Winter Classic: Five Things That Are Wrong

There’s only six days left until the Winter Classic pits the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in an outdoor battle at our own Citizens Bank Park. With the time quickly ticking away towards the Quaker City’s shot at national recognition, we thought it would be smart to examine the game itself and everything surrounding it. Today, in the first of three parts, we’ll talk about what is wrong with the NHL’s New Year’s Day party continuing in the vein of our “Five Things” series. 5. Baseball Stadiums — Why, why WHY after getting 80,000 people crammed into Ralph …

3 on 3 for the week of 12.25.2011

Welcome to 3-on-3, a weekly look at the Philadelphia Flyers from a statical standpoint. The Flyers were 1-1-1 last week, gaining three out of a possible six points. Claude Giroux returned from injury against Dallas with a four point performance, but would it be enough to capture the top spot for the week? Let’s find out: 3 “Hot”: Claude Giroux: “G” returned from his concussion and had a goal and three assists for four points. Giroux, only 23, continues to have an MVP-caliber season for the Flyers and currently leads the NHL in scoring with 43 points. He is a …

Minor League Update: 12/18-12/24

The Phantoms continued to struggle in the month of December, losing both of their games this week to drop to 3-5-1 since the beginning of the month. With their first win being a 5-1 victory against the Norfolk Admirals (the Tampa Bay Lightning’s AHL affiliate) to conclude their four-game winning streak as they entered the month, the Phantoms’ last two victories have been one-goal victories. In the middle of a six-day break, the Phantoms look forward to three home games this week to bring in 2012. Last Sunday, the Phantoms lost 4-1 to the Binghamton Senators (the Ottawa Senators’ AHL affiliate) in Adirondack despite out shooting the …

A Meditation

Though hockey is sometimes couched in lofty/religious terms (and wrongly so, in my opinion) when it comes to title talk, it’s not often associated with high culture and ancient history. But that’s no reason to let inspiration flow when the opportunity arises. So, on this glorious final Sunday in December, we wish you a safe, healthy and happy day however you do it and whatever you believe, and invite you to meditate on this new creation, lovingly crafted thanks to some high praise for one particular Philadelphia Flyers forward. Go here for the explanation of the original. Girouxsalem, or, may William Blake …

Merry Christmas

Players, coaches, trainers and front office staff of the 1984-85 Philadelphia Flyers read from a Christmas classic.  

Lundqvist Leads Rangers To Victory In Jagr’s Return To MSG

Displaying his second strong performance in as many games against the Flyers this season, Henrik Lundqvist led the Rangers to a 4-2 win on Friday, making 28 saves in the process. Marian Gaborik scored the game-winner very early in the third period as both Stu Bickel and Michael Del Zotto had two-assist games. Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves on 24 Rangers’ shots but was victimized by two unlucky bounces, while Jaromir Jagr failed to record a point in his first game back at Madison Square Garden since joining the Flyers in the off-season. As expected, this game between the two …

A Jumble (of thoughts)

It’s two days to Christmas. That’s insane. I just got my packages out in the mail yesterday. Yeah, I was way late this year. Wish my family and friends didn’t live so far away. The logistics when you’re a nomad like me. I thought today I would just do some quick reviews of much that’s been going on. We’ve had two episodes of HBO’s 24/7 Flyers Rangers so far with lots of quotable moments (HuMANGous Big) and Giroux returned after four games off for a four point night. Crazy busy in Flyerdom. First though, The Hockey News, Vol. 65 No. …

What Are You Getting for Christmas?

The Lulz feature was originally inspired by the lolcats site but features hockey pictures with funny, quirky, ironic or just plain mean captions. This feature should run weekly on Fridays; TGIFWL (Thank Goodness It’s Friday With Lulz).

Giroux Dazzles Dallas With Four-Point Game

Claude Giroux returned in emphatic fashion tonight from a four-game absence due to a concussion, totaling a goal and three assists as the Philadelphia Flyers took a 4-1 decision over the Stars in Dallas on Wednesday. Despite allowing a goal 56 seconds after the start of the game, Sergei Bobrovsky shut out the Stars for the remainder of regulation in a 30-save victory as the Flyers halted a two-game losing streak. Killing the initial excitement of Giroux’s return, Michael Ryder provided a snipe for the game’s first goal before the game was a minute old. As the Flyers’ defense gave Loui Eriksson plenty of room to create, he left a drop pass …

G Whiz, Mister, this is an easy one…

Usually when the big news du jour is splayed out over media both old and new, the rush to judgment and the rush to publish creates headlines like “Why X is X” or the opposite “Why X is Y,” as if the authors subtly question your intelligence and need to suck you in with the promise of an argument or debate, or a simple explanation of the issue at hand. But when it comes to the status of Claude Giroux, his concussion and his potential return as soon as tonight in Dallas, I owe it to the readers of this site not to …