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2013 Year in Review: Jakub Voracek

There weren’t too many bright spots to pick out of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2013 season, but the production and growth of Jakub Voracek could be one of the biggest positives to take away from the non-playoff campaign. With impressive numbers offensively and being considered one of the more consistent players for the Orange and Black throughout their 23-22-3 season, Voracek exceeded the expectations many had for him before the start of the shortened year. Out of his five seasons in the NHL to date, Voracek’s 46 points were tied for his second-lowest point total for a season. However, considering there …

Giroux

2013 Year In Review: Claude Giroux

The story of Claude Giroux as a Philadelphia Flyer will forever be a success for one simple reason: it could have been Bobby Sanguinetti. As the infamous story goes, the Flyers desperately wanted the American defenseman. The New York Rangers, sitting one spot ahead of the Flyers, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft chose Sanguinetti, leaving the Flyers to frantically chose Giroux with the 22nd pick. The draft announcement by then-General Manager Bob Clarke was even better, as he forgot Giroux’s name. Giroux is one of the homegrown stars in the NHL and, more specifically, the Flyers. He signed a …

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Crashing the Crease: Know Your Enemy! Who are the best shootout forwards?

Last night, Patrick Kane scored yet another shootout goal that displayed a huge amount of finesse and once again reminded Flyers fans that the draft lottery is the devil. Even though Schneider got his pad on Kane’s attempt and initially appeared to stop it, the puck bounced off of him and in the net, adding yet another tally to Kane’s career numbers. It wasn’t as fancy as his numerous SO goals, but it got me thinking aloud: is Kane the most dangerous shootout forward for a goaltender to face? The immediate counter argument that sprang up was “no, Datsyuk is.” …

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The Gagarin Cup Playoffs: KHL Postseason Starts Today

The KHL playoffs start today, as 16 of the league’s 26 clubs compete for the Gagarin Cup. Since the NHL and KHL are huge competitors, it’s interesting to look at the players on the current KHL playoff teams to see just how many are former Philadelphia Flyers or NHLers. On top of that, some clubs’ prospects are in the 16-team field. It’s also worth noting some of the teams that received help from current NHL players who played a good chunk of the season with a certain KHL season before the lockout concluded. With that being said, here are the previews …

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Assembling a Stanley Cup winner; breaking down the last seven Cup teams

It’s no secret that after losing the 2004-2005 NHL season due to a lockout, the dynamic of assembling an NHL team changed dramatically. With the implementation of a salary cap, there were a myriad of new limitations and restrictions placed on teams and how they spend their money. Rich teams could no longer try to buy themselves a Stanley Cup, while poor teams felt like they could finally compete. But is there a formula for building a Stanley Cup winning team? When you have no restrictions on how much money you can spend, there’s really limited concern about spending wisely. …

New teammates Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Bryzgalov

Point/Counterpoint: NHLers Playing Overseas

Welcome to another edition of Point/Counterpoint, where a pair of Flyers Faithful scribes square off, debating an issue with their own unique style and flair. This week, Kim P and Craig F discuss the pros and cons of NHL players joining teams in other leagues during the lockout. Point: Kim P. Now that the NHL is in lockout mode, some players have flocked overseas and joined teams in European hockey leagues. It’s great for those players, who get the chance to do what they love even though their own league is at a standstill, but there are some downsides to these guys playing abroad. When a …

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Giroux And Bryz Lead Flyers Past Wings

Ilya Bryzgalov came up huge again for the Flyers, as he stopped 37 shots in the Flyers’ 3-2 win against the visiting Detroit Red Wings tonight. On an evening where the Flyers’ organization retired Mark Howe’s number, Bryzgalov and Philly’s penalty kill showed up to give the Flyers’ their second straight one-goal game victory. “He’s been great for us the last month,” said Claude Giroux of Bryzgalov. “When he plays great, it’s motivation for us to step up and play great.” Giroux had a goal and an assist in the win, as he created scoring chances throughout the game. After his …

Atlantic Watch: 2/8-2/14

The Flyers managed to hold on for a one-goal win Thursday before they dropped both of their games on the weekend to go 1-2-0 this week. The win was the Flyers’ second since the All-Star break, as they are 2-4-2 since the break with both wins coming at home. Philly looks forward to two games against Eastern Conference teams outside the playoff picture in the next few days, as well as a meeting with the Penguins to determine crucial points in the standings. On Thursday, Brayden Schenn potted the game-winner in the second period to give the Flyers just enough …

Wings Extend Streak To 20 At Home, Flyers Lose 4-3 In Detroit

Johan Franzen broke the tie early in the third period to give the Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 lead over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers, which they held on to for their 20th straight home win. “The Mule” potted his league-leading 10th game-winning goal and 22nd goal of the season in the first minute of the third period, as Joey MacDonald earned his third straight win at home with a 26-save performance. The play that led to Franzen’s goal started with a slap-pass from Ian White at the point. White’s pass moved through the slot to Nicklas Lidstrom, who touched the puck back across the …

Flight Plan Week of 01.02.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers had a week that has been pretty uncharacteristic of this team through the 2010 part of the 2010-2011 Season as they’ve allowed a ton of goals. In just three games, they allowed 15 of their total 102 goals against. Part of that can be contributed to the fact that one of their top four defensemen is out as Chris Pronger has a broken foot, and part of it can be contributed to Michael Leighton making his first start and shaking off some of the obvious rust he’s accumulated by missing much of the preseason and all of …

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