Refreshed Flyers, Bryzgalov top Panthers

Share

BOX SCORE

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Time in the sun does everyone some goodeven hockey players.

The Flyers, who took time away from the rink Thursday and Friday for a team bonding excursion, arrived at BankAtlantic Center refreshed and ready to play their game.

They did just what they set out to on Sunday evening, skating their way to a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers that was very much a team effort.

I thought our guys really competed well, skated well, coach Peter Laviolette said. I think coming off of those two days off, practice yesterday was really good. You look at our conference, its tight. Theres no wiggle room. If you take a night off and get a loss or two, youll find yourself slipping into ninth, 10th, 11th place pretty quick. I thought our guys responded well and played a hard-fought game tonight.

After Wednesday nights strange game in Tampa, a overtime 2-1 loss, the Flyers needed to get back on track. That game had been about adapting the teams style to the fit the Lightnings trap (see blog post). Against the Panthers, however, the Flyers emphasized that their objective was to get back to Flyers hockeyto focus on themselves and their strengths, not play to face a particular opponent.

But in Florida lay a surprisingly difficult adversary.

The Flyers and Panthers, strange as it might seem, have a lot in common. They both carried 8-4-3 records into Sundays game. The Flyers had points in five games heading into Sunday, the Panthers had points in their last six. Both teams underwent drastic personnel changes this off-season.

We knew theyre a team that can generate a lot of chances off the rush, Chris Pronger said. And we wanted to make sure we didnt turn the puck over and we did that a few times in the first, and a few times in the second, but for the most part we did a pretty good job. You look at the shots, you look at the chances and what not, we had a number of good chances.

The Flyers finished the game with 35 shots to the Panthers 33.

One place the two teams differ, at least usually, is discipline. The Flyers have committed the second-most penalties in the NHL (82). The Panthers, with 45, have the fewest. And Sundays game wasnt without its infractions for either squadthere were double-minors, a game misconduct and even a penalty shot, 16 penalties in all.

Speaking of discipline, just after Zac Rinaldo returned to the ice after serving a charging penalty, the Flyers young tough guy went after Panthers right wing Matt Bradley with fists ablazehe lost the fight, but may have incited some energy in his teammates, who as rookie Matt Read suggested, seemed to start out the game a little flat-footed.

Just after Rinaldo returned to the penalty box for his fighting major, Danny Briere roofed a James van Riemsdyk rebound with a backhand shot that went up and over Panthers goalie Jose Theodore for a 1-0 first-period lead.

Brieres line with van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds was behind much of the action in the Panthers zonethey were responsible for all eight of the Flyers first-period shots.

Perhaps the trio spent a lot of time together out on the golf course earlier this week?

The Flyers followed up Brieres goal at the 6:50 mark of the second period with a picture-perfect give-and-go play that saw Braydon Coburn join the rush with Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek. Voracek hesitated just long enough to hit Coburn on Theodores doorstep.

The goal was Coburns first of the season.

Its just something that kind of happens, Coburn said about his involvement in the play. We always want our defensemen jumping in, and I saw a little area to jump in and Max made a great play. And it all starts in our zone. Obviously, Voracek made a great play and I did the easy part.

Ilya Bryzgalov played a stellar first period, stopping the Panthers a number of times on some particularly good chances. But midway through the second, right wing Evgeny Dadonov managed to skate wide around Pronger and beat Bryzgalov to cut the Flyers lead to 2-1.

Bryzgalov didnt get frustrated, though, and remained calm and collected through the duration of the gameeven after a number of very close calls through the last minute of the second period. His communication with the Flyers in front of him was much improved from in recent weeks.

Most of the time I saw the puck, Bryzgalov said. Most of the time I saw, because my D did a pretty good job. They kind of moved them to the side, they kept them to the side. When they basically released the puck, I saw at the most important moment where the puck was, and I had an idea of where the puck was going.

Early in the third, a great effort by Matt Read led to a penalty shot and subsequent game misconduct for Panthers center Stephen Weiss. Talbot, at the time, was serving a double-minor for high-sticking (see blog post).

Read didnt even realize hed earned a penalty shot until one of his teammates told himafter all, shorthanded penalty shots arent exactly common.

When I came down and took a fake shot, I thought he opened his legs up a little bit, and I just shot for the five hole, Read said. And I think it hit the inside of his pad and somehow just snuck though there and just barely made it over the goal line.

That goal was all the Flyers needed to put away the Panthers, despite Floridas liveliness in the games closing moments. Players crowded Bryzgalov, whacking away at multiple rebounds before Tomas Fleischmann bested him with just 7.4 seconds left to bring the score to within onebut the Panthers fate was already sealed.

Well take the win, whatever way it is, well take the win, Pronger said. I think we played pretty good there, theyre a good team. Theyre a fast team. Theyve got a lot of skilled guys over there that can move the puck. Youve got to be ready to play them.

E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com

Contact Us