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The NHL’s Day of Atonement

In case you missed it, the Jewish Holiday Yom Kippur passed on Tuesday night. As many of you know, I am Jewish. On Yom Kippur, my fellow Jews and I sit in synagogue, fast, and pray for atonement for our sins for the past year. Furthermore, we, as a people and individually need to apologize to those we have hurt. Yom Kippur got me thinking not just about who I may have caused harm to (namely my fantastic editor Kim Pollock with the random times I e-mail her my weekly piece), but what I would be apologizing for if I …

New teammates Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Bryzgalov

Point/Counterpoint: NHLers Playing Overseas

Welcome to another edition of Point/Counterpoint, where a pair of Flyers Faithful scribes square off, debating an issue with their own unique style and flair. This week, Kim P and Craig F discuss the pros and cons of NHL players joining teams in other leagues during the lockout. Point: Kim P. Now that the NHL is in lockout mode, some players have flocked overseas and joined teams in European hockey leagues. It’s great for those players, who get the chance to do what they love even though their own league is at a standstill, but there are some downsides to these guys playing abroad. When a …

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On Drafting Defenseman

The 2012 draft is days away and Flyers fans have been discussing draft strategy for the first round. What should the Flyers do? The general consensus seems to be that they need to draft a defenseman in the first round and anything else is disappointing. There has also been lots of talk on whether or not the Flyers should move up to draft one of the higher ranked defenders. Most specifically, Ryan Murray, who will likely be selected second. I’ve seen someone go as far as suggesting a trade of James van Riemsdyk, Andrej Meszaros, Sergei Bobrovsky, and a first-round …

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Atlantic Watch: 4/4-4/10

The Flyers finished their 2011-12 regular season with a pair of games that didn’t have any kind of effect on the standings, as they beat the Buffalo Sabres and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s those same Penguins that the Flyers will play in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which starts tonight. Philly’s final home game of the regular season was also their final win, as they beat the visiting Sabres 2-1 on Thursday night. Ville Leino may have had a disappointing year, but he recorded his eighth of the year and second against the Flyers in the second period …

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Atlantic Watch: 3/21-3/27

In their three home games this week, the Flyers were able to clinch a playoff spot with a pair of wins over teams currently sitting outside the postseason scenario. Unfortunately, Ilya Bryzgalov suffered a chip fracture in his right foot. Hopefully for Philly, Bryzgalov will be back by the end of next week when the club takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers as part of their four-game schedule over the next few days. On Thursday, the Orange and Black earned two points against the Washington Capitals with a 2-1 shootout win at the Wells Fargo Center. Wayne Simmonds potted …

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Read And Simmonds Score in Shootout, Flyers Beat Caps 2-1

After an early goal from Alex Ovechkin, the Flyers were able to rally back for a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in a shootout tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. The victory was the third of the season against the Caps and the Flyers’ fourth in a shootout. Following the opening round of the shootout, where Matt Read and Matt Hendricks scored for their respective teams, Wayne Simmonds beat Braden Holtby glove-side on the Flyers’ fourth turn for the extra point. To close it out, Ilya Bryzgalov, who made 30 saves in the game, denied Troy Brouwer for his third shootout …

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Atlantic Watch: 2/29-3/6

For the first time in awhile, the Flyers put together a string of wins this week, as they won all three of their contests. Ilya Bryzgalov played a big part in the team’s success, as he won all three games with a save percentage of .948. With a four-game schedule ahead for the next seven days, hopefully Bryzgalov can keep Philly’s winning ways intact against some strong opponents. In their first game of the week, the Flyers beat the visiting New York Islanders by a score of 6-3. It looked like Bryzgalov was back to his usual ways, as Josh …

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Bryz and D Blank Caps 1-0 In Washington

Ilya Bryzgalov had his strongest performance of the season tonight, as he stopped 34 saves to help the Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 1-0 at the Verizon Center. Eric Wellwood’s second goal of the season was all Bryzgalov needed for his third shutout of 2011-2012, as the Flyers won back-to-back games for the first time since the middle of January. The game-winning goal, which came at the 7:51 mark of the second period, was a redirection from Wellwood in the slot off of a pass from Pavel Kubina at the point. The puck eluded Michal Neuvirth for his second goal …

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Atlantic Watch: 2/22-2/28

The end of their four-game road trip wasn’t pretty for the Flyers, as their only two points came in a shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. With a pair of shutout losses, the Flyers have now been shut out five times this season. The Flyers hope two games against Eastern Conference teams below them in the standings will help them gain ground in a fight for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. On Thursday, the Flyers failed to put a puck past Devan Dubnyk a single time in a 2-0 loss against the Edmonton Oilers. Taylor …

Atlantic Watch: 1/18-1/24

The Flyers went 2-1-1 in a week that featured a lot of ups and downs for the guys in Orange and Black. After a week that featured a loss to the Islanders, a Scott Hartnell record a natural hat trick, and their first shootout win of the season, the Flyers are still trailing the Rangers for the top spot in the division. With one game this week, the Flyers look to gain ground in the division as well as beat a team they have already lost to twice this season. The Flyers started the week off with a 4-1 loss to …

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