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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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2013 Year in Review: Jakub Voracek

There weren’t too many bright spots to pick out of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2013 season, but the production and growth of Jakub Voracek could be one of the biggest positives to take away from the non-playoff campaign. With impressive numbers offensively and being considered one of the more consistent players for the Orange and Black throughout their 23-22-3 season, Voracek exceeded the expectations many had for him before the start of the shortened year. Out of his five seasons in the NHL to date, Voracek’s 46 points were tied for his second-lowest point total for a season. However, considering there …

Former Flyer, Sergei Bobrovsky, is among the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy.

Former Flyer Bobrovsky nominated for Vezina Trophy

The National Hockey League announced its finalists for the Vezina Trophy this morning. The three finalists are all worthy candidates.  The first being last year’s Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist, goalie for the New York Rangers.   The second is San Jose Sharks’ tender and Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi.  The final nominee is former Philadelphia Flyers and current Columbus Blue Jackets’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky was traded to Columbus last offseason for three draft picks and he easily stepped into the starting role for the Jackets.  Bob took over for a revolving goalie carousel that included Steve Mason, Curtis Sanford and …

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Former Flyers Watch, Round 1: van Riemsdyk Scores First Postseason Goal With Toronto

In Game 1 against the Boston Bruins, James van Riemsdyk scored his first postseason goal with Toronto. Read on to learn how his fellow former Flyers have fared so far in the first round of the playoffs. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders – Penguins lead series 1-0 No former Flyers are participating in this series.   Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators – Senators lead series 1-0 No former Flyers are participating in this series.   Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers – Capitals lead series 1-0 Arron Asham: Ever the pain in the butt, Asham recorded 281 PIM in …

New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers

Ilya Insanity: On Sleepgate, Blousegate, and the Over-Sensationalized News

Ask a Flyers fan who they think the most controversial player on the team is, and it’s likely that all of them will say Ilya Bryzgalov. But is Bryz really all that controversial? And even if he is, what’s the big deal? We all laughed about getting Bryzgalov once we saw that great YouTube video back from when he was with the Anaheim Ducks, when he asked a reporter why they heff to be mad. We were so excited to have the funny Russian guy on our team. And then he had a lackluster first season – save for some …

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NHL Fandom Survey: Flyers/Penguins best rivalry in the league; Penguins the most loved and hated franchise

A friend recently pointed out an extremely interesting survey he discovered on Reddit. The survey asked for feedback from NHL fans on how they felt about all of the other franchises throughout the league. For every franchise you could choose love, like, indifferent, dislike, or hate. This information was then aggregated in a number of interesting ways. The original survey can be found here; credit to reddit poster WoundedLeprechaun. The analysis was then provided by another poster TeroTheTerror. For anyone that wants the cliff notes version; with respect to the Flyers: 9th most “Loved” team 12th most “Loved” or “Liked” team …

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Atlantic Watch: Flyers Surging, Islanders continue point streak, Rangers hanging on to playoff spot, Devils’ skid reaches 10 games

After putting themselves in a very big hole, the Philadelphia Flyers ended this week with two emphatic wins to show that they could be a playoff team. It might be too little too late, but the Orange and Black will carry their two-game winning streak into their upcoming seven-day stretch. Philly started the week with a 3-1 loss at home to the Ottawa Senators. Colin Greening put home the decisive tally with 5:36 remaining, as Robin Lehner made 24 stops in the win. Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves in the loss, while Claude Giroux potted the Flyers’ lone goal on …

Straka in his time with Rimouski Oceanic. Image courtesy of mrx.ca.

Future Flyers Report: Straka signs an entry-level deal, Gostisbehere named an All-American, Wellwood suffers major injury, OHL/WHL playoff updates

The Philadelphia Flyers’ organization signed forward Petr Straka this week. The 6’0″ 194-pound skater is currently helping Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL in their postseason run, as the club is set to take on Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the semifinals. Picked 55th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL Draft, Straka had 41 goals and 41 assists in 55 games for Baie-Comeau during the regular season. He also eight goals and 10 helpers in Drakkar’s eight postseason games so far this postseason, which is good enough for third overall in the QMJHL playoffs. In the NCAA, Shayne Gostisbehere …

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Enroth shuts out Flyers in Buffalo

The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their fourth straight contest today in Buffalo with a 1-0 loss to the Sabres. Jhonas Enroth stopped 29 shots for his first shutout this season, while Christian Ehrhoff had the game’s lone goal in the first minute of the third period. Despite a late-game flurry by the Orange and Black, the visitors couldn’t put a single shot past Enroth to extend the game. With several chances in the final minute of the game, Danny Briere rang one off the crossbar with one second left to make it that much more painful. “It’s just the way things are …

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Atlantic Watch: Flyers aren’t out yet, Pens clinch the division, Islanders sit in seventh, Devils endure long losing streak

The Philadelphia Flyers entered this week on a winning streak, but they left it on a losing skid and can now only hope they receive some help to make the postseason. With four of their final nine games coming up in the next week, the Orange and Black will likely find out if they will be heading to the playoffs by April 17th. The Flyers won their third straight game on Wednesday night with a 5-3 comeback decision over the Montreal Canadiens in Philly. Wayne Simmonds tied the game with a little over five minutes left before Erik Gustafsson’s first …

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