Isaac on Flyers: Flyers Fourth Line Giving Team a Lift

VOORHEES — Chris VandeVelde had just taken a shot on New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist when the rebound found the stick of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

His shot Saturday night was also saved and, in a rush to get the puck out, the Rangers put it over the glass for a delay-of-game penalty.

It’s not a goal, but on the Flyers’ fourth line that’s about as close to an assist as you can get without scoring.

“We go on the ice and we make a good shift, we scared them a little bit with a shot that makes them a little bit shaky,” Bellemare said. “We knew we got a faceoff and our first line could come out and have a great shift right after. You’re a part of what happened before.”

That’s the objective for Bellemare, VandeVelde and Ryan White: be as effective as possible in shutting down the opposition’s top lines so that the Flyers’ top lines can go out and score.

“You play against a big line and I wouldn’t like to see our top line in our D zone for 45 seconds, getting tired against their fourth line,” Bellemare said, “because then you know that your first line is going to get tired the next time they go on the ice and they’re the guys who are supposed to score so maybe they won’t have this power.”