Five Flyers Observations : Punched, Battered, But Not Beaten

The Flyers beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 Wednesday night in Denver.

The Flyers were led by a strong first period with goals by Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov. Those two goals were enough to barely hold on for the win.

Petr Mrazek was a perfect 17 for 17 in relief of Michal Neuvirth, who left the game midway through the 2nd period due to an injury.

With the win tonight, the Flyers are now tied with the Penguins for the 2nd spot in the Metro with 4 games left in the season. Also, with a Panthers loss, the Flyers have almost assured themselves a playoff spot now with a 7-point cushion on the Panthers for the last playoff spot.

The Flyers will now play 3 out of the 4 remaining games on home ice. The only road game left on the card this season is a train ride to New York to face the Islanders.

The Flyers return to action Sunday at home at 12:30pm against the Bruins on NBC.

Here are 4 more observations from the Flyers 2-1 win over the Avalanche…

Milestone For Giroux

With another goal tonight, Claude Giroux has tied his career season point total with 93 points. Giroux, who has struggled in recent years, is having a huge rebound season in his 10th NHL season.

Giroux, who has benefitted from moving to the wing, is having one of the best years statistically in his career. His ice-time numbers are up, his +/- is + for the 1st time in 4 seasons, and he just looks more comfortable and having fun again.

For the season, Giroux has 27 goals and 66 assists. With Giroux’s next goal, he will tie his career total for goals scored in a season. If Giroux can somehow get 7 points in the last 4 games, he will become the first Flyer to record 100 points in a season since Eric Lindros in 1995-1996.

Damaged Goods

Well, the Flyers got an old face back in the lineup tonight. Michal Neuvirth returned from injury to make the start for the Flyers.

However, just over 30 minutes into his return, Neuvirth removed himself from the game due to yet another injury. Neuvirth came out of the game during a TV timeout. He left the game so secretively that no-one in the arena, reporters nor announcers, noticed until Mrazek made a save during the next possession.

What the Flyers hoped to get back to with Neuvirth was solid and reliable goal-tending. But, what they got was Neuvirth’s old habits of injuries and having to rely on his backup. Well, I guess Alex Lyon’s stay in the AHL was almost as short as Neuvirth’s return.

Mrazek To The Rescue

When Brian Elliott got hurt in the shootout in Phoenix, Michal Neuvirth came to the rescue and got the Flyers the 2 points.

Tonight, it was Petr Mrazek who came to the rescue for the injured Michal Neuvirth. Mrazek stopped all 17 shots he faced tonight against the Avalanche.

After entering the game extremely secretively, Mrazek made his presence known with a huge set of saves on the Avalanche top line. Mrazek continued his stellar performance in the 3rd period with timely save after timely save. The biggest coming with under 5 minutes remaining on Gabriel Landeskog.

Mrazek has been strong in the third period. pic.twitter.com/30ef7PHhaQ

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) March 29, 2018

Hopefully, with another good performance tonight, Mrazek can find his form from his first 3 games as a Flyer.

Gut Check

The Flyers battled through adversity and a tough push by the Avalanche during the 3rd period to get the win. After looking great in the 1st and up & down in the 2nd, the Flyers fell back into a shell in the 3rd.

During the 3rd, the Flyers were punched, battered, but no beaten. They were led by stellar goal-tending during the 3rd by Petr Mrazek and timely blocks by multiple Flyers.

With the Flyers starting to get back to the way they were playing in February, winning tough 1-goal games, it bodes well for their playoff chances. Playoff games are all about low scoring close games. Something the Flyers have been good at during the season.