Neuvirth might not have been able to save the Flyers’ season on Wednesday night without a random meeting in England, of all places, last summer.
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His Flyers had just moved within a game of elimination in a five-goal loss that had crystallized their playoff series against the Washington Capitals.
Neuvirth was calm in net, sitting a little deeper in the crease than Mason, making every save, several in the third period quite impressive. Whether it was the absence of pressure to honor their late owner – and a bracelet controversy – or the Flyers finally adjusting to the Capitals lethal power play, Philadelphia figured it out in the nick of time.
No promotional wristbands were distributed in the Flyers’ 2-1 home win Wednesday in Game 4 after being used as part of a pregame lights show for Game 3. “You could see it this morning, he was excited to have the opportunity to get in there”.
The excitement waned and the desperation eventually kicked in. “Mase and him have been a great tandem all year and the way they’ve played, it’s been pretty awesome”. He stopped a Mike Richards shot in the slot two minutes later. I have good playoffs in the past. The Flyers blocked 29 shots to the Capitals 12. “But at the same time, in the playoffs, I think you’ve got to put forth a 60-minute effort, and going into the next game, that will probably be our main focus”.
“What I’ll say is this”, Washington captain Alex Ovechkin said.
Once hockey resumed and the Flyers focused their attention from a teammate’s health to the game, they wanted to make sure the energy came back. Wayne Simmonds fed Andrew MacDonald at the point 3:51 into the second period, and MacDonald’s shot beat a screened Holtby for a 2-0 lead. The Capitals entered Wednesday 8-for-17 with the man-advantage. And he knew the risks of trying to do in Game 4 what had not been working in Games 1, 2 and 3. The Capitals seemed only remotely interested during the first two periods before flipping the switch. Washington defenceman John Carlson tangled with Laughton behind the Capitals’ net.
Laughton was face-down on the ice for a few minutes and lay motionless as team doctor Jimmy McCrossin tended to him. The Flyers said he’ll remain there overnight and all tests were negative. “We’re a family here so we’re really anxious about Scott”. We just told him we were here for him and this W is for him. He is going to get a big payday because of the nature of the position, even if he doesn’t have the post-season resume that justifies it.
The Capitals still lead the series 3-1 headed into Game 5 on Friday night in Washington. The Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead to Los Angeles in the first round two years ago, becoming the fourth National Hockey League team ever to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games.
For at least one more game, the Flyers have life. “It’s good to know we can be successful playing the way we want to play”.
The game was marred by a scary incident that saw Flyers centre Scott Laughton leave on a stretcher. That happened Monday night, too, as Philadelphia scored just 57 seconds into that game.
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Laughton, of Toronto, played 71 regular-season games in 2015-16, finishing with seven goals and 14 assists.
