James van Riemsdyk helps the Flyers to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild
The Flyers have left it to very late in the season, but they've picked up some momentum.
After falling behind the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, late in the third period on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, 21-year-old winger Tyson Foerster said not so fast to any defeat.
Foerster showed his strong shot by wiring one past veteran Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with roughly six minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Flyers won 5-4 in a shootout thanks to the lone goal from James van Riemsdyk, marking the Flyers’ second shootout victory this season (2-1).
“Since I’ve been back here for the last, whatever, five years I think, we try to play right ‘til the end, no matter what,” van Riemsdyk said. “Sometimes it may be a little bit ugly, but I think it’s something we’ve kind of prided ourselves on trying to do is just be resilient and keep playing no matter what the score is.”
The Flyers have been on an offensive tear in their last five games, averaging 4.4 goals. They are 3-1-1 on this homestand and are on a four-game point streak (3-0-1). With a victory on the heels of Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers, the Flyers have won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 9-14 when they won three straight.
Carter Hart finished with 20 saves on 24 shots, making three critical saves in the shootout. Coach John Tortorella earned his 700th career victory, becoming the second-winningest American-born NHL coach behind former Flyers coach Peter Laviolette.
Winger Nicolas Deslauriers was a late scratch (upper-body injury) after taking warmups, and forward Kieffer Bellows took his place in the lineup.
100 apples for Sanheim
After going 12 games without a point from Feb. 11-March 11, defenseman Travis Sanheim has been getting to his offensive game recently, picking up three goals in his last four contests prior to Thursday night. Sanheim ignited the Flyers’ offense roughly 13 minutes into the first period against the Wild by first chipping in defensively. He intercepted a pass behind the Flyers net intended for Wild center Frederick Gaudreau, then skated it out of the zone. He banked a pass off the boards for van Riemsdyk, who pushed the puck past Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and ahead for Sanheim.
With Wild captain Jared Spurgeon in his face, Sanheim backhanded a pass for forward Scott Laughton, who scored on Fleury to put the Flyers up, 1-0. The assist marked the 100th of Sanheim’s career. Meanwhile, Laughton continued to add to his career high in goals, bringing his total this season to 16.
“He’s got great legs,” Laughton said of Sanheim. “He moves very well. He had a good chance in the second there on a pull-and-drag shot and he’s making things happen for himself. So I’m happy for him. He’s a great guy. Cares for this organization, and it’s good to see.”
Farabee is Fara-back
From Jan. 16-March 14, winger Joel Farabee went 26 games without scoring a goal. But Farabee has been finding scoring success lately by getting to the dirty areas of the ice, racking up three goals in his last three games. He continued that trend in the second period, starting with center Noah Cates winning a board battle in the Wild’s zone.
Cates evaded pressure from Middleton coming out of the corner and passed the puck to defenseman Cam York up top. York walked the blue line and wristed a shot from the point, which deflected off of Farabee’s stick at the front of the net and past Fleury, pulling the Flyers ahead, 2-1.
“He’s been around the net,” Tortorella said. “Does it again tonight.”
Out-chancing, but not outscoring until the bitter end
The Flyers dominated the puck possession game throughout the first two periods, generating 40 shot attempts, 22 on net, according to Natural Stat Trick. Meanwhile, because the sleepy Wild spent plenty of time hemmed in their own zone, they managed just 28 shot attempts through 40 minutes, including just four shots on goal in the first period.
However, by the second intermission, the score was tied, 3-3. The Wild tied the game 2-2 on Matt Boldy’s laser of a top-shelf shot past Hart, 16 minutes into the second period. Just two minutes later, the Wild took their first lead when an uncovered Marcus Foligno fired a shot from the right circle and scored to make it 3-2. But the Flyers stuck with it, as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen capitalized from the point on the power play with just 22.5 seconds remaining in the second period. Through three periods, the Flyers outshot the Wild, 33-23.
What’s next
The Flyers continue their homestand against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at 1 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).
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