Flight Plan Week of 11.06.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers have been inconsistent in the early going, but mostly trending up — which is why they are sitting in the fourth overall slot in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the #1 seed. There are good and bad trends with every team and perhaps a little unexpectedly, the good for the Flyers lies in their scoring. As of right now, after only 14 games, the Flyers have managed to pot 56 goals which is tops in the league. In fact, they’re the only team in the NHL to have scored at least …

Point/Counterpoint: Trading Bobrovsky to Columbus

Point/Counterpoint is a new series which argues both sides of a topic relevant to the Philadelphia Flyers. According to Sam Carchidi, Paul Holmgren was scouting the Detroit vs. Columbus game last night. This week, Nina G and Marcello De Feo debate whether or not the Flyers should consider trading Sergei Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Point By Nina G I believe it is time for the Flyers to begin thinking about trading Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky is a talented young goalie with a promising future as a starter in this league, but his future won’t be with the Flyers. With Ilya …

A minor proposal

If all goes according to plan, the Flyers may very well have top prospects Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read on the big club for the 2012 season. This might be a promising sign for the Flyers but it certainly impacts the depth of their AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms. Without Schenn and Read (Couturier is too young to play in the AHL), the Phantoms would be paper thing down the middle and lacking on offense. Certainly, the Phantoms are off to a promising start with a 6-3 win in their season opener but this is also a team that …

Hypothetically speaking: 2012 Phantoms edition

The Phantoms roster could look something like this next season: Read – Schenn – Testwuide Wellwood – Pither Couturier – Holmstrom Zolnierczyk Ranford – Kalinski – Akeson Rowe – Sestito – Rinaldo Marshall – Gustafsson Bourdon – Lauridsen Manning – Jancevski Bobrovsky Leighton Backlund Q: Are you crazy? What’s up with that fourth line? Where’s player X? I love player X! A: This is just a premature, quick and dirty concept to illustrate the newfound depth in the organization. I’m not actually advocating these should be the lines or the roster at this point. Step back from the edge. Everything will be …

Then and Now: Dennis Seidenberg

At the time, Bob Clarke’s decision to send 24-year-old defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to Phoenix for the aging Petr Nedved was a questionable move. All the Flyers have left from their trade with the Coyotes on January 20, 2006 is minor leaguer Joonas Lehtivuori. Seidenberg, at the moment, is helping the Bruins try to win their first Stanley Cup since 1970. So just how did the aftermath of this deal transpire? “Nedved has always been a good scorer and a real good player and we think he’ll solve some of our problems up front,” Clarke told the Associated Press after the trade back in …

Pronger answers burning questions at Thursday press conference

Q: How did the surgery go and how are you feeling? ”Well, as far as I was told it went very well. It relieved a lot of the weakness I was having in my leg and now it is just a matter of how the nerve regenerates itself and the range of motion and all the rest of that stuff. How it recovers and that stuff are probably another four to five weeks before we see where that is at.” Q: Can you tell us about the decision to have the surgery, was that an option you were given or …

RICE & MICE: Labrum tears…It’s all in the hips

Ok, so there’s a labrum in the shoulder, but I’m talking about hips so, for right now, it’s all in the hips. It seems that hip injuries are all the rage these days and not just in the NHL. Hip labrum injuries can also occur in golf, baseball, soccer and basketball as well as hockey. However, hip labrum tears are almost an epidemic in hockey over the past several years. Goaltenders are especially prone to labrum tears. This can be attributed in part to the butterfly style that most goalies use, however it’s not an injury that’s excusive to butterfly …

Flyers’ offseason surgery roster revealed

No less than eight Flyers, including captain Mike Richards, have at least the possibility of surgery if not the spectre of actual repairs, looming in the offseason, according to club general manager Paul Holmgren. Holmgren revealed the news during his end-of-season news conference and said Richards, who has been bothered by a wrist injury since training camp, will need to have surgery done. Holmgren also revealed that four additional players will have a date with the surgeon’s table: defenseman Andrej Meszaros (wrist); forwards Kris Versteeg (stomach muscle) and Blair Betts (finger) along with goaltender Michael Leighton (hip). Forwards Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell will be evaluated further to see if …

What’s wrong with the Flyers?

It’s too easy to blame Brian Boucher for this loss. After all, he gave up four goals on 20 shots and was pulled from the game. Regrettably, he has not performed above his abilities during the playoffs this season. He’s let in some soft goals and been pulled more times than a sixteen-year old’s wang. His .800 SV% tonight was also woeful at best, but let’s not hang him out to dry just yet. Bill Meltzer likes to state that bad things happen when you don’t move your feet. The Flyers skaters are providing him with plenty of evidence to …

Flyers Fight Back, But Fall Short In Overtime

After falling in a 3-0 hole before the end of the first, the Flyers fought back to tie it at three only to lose in overtime. Tyler Ennis opened the scoring and closed the scoring for the game netting the overtime winner 5:31 past regulation. Ryan Miller had 36 saves while Michael Leighton (yup, that Michael Leighton) gets the loss in a relief appearance for Brian Boucher. Nothing takes the energy out of the home crowd faster than an early soft goal. Ennis let the Flyers experience that with a weak shot to Boucher’s right that found it’s way in …