Johnny-on-the-spot paramedics have nothing on the Philadelphia Flyers. When it comes to quick response time, Philly can rival anyone.
At least, that was the case on Friday night at the Honda Center. More than anything, it was the Flyers' knack to retaliate but pronto that led to their riveting 5-4 shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Twice the determined Ducks scratched and clawed their way to hard fought leads only to see the Flyers counterpunch in the twinkling of an eye.
When Andrew Ebbett notched his first NHL goal by tipping in Chris Pronger's low whistling shot from the point, the Ducks went up 3-1 early in the second period. At that moment, it appeared coach Randy Carlyle's team had things well in hand.
A record crowd of 17,597, that included a surprisingly large Philly contingent, seemed to sense Anaheim was on the verge of putting the game away.
But winger Josh Gratton had other ideas. A mere 16 seconds after Ebbett's score, Gratton went to work. While the Duck faithful were still celebrating Ebbett's tally, Gratton rushed into the left circle. From there he proceeded to snap off a 15-foot wrist shot that beat Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere high on the glove side.
Just like that, the differential was down to one and the Flyers were right back in the hunt. What's more, they were immediately energized. Gratton couldn't have picked a more judicious time to nail his first goal of the season. The importance of Gratton's effort was underscored by his coach John Stevens, who readily admitted the clutch goal was "huge for us."
The Flyers continued to press the attack and eventually they lit the lamp again. Active defenseman Braydon Coburn, who logged a Herculean 30:07 of ice time, jumped into the play. Soon after, he took Glen Metropolit's feed from behind the cage and stuffed the puck past a scrambling Giguere.
That tied the count at 3-3 but believe it or not, things were just starting to heat up.
Now, it was the Ducks' turn to offer a rapid reply with a power play goal. Barely a minute after Coburn's equalizer, Anaheim was back on top.
The Ducks' dynamic 6-4 center Ryan Getzlaf, who earlier had left the game after absorbing a wicked hip check from Mike Knuble, positioned himself just off the doorstep. The talented Corey Perry spotted his line mate in close and sent him a beautiful backhand feed that Getzlaf quickly flicked home.
Once again ahead at 4-3, the Ducks seemed poised to finally take control.
But in what was becoming a repeating pattern, here came Philly once more. No matter what the Ducks tried, they couldn't keep their opponents down.
On this occasion, the feisty Flyers required a mere 14 seconds to answer. Talk about an instantaneous response! Many in the crowd hadn't even settled into their seats, still rejoicing over Getzlaf's heroics, when Knuble struck in a hurry. The Flyers' right winger blasted a one-timer from the left circle that darted past Giguere.
Mr. Momentum was getting dizzy from having to change sides with such frequency. The back and forth of this game was truly amazing.
Surprisingly, a kinetic second period that featured six goals was followed by a rather tame third stanza that saw none. The fact that Anaheim was whistled for four penalties in the third greatly hampered the Ducks' flow and rhythm.
After a scoreless overtime session, the game's outcome came down to a shootout. It was there that the gifted Mike Richards, who had already doled out three assists, notched the only goal. Richards can be slick with the puck and after he deftly toyed with Giguere, the centerman smoothly slipped the disc between the goaltender's pads.
Yet, the Ducks had a final chance to stay alive in the shootout. But after Getzlaf made a pretty move and clearly deeked Philly goalie Martin Biron, his aim failed him and he stunningly missed the net. And with that it was game, set and match.
A few other notes and observations about this compelling contest.
Though his play was just adequate at best, Biron nonetheless parlayed his 23 saves into his eighth career win over the Ducks without a loss.
Future Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer logged his 500th regular season assist on Anaheim's second goal which, ironically, was scored by Scott's younger brother Rob.
Never known for his offensive prowess, Rob has already potted nine goals this season and seems more of a scoring threat than he's ever been at the advanced age of 34.
Former Duck Joffrey Lupul returned to Anaheim where he was very much a fan favorite, in addition to being a highly productive player. When the Ducks included him in the trade that brought them elite defenseman Chris Pronger, many bemoaned Lupul's departure.
That's why it was more than surprising that when Lupul was controlling the puck during a second period shift, he was booed rather lustily. Oh, how soon they forget.
By the way, Lupul was basically a non-factor on this evening and went scoreless. He now has only one assist to show for his efforts in five games against his ex-mates.
Duck enforcer George Parros squared off against Flyer toughie Riley Cote in a rip-roaring fight in which the referees let them have at it. Each combatant landed some telling blows and the ebb and flow of the bout was remarkable. This was one of the best matchups I've seen in quite a while. In a close decision, I give Cote a slight edge.
Finally, Corey Perry shocked some observers with the path he took while participating in the shootout. After gathering in the puck at center ice, Perry immediately headed north and hugged the right boards for an extended period of time. Eventually, he took a sharp angle to the net but this unorthodox approach hardly fooled Biron, who made a cake glove save of Perry's rather easy shot.