Flyers top Wings in pivotal game for playoff run
The Philadelphia Flyers have been playing some great hockey over the past month and have been able to climb back into the Eastern Conference wild-card race. They had an opportunity to really gain some ground Tuesday night with one of their many head-to-head matchups with the teams they are chasing in the standings when they hosted the Detroit Red Wings.
The Flyers were able to come away two massive points thanks to a 4-3 victory and pull to within one point of the Red Wings in the race for the second wild-card spot.
Here are three things you need to know from Tuesday’s game.
1. If the Flyers are going to catch anybody, it is probably going to be the Red Wings
Even though the Flyers still have three games remaining with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the gap between the two teams is “only” four points, the Red Wings are the team Philadelphia seems to have the best chance of catching right now. Not only because the Red Wings are the closest team to them in the standings, but because gaining ground on them has been much easier over the past month.
On Feb. 14 the Flyers were five points behind the Penguins. After Tuesday’s results (where the Penguins beat the Islanders and the Flyers beat the Red Wings) they are still four points behind them. Even with a 9-3-2 run over 14 games, where they earned 20 out of a possible 28 points, they only managed to gain one point on the Penguins in the standings. At that pace they would pretty much have to sweep all three games against Pittsburgh to pass them. Even winning two out of three in regulation would only mean a two-point swing.
When it comes to the Red Wings, however, gaining ground on them has been a lot easier, gaining six points on them over the same stretch. That is thanks to the Flyers playing really well, and the Red Wings, now losers of nine of their past 15 after Tuesday’s game, playing pretty poorly.
That game in Detroit on April 6 could be huge.
The other factor working in the Flyers’ favor when it comes to catching the Red Wings: They still have two games in hand on the Red Wings.
2. The Flyers won this game in the first period
To say the Flyers dominated the first period of this game would be a laughable understatement, and it was that opening 20 minutes where they ended up taking the game.
The Flyers not only jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds, but recorded 22 of the game’s first 25 shots on goal. It was not only perhaps the best period of hockey the Flyers played all season, it was perhaps the most dominant 20 minutes any team in the NHL played all year.
And speaking of the Raffl goal, it was a thing of beauty.
Power, finesse, and a heck of a goal for Raffl and the @NHLFlyers. #DETvsPHIhttps://t.co/uaUoUlzcJv
— NHL (@NHL) March 16, 2016
Given the importance of the points in the standings and the fact winning this game in regulation was pretty much worth a four-point swing should have made it so both teams were going to be ready to play. Only one of them was, and even though the Red Wings ended up outscoring the Flyers over the second and third periods their terrible start put them in an early hole they were never able to get out of.
3. Shayne Gostisbehere continued his incredible season
One of the biggest reasons for the Flyers’ turnaround this season has been the arrival of rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and the way he has completely transformed their defense, adding a mobile, puck-moving presence that can jump into the play and create some offense.
He scored his 16th goal of the season on Tuesday.
There are a lot of impressive things about that number.
He is now tied for fifth among all defensemen in the NHL. He also now has 39 total points which puts him in the top-five among all rookie scorers. He has done all of that even though Tuesday’s game was only his 50th game of the season.
Everybody else ahead of him in both categories is closing in on 70 games played.
His goal on Tuesday, which gave the Flyers a two-goal lead at the time, proved to be his fifth game-winning goal of the season after Detroit’s Tomas Tatar scored a late third period goal to close the gap to one.
From there the Flyers were able to hold on for the win.
The Philadelphia Flyers are gaining ground on the Detroit Red Wings. (USATSI)
