Philadelphia Flyers win third straight after defeating Detroit Red Wings 3-2 - NHL Update
Philadelphia Flyers put in another brilliant display running out 3-2 winners on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 against Detroit Red Wings at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers were under the cosh for most of the game but goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov came to their rescue with a wonderful performance in front of the net as he made 37 saves to keep the Red Wings from completing a late third period comeback.
The win keeps Philadelphia’s winning run alive as they won their third straight game and moved up into fifth in the Eastern Conference with 81 points.
Forward Claude Giroux lavished praise on Bryzgalov after the game. Talking to the media Giroux said.
"Guys take it as a challenge. We saw Bryz shut the door tonight when we had the lead, and he has been great for us the last month."
Detroit gave it their best but in the end could not find a way past Bryzgalov. The Red Wings lost their second straight game and have now dropped down to fourth in the Western Conference with 89 points.
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was happy with his team’s performance and praised the Flyers goaltender for putting in a wonderful display.
"We gave ourselves every opportunity and really pushed it. We had a glorious opportunity right at the end and Bryz was up to the challenge tonight."
Detroit took the lead early in the first period. Four minutes in Henrik Zetterberg put the Wings ahead with a well taken goal beating Bryzgalov.
The goal though would galvanise Philadelphia Flyers who dominated proceeding outshooting their opponents 9-2.
Their advantage was rewarded at 13:50 as Jakub Voracek equalised the scoring with a wonderful finish past Wings goaltender Joey MacDonald.
Five minutes later Philadelphia took the lead for good as Claude Giroux scored the go-ahead goal to put his team up 2-1.
The Red Wings came out in the second half looking ready to put the game back on level terms but they faced resistance by Bryzgalov who stopped every shot Detroit threw at him.
Seven minutes into the period, Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall barged right into Voracek, with the force of the impact knocking out the Flyers forward ending his game.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said about the injury after the game.
"It was a tough hit, he took it right in the head. It's frustrating. He's having a terrific year and is a terrific player for us. It's substantial when you're battling through a lot of injuries and you take a hit like that."
Voracek’s injury though seemed to galvanise the Flyers who improved their lead to 3-1 at 14:10 through Maxime Talbot.
Down by two goals and faced a by an inform goaltender, Detroit was kept at bay but managed to make it 3-2 in the final period at 8:47 through Johan Franzen.
Philadelphia will now look to make it four wins in a row on Thursday when they take on Florida Panthers while the Red Wings will look to end their two game skid on Friday against Los Angeles Kings.
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