Flyers Take Down Nashville

Trashville couldn't handle the Fly-Guy's on Saturday night

Saturday night was good to the Flyers. They looked like a team that is gaining confidence and ready to put together a playoff run. They ran into a hot Nashville team who was on a 6 game winning streak. That was until they came to Philly and got buried 4-1. The first period was scoreless but the Flyers managed to out-shoot the Predators 11-8. The game was very physical from the start and Flyers goaltender Martin Biron had one of his best games of the year. The best scoring chance of the period came at 7:29 of the first period when Biron dove across the front of the net and blocked a Martin Erat shot with his paddle at point blank range. The save was highlight tape material.

In the second the Flyers came to life. At 0:45 of the second period Mike Richards netted  a one timer on the power play off a gorgeous feed from Simon Gagne. This kicked off the Flyers scoring. Just minutes later it was Lupuls turn to light the lamp. At 4:22 of the second period He Excepted a Jeff Carter pass on the 2 on 1 and put it passed Pekka Rinne. The goal was Lupuls 19th of the season. The team seemed to be gaining momentum as the period went on. At 13:01 of the second the newest Flyer, Dan Carcillo got into the mix by dropping his glove with defensman Greg DeVries. The fight came about after Carcillo landed a huge hit behind the net on DeVries partner, Kevin Klein. The fight was not a great one but it did show just how strong the Flyers newly acquired tough guy really is. On the very next faceoff it was Riley Cote who dropped the gloves and went punch for punch with Wade Belak. The fight was great and the 2 fighters traded blows to the head for what seemed like an eternity. Nashville had more shots in the second but the Flyers put up the goals. Biron played out of his mind and is the reason the Flyers ended the period with a lead.

The Flyers looked good in the third period. Their defense was solid and held back Nashville’s offense for the beginning portion of the period. The Predators did finally get one in at 7:45 of the third with a goal from Martin Erat. The Flyers answered quickly with another goal of their own. It was Lupul again. He stuffed the rebound of a Ryan Parent shot from the point at 8:51 of the third. They lit the lamp again for the icing on the cake with a Giroux goal. The goal came at 16:47 of the third.
All in all the Flyers looked great. It is tough to say if the team made the right moves at the trade deadline. Only time will tell. For now the team looks to win again Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Post Game Quotes:

• “I thought he was aggressive, square to the shooter, confident and he held onto pucks,” head coach John Stevens said of Biron’s play. “I think we’re seeing a confident Marty.”
• “I was a little late reacting because the first shot was a screen,” said Biron. “I reached out with the stick on the goal line and the puck hit it. It’s one of those saves you sometimes make. It was a good break, but I’ll take it for sure.”
• “Our line has been playing pretty well for the last 10 games or so,” said Lupul. “It was nice to get some pucks to go in.”
• “I did it to get on TV,” Biron quipped about his glove-hand flourishes. “Actually, I don’t like making those kinds of saves because it usually means you’re a little out of position and have to reach out.”