Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki announced his retirement from professional hockey today.  Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Former Flyers G Niittymaki calls it quits

After a National Hockey League career that included 234 games played, former Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki officially retired from the sport on Friday. Niittymaki played seven seasons in the NHL including his first five (2003-04; 2005-09) in  Philadelphia. He retired with a record of 95-86-31, five shutouts, a save percentage of .902 and a goals-against average of 2.95. The 32-year-old goalie was plucked in the 1998 draft by Philadelphia in the sixth round (168th overall). After leaving the Flyers, Niittymaki played in Tampa Bay and San Jose and after playing the 2011-12 season in the American Hockey League for Worcester …

Image Courtesy of  Paul Bereswill / Getty Images North America

Crashing the Crease: Long-term Shootout Shortcomings

We’re all Flyers fans here. Given that, we know the areas where the Orange and Black have consistently come up short. One of those, pardon my French, most damnably obvious areas has to be the shootout. The reality of just how bad this team is after the 65-minute mark may not be grasped by all, but a quick look at the stats reveals that the Flyers are very comfortable basement dwellers here. Thanks in large part to Winnipeg’s only having played in eight shootouts since re-expanding into the league, the Flyers sit firmly in 29th place in shootout wins. Their …

Image courtesy of Bleacher Report

Dazzlers and Duds: the most loved and hated Flyers of the past decade

Several weeks back, we asked our beloved Twitter followers who were their most loved and hated Flyers of the past decade. It led to some great names and some great discussion. Well it got us thinking. In the doldrums that is August in the hockey world — not to mention the impending doom of a lockout —  we decided to put together a tournament; poll style! We’ve compiled the responses for both the Loved and Hated categories, and seeded them according to our whims and wishes. What you see before you is the result of our efforts. While we may …

Thanks to The Saratogian

Minor League Update: 2/20-2/26

The Phantoms lost their first game of the week, but won their last two to win back-to-back games for the first time since the middle of January. With their shootout win and one-goal victory, the Phantoms are looking for their first three-game winning streak since early December. Although they are 13th in the Eastern Conference, the Phantoms, who have two road games and one game in Adirondack over the next few days, are five points out of eighth place. To start the week, the Phantoms were shut out on the road by David Leggio and the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate) on Friday night by …

RICE & MICE: Labrum tears…It’s all in the hips

Ok, so there’s a labrum in the shoulder, but I’m talking about hips so, for right now, it’s all in the hips. It seems that hip injuries are all the rage these days and not just in the NHL. Hip labrum injuries can also occur in golf, baseball, soccer and basketball as well as hockey. However, hip labrum tears are almost an epidemic in hockey over the past several years. Goaltenders are especially prone to labrum tears. This can be attributed in part to the butterfly style that most goalies use, however it’s not an injury that’s excusive to butterfly …

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