It was one of the most emotional games in Flyers history, regular season or playoffs.
Just days after the tragic loss of their All-Star goalie, Pelle Lindbergh in a car accident, the Flyers had to somehow summon their strength and push forward. They had to go on, emotionally numb as they were and find their way without their star in net. Awaiting them on this night was none other than Wayne Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers, who had beaten the Flyers in five games not even five months ago to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
Flyers backup goalie Bob Froese had won on November 9 against Boston to give the Flyers their 10th win in a row. He was slated to start against Edmonton but suffered a groin injury in practice prior to the game. In stepped Darren Jensen, in only his second NHL start, to face the high flying Oilers squad.
With an emotionally-moving tribute by the legendary Gene Hart and Hall of Famer Bernie Parent prior to the game (YouTube) there was not a dry eye in the Spectrum. With 17,211 faithful fans supporting them, this young group of Flyers took the ice ready for the challenge.
Each team played well and there was no score for much of the first period, until Mark Howe put the Flyers ahead at 17:25 with one of his classic wrist shots from the point. It found its way past Edmonton’s Andy Moog through a perfectly executed screen by Murray Craven and put the Flyers up 1-0. The Flyers outshot the Oilers 14-9 and seemed to ride the emotional wave to a solid first period.
In the second, the Oilers came on in full force, peppering Jensen numerous times. Gretzky coming out from behind the net on the backhand – stopped. Jari Kurri on a one-timer near the far post – denied. Dave Hunter on a breakaway, swooping in left to right with a backhand shot – stoned. After 35 plus minutes and 20 plus shots, the Oilers didn’t find the back of the net.
With each save Jensen made keeping the Oilers off the board, the Spectrum erupted louder and louder. Jensen was playing out of his mind and the Flyers fans cheered in appreciation.
Unfortunately, the Oilers finally broke through at 17:53 as defenseman Larry Melnyk of all people – just his second career NHL goal – came out of the corner after pinching in from the point, and fired one past Jensen to tie the game at one apiece. The fans cheered as the goal was announced, noting the great play by Jensen and his efforts to that point in the game.
Then, with just two seconds left in the second period, Edmonton seemed to lose their composure and self destruct. Flyers coach Mike Keenan decided to pull the goalie as the Flyers had an offensive draw to the left of Moog. With Dave Hunter in the box from a slashing call at 19:47, this gave the Flyers a 6 on 4 advantage. Two of the leagues best were out to take the draw, Tim Kerr versus Mark Messier.
Posturing for position, Messier went down to one knee just as linesman Gerrard Gauthier was about to drop the puck. Gauthier reset and waived Messier out of the face off circle, to be replaced by another Oiler. Messier lost it. He berated the linesman and dropped a few too many choice words, to where Gauthier gave him an unsportsmanlike penalty for two minutes. This would give the Flyers a two-man advantage to start the third period.
At the start of the third, there was more bickering by the Edmonton bench regarding the penalties, and after a lengthy delay, referee Don Koharski – never really a fan favorite in Philadelphia – had heard enough and gave coach Glen Sather a game misconduct.
With the Flyers skating 5-on-3, Pelle Eklund took a rebound from the point, passed across the slot to a wide open Illka Sinisalo who slammed home the second goal just 24 seconds into the period.
A few minutes later as the play resumed to 5-on-5, Derek Smith of the Flyers took a slash from Moog and once again, the Flyers would go on the power play. This time, Brian Propp scored on a slap shot high to the glove side of Moog and the Flyers led 3-1.
Each team traded goals in the middle of the period, first the Oilers struck on the power play to make it 3-2 on a goal by Paul Coffey, then Rich Sutter scored on a breakaway for the Flyers to make it a two-goal game again at 4-2.
Then with less than 8 minutes to go, Messier got on the scoresheet the right way, beating Jensen with a backhander to make it 4-3. However, a turnover in the neutral zone four minutes later by the Oilers gave the Flyers a 3-on-1 break. A great pass from Rich Sutter to a streaking Brad McCrimmon caught Moog out of position and McCrimmon slammed home the fifth Flyers goal at 16:50. They would hold off the Oilers in the last three minutes and secure a 5-3 victory.
Jensen would stop 29 of the 32 shots he faced, including all 7 credited to Wayne Gretzky. Their 11th win in a row not withstanding, it was a huge emotional win under such difficult circumstances. If you were there or watched it on TV, it was a game Flyer fans will never forget.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
