Voracek takes tip from his fans
PHILADELPHIA » More often than not at Wells Fargo Center, Jake Voracek will hear those sweet sounds booming down from the seats above him.
“Yo ... SHOOT PUCK!”
“It’s always easier to say you’re over-passing,” Voracek said Tuesday night. “On the actual ice the situations look completely different. I hear, ‘Shoot the puck!’ every single time I touch it. So with all the people that want me to shoot, I would have 500 shots by the end of the season.”
It should have been about 501 after this game, since Voracek — quite appropriately the NHL’s assists leader — was perfectly set up for a go-ahead shot by Claude Giroux with about 30 seconds left in the second period of a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Instead of going for THE the lead ... Voracek passed it up and back to Giroux, who had a fruitless 90-degree angle shot shut down by a sprawled Carey Price.
You know the calls came down on Voracek’s head then.
They would have only increased during a third period in which the Flyers fell behind the defensively culpable Canadiens. But finally, with 1:25 left in regulation and rookie goalie Alex Lyon heading off the ice, Voracek listened. He slapped a puck from the top of the circle and got it past Price for a game-tying goal.
Then with Voracek skating slow at the end of a 3-on-3 shift 1:26 into overtime, he shot one again from the slot through a screen and past Price, and the Flyers thus defeated the Canadiens 3-2, pushing them into sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Asked if he thought he caught Price — annually one of the best goalies in the league but saddled this season with a laughable defense — by surprise, Voracek cracked, “By shooting? 100 percent, yeah.
“I was just trying to hide behind the D,” Voracek said. “I got lucky, it went in.”
As for the Canadiens (2229-8), not much seems to be going right. Pointing to the last-minute (and change) Flyers comeback, Price said, “That’s happened a lot this season. It’s definitely frustrating.”
So the Flyers move to 31-19-10 (72 points), just three behind the Metroleading Washington Capitals and two behind Pittsburgh. They’re also eight points above Carolina and the Islanders, who are tied for the two Eastern Conference wild card spots at 64 points.
Of course, nothing’s guaranteed. Proving that, the Flyers have seen their top two goalies, Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, go down over the past 10 days. Lyon played well in two games since Neuvirth was hurt, and late Monday night GM Ron Hextall traded with Detroit for goalie Petr Mrazek.
On top of that, Wayne Simmonds is out for two to three weeks with an upper body injury, and top-line forward Travis Konecny was drilled with a shot in the first period Tuesday night. He managed to finish the game, but with much of his speed compromised.
No report was given on Konecny after the game.
*** Remarkably ... or tragically if you ask some oldguy Broad Street Bullies ... the Flyers have gone three complete games without allowing their opponents a power play.
Per the league stats folks, the Flyers are only the second team in league history to do so. The other was the Calgary Flames, who went three clean ones in a row in April 2015.
The Flyers’ streak of not allowing a power play stretches back to 11 minutes deep into the second period last Tuesday against the Devils. That’s 215 and 14 seconds discipline?
“It has got to be a record or something,” Scott Laughton said. “Three games straight without a minor? But it is the best way to not get penalties. I think we have done a good job of just staying disciplined and holding onto pucks, and when you have the puck you can’t take penalties.” minutes of ...
*** NOTES » It was Voracek’s first two-goal game since Jan. 4, 2017 against the Rangers . ... Konecny, who took a blast off his skate late in the first period, was in the trainers’ room for a lengthy visit after the game. He’ll be evaluated again Wednesday . ... Oskar Lindblom made his NHL debut in Simmonds’ spot, and looked just fine.