Atlantic Watch: 12/14-12/20

The last two games for the Flyers haven’t been pretty, but there is good news related to the team’s point-leader. Claude Giroux is expected to make a return in the near future, the earliest being tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars, from his concussion. This is good news considering the status of Chris Pronger, who will not take part in another game at any point this season or for the playoffs. With his team going 2-2-0 in his absence, Giroux’s return will hopefully turn things around for the Orange and Black. As for Philly’s games this week, the Flyers extended their winning …

Flight Plan 12.18.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers had won seven straight and were rolling along despite missing their best forward, their best defenseman, and a few others. Saturday afternoon, that all came to a head. The Flyers were blanked, blown out by the Boston Bruins in the Flyers’ final home game of 2011, by a score of 6-0. If that wasn’t sobering enough, Philadelphia has almost certainly lost another center to a concussion as 19-year old rookie Sean Couturier took a shot in the back of the head from Kimmo Timonen. If, or more likely when, Couturier is diagnosed with a concussion that will …

Atlantic Watch: 12/7-12/13

At this point in time, it looks like nothing can stop the Flyers. After winning their first two games in December last week, the Flyers went 4-0-0 this week winning a pair of games on the road and a pair of games at home. With their wins this week the Flyers are currently on a six-game winning streak, their first six-game winning streak since their undefeated run from October 26-November 6 early last season. Facing two Northeast Division opponents this week before traveling west, the Flyers look to keep their winning ways intact. Claude Giroux intercepted a pass in the defensive zone before depositing it past …

Atlantic Watch: 11/30-12/6

Taking part in their first two-game week since the opening week of the season, the Flyers enjoyed two road wins against Western Conference opponents on Friday and Saturday. Claude Giroux provided a pair of game-winning goals as Ilya Bryzgalov got back on track this week winning back-to-back road games for the first time since his shutout against the New Jersey Devils on October 8. Looking ahead, the Flyers face Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in their upcoming four-game week. Trailing 0-3 midway through the game on Friday, the Flyers scored the next four to win 4-3 in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks. Giroux slapped home the …

Atlantic Watch: 11/23-11/29

The Flyers won back-to-back games to start the week before dropping a Winter Classic preview on Saturday as they earned four out of a possible six points. Ilya Bryzgalov only saw 20 minutes of action this week stopping six out of a possible nine shots, while Sergei Bobrovsky provided a great relief appearance on Wednesday along with starting both of the weekend games. With several injuries and transactions adding the usual drama, the Flyers look to beat two Western Conference opponents in the upcoming week. To start the week off, the Flyers overcame a 3-1 deficit to hand the New …

Flight Plan Week of 11.20.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers were on a pretty good run, collecting points in eight straight games. That streak dated all the way back to October 27 when they played the Winnipeg Jets in a wild game where 17 goals were scored and the Flyers ended up losing 9-8. As fate would have it, their most recent loss in regulation would also come at the hands of the Jets, by a score of 6-4 on Saturday. For some reason, Peter Laviolette cannot win games against either the Jets or the Atlanta Thrashers, doing so only once in his tenure as the head …

Atlantic Watch: 11/9-11/15

Who would have thought a week that featured three games against mediocre Southeast Division opponents could provide such entertaining hockey (no sarcasm) and debate? An unusual scene in Tampa Bay, resulting in the equivalent of a puck-possession staring contest, has caused such a stir that the general managers needed to talk about it at their meetings, multiple short-handed penalty-shot goals were awarded AND converted, Braydon Coburn fought a former Philly scrapper in addition to scoring a goal, and the Flyers almost (I know I’m stretching it here) blew a two-goal lead in the final ten seconds of a game. Let’s start with …

Atlantic Watch: 11/2-11/8

The Flyers may have absolutely clobbered the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, and the Flyers may have only been a shootout goal or two away from going 3-0-0 this week, but these three games weren’t the best Flyers team we’ve seen all season. Before their Saturday night massacre against the worst team in the league, the Flyers may have played 125 minutes as well as participate in a shootout in their first two games, but they really only showed up for a total of about 20 minutes. Inability to play a full 60 minutes was a problem last year’s Flyers …

Atlantic Watch: 3/23-3/29

How fitting is it that Scott Hartnell scored the goal last night against the Penguins (in Pittsburgh) that may have saved the division title for the Flyers? Just when it looked as though the Flyers were gearing up to sleepwalk through another game in their free fall from the top, the most despised player in Pittsburgh scores a game shifting goal to start a string of four unanswered goals putting Philly in a more spacious lead at the top of the Atlantic. Hartnell didn’t score the game-winner, but his goal did seem to wake the team up as Claude Giroux scored the eventual game-winner only forty-seven seconds …

Atlantic Watch: 3/2-3/8

Every team in every sport goes through a rough patch. This week, the Flyers endured their first rough stretch of the season. Having only had a three game losing streak back in October, the Flyers had yet to really endure a losing streak similar to their recent four game slide.  Prior to their win against Edmonton last night, the Flyers had lost in Ottawa before losing back-to-back home games against the Maple Leafs and Sabres capping off the whole thing by being blown out by the Rangers in New York on Sunday. In the past week, the Flyers lost three of the four games in …

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