Hope you enjoyed that Office Space reference in the title. Anyways...
Ilya Bryzgalov. 18-saves, SHUTOUT...... 3rd star of the night.
That tells you, right there, how the game went last night.
Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the opposing goalie, and last night Evgeni Nabokov, perhaps showcasing his talents for a playoff team looking for a backup goalie, was back to his old self. An astounding 45-saves, and capped off by denying our two attempts in the dreaded shootout. Not many saves were outstanding throughout regulation though. Evgeni swallowed tons of shots without giving up rebounds, and not many screens were created in front of him.
Didn't see much of Wayne Simmonds on the Power Play last night. The Flyers needed him to provide the much needed screen in front of Nabokov.
The Isles are now 6-2-2 in their last 10-games, and have spiked the Flyers in their last two consecutive meetings. Like I mentioned yesterday, this is not the same old Isles. This team will be giving their Atlantic neighbors some problems for many years because of their young talent. They'll just need a goalie once Nabokov is moved.
Speaking of goalies. Ilya Bryzgalov had a solid performance keeping those rebounds (his biggest flaw) out of the slot. Still way too many giveaways in the defensive zone by our blue liners and forwards alike. Bryz saved the D a few times in the 1st period when the Flyers failed to get the puck out of their own zone.
Claude Giroux is in a funk.
"Boy, that was frank."
Well, the truth hurts. He's still getting his assists but he has 4-goals in his last 21-outings (the first game back since the concussion) and is rated a minus-11 on the ice. Roo is really pressing to get back on track however it seems he's gripping the stick too tightly (teehee).
He really wants to help this squad but the puck isn't hitting the back of the twine. It's not panic time for Claude, we're still only midway through February. He'll get back on track.
Danny Briere returned from injury and played in last night's match. No, seriously, I swear he did.
See?
And played 19:21. Pretty invisible out there.
Oh, and nobody on the Flyers decided to drop the gloves with Steven Staios, the guy who hit Max Talbot high and hard the last time Staios was in the lineup against the Orange & Black. The same dirty senior citizen that got a chuckle about it on the bench after it happened. Is this Ed Snider's Flyers hockey?
Despite the controversial end to their game last night, the New York Rangers broke into the Loss column against the New Jersey Devils --
So the point our boys got from extra time was needed. The other point would have helped, but as we know...Bryz isn't the best at shootouts.
The Flyers play the Rangers Saturday, their first home game against the Blueshirts (not including the Classic). They can't overlook the Leafs, (a team fighting for a playoff spot and employ the 4th and 6th highest point-getters in the NHL, Kessel and Lupul) who the Flyers play on Thursday at 7pm.
Until then, my Broad Street Kin
LET'S GO FLYERS!
Catch us on Facebook.
Give Joe Bogle a follow on Twitter: @OandBP_JoeB
Send us your feedback, hatemail, criticisms, ransom notes to OrangeAndBlackPack@Gmail.com