Boyd Gordon paying early dividends on Flyers' penalty kill

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Two games into this young NHL season and Boyd Gordon on Saturday night nearly tied his goal total for all of last year, which was two as a member of the Coyotes.

Veteran goalie Mike Smith's cleverness in covering up a puck that everyone but those who write the NHL rules knows was in the net prevented Gordon from getting his second goal in as many games.

And the thing is, scoring goals isn't what Gordon does.
 
“Feels good to score in a win,” he said about his first goal Friday night in Los Angeles. “If I can contribute here and there, it gives us a better shot of winning.
 
“I wasn’t happy with how last year went. I have more to give. I can contribute offensively. I never put up huge numbers.”
 
Actually, the 32-year-old center has never scored more than eight goals in a season during his previous 12 years in the league. The Flyers signed him in free agency this summer for what he does best — taking defensive draws and eating up minutes on the penalty kill.
 
Specifically, coach Dave Hakstol wants him on the ice taking PK draws for Claude Giroux and gobbling Giroux's penalty-kill minutes. Through two games — a win over the Kings and an overtime loss to the Coyotes — Giroux has zero minutes on the penalty kill.

Some of those minutes are being spread out. For instance, Wayne Simmonds saw PK duties in Saturday’s 4-3 OT loss, which is new to him. But the majority of faceoffs are going to Gordon and Sean Couturier.
 
“I’ve done it my whole career,” Gordon said. “Some years better than others. It’s something I’ve always done and taken pride in — taking draws. Getting kills. Special teams are huge now. If we can be better on the kill, it gives us a better chance to win the hockey game.”

Last season, Gordon, who is a right-handed centerman like Giroux, won 54 percent of his shorthanded draws — second best in the league. It’s one reason why he’s always picked up votes for the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward).
 
“Yeah, I would take a lot of my strong side or either side, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “You can have one guy on each side who is comfortable taking draws. It helps. If you win that draw initially and get it out, that kills 20 seconds right there. Those little things add up.”
 
Taking shorthanded chores away from Giroux will allow the Flyers to give their captain more offensive minutes, especially late in games.
 
That was a specific conversation Gordon had with general manager Ron Hextall last summer before signing here.
 
“I talked to Ron about it and he thought I could slot in and get Giroux off the kill a little bit,” Gordon said.
 
“Keep him rested a little bit more. Just try to fit in with everyone else and be part of the solution here. Hopefully, the kill can get better. If it does, it gives us a lot better chance to win.”
 
The Flyers have had terrible PK units the past two seasons and one reason was because the one forward they used mostly on defensive draws — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — was below 40 percent on draws, even though he was compiling heavy minutes on the ice.
 
Bellemare will get minutes but not PK faceoffs now that Gordon is here. Through two games, the Flyers have killed off eight of nine penalties (88.9 percent), which is an excellent start.
 
“Whether it’s a defensive zone draw, a penalty kill draw or a defensive role, he’s certainly proved through his career that he’s pretty efficient in that role,” Hakstol said of Gordon.
 
“G thrives on that 19-22 minute mark. Every night might dictate a little differently. With some of the depth we now have on PK side, we may be able to alter some of those minutes. Get more of those minutes into offensive situations.”
 
Gordon is centering a new fourth line with Chris VandeVelde and Matt Read. They’ve also generated scoring chances.
 
“We’re still getting to know each other a bit,” Gordon said. “It’s coming along. Two easy guys to play with and Reader has great speed, so I try to get him the puck with speed and be an effective line out there.”
 
Read scored against Arizona in the middle of a line change with Gordon coming onto the ice.
 
“You don’t want to be a line that just goes out there and kills the clock,” Gordon said. “We want to create something and be an effective line that gives us momentum.”

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