Flyers veteran Gagner will get first taste of playoffs
NEW YORK - There were a lot of relieved and excited players in the Flyers' locker room after they completed a second-half surge - they climbed past four teams - and clinched a playoff berth Saturday.
NEW YORK - There were a lot of relieved and excited players in the Flyers' locker room after they completed a second-half surge - they climbed past four teams - and clinched a playoff berth Saturday.
None seemed more satisfied than Sam Gagner, the winger who will be going to the postseason for the first time in his nine-year career.
"It's why you play hockey - to play in meaningful games and play in the playoffs," Gagner said.
The Flyers will face Alex Ovechkin and powerful Washington in the opening round.
"It just feels so good, especially for some of the older veterans and see how happy they are," rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, 22, said. "And it's pretty awesome to have it happen in your first season as well. It's a compliment to the coaching staff to put us in this situation. They've done a great job with us."
The Flyers were 2-2 against the Capitals in the regular season.
"It's definitely going to be a great challenge for us - a challenge I think we're going to get up for," said Gagner, 26. "It's pretty easy to get up for a game when you're playing the best team in the NHL. We're just going to go in there with a great mind-set, and we'll see what happens."
Ovechkin has 31 goals and 48 points in 41 career games against the Flyers.
Good company
Wayne Simmonds finished with eight multi-goal games this season, which was tied for first in the NHL with Dallas' Jamie Benn, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Ovechkin, Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau of South Jersey, and Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk.
Mason sits
After starting 17 of the last 18 games, including 12 in a row, Steve Mason was finally given a rest Sunday as Michal Neuvirth was the starter against the Islanders.
Mason, whose strong play in the last five weeks carried the Flyers into the playoffs, finished with a 23-19-10 record, a 2.51 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage.
Breakaways
Winger R.J. Umberger, whose contract is expected to be bought out in the offseason, was among the players who finally cracked the lineup in Sunday's season finale. He had sat out 23 straight games since Feb. 20. . . . Defenseman Evgeny Medvedev played Sunday after sitting out 14 straight games, and center Jordan Weal played for the first time in 28 games. . . . Simmonds on "God Bless America" being performed at the Wells Fargo Center: "The place just blows up.". . . . Andrew MacDonald played in his 400th career game Sunday.