Flyers Follow Time Off With Annihilation of Hurricanes

For the sake of brevity, I’ll be boiling down my thoughts after Flyers games into more concise points.

• With Claude Giroux’s contract extension signed, sealed, and delivered, the Flyers need to focus next on locking up Finnish winger Ville Leino. He was phenomenal tonight, responsible for setting up the first goal of the night to Danny Briere. His puck-handling and playmaking abilities really cement his line with Briere and Scott Hartnell, which could be a potent top line in Philadelphia for years if general manager Paul Holmgren gets it done.
• Hartnell’s overturned goal from the spin-around pass from Leino was a distinct forward kicking motion. I don’t understand why there’s any controversy.
• For the second time in as many games, defenseman Andrej Meszaros appeared to have scored his first goal as a Flyer before later having the goal awarded a teammate due to a quick deflection. Claude Giroux fed the puck through the crease from behind the net, causing confusion and scrambling in front of the net. Meszaros wristed the puck through traffic and Carter tapped it over goaltender Cam Ward.  Meszaros appears to be shaping into the top four defenseman he was back in Ottawa, and it’s paying dividends for the Flyers.
• The Flyers scored nine seconds into their first powerplay. It was one of the simplest, most straightforward powerplays from any team in the league this season. Carter scored that goal as well as the second powerplay goal of the evening (on the second powerplay to boot). Carter took three shots on goaltender Cam Ward during that time, following the sagely wisdom that “one of these has to go in.” Ward was pulled immediately after the goal in favor of rookie Justin Peters, who started the last game between these two clubs.
• Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky robbed Chad LaRose a third of the way through the second period, belly flopping over the loose puck, but wasn’t able to shut him down on a third period powerplay. It’s a shame he couldn’t get the shutout, but Bob was stellar once again.
• Scott Hartnell, Mike Richards, and Danny Briere also tickled the twine in the third period. Hartnell’s goal came off a turnover from Peters, Richards’ while shorthanded with Giroux, and Briere’s off a great feed from Jody Shelley and Dan Carcillo. The offensive, defense, goaltending, and special teams were firing on all cylinders tonight as they annhilated the Hurricanes, 8-1. 

As I pointed out in my last post, this next stretch of games is going to be a measuring stick for determining if the Flyers can keep up a competitive pace all season. They’ve come out strong in this first game after several days off and will look to keep the lamp lit on Saturday against the Florida Panthers.