March 30, 2016
If the Philadelphia Flyers do in fact make the playoffs, there is a good chance that their first-round opponent will be the Washington Capitals, a juggernaut that has already captured the Presidents’ Trophy. In order to be part of that 16-team field, they really could have used a win over those same Capitals on Wednesday night in South Philly.
The Orange and Black earned those two points in the most unlikely fashion possible: They won a shootout, upping their record on the season to 3-8 in the all-important skills competition:
Steve Mason my god pic.twitter.com/sDXYZpHLrn
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 31, 2016
Sam Gagner and Nick Cousins scored, Steve Mason turned away two Caps (including Olympic hero T.J. Oshie), and the Flyers escaped the NHL's best team with a 2-1 win and two absolutely gigantic points. Here's an updated look at the standings (not pictured is Boston, who the Flyers are up a point on with a game in hand):
This was an entertaining hockey game long before the shootout. Through two periods, the Flyers sustained enough offensive pressure to crack the scoreboard. They even had their fair share of quality chances from point-blank range, but Braden Holtby was up to the task every time.
"I thought the refs let a lot go, pretty physical, it got more physical as the game went on," Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "It was a playoff type atmosphere. I’d say for them, they’re fighting to get in, and a good game for us. Fun hockey game."
In the third period, it looked like Holtby’s brilliance in net and Alex Ovechkin’s marksmanship on the power play would hold up for the Caps. But after struggling for a few weeks, the first power play unit got the Flyers even and sent the Wells Fargo Center into a frenzy:
TIP DRILL pic.twitter.com/5MAIJvNZBe
— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) March 31, 2016
"We actually talked about [Holtby's strong play] after the second," Giroux said. "It was going to have to be a kind of greasy goal. If he sees the puck he’s going to stop it, so we got to get in front of him."
Brayden Schenn lit the lamp on a beautiful deflection of a Claude Giroux laser. Then, the “Holtby” chants started to rain down from the crowd, chants that were continued when Caps netminder took a crucial penalty in overtime. This one (via the AP's Matt Slocum):
Speaking of penalties in overtime, the Flyers killed off a huge 4-on-3 in the extra five minutes against the second-best power play in the NHL. Steve Mason, the ironman, was yet again very sharp in net for the Flyers, making 30 saves of his own before his shootout heroics.
Both teams know this could very well be a first-round playoff series. What do the Flyers think about how they match up?
“It’s tough to say, we’re not in the playoffs yet," Jake Voracek said. "You guys are getting too much ahead, anything can happen. We just have to focus on Saturday’s game. I don’t want to think about playoffs right now.”
1-0 Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin PP (1:28 3P). The Caps got some clean ice to work with on the power play to start the third period, and Ovi made no mistake with this one for his 44th goal of the season:
1-1, Brayden Schenn PP (14:32 3P). Absolute missile from Giroux:
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
