Who could have seen this coming?
On one side of the rink you had Ivan Fedotov, the Flyers’ back-up goaltender starting his first game since Feb. 6 and looking for his first win since Nov. 29.
On the other, the Winnipeg Jets, who sport the NHL’s best record and recently had an 11-game winning streak.
So what happens? Fedotov stands on his head Saturday night and the Flyers somehow come away with a 2-1 shootout win at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
Matvei Michkov scored the only goal of the shootout for the game-winner.
It was the Flyers’ fourth win in their last five games and extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1).
Fedotov, seeing some action as regular starter Samuel Ersson was given a rare night off, was brilliant in this game, making one save after another against perhaps the NHL’s most lethal offensive team. He stopped all three Winnipeg attempts in the shootout in what was probably his best game of the season.
Staying patient and staying ready was a big part of Fedotov’s success in this game after such a long gap between starts.
“Worked hard and talked a lot with our goalie coach (Kim Dillabaugh),” Fedotov said after the game. “Everybody supports each other. You have to be ready for your opportunity.
“It’s so much for a goalie to have confidence. Be sharp. If you play a lot, you will feel better and better every game. I have to be sharp and confident.”
There wasn’t much not to like in this game for coach John Tortorella.
He was particularly impressed with the way his team killed off two penalties in the last five minutes.
“ ‘Feds’ was outstanding,” Tortorella said. “Against probably the best goalie in the league (Connor Hellebuyck). The shootout, I thought everybody contributed. The neutral zone was good. We played well.”
The Jets entered the game with the NHL’s best home record at 23-5-3. No matter. Fedotov and the Flyers kept Winnipeg in check throughout the game.
“That’s a really good team,” the coach said. “Feds had to make some saves. They had some chances and Feds stood in there.”
A goal by defenseman Jamie Drysdale tied the score at 3:48 of the second period.
Drysdale worked a give-and-go with Noah Cates. First, Drysdale sent the puck back to Cates, whose return feed eluded the Jets’ Mark Scheifele. Drysdale sent a 25-foot shot off the post and past Hellebuyck.
“Obviously you know what you’re getting into when you play the Jets,” Drysdale said in a televised second intermission interview “I think we’re ready.”
Drysdale has looked better on offense since the 4 Nations break.
“I work on my game every day,” he said. “Just trying to feel confident out there. Feeling good, just trying to create more. Trying to contribute more, push on that for sure.”
The Flyers held the edge in play for the first period but came out on the short end of a 1-0 score.
Winnipeg took the opening edge on a goal from Mark Scheifele at 9:58. Kyle Connor brought the puck behind the net, circled and worked the puck to Gabriel Vilardi, who slid the puck to Scheifele for a short shot past Fedotov.
Both teams had other chances to score.
Fedotov forced Connor to shoot wide on a shorthanded breakaway, then on the same sequence Hellebuyck stopped Michkov on a clear break-in.
>Big save for Cates
In addition to assisting on Drysdale’s goal, Cates also dove in the Flyers’ crease in overtime when Fedotov was too far away to block what could have been a game-winning shot.
“Didn’t even see it,” Tortorella said. “Everybody was standing up. I just saw it on video. Big save.”
Cates continues to come up big in big moments.
“We kind of took it to them early,” Cates said. “I thought we were playing in their zone a lot. Not giving them too many good looks.
“I think it’s just desperation in overtime. They’ve got their best players on the ice and they’re making plays. To come up with a little save (by Cates) like that, is big for us. To get the extra point is huge.”
>Michkov NHL rookie of month again
Michkov was named NHL rookie of the month for February. He registered five goals/10 points in seven games. He now leads NHL rookies in goals (19) and began Saturday night’s game tied for the lead in points (44). Michkov also captured the honor for the month of October.
>Short shots
Tortorella worked his 1,608th game behind an NHL bench, moving him past Al Arbour into sixth place on the all-time games coached list. . .Former Flyers Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee make their return to Philadelphia on Tuesday when the Flyers play host to the Calgary Flames, the first of a season-high seven-game homestand. . .Garnet Hathaway was scratched as he still recovers from a collision in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Nick Deslauriers was the fill-in and held his own in a fight with the 6-foot-7, 231-pound Logan Stanley.
