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Hayes: Flyers' killer instinct leads to victory

IT MIGHT be the five minutes that saved the season. Long before a 2-1 final sent the Flyers surging into the NHL All-Star break, rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov took a double-minor penalty when his stick caught Leafs center Tyler Bozak in the face and drew blood. That was just over seven minutes into a sloppy first period for the Flyers, dead-legged after a draining win at Madison Square Garden less than 24 hours before.

IT MIGHT be the five minutes that saved the season.

Long before a 2-1 final sent the Flyers surging into the NHL All-Star break, rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov took a double-minor penalty when his stick caught Leafs center Tyler Bozak in the face and drew blood. That was just over seven minutes into a sloppy first period for the Flyers, dead-legged after a draining win at Madison Square Garden less than 24 hours before.

Then, their legs found life.

The Leafs managed only one shot during the four-minute span. It might have been the most efficient kill of the season.

About a minute after the penalty expired, all six Flyers on the ice conspired to change the flow. Backup goalie Michal Neuvirth made a save; Brandon Manning won a battle in the corner; Shayne Gostisbehere snapped a pass ahead to Brayden Schenn; who forced it through the middle, off Matt Hunwick; where Travis Konecny pounced on it and pushed it beautifully to streaking Wayne Simmonds; who went forehand-backhand-forehand-score around sprawled goalie Curtis McElhinney.

It was a five-minute span of excellence; of dominance; of resolve and resilience.

That sequence finished with 7:45 seconds to play in the first period; and, of course, with 47:45 left to play in regulation. In other words, plenty of skating remained.

Still, the significance of that fateful five minutes cannot be overstated.

"I though that was a pivotal time in the game," coach Dave Hakstol said.

"It was huge," said Simmonds, a new penalty-killer and an All-Star for the first time. "You usually don't look to a penalty kill to reverse your fortunes, but that's what happened."

After a slow start, they needed a reversal of fortune.

"We weren't the greatest in the first few minutes," Simmonds admitted.

There was good reason. It was their last game before a second long layoff in 11 days, part of the flawed 2016-17 NHL schedule. The Flyers had to play two back-to-backs in between the layoffs. They lost to the Devils in their return but rebounded to beat both New York teams on the road. Two points Thursday would send the Flyers into the break with a better taste. No points, at home, against a team lousy in the second game of back-to-backs, would leave them bitter for half a week.

The Leafs fell to 2-8-1 in the back-ends of back-to-backs, but did not go quietly.

They tied it at 1 with 4:25 left in the second when Manning gave the puck away and slight Gostisbehere couldn't keep the crease clear.

The Flyers, who collapsed against the Devils, did not flinch this time. Fourth-line wing Roman Lyubimov broke the tie with 2:37 to play in the third period, an exhilarating 20 minutes the Flyers owned – a recent, welcome trend in the last three wins.

"We dominated the third period," Simmonds gushed. "We're staying composed with the puck. We're not having turnovers."

Indeed, the end was simplicity itself: Rugged work kept the puck in the Leafs' zone, where Radko Gudas passed to Mark Streit, who dealt to Lyubimov, who shot once, got his own rebound and shot again.

"A great, hardworking goal," Hakstol said.

That, with a flurry of splendid empty-net saves by Neuvrith, was that.

It was a big, big deal. They remained on the inside of the playoff circle. They stayed relevant despite having won just six times in their 18 games since a 10-game win streak ended just before Christmas.

This was especially important because the Flyers were haunted by the scent of the worst loss of the season. On Nov. 11, they entered the third period with a 3-2 lead and turned it into a 6-3 collapse, thanks largely to lousy defense and worse goaltending, from Steve Mason. That night, after a strong 40 minutes against a young Leafs squad, the Flyers had probably turned their thoughts to the Wild, who were scheduled to visit them the following night.

This time, the Flyers faced the four-day layoff that accompanies All-Star break. Both teams entered on the wrong end of a back-to-back, though the Leafs had to fly in from Detroit. Meanwhile, the Flyers' were able to spend a night in their own beds after a happy train ride back from Manhattan – where, for one night, they had shed their struggles against the Rangers with a 2-0 shutout, Mason's first shutout of the season.

Neuvirth followed with 27 saves, many of them scintillating.; but, still, most of them followed the five minutes that sent the Flyers toward their second half on a three-game run.

hayesm@phillynews.com

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