San Jose, Arizona, and Chicago all played on Thursday night.
Chicago topples Nashville
The Chicago Blackhawks WON their second game in a row with a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Lukas Reichel (3) and Joey Anderson (5) scored goals in the win, while Alex Stalock stopped 35 of 36 shots sent his way. The loss snapped a 3 game win streak for Nashville.
More importantly, Chicago moved to within 5 points of the Philadelphia Flyers in the standings. They now have 54 points in 68 games played, while the Flyers sit at 59 with games against Buffalo and Carolina over the weekend.
Chicago next plays Saturday night in Arizona in which another victory would be the best result for Philadelphia.
watch until the end 😄 pic.twitter.com/uq3b0Gstr0
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 17, 2023
Arizona upends Vancouver
Meanwhile in Arizona, the Coyotes are red hot as they won their second game in a row and are now 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. The 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks propels Arizona into a three-way tie for 25th place with the Canucks and St. Louis with 63 points.
Travis Boyd scored twice (13,14) and Lawson Crouse scored his 22nd goal in the victory. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov picked up his second win of the season as he stopped 29 of 31 shots faced. The victory puts Arizona 4 points clear of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Arizona plays Chicago in Arizona on Saturday night. Chicago gaining two points would be the best result for the Flyers.
Super sneaky 😏 pic.twitter.com/vSoU45kCHB
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 17, 2023
San Jose picks up a point against Seattle
With the late game Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks blew a late third period lead against the Seattle Kraken, but they were still able to pick up the loser point as they lost 2-1 in overtime. Highly touted prospect, William Eklund, scored his second career goal but it wasn’t enough as Oliver Bjorkstrand (15) tied the game mid-way through the third period.
Vince Dunn would finish off the deed in overtime with his 13th goal of the year. James Reimer turned away 23 of 25 Seattle shots but it was not enough for 2 points.
*plays jaws theme song*
duuuunnnn duunn duuunnnnnnnn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn pic.twitter.com/7k49YrLd9K
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) March 17, 2023
San Jose now sits just seven points behind the Flyers and although it’s unlikely they catch Philadelphia, it’s worth noting the Sharks have two or three winnable games on their schedule the next week or so.
So as you can see we had another near perfect night of tanking for the Philadelphia Flyers without them even having played a game. With two tough games on the docket tonight against Buffalo and tomorrow night against Carolina, the Flyers could creep even closer to a bottom three position in the standings.
Jim Iacovone is the Founder and President for HW Hockey
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