To say this was a rough week for the Flyers would be an understatement. They managed to pull out one victory this week, but it came at the cost of losing Chris Pronger to a nasty eye injury. Embarrassing losses to the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues provided a rough taste of reality for the Flyers, a team that had yet to experience much adversity since their hectic roster shuffle in the offseason. Despite all the negative aspects of this week for Philly, the Flyers are still second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with 11 …
Flyers beat Leafs, Pronger suffers eye injury
The cliche pops up every time a serious injury occurs in any college or professional game — that these unfortunate events serve as stunning reminders that sports is ultimately about the players and not the actual passion in competition. Nonetheless, you could tell the air was sucked out of the Wells Fargo Center and time seemed to stand still with just over eight minutes to play in the first period of a 4-2 Flyers victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. That’s when Flyers captain Chris Pronger suffered a potentially serious right eye injury when struck full-on by …
Blues Over Flyers in a Lackluster Effort
Okay, so maybe that headline is a little harsh, but the Flyers played rather poorly in this game. The whole team came out of the locker room slow, got down early, and were not able to make up the difference. The Flyers ultimately lost this game, 4-2, to a suddenly resurgent St. Louis Blues. The Blues, despite getting into town late after an overtime win against Carolina the night before, came out strong right from the drop of the puck. They controlled play early and were skating well. After the Flyers iced it early in the first period, the Blues won the ensuing face-off and …
Flyers Get First Win In Ottawa Since 2007
Matt Read notched a career-high four points tonight as the Flyers destroyed the Senators 7-2 in Ottawa. Read, Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, and Max Talbot provided goals in the first period to give the Flyers an insurmountable lead. Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves on 23 Senators’ shots in his first appearance — and win — of the season. Goals from Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson weren’t nearly enough for Ottawa as Philly produced its biggest win of the short season. His first goal in the league may have been soft, but Read’s second goal was a thing of beauty. Burning past rookie …
Flyers Fall to Kings in OT
The big storyline coming into what turned out to be a 3-2 overtime victory by the Los Angeles Kings over the Flyers, was the return of Mike Richards, and I think he ended up being the storyline at the end of the game as well. He took a penalty that led to the Flyers tying the game late in the third period, and then set up the winning shot in OT, like we had seen him do for the Orange and Black so many times before. This Saturday night special started off with a bang… literally. Zac Rinaldo levelled training-camp …
Five Reasons I Love the Flyers: Bob Shinn
Bob Shinn runs the Flyers Hockey Talk page and is a very passionate fan, as you will come to see in his post. You can also follow him on Twitter here. Below, he gives us the five reasons he loves the Flyers. 5. The aura I have been to a sporting event involving every team in this city, except for the Sixers, but I have been to basketball games, and nothing matches the atmosphere of a Philadelphia Flyers’ game. The passion and the attention are there for 60 minutes. No one is texting or looking for the cameras, waving to someone at home. …
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 drop preseason game to Leafs
Another day, another fight. This bout, featuring Jody Shelley and Jay Rosehill offered little along the lines of metaphorical significance about the return of hockey, though. Rosehill came to the aid of his teammate, Darryl Boyce, who had just been flattened into the boards by Shelley. Shelley, you could say, was doing his best to illustrate a textbook example of the type of hit the league is trying to eliminate from hockey. In this regard, he did a good job and will likely be rewarded with a lengthy suspension. Disciplinarian, Brendan Shanahan, will probably make an example out of Shelley …
Pick Your Position
If asked, I admit without reservation that my favorite Flyer is Claude Giroux. The admiration comes from a huge appreciation for his on-ice ability, “Oh my gosh, did he just pass without looking?” And some seriously amazing stick-handling skills. So I definitely enjoy forwards. Defensemen too. Mez’s shots from the blue line, Pronger’s elbows, and Kimmo’s just awesomeness. But if you asked me what kind of girl I was, I’d say simply, “I’m a goalie girl.” It comes from a couple of things. When I played soccer as a kid in AYSO, I was more often than not, a goalie. …
Considering the possibility of a Bobrovsky trade
There’s something humorous about the fact that the Flyers waited until they had arguably their best goaltending prospect in ages before acquiring a bona fide starter. As a result, Sergei Bobrovsky, a once little-known goalie who posted solid numbers for Novokuznetsk Metallurg, a bad KHL team, ceased being the goalie of the future and became perceived as an overpaid, expendable backup in the mere bat of an eyelash. Barely a year after committing three years and nearly $3 million to Bobrovsky, it was reported that the Flyers began shopping him. It’s a long fall for someone who showed such promise and …