Flyers chance at first ruined by Caps, 5-4

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The battle for first place in the Eastern Conference saw the Capitals netminder, Tomas Vokoun, outshine his counterpart from the Flyers, Ilya Bryzgalov, to take the win, 5-2.  The difference came down to strong goaltending at one end, versus deflections, turnovers and penalties at the other.
The two netminder, Vokoun and Bryzgalov, were both highly sought after free agents this offseason.  The Flyers had their pick, and selected the Russian netminder Bryzgalov to a big contract, while the Caps took Vokoun at a discount.
Going into this game, both teams had near identical records.  The Caps were leading the conference with an undefeated record of 5-0, with 18 goals for and 11 against, while the Flyers’ record was 4-0-1 with 19 goals for and 10 against.
Emerging star Claude Giroux kicked off the scoring at 14:25 of the first, off a long pass by Wayne Simmonds, that sent him through the Caps defense and in one-on-one with Caps netminder Vokoun.  He deked passed the Caps goaltender and scored the night’s opening goal in spectacular fashion.
The Caps would go on to tie it and take the lead, scoring two goals within 1:08 of each other at the end of the first period, one off a turnover by Scott Hartnell and the other when Niclas Backstrom dug the puck off the boards and sent it through the crease, where Russian star winger Alex Ovechkin swatted it in for his first of two goals on the night.
The second period was quiet except for a few penalties, as the Flyers carried most of the play, but failed to score.  The Caps did manage to put the puck in the Flyers’ net during the stanza, but it was disallowed, as Ovechkin bumped Bryzgalov skating through the Flyers’ crease.  It was ruled incidental contact, and no penalty was called.
The Flyers looked poised to get back into the game in the third period, until a few defensive lapses led to turnovers, and resulted in the Caps scoring three goals within 2:25 of one another.  One of the goals was fired from the slot by Ovechkin, his second goal of the night, while Chris Pronger sat in the box for a tripping penalty.
The game marked the first as a Flyer for call-up Brayden Schenn.  Before the start of the season, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren showered the young centerman with praise, calling him, “The best player not in the NHL.”  Schenn came to the Flyers in the Mike Richards trade, but was assigned to the Adirondack Phantoms before the start of the season.
In his first game, Schenn had 11:03 of ice time, finished -3, and had 4 hits, as a part of a line that included Scott Hartnell and Jacob Voracek.  The line didn’t have much impact on the game, and was a victim of several broken plays.
At the end, Vokoun stopped all but 2-of-42 shots on goal, and showed great quickness in net.  He owed a lot to this season’s gritty defense, as the Flyers shot a lot of rubber at him, but not much from the slot, as they were kept to the outside all night.
On the other end of the ice, Bryzgalov was scored upon 5 times in 28 shots, four of which were deflections.
After their first regulation loss, the Flyers are now 4-1-1, but everything is not lost.  They looked strong at times, and if bounces had gone their way, the decision could easily have been different.  Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette did stress the issues with penalties interrupting the flow the bench, and that it will need to be addressed if the team is to continue its success.

The Flyers will have a few days off before getting back at it this Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.  They’ll need to curb their penalties for a better result.
Contact Chuck.Tay@prohockeynews.com
Photographer Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com