Behind the Hockey Scenes: Philadelphia Flyers Versus New Jersey Devils April 13, 2024

(Pregame - Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA - Sean O'Brien)

Introductions

The pregame retirement night ceremonies for Wayne Simmonds were low-key. He dropped the ceremonial first puck before the official faceoff. A video tribute was shown, with shots of many fans wearing his number 17 sweater in the stands. But he did not speak to the crowd, reinforcing his team-first, humble approach. Those who cheered for him during his career or had the opportunity to talk with him as part of the media were not surprised.

Simmonds signed a one-day contract this week to retire as a member of the organization. His eight-year career in Philadelphia began when he was acquired, along with Brayden Schenn, in June 2011 from the Los Angeles Kings for Mike Richards. He was traded to the Nashville Predators in February 2019.

On a personal note, I covered the Stadium Series at Lincoln Financial Field in February 2019. The Flyers hosted their cross-state rival that rainy night, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jakub Voracek tied the game with twenty seconds remaining in the third, and Claude Giroux won the contest (4-3) in overtime.

As part of a media throng, we spoke with Wayne about the game and the anticipated end of his time in the organization. Days later, he was dealt to Nashville.

The Flyers (37-32-11, 85 points) are in their second-to-last game of the season. They will play the Devils (38-37-5, 81 points) in the late afternoon, and Philadelphia needs assists from various other teams to qualify for the playoffs.

The Flyers recent eight-game winless streak ended in New York earlier this week with a 4-1 win over the Rangers. The Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 that same night, Thursday.

Starting goaltenders – Sam Ersson for the Flyers and Kaapo Kahkonen for the Devils.

First period

The video scoreboard noted the recent eighth anniversary of team founder Ed Snider's passing. With the risk he took, there is no way to know what hockey would look like in Philadelphia.

It was a back-and-forth period with little action. Around the halfway point, The Devils took two penalties in close proximity to each other.

But the Flyers' bottom-ranked power play did not come through. There were no high-danger chances. What expectations are reasonable without the personnel to do so?  Of course, the same could be said for the team this season.

Shots: Philadelphia – 11 New Jersey - 6

Score: Philadelphia – 0 New Jersey – 0

Intermission: The Mites on Ice show was, as always, entertaining. Many of us have great memories of playing hockey with family members and friends in our backyards or on the street. How great for the young kids to play a game, in between periods, of a National Hockey League game. Of course, if you fall onto the ice and score a fantastic goal, as one of the Mites did, that memory becomes indelible.

Second period

It is an understatement to classify the first half of this period as slow-moving. Credit to the Flyers for keeping New Jersey, the ninth-highest-scoring team, stymied.

A nifty backhand pass from Scott Laughton, who was cutting through center ice, was delivered to Travis Konecny (his 33rd overall goal of the season). He entered the zone and sent a wrist shot past Kahkonen at 10:50 into the period. It was also his sixth shorthanded goal of the season, with the magic he and Laughton produced reminding old-school fans of Dave Poulin and Brian Propp. Nick Seeler had the other assist.

Shots: Philadelphia – 6 New Jersey - 5

Score: Philadelphia – 1 New Jersey - 0

Intermission: The Mites again. This sequel did not include a fabulous goal, but it was entertaining.

Third period

A loud “Let's Go Flyers' chant surrounded the stadium with about four minutes to go.

As was true at points earlier, Simmonds' rough-and-tumble game continued during this period. This was fitting, as he scrapped with the best of them during his career. Cutaways to Simmer in his suite, cupping his ear to hear the crowd, upped the electric moment higher. 

Devils head coach Travis Green elected not to pull the goalie after a stop in the offensive zone with three minutes left. However, he did make the call with approximately two minutes left.

A third chant carried the team to victory with seconds left. The tight win kept hopes for a playoff berth alive.

Shots: Philadelphia - 4 (21total) – New Jersey 9 (20 total)

Score: Philadelphia – 1 New Jersey – 0

It was the Flyers' first shutout since Jan 13 when the Flyers shutout the Winnipeg Jets 2-0. Ersson was in goal that night during a five-game winning. The shutout was the team's fifth and his fourth of the season. 

After the horn sounded

Flyers head coach John Tortorella said he was pleased with the team's performance during the postgame presser. The head coach also said the goaltending situation impacted the team, and Ersson, who played his fiftieth game today, was not projected to play anywhere near that number of games.

Carter Hart's departure from the team changed the trajectory of the season. That explanation will be used and arguably valid if the team is knocked out of the playoff picture before Game 82 is played on Tuesday. The Flyers host the Washington Capitals that night.

On a personal note – I saw former NHL referee Kerry Fraser on the press level after the game ended. It was good to catch up. My interview with him in 2011 was a memorable, wide-ranging conversation. 

Behind the Hockey Scenes: Philadelphia Flyers Versus New York Rangers

 

(Pregame warmup photo - Sean O'Brien)

Introductions

Travis Konecny's upper-body injury made the Philadelphia Flyers (30-20-7, 67 points) task more challenging heading into the afternoon tilt versus the Eastern Division-leading New York Rangers (38-16-3, 79 points), who enter on a nine-game winning streak. The choice of both goalies implies that their head coaches want to win, as each team also plays tomorrow.

Flyers' head coach, John Tortorella, tapped Sam Ersson to play in the net. Peter Laviolette, who led Philadelphia to its last Stanley Cup appearance in 2010, picked one of the top goalies in the League, Igor Shesterkin.

This was a nationally televised game on ABC. It was originally scheduled as a streaming-only ESPN+ contest but was elevated to broadcast level.

As a side note – Today's game marks my one-hundredth, with approximately half of those games coming since the 2010-11 season when I received my first credential approval. The organization has always been and remains first-class, which a freelancer like me appreciates.

First period

An early “Let's go Rangers” chant elicited bad memories among the Flyers' faithful. Two seasons ago, an overwhelming number of Rangers' fans, more than was ever known to have been present in Philadelphia, dominated the Wells Fargo atmosphere. That 3-2 overtime Rangers' win on March 1, 2023, was seen as the bottoming-out of the pre-Danny Briere-Keith Jones era that began after that 2022-23 season was buried.

A classic, 1970's 1970s-style fight took place three minutes into the period as Nick Deslauriers and Matt Rempe (who had six inches on his opponent, standing at 6' 7”) fought for an extended period. Deslauriers eventually knocked Rempe down after his shirt was caught on his head—five minutes in the box for each.

A lot of back-and-forth action. There were some chances, but none that were successful.

Shots: Philadelphia – 18 New York - 9

Score: Philadelphia – 0 New York – 0

Intermission: The Mites on Ice entertained, as usual. It's always enjoyable to see young players on the half-ice.

Second period

Garnet Hathaway received a double minor for high sticking at 8:47. The play was under review, but the analysis did not change the initial ruling.

With 1:10 left on the penalty, Artemi Panarin was called for holding. But Alexis Lafreeniere (17th goal) wristed a shot past Ersson at 11:56. Assists to Vincent Trocheck and K'Andre Miller. Rangers' fans erupted but were drowned out by the faithful. An ear-estimate and with a view of various blue jerseys in the stands, which was hardly scientific, put the boisterous Rangers fans in the mid-single digit thousands.

Shots: Philadelphia – 5 (23) New York – 10 (19)

Score: Philadelphia – 0 New York – 1

Intermission: A chess-like game through two periods. This is a good test for Tortorella's team. Building culture and rebuilding an iconic franchise is bolstered through winning and learning how to respond to losses.

Third period

Tyson Foerster (11th goal) tied the game because he was positioned in front of the net and had his stick on the ice at 2:36. The work for this goal was done by Scott Laughton, who fought his way to supply a wrap-around assist from behind the net—a secondary assist by Travis Sanheim.

Ersson was screened and could not see a wrist shot that was thrown to the net by Barclay Goodrow (2nd goal). It appeared that Rempe tipped the puck in as he was stationed in front of the net and was seen receiving congratulations on the bench from his teammates. Assists Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider. (It was later switched to Rempe, who had his first goal in the National Hockey League.)

Sanheim led a breakaway while Sean Couturier was in the penalty box with slightly over nine minutes to play. Laughton trailed him on the two-on-none-play. But Sanheim could not tie the game. Arguably, a forward might have succeeded better or used the trailer to set up a higher percentage play or rebound attempt.

Philadelphia was given a chance to tie the game when Miller took a high-sticking penalty at 15:57. Tortorella pulled Ersson. At the same time, the Flyers had approximately 17 seconds left on the power play. After a stoppage, a timeout was taken at 17:42, with 15 seconds remaining on the man-advantage.

There were a few scoring chances, including one puck across the goal crease with seconds remaining, but no dice. The Rangers won a solid game by playing good defense and getting a savvy performance from Shesterkin. 

Shots: Philadelphia – 17 (40) New York – 5 (24)

Score: Philadelphia – 1 New York – 2

The game had a playoff feel. The Flyers played a competitive game and play the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road tomorrow, starting at 3:30 PM.