I know, I know. ‘Twas a truly bad play on words for my title, but that’s the only way you can describe what happened in last night’s game.
For the first two periods the game went back and forth. The two teams found themselves tied 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The third period was one for the books, though. What unfolded in the final period frame was bittersweet.
After captain Claude Giroux received a clean open-ice check , Jakub Voracek decided to take matters into his own hands and drop the gloves against Steve Oleksy. While the fight was heavily one-sided in Voracek’s favor, he ended up receiving 19 minutes in penalties (2 minutes for instigator, 2 minutes for fighting with a visor *yes, that is a penalty*, 5 minutes for fighting, and a 10 minute misconduct).
“I’m really proud of Jake for what he did. It was his first fight and it was a good one,” Kimmo Timonen said after the game, lauding Voracek’s effort.
“That is picture perfect,” said Zac Rinaldo when asked about his comments in the Bruins game about sticking up for teammates. “We needed that as a team. [Giroux] needed that protection, too.”
While the fight really got the crowd involved, the ensuing 4-minute penalty to Voracek gave the Capitals’ strong powerplay unit a chance to strike.
Washington was able to score 2 powerplay goals in 36 seconds and dug the Flyers in a hole.
“If I knew I would get 19 minutes, plus 4 minutes on the penalty kill, I don’t think I would’ve done that,” Voracek said of his fight.
Then Claude Giroux took over.
The Capitals committed a penalty which lead to the captain scoring just 16 seconds into the powerplay. The lead was cut to a single goal and the Flyers continued to pressure shift after shift.
With the clock winding down and Bryz pulled from the net, the Flyers were able to keep it in the Capitals zone for the better part of the last minute. Countless chances seemed to elude the team, until Giroux found an open Timonen at the point. Timonen wired a shot past Braden Holtby with 9.5 seconds to go and the Flyers were able to force overtime. And it didn’t take all that long to close the game out either.
Ruslan Fedotenko, not necessarily known for his goal scoring abilities, feathered a pass over to Timonen who was able to give it right back to Fedotenko as he was cutting to the net. Rusty redirected the pass, hit twine, and the Wells Fargo Center erupted in pandemonium.
“I view Fedotenko as a real smart defensive player,” Laviolette mentioned during his press conference. “Fedotenko is a guy we rely on and we count on for a lot of defensive minutes, penalty kills, and role type minutes. Certainly there is an offensive upside to him and to his game and he has done this, not just tonight, but in his past as well.”
With the overtime win, the Flyers find themselves only 2 points out of a playoff spot with 13 games remaining. Even with that positive news, the Flyers have suffered yet another set back. Like I said, the win was bittersweet.
During the game, Max Talbot collided with Mike Green and was in visible pain. He tried skating off under his own weight but could not put pressure on his right leg and did not return to the lineup. For the time being, it looks as if Talbot will be missing some time from the Flyers already bruised lineup.
Currently riding a two game winning streak, if the Flyers dig down deep and give a consistent effort like they did last night, they will find themselves in a playoff spot instead of at the golf course.