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Ghost was there for Flyers in clutch, but Panthers win shootout

Who knew that, when we were marveling at that Jaromir Jagr assist, we’d be in for quite a bit more drama between the Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers?

The Flyers were up 3-2 when that post was up, but there were twists and turns in between that great play and the Panthers’ 5-4 shootout win.

For one thing, Jagr added another assist on Saturday, getting the secondary helper on Aleksander Barkov’s power-play tally 8:24 into the third period. About a minute-and-a-half later, Reilly Smith stunned the Flyers to give Florida a 4-3 lead.

More than a few Flyers fans languished in thinking that Philly gave up two points when every night matters ... but other Flyers fans remembered that this team boasts ultra-clutch, Calder-caliber defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

We may need to begin calling him “Ghost is here in the Clutch” (or ... something a lot snappier), as he scored a huge goal to send the game to overtime:

To some extent, losing in the shootout tarnishes that great moment, but “Ghost” at least helped Philly secure a point. He has a knack for getting his team those crucial goals, after all:

The Flyers now find themselves just two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the East’s final wild card spot, and with news surfacing of Evgeni Malkin’s regular-season-ending injury, this race could be frantic.

... And the Flyers might just have the rookie defenseman who can make the big difference when games matter the most, as he’s done basically since the moment he was given a chance.
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The win means quite a bit for the Panthers, too. While the Boston Bruins currently hold the top spot in the Atlantic Division, Florida is now just one point behind with two games in hand.

Expect plenty of plot twists and exciting nights with the stretch run truly in gear.