Photo Credit: Sarah Tourtellotte
The underdog Flyers defeated the mighty Edmonton Oilers in an extremely tight shootout win. …Before this game began I don’t think anyone had that opening line on their Bingo card. The Flyers faced a double edged challenge in this match-up. The Oilers are a very talented high scoring team led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton is a scoring machine so it seemed like the Flyers may have to play a defensive masterpiece while scoring four or more goals just to keep it close. Tall order.
With five minutes left in regulation the score was tied at one and the Flyers were leading in shots on goal 31-21. How in the world did we get here?
The Big Picture
The Flyers for the most part played a patient and disciplined game. They did not panic. They took zero penalties on the night and their positioning was on point. Edmonton’s power play is lethal the Flyers didn’t give them any. Carter Hart made some really big saves not to mention winning the shootout. John Tortorella ran his bench in his typical style, rolling all of his lines and not worrying about having the right match-up out there to deal with the Oilers superstars. Tortorella has incredible confidence in his young players to play in all situations. On a few occasions you had rookie Noah Cates out there against future Hall of Famer Connor McDavid, and shutting him down.
The Details
The first ten minutes of the game both teams seemed to be feeling each other out. Things finally broke the Flyers way. Travis Sanheim carried the puck from end to end then dished it to Kevin Hayes who opened the scoring at 12:10 of the 1st. The Oilers seemed surprised to be in the position they were in. They were being out shot and out scored by a team that should not be putting up this kind of fight. Edmonton ended the period with a flurry but had to go back to their locker room knowing that Philly clearly won the first round.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
The Oilers came back to the ice in the second with the same intensity and this time it payed off. Less than two minutes in McDavid set up Evander Kane who beat Carter Hart glove side. Hart got most of the shot but not enough to keep it out of the net. Seconds later the same combination came so close to repeating the play but Hart got all of it this time. The Flyers didn’t panic, they stuck to their game plan, and the scoring in regulation was over for the night.
Deep into the third period the game took on that “next goal wins” type of feel. The whole thing seemed to collapse when Zach Hyman appeared to give the Oilers the lead late in the period. Every single Flyers Fan on the planet very clearly saw goaltender interference. The prolonged review of the play started to lay seeds of doubt on the call. The home town crowd erupted as the call was finally made. NO GOAL! Edmonton was double shifting McDavid who did his best to force the win but was repeatedly shut down by a revolving cast of Flyers players. Hart made a flashing glove save on McDavid very late in the game. It was a beauty and Hart knew it. You could clearly see the always humble goaltender smiling broadly through the cage of his mask.
Overtime
This is not the best case scenario. 3-on-3 sudden death hockey and two of the three players on the other team are two of the best players in the NHL. The Flyers really hung in there. Ivan Provorov had one of the best chances, going in alone against two defenders and pushing his way to the net only to be stopped by Stuart Skinner. Amazingly the Flyers got through the overtime period and were headed to the shootout.
The Shootout
Every level of this game seemed to be the level where you were proud of the Flyers for taking it this far but you were ready for what may be coming next. Surprisingly the Flyers were ready for all of it. Tortorella said after the game “If you don’t have a readiness against that team you’ll get spanked”.
Konecny opened the shootout, Skinner made the save. McDavid came in on Hart made several moves but Hart stayed with him all the way and left him without a shot to take. Morgan Frost brought the house down with a super slick goal. The Oilers matched it. James van Riemsdyk potted a super clutch shot leaving the Flyers one save away from victory. So all Carter Hart had to do was stop Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway for the win? …what a great time to smoke one of the best in the league. Carter Hart makes the save and the Flyers have yet another win in their pocket that they should be really proud of.
Extra Credit: Ivan Provorov made his second dramatic goal-line save of the week. Nick Seeler’s face was responsible for two Flyers power plays tonight. He took at least two unprovoked high sticks directly to the face. I counted three but only two were called.
