Flyers' Raffl signs extension; Kings next
Rookie forward Michael Raffl signed a two-year extension, the Flyers announced after their 4-1 win over St. Louis (
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) on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Austrian will be paid a total of $2.2 million.
Raffl, a speedy player who is also strong along the boards, spent a lot of the season as a left wing on the Flyers' top line, but more recently he has centered the fourth line. He has also contributed significantly on the penalty-killing unit, which has killed 26 of the last 27.
In 57 games, the 6-foot, 195-pound Raffl has nine goals, 21 points and a plus-2 rating.
They're baaack. For the first time, the Kings' Jeff Carter and Mike Richards will play together at the Wells Fargo Center against the Flyers on Monday.
They will face a Flyers team that is brimming with confidence.
"We're playing very, very well… I think we played very physically over the last couple of weeks, which I think was the biggest difference," winger Jake Voracek said. "That's why we were winning those games and I think we showed the league that we can play with everyone and that we can beat everyone."
St. Louis was the "toughest team we've played so far this year, and we won, 4-1, so obviously it's good," he added. "It's going to give us some more confidence, and we've just got to make sure we get some rest tomorrow and be ready for LA because it's going to be almost the same game."
Breakaways. The Flyers' five-game winning streak is against teams with a combined .690 points percentage….Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell and Voracek each had two points…..St. Louis lost for just the second time after scoring first; the Blues had been 38-1-5…Zac Rinaldo had seven hits….Andrew MacDonald blocked five shots…..Goalie Steve Mason (32 saves) on notching his 30th victory of the season: "Any time you win, it's a team thing, so I'm not going to take any of the credit. You just try to do your job, and right now we're rolling along nicely and the wins are coming."It's a stat, but it's a team stat, so it's a good job for the team."
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.