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 …
Read Provides Unique Game-Winner as Philly Beats Florida 3-2
The Flyers leave the state of Florida on a positive note tonight as they beat the Panthers 3-2. Matt Read recorded his first game-winning goal in the NHL with a rarity: a short-handed, penalty-shot goal in the third period, while Braydon Coburn registered his first goal of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov had a 31-save evening with his only errors coming from a goal off an awkward deflection and a goal with nearly no time left in the game. Despite being out shot 16-9 in the final twenty minutes of regulation, the Flyers held on for the win. In an opening period which featured five …
Connolly Scores In OT To Give Lightning 2-1 Win
On a night where Chris Pronger and the Flyers’ defense attempted to throw the Lightning off their game, it was Tampa Bay who had the last laugh as they beat Philly, 2-1, in overtime. Marc-Andre Bergeron tied the game in the middle of the third period setting up Brett Connolly’s game-winner exactly halfway through OT. Dwayne Roloson had 14 saves tonight in the win, while Ilya Bryzgalov posted 22 saves in a what turned out to be a game played like a stalemate between two warring generals. Pronger returned after an absence of just over 2 weeks, and in the first period, he …
Flyers Shred Blue Jackets 9-2
What a doozy! In Jeff Carter’s return to Philadelphia… Er, anyway, even Carter couldn’t have helped his new team survive the Flyers’ 9-2 thrashing of Columbus last night. The game, which the home team controlled from the start, was a real crowd pleaser. It featured a little bit of everything and a whole lotta scoring. The Flyers started off the first period fast, scoring two within the first 3 1/2 minutes, and worked up a staggering 5-0 advantage before it was all over. Among these were a pretty power play goal by Jaromir Jagr, a great dexterous goal by Max Talbot and a goal from the blue …
Flyers Drop Hectic, Offensive Game To Jets 9-8
Overcoming a four-goal deficit, scoring three goals early in the third period, and taking part in a game with 17 goals overall unfortunately meant just one thing for the Philadelphia Flyers tonight – an incredible 9-8 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Tanner Glass, Blake Wheeler, and Nik Antropov all had three points for the former Thrashers tonight as the visitors registered a symmetrical three goals in each period. Despite allowing seven goals on 43 shots and being pulled once, Ondrej Pavelec got the win for Winnipeg, which was kicking off a seven-game road trip which will take it through the Southeast Division. Kimmo Timonen (4A) and …
Canadiens Blow Out Flyers 5-1
Despite a solid performance in the face of adverse circumstances on Monday, the Flyers failed to sustain that momentum and suffered a shocking 5-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal tonight. Max Pacioretty continued his hot start, posting two goals and an assist while David Desharnais had two assists on the evening. Carey Price saved 21 of the Flyers’ 22 shots tonight to give the Canadiens their second win of the season (2-5-2) and more importantly to stop a paralyzing six-game losing skid. Jaromir Jagr had the only Philadelphia goal on the evening and Ilya Bryzgalov struggled again — making just 23 …
But what does it mean?
N.B. I apologize in advance for this stream of consciousness post. I need some more time to organize my thoughts on the roster changes and will likely edit this post this afternoon. This morning, the Flyers announced that Brayden Schenn was recalled and Zac Rinaldo and Harry Zolnierczyk were loaned to the Phantoms. That leaves the Flyers with a glut of centers and some big questions about where everyone fits in the lineup. Through five games and a 4-0-1 record, the Flyers have been firing on all cylinders. They lead the league in goals per game (3.80) and have given up …
Some thoughts through game three
The Flyers quickly dispelled concerns about stumbling out of the gate and needing time to jell. Through three games, they’ve amassed six points and a league-best +5 goal differential. So what trends are starting to form? Claude Giroux is proving me wrong for saying that his offensive output might drop from last season. He has three goals in as many games, which leads the league, and he also leads all forwards with five points (Kris Letang has six points through four games). Defensive stalwarts, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen lead the team in ice time, averaging 23:44 and 23:30, respectively. I …
Flyers Finish Frantically In Win Against The Canucks
A win is a win. It doesn’t matter if the opening goal was due to a lucky bounce or if the Flyers played undisciplined in the third period, the Flyers won their home opener 5-4 against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night. Andrej Meszaros scored the game-winner early in the third period as the Flyers also received goals from Claude Giroux, Chris Pronger, James van Riemsdyk, and Jakub Voracek. Despite two-point nights from Alexandre Burrows, Mikael Samuelsson, Alex Edler, and Daniel Sedin, the Flyers managed to outscore the most potent offense in the league last season. In one of those rare …
Atlantic Watch: 10/6-10/11
Philly started off the season with a 2-1 win against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Boston Bruins in Beantown, then recorded a dominant 3-0 shutout in New Jersey to end a 101-game drought during the regular season and playoffs combined. After giving up the first goal of the NHL season to Brad Marchand, the Flyers scored two goals in the final minute of the first period. Claude Giroux dangled his way to a goal with 50 seconds left, while Jakub Voracek scored with only three seconds to go on a turn around shot in the slot. Fortunately for Philly, this would be all they needed as Ilya …