Any time that a Philadelphia team beats a New York team, it is a good day. This was the case last night down on Broad Street as the Flyers shut out the Rangers 2-0. To make it even better, the Flyers beat them up in the process.
I love a good tight hockey game enough as it is but when you get some good fights then you are in for a treat. Dan Carcillo drew the ire of Rangers coach John Tortorella by fighting Marian Gaborik, who has one career fighting major to his name. Later Scott Hartnell and Sean Avery got into it.
Tempers were flaring during and after the game. Tortorella had some stern words directed toward the Flyers bench during the game and again in his post game press conference, but the bottom line is the Flyers won 2-0 and this rivalry is as heated as it has ever been.
Or so you would think. The Flyers have outscored the Rangers 8-0 in their last two meetings. The Flyers are still out of a playoff spot right now (one point behind eighth seed New York Islanders) but they have games in hand and are only two points behind the sixth seeded Rangers.
Certainly nice to see Jeff Carter with the scoring touch. