PHILADELPHIA – Considering the quality of the opponent and the near-flawless way the game was played, this might have been the Flyers’ best performance of the season.
They didn’t take a penalty, they kept Connor McDavid from scoring a goal and then they thumbed their nose at their terrible franchise history record in the shootout.
The Flyers played the Edmonton Oilers to a standoff in regulation time and overtime, then got shootout goals from James van Riemsdyk (the winner) and Morgan Frost for a 2-1 win on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia won the shootout by a 2-1 margin.
Goaltender Carter Hart stopped all but one of 35 Edmonton shots in regulation and overtime, then blanked McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the shootout (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the only goal).
The win evened the Flyers’ record at 22-22-9. The Oilers entered the game on a nine-game (8-0-1) unbeaten streak.
Helping the Flyers’ cause: They did not allow a power play to the NHL’s top team with the man advantage (31.8 percent). It’s the first time this season the Oilers have not had a power play in a game.
Coach John Tortorella said this extraordinary effort can be used as a model for the way the game should be played.
“Well we checked,’’ said Tortorella. “We talked about our checking habits, along with forcing them to play in their end with our forechecking. And staying out of the box. Their power play is lethal so that was a big part of the game.
“I’m very happy how we played the whole 65 (minutes). I thought we checked and kept our patience. But I thought we were also on our toes, which is tough to do. It’s a game that we can lean on when we need to play that style. That’s a very important way to play this time of year.”
The Flyers have the worst record in the history of the shootout (now 55-97), so Tortorella was sporting a wry grin when that subject came up.
“I was looking at my sheet as far as shootouts,” Tortorella said. “I know there hasn’t been a lot of success here. I was polling them on the bench, asking them if they were only good at it (the Flyers were 0-1 entering the game). We haven’t won many of them but that was a big one for us.”
Van Riemsdyk acknowledged not taking a penalty was a key to this win.
“You look at their power play, it’s going at a pretty insane rate,’’ he said. “It’s not putting yourself in a vulnerable spot, just make it hard for them to call something.”
Added Noah Cates: “They (the coaches) told us how important our sticks were and just stay out of the box.”
Cates was matched up quite a bit with McDavid. Whatever the game plan was, it worked.
“It was pretty cool,’’ Cates said of the matchup. “I’ve been watching him for a couple years now. He’s a special player. It’s just concentration, focus you need to have. You can’t be five feet (away) one way or the other. He will make you pay.”
On the winning goal in the shootout, JVR said he just started working on it the other day in practice.
“Me and Hartsy were actually doing shootouts yesterday,’’ he said. “For just the first time I’ve done it the whole year.”
Edmonton thought it had gone ahead at 7:24 of the third period when Zach Hyman scored a goal. But the Flyers challenged the play, claiming the Oilers’ Warren Foegele interfered with Carter Hart. And the goal ultimately was disallowed.
Tortorella referenced the mythical Forrest Gump when describing the successful challenge.
“I’m never confident with that because it’s like a box of chocolates,” he cracked. “You never know what you’re going to get.”
A goal by Kevin Hayes at 7:30 of the first period handed the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
Travis Sanheim led a speedy rush through center ice, then dropped the puck to Hayes in the right circle. His rising shot beat goaltender Stuart Skinner short side for his 16th goal of the season.
That lead held up until 1:56 of the second period. McDavid left a drop pass to Evander Kane, whose shot from the hash marks nicked off Hart’s glove and into the net.
Containing McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer, was a big part of the Flyers’ game plan.
“You have to be aware in all situations as soon as he’s on the ice,” Sanheim said. “He’s dangerous in all zones. You let him get some speed and he’s pretty hard to defend. It takes our forwards having a good angle on him and allowing us to play one-on-one – they’re making it easier for us rather than him getting a ton of speed.”
>Hart spectacular
Tortorella acknowledged this was one of Hart’s best efforts of the season.
“The glove save on McDavid (in overtime), the shootout and who he was facing there,’’ the coach said. “I thought we played very well in front of him but I thought he made some key saves at key times.”
Hart said playing against a team from his hometown added to the incentive of taking on McDavid and Draisaitl.
“Those guys are two of the best, if not the best, in the league,” he said. “They have a lot of skill. But I thought we really stuck to our game and just grinded hard.”
>Short shots
The Flyers complete their four-game homestand with afternoon games against Seattle on Saturday and Nashville on Sunday.
