Flight Plan is a new column that will take a more in depth look at the Flyers’ upcoming opponents every week here at Flyers Faithful. Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Flyers had not won two games in a row and had been playing sound in maybe one or two areas of their game. Other than the Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, and Ville Leino line, nothing seemed to click on a nightly basis for this team and something just seemed off. Now the Flyers have not only won two straight, but are in the midst of a six-game winning streak. The …
The morning after: Flyers @ Penguins 10.29.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. Wow! Excitement at the beginning and the end of this game (lacking somewhat in the middle). Viewed as a whole, it was a good game to start the “dad weekend”. (Aside: Who wants to party with the Carcillos? Here we go!) If you missed the first 2:35 of this game, you missed a lot. 30 minutes of penalties, a great off-the-puck-drop fight between Captain Mike Richards and Matt Cooke (who got pummeled at the end of the fight …
Who is the most improved Flyer so far?
Through the first tenth of the ’11 NHL season, we have seen some remarkable play from a handful of different Flyers. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux have led the offense but Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell are working very hard, even if they do not get on the score sheet as often. So, who do you think has improved the most to date from last season? If you choose the “Other” option, please leave a comment explaining your answer.
The morning after: Flyers @ Blue Jackets 10.25.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. The next part of this post is a metaphor for the effort that the Flyers showed last night:* They sucked. *Brian Boucher and Ville Leino aside. Some quick thoughts: What do Ville Leino, Blair Betts, and Scott Hartnell all have in common? They all have more goals than Mike Richards, Nikolay Zherdev, and James van Riemsdyk. Not only do the Flyers have one of the worst power plays (8.6%) in the league but they also score among …
The morning after: Flyers vs. Ducks 10.21.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. In the four days that the Flyers were off, players were bag skated, the team worked on the power play, and they had plenty of time to rest so that they could come out hard against the Anaheim Ducks, a team that stumbled out of the gate this season. Much like the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins this past Saturday, this win was there for the taking and the Flyers did not grab it. Instead, they dropped …
Five questions: Of the Flyers that had a down season which, if any, will rebound?
Flyers Faithful asked Sarah Baicker from CSN Philly, Anthony SanFilippo from the DelCo Daily Times, Geoff Detweiler from Broad Street Hockey, and our very own Nina G five questions about the ’11 Flyers’ season. We are very grateful that they took the time to share their opinions and predictions with us. Each day of this week, we will run the answers to one of those questions. Today’s question is: Of the Flyers that had a down season which, if any, will rebound? Sarah Baicker: My vote goes to Danny Briere, who as we all know, had a disappointing regular season …
The morning after: Penguins vs. Flyers 10.16.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. I’m suffering a Philadelphia sports hangover this morning. It feels like I went out to have some good clean fun but someone kept handing me shots of Godlschlager all night. The losses by both the Flyers and Phillies sting. Going into last night’s sporting festivities, there was no reason the Flyers should have lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Due to numerous injuries, the Penguins were icing more of an AHL supporting cast than they usually do and, …
The morning after: Flyers vs. Lightning 10.14.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. Hey, did you hear that Simon Gagne returned to Philadelphia last night? I bet you didn’t. It sort of flew by under the radar. Like every other diehard Flyers fan, you were probably too focused on the return of the legendary Randy Jones to notice. In case you did miss the game, here is the tribute to Gagne, which originally appeared on The 700 Level: Gagne deserved the standing ovation he received but he was a non-factor on …
The morning after: Flyers vs. Avalanche 10.11.10
“The morning after” is a review of the previous night’s Flyers’ game which, in theory, provides a more objective perspective on the game. Let’s get right into this, shall we? Claude Giroux has arrived. I think the Flyers can leave four men back on the blue line to set him up with home run passes. Once this kid gets in on a breakaway, it’s all over. He’s taken three shots so far this season and two of them found the back of the net. Giroux played 2:30 on the penalty kill tonight and has been averaging about 3:18 a game …
Mixed bag: 10.10.10
Mixed Bag is an infrequent column that features a collection of opinions and observations about the Flyers. In the grand scheme of things, two games makes for a small sample size. There’s no reason to make any significant changes at this point or even begin to declare that some things may or may not be working well. These are just general observations and nothing more than that. So far, Mike Richards has lost 16 of the 29 faceoffs he’s taken, putting him at 44%. Jeff Carter, who was the team’s best faceoff man last season, has only taken 13 faceoffs …