Philadelphia 5, Boston 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees:
Marc Joannette, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, Brian Murphy
Attendance:
17565
By The Sports Xchange
BOSTON -- The save that almost wasn't turned a game around for the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
With the Bruins leading 4-2 with 13:26 left in regulation, Bruins right winger David Pastrnak fired toward what had been an open net. Sprawling Flyers goaltender Steve Mason stopped the shot, but it looked like the glove that snatched the puck might have been over the goal line. There was nothing conclusive upon review, the goal didn't count -- and the Flyers stormed back and won the game.
"(He made a) second-effort save and we kind of had a little breather after that and said maybe that's the turning point," center Claude Giroux said after scoring in the third period and then in overtime to give the Flyers a 5-4 victory, ending their six-game losing streak against the Bruins.
"I think the whole period after that the whole team starting playing with second effort and that's the kind of team that we want to be. We want to work hard and the first two periods it just wasn't the case."
Giroux made it 4-3 to pull the Flyers within one just over a minute after Mason's big save, and right winger Wayne Simmonds tied it 2:36 later to force overtime. Then, the Flyers got a power play on a hooking call against Bruins center Ryan Spooner in the extra frame, and Giroux scored the winner to complete the comeback.
"It was a big moment, but at the same time, those are things that I expect (from) myself," said Mason, who replaced an injured Michal Neuvirth after the first period. "I think what the team expects from their goaltenders. Turns out that, in tonight's game, it kind of kick-started things and that's a good thing."
Giroux, the Flyers' best player, was a minus-2 and was guilty of a double minor for high sticking, four of his six penalty minutes in the first two periods -- the Bruins scoring on the first half of the double minor.
The loss kept the Bruins (2-3-1) winless in four home games, with goaltender Tuukka Rask allowing 19 goals in the four games.
The Flyers lost both Neuvirth and center Sean Couturier to upper-body injuries after the first period.
Couturier was flattened by Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo in the final seconds of the first period. He didn't return and the Flyers opened the second period without a shot on the ensuing five-minute power play after Rinaldo's major penalty and ejection. Boston left winger Chris Kelly actually scored shorthanded to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
Neuvirth, who was hunched over for several seconds after allowing Boston's second goal with 2:36 left in the first period, didn't return for the second.
Rinaldo, who has been suspended three times by the league, maintained after the game that the hit was clean but admitted he expects to hear from the league.
"I don't want to comment on the hit," said Mason, who made 16 saves. "We didn't like it, obviously, and we'll leave it at that. We didn't like the hit at all."
Boston center Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist in the first period and the Bruins scored three straight goals to turn a 2-1 first-period deficit into a 4-2 lead after two.
Bergeron has seven points in the first six games of the season.
"When you score four goals you should have more than enough to win a game, and too many slow reactions defensively and lack of communication and poor decisions," said Bergeron. "It ends up hurting us big time."
Right winger Jakub Voracek, who set up the winner, assisted on both Giroux goals while center David Krejci and right winger Loui Ericsson had two assists apiece for Boston.
Krejci, who leads the NHL in scoring with 11 points, has at least one point in all six games.
Left winger Pierre-Edward Bellemare and center Sam Gagner also scored for the Flyers.
Right wingers Brett Connolly and Jimmy Hayes scored for the other goals for Boston.
NOTES: The Flyers have just five wins in their last 20 games against the Bruins. ... Boston LW Matt Beleskey was out with an upper-body injury. ... Flyers C Brayden Schenn was out of the lineup with a shoulder injury, but his brother, D Luke Schenn, was back after three games as a healthy scratch. LW R.J. Umberger returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. Both Luke Schenn and Umberger had assists. ... The Flyers, 1-1 in OT games, begin a three-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Bruins, who reached overtime for the first time under the new 3-on-3 format, visit the New York Islanders on Friday night.
Top Game Performances
Philadelphia |
|
Boston |
Mark Streit 3 |
Points |
Patrice Bergeron 2 |
Claude Giroux 2 |
Goals |
Patrice Bergeron 1 |
Mark Streit 3 |
Assists |
Loui Eriksson 2 |
Claude Giroux 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Patrice Bergeron 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Chris Kelly 1 |
Steve Mason .889 |
Save Percentage |
Tuukka Rask .865 |
Steve Mason 16 |
Saves |
Tuukka Rask 32 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Philadelphia
|
37 |
5 |
1-2 |
2-3 |
8 |
33 |
Boston
|
30 |
4 |
1-3 |
1-2 |
19 |
24 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Bruins have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .250 after a loss.
-
Philadelphia will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Flyers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.