[Boxscore] – [Dallas Reaction]
Remember back in June, July, August and September when you would lay in bed at night thinking about how awesome the Flyers were going to be this season? Remember the subsequent disappointment in November and December when those hopes went down the toilet? Remember the last three weeks, when things got awesome again?
The orange and black continued their jaunt towards becoming the team we all know they can be tonight with a convincing 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars. Six goals. A goaltender chased for the fourth time in seven games. 14 different Flyers with points, the first time that’s happened in 13 years. Ian Laperriere picked up a Gordie Howe hat trick.
How much fun is this?
The Flyers just obliterated the Stars in every aspect of the game: on the power play, on the penalty kill, offensively, defensively, five-on-five, you name it. For most of the night, it looked like the Stars were still taking pictures on the steps of the Art Museum rather than trying to play a hockey game in South Philly.
It wasn’t a perfect night for the Flyers, despite the domination of the opponent. They let down a little bit in the third period, allowing Stars’ resident jerk Steve Ott to score two goals in the final ten minutes. Ott was also whistled for boarding early in the first period for hammering Danny Syvret into the boards. Syvret left the game and the Flyers are saying he has an upper-body injury. You might want to read ‘upper-body injury’ as ‘separated shoulder’ or ‘shoulder injury.’ That’s speculation, but it certainly looked like he jammed his shoulder into the dasher on the play. The severity is obviously unknown at the time.
Scott Hartnell was also on and off the ice throughout the night. He only played one shift in the third period, but the team said after the game that he’s sick and it’s nothing too serious.
The Flyers win gives them a one point lead over the idle Montreal Canadiens. Ottawa also lost, meaning the Flyers leapfrog a point in front of them as well. Hello, seventh place. Hello, playoff positioning.
After the jump, questions with answers, highlights, and the comment of the night.
Questions With Answers
- Can the Flyers effectively pepper Marty Turco with shots? Early and often, with 11 in the first period. They were actually outshot by the Stars in the final totals, but that’s no indication of how the game went.
- The Stars have been trying to loosen up on their road trip, including making a tourist trip to the Art Museum yesterday. Do they play loose as a result? They took penalties early and it was all downhill from there. If they were playing loose, they don’t want to play loose in the future.
- Steve Ott is one of those agitator Sean Avery-type players. Can he effectively get under the skin of the Flyers, notable Dan Carcillo who has reined in his penalty-taking ways lately? His hit on Syvret in the first was a clear attempt at that. He jawed with Carcillo a little bit here and there and was able to score two goals in the third. Flyers win. Suck it, Ott.
- The Flyers are a better team on the PP, PK, at faceoffs, in saves, in goals per game, and goals against per game. So, uh, we win right? Yes. The trends continued.
- Can Leighton finally earn a shutout at home with the Flyers after giving up a couple in the third period? Nah, that ended pretty early. He didn’t have his best game tonight but he still looked darn good. He has a tendency to get sloppy towards the ends of games, but he continues to get the job done.
Comment of the Night
Nope. They are from Dallas. **** them!
>> flyrsfrk05, not feeling sympathy for Stars fans
Highlights
