Flyers Score Early and Often, Bomb Jackets, 9-2

By David Strehle (@David_Strehle)

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a tough go of it in the 2011-12 season and just when it seemed that things couldn’t get much worse, it got a lot worse in South Philadelphia tonight, as the Flyers bombarded hapless Columbus by a 9-2 score.

Philadelphia has had issues over the past forty regular season games with playing down to the level of their opponents, and their inability to put away bad teams.

They’ve also had issues with racing to early lead in the last two games, only to have to fight for their lives in the end.  Wednesday in Buffalo, they ran up an early 3-0 count on the Sabres, only to barely hang on for a 3-2 victory with Ilya Bryzgalov saving their bacon.  The next night, a 2-0 advantage over the New Jersey Devils was erased, and Philly dropped a 4-3 decision in a shootout in front of the home fans.

Neither was a problem Saturday night, as the Flyers scored early and often in building a lead, and kept their foot on the accelerator for most of the night.

Harry Zolnierczyk reacts to Sean Couturier's third period goal as Steve Mason looks skyward. (Photo credit: AP Photo / Tom Mihalek)

Philadelphia set a team record by having eight different players score a goal in the game, with rookie Sean Couturier - who along with Jakub Voracek, was acquired from Columbus in the Jeff Carter trade over the summer – being the only one to dent the twine twice.

James van Riemsdyk, who was thought to be out for the game with a knee issue, instead was a late addition to the lineup.  He got the offensive parade under way just 1:38 into the contest, and would finish the night with a three-point effort.

“Things just seemed to be clicking out there,” van Riemsdyk said.  ”We were making good passes up and down the ice and making smart plays with the puck.  When you do that it makes the game look a lot easier out there.”

After a power play goal from Jaromir Jagr and even strength tallies from Max Talbot, Claude Giroux, and ex-Jacket Voracek, the Flyers went to the locker room with a 5-0 lead at the first intermission.  The last time the Flyers led a game 5-0 after one was April 3, 2009, when they led the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 5-0 count in an eventual 8-5 win.

The middle frame was more of the same for both teams.

Columbus starter Steve Mason was pulled in favor of backup Allen York after the Talbot goal at 13:09 of the first, but after York was touched for two more on just five shots, Mason returned to start the second.  He would finish the game with 21 saves on 28 shots on goal.

Couturier netted his first goal of the night at 7:08 with defenseman Andreas Lilja sitting in the penalty box for tripping, beating Mason on a give-and-go pass from Braydon Coburn for his first career shorthanded goal.

Wayne Simmonds and Matt Carle added goals just 20 seconds apart later in the period to give the Flyers an 8-0 lead after two.

Philadelphia didn’t push to run up the score in the final stanza any more than they already had, and Columbus actually dominated the third period.  They outshot the Flyers, 21-6, and outscored the home team, 2-1.  The Jackets got goals from tough guy Derek Dorsett and Grant Clitsome, sandwiched around Couturier’s second of the evening.

Every Flyer skater had at least one point, with the exception of Scott Hartnell and Zac Rinaldo, and every Philly skater recorded at least one shot on goal except for defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Erik Gustafsson.

Gustafsson led the way with a +6 rating, and picked up his first-career point when he assisted on van Riemsdyk’s goal.

Gustafsson was recalled from the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms when Chris Pronger went down with an eye injury, and was asked if he is hoping to remain up with the big club when Pronger returns.  ”I don’t know, you can talk to the coaches about that,” he laughed.  ”I mean, I hope so (laughs again).”

It’s bodes well that Peter Laviolette is noticing Gustafsson’s excellent play.  ”I saw that, a plus six,” the coach said.  ”That’s a pretty good stat right there.  He was on the ice for a lot of positive things.  He’s played really well since he’s been called up.  He moves the puck so well.  I think over the summer he picked up a step in speed, picked up some added muscle and he looks really strong on the ice.”

This was the second time the team has scored eight goals or more in a game in the last nine days, and Simmonds said it’s because of the team’s scoring depth.  “We’re a talented team,” said the former-King, who had a goal and beat Dorsett in a decisive first period fight.  ”From line one to line four, every one can score.  It’s nice.”

It had been nine games since Simmonds had lit the lamp, and he was more than aware of that fact.  “Yeah, it’s been a while (since scoring),” he said.  ”I haven’t been playing the way I should be playing the last few games.  I just need to establish myself physically, and get back to how I started playing in the beginning of the year.”

The Flyers are now off until Wednesday, when they travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Fans at the Wells Fargo Center missed out on seeing former-Flyer Carter return as a Blue Jacket due to his continued absence from the lineup with a broken foot.

What was lost in not seeing the expatriate take on his former mates was more than made up for in entertainment value, as Philadelphia scored nine goals in a game for the first time since February 6, 1997 against the Montreal Canadiens.

And perhaps for Carter’s sake, it was a good thing he wasn’t wearing the Jackets alternate blue uniforms on this night.

Columbus has been the League’s worst team in the early going, and now stand at 2-11-1.  That’s just five points in 14 games, which leaves them dead last in the NHL’s overall standings.

Head coach Scott Arniel wasn’t happy with his team’s effort.  “We were obviously just embarrassed and embarrassed very quickly, time after time,” he said after the game.

Arniel has to be wondering if the axe is about to fall, as the Blue Jackets are off until Thursday when they return home to play the Chicago Blackhawks.  It would seem to be a logical time for changes after the start the club has gotten off to and following a seven-goal loss, and the coach will likely be the first alteration.  And maybe even in the next couple of days.

Captain Rick Nash, who ended the game with an assist, four shots on goal, and a -1 rating, summed up the night – and pretty much the season thus far – from a Columbus standpoint.  ”This is definitely embarassing for us as a team,” he said.  ”It’s tough times right now.  It’s a tough night to be an individual in here.  It’s embarassing.“