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Then and Now: Nolan Baumgartner

After the New York Islanders picked Brett Lindros ninth overall in the 1994 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals selected defenseman Nolan Baumgartner. The four players picked after the Canadian d-man were former San Jose Shark and New Jersey Devil Jeff Friesen, Wade Belak, Mattias Ohlund, and Ethan Moreau. All four of those players turned out to play more seasons in the NHL than Baumgartner, who totaled 10 years at hockey’s highest level. Baumgartner suited up for the Caps, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins before he became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006. The blue liner signed …

RICE & MICE: November is national diabetes month

In case you were wondering, November is national diabetes month and the blue circle is an international symbol for world diabetes day on November 14 – so if you happen to see a blue circle, chances are it is tied in some way to diabetes awareness. People also may be wearing blue on Fridays to support the cause. Yes, I know it’s also Movember and I’ll get to that in another piece, but today I’m discussing diabetes. More specifically, I’m talking about Type 1 diabetes (commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes, insulin dependent diabetes, or my personal favorite: the sugar) and what …

Lackluster Flyers Lose 3-2 In Shootout Against NYR

The Flyers showed little effort in a loss to a less superior game…somebody stop the record from skipping. On Sunday afternoon in front of a national TV audience, Philly’s lack of heart resulted in a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. Thanks to 32 saves by Henrik Lundqvist and a shootout goal by Wojtek Wolski, the Flyers lost their third straight game today to their Atlantic Division rival. In such an important game, it was key for the Flyers to send an early message. With Brandon Prust trying to stir things up early, Sean O’Donnell decided to set things …

Mason Blanks Flyers, Thrashers Win 1-0

Chris Mason had his game of the year tonight as he stoned the conference leading Flyers for 43 saves in the Thrashers’ 1-0 win. With his only help coming from an Evander Kane bank shot off of Nik Antropov’s skate halfway through the third period, Mason made 19 saves in the third period to shut the Flyers out for the first time since their embarrassing 7-0 loss against the Rangers. The Thrashers’ third win on the year against the Flyers was their first win in regulation and drops the Flyers’ record to 46-21-10. Evidently charged from Tuesday night’s win in …

Looking ahead: A few thoughts on the offseason

Numbers Current Projected Cap Space for 2012: $1,980,845 [source] Projected Cap Increase for 2012: $3,000,000 [source] Total Projected Cap Space for 2012: $4,980,845 Notable Pending UFA forwards: VIlle Leino, Nikolay Zherdev Notable Pending RFA forwards: Andreas Nodl, Darroll Powe, Dan Carcillo Notable Pending UFA defensemen: Sean O’Donnell, Nick Boynton Notable Pending RFA defensemen: Danny Syvret Notable Pending UFA goaltenders: Brian Boucher Thoughts Defense It’s likely the Flyers won’t need anything more than a third pairing defensemen. They have a number of options available to them: Re-sign O’Donnell or Boynton, play Matt Walker, promote Erik Gustafsson, or re-up Danny Syvret and …

Boston Bruins @ Philadelphia Flyers Preview

Game 75: Boston Bruins @ Philadelphia Flyers, 7:00 pm, CSN Bruins’ Records Overall Record: 41-23-10 Away Record: 23-10-5 Record vs. Flyers: 2-0-1 Away Record vs. Flyers: 1-0-0 Flyers’ Records Overall Record: 45-19-10 Home Record: 21-10-6 Record vs. Bruins: 1-2-0 Home Record vs. Bruins: 0-1-0 The Numbers Flyers’ Winning % vs. Bruins: .333, 1/3 games (21st) Flyers’ Points % vs. Bruins: .333, 2/6 pts (25th) Flyers’ Losing % vs. Bruins: .667, 2/3 games (10th) Flyers’ Goals/Game vs. Bruins: 2.33, 7 goals/3 games (22nd) Bruins’ Goals/Game vs. Flyers: 3.67, 11 goals/3 games (5th) Flyers’ Shots/Game vs. Bruins: 36.33, 109 shots/3 games (7th) …

Discussing the slump

Last night, ProHockeyTalk published three reasons why the Flyers are struggling. Quickly summed up, they believe the Flyers aren’t desperate enough, the scoring has dried up, and the team can’t seem to close out games in the third period. PHT also points out that the goaltending is not to blame here. For the most part, I agree with the article but I also think it goes a bit deeper than that. The Flyers are in self-preservation mode. The memory of all the fatigue and injuries suffered towards the end of the ’10 season and throughout the playoffs is once again fresh …

Flight Plan week of 01.23.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers went 3-1-0 this past week, losing to the lowly New Jersey Devils as they did not get up for the game from the get go because the Devils are statistically the worst team in hockey right now, but have been playing better under Jacques Lemaire. The Flyers should have picked up a point at least in every game, but it looks like they were probably looking ahead to today’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks in what will be the only meeting between the two 2010 Stanley Cup Finalists. The Flyers will then play the Montreal Canadiens on …