Philadephia Flyers raise banner, defeat Colorado Avalanche
Jeff Carter has a knack for scoring key goals in key situations. He has done it many times in the past, and he did it once again as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Colorado Avalanche
4-2 in their home opener.
Before the game, the Flyers raised their 2009-10 Eastern Conference Championship banner to the rafters, but after that, the Flyers got down to business. Claude Giroux opened the scoring
with a short-handed goal at 12:13 of the first period. Captain Mike Richards got the assist as Philly successfully killed off a too many men on the ice penalty. Jeff Carter made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted backhander at 17:33.
Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovski saw his shutout bid disappear at 9:03 of the second period when Brandon Yip of the Avalanche scored his first of the season. The goal was the sole offensive
highlight of the second frame.
Colorado then tied the game at 2-2 32 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from veteran Milan Hejduk. Carter then replied with his second goal of the game at 17:22. Richards
earned his second assist of the night on Carter’s game-winning goal, while James van Riemsdyk also earned an assist. The Flyers would go on to close out the scoring with an empty net goal from Darroll Powe at 18:49 of the third period. He converted a nice
pass from Blair Betts into his first goal of the 2010-11 campaign.
The game saw the return of Chris Pronger, the cornerstone of Philadelphia’s defence. The 6ft 6in defenceman had missed the Flyers’ first two games of the season because he had been recovering
from knee surgery. He admitted that his timing was a bit off, but he promised to return to form very soon.
“I’m obviously not quite there yet,” said Pronger of his recovery rate, “but you have to get in a few to get that (timing) back.”
Giroux was happy to have contributed to the Flyers’ offence, and he credited Richards with giving him a golden opportunity to light the lamp.
“He was able to tip the puck to me on the breakaway, and I made a little move and it worked,” said Giroux of Richards’ pass. “Any time you can score goals, you obviously gain more confidence.
You feel great about yourself.”
The Flyers will be back in action on Thursday 14 October, when they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Colorado’s next game will be on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.
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