Three Standout Players In Flyers Overtime Win Over Ducks

These three players made their presence felt for the Philadelphia Flyers in their OT win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Following an embarrassing 6-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks less than 24 hours ago, the Philadelphia Flyers looked to put it behind them as they faced the Anaheim Ducks in the second of a six-game road trip. This marked the final regular-season meeting between the two squads, and the Flyers were aiming to sweep their Pacific Division opponents for the second consecutive year. Brian Elliott received the start between the pipes and faced John Gibson on the opposite end of the ice. In more lineup related news, Philadelphia activated forward Michael Raffl from Long Term Injured Reserve, putting him in the Bottom-Six on a line with Andy Andreoff and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, while sending Morgan Frost back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Robert Hagg also came in for Philippe Myers on defense.

The Flyers undoubtedly could’ve had a better start, allowing the game’s first goal just 35 seconds in and putting themselves in a 1-0 hole. Erik Gudbranson put a seemingly harmless point shot on Elliott, but the puck deflected off of a player in front, making it fairly difficult for the veteran netminder to make the save. Unlike last evening, Philadelphia was able to respond this time around as Sean Couturier slammed home a rebound halfway through the frame, which eventually made it a 1-1 affair after 20 minutes of work.

Philadelphia controlled play through most of the middle stanza, putting 14 shots on Gibson while holding the Ducks to a mere five on Elliott. All four Flyer lines had their chances to break the tie but unfortunately couldn’t beat the Anaheim goaltender as the game stayed knotted at one heading into the final period of regulation.

The Orange and Black continued to apply pressure on the Ducks and Gibson through the early stages of the third, though they were still unable to find another answer for the former 2011 second-round selection. Momentum shifted a bit when Philadelphia found themselves at a 5-on-3 disadvantage for 1:11 but ended up killing off both minors to even the play back up. Gibson and Elliott continued to stand on their heads as the period came to an end, thus sending the game to overtime. Kevin Hayes would prove to be the OT hero, beating Gibson on a partial breakaway to seal a 2-1 win for Philadelphia.

I’m going to go with a Flyers line combo as my standouts in this one because I thought the trio of Claude Giroux, Couturier, and Jakub Voracek played a great game together. All three players, especially in Giroux’s case, were all over the ice, generating shots, chances, and applying pressure on Gibson nearly every opportunity they got. This was particularly true during the opening frame, where the top combination led all other Flyers lines in Shots, Scoring Chances, and Expected Goals For at 5-on-5 with Score and Venue Adjusted, per Natural Stat Trick.

I also liked the two-way play I saw from Coots and G, as both forwards forced turnovers throughout the night, including one that ultimately led to Philly’s first goal of the contest. At least one of Giroux, Couturier, and Voracek were responsible for each of the two Flyers goals this evening, as G and Jake had the assists on Coots’ tally and Voracek’s excellent pass to spring Hayes led to the eventual game-winner. They were a consistent driving force for the Fly Guys on offense, which is what you want to see from three of your team’s best skaters. I also have to give Elliott some credit, too, going save for save with Gibson throughout the contest en route to his ninth win of the season.

The Flyers are now 22-12-5 on the year. Next game is Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.