Daniel Briere has been held out of the goal column for quite some time. Last night that all changed when Briere broke out of his recent slump by recording his 5th career hat trick bringing his goal count to 13 on the season.
Briere also dropped the gloves in the tilt with Sens forward Kyle Turris. The two had been chirping at one another throughout most of the beginning of the game before they decided to drop the gloves. It was an unexpected bout but Briere seemed to have gotten the better of Turris. He seemed pretty excited about his performance in the game.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 35 saves on 37 shots yesterday and had a few key saves late in the game to preserve the lead for the Flyers. The Flyers have not officially announced who will be in the net today when the Flyers face off in the back end of a home and home series. It would originally have made sense for the Flyers to play both Bobrovsky and Bryzgalov one game apiece but with Bryz's play yesterday he may be in the pipes again today.
With the exception of Bryzgalov and Briere most of the Flyers were pretty quiet. Jake Voracek picked up 2 more assists on the season and looks to have found a good running mate in Briere. The two have combined for 4 goals in the past two games. Scott Hartnell had his 7 games points streak snapped and Claude Giroux failed to register a point in what seemed like forever. Braydon Schenn recorded his second assist of the season bringing his point streak to 3 games since scoring his first NHL goal at the Winter Classic.
Milan Michalek potted his 20th goal of the season, first on the Sens, and looks to continue his reign as Ottawa's biggest goal threat this season. Erik Karlsson continued his impressive play by registering an assist on both Ottawa goals. Karlsson is the leading vote getter among Defensemen in the NHL for the upcoming All Star Game.
The same goes for the Flyers in this game as the one yesterday. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Michalek and Karlsson are clearly the biggest threats on the Sens and then after that there is a drop off in talent. With the level of physicality of yesterdays game look for players like Zenon Konopka and Chris Neil to be more of a presence in this game.
The Flyers will be expecting Jaromir Jagr to make his return to the line up. They hope that he can provide an offensive spark and help the team continue to put pucks in the back of the net. If he plays, he will resume his previous duties on the first line with Giroux and Hartnell. Matt Read will most likely play on the line with Briere and Voracek. The line of Wayne Simmonds, JVR, and Schenn has been a pretty productive line since finding one another so the chance that they may stay intact is a decent one. The only players that the Flyers would be able to scratch for the game would have to be either Zac Rinaldo or Harry Zolnierczyk. Rookie Sean Couturier has been one of the most consistent Flyers this season and will remain in the line up.
So what do the Flyers do with Max Talbot? The original thought that comes to mind would be to move Schenn to the fourth line and have Talbot center Simmonds and JVR. Talbot has been great since signing a deal as a free agent to come to Philadelphia in the off season and it would be a shame for him to lose ice time. It definitely will be interesting to see what the Flyers do in regards to their line combinations.
Players to watch
Ottawa: D, Erik Karlsson
Erik Karlsson had two more assists in last nights game bringing his total to 34 on the season. With 8 more assists on the season that the next Senator, Jason Spezza, Karlsson moves the puck well and again will prove to be a big factor in the game.
Philadelphia: C, Claude Giroux
Its no secret that Giroux has been the Flyers best player all season long but a lot of that has to do with Jaromir Jagr. With Jagr back in the line up after missing most of the past three games the Flyers look for him to help spark that top line. Giroux will benefit the most from the return of Jags. Look for Giroux to find his way back in the scoring column today.
Prediction:
Craig Anderson played great yesterday in net. Don't expect that to carry over into today's game. The Flyers play great road hockey and the Sens play great at home but with the return of Jagr to the line up and the resurgence of Briere and JVR the Flyers appear to be clicking on all cylinders.
Flyers 4- Ottawa- 2
Flyers Goals- Jagr, Simmonds, Hartnell, Coburn
Senators Goals- Spezza, Gonchar
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