The Philadelphia Flyers had set themselves up for Wednesday’s match with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings were looking to get closer to their 25th straight playoff berth and got two points closer with a 3-0 win over the Flyers.
Jimmy Howard stopped 30 in win over Flyers
Jimmy Howard made 30 saves to get the win.
“It’s a big thing,” Red Wings rookie forward Andreas Athanasiou said. “These last couple of weeks we know how important every game is so we’ve been doing a good job being calm, cool and collective here. Even when we were looking on from the outside there for a little bit, we stuck with it because we believe in ourselves.”
Detroit can clinch a spot with a win Thursday over Boston.
“If we’re playing like we did tonight, we will have a chance,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s a short turnaround for us, just got to get on the plane here, get some fluid and food in us and get ready for tomorrow.”
It was a clutch performance from Howard who picked up his second shutout of the season.
“I think his game’s in a good spot,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think he’s put himself in a spot where he’s in control of his game. He’s done a real good job.”
The Flyers hold the second wild card spot but now trail the Wings by two points.
The Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday.
“We didn’t get the job done so we just have to pivot real quick and look at the two points [Thursday] night,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.
Andreas Athanasiou, Darren Helm and Kyle Quincey scored for the Wings.
“They played a good game,” Claude Giroux said. “We played a good game too. They got a couple of bounces. We had chances on the power play and at even strength.”
Steve Mason made 23 saves in the loss.
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