Flyers coach Alain Vigneault was angry that no penalty was called on hit on Claude Giroux | On the Fly
"In my estimation, that was a knee-on-knee hit that should have been called," Vigneault said.
There was a play in the game against the Capitals on Saturday that really bothered me. Sean Couturier was knocked to the ice and was in a scrum with Washington’s Garnet Hathaway. As he was flat on his back, Couturier took a couple of shots to the chops from Hathaway.
There’s a reason you don’t see hockey players in such a prone position like that, and Hathaway took advantage of it.
Now I wasn’t expecting Dave Schultz to come flying in and knock Hathaway back to the 1970s, but a response from one of the Flyers would have been appropriate. Play carried on without any penalties, and I more or less forgot about it.
The Flyers incurred what they thought was another cheap shot. This time, Nolan Patrick, of all people, was the first to step in.
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— Ed Barkowitz (flyers@inquirer.com)
Patrick, Voracek come to Giroux’s defense
Penalties usually drive coaches crazy, but the minors that Patrick and Jake Voracek took coming to the aid of Claude Giroux was justified, Alain Vigneault said.
The Flyers coach was angry that nothing was called on Brendan Smith for his open-ice collision with Giroux at the end of the second period Monday.
Vigneault, however, was fine with the immediate response from Giroux’s linemates, especially since the Flyers and Rangers meet three more times in the next two weeks. The topic of who is controlling the ice is sure to come up. Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN) will be the first rematch.
“Players that support one another is a big part of the team’s character,” the coach said.
Patrick jumped in first with Smith, who would have tuned up Patrick had he been given the chance. But that was denied because Voracek jumped in between the two of them. There was plenty of grabbing and yapping, but no punches were thrown. All three received roughing minors, which gave the Rangers a power play.
Giroux was asked about the exchange after the game. As he expressed his gratitude for his teammates’ support, Voracek gave him a reassuring pat on the back. They’ve been together long enough to be legally married, so it was a playful gesture.
But to their younger teammates, the Smith/Patrick/Voracek skirmish carried some weight.
“You don’t want to see your captain, or anybody, get hit like that,” said Carter Hart, who had the bounce-back game that belies the four goals he allowed. “That’s how we are as a team. Everybody has everybody’s back. When somebody gets hit like that, the boys are going to step in.”
Actually, that attitude hasn’t always been there this season for any number of reasons, including a penalty-killing group that has been toward the bottom of the league for most of the year. It’s one thing to defend a teammate’s honor, but sometimes that comes at a cost. Refs love flagging retaliation infractions, and the Flyers came into the week 26th of 31 NHL teams in killing penalties.
“That was a 2-minute [penalty] that was worth killing,” Vigneault said. “Smith came across there and, in my estimation, that was a knee-on-knee hit that should have been called. That’s just my opinion. The referees didn’t see it that way, so we went shorthanded and got the job done.”
List of the week
Ivan Provorov on Monday became the 23rd Flyers defenseman to record 100 career assists. What makes this most notable is that he’s just the sixth who started his career in the team’s organization. Here are the most prolific assisters among defensemen drafted by the Flyers:
1. Tom Bladon, 2nd round, 23rd overall, 1972, 163 assists
2. Behn Wilson, 1st round, 6th overall, 1978, 155 assists
3. Shayne Gostisbehere, 3rd round, 78th overall, 2012, 151 assists
4. Jimmy Watson, 3rd round, 39th overall, 1972, 148 assists
5. Chris Therien, 3rd round, 47th overall, 1990, 130 assists
6. Ivan Provorov, 1st round, 7th overall, 2015, 100 assists
Things to know
Voracek ends a nearly two-minute shift with a spectacular breakaway goal to lift the Flyers past the Rangers. “I was dead,” Voracek said, ummm, dead seriously.
Speaking of Voracek, when he’s at his best, like he was Monday, he can be special, Mike Sielski writes.
It’s been a long road, but Wade Allison’s journey to the pros is something to behold. A heralded prospect in his days at Western Michigan, the Harvard of the West as alum Keith Jones points out, could be on position to push for a spot in the NHL sooner rather than later.
The players love playing in front of the fans, unless they’re facing the Capitals. Larger crowds could be allowed back into the Wells Fargo Center pending this one hurdle.
“I obviously knew it was going to be difficult, missing the amount of time I did. ... I knew it was going to be a challenge.” Patrick reflects on his first two months after his lost season.
Good riddance to the Capitals, who last week turned the Flyers’ South Philly home into the WFC (Washington Fargo Center).
Flyers chairman Dave Scott wants to be aggressive at the trade deadline — if it’s warranted. “I can tell you I’m still committed to investing and making this team as good as we can,” he told our Sam Carchidi. “I don’t want to hold back.”
Flyers’ next five
Wednesday: at N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN exclusively)
Thursday: at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. (NBCSP)
Saturday: at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. (NBCSP)
Monday: vs. N.Y. ISLANDERS, 7 p.m. (NBCSP)
Tuesday, March 23: vs. NEW JERSEY, 7 p.m. (NBCSP locally, NBCSN nationally)
From the mailbag
Entertaining game, gutsy win, did not see that coming about midway through. Great games by Jake, Giroux, Hayes, Farabee. Defense looked overmatched again so hopefully a trade is coming at some point soon. Hard to know what to make of this team, but a much needed 2 points.
***
Seems like live betting for the comeback from a 2-goal, first period deficit is pretty good value lately in the NHL, especially against the Flyers.
***
Is it too early to figure the team is toast this year? Defense hasn’t played well all year and early-season poor play was attributed to missing players, most of whom are now back. So I guess it wasn’t that. [Carter] Hart is having a bit of a sophomore [slump], but the defense has hung him out to dry on a regular basis. Boston has owned them and Ovechkin is doing the same for the Caps. They even struggled against the Sabers.
Send questions or observations via Twitter to beat writers Ed Barkowitz (@EdBarkowitz) or Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull).