 |
| Pregame |
Philadelphia
Flyers vs. Winnipeg Jets
Wells
Fargo Center, Philadelphia
March
10, 2018
Game
Time – 1 p.m.
The
Philadelphia
Flyers
(34-23-11, 79 points) entered the game in third place in the Eastern
Conference's Metropolitan Division. The Winnipeg Jets (41-17-9, 91
points) were in second place in the Western Conference's Pacific
Division.
The
Flyers were on a five game winless streak, going 0-4-1 during that
time. Winnipeg beat Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout at home earlier
this season (November 16, 2017).
The
next generation of Flyers' fans were scheduled to be celebrated
throughout the game during Kids Day.
On
a personal note...It's always great to speak with a wide variety
of people whenever I have the opportunity to work as a credentialed
member of the media. Today, I had the unexpected pleasure of eating
lunch with an intelligent and warm-hearted man who handles
transportation for the Flyers (and for Philadelphia's three other
major sports franchises). Al's positive outlook on life was
inspirational. It was easy to see why he's been successful and is so
well regarded, as many people stopped by our table to say hello to
him during our conversation.
After
lunch I went to the press level, where I spoke with Mark before the
game started. A handful of years ago this NHL scout was gracious
enough to speak with me and a few young freelancers who I asked to
join us between periods. His father, Gordie, was with us that day as
well.
Two
similar character traits that Al and Mark shared were eye contact and
discussion of family pride. Both men made eye contact with me
throughout our conversations, affirming their honesty. The earnest
nature in which they spoke about their family members was also
evident.
Countless
moments in life are subjective. Al and Mark have been and will, in my
opinion, remain successful in their lives because of the manner in
which they interact with nondescript people, like myself.
The
last names of the men I spoke to today weren't used, but many people
in the Wells Fargo Center know who both people are. Hockey fans
around the world also know who Mark is and who his father was.
First
Period
Petr
Mrazek started in goal for Philadelphia. Connor Hellebuyck was in net
for Winnipeg.
(Petr Mrazek)
No
noteworthy action through the first half-plus of the period. With
8:57 remaining, the Flyers had outshot the Jets 8-4. By the end of
the frame the shots were 11-9 in Philly's favor.
The
Jets' Dustin Byfuglien was the only man who served time in the
penalty box (tripping, called at 8:56) in this period. The Flyers
were unable to score during that time.
Second
Period
An
early power play nearly turned disastrous for the Flyers, as the
short-handed Jets broke up ice on a three-on-one. Mrazek held his
ground and made a save on a close range shot.
Matt
Read had one of the better scoring chances of the game when he swiped
the puck at the Jets blue line and went in on a mini-breakaway, but
couldn't put it past Hellebuyck.
There
had been more motion through the first 4:22 of this period than there
had been in the entire first period.
(Claude Giroux)
Working
in the offensive zone after a Jets penalty was called, Giroux buried
a wrist shot (his twenty-fourth of the season) to give the Flyers the
lead at 5:40. Assists to Valtteri Filppula and Wayne Simmonds.
(The
Hometown Hero segment during this period served as another reminder
that freedom isn't free, as a local man was honored for his military
service while the crowd cheered and U.S.A. chants followed.)
(Andrew MacDonald)
An
odd goal was scored. Awhile after Andrew MacDonald (fifth) broke the
goal line, on a shot that quickly bounced in-and-out on the side
netting, Nolan Patrick and Jakub Voracek were credited with assists.
The
goal actually occurred at 8:01, but wasn't credited until play had
stopped with nearly nine minutes having elapsed. A review was
conducted and the goal was credited. Kudos to the official's
consideration and modern video technology.
Shots
stood at 26-20, in the Flyers' favor, two-thirds of the way through
the game, as a two-goal lead showed on the scoreboard.
Third
Period
An
early-period penalty to Radko Gudas (delay of the game) was killed
off. That penalty kill, in particular, reinforced the fact that the
team was reverting to its proactive demeanor, which had been spotty
during the recent four-game losing streak played out. While the team
hadn't panicked, it's play was sloppy at times.
Travis
Konecny's penalty (8:26, tripping) resulted in Winnipeg's first goal
at 8:58. A hard slap shot over Mrazek's shoulder, by Patrik Laine
(fortieth), was set up by Blake Wheeler and Paul Stastny.
(Travis Konecny)
As
the game wound down it was evident that the Flyers wanted to secure
the victory. Hakstol's squad wasn't laying back. Winnipeg pulled its
goalie with approximately a minute to go, but to no avail.
The
Final: Flyers 2 – Jets 1.
Postgame
Quotes
Responses
to media questions after the game:
Philadelphia
Flyers Head Coach Dave Hakstol
(Dave Hakstol - Postgame Presser)
Is
your lack of power play production a little bit concerning in this
point of the season?
“The
stats say 0 for 2. We actually got a big goal in this game with the
extra attacker and the goalie pulled. So yeah you can stretch it one
way or another whichever you like. We had some good things on the PP
tonight. On the two opportunities, the full opportunities we did have
obviously we didn’t get one. We got to give other teams PK’s a
little bit of credit as well. They’ve done a good job. We have full
confidence in our group in our PK and our power play.”
Did
Travis Sanheim look any different to you today than when you last saw
him two months ago?
“He
just looked like a guy who got his game back a little bit and that’s
the benefit of being able to go down and play strong minutes down
there in different situations. That’s all a credit to him. It’s
all how you handle the assignment going back there. He dug in
immediately from what I am told from day one and played extremely
well right from the start down there. Like I said it just looks like
a guy who absolutely has his game back. He is a good player for us
tonight and he helped us win.”
Konecny’s
his game kind of carries on the edge a little bit. It seems like he
gets motivation out of that and so forth. When he steps out and
commits a penalty like that is it just something that you have to
remind him to keep things under control?
“It’s
all the situation. TK is a huge part of our team. That energy that he
plays with he’s always got to be on the line. The tough part this
time of year is navigating and not going over that line and tonight
the penalty was obviously not good timing. That can’t happen and he
knows that. Like I said he is a huge part of our team and
unfortunately we didn’t get the kill on that one but this time of
year little things make a difference. So I don’t want TK to change
his game at all. There are a couple little adjustments he has to make
in the third period nothing more.”
When
you talk to him later and you tell him you don’t want him to change
his game but at the same time he has to develop a recognition of the
situation…
“I
won’t get into my conversation with him a whole lot. There are a
lot of those conversations that go on with individual players. I
guess you guys beat me into the room tonight. So that’s just how it
is. I don’t want to get into it too much in terms of what I talked
about. Obviously one of the things you guys are focused on the
penalty he took. There are just little parts of the game this time of
the year get ramped up and it’s not just him. It’s our entire
team. There are things out of this game that we can take and
hopefully build and get better from.”
As
much as things came together in Boston you thought the team game
improved. How much did you need that result to kind of get guys going
a little bit too?
“Well
you got to get the result to just really hold that energy. You need
to get that result. It’s deflating when you play hard. We played
hard in Boston and there are some things we could have done better
and like I said we tried to address those and clean them up. We came
back today and we played really hard. When you get the result it is a
lot easier to carry that energy and that positive energy as you go
forward. It doesn’t mean there aren’t things out of this game
that we have to clean up because there is. So we will do that. We
will address that. We needed the two points. Just looking at the
standings we needed it. It was a good win for us to get headed in the
right direction not just having good efforts.”
Mrazek
didn’t play Thursday. Friday was a full day off the ice. Do you
think he looked like a more rested guy?
“I
don’t think he was wearing down. I didn’t see any of that in
there or at practice. I didn’t see any fatigue really in his game
but he was sharp tonight. He did his job and that’s what we need
everyone on our roster to do is go out and do the job and he did that
tonight.”
Finally
Toronto helps you instead of hurts you.
“Yeah
that’s the first time I think I have seen that situation but before
our guys went back they radioed that they thought it was in.”
Lehtera
wasn’t playing nearly as well as he played today. What did you see
in him that makes him a good option for fourth line?
“He
does so many good little things. I said it the other day. He just
goes out and does his job every single day. His game is becoming more
and more effective it seems like every game. I thought tonight he was
an effective player. He has an ability. He is very detailed no matter
the number of minutes he plays. No matter if it’s five on five or a
little bit of PK, or full blown PK which he has been for us as of
late. Guys like that in the dressing room and on the bench are
invaluable. They go out onto the ice and do everything right and that
helps build the confidence of your team.”
Even
though the results haven’t been there yet for Oskar Lindblom as far
as points. Are you seeing him continue to pay strong attention to
other details? Even the scoring chances themselves.
“Yeah
absolutely, especially when you look back at Boston and you start
thinking when is one going to go in for this young guy. Sometimes you
start to see young guys start to squeeze it a little bit if they
don’t score. You don’t see that in Oskar. He just continues to do
things the right way and this time of year it’s about winning your
puck battles. Making good smart plays with the puck. Being in spots
where you are going to get good offensive opportunities and going to
the hard areas and he does all of those things. So he is going to get
one soon enough and until he does he continues to be good and strong
player for us.”
Dave
how pleased were you with the PK especially with a team like that?
“It
was good. It starts with a couple of the first face offs with G
winning the draw. Not just winning the draw but getting the puck two
hundred feet. That sets the momentum in your direction. We did a good
job. They got one of the most lethal guys obviously in the league. We
made one mistake and he got one shot off and that is the result. I
thought overall collectively throughout the game the PK was
outstanding.”
Philadelphia
Flyers C Travis Konecny
The
shift you had at the end of the second period, what was going through
mind when you got decked and you got up and got [Patrik] Laine?
Yeah
I was just frustrated because I think on the play my stick broke and
then I got hit so I just reacted, I wasn’t necessarily targeting
anybody specific, but he just happened to have the puck so I made a
strong play on him.
Coach
spoke to you for a while here, was he just reminding you?
That’s
just between him and I, not gonna comment.
A
lot of good things were done in the Boston game despite the
disappointing outcome, did you feel you kind of built on that 60
minute effort into today?
Yeah
for sure, I think we can take a lot of positives from today I think
we played a really good game, other than when I took that penalty
there and they had to go on the power play we didn’t give them very
much. We played a pretty tight game tonight and played simple and it
paid off for us so I think we just keep building off this.
Did
Travis Sanheim look like a different player to you than what you saw
last time he was here?
Well
he definitely had some confidence and some swagger today, I’ve seen
it out of Sanny before he’s played like that plenty of times, but
he had some confidence today and he looked good.
You
guys said you played tight, Petr was there to kind of support you
guys in case anything went through, can you talk about how the goalie
played today?
I
think it’s pretty self-explanatory, he stood on his head for us
tonight, he made a couple of incredible glove saves on some key
players on the other side and a big part of why we’ve been in a lot
of these games, our goaltending’s been keeping us around and he
played well tonight.
You’ve
had such a long stretch of success on that top line, is there such a
thing as being too loose, getting into taking a couple of those
penalties?
No,
I don’t think I played perfect every night, just I don’t know he
stepped on my stick it’s not like it’s too loose it’s just a
fluke thing.
Philadelphia
Flyers D Travis Sanheim
(Travis Sandheim)
How’d
you feel?
“I
felt good.”
Tough
scenario to come back into?
“For
sure, they are a good team too. Playing with Macker gave me a lot of
confidence, we communicated pretty well and I felt good.”
How
important was it to keep a positive attitude? You’ve got good
numbers up there?
“I
think that’s the biggest thing when I went down, I wanted to
continue to keep that confidence when I came up here. Like I said, I
felt pretty good out there.”
When
you’re with the Phantoms and even today, it looked like you were
taking plays where you were breaking up plays in the neutral zone,
defensive zone and turning it the other way turning defense into
offense. Is that something you maybe wanted to tighten up and get
back to?
“Yeah,
I think so. I think having a good gap and having a good stick and
being aggressive when the right circumstances come. Tonight I broke
up a few plays and then turned it and went the other way. I want to
continue to keep that in my game.”
Travis,
do you feel any different from the last time you were here?
Confident?
“Yeah,
I think going down there gives me the confidence of playing a lot of
minutes down there and coming back up. Just knowing that I can play
at this level and not having to worry about it that early on.”
With
how big the gap was from January to now, were there nerves, did it
feel like your first game in LA again?
“There
were definitely some nerves. I was just excited to be back with this
group, it felt so familiar. Spending half a year here with the guys,
it didn’t take long to adjust.”
How
much do you want to make this more than just an injury call up to
prove that you belong here?
“Obviously,
when I went down I wanted to get that next opportunity. It’s
unfortunate with the injuries, but I got a chance here to take
advantage of the opportunity. I’m going to just keep going with
it.”
Philadelphia
Flyers Defenseman Andrew MacDonald
Andrew,
after the last game ended in Boston when you’re in a tight
situation in the third does that kind of reinforce the point today?
I
mean, we’ve been in close games throughout the season, I think we
can draw from those. We’ve played well in those situations at times
through the year and we knew the importance of today’s game.
We recognized we were playing strong and just to continue with it we
did a great job without a thought.
What
point did you realize your shot went in?
