Instant Replay: Flyers 3, Blues 1

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The St. Louis Blues are among the best teams in the NHL. The Flyers aren’t.

But on a snowy Thursday night in front of a small collection of brave and dedicated fans, the two teams played like a pair of evenly matched top-tier clubs

And it was the Flyers who came out on top, 3-1.

There was a good pace to the game right from the start, and shots on net were even throughout. Neither team grabbed momentum and ran with it. Even the goalies, Brian Elliott for the Blues and Steve Mason — who was hunting his 50th win as a Flyer — were neck and neck all night.

The Blues took a first-period lead they held into the third period, but the Flyers answered back with three when it mattered most.

In fact, the Flyers looked like the team that defeated the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals two weeks ago, and not the group that has struggled against bottom-of-the-barrel opponents more recently.

It was the exact effort they needed, too.

With 17 games to play, and the window on a spot in the postseason slowly closing, the Flyers now find themselves four points out of the playoffs.

The crowd
Because of the weather, the crowd was (as expected) sparse — the smallest in recent memory. The Flyers offered all in attendance free hot dogs, pretzels and soda refills. Once the game had started, they gave away tickets to anyone who took SEPTA to the Wells Fargo Center. It's been a while since anyone could attend a Flyers game — and eat dinner — for the cost of a subway ride.

Notable goals
Jaden Schwartz opened scoring for the Blues with 7:08 left in the first period. He received a sharp pass from Vladimir Tarasenko, then caught Mark Streit out of position in the slot and to easily beat Mason.

Michael Del Zotto tied the game in the third period at 1-1, beating Elliott with a rocket from the top of the circle. Wayne Simmonds broke the tie moments later with his team-high 26th goal of the season.

Michael Raffl sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the game's closing minutes.

Goalie report
Mason seemed to have a bit of trouble controlling rebounds, especially early. He settled down a big as the night progressed, though, and couldn’t have done much about Schwartz’s goal. He finished the night stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

The Flyers figured out Elliott as the game progressed. The Blues' goalie was stronger earlier on in the night, stopping 28 of the 30 shots the Flyers sent in on him.

Power play
The Flyers’ first power play of the night, in the first period, yielded no shots on net. Not a good start — especially for the first unit, which was a bit disorganized.

They had a bit more traction on their second opportunity of the night, early in the middle stanza, but the man advantage was cut short when Jakub Voracek took a penalty for holding 46 seconds in.

Penalty kill
The Flyers’ 28th-ranked penalty kill got the job done, killing off an abbreviated second-period call to Voracek. 

Scratches
Vinny Lecavalier was the healthy scratch once again in favor of Zac Rinaldo. Nicklas Grossmann is still working his way back from a shoulder injury sustained last Saturday against the Rangers.

Up next
The Flyers meet the Bruins Saturday at 1 p.m. in Boston, where they are winless since Dec. 11, 2011.

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