PHILADELPHIA, Pa- After taking three consecutive home ice wins at the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia Flyers hoped to continue their luck, welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs to town on Saturday night.
Making his return to the ice earlier this week, after taking Ray Emery’s spot in between the pipes against the Arizona Coyotes, Steve Mason got the nod against the Maple Leafs, facing Toronto’s James Reimer.
Playing in their 500th NHL career games, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds took the ice.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
Beginning the first period with speed, the Flyers began to dominate.
Earning the lead early in the first period, Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto found the puck on his stick. Sending the puck over Reimer’s shoulder, Del Zotto lit the lamp for the 5th time this season.
Just 52 seconds after Del Zotto’s goal, Maple Leafs’ Petter Granberg took Voracek into the boards. Taking a seat in the penalty box, Granberg looked on sending the Flyers on the man advantage.
Unable to maintain control of the puck, the Flyers did not capitalize.
Testing Mason late in the period, the Maple Leafs outshot the Flyers 12-9 at the end of the first period.
Guilty of cross checking midway in the second period, Phil Kessel was sent to the penalty box. Struggling to keep the puck in the Maple Leafs’ zone, the Flyers did not produce.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
With a quiet end to the second period, Philadelphia held onto the 1-0 lead.
40 minutes down and 20 to go, the Leafs came out on the ice with pressure. Taking control early, Mason remained strong in net for the Flyers.
Frustration began to set in for the Maple Leafs as Roman Polak tangled up with Brayden Schenn. Creating a pile up behind Reimer, former Flyer James vanReimsdyke tangled up with Claude Giroux. With words exchanged and bodies separated, the game continued on.
Mason continued to keep the Flyers in the lead with unbelievable saves that got the fans at Wells Fargo Center on their feet.
Taking a tripping penalty late in the third period, Jakub Voracek took a seat in the sin bin as Toronto went to work on their first power play of the game.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
As the clock clicked down to zero, the Maple Leafs could not make the comeback.
The Philadelphia Flyers took the 1-0 shutout win over Toronto Maple Leafs.
After notching his 25th career shutout Mason stated, “The last one didn’t end up the way shutouts normally end,” he recalled after losing a 1-0 shutout against the Islanders on November 24. “That’s part of the game. It’s nice to have this one and have a couple of days to sit on it and feel good and then get ready for a real good test.”
Praising Mason for his efforts against Toronto, Voracek said, “He was outstanding again. We didn’t play very good but we found a way to win in the end. This time of the season, it’s huge for us. Doesn’t matter how we play, just find a way to win the game.” He continued, “Sometimes you play great and lose the game, like we did early in the season, especially…Sometimes it won’t be pretty, but it’s two points where it counts.”
Happy with his team efforts Flyers head coach Craig Berube said, “I thought our D, in general, were up in the play tonight and did a good job. They were smart about it.” He continued, “There were a lot of times we had possession of the puck and it didn’t look clean enough. Our D didn’t get caught and we didn’t give up any odd-man rushes to that team, which was very important.”
The injury bug still lingers in the Flyers locker room, the organization announced defenseman Nicklas Grossmann is closer to returning to the lineup after suffering an upper-body injury to the shoulder earlier this month.
With a four day break in their schedule, the Flyers next contest is set for Thursday against the New York Islanders for the final meeting this season, before taking off for a four game road trip.
Puck drop between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders is set for 7 p.m.
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