Brian Elliott
Finally, the Flyers are at a spot where there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Four more players returned to the lineup on Saturday afternoon and with those players back, plus another excellent goaltending performance, the nearly full-strength Flyers showed what may have been missing from their recent games.
Brian Elliott was on point, making 23 saves to secure his second shutout of the season, both coming against the Sabres, once again in a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers are on the road for the next five games, starting with a weekend back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres. The first game is Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
It wasn’t a pretty win, and it wasn’t going to be pretty with the Flyers still plenty shorthanded from their COVID situation. But Claude Giroux marked the first player to return on a list that will only be increasing with each passing day, and he showed just how motivated he was to come back strong.
Claude Giroux had three assists as the Flyers struck for two goals in the first and second periods, holding off the Rangers in a 4-3 win on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers are also getting some reinforcements back in the lineup. Claude Giroux returned to practice on Tuesday and was the first of the players on the COVID list to return. More will follow in the coming days. For now, Giroux and the rest of the team continue their season, facing the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
With a shorthanded lineup once again, the Bruins got another late second-period goal that started the unraveling. This time, it didn’t even take until the third. Three goals for the Bruins in 1:39 capped off a four-goal period, as the Flyers were routed in the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe by a score of 7-3 on Sunday night.
The Flyers were back on Tuesday for practice with a limited group and more players are expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers. The Flyers also had five games rescheduled by the NHL in the wake of COVID-19 caused postponements.
A goal out of a netmouth scramble tied the game, then a distance shot that was misplayed by the goalie proved to be the deciding factor. The Flyers dropped yet another meeting against the Bruins, and while the process was better, and the execution was there, the result was once again the missing piece.
The Bruins scored twice in 27 seconds, including the eventual game-winner from Sean Kuraly, as they claimed yet another win from the Flyers by a score of 2-1 on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.
