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Then and Now: R.J. Umberger

R.J. Umberger may have been born in Pittsburgh, but some of his best memories so far in the NHL have come with the franchise located on the other side of the state. Although his first NHL game came with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2005-06 season, Umberger was a member of two other NHL organizations before he made his way to Philly. The skater was picked 16th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, as he was the first American forward to be selected. Mike Komisarek was the first American picked by the Montreal Canadiens with the …

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Atlantic Watch: Pens at the top of the Eastern Conference, Islanders clinch playoff spot, Rangers hanging on to eighth

After learning that they wouldn’t be in the playoffs for the second time in the last 18 seasons, the Flyers pulled off two straight wins. The Orange and Black look to end the campaign on a strong note with one more home game and one more away game. The Flyers were shut out by Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in a 3-0 loss at the Wells Fargo Center. Brodeur stopped 23 shots from the Flyers to end the Devils’ 10-game losing streak, while the trio of Ryan Carter, Matt D’Agostini, and Adam Henrique scored in Jersey’s …

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Atlantic Watch: Flyers keep slipping, Penguins keep winning, Rangers and Devils hanging on to playoff spots, Islanders within reach of postseason

The Philadelphia Flyers were the only team in the Atlantic Division not to win a game this week, as they went 0-1-1 against the Pens and Rangers. Things don’t get any easier for the Flyers over the next week, as they take on a division leader and two teams fighting to make the postseason. After a six-day break, the Flyers dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center on Sunday. Tyler Kennedy, who missed the Pens’ game against the New York Islanders due to being sick, ripped one over Ilya Bryzgalov’s right shoulder with 2:27 left …

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Atlantic Watch: Gagne Returns, Pens and Rangers Deal With Injuries, Devils and Islanders Endure Goaltending Woes

The Philadelphia Flyers won a pair of exciting contests this week, but they also lost two games where they could have easily grabbed points. With the return of a familiar face, the Orange and the Black look to reach .500 with two tilts against teams below them in the standings and a matinee against a Northeast Division foe. The Flyers started their week, and concluded their road trip, with an exciting 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center. Jakub Voracek put the game-winner past Tomas Vokoun with 1:31 left in regulation to complete his hat trick, …

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Flight Plan: Atlantic Away Southeast at Home

The Philadelphia Flyers have just one win through four games of a six game road trip. To say that the Flyers aren’t very good on the road is an understatement at this point, as they have the worst record in the NHL away from home at 2-8-0. They’ve also been away more than any team in the Eastern Conference, so there is some comfort in that at least, that they will eventually get even this schedule out with some games within the familiar confines of the Wells Fargo Center. Unfortunately for this struggling, inconsistent, and seemingly apathetic team, they still …

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Assembling a Stanley Cup winner; breaking down the last seven Cup teams

It’s no secret that after losing the 2004-2005 NHL season due to a lockout, the dynamic of assembling an NHL team changed dramatically. With the implementation of a salary cap, there were a myriad of new limitations and restrictions placed on teams and how they spend their money. Rich teams could no longer try to buy themselves a Stanley Cup, while poor teams felt like they could finally compete. But is there a formula for building a Stanley Cup winning team? When you have no restrictions on how much money you can spend, there’s really limited concern about spending wisely. …

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Flight Plan: Southeastern Hospitality

The Philadelphia Flyers kicked off their first home stand with a bang, beating the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5-3. Despite a lackluster third period, the Flyers were able to hold on for their third win of the 2013 season as Danny Briere, Braydon Coburn, Kurtis Foster, and Mike Knuble all netted their first goals of the year. The Orange and Black will strive for more consistency this week as they will play host to three Southeast Division teams after their second two-day break in a week. The Flyers face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Florida Panthers on Thursday, …

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Flight Plan: Week of 01.21.2013

The Philadelphia Flyers had a rough start to this condensed 48-game schedule as they dropped both ends of a back-to-back over the weekend. A loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins is never fun, but despite looking flat in the first period, the Flyers really only lost by one goal as the Penguins scored an empty netter late in the third period to seal the win. The game against the Buffalo Sabres was disconcerting to say the least as the Flyers lost 5-2 and allowed two quick goals in the third period and another empty net goal with just under a minute …

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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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Flyers Lose Game Of Bounces 2-1 Against Panthers

One awkward carom off the glass was the difference in tonight’s game, as the Flyers lost to the visiting Florida Panthers 2-1. Sean Bergenheim capitalized on a lucky bounce for the Panthers to pot his second game-winning goal of the season, as Philly posted a 36-13 shot advantage in the loss. “I felt like we played the way we wanted,” said Jaromir Jagr after the loss. “We jumped on them, create chances, cycle game, you know.It was just one of those games you can’t score and all of the sudden it’s 2-1.” In the middle stanza, the Panthers extended their …

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