Michael Del Zotto Has Himself A Night, Flyers Take Down Wild In Overtime
Flyers 4, Wild 3 (OT) | (17-15-7)
It’s been a relatively quiet season for Michael Del Zotto offensively this year. Heading into last night he only had 1 goal in 37 games and as a defenseman who fucking HATES having to stay back at the blueline, I’m sure that was getting to him a bit. But he had himself a breakout type of night in Minnesota scoring 2 goals and logging over 27 minutes on the ice. That’s an Erik Karlsson type of stat line if I’ve ever seen one. And his most important goal of the night, of course, came during the 3-on-3 overtime. Hope you have an extra pair of pants on hand…
Tic-Tac-Tohhhhh my god. I said back in September that Voracek – Giroux – Del Zotto would be a dangerous lineup to face in the 3-on-3 overtime but unfortunately they haven’t had a ton of time to play together. Mostly due in part to the call up of Shayne Gostisbehere who has been the best Flyers defenseman offensively. But after Ghost went down with a lower body injury (more on that later), Del Zotto had to fill in the void and eat up a shit ton more ice minutes. And he took full advantage of the opportunity.
The 2nd Line Continues To Light Shit Up
Before I get to talking about Coots here, do me a favor and watch that goal again. And make sure this time to watch the move that Michael Raffl makes in the corner. That little stop-and-go is some next level shit from Raffl. If he doesn’t make that move, Dumba probably passes him off a split second earlier and is able to recover to the crease in time to tie up Couturier before the pass gets there. But Raffl was able to draw the attention of both defenseman below the goal line, had his head up and found Coots streaking through the slot. It was beautiful.
And that now makes 10 points (5 G, 5 A) for Sean Couturier in his last 9 games. Maybe now all the bozos clamoring about his offensive production can shut their traps for a little bit. If Dave Hakstol has anything to be happy about this season, it should be the production of his 2nd lines. No matter what that line combination may be, the Flyers 2nd line has been having a ton of success this year. They dominate the possession numbers and they get themselves on the board. And you have Baby Schenn making moves like this…
Brayden Schenn has never not registered at least a point in 2016. Those are facts, people. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. 6 points in 3 games in 2016. I’m not mathematician but at the rate he’s performing, that sack of shit Gretzky better watch his back. And speaking of Wayne Gretzky-esque Flyers…
Ryan. Fucking. White.
Ryan White can often play like a regular ol’ Johnny Jerkoff out there. But with a goal last night and this hit stick on Nino Niederreiter, I’m about to throw one of the stars of the game his way. Always great to see the 4th line having themselves a go.
Ghost Bear Down
There’s still no update on Shayne Gostisbehere aside from he suffered a lower body injury. My best bet would be that it happened when he got tripped up by Mikko Koivu early in the game and something must have just tweaked. Considering Ghost’s knee history, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Flyers just kept him out of the game for precautionary measures. If he felt any sort of discomfort at all, why risk it?
Not The Flyers But Whatever
Probably the best moment in hockey last night (aside from the Panthers winning their 11th game in a row). Drew Doughty doing absolutely everything he can to emasculate “NHL All Star” Leo Komarov. And that’s assault, brotha.