Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators Recap And Takeaways
By Tom Foti
Jan 16, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber (6) battles with Philadelphia Flyers left wing Michael Raffl (12) in front of goalie Carter Hutton (30) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
It was déjà vu against the Nashville Predators at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
Steve Mason stopped shot after shot, the Flyers tied the score late in the third period and the game would come down to another shootout
The Flyers, who won the first contest on Dec. 1, could not squeak out another win and lost 4-3 in the shootout. Roman Josi beat Steve Mason in the seventh round.
With the Flyers down a goal with three minutes left, Mike Fisher was penalized for slashing. Head coach Craig Berube pulled Mason to give his power play up by another skater. Berube’s move paid off. Wayne Simmonds redirected a shot from Kimmo Timonen to tie the game. It was Simmonds’ 16th goal of the season.
Mason and Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton put on a goaltending display, making incredible save after save. Mason made several key stops with the Flyers down a goal in the third period. He finished the game with 34 saves overall.
Hutton put together a fantastic performance. Two of his more remarkable saves came when he robbed Chris VandeVelde from point blank and somehow stopped Michael Raffl from scoring on an open net.
Through overtime, both teams traded chances, but neither could end the game. Matt Read came close with a slap shot that hit the post. The puck ricocheted off the post and struck Hutton in the back. The puck rolled to the side of the net where Hutton found the puck and stopped the play.
The Flyers and Predators went seven rounds before a winner was decided. Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier scored in the fifth and sixth rounds, but the Predators came right back and scored on Mason to extend the shootout.
Schenn opened the scoring with a tip-in less than two minutes into the first period. The goal was Schenn’s 13th of the season.
The Predators stormed back to go into the intermission up 2-1. Michael Raffl turned the puck over, which led to the first goal.
The second goal came on a power play. VandeVelde failed to clear the puck with time expiring on a 5-on-3. The Predators jumped on the turnover and David Legwand scored seconds later.
Andrej Meszaros savored the second period for the Flyers when he scored his second goal of the year with 3.6 second left in the period to tie the game at 2-2.
Early in the third period, Nicklas Grossmann found himself on the end of a four-minute high sticking penalty. A Shea Weber slap shot beat Mason to give the Predators a 3-2 lead with 14:50 to spare in the third period.
Takeaways
The Flyers’ penalty killing unit was subpar after being a strong point the last several games.
Steve Mason did all he could. He did not deserve the loss. Not one goal was his fault in my opinion.
Andrej Meszaros has found his offensive game. He has one goal and seven points in his last five games.
The first few minutes of the first period went well, then the Flyers stopped skating
Flyer fans need to start getting loud at the Wells Fargo Center. That place has been too quiet.
Some games do come down to inches. If Read’s shot in overtime goes a little further to the left, the Flyers would have won.