17th Time's the Charm: Philadelphia Flyers Beat Red Wings in Detroit

For the first time in 23 years, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit.

The Flyers were 0-14-2 at the Joe Louis Arena since November 4, 1988.  I was watching Beetlejuice and jammin’ out to Guns & Roses the last time the Flyers won in Detroit’s house.

The game was a usual Detroit-Philadelphia matchup with physical play and a lot of defense.

James van Riemsdyk broke open the scoring in the second period after the first period saw no goals but plenty of action.  His shot was deflected by a Red Wing in front of the net before going in.  The goal was van Riemsdyk’s ninth and is a testament of how much he has improved his play since being benched.

The second Flyers goal was a tip-in by Daniel Carcillo from a point blast by defender Andrej Meszaros just over five minutes into the second.

The third and eventual game-winning goal came off the stick of Scott Hartnell 10 minutes after the second goal.  The snapshot goal was Hartnell’s 10th of the season.

As Detroit does so well, they never give up.  After pulling Jimmy Howard at the beginning of the third period, the Red Wings made a serious comeback with Chris Osgood in net.

Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit in the third period but the Flyers held Detroit off for a big victory against a top-tier team.

The Flyers are managing this trip the best that could be expected and have to maintain at least a .500 record for the rest of this trip to keep a good position in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

Imagine Chris Pronger coming back a few weeks before the playoffs.  He will be rested and will have enough time to get in game shape.  Show me a team with a defensive group as talented as the Flyers when Chris Pronger is at 100 percent.

Enjoy it Flyers fans, it’s been a long wait but it feels good.  Take that Darren McCarty.