Flyers come up just short in shootout loss to Avs

Share

BOX SCORE

DENVERIn Kimmo Timonens mind it was a 5050 game.

We played half a game, Timonen said on Mondays 3-2 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center.

Yeah, the Flyers came back to in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime, but had they played better in the second period, they would have pocketed two points instead of one.

To me, when we play really well, we got everybody going, Timonen said. Its 20 guys. It felt like today we had half the guys going and half not. When the game looks like that, in this league, with half not going, its hard to win games.

Were happy to get a point out of it and we fought back in the third periodIts desire to play and winning battles and stuff. Its a good learning thing for us. There are no easy periods you can take off.

Ryan OReilly, the fifth guy in the shootout, won it on goalie Ilya Bryzgalov as the Avs improved to 6-0 in shootouts.

The Flyers traveled to Dallas after the game for Wednesdays contest then, will fly to New York on Thursday. They meet the Rangers on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

I have a hard time saying Im happy, but the point is good, coach Peter Laviolette said. I was really disappointed with the second period. We were too casual and out-chanced too badly.

The first we came out OK. The third I thought we were strong, but the second period we gave up too many chances and didnt generate enough offense.

Colorado got a freak deflection late in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and almost made it stand up.

With 18.1 seconds left in regulation and attacking with six players, Danny Briere tied it with a wrap-around goal, even though it was credited to Wayne Simmonds. That forced overtime where the Flyers turned it on but couldnt dent goalie J-S Giguere.

The puck was loose behind the net, Briere said. I knew I couldnt get full control because their defenseman was there. It popped to Scott Hartnell and at that point they had three or four guys collapsing on him.

At that point, the puck bounced behind the net and Giguere was still looking the other way. I just wrapped it around.

The second period, players said, was one of indifference.

For whatever reason we didnt play well, Jaromir Jagr said. They cycled the puck in our zone and looked like we had a tough time playing three-on-three down low.

That was the whole key. When you dont have the puck on your stick, youre wasting your time ... We should win those games, no question.

The opening period was very competitive but the scoring came at the end.

At 17:16, Timonen went up the left boards and took a high-stick to the face from Avs rookie winger Gabriel Landeskog.

Because Landeskog cut Timonen, the Flyers ended up with a four-minute power play and made good on the first half of it with Scott Hartnell adding his 16th goal of the season at 18:30.

Hartnell got a crisp pass from Jakub Voracek in front against Giguere.

Jagr did a good job of keeping the puck in, you know, instead of throwing it on the boards he threw it on net, Hartnell said.

The puck took a good bounce and went right to Jake. We had a quick two-on-one at the net and Jake made a great pass to me between the guys skates. I had a wide open net. It was an easy goal.

That goal broke an 0-for-14 skid over the previous three games and the missed opportunity earlier in the period.

Landeskog atoned for his sin in the second period to tie the game at 12:26.

He backhanded Shane OBriens point shot past Bryzgalov on the fly with traffic in front. It was a very nice play, actually.

With 2:31 left in the period, Harry Zolnierczyk stumbled on a check to TJ Galiardi and went very hard into the side boards. He left the game but returned in the third period.

If that werent bad enough, the Flyers, plagued all season by odd deflections, were victimized again on a pass across the slot that appeared to hit Tommy Sestitos skate and redirected on Bryzgalov for a 2-1 Colorado lead going into the third period.

Sestito was making his Flyer debut. The goal was credited to Galiardi.

We shot ourselves in the foot in that second period, Hartnell said. A very soft period by everybody. We werent skating and didnt do anything offensively, and let them dictate the play.

E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.

Contact Us