Glen Stricker The Hockey Writers
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Recap: Flyers Make It 10 in a Row
What else can be said about the current run of this Philadelphia Flyers squad? After enjoying two days off after their win on Sunday in Detroit, the Flyers would enter Colorado wanting win number 10 and they would not disappoint. Steve Mason would extend his personal winning streak to eight games and kept the Flyers in the game for the latter part of the third period when the team needed him to shut the door.
With win number 10, the Flyers extend the league’s longest winning streak of the 2016-17 season and continue to gain ground in a Metropolitan Division that is shaping up to being the best in the entire league.
First Period
The first period didn’t raise too many eyebrows as it was mostly a dull period with both teams feeling one another out. The Flyers would lead in the territorial advantage by out-shooting the Avalanche 12-5.
Second Period
Everything the first period wasn’t, the second period was.
The Flyers would start the scoring frenzy by striking first just four minutes into the frame with Micheal Del Zotto converting a wonderful play set-up by Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux.From there the game would begin to seesaw back and forth.
The Avalanche would eventually tie the game up a little over eight minutes later after winning a faceoff in the Flyers’ zone. Carl Soderberg would find Rene Bourque high in the slot in which he’d fire towards the net with the puck finding it’s way into the back of the net.
Four minutes later the Avalanche would begin to assert themselves in the game as Nathan Mckinnon exploded through the neutral zone towards the Flyers’ end leading to significant zone time and chances for them. As a result, Matt Duchene would eventually convert on a Flyers defensive breakdown and pot home a rebound from the slot to take their first lead of the game.
The madness would not end there, though — 23 seconds later Wayne Simmonds would continue his impressive season as he would get in all alone and slip the puck through Calvin Pickard’s five-hole for his team-leading 16th goal of the season, tying it up at 2.
Third Period
The Avalanche would have a short-lived power play that carried over from the second period to start the third, but shortly after it was done the Flyers would waste no time trying to regain their initial one goal lead.
Roman Lyubimov would be rewarded for his hard work on the forecheck by firing an absolute rocket of a shot past Pickard to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead for his third goal of his rookie season, and Brayden Schenn would continue his recent hot play with a beautiful take to the net for his ninth of the season. That goal would give the Flyers some breathing room going up 4-2.
The Flyers would certainly need that insurance as the Avalanche would begin their comeback surge over the final 10 minutes of the frame. They would get one back with under five minutes to go and it would be Duchene again being a thorn in the Flyers’ side, making it a 4-3 hockey game.
From there, the Avalanche would continue to hammer away at the Flyers in a desperate search to tie up the hockey game, but it would prove to be of no avail. Despite the scary moments, Steve Mason would hold the Flyers at bay and seal the deal for the Flyers’ 10th win in a row.
Scoring Summary
FIRST PERIOD
No Scoring
SECOND PERIOD
PHI-Micheal Del Zotto (4) assisted by Claude Giroux (21) Jake Voracek (22)
COL-Rene Bourque (9) assisted by Carl Soderberg (5)
COL-Matt Duchene (11) assisted by Nikita Zadorov (5) Gabriel Landeskog (5)
PHI-Wayne Simmonds (16) assisted by Radko Gudas (8) Travis Konecny (12)
THIRD PERIOD
PHI-Roman Lyubimov (3) unassisted
PHI-Brayden Schenn (9) Andrew MacDonald (9) Shayne Gostisbehere (13)
COL-Matt Duchene (12) assisted by Mikko Rantanen (9) Mikhail Grigorenko (7)
THW Three Stars
First: Brayden Schenn (GWG)
Second: Matt Duchene (2 goals)
Third: Wayne Simmonds (1 goal)
Next Game
Philadelphia Flyers at Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center – 2:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, December 18, 2016
Broadcast Channels: CSN Philadelphia; 97.5 The Fanatic
Season Series: Flyers 4-2 win in first meeting (12/10)