Riemsdyk Scores First Of The Season To Help Flyers Rally Back

Added on Nov 23, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

Philadelphia_Flyers_Wallpaper_by_quackeration

James van Riemsdyk picked up his first goal of the season Monday night, and he picked a good time time start. Van Riemsdyk snapped a third-period tie with a power-play goal, helping the Philadelphia Flyers rally for a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

“It’s been a while,” said van Riemsdyk, who scored for the first time in 23 games. “Sometimes you forget how great it feels to score a goal. It felt great. I just want to keep this going. We wanted to make sure we came out better after that first period we had.”

The first period was rough on the Flyers, and Montreal outshot them 15-9. “We didn’t play the way we know we’re capable of,” van Riemsdyk continued. “We really wanted to get out there in the second and rip the door off the hinges.” He was also elated he got the first one of the season out of the way. “The last three games or so, when I got back in the lineup, I felt a lot better,” he said. “I was playing without that pressure and not squeezing the stick as much. It makes it easier. It drives you crazy. If you ask my parents and brothers, they’d probably say I wasn’t fun to be around recently. It feels good to get that one there.”

The Flyers pulled their second consecutive win, after losing their previous two, and Claude Giroux and Ville Leino also scored for the Flyers, who trailed 2-0 after the first period. The Flyers also moved into a tie with the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but are ranked higher based on goal differential.

Maxim Lapierre Netted two goals for the Canadiens in the first frame of the game, and everything looked like it would be a typical Montreal win. Canadiens coach Jacques Martin agreed”We dominated the first period and it was the reverse in the second, They dominated the second and took some momentum away and the third period continued by just getting pucks in deep and outworking us in our zone.” This was the first game this year that the Canadiens lost after winning at the end of the first period.

Flyers goalie Boucher stopped 29 shots on the night, but he made some big saves throughout the game. This is a good sign as he hasn’t started since October 25. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette thought he really came through for the team. He said, “The saves he made in the first period were incredible, He was sharp. Then he continued that way through the rest of the game. I thought he was terrific.”

The Philadelphia (14-6-2, 30pts) will face Minnesota (10-7-2, 22pts), and the Montreal (13-7-1, 27pts) will face the Los Angeles (13-7-0, 26pts) on Wednesday night.