As disappointing as the Phillies loss last night was to Philadelphia, the Flyers stepped up in all the right ways on their way to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Entering the game, the Flyers had lost their last three home games, making back-up goaltenders look like the next Marty Brodeur.
Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were finally separated on the top line. Carter still needs time to adjust to James Van Riemsdyk and Nikolay Zherdev, but Richards looked right at home with Claude Giroux. Richards stole the puck off an errant pass in the first period and shot it up and over goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was moving away from the puck. He later assisted on a powerplay goal for Ville Leino and set up a beautiful pass for Scott Hartnell, who bought the team a little late game insurance.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- Richards leads this team as captain best when he’s got talent on the ice to work with. He’s not the talkative type of captain but rather a lead-by-example type. Giroux may be better suited to play center, but he’s the best winger among himself, Richards, and Carter. Richards and Giroux also spend a lot of time on the penalty kill together and lead the team in shorthanded attempts when they’re on the ice.
Dan Carcillo had a decent game, but it was clear after last night that there was another Flyer who deserved time on Richard’s line- Darroll Powe. Powe has always been a speedy workhorse for the Flyers and at times leads the team in hits. Powe was skating on the fourth line late in the second when Jody Shelley took a hit that gave Powe room to skate into the Leafs zone. Powe waited for an opening to pass the puck to Blair Betts, who fired it past Giguere to make it 3-1.
Barring injury, I would expect to see the top three lines remain unchanged for awhile. Andreas Nodl may be swapped in on the fourth line as the season progresses.
Goaltender Brian Boucher was decent last night, but the defense had a great game that had a lot to do with his performance. The Leafs were kept to just 14 shots in the game, with only 3 taken in the last period. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will most likely get the next start in net, but it’s good to see Boosh getting some support for a change.
The powerplay continues to be an area of concern, even though they were able to convert on their first attempt late in the first period. The cycling has gotten better and moving Pronger to the point has improved the quality of the shots, but the units either make too many mental errors or lose the puck trying to skate into the zone. The Flyers had a 5:00 powerplay in the third period after Leaf forward Colby Armstrong pushed JVR into the boards and they looked gassed on every maneuver with the puck.
Speaking of Armstrong’s boarding penalty, it was nice to see Giroux and Andrej Meszaros defend their teammate after what could have been a serious injury. Both Flyers clipped Armstrong in the face and started scrumming it up with the Leafs in order to send a message. Sometimes referees will call an instigator penalty on a player when they come to their teammates’ defense in these situations, but the potential risk is worth it to keep your opponents from taking liberties. Meszaros has slowly been putting together a strong resume for himself with the Flyers, and reactions like this are good to see.
The Flyers head to Columbus on Monday to face former Flyer R.J. Umberger and the Blue Jackets.
