Continuing his hot streak as of late, Steve Mason turned away 38 of 39 shots to help the Flyers earn a win against the Colorado Avalanche in their second-to-last game before the Olympic Break. None other than Mark Streit and Michael Raffl, 2 of the Flyers' own Olympic bound players, scored the goals that lead to the win.
The Flyers were riding some momentum tonight as they returned home after taking two of three from the Sharks, Kings and Ducks (not the Ducks). The Avalanche are no easy opponent either, boasting a 36-15-5 record heading into tonight after finishing a league worst last year. The Flyers seldom gave up possession in this game though, especially in the second period where they dominated the shots 17-8. They may have been dominated in shots in the third, 17-6, but that is the period in which they scored 2 of their goals. The Flyers controlled the tempo of the game at all times it seemed.
The first goal came off the stick of Swiss Olympian Mark Streit from the top of the zone. It was a laser that Avalanche goalie, Semyon Varlamov, couldn't track through all the traffic in front of the net.
Austrian Olympian Michael Raffl helped the cause with his 7th goal of the year streaking into the crease from the back of the net.
With four minutes left in the game Patrick Roy pulled Varlamov, which is incredibly early in the game to do so. To his credit though, it worked. Rookie and #1 overall pick this year Nathan McKinnon made it 2-1 with 3 minutes left in the game. It wasn't quite enough for Colorado though, as Claude Giroux found the empty net with 20 seconds left to seal the 3-1 victory for the Flyers. This was his 19th on the year. Giroux will now spend the next 2 weeks with functioning toilets and drinkable water, not worrying about getting exploded. Truthfully, getting passed over for St. Louis on the Canadian roster isn't looking to bad now.
The win moves the Flyers back into the third spot in the Metropolitan, good enough for the playoffs. The last game for the orange and black before the two week break is this Saturday at home vs. the Calgary Flames.
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
The first goal came off the stick of Swiss Olympian Mark Streit from the top of the zone. It was a laser that Avalanche goalie, Semyon Varlamov, couldn't track through all the traffic in front of the net.
Austrian Olympian Michael Raffl helped the cause with his 7th goal of the year streaking into the crease from the back of the net.
With four minutes left in the game Patrick Roy pulled Varlamov, which is incredibly early in the game to do so. To his credit though, it worked. Rookie and #1 overall pick this year Nathan McKinnon made it 2-1 with 3 minutes left in the game. It wasn't quite enough for Colorado though, as Claude Giroux found the empty net with 20 seconds left to seal the 3-1 victory for the Flyers. This was his 19th on the year. Giroux will now spend the next 2 weeks with functioning toilets and drinkable water, not worrying about getting exploded. Truthfully, getting passed over for St. Louis on the Canadian roster isn't looking to bad now.
The win moves the Flyers back into the third spot in the Metropolitan, good enough for the playoffs. The last game for the orange and black before the two week break is this Saturday at home vs. the Calgary Flames.
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat