If I knew it was a haircut, I wouldve done it a long time ago, Flyers rookie Matt Read joked after scoring his 17th and 18th goals in Thursdays 6-3 win against the Islanders (see story) at the Wells Fargo Center.
After a 12-game scoreless slump, Read is now tied for the NHLs lead in rookie goal scoring (18) with Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche.
It was kind of getting to me the last three or four games, you know, frustrated working too hard I guess, Read said.
Youre told when youre going through those little slumps or whatever to just keep working hard and doing the little things. Maybe I was working too hard, I dont know. Things just werent going my way and I was gripping the stick a little tight.
Andrej Meszaros also had a good night Thursday, with a strong slap shot from the point that Read was able to tip in past Isles goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Meszaros also had a corner slap-shot goal (with an assist from Read) with just 10 seconds left in the first period.
After Ilya Bryzgalov let up an early goal just 1:35 into the game that gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead, Reads first-period goal was just what the Flyers needed to turn the game around.
Youre told to go in front of the net, try to get goals, rebound goals and dirty ones to try and get out of a slump, and thats exactly what I did, he said.
NHL
Coach Peter Laviolette didnt seem to think that Read ever lost his touch, despite his lack of scoring over the past few weeks.
I think hes a real talented player and you always wonder, because hes younger, first year in the leagueI think he was still playing hard even if he wasnt getting points that he wanted to, Laviolette said. I think hes been strong the entire year, I think you just notice a little bit more when hes on the scoreboard, obviously.
While Laviolette could recognize Reads hard work, Read still felt a sense of relief after breaking his 12-game slump.
Mez had a great slap shot slash pass right to me backdoor and I felt a lot of weight off my shoulders when I saw that go into the net, Read said.
With two goals and an assist, Read tallied three points Thursday night to put him in third place for overall rookie offensive leader (38 points).
E-mail Bridie Rubino at bsrubino@g.cofc.edu