Flyers lose to Winnipeg in a shoot-out, 3-2

November 17th, 2013 by Kyle Lutz | Filed under Flyers, General, Hockey.


Score- Winnipeg wins in a shootout, 3-2
8:00 PM ET, November 15, 2013
MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Arena: MTS Centre
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees: Brian Pochmara, Mike Hasenfratz
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Andy McElman
Attendance: 15,004 (100.0% full)
1 2 3 OT SO Total
PHI 2 0 0 0 1 2
WPG 1 0 1 0 2 3

Team Stats

Phi Wpg
Shots on Goal 34 38
1st 13 13
2nd 9 9
3rd 4 13
OT 8 3
Power Plays 3 4
Converted 1 2
Power Play % 33% 50%
Penalty Minutes 8 6
Faceoffs Won 32 40
Faceoff % 44% 56%
Hits 26 21
Blocks 13 11

It looked like the Flyers were on their way to a fourth straight victory, and a win to wrap up the finale of what could have been a 3-0 road trip. Instead, they sat back in the third period and let Winnipeg gain momentum, chances, and eventually a goal to tie the game at two a piece with 5:37 left.

Former Blackhawk winger Dustin Byfuglien tied the game, and had an overall big-impact, strong game with two goals- both of which occurred on the man-advantage. Speaking of that, the latter was the biggest key of the game. Winnipeg came into the game dead last on the man-advantage in the NHL, and one for their past 47 opportunities, including 0-17 in their previous six games. On Friday night, they went 2-4 on the power play, while Philadelphia went 1-3.

Olli Jokinen also chipped in for Winnipeg with two assists, not to mention five shots on goal, two takeaways and winning 56% of his face offs. The Jets also won 56% of their face offs in the game, 40 to 32.

Philadelphia had more hits, 26 to 21, and blocked shots, 13 to 11.

There were spurts, for both teams, where a plethora of chances occurred, some of which led to goals, some of which didn’t. Steve Mason for Philadelphia had another strong outing, which seems to be a positive, reoccurring theme for him this year, with 36 saves on 38 shots. Had it not been for Byfuglien’s rocket of a slap shot, the Flyers perhaps would have came out with the victory. Instead, they let him gain some space and shoot at will, which was a mistake putting the puck in a guy like his hands on the penalty kill. Although Winnipeg has a poor power play efficiency rating this season, Dustin can still score at will.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

“The power play was obviously a big plus for us,” he said after Bryan Little scored the winner in the fifth round of the shootout as the Jets won their fourth in a row.

“(It was) a long time waiting for us for that to happen. I don’t think there was anything really different that took place other than we hit the net.”

Squandering late leads, especially for a team 01. on the road 02. on an undefeated/winning streak and/or 03. in desperate need of as many points as possible to improve in the rankings. All of these apply to Philadelphia, but at least, despite the lost lead, they obtained a point out of it when it was all said and done. Steve Mason played fantastic as well in the shootout vs. one of the best shootout teams in the league, but Philadelphia only scored one shootout goal in four opportunities on Friday night.

Getting fix out of a possible six points, and not losing, on a road trip is extremely imperative. It’s a stepping stone for sure for Philadelphia to build from heading into next week, when they first play on Tuesday, again vs. Ottawa, at home. Two days later, they play again at home vs. a struggling Sabres’ team with no offensive output and a new head coach to boot. Philadelphia, even though they aren’t doing a whole lot better in the standings, needs to take advantage, and quick, of Buffalo’s struggles and turn it into production and points.

Hartnell’s wraparound at 6:25 was ruled a goal after a review. Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec appeared to move it past the line with his glove.

The Flyers took the lead at 11:45 on Simmonds’ wrist shot from a goalmouth scramble just 13 seconds into Philadelphia’s first power play of the game.

Pavelec had a great game. He was quick, he stopped a lot of tough shots, as did Mason, and he handled the pressure well, and was eventually rewarded for his performance with a win.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

The Flyers’ puck handling improved greatly the past couple games vs. Pittsburgh and Winnipeg. They won battles, and when they didn’t, they provided their opponent with their physicality to make up for it. On most occasions, they moved the puck little by little, instead of attempting to make big plays from within their own zone, which can be dangerous.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

Game notes

The Flyers haven’t won a game this season in which they didn’t score the first goal. … The Jets have won four straight at home as well and their leading scorers at the MTS Centre are Ladd (five goals, eight assists) and Bryan Little (seven goals, six assists).

Player of the Game

Dustin Byfuglien- 2 goals, 3 shots, 2 blocked shots

Three Stars of the Game

01. Dustin Byfuglien
02. Steve Mason
03. Ondrej Pavelec

Next Game

11/19- 7:00 PM EST- vs. Ottawa- CSN Philly

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