PHLADELPHIA – The Flyers defense turned offensive Saturday in a 6-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Defenseman Radko Gudas scored twice and Steve Mason stopped 19 shots for the shutout.
“It’s something I’ve never done before, so it’s a great feeling,” Gudas said.
Nick Cousins, Michael Raffl, Sam Gagner, and Claude Giroux also scored for the Flyers.
“I asked him (Gudas) earlier this week if he had scored yet and he said ‘no’ and sort of put his head down,” Cousins said. “He played one [heck] of a game back there.”
The win gave the points on a night their closest target, the Pittsburgh Penguins, lost to the Calgary Flames.
“For us, we need to play every game like it’s our last game,” Gudas said. “And every game is a must-win for us. It helps if Pittsburgh loses, but for us, it doesn’t change a thing. We still have to go out there and play a full 60 minutes.”
Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves in the Jackets loss.
“We did not have a good game — anybody,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “So we’re not going to look at the tape. I already told [assistant Brad Larsen] and the other coaches, throw it away. We’re leaving it alone tomorrow. We’ll have our practice and we’ll get ready for Detroit [on Tuesday].”
The Blue Jackets were coming off a 6-3 win Friday night at home against the Edmonton Oilers but lacked any cohesion Saturday in Philadelphia.
“We didn’t establish a forecheck at all,” Tortorella said. “The first couple of shifts [of the game] I thought we played well. To create some sort of offense, we needed to get it through the neutral zone and we struggled with that. Didn’t create enough forecheck.”
The Flyers have been playing well at home but need help from teams around them as well.
“We’re all aware of what the situation is,” Mason said. “… Nice to see the Penguins lost and gain a little ground here. You put it behind you and get ready for the next one because the next one is going to be a tough one.”
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