To celebrate my 25th year of hockey fandom, I will occasionally step into the way-back machine and write about events in the Flyers’ past. For the balance of the season, I will be dipping into the well to ruminate about some things related to my love of the Philadelphia Flyers, and in general about the fan experience as a youngster. This is the sixth in the series of Spectrum Memories. Losing a family member or a friend to relocations, sickness or death is never a good experience, and the emotions are very raw and fresh when you’re a kid. Thankfully, my rather small family …
Milestone Madness
It’s amazing to think the Flyers are on pace to reach 1,000 home wins in franchise history. It would have been sweet to see the Orange and Black do it this past Saturday against the rival New Jersey Devils, but Johan Hedberg and Patrik Elias had a little something to say in that regard. Anywhoo…Philly gets another crack at a grand tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, in the final meeting of a four-game regular-season series which serves as the Flyers’ final contest before the All-Star Break. Since our hockey club, which sits atop the NHL standings, is so close to this momentous occasion, it’s …
Flyers’ best defense still needs more offense
It’s mid-January. The Philadelphia Flyers are in first place in the Atlantic Division and tops in the Eastern Conference, and are challenging for the best overall record in the NHL. The Devils are struggling to rise above the flames of their own personal Hades. The Islanders are sinking. The Rangers are good but not good enough, gasping for air and cramping up in the 21st mile. The Penguins are still hanging about in the rear view, still furiously waddling and flapping but unable to take off. Doesn’t matter though. Things can’t be totally perfect. I know it’s really nitpicking at this …
Flyers reward Holmgren with three-year extension
Sometimes good news just can’t wait. Although earlier reports indicated that the club was going to wait until Thursday to make the announcement, the Philadelphia Flyers and general manager Paul Holmgren agreed to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Delaware County Times reported earlier in the day that it will be worth approximately $4.5 million. Holmgren’s current contract was set to expire at the conclusion of the current campaign. “I’m particularly proud of the job Paul Holmgren has done with our hockey club and excited to offer him this three-year extension,” …
Spectrum Memories: A view from above
To celebrate my 25th year of hockey fandom, I will occasionally step into the way-back machine and write about events in the Flyers’ past. For the balance of the season, I will be dipping into the well to ruminate about some things related to my love of the Philadelphia Flyers, and in general about the fan experience as a youngster. This is the fifth in the series of Spectrum Memories. As I’ve established in previous posts, I was a nosebleed dweller at the Spectrum throughout my youth. That was the deal if my parents were going to front the tickets for a whole season. Still, there were …
Bruins get last laugh over Flyers in high-octane contest
What do you get when you combine a record-setting snowstorm and two teams at the top of their respective divisions squaring off in a rare important January game? Apparently, total chaos. On a night which saw the Flyers carry a one-goal lead into the third period, little-known Steven Kampfer notched the game winner late in regulation as the Boston Bruins outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-5, in a wild, playoff-like contest at TD Garden. Mark Recchi, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Gregory Campbell all posted a goal and one assist for the Bruins, who won their third straight game and moved …
Brawling Flyers didn’t fail when holding the torch for all of hockey
There’s a whole generation of hockey fans in this technological age who have no idea what the stakes used to be every time international teams took the ice. Until very recently, the Russians were not our friends. The Soviet Union, paragon of the Communist system, wanted to prove superiority by any means possible. Whether it was Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe on a table at Disneyland in the 1950s, questionable practices which aided their athletes in the Olympics, or the massive parades intended to showcase military might every May 1, the Russkies wanted us to know they’d be ready and …
Flyers down Devils with third-period surge
It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are for either club, because when the Flyers come to North Jersey, it always seems to be a death struggle. On Thursday night it was no different, as Scott Hartnell notched a pair of goals and Danny Briere tallied twice in the third period to give Philadelphia a 4-2 victory over New Jersey in the opener of a home-and-home series from Prudential Center. Ville Leino notched a career-best three assists with Matt Carle chipping in two helpers for the Flyers, who have taken three of four and finished their five-game road trip at 3-2-0. …
Flyers win in Detroit for first time since 1988
History had already been made earlier in the road trip, all the way back on the final Tuesday of 2010, when the Flyers lost in Vancouver for the first time since 1989. On the first Sunday of 2011, an historic occurrence of a more positive note unfolded. Brian Boucher celebrated his 34th birthday by stopping 25-of-27 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers erased more than 22 years of frustration in Detroit with a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. "It’s nice, but I don’t think it was on our minds to get the win for that reason," Boucher said about losses in …
New Year’s Eve: A time for getting sloshed…and watching hockey
No holiday sends us scrambling for some semblance of a social life like the final day of any calendar year…as if scrounging up a date, finding some friend’s house to haunt at the last minute and thinking you’re going to find a last-second hook-up before the ball drops is going to convince any one of us of our true worth. We of the faithful all know that true worth for the upcoming year is measured by whether or not your favorite hockey club wins or loses (RIP ties) on this final, final day. Whether you’re enjoying a quiet night at home, forced to turn in early because …