voracek's game-tier in the third was a beauty. Voracek wrapped around the back of the net and wristed a backhand right past the upper left shoulder of Frederik Anderson. It was as if Voracek knew he was scoring on that play no matter what. He was looking confident out there tonight.
After five minutes of four-on-four not settling anything in OT it came time for the Flyers' arch-nemesis, the shootout. Giroux scored the only goal on a play that looked inhuman where he deked right on Anderson then left and over his leg. It was exactly the type of move that I'll never be able to do in any NHL video game.
Read, Voracek & Couturier all missed their attempts. As noted earlier Silfverberg and Karlsson scored to give the Ducks the 4-3 OT win.
The next stretch of three games will all be on the road against very difficult opponents. It starts Saturday against Dallas and wraps up with Chicago then Pittsburgh. Calling it now though, the Flyers are the type of team that will take 2 of 3 of those games then come home and lose a bunch in a row. If they could pull off a W against Chicago or Pittsburgh though, that would spark some much needed life into this season.
Note: The Flyers have lost every game by 1 point this season (not including New Jersey's empty net goal).
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
Tim Jackman scored for Anaheim 12 minutes into the game, then Devante Smith-Pelly added one four minutes later to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead at the first break.
Mark Streit put the Flyers on the board during a 5-on-3 power play in the second. Claude Giroux faked out the defender and sailed a pass to Streit who was making his way right to the front of the net. Streit buried it with no hesitation for his first goal of the season.
Wayne Simmonds capitalized on a pile-up in front of the net on a later power play that period and jabbed the puck in for his 5th goal of the season. This would have made him #1 in the NHL for goals scored if Rick Nash didn't have to go scoring one tonight too.
The Flyers couldn't make it to the second intermission without giving up a goal though, as Matt Beleskey scored to make it 3-2 Ducks with only 16.8 seconds left in the second period.
Voracek's game-tier in the third was a beauty. Voracek wrapped around the back of the net and wristed a backhand right past the upper left shoulder of Frederik Anderson. It was as if Voracek knew he was scoring on that play no matter what. He was looking confident out there tonight.
After five minutes of four-on-four not settling anything in OT it came time for the Flyers' arch-nemesis, the shootout. Giroux scored the only goal on a play that looked inhuman where he deked right on Anderson then left and over his leg. It was exactly the type of move that I'll never be able to do in any NHL video game.
Read, Voracek & Couturier all missed their attempts. As noted earlier Silfverberg and Karlsson scored to give the Ducks the 4-3 OT win.
The next stretch of three games will all be on the road against very difficult opponents. It starts Saturday against Dallas and wraps up with Chicago then Pittsburgh. Calling it now though, the Flyers are the type of team that will take 2 of 3 of those games then come home and lose a bunch in a row. If they could pull off a W against Chicago or Pittsburgh though, that would spark some much needed life into this season.
Note: The Flyers have lost every game by 1 point this season (not including New Jersey's empty net goal).
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat