Philadelphia
Flyers vs. Winnipeg Jets
Wells
Fargo Center, Philadelphia
February
22, 2020
Game
Time – 1 p.m.
Pregame
Starting
goalies: Flyers – Carter Hart. Jets – Connor Hellebuyck.
Other
pregame tidbits – Philadelphia lost 7-3 to the Jets in Winnipeg in
December. Today's game is the final contest of the season against
this Central Division opponent. Brian Elliott started that game, surrendering six goals before he was replaced by Hart, who handled
third period duty.
This
is the final contest before the National Hockey League trade
deadline. Philadelphia in the best position to qualify for the
playoffs in a number of years. Head coach Alain Vigneault's influence
is noticeable, as he and his veteran coaching staff, including new
additions Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo, along with holdover Ian
Laperriere, have combined to produce 200-foot stability.
The
Flyers aren't an elite team. They could use another impact forward
and defenseman. Their goaltending situation is stable, but hasn't
produced a standout to-date. So, it's fair to put Philadelphia near
to the top 10, if not at that mark, in the League.
Philly's
fourth-best NHL home record is good, but they'll need to prove better
on the road down the stretch to convince hockey loyalists that they
are playoff ready. The Flyers are 5-2-2 in their last nine road
games, which is an improvement, as the team is 14-15-3 away from the
Wells Fargo Center overall this season.
The
Jets enter the tilt on a three game winning streak in fourth place in
their division and in the seventh playoff position in the Western
Conference.
On
a personal note...
The
transformation of the interior of the Wells Fargo Center is nearing
it's completion, as Steve Coates was telling me while we were heading
toward the press elevator on the event floor prior to the game.
Coates
joined the Flyers broadcast team in 1980, following his professional
playing career. He worked on the television side for a number of
years before becoming a part of the team's radio broadcast, along
with Tim Saunders, in 2014-15.
Coatesy,
which is the fond nickname everyone knows him by, has sustained a
long career off the ice due to his affable nature. His love of the
game and hockey sense is detectable to all who listen to him during
broadcasts, or have the opportunity to talk to him in person as I
have on multiple occasions.
First
Period
Quick
start, with Scott Laughton (11th goal) lifting a puck over
Hellebuyck's left shoulder at 2:06 into the period. Ivan Provorov
raced down the left side boards, tipping a short pass to Laughton.
Justin Braun also received an assist.
Laughton
got his second goal of the period (12th goal) as he
crossed over in front of the net and potted the puck past Hellebuyck,
while a number of players were in and around him. Braun received the
lone assist.
As
Laughton moved up the ice later in the period, thoughts of a natural
hat trick and one occurring in one period, in this case the first came
to mind. A brief internet search revealed that the Great One,
Wayne Gretzky had 50 (FIFTY) hat tricks in his career, including ten
hat tricks in the 1981-82 and another ten in the 1983-84 season for
the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Bossy had nine hat tricks in the 1980-81
season for the New York Islanders. Different era? Sure. Incredible
performances regardless? Yes, without debate.
The
Flyers last natural hat trick occurred on January 16, 2019. Sean
Couturier scored two in the second and one in the third against the
Boston Bruins in a 4-3 home win.
Shots
Flyers – 12. Jets – 10.
Score:
2-0, Flyers.
Second
Period
Flyers
only had two shots through just over ten minutes of a lackluster
period for both teams. Jets had ten shots, with no real threats.
Konecny
took a shot off what appeared to be his sternum that resonated throughout the building. He doubled over and slowly glided toward the
bench, where he remained bent over for a few minutes. However, a
video review showed that he was hit in his left hand.
Couturier
(19th goal) took the puck and back away from the net toward the face off circle, before he wristed a shot into the net, over
Hellebuyck's left shoulder at 14:15. Assists to Jake Voracek and Matt
Niskanen.
Josh
Morrisssey (4th goal) took a slap shot, over Hart's left
shoulder, while falling to his knees at 18:04. Assisted by Mark
Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Shots
Jets – 15 Flyers – 4
Score:
3-1, Flyers.
Third
Period
Patrik
Laine (26th) blew a power play slap shot past Hart at
three minutes into the period. Assists to Neal Pionk and Blake
Wheeler. Robert Haag was in the box at the time with an interference
penalty.
After
avoiding disaster through heavy pressure and then killing off a power
play a few minutes later, Tyler Pitlick (7th) scored a one
bounce pinball shot, with assists to Justin Braun and Haag.
Third
period shots: Flyers – 14 Jets - 4
Final
shot total: Flyers – 30 Jets – 29
Final
score: Flyers – 4 Jets - 2
Next
up - The Flyers host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Postgame
Quotes
Responses
to media scrum questions, postgame in the locker room and at the
press conferences of both head coaches:
Philadelphia
Flyers RW Scott Laughton
How
are you feeling after that one?
What one?
A
little beat up?
Yeah, it
was a good win. Always fun to play an afternoon game here, I think.
It was a good win for a club, and we will continue to move forward.
Was
Brian (Elliott) laughing with you on the bench?
He was good
all night. I always look to him when I score. He always has a smile
on his face. Good to see there.
How
much does it mean to have a game like this one?
It was big.
We came out and got a lead early and rode it all the way to the end
of the game. I thought we had a better job of closing gaps and not
giving them as much space in the third. I thought in the second we
weren’t really giving our D support, so we had a tough time getting
out of the zone. Other than that, clean game I guess and continue to
move forward.
Have
the goals of the team changed now that you are only 3 points out of
1st place?
Day by day.
I think we just continue to grow as a team. Wherever we finish, we
finish. Take it day by day, continue to grow and try to get wins. We
are at home a little bit this month, so continue what we have to do
at home.
How
badly did you want that 3rd goal?
Pretty bad.
I don’t know if it touched Wheeler there, but I talked to Raffy and
he said he was going to try to find me. Obviously it didn’t go in,
but it happens.
Winnipeg
Jets W Blake Wheeler
Looked
like you guys did a number of things well tonight, generating
chances. Did you feel that the momentum shifted at all in the third
period, or how did you see this one play out after you guys got it to
3-2?
I think we
played a pretty good hockey game. The bounces didn’t go our way
tonight, obviously they’re a good team in this building. It was
tough for us to get those. We weren’t very opportunistic tonight, I
guess would be the right way to put it. They had a couple bounces go
their way around the net. You go down 2 in this building, it’s
tough. We fight back to 3-2 and then a bad bounce on the fourth one.
Theory
at all on the slow starts, 7th game in a row you guys
have been scored on first. Efforts there obviously, but tough to play
from behind with that much regularity?
We just won
three straight, we were 4-2 on the home stand, 5-2 overall in our
last 7. So if anything, it’s worked well for us.
What
didn’t maybe work well tonight then?
I think we
played a pretty good hockey game. I think we had a difficult time
sometimes moving the puck up the ice, but outside of that, I thought
our forecheck was right. For the most part we were trying to make
plays with speed. Spent some time in their zone, had some chances and
that was basically my first answer. I don’t want to take away from
a good game that they played, but sometimes when two teams are
playing well, it’s a matter of that bounce of the puck here or
there. They cashed in on their chances, they played well tonight.
Philadelphia
Flyers G Carter Hart
Did
you feel pretty much locked in, especially for the second period on?
They made
sure they didn’t get too many second opportunities and a lot of big
blocks. The one in the first period Braun blocks a shot on the line
and then we go down and score. That’s the hockey that we’ve been
playing lately. It’s sometimes not always pretty, but it’s
effective and the guys are really buying in right now.
Talk
about playing at home. You’ve been on top of your game when at
home.
I just
prepare the same as any other game. We for sure love having the fans
support us and when we’re not playing well, they get on us and let
us know about it too. We just prepare the same as any other game no
matter who we are playing.
What
did it mean to see Oskar.
It’s
great to see him, I haven’t seen him in a couple weeks. I’m sure
he was happy to come to the rink and see the boys and all of us are
happy to see him and he’s looking great.
Philadelphia
Flyers C Sean Couturier
Kind
of similar to that first Columbus game. Not your best, but you got a
win. How big is that?
I thought
the first was either way. It was tight. Second, obviously we didn’t
play too good. We gave them a lot of opportunities. I thought the
third we kind of took over. We had some great goaltending when we
needed today. Hartsy was big today, making saves, making it look
easy. That obviously helps us out front. We have to stick together
through those tougher times and find a way to win.
Do
you feel your line is starting to really click?
We are
creating stuff. Maybe not finishing as much as we would like, or
getting extended o-zone time, but I think we are smart enough to
figure it out and get going. Obviously, you saw it both ways when we
aren’t finishing, I’m sure it will come.
AV
said Oskar is here. Did you get to talk to him?
Yeah, he
looks good. It was awesome seeing him. He’s going through a lot,
and we are there for him. Anytime we can hang out with him, it is
always nice.
How
important are the other 3 lines?
Yeah, I
think we have some good depth this year compared to the past.
Different guys are stepping up in different moments. That is what you
want. When you make a playoff run or go deep, usually the depth
players, role player guys have big impacts on games, and we need
everyone every night. That is the kind of team we are.
Philadelphia
Flyers RW Tyler Pitlick
What
did you think of the way Scott Laughton played tonight?
He was
great. He came out flying and got a couple of big goals for us right
away. He played great all game.
What
was the key for your line?
I think it
was just playing simple, getting pucks in deep, skating hard and
doing simple stuff and the plays open up.
All
the lines have produced, what does that do to the team? AV’s trust
in bottom two lines increasing?
Yeah, for
sure you can see it at home and on the road. You can’t get the
matchups as much on the road, so we just try to role 4 lines and
whoever gets whoever, it is what it is. He is trusting us to go out
there and play the right way and get the job done.
What
was it like to see Oskar today?
It was
great. He looks great. We are all very happy for him. Things are
going good, so we are happy they are going that way.
Philadelphia
Flyers D Justin Braun
Feel
good to be back?
Yeah, that
was a good way to come back after a little sickness. Not the
prettiest of outings I’ve ever had, but you’ll take them.
Did
this feel like the Columbus game where you aren’t at your best but
still find a way to win?
Yeah, I
thought at first, we were all right, pretty even matched. They came
out in the second and took it to us a bit. In the third we woke up
and we outshot them pretty good and out-chanced them. I think that
was huge. We didn’t want to fold going into the third, and we
locked it down.
AV
said Oskar was here, what does it mean to see him?
It’s
awesome. That smile you know. He is a great guy to have around, just
brightens your day. The fact that he is doing well and able to come
to the rink to see the boys is just fantastic.
Was
it a surprise?
Yeah, I
didn’t know he was coming today. It was awesome. It always cheers
the boys up to see him.
Winnipeg
Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice
Paul,
after you get down two goals, did you see more of what you liked from
your hockey club as this one went on this afternoon?
We gave up
a goal on the first shot just off a misread. But at 1-0 through the
first period, I liked our chances better than theirs. I mean at two,
I liked our second an awful lot. And then we get behind it a little.
They got a big long flurry there and cracked two posts. Which the
problem was that it’s an offside play, so that was coming back. I
think we needed to get the puck to the net a little differently. I
think that some of our best opportunities, we didn't get to the net.
We missed and other than that, I’m not going to complain about the
game.
Is
it difficult though when you get down one or two or three?
It’s
difficult when you get down one. When you get down three, it's real
difficult. That's a problem, you’re in behind it for sure. Like I
said, we came out of that first down. We don't like the first one
because it's a read. You don't want to get on the power play and get
a shot blocked and now they come out of the box and the timing goes
against you on that one. But other than that fact, I didn't think we
moved some pucks as clean as you'd like to. And they're going to say
the same thing, because we knocked a bunch down their end of the ice,
it was pretty even.
Was
neutral zone an issue again tonight?
A different
look. A lot of stretching in their game. So on the times that we held
it right, we countered back, so it looked really good. And the time
we couldn't hold, we had a problem.
What
did you see from that top line?
There is
your line, right? They were they were good. They had opportunities,
good puck control. They released it when they should, didn't over
handle it. They were our best, probably the best line on the ice.
Decision
to make on Connor back-to-back or going LB [Laurent Brossoit]? Would
you have a sense of this game at this point?
Not yet.
Wait, Wade will talk to him, see how he’s feeling. We put ourselves
in a position to do it if we want to go back to back with him. Doc
will talk to him and see how he’s feeling.
Winnipeg
Jets RW Patrick Laine
Patrick,
you and your team had a lot of opportunities but couldn’t get more
than 1 past Carter. How did you see this one play out?
Yeah, we
had a sleepy start. We knew that they were going to come hard right
out of the gate, especially here. So they score 2 right in the
beginning, so it was a rough start. After that I think we played
better. The second we were controlling the game. In the third we had
a couple mistakes and it was a tough loss.
What
was better by your club in the second?
I think it
was try to play simple. Try to get as many pucks to the net as we
can. Try to create some O zone time and that is where we are going to
win games, if we are going to win. I think that was one.
You
haven’t had the first goal in a while. Is that a concern?
It would be
fun not to be down right away every game. That is something we need
to work on, to get the opening goal. It can’t be just that. We
can’t just give up if we end up giving up the first goal. We still
have to battle back and hopefully score a couple. Two wasn’t enough
this afternoon and we have a new chance tomorrow.
What
do you think of what your GM has done?
I think
hopefully they will bring a lot of energy to the locker room and on
the ice. I think we have made some good moves for the team, and
something we need for the playoff push we are in right now.
Hopefully, we can spark this team, get a couple in a row and make the
playoffs.
“mentions
about Oskar*
Big smile
and I knew he was coming tonight. I just saw him after the game, he
smiled and looked beautiful. It makes everybody feel good when he
comes around and there is no doubt that we’re all behind him and
his teammates are obviously checking up on him on a regular basis and
so is the whole staff but to see him live is beautiful.
Is
this one like what you spoke about the other day in that winning when
you’re not exactly playing the best.
I thought
in the first period it as a little sloppy on both sides and in the
second they had a real strong push. When you look at their top two
lines, they are big skilled, fast, lines so they were tough to handle
in the second but I thought in the third once they made it 3-2 on
their powerplay goal, we played the best we played all night. When
the game was on the line, we played the right way, we make the right
plays defensively, we made the right plays with the pucks and we were
on our best when the game was on the line tonight and I thought that
was a real positive sign.
You’ve
moved Scott Laughton around, scores two goals tonight. What have you
learned about him and his versatility and his importance to this
group?
I thought
he played one of his best games tonight, the 200-foot game real solid
defensively and both our first two goals are his line, driving to the
net, going hard. Him going to the net on the second one, Pitlick
stopping there. They did a lot of right things and got rewarded for
it and he blocked a couple of big shots. You need your team to do
that and he obviously did that tonight.
What
have you seen from the top line? It seems as they are building
towards an exploding game.
I expect
this from our group, and I’ve said this many of times that teams
that improve during the season are the ones that get in and we are
improving. We are getting better and, in that line, those three
veteran players are playing the way that you have to play to win and
to win against good opponents in tight games. I thought when the game
became 3-2, we didn’t get tight, we played and that’s what you
got to do. We were on our toes; we were checking when it was time to
check and we made some real good plays with the puck.
Are
you able to point out where you are finding balance in your former
lines as you have now?
This
rotation right now is permitting me to play a good four-line
rotation, to have a good pace. In the third in the last five I went
down to three a little more. For the most park we do have good
balance. The fourth line with Raffi, Bunny and Q when they get the
puck deep and they get on the forecheck they are tough to handle.
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(My photo - Overhead shot from press level, pregame.)
