The Philadelphia Flyers have been inconsistent in the early going, but mostly trending up — which is why they are sitting in the fourth overall slot in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the #1 seed. There are good and bad trends with every team and perhaps a little unexpectedly, the good for the Flyers lies in their scoring. As of right now, after only 14 games, the Flyers have managed to pot 56 goals which is tops in the league. In fact, they’re the only team in the NHL to have scored at least …
Flight Plan Week of 10.30.2011
The Philadelphia Flyers split their four games this week. After a big win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers dropped a bad one to the Montreal Canadiens where they looked all sorts of out of sorts against a team who was desperate for a win. Then, the Flyers continued looking discombobulated up until the end of the second period against the Winnipeg Jets in a crazy 17-goal back-and-forth shoot out at the Wells Fargo Center, the Jets barely getting out of dodge with a win they should have had locked up. Wrapping up the week, Philadelphia was able to …
Flight Plan Week of 10.23.2011
The Philadelphia Flyers started out of the gate as one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, winning four of their first five games and getting points in all five of them. Since then, they have suffered two embarrassing (though in different ways) back-to-back losses on home ice at the hands of the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues. To lose to the Capitals by a score of 5-2 when they’re one of the hotter teams in the NHL at the beginning of the season, and just about every bounce goes the way of the opposition, well …
Five Reasons I Love the Flyers: Adam Goren
Adam Goren is a longtime staple of the Philadelphia punk rock community. Goren made his bones in the scene as a member of the band Fracture before leaving to form Atom and His Package, a synthetic punk group that consisted primarily of himself (as Atom) and his “package”, a synthesizer. After parting ways with the package in 2003, he joined the punk band, Armalite, which also features members of bands like Lifetime and Kid Dynamite. Adam is a huge fan of both hockey and the Flyers. He has written about the team before in songs like Goalie (see video below). You …
Defending the Flyers
Well, I did it. Brought hockey into my lesson. Not relatable to Henry V, unfortunately. That would have been amazing. I’m making my 10th and 11th graders learn vocabulary. They hate it, I love it, so it’s a win-win. Our word a few days ago was acrimony, which means bitterness or animosity. In an effort to help them learn, I used it in a sentence, making it up right on the spot. “I have a lot of acrimony when I constantly have to defend why I’m a Flyers fan. To everyone.” (Right, so it’s not the most eloquent of sentences, but …
Let the dust settle
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. The Flyers finally have their bona-fide starter. They have some size and grit. They have wingers. They have cap space, and draft picks, and prospects. As Dick Enberg is fond of saying…Oh my! They got all of the assets that we perceived to be lacking in the franchise and for the low, low price of the captain and one of the alternates. The cost is nothing more than a top-tier, team-leading scorer and a heart-and-soul, leave-it-all-on-the-ice leader. Really, it’s a mere pittance. First-line centers. Cornerstones. Franchise players. That’s it. Anyone …
What’s wrong with the Flyers?
It’s too easy to blame Brian Boucher for this loss. After all, he gave up four goals on 20 shots and was pulled from the game. Regrettably, he has not performed above his abilities during the playoffs this season. He’s let in some soft goals and been pulled more times than a sixteen-year old’s wang. His .800 SV% tonight was also woeful at best, but let’s not hang him out to dry just yet. Bill Meltzer likes to state that bad things happen when you don’t move your feet. The Flyers skaters are providing him with plenty of evidence to …
Chara Scores Twice, Flyers Lose 5-1
Hopefully the Flyers can reenact the second portion of their 2010 playoffs after dropping Game 3 tonight by a 5-1 count. They are now one game from elimination. Zdeno Chara had two goals and David Krejci added three points while Tim Thomas made 37 saves as Boston has now out scored Philly 15-6 in the series. Andrej Meszaros had the only Flyers’ goal on the night, but it meant very little as the Bruins already enjoyed a 4-0 lead. Last game it was James van Riemsdyk, this game it was Chara. Just over 30 seconds into the game, Chara walked into a …
Thomas Saves 52 In Bruins 3-2 OT Win
A goal 31 seconds into the game and 54 shots on net weren’t enough for the Flyers to win tonight as the Bruins grabbed a 2-0 series lead heading into Boston. Tim Thomas had 52 saves on the night including 32 in the third period and overtime. David Krejci scored his third goal of the series 14 minutes into overtime while James van Riemsdyk had a two-goal night as the Flyers look to win both games in Boston to even the series at two. A strong start was something the Flyers lacked last game. This game the Flyers dictated play …
Bruins Pound Flyers 7-3 In Game 1
The Bruins aren’t the Sabres and the Flyers learned that the hard way Saturday afternoon, dropping the opening game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 7-3. Tim Thomas had 31 saves on 34 shots while both David Krejci and Brad Marchand had two-goal games to help the Bruins win. Patrice Bergeron had three assists as Boston grabbed the 1-0 lead in the series. It was the first time since 1988 that Boston scored at least seven times in a playoff game, and it was the first time in five years that Philadelphia allowed that many. In front of their home crowd, …