Flyers head outdoors in search of a win
VOORHEES, N.J. >> There’s one player in the Flyers’ locker room who participated both times the team participted in a Winter Classic.
Claude Giroux is the sole survivor from teams that on Jan. 1, 2010 in Boston and Jan. 2, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park put on an extra layer of thermal underwear and took to the ice in the great outdoors against the Bruins and Rangers, respectively.
Of course, Giroux’s team lost both times. So having seen these NHL outdoor games for what they’re promoted to be — in-season spectacles — Giroux is fully aware of the larger picture his team is facing when it skates into the slush Saturday night (maybe) at Heinz Field.
“It’s definitely a fun game,” Giroux said Thursday after an indoor practice at the Skate Zone. “I think a lot of people would want to play in a game like that. But for us, two points are more important right now. ... We have to get it done.”
They didn’t get anything done except tell themselves they played hard and effectively Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center. But doing that against the streaking Washington Capitals only bore a 4-1 loss, the Flyers’ sixth in their last eight games. No matter what they say to the media after games or to the mirror the next morning, these Flyers aren’t exactly hitting cruise control at the top of the stretch drive.
Next stop: The Home of the Steelers to take on the Penguins, one of the few teams still within reach of the front-running Capitals in the East. The Flyers have lost four of their last five meetings against their cross-state superiors.
“It’s a must-win for us, so it’s a huge game no matter where we play,” Michael Raffl said. “We could play here at the Skate Zone and we would be excited.”
Rather than a few hundred people at a practice rink, the game is scheduled for 8 o’clock Saturday night at an NFL stadium that seats 68,000. Last check revealed a bunch of tickets remain unsold. Maybe it’s the weather worrying people.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Raffl said. “Everybody’s excited. It’s worth two points, and we need two points. The circumstances
because of that are even more important for us. If we win, and we have to win, it could push us in the right direction. We need two points, but maybe mentally it can give us a huge push.”
Soaring temps this weekend,
followed by a sharp drops in temps accompanied by pouring rain and perhaps snow flurries by late Saturday night might disrupt that schedule.
“Both teams are playing on the ice, so it just comes down to limiting your mistakes,”
Matt Read said. “If the ice is bad and the puck’s bouncing around, you just have to make sure you get pucks deep when you can or get them out when you can and live to fight another day. If it’s choppy and bouncy it won’t be so much a skill game, but hard-working and looking for that lucky bounce.”
Hence it would figure the skilled Penguins would then be at a bit of a disadvantage. The TV networks probably don’t want to see that. So officials say a hockey rainout contingency plan — no doubt with TV executive input — would see the game played Sunday, time to be determined.
A schedule change came on Jan. 1, 2011 at Heinz Field, when at the fourth Winter Classic, warmer than normal temps and a rainstorm moved the NHL to push the game from a 1 o’clock start to 8 p.m. The Capitals went on to beat the Penguins 3-1. Backup goalie for the winning team that night was a young Michal
Neuvirth, who likely will start his sixth straight game for the Flyers against the Penguins.
“I just backed up that game, but it was awesome,” Neuvirth said. “Good crowd, and we won the game. It was a good feeling.”
Bowing to the heat, the league already pushed back both clubs’ practice sessions at Heinz Field Friday. The Penguins won’t take the ice until 4 o’clock, the Flyers at 6. That’s because it’s expected to be sunny and 76 by the mid-point of the afternoon.
Those technologically advanced refrigeration coils better be good.
“We’re going to have the practice (Friday) ... we’ll have a better view of what to expect,” Giroux said. “The games I played before outdoors, the ice hasn’t been the greatest, so you try to keep it simple out there.”
The equations are pretty simple for the Flyers. Their latest slide, and there have been more than a few this season, put them in a precarious position with 22 games remaining.
Entering league action Thursday, the Flyers were in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division and in the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference. As Matt Read pointed out, however, “We’re pretty lucky to be only three points out” of a playoff position.