Flyers Clutch, Blackhawks Down

The Flyers had been struggling lately, while Chicago has been one of the best teams all season. Going into the game, an offense as good as the Blackhawks was foaming at the mouth, looking to light up the scoreboard.  Instead, it’s the Flyers that came through with some late drama, winning 3-2.  The first two periods were a goaltending duel, with back and forth action.  Both teams lit up the shot total and had a ton of chances.  Time after time, shot after shot, chance after chance, Leighton and Huet peered at each other across the pond and saw a rubber puck continuously bounce off a brick wall without making a dent.

Then the third period began, and you knew that something had to give.  Both teams possessed sick offenses, loads of talent, and questionable goaltending. Just over a minute in, Seabrook turned the puck over in his own zone, and Carcillo took the puck behind the net and tried a wrap-around.  He was denied, but the puck went across the net towards an open Gagne.  Huet was screened by Richards, and reacted late as Gagne fired home into an empty net.  The Blackhawks answered back quickly, with Versteeg putting in a Hossa rebound.  This happened less than 20 seconds after a Toews goal that was disallowed because the whistle came early. Hossa broke the tie on a pure goalscoreres goal.  Brouwer came into the zone down the middle, and shoved a pass to the right where Hossa released quickly. As Leighton changed his angle, the puck went to the space where he’d just evacuated.  Brilliant aim by Hossa, nothing that Leighton could do. 

As time wound down, it seemed like the Flyers were down for the count.  Instead, they rallied.  Leighton stopped a dump in for Timonen.  Kimmo took the puck, spun around, and ripped a pass all the way down the ice to Hartnell.  With a defender on his back, be broke in on Huet, and fired the tying goal off the near post and in.  This had to be a confidence boost for a guy who has severely underperformed.  It was a meaningful goal against a good team, and it was a result of strength, balance, effort, and desire.  Props to Hartnell for coming through.  The game seemed headed towards overtime, but once again, the Flyers came through.  After failing to keep the puck in the zone, the Flyers backpeddled  as Chicago went on the attack in the last 15 seconds. However, the Flyers gained control in the neutral zone, and with their speed, turned a 3 on 3 rush into a 3 on 2.  Giroux carried the puck down the right, Richards skated down the middle, and Pronger flew down the left.  As they hit the blue line, Giroux looked directly to his left, freezing the defense as they all kept their eyes on him.  Richards maintained his speed, while Pronger went hard to the net.  Giroux sent the pass behind the defense, but too far in front of Huet for him to reach it.  Pronger simply batted the puck into the net, and with 2 seconds left, the game was effectively OVER!  As Huet slammed his stuck into the post, Philadelphia celebrated.  As Gary Dornhoefer used to say when he was a commentator, “How sweet it is!”

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