• March 28, 2024

Richards, JVR Lift Flyers Over Bruins 2-1

Mike Richards seems to be enjoying waiting to the last second to secure wins these days.

With three seconds left in overtime, Mike Richards jumped out of the defensive zone, grabbed a loose puck and fired it through Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas’ five hole to secure a crucial two points over the Boston Bruins in last night’s thrilling 2-1 match.

Richards had seemed to score at the end of overtime against the San Jose Sharks just days earlier, but the puck appeared to have crossed the line 0.1 seconds too late.

In the first game between these two clubs, the Flyers were shut out 2-0 thanks to a defensively dominant Bruins team and eye-popping netminding from Thomas. Last night’s game was no different, but the Flyers managed to hold on long enough to best Thomas this time around.

James Van Riemsdyk, skating on a line with Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter, tallied his fifth goal of the season in a well-timed play. As Carter skated up the left wall, defenseman Braydon Coburn jumped into the rush and headed to the net, pulling Bruins players further into their own zone. That gave JVR room to skate up the middle and launch a slapshot from a great pass from Carter. It’s amazing how much JVR has improved after slumping earlier in the season.

Bruins forward Nathan Horton tied the game at the 9:43 of the third period. Goaltender Brian Boucher would have liked to have gotten that one back, but he more than held his own for the bulk of the game, stealing a number of goals away from the Bruins. Boosh came up big with 35 saves against a playoff bound team, and I hope the Flyers consider his performance tonight as they evaluate what to do with their goaltenders.

Nikolay Zherdev was benched tonight in favor of agitator Dan Carcillo. It was the first game for Carcillo after returning from an MCL strain. While I could understand benching one or the other in the grand scheme of things, its mind boggling to me that enforcer Jody Shelley has not been scratched once during the season.

I’ve said before that Shelley has begun to grow on me, as he looks less out of place than he did earlier in the season. Still, if coach Peter Laviolette is going to be moving players around in an attempt to find chemistry, why not sit Shelley for a game or two? Despite their faults, Carcillo and Zherdev provide more offensive upside and energy than Shelley. Factor in a game misconduct and a five-minute powerplay for the Bruins after Shelley got a little aggressive with Bruin Adam McQuaid, and you have all the reason to bench him.

This week will require the Flyers play to the level of competition they gave last night, as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center, the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday at the Bell Centre, and the New York Rangers on Saturday for another Atlantic Division matinee game.

Josh Janet

Josh Janet was raised in Northern New Jersey, but by an odd set of circumstances, is a Philadelphia sports fan. While recently converted to the Phillies, Josh is a diehard Flyers fan and can be expected to stay on top of the latest NHL news.

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Boyer
Boyer
December 13, 2010 10:34 pm

3-0