I
didn’t know, I was actually more mad because I missed it on the
rebound after it came out of his glove, I thought I should have had
that one and then I went to the bench and G mentioned that it was in
and within seconds they blew the horn so its obviously a nice feeling
to be able to chip in like that.
How
big was this win today after the past few games?
It
was pretty good, I thought that we’ve played well especially that
Boston game. But it’s a tough way to lose that late in the
game like that but you certainly don’t want to let games pile up
the wrong way against you especially at this time in the year the way
our race is going so for us to be able to come in tonight and have a
nice complete game, I thought it was really big.
I
know Peter Mrazek might have won, but you have to be pretty impressed
with the upper hand tonight.
Yeah
he was awesome, did a great job with tracking the puck really well
and they have a lot of weapons over there. It’s a big team, a lot
of traffic, he fought through. Just an all around great performance
by him.
Overall,
does it feel like the penalty kills are starting to settle in?
Yeah,
the numbers don’t really indicate it but I think we’re aware of
what we need to be doing, we addressed a lot of things throughout the
year and I thought the last little bit we’ve done a nice job, we
have given up a few goals here and there but I think it’s come a
long way.
What
did you think of Travis Sanheim coming back in?
I
thought he was great, right from the first shift he was aggressive,
he made some really nice stick plays in the neutral zone and broke up
some plays. Sent their guys in on great transition plays, I think he
made that nice stretch pass from behind our net right away and you
could tell he was feeling comfortable and confident and I said
earlier that’s a heck of a way to come back in. it’s not an easy
situation that we lost the last five to be put into a situation like
that but I think throughout the game he did a tremendous job and was
really strong.
Did
he look like a different player at all from what you saw in January?
I
think he just seems confident. I think he had a lot of playing time
in Lehigh and you could tell he felt good today making plays and
stepping up with his stick, skating really well and it was great to
see him, we’re going to need him
Philadelphia
Flyers RW Claude Giroux
How
badly was that win needed?
Yeah
it was we had a tough stretch and we couldn’t find ways to win and
it was a good test for us, Winnipeg are a pretty good team and I
think we played a responsible game tonight.
You
played pretty well against Boston too. Obviously sour last
minute, does that get into guys heads today when you’re in a tight
game, tight situation last minute everything’s gotta be locked down
a little bit more.
Yeah,
but I think after Boston we got together, we talked about it, and we
can’t let it phase us, we knew we played a good game in Boston, we
put ourselves in a great position at the end to get at least one
point and they got that lucky goal. We moved on and hopefully a game
like this can get us going.
Is
that something that could’ve manifested into guys heads and turned
things even further south?
Could’ve,
but I think we’ve done a good job this year when it doesn’t go
our way we get our stuff together and we just play better.
What
did you think of Travis Sanheim after stepping in first game here in
almost two months?
Yeah
he played a pretty good game, I think it’s his best game with us
he’s moving the puck well, played a lot of good plays defensively
and I was very impressed by his play tonight.
Goaltending,
you guys are pretty tight in front of him, but he was there to clean
up pretty much anything that got through, talk about his play
tonight.
Yeah
he played great it looked like he played with a lot of confidence
tonight, anytime [Patrik] Laine had a shot from the side he made that
save look pretty easy, but that wasn’t an easy save so he
definitely kept us in the game.
How
important is it to have a guy like Matt Read be able to come in and
play on the PK and just pretty well defensively?
Yeah
in Boston I thought he played a good game and tonight he played an
even better game. He’s just getting a little bit more
comfortable now and that’s the kind of guy when he comes back in
the lineup like that and plays well everybody’s happy for him, and
he’s a good player.
Is
that the kind of depth that’s gonna be huge down the stretch and
then maybe in the playoffs?
Like
I said he’s been playing good hockey, I think he’s got chemistry
with his line mates there, they played a pretty solid game.
Petr
came and played a lot of games pretty quick after the trade, do you
think having a couple of days off maybe helped him kind of
reset himself a little bit, he looked like the guy right after the
trade versus how he played in a few games before that?
Maybe,
I’m not too sure that’s a good question. But I think
tonight he was very solid, we try to do the best we can in front of
him, they have a lot of other players on the other side that can
score goals so we try to do the most we could and if it wasn’t for
my mistake in the PK he would’ve had a shutout so it happens, but
he’s just a goalie that I really like to play in front of.
On
your goal where you guys (inaudible) for the extra attacker? Did you
see a hole there?
Yeah,
I saw Fil going back door and I was looking to pass the whole way and
lucky enough the fans were yelling at me to shoot so I just tried to
find a hole and be able to get it in.
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