Date Published: 1-22-2023
Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
It doesn’t seem like these two hockey clubs see near enough of each other to have built up so much animosity. From the opening faceoff till the final horn these guys really did not like each other. The game was very physical with plenty of hits and many unpleasant conversations. In other words it was a good time. From the very start the Flyers were really banging bodies around and setting the tone. They out hit the Red Wings 16-5 in the 1st period.
Blocked Shots
The Flyers blocking shots was a key factor in this game. Detroit outshot the Flyers 31-25 but Philly also blocked a total of 31 additional attempts. Everyone on the team was sacrificing themselves to keep the puck from even reaching the Flyers net. They were shorthanded when Ivan Provorov took a blistering slap shot just above the skate. He hit the ice and did not get up. With no whistle being blown and the Flyers already shorthanded they were effectively two men short until they could get Provorov off the ice. Rasmus Ristolainen pushed him while he was still on all fours like a shopping cart to the Flyers bench. At one point Nickolas Deslauriers made an excellent old school goalie style kick save. Detroit attempted 62 shots and the Flyers blocked half of them. It was a huge factor in the win.
Scoring
When the third period started you could just feel that the first team to score was probably going to win the game. It was too tight and chances were too hard to come by. Carter Hart was solid in the net. When shots did make it through he had things totally under control. The Red Wings were swarming at the beginning of the third but the Flyers held them off and finally got a break with 11 minutes left in regulation. Kevin Hayes straddled the blue line to stay onsides as a pass from Wade Allison reached his stick. Hayes sprung Scott Laughton with a perfect pass. Laughton made a quick move then chipped a backhander top shelf passed Ville Husso to open the scoring. Four minutes later a careless turnover behind the Detroit net put the puck on the stick of Travis Konecny who found Noah Cates wide open in front and he buried it.
Detroit pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with 3:52 remaining in the game. They came on strong and kept the pressure on in the Flyers end. The Flyers were at 42% in the face-off circle tonight. Face-offs in their own zone with the extra attacker was not the preferred situation. The second time the Flyers iced the puck John Tortorella visibly let everyone on the bench hear about it. At that point the focus should have been on the shutout and not the empty net. Unfortunately the Red Wings did get the spoiler when they found Lucas Raymond alone and wide open in front of the Flyers net. He almost scored the tying goal as well with only seconds to go but Carter Hart made a remarkable kick save to keep this one in the win column. Final Score: Flyers 2 Detroit 1.
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These two teams face each other again twice this March in Philly. If the ill will continues to build they could be pretty intense matchups. The Flyers are right back at it again tomorrow night Sunday January 22nd at home against the Winnipeg Jets, 7:00 PM start time.
Good luck to the Philadelphia Eagles the rest of the way
