The Flyers leave the state of Florida on a positive note tonight as they beat the Panthers 3-2. Matt Read recorded his first game-winning goal in the NHL with a rarity: a short-handed, penalty-shot goal in the third period, while Braydon Coburn registered his first goal of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov had a 31-save evening with his only errors coming from a goal off an awkward deflection and a goal with nearly no time left in the game. Despite being out shot 16-9 in the final twenty minutes of regulation, the Flyers held on for the win. In an opening period which featured five …
3 on 3 for the week of 11.06.11
Welcome to 3-on-3, where we take a look back at the best and worst Flyers of the last week, statistically speaking. The Flyers had a good week, going 2-0-1 and gaining 5 out of a 6 possible points with a tough road victory against the Sabres, a disappointing shootout loss to the rival Devils, and a complete manhandling of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here are this week’s 3 “hot” and 3 “duds:” “Hot” players: Sean Couturier — The 18-year-old from the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL continues his strong two way play in his rookie season. “Couts” as he is …
Flyers Shred Blue Jackets 9-2
What a doozy! In Jeff Carter’s return to Philadelphia… Er, anyway, even Carter couldn’t have helped his new team survive the Flyers’ 9-2 thrashing of Columbus last night. The game, which the home team controlled from the start, was a real crowd pleaser. It featured a little bit of everything and a whole lotta scoring. The Flyers started off the first period fast, scoring two within the first 3 1/2 minutes, and worked up a staggering 5-0 advantage before it was all over. Among these were a pretty power play goal by Jaromir Jagr, a great dexterous goal by Max Talbot and a goal from the blue …
Canadiens Blow Out Flyers 5-1
Despite a solid performance in the face of adverse circumstances on Monday, the Flyers failed to sustain that momentum and suffered a shocking 5-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal tonight. Max Pacioretty continued his hot start, posting two goals and an assist while David Desharnais had two assists on the evening. Carey Price saved 21 of the Flyers’ 22 shots tonight to give the Canadiens their second win of the season (2-5-2) and more importantly to stop a paralyzing six-game losing skid. Jaromir Jagr had the only Philadelphia goal on the evening and Ilya Bryzgalov struggled again — making just 23 …
Flight Plan Week of 10.23.2011
The Philadelphia Flyers started out of the gate as one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, winning four of their first five games and getting points in all five of them. Since then, they have suffered two embarrassing (though in different ways) back-to-back losses on home ice at the hands of the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues. To lose to the Capitals by a score of 5-2 when they’re one of the hotter teams in the NHL at the beginning of the season, and just about every bounce goes the way of the opposition, well …
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 …
But what does it mean?
N.B. I apologize in advance for this stream of consciousness post. I need some more time to organize my thoughts on the roster changes and will likely edit this post this afternoon. This morning, the Flyers announced that Brayden Schenn was recalled and Zac Rinaldo and Harry Zolnierczyk were loaned to the Phantoms. That leaves the Flyers with a glut of centers and some big questions about where everyone fits in the lineup. Through five games and a 4-0-1 record, the Flyers have been firing on all cylinders. They lead the league in goals per game (3.80) and have given up …
Atlantic Watch: 10/12-10/18
Three more games for the Flyers this week resulted in five more points in the standings. Losing their first game of the year in overtime to the Kings, the Flyers are no longer perfect on the season. However, since they won their other games in the week, the Flyers still haven’t lost in regulation this season. Sure, it’s upsetting to lose a game like Saturday’s to Los Angeles, a team featuring former Philly teammates Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, but it’s important to earn points early in the year. It’s also important to see many of the young players stepping …
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 …
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 …