PHILADELPHIA—The formula for even a single Philadelphia Flyers victory against the powerhouse Washington Capitals, in many minds, was supposed to involve getting Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek to start the chemical reaction.
Those two talented forwards, after all, are the big-money men in the Philadelphia lineup now, and for the first three games of this Stanley Cup playoff series they hadn’t done much. At all. Giroux has looked hurt — or just not quite himself — and Voracek, well, he had played like his 11-goal season was no accident.
So, it seemed logical that if Philly’s dynamic duo could get rolling, that’s how the Flyers could at least begin to begin clawing their way back into this series after losing the first three games — including an embarrassing performance by both themselves and their electronic bracelet-chucking home fans in Game 3.
Well, the Flyers have elbowed their way back in, at least a little bit — enough to force the series back to the District of Columbia for a fifth contest on Friday night after a 2-1 triumph Wednesday.
But it wasn’t on the backs of Giroux and Voracek. They pretty much stayed silent.
Instead, two 60-foot shots through screens by defencemen and a near-perfect performance by backup goalie Michal Neuvirth did the trick, saving Philly from an early summer with their first victory of this best-of-seven series.
Oh yeah, and the penalties. After giving up nine power plays — and five power-play goals — in Game 3, the Flyers stopped trying to be so chippy and belligerent. Instead, they allowed just two extra-strength opportunities Wednesday, turning it into more of a five-on-five competition.
“That’s quite a difference,” said Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol. “I didn’t see desperation in our team tonight. I saw confidence.”
At least until the final 15 minutes, when the Flyers didn’t venture out of their zone to even try to mount an offensive charge, while the the Caps, listless for 40 minutes, finally got their legs moving and pressured Neuvirth, a former teammate once designated to be the goalie of the future in Washington.
Neuvirth, who signed a two-year free agent deal with the Flyers only to find himself watching for most of the past two months, was tabbed by Hakstol to take over from No. 1 man Steve Mason, who had allowed a horrible long distance goal in Game 2 and was beaten for six goals in Game 3.
For most of the night, the Caps seemed to have brought their skill — but not their energy or desire. Neuvirth stopped 31 shots in all, but he was only severely pressured, really, in the third period when he stopped 12 of 13 shots. His best save might have been on a bang-bang chance in front off the stick of Caps winger Tom Wilson with eight minutes left.
“In the third period, we don’t keep that lead unless he’s standing on his head,” said Giroux, who did pick up a second assist on the first goal of the game by rookie Shayne Gostisbehere, Philly’s first power-play goal of the series.
The other goal, one that stood up to be in the winner, came early in the second period off the unlikely blade of defenceman Andrew MacDonald. The veteran defenceman signed a six-year, $30 million contract two years ago but was exiled to the minors last fall after being waived through the league.
Soon after Luke Schenn was traded to L.A. along with Vincent Lecavalier in early January, however, which was followed by a season-ending wrist injury to Michael Del Zotto, MacDonald found himself back from Lehigh Valley and playing a regular shift in the NHL again. For some time now, he’s formed a very effective tandem with the dynamic Gostisbehere.
His long shot from high in the zone was anything but a bullet, but Braden Holtby seemed not to pick up the puck because of the large frame of teammate Karl Alzner in his line of sight.
“I was just trying to get the puck through. I wasn’t expecting it to go in the net from back there,” said MacDonald. “But obviously it was a huge relief to get that second goal, give us a little breathing room.”
He wasn’t inclined to talk of vindication, or of proving his is not the terrible mistake of a contract many have portrayed it to be.
“I don’t really care if I scored, or somebody else scored. It’s just so rewarding to be part of a team that has battled back like we did all season,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I’ve been playing with (Gostisbehere) since I’ve been back here, and I feel like we have some pretty good chemistry. It’s a great feeling to be able to contribute.”
The joy of the Flyers victory was tempered, both by the enormous hole the club still finds itself in and because young winger Scott Laughton went down with a frightening-looking injury in the first period.
Laughton was driving to the net down the left wing, battling with Washington defenceman John Carlson to the side of the Caps net. As he turned, Laughton lost his balance and fell back-first into the lower boards, with his head then hitting the boards hard.
He lay motionless on his chest for some time, then moved his arms a little, and ultimately was taken off on a stretcher and transported to nearby Jefferson Hospital. He was kept overnight for precautionary purposes.
“I didn’t exactly see the whole play, but from what I heard, he just kind of opened up his hips and got pushed. Just a regular play, and he hit the boards awkwardly,” said MacDonald. “It’s a fast game. Once you’re in that danger zone a few feet from the boards you’ve got to be a little wary of putting yourself in bad situations. But it’s really hard to think of that on the fly.”
It was similar to a controversial play earlier in the year also involving the Flyers when Edmonton’s Connor McDavid stormed down the left side, was hit by Philly blue-liner Brandon Manning and fell into the end boards, breaking his clavicle.
There was no penalty on the play that injured Laughton, nor should there have been.
“I hope he’s fine,” said Carlson. “But I’m not going to let him walk to the net.”
The Flyers were without the suspended Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, banned for a game after his illegal check from behind on Washington’s Dmitry Orlov in Game 3, and centre Sean Couturier, who was lost for the series after he was hit by Alex Ovechkin in Game 1.
The Caps, meanwhile, were playing their first game without veteran blue-liner Brooks Orpik, who suffered a suspected concussion in the second period of Game 3.
Washington certainly seemed to miss Orpik’s hardnosed, gritty presence on a night they weren’t given all those power-play chances to show off their Harlem Globetrotters-like pizzazz at extra-strength.
“We’ve done enough five-on-five, but we’ve got to do more,” said Caps coach Barry Trotz. “I knew it was going to be more of a five-on-five game today, that they would have to stay out of the penalty box, and they did.
“We have to play better (in Game 5) than we did tonight, see if we can finish the deal at home.”
Giroux and Voracek still could come to life, and that’s where the heavily-favoured Caps could find themselves regretting not putting this series away in four games. To avoid giving the Flyers more hope, Washington will need to rediscover the sense of urgency that went missing in Game 4.
