On the afternoon of April 24, 2016, the Philadelphia Flyers were extinguished in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Washington Capitals. They are preceded in elimination by the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers.
The Flyers are survived by Mike Richards and Justin Williams of the Washington Capitals; Michael Leighton of the Chicago Blackhawks; Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers; Dainius Zubrus of the San Jose Sharks; and Scottie Upshall, Matthew Carle, and Braydon Coburn of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is officially time to break out those throwback sweaters.
One of the greatest accomplishments of the 2015-16 Flyers team was that they secured the second wild card spot. The fact that this happened in a huge win against their division rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, was simply icing on the cake. This Flyers team was never expected to be a playoff team, as they were going through a rebuilding process. In a sense, they overachieved.
To start the series, the Flyers were outclassed. Their lowest point had to be in Game 3, their first home game. With the death of founder Ed Snider on April 11th, the Flyers dedicated the postseason in his honor. In Game 3, the team had a special pregame show to commemorate Snider, which included LED wristbands for the fans. During the third period as the Capitals went on to eventually blow out the Flyers 6-1, fans threw their wristbands onto the ice. In fact, the team was given a bench minor because of their fans behavior. It was the lowest moment not only for the team but also for the fans. It was especially disrespectful to the memory of Snider.
Goaltender Steve Mason came under scrutiny when he allowed a 101-foot goal in Game 2. Capitals forward Jason Chimera shot the puck towards the goal from the red line, and somehow it got past Mason. There was not anybody screening Mason, and it was not a scoring chance. It was a very strange goal.
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Although Mason had been in net for the first three losses for the Flyers, he was not particularly horrible. Sure, he was so impressed by that Chimera shot that he just watched it go in, but he was not the sole reason for the woes of the Flyers. As of Game 3, he had a .852 save percentage, which is especially horrible for the playoffs, but if strictly counting only 5-on-5 play, his save percentage was a .922. He allowed eight power play goals, which partially speaks to the weak penalty kill of the team rather than only Mason’s ineffectiveness.
Up until Game 4, the Flyers were downright ugly, but things started to turn around for them. Their second greatest achievement was not being swept after facing the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals. After struggling against the NHL’s juggernaut and reaching an all-time low in Game 3, the Flyers gave a valiant effort in Games 4 and 5 that proved successful. It was in Game 4 that head coach Dave Hakstol gave goaltender Michal Neuvirth the nod. In Game 4, they held the Capitals to only one goal, and assistant captain Wayne Simmonds had two assists. Defenseman and Calder Memorial Trophy candidate Shayne Gostisbehere scored his first playoff goal on the power play during that game as well.
The Flyers built upon the momentum and shut out the Capitals at the Verizon Center in Game 5. Despite being outshot 44 to 11, Neuvirth stood tall against the team that drafted him in 2006. He shut down former teammate and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin twice. No easy feat. Ryan White got his first goal of the series, and Chris VandeVelde notched his first playoff goal.
However, it was not enough. The Capitals terminated the Flyers in Game 6, but the Flyers held them to a single goal. For a team that was never expected to utter the word “playoffs,” the Flyers shocked the hockey world by giving the league-leading Capitals a run for their money.
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