Hartnell, Read Lead Listless Flyers Over Devils 4-1

For whatever reason, the NHL consistently schedules the Flyers to play the New Jersey Devils in afternoon games year after year. In the first of back-to-back afternoon games this weekend, the Flyers captured a valuable two points from their Atlantic Division rivals, currently fighting for 7th place, with a 4-1 win at the Prudential Center.

As I mentioned in another post, Jagr left the game early in the first period. Brayden Schenn moved up to the top line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell while the second and third lines remained intact.

Coach Peter Laviolette called a time-out early in the second period after the listlessness from the first period began to carry over. Both Matt Read and Hartnell implicated in interviews with Steve Coates that Lavi basically told them they would have to fight for their ice time from that point on.

The forwards who ultimately received the most ice time were those who arguably deserved it the most- Read, Sean Couturier and Wayne Simmonds. Read opened up the scoring at the 9:30 mark of the second period, tallying his 15th goal of the season.

Hartnell padded the Flyers’ lead with two powerplay goals. In a game in which the referees were quick to blow the whistle, stopping play for eighteen penalties between both teams, it was critical that the Flyers not miss any opportunities with the man advantage.

Simmonds collected the empty net goal, which earned him his first three-point game in the NHL.

Ilya Bryzgalov was given the start following Sergei Bobrovsky’s loss against the New York Islanders. He made 30 saves on 31 shots, holding the fort against an opponent that was clearly outworking the Flyers early in the game. A goaltender has his work cut out for him when the team in front only manages four shots in the first period, but he was up to the task today.

On the lone goal scored by newly acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovsky (traded to NJ from the Carolina Hurricanes late last night), the puck was re-directed at the last second and would have been difficult for any goaltender to stop.

Tomorrow’s tilt with the Boston Bruins is a marquis match-up that the team better be prepared for if they don’t want to be embarrassed again on home ice. While Jody Shelley had another strong game (finishing with over 10:00 of ice time including powerplay time), the Bruins are one of the quickest teams in the league. Zolnierczyk may be a better option on the fourth line.

UPDATE: Dave Isaac reported that Zac Rinaldo left the game with an upper body injury. I hadn’t noticed it during the game because limited ice time isn’t unusual for him. Even more unfortunate is that Travis Hughes of Broad Street Hockey has reported that Danny Briere will be out indefinitely with a concussion. Whether that is the direct result of Patrik Elias harassing him at the end of the game is to be determined, but two Phantoms will now likely be called up for tomorrow.

For the latest Flyers news and updates, you can follow me on twitter (@JoshJanet).