It’s finally sunny in Philadelphia.
OK, that was cheesy, but the Flyers deserve some light-hearted vibes now.
The club finally ended its dragged out losing streak, winning for the first time in 11 games.
Philadelphia defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Monday night, thanks in large part to a heroic effort from goaltender Brian Elliott, who stopped 43 of 45 shots against his former team.
The real hero might be winger Jakub Voracek, who dropped this nugget following the game:
Old, bearded man fights
It’s been a while since Joe Thornton got into a hockey fight. But after crushing T.J. Oshie’s head with his rear end on Monday, effectively knocking the Washington Capitals winger out of the contest, it seemed as as good a time as any to engage in fisticuffs, right?
Not long after Thornton’s hit on Oshie along the boards, Capitals forward Tom Wilson came looking for revenge.
The 38-year-old San Jose Sharks veteran didn’t last long against his 23-year-old counterpart:
It was Thornton’s first tussle since Feb. 23, 2013, when he faced Stars forward Jamie Benn, according to hockeyfights.com.
Thornton also fought Jonathan Toews that season, and Drew Doughty in the prior campaign.
Alex the Great continues to conquer
Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin continued his climb of the record books on Monday by potting his 578th career goal. He surpassed Mark Recchi on the all-time goals list and now has sole possession of the No. 20 spot.
Next up? Jari Kurri, who’s 19th all time with 601 career goals.
Ovechkin leads the NHL with 20 goals this campaign and is the 11th player in league history to begin his career with 13 consecutive 20-goal seasons.
Lee says ‘Hey, me too’
From one top goal-scorer to another, New York Islanders forward Anders Lee also earned a tally on Monday night. And yes, we did just call him a top goal-scorer.
The 27-year-old has continued his torrid pace from last season when he scored 34 goals. He’s now got 16 this season — a 47-goal pace! — and is tied with linemate John Tavares for third in the NHL.
Also, here’s a nifty stat that highlights just how good he has been: Since Dec. 4, 2016, only Nikita Kucherov (46 goals) has scored more than Lee (45).
As for the whole Lee being underrated thing? Islanders head coach Doug Weight is scratching his head, too.
“The anonymity, I think that happens to certain players for whatever reason,” Weight told Newsday recently. “Every time he’s on the ice, it’s with a purpose and he’s just tremendous at what he does. He knows his strength. He’s a big body. He’s a strong player. He doesn’t get cute out there. He makes simple plays. He’s very predictable for John … He has a talent with his coordination and his will that is unmatched [in front of the net] as far as I’m concerned.”
[relatedlinks]
