It took him 67 NHL games, but Brandon Manning has his first big league goal.
It happened Monday night in Brooklyn, N.Y., and it came right after two anxious moments in the penalty box for the 25-year-old Philadelphia Flyers defenceman.
Manning just stepped out of the box after serving a cross-checking minor, when a clearing pass fired out of the Flyers' zone hit the skate of a linesman and ended up on Manning's stick. He went in on New York Islanders defenceman Calvin de Haan and beat goalie Thomas Greisss with a high snapshot over his glove.
"It would have been nice to get one a little bit sooner, but the biggest thing is just being able to contribute at a time like this for our hockey club and the push for making the playoffs," said the Prince George native.
Manning's goal came at 13:01 of the second period and put the Flyers ahead 2-1 and it stood as the game-winner in a 4-1 win over the Islanders.
"Things change quick -- one minute you're sitting in the box hoping they don't score," said Manning. "(Steve) Mason made a big save there in net, and (Mark) Streit and (Andrew) MacDonald both tried to clear the puck and luckily it went off the ref and I had a bit of space coming down the left side and saw some net on the glove side and was lucky to find it.
"It's definitely been fun, it's nice to be in the lineup all the time and hopefully keep things going."
Manning, who also has six assists, has been paired lately on the left side with Radko Gudas.
The Flyers (35-24-13) have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL lately, with a 6-2-2 record in their last 10 games, and that's moved them into a playoff position. They're now eighth in the Eastern Conference, tied with Detroit with 83 points, but the Flyers, who have 11 games left, have played one fewer game than the Red Wings.
The fifth-place Flyers, who lost 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday in Columbus, are five points behind third-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division standings.
"We've really been feeling good about ourselves the past 20 games or so," said Manning,
"It's going to be close, I know we have some games in hand on a couple teams and some big head-to-head games against Pittsburgh and the Islanders so it's going to go right down to the wire."
Manning has been with the Flyers organization for four years but this is the first season he's stayed put in the NHL. He showed his offensive ability as a two-time all-star in the AHL and last year scored 11 goals in 60 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He had 21 goals in his final season of junior hockey in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins in 2009-10.
"Last year I was a fourth-year pro and being an older guy in Lehigh I was playing a lot more minutes and playing the power play, so you get a few more (scoring) opportunities," said Manning. "As you're progressing at the higher level you kind of have to earn your stripes. Not playing the power play, you're not going to get those opportunities, but you just continue working and maybe one day you'll find yourself in that spot, scoring big goals and contributing a lot more."
The Flyers play the Colorado Avalanche tonight in Denver.
