On Saturday, it felt a bit like December 28th, 2008.
Before the Philadelphia Flyers even took the ice, the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings played the role of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears and lost very winnable games. Not only that, a couple of guys named Crosby and Letang weren’t playing for the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins, already locked into the Metropolitan Division’s second spot. And then in the first period, impressive Penguins backup netminder Matt Murray (2.05 GAA, .927 SV%) was injured, leaving third stringer Jeff Zatkoff as the only man between Philly and the playoffs.
Everything was coming up Flyers.
And while they didn’t record a resounding victory like the Eagles did over their bitter rivals eight years ago, the Orange and Black got the job done. The Flyers won 3-1, clinching the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot in Game 81.
Playing with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek on the first line, Wayne Simmonds scored his 31st and 32nd goals, a career high. Rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere also got an assist on Simmonds’ second goal.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare effectively ended the game late with an empty-net goal.
In the third period, #FormerFlyer Tom Sestito gave his old team a gift with a five-minute major for fighting. The Flyers weren’t able to cash in on the ensuing power play, though. The recent struggles with the man advantage continued, as the Flyers couldn’t score once during nine minutes of power play time.
The Flyers outshot the Penguins 36-19, but that number can be a bit misleading. Steve Mason, who should finally get a day off tomorrow, came up with 18 saves, and a number of them came on high-quality chances:
It wasn't a particularly impressive effort, but it has been an impressive season for a team that hardly anyone predicted would reach the postseason back in October. The Flyers will play the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The goals
1-0 Penguins, Nick Bonino (11:57 1P). Nick Schultz’s pinch didn’t exactly work here, and Carl Hagelin made him pay with a beautiful little saucer pass:
1-1, Wayne Simmonds (18:57 1P). Longer GIF than usual, but for a good reason: Simmonds and Voracek deserve a ton of credit, but how about the play that Giroux makes at the blue line?
2-1 Flyers, Wayne Simmonds (16:58 2P). “The butt that sent the Flyers to the playoffs”:
Bellemare added an empty-netter late.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann