Giroux leads thunderous comeback
Daily News Flyers blog
Giroux leads thunderous comeback
Claude Giroux skated, facing his own net, toward the goal line before turning to fire what would have been a safe icing had it not landed directly on the stick of Washington's Marcus Johansson.
Understanding the gravity of his mistake, Giroux fell to the ice in disgust, completely separated from his stick with his face buried in his palms. Johansson had broken a 2-2 tie to give Washington and 3-2 lead.
And the Capitals weren't done. Alex Ovechkin scored 26 seconds later, to complete what appeared to be a full and thorough unraveling for the Flyers. Ilya Bryzgalov responded by throwing his water bottle toward the Flyers' bench in anger.
But Giroux wasn't finished. He didn't sit and sulk.
Perhaps his best show of leadership this season, he picked the Flyers up and carried them to an improbable, maybe even season-saving comeback. It ended with Ruslan Fedotenko's overtime winner just 1:34 into the extra period, delivering a 5-4 win and a standings-shifting weekend.
The magnitude of the win could not be overstated.
The Flyers replaced Washington for 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They are now two points back of eighth place and a playoff spot with 14 games to play - controlling their own destiny with dates remaining against every team they’re chasing (Rangers, Islanders and Hurricanes).
The alternative would have been disastrous. The Flyers would have awoken on Monday morning in 14th place, with their regulation loss to Washington keeping them four points back with six teams to leap over. Their momentum gained against Boston on Sunday was not lost.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Like Jimmy V. said Don"t ever ever give up!!! Go Flyers!!!— Sitongia16
Flyers overcome a 2 goal third period deficit to force OT, then beat the Caps in the extra session. This is the Flyer team we love!
P.S. Where are all those guys saying Kimmo is done?
UNREAL!!!— HO HUM- That was a great comeback! Awesome game down 2 in the 3rd! 2 points out of the 8th seed. Let's see where it goes from here. Build on the great 2 wins. Enjoy these wins, but haters will be haters... Whatever! Go Flyers!— maattss
- This is why you fight for your teammates and best player....VORACEK!!! First fight ever was awesome...yes, it cost us goals in the short term but sticking up for your teammates leads to belief in each other... a must for a comeback like today....good job boyz!— dave1walsh
- That's 2 wins in a row in desperate fashion ...lets go FLYERS!— charliesonb
- If we're going to keep losing then I'd like to get a top 3 pick, but this team looks like it's slowly waking up. If we can keep winning I'd like to snag that #8 seed and face the Pens. This was an amazing comeback and even though he got penalized for it, Jake standing up for G sparked this team. Let's keep it rolling. I'd like to think this sleeping giant is waking up. Even though we're still dropping like flies we're finding ways to come back and win so let's string a few together now. I hope Talbot's not out long. Go Flyers! Great win tonight!— Fly Guy
- Very nice win. Very unexpected. Worried about Talbot. Loved Voracek's fight. Sad that it was stopped prematurely. Zebras got a LOT wrong tonight. That call on Simmonds was total bull.— truthfirst
- Lets just get into the playoffs 1st...then see where we can go...— WhiteBear
- Trade deadline 3 days away. Talk to me then. Get well soon Cindy.— NYPHILLYPHAN
- Note to board: Not a Cindy loving troll in sight, as they have crawled back into their troglodyte basements.
What can I say that hasn't been said already? This is the team we expected to see, a team , even if it lost, that had fire and grit. Something has changed in that locker room in the past few days, you can book it.
Voracek going at it with Alex? Cindy would just slash someone, that pond scum wuss. The Flyers are the Flyers again, even more, because they are doing it with injuries which they could use as an excuse.
There is still life in this team.....and the spirit to win! Even better!!— PhillyboyinNYC - Cudos to Zac for "stirring the pot"!!— dogman5
- F the flyers and the city of philthadelphia, you suck mfrs and the iggles and dog killer vick will burn in hell. north korea, please bomb this piece of s city.— DCFaNatic1969
- If you're not just a sarcastic role playing "troll", but the "REAL THING", a real Washington troll, your class speaks for itself.
Oh, and this: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
