The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New York Islanders Thursday night to close out their season at the Wells Fargo Center. As is customary, the Flyers handed out their end of the season team awards. This annual ceremony is always a special occasion, one made even sweeter with a Flyer’s victory.
Danny Briere opened up the scoring in the first period on the power play. He received a beautiful pass from Brayden Schenn down low in the crease area and slammed it home, ending his 19 game goalless drought.
The Islanders tied the game in the second period on a change-up type shot from Jonathan Tavares. Tavares’ stick was nullified, causing the puck to flutter towards the net. It took a couple deflections and crept by Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
It was the first and last goal Bryzgalov would allow in the contest, posting a shutout in the third period and making a plethora of big saves to keep the Flyers in the game. His efforts would pay off as the Flyers were able to find a game winner in the third period.
After a flurry of opportunities, Oliver Lauridsen found the puck on stick after a point to point pass from defensemen Brandon Manning. Lauridsen ripped a slap shot high blocker side past Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin. The Flyers held off a late Islanders push to earn the 2-1 victory.
The Flyers skated well and fore checked heavily generating tons of shots and scoring opportunities. Their power play and penalty kill continued to roll as they were 1-3 and 1-1 respectively. The Flyers will finish the season with the number one special teams rating in the league. It is a surprising stat considering the Flyers will miss the playoffs this season.
To some, a three game winning streak at this point may be meaningless, but for a young team it could be a great confidence builder looking towards next season. With so much prospective talent, a long frustrating season for the Flyers is ending on a very good note.
The young Flyers team has looked very promising at the end of the season. They have won three games in a row and are beating good teams. Flyer fans can be very optimistic about the future of their broad street bullies. Although they are missing the playoffs this season, it is hopeful sign of things to come for next season.
