Jets earn wild 9-8 win over Flyers
Winnipeg and the Philadelphia Flyers jersey combined for 17 goals in a game that was so unusual that even the victorious Jets were left shaking their heads.
Andrew Ladd(notes) scored the game-winner with 1:06 remaining on a one-timer from close range to lift Winnipeg to a wild 9-8 victory over the Flyers on Thursday night.
“It’s the strangest game I’ve been a part of, it was like an NFL game,” Jets coach Claude Noel said. “We can’t make a lot of logic out of what we did there.”
“I thought to myself, ‘Self, you’re a sick man trying to make logic of this,”’ Noel added. “I had the rosary out, I had everything going tonight.”
Fifteen players scored in the wide-open game in which both clubs set season highs for goals scored and goals allowed, and the Jets tied a franchise record for goals in a game.
Asked if he learned anything about his team, Noel joked, “You learn you might need a sports psychologist just to manage the brain of the coach.”
Philadelphia’s Danny Briere(notes) and James van Riemsdyk(notes) were the only multiple goal scorers with two apiece. Kimmo Timonen jersey had four assists and Scott Hartnell(note) added a goal and assist. Claude Giroux(notes) and Max Talbot(notes) also scored for Flyers.
Nik Antropov(notes) and Tanner Glass(notes) each had a goal and two assists for the Jets. Evander Kane(notes) and Alex Burmistrov(notes) each added a goal and an assist and Blake Wheeler(notes) had three assists for Winnipeg.
“I have never been part of that and hopefully I never am again,” Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian(notes) said. “It’s good that we battled hard and then won, but there were probably a lot more negatives in that game than positives.”
Ladd compared the result to a video game.
“It was like Blades of Steel out there,” he said.
Of his game-winning tally, Ladd said, “We kind of got a good cycle down low. (Wheeler) was able to find me in front.”
It was a rough night for the goaltenders, as both starters were pulled and the backups didn’t fare much better.
Winnipeg Jets jersey starter Ondrej Pavelec(notes) allowed seven goals on 43 shots and was forced to re-enter the game after his backup, Chris Mason(notes), left with an apparent groin injury with 8:20 left in the third period. Mason gave up one goal on five shots.
Flyers backup goalie Sergei Bobrovsky(notes) started the game, but was pulled early in the second period after surrendering five goals on 15 shots. Ilya Bryzgalov(notes), Philadelphia’s usual starter, relieved Bobrovsky and gave up four goals on 10 shots.
Bryzgalov blamed himself for the defeat, calling it the low point of his career.
“I have zero confidence in myself right now,” he said. “I am terrible. (The offense) scores eight goals and we are still losing. It’s obviously a terrible goalie and that’s me.
“I am the reason we lost the game tonight. I am lost in the woods right now.”
Briere, however, said the loss couldn’t be pinned on the goalies.
“I don’t think it’s right to blame one guy,” he said. “There were breakdowns left and right. We were all responsible for goals here and there.”
Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette agreed.
“You go goal by goal and you talk about it, but wholesale NHL jerseys there’s different reasons,” he said. “The bottom line is it isn’t good enough. You’ll never win any games (allowing nine goals). Well, the majority of the time you won’t win many games when you have to score 10. We’ll go back and we’ll work on everything.”
The Flyers came within striking distance of the club mark for goals, and both teams were close to marks for goals allowed.
