Earlier in the day the NHL released a statement saying that the 8 p.m. puck drop between the Flyers and Penguins inside Lincoln Financial Field would go on as planned, despite a call for rain in the forecast throughout the night.
With contingency plans in place, the game went on as planned with no real threat of rain until the biggest moments in the game, where the Flyers dug themselves out of a two goal deficit, and concluded with a game winner in overtime by the captain Claude Giroux. The Flyers notched their first outdoor game win in four tries and remain in contention of a suddenly very tight race for the final playoff spot in the eastern conference.
In a must-win game for the Flyers to have an real hope of making the playoffs, the team found themselves battling as many as three opponents at once inside the sold out Lincoln Financial Field; Penguins, weather, and themselves. Just under 13 ½ minutes remaining in the game, Flyers killer, Evgeni Malin, notched his 27th goal against the Flyers after a failed glove grab by Brian Elliot popped into the air, bounced off his leg and into the back of the net gave the Pens a 2 goal lead with little left remaining in the Flyers.
As the rain steadily picked up its pace, the Flyers pulled Elliot and James Van Riemsdyk scored his 16th of the year to get the Flyers within one with just 4 minutes remaining. With the dying embers of the game, Elliot pulled once again, the Flyers' own Penguins killer, Jakob Voracek, scored his 21st goal against Pittsburgh with just 20 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Forcing overtime, the remaining crowd louder than any other point in the game, the captain, Claude Giroux, in his 800th career NHL game, all right here in Philadelphia tallied his 18th of the year to lift the Flyers to an unforeseen 4-3 win over their cross-state rival and breathe new life into a franchise fighting for the playoffs.
The Flyers are just seven points out of the final playoff position, currently held by the Carolina Hurricanes, with 19 games remaining on the docket. Of those remaining games, they face only the Penguins once and Carolina twice, including the final game of the season. A suddenly bleak looking season has turned into a nail biter of a finish. Buckle up Flyers fans.
Sights from the Game
An outdoor game was something to behold, the sightlines aren't perfect, they really can't be given the arenas, but the experience makes up for it. The smell of the rain, the pinch on your face from the cold brings hockey fans to the small frozen lake you learned to play the game. Here are a few of my favorite things that occurred throughout the Linc during the matchup:
An Entrance Fit Only For Gritty
If you knew just one thing going into tonight's game, you knew that the infamous Gritty was going to be a spectacle of himself alone and he did not disappoints. In the pre-game festivities, Gritty came in as only Gritty knew how; by zip-lining from the top of the Linc to ice level.
— Bill Kornfeld (@RadioBill1210) February 24, 2019Doug Pederson
How could you have a game at the home of the Philadelphia Eagles and not have the head coach of the Super Bowl LII champions be there for the ceremonial puck drop? Of course Doug strolled out to center ice, Flyers Stadium Series jersey and all to thunderous applause.
Coach Pederson was on hand to drop the ceremonial puck before tonight's #StadiumSeries.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/TG66wTLlmv
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 24, 2019Bryce Harper
Of course, similar to the appearance of Doug Pederson, you had to expect a few fans to take advantage of the nationally televised game to promote a Bryce Harper signing to hometown squad, Philadelphia Phillies.
a second pitch at the Linc to get Harper here @JackFritzWIP pic.twitter.com/jBE1oVH3St
— Bill Kornfeld (@RadioBill1210) February 24, 2019Gritty Did What?
And finally, the most shocking and horrifying moment came during a 2nd period media timeout. Gritty decided to grace the crowd in his "birthday suit."
I've since been ejected. pic.twitter.com/6ims2CQpsc
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) February 24, 2019Follow Bill Kornfeld on Twitter @RadioBill1210 or email him bill.kornfeld@entercom.com
