FLY-BY: Just out of reach
Friday, 04.20.2012 / 9:26 PM
/ News
philadelphiaflyers.com
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| 1. ON THE BOARD FIRST The Flyers quelled the CONSOL Energy Center through the first 10 minutes of the game, which went scoreless, and opened up the scoring shortly afterwards on a Matt Carle tally on the power-play... While the Pens scored to tie it back up three minutes later, the Flyers once again got out to a lead off a power-play goal from Scott Hartnell. 2. JVR FACTOR Returning from injury, James van Riemsdyk was eased into the game, appearing in only one minute of ice time in the first period and a total of 2:59 through the first two periods of play. He came flying out of the gates in the third period, blasting a shot above the left circle that just missed the net. Overall, JVR played 7:31 in his first game since Mar. 1. 3. CLOSE CALL Tonight's game was the lowest scoring game in the series with a combined five goals… It was also the first time in the series that the game featured a period of play in which neither team scored… It proved to be the difference maker in tonight's game as the Penguins held on for a one-goal victory in the third period. 4. BLOCKED OUT The Penguins had 18 blocked shots in tonight's game and limited the Flyers to just 12 shots through the first two periods of play… The Flyers made a strong push in the third period by recording 14 shots in total in the final 20 minutes of play. The Flyers also scored both of their goals on the power-play, leaving just 11 goals through five games in the series coming at even strength. 5. LAVY'S TAKE Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette liked the team's start but points to the second period on where the team may have missed opportunities. "I think we're at our best when we're attacking. You have to keep in mind there's a pretty good opponent out there that we're playing against and sometimes you have to play defense too. I thought there was too much in the second period and it's the period that we'll look back on and have to do a better job. In the first period I really liked the way we played." |
The only other series in Flyers franchise history that has reached a sixth game after the Flyers went up 3-0 was the 1975 semifinals against the New York Islanders, when New York came back to force a seventh game - which the Flyers won 4-1 en route to their second Stanley Cup. The Flyers have tied a franchise record for power play goals in a single playoff series with their 10th and 11th of the series in tonight's first period. They also had 11 in the 1989 Division Finals against Pittsburgh, a series they won in seven games. Claude Giroux is one point away from tying the Flyers franchise record for points in a playoff series (12), done twice - Danny Briere in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and Bill Barber in the 1980 semifinals. Matt Carle played 29:40 in the game; Braydon Coburn played 29:11 and Kimmo Timonen 25:01. Pavel Kubina, Andreas Lilja and Erik Gustafsson played 25:52 combined. James van Riemsdyk played 7:31 in his first game since March 1. The teams combined for just 46 hits tonight. They’d combined for 68 or more in each of the four games so far. 
He recorded one of the two Flyers goals on the night and logged nearly 30 minutes of time-on-ice which was the highest of any player on either team. Carle's goal opened the scoring for the game, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead just past the midway point of the first period. He threw a shot on net that got through traffic and beat Fleury up high. |
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| "I'm not worried about the guys showing up for Game Six because we always seem to find a way to get the job done." - Claude Giroux "Our power-play did another great job tonight, but 5-on-5 we're getting badly out-played and badly out-scored so we definitely have to look at what we're doing in all areas… It just seems like their getting too many odd-man rushes." - Scott Hartnell |
Tonight's turning point came on a missed opportunity in the third period. Trailing by one entering the final period, the Flyers were creating chances and getting shots on net. They received a power-play seven minutes into the period, giving them a chance to knot things up, but failed to convert. From then on, the Pens went into defense mode and shut the door to hang on for a 3-2 win. |
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PIC OF THE NIGHT: Scott Hartnell attempts to jam in a rebound by the side of the net in Game 5.  |
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 Penguins 3, Flyers 2 Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) - Marc-Andre Fleury restored order to his goal crease and his team's Stanley Cup hopes. Fleury turned aside 24 shots - a dozen in a frantic third period - and the Penguins fended off elimination with a 3-2 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. "He won them the game, plain and simple," Philadelphia forward Scott Hartnell said.  FULL RECAP |
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