PHILADELPHIA-Pa- In a devastating 1-0 shootout loss against the St. Louis Blues Thursday night, the Philadelphia Flyers returned to Wells Fargo Center Saturday afternoon to face off against the Detroit Red Wings for the final meeting this season.
Prior to puck drop, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall addressed the media regarding a season ending injury to forward, R.J. Umberger.
“He’s legitimately hurt,” said Hextall. “He can’t perform up to level to help our team. He probably should have come to us a little earlier. But I give him credit because he is a tough guy.”
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
The forward has a labrum tear in his right hip, two cam lesions and an abdominal tear.
Earlier this week, Umberger said he “felt like he left Hextall down” after being a healthy scratch. Does that make his lack of “up to standards” performance over looked?
“He’s beat up right now. I had a good talk with him. It’s affected him more of the season than less. I asked him if we had a playoff game could he play. He said yes but could not play to standards for himself.”
Umberger will undergo surgery on Wednesday March 18th, expected recovery time frame is 10 weeks.
Taking his stance in between the pipes for Philadelphia, Steve Mason took his position with Jimmy Howard standing at the other end of the ice .
Getting the first power play opportunity early in the first period with Justin Abdelkader in the box, the Flyers went to work.
Scoring his 13th goal of the season just 12 seconds into the man advantage, Brayden Schenn slipped the puck past Howard.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
Having another chance on the power play a minute later with Niklas Kronwall taking a seat in the box, the Flyers had ample opportunities but did not produce.
With the clock clicking down to zero, Sean Couturier found the puck on his stick. Rushing alongside Couturier, Nicklas Grossmann found the puck. Netting in his 5th goal of the year, Grossmann increased the Flyers lead 2-0.
At the end of the first period, Philadelphia outshot Detroit, 15-4.
With physical play to begin the second period, the Flyers hoped to hang onto the lead.
Getting the Red Wings on the board early in the period, Justin Abdelkader sent the puck to the net, scoring his 19th of the season.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
Guilty of hooking, Wayne Simmonds took a timeout in the penalty box, giving Detroit their first man advantage opportunity of the game.
Taking a chance on the short handed, Couturier rushed in to Howard. Making the glove save, Couturier was denied. Unable to keep control of the puck, Detroit did not capitalize.
Sending the Flyers on their 3rd power play of the game, Pavel Datsyuk looked on.
Finding Simmonds rebound off Howard, Brayden Schenn found the puck on his stick. Scoring his second goal of the day on the power play and 14th of the season, Schenn increased the Flyers lead 3-1 as the period came to an end.
Wasting no time at the start of the third period, Jakub Voracek began the rush with Brayden Schenn. Scoring his first career hattrick, Schenn lit the lamp. As hundreds of hats fell to the ice, a change in goal was announced.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
Changing Schenn’s first goal and crediting Simmonds, Schenn did not complete the hattrick.
Continuing to dominate, Bellemare rushed into Detroit’s zone. Sending the puck top shelf, Bellemare increased the lead 5-1.
With pushing and shoving, the game continued on.
Sent to the sin bin for slashing, Grossmann took a seat.
Netting in 19th goal on the power play, Erik Cole slipped the puck past Mason.
With pushing and shoving breaking out in the neutral zone, Simmonds found himself the guilty party. Handed a 10 minute misconduct and a roughing minor, Simmonds took a stroll down the Flyers tunnel.
Photo by Lewis Bleiman
Unable to score on the man advantage, the game remained 5-2 in Philadelphia’s favor.
Sending the Flyers on their 4th power play of the game, Dekeyser took a seat in the box.
Going to work on the man-advantage, Andrew MacDonald sent the puck towards Howard. Scoring off the rebound, Matt Read lit the lamp.
Under a minute later, Zac Rinaldo began the rush. Scoring his first of the season, Rinaldo gave the Flyers 7-2 lead.
As the clock clicked down to zero and the horn sounded, the Philadelphia Flyers took the 7-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
“What a trick that was,” said Schenn regarding his almost hattrick. “There were a lot of thirty dollar hats on the ice. I was talking to Simmer [Simmonds] in the first intermission and I tipped it and he tipped it right after. He isn’t trying to chisel that one. I guess Lou [announcer] was a little late to the mic and cost people their hats.” He continued, “I mean there isn’t much I can do about it. All those hats coming down. Simmer tried to be a nice guy and give that goal back to me but he deserved it. He is great in front of the net, gets his stick on pucks. It’s great to see him get one.”
When was Schenn’s last hattrick?
“Minor hockey,” laughed Schenn. “I didn’t even score one in juniors. Still working on the first.”
Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto skated by himself Saturday morning after suffering a foot injury against the Boston Bruins a week ago. Del Zotto is expected to make an appearance in game action sometime next week.
Packing their bags for a four game road trip, Philadelphia will face off against Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers before returning to home ice on March 25th, taking on former Flyer Kimmo Timonen and the Chicago Blackhawks.
With not much time to think about Saturday’s game, the Flyers will play the Senators Sunday night.
Puck drop between the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators is slated for 7 p.m.
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