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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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Flyers vs. Hurricanes: A brief first period assessment

The first period of tonight’s game was sloppy, fast paced, and loaded with ups and downs. Here are some noteworthy items: The defensemen are playing terrible defensively but they are also jumping into the play, generating offense and scoring goals. Obviously, there needs to be more balance here but, if the defense can spark the forwards, less pressure will be put on the defense and it will all work out in the long run. Jake Voracek had his strongest period of the season. If the Flyers are to turn this season around, he needs to be a big part of …

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Simmonds Hurt in Flyers’ Third Straight Loss

The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their third straight game on Friday night in Washington against the Capitals by the score of 3-2. Wojtek Wolski had the eventual game-winner for the Caps, while Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist in the victory. Braden Holtby had 31 saves for Washington, as the only two Flyers to beat him on the night were Bruno Gervais and Brayden Schenn. Ilya Bryzgalov had yet another strong performance, but he suffered another loss, as he made 23 stops on the night. The biggest incident in the loss for the Flyers was John Erskine’s hit on Wayne …

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Crashing the Crease: BryzNasty

Two weeks ago, I laid out my expectations for Ilya Bryzgalov’s season. In short, I expected him to start well thanks to his keeping the engine warmed up over in Russia, but my fear was the Flyers’ lacking defensive corps would take its toll on him and lead a to a mid-season slump. I felt that a .920-or-higher save percentage wasn’t too likely by season’s end. Early on, he’s fighting to prove me wrong, posting a pretty stellar .924 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.19, especially given the support he’s had thus far. Right now, it isn’t that …

The offense continues to daydream

Breaking Down the Bullies: Where’s the Offense?

It feels as though only a few days have passed since puck drop was saved, but the 2013 NHL season is in full swing. Over 14 percent of the regular season has come and gone before fans can even locate their jerseys from the back of the closet. So it’s time to add some structure to a season that seems frantically devoid of any at all, with a particular emphasis on the ‘frantic’. Going forward, my goal is for this column is to become a week-by-week breakdown of what has elapsed and what lies ahead. In between, I hope to figure …

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Atlantic Watch: 1/23-1/29

The Philadelphia Flyers started the week with a pair of wins, but a pair of lackadaisical efforts led to two losses where they were outscored 7-2. The Orange and Black find themselves at the bottom of the division with a trio of meetings against Southeast Division opponents over the next seven days. With a record of 0-3-0 and playing a team they went 0-6-0 against in 2011-2012, the Flyers’ 2-1 win over the visiting New York Rangers wasn’t expected on Thursday night. After a scoreless opening stanza, the tandem of Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek registered their first goals of …

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Flyers Fall to Rangers in New York

A slow start and a series of failed special teams’ opportunities in the second period hurt the Philadelphia Flyers tonight in their 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Ryan Callahan had the eventual game-winning goal, as Henrik Lundqvist had 26 stops in the Flyers’ first loss of the season to the Rangers. Kimmo Timonen had Philly’s lone goal, which came a power play in the third period. The Flyers came out flat and didn’t seem to be there mentally tonight. Even after they recovered from their slow start, the Orange and Black still had trouble …

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Podcast: Episode 50, Bret Hedican

On this edition of the Flyers Faithful podcast, Steve and Hal discuss the Flyers’ up and down week against the Devils, Rangers, Panthers, and Lightning and talk to former NHL player and CSN California analyst Bret Hedican about his playing career, the San Jose Sharks, and his predictions for the NHL season ahead. Flyers Faithful Podcast Episode 50 You can also download the Flyers Faithful Podcast from iTunes here!  If you’re enjoying the show via iTunes we would very much appreciate it if you could rate it and leave a review on there! We’re also on Stitcher if that’s how you listen to your podcasts! If …

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Flight Plan: Week of 01.28.2013

The Philadelphia Flyers had an even-up week as they won two games against the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers, and lost two games against the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning. As it sits, the Flyers are owners of a 2-4-0 record with four points, which is good enough for last in the Atlantic Division. To boot, any good vibes that may have been building for the club in two near complete game wins over the Rangers and Panthers, were quickly washed away as Philadelphia was easily handled by Tampa Bay in a 5-1 loss where …

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Flyers wallop Panthers, earn second consecutive win

Coming off of their first win of the season the Flyers were eager to take that number to two against a Florida Panthers team that were the mirror image of the Flyers through four games. While the Flyers lost their first three contests before getting a win, the Panthers had lost three in a row since winning their season opener. After a great effort with a shorthanded lineup against the Rangers on Thursday the Flyers welcomed a couple players back to lineup, amongst a myriad of other changes. Brayden Schenn returned from his one game suspension. Danny Briere made his …