Flyers net first win of season

IT WAS a game that general manager Ron Hextall called "critical" seven hours before the puck dropped, a strong statement given the infancy of the 82-game season.

But coming off Saturday's embarrassing loss in South Florida, the Flyers needed to treat game No. 3 of the year - a rematch against the Florida Panthers - almost like a must-win. For a team that has started slow the last two seasons, a loss in last night's home opener - and with the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks coming to town tomorrow - would have been a downer.

They no longer have to worry about that.

Michal Neuvirth pitched a shutout in his first start with the Flyers, who skated away with a 1-0 win in front of an energized, sold-out crowd. Neuvirth filled in for starter Steve Mason, who is away from the team dealing with a family issue. Neuvirth stopped all 31 shots.

"It was a weird day," Neuvirth said. "But it ended up being a great day."

The Flyers, now 1-1-1, put a full, 60-minute effort in front of Neuvirth that helped earn them their first victory of the season. This just 48 hours after a players-only meeting that followed a 7-1 loss to the same Panthers.

"The one reason we had that meeting was because of our past," captain Claude Giroux said. "We get a couple losses and we get off-track and we change the whole mindset of the game. I think the whole thing was to get everybody to relax and not hit the panic button right away."

Panic would be an easy thing to do given the Flyers' brutal starts in the last two seasons.

Adding to that, with R.J. Umberger out with an upper-body injury, coach Dave Hakstol inserted Sam Gagner into the lineup and was forced to shuffle his lines a little.

The forwards didn't miss a beat. Gagner played a big part in the Flyers' goal, using his speed through center ice before eventually setting up Brayden Schenn's second goal of the year. Both Gagner and Sean Couturier had assists on the goal, which gave the Flyers the lead just under six minutes into the game.

"We were trying to support the puck and play with some pace," Gagner said. "Everyone crashed the net and we were able to bang one in. It's definitely a nice feeling."

The goal happened after the Flyers killed off a double-minor penalty to Michael Raffl, who was whistled for high-sticking just 1:17 into the game. The Flyers clearly gained momentum after killing off the four minutes.

"You see that happen in the game of hockey," Hakstol said. "There's different ways to swing momentum, and a good penalty kill is one of them because it's effort-related. Sometimes it's an individual making an outstanding play or a group of four, plus your goaltender, giving second-effort type of plays. That lifts your bench."

The Flyers' penalty kill, which surrendered three goals Saturday, was dominant. They killed off 11:54 of Panthers' power-play time while not allowing many scoring opportunities.

Neuvirth did his best work in the third period, turning aside all 14 Panthers shots. His best - and probably most critical - save came with just over five minutes left. With the puck squirting behind him, Neuvirth reached back with his glove - circa Brian Boucher on Patrik Elias in the 2000 playoffs - and prevented the puck from crossing the goal line with Florida forward Brandon Pirri netside.

"I just had a feeling it was going through and I looked behind me and saw the puck," Neuvirth said. "I just reacted and got a little lucky and it worked out."

Neuvirth denied Pirri again with 11.7 seconds left in the game, flashing his glove at Pirri's wrist shot.

Neuvirth was helped by his defense, which blocked 17 shots.

"The guys in front of me, they did an outstanding job," Neuvirth said. "Great sticks, so many blocked shots. It was a great team effort."

Radko Gudas, who replaced Luke Schenn in the lineup, led the team with four blocked shots.

"I think the first guy that laid down and blocked a shot got us pumped up," said Gudas, who was on the ice for the Flyers' goal. "We got a little extra life on the bench and it's a fire that keeps us going. You feel better going on the bench and everyone's like, 'Hey, nice block.' It's nice to be a part of a team that blocks shots like this.

"I think everybody, if they're going to play on this team, they've gotta block shots. If they're in the lane, it's the right thing to do, help our goalie as much as we can."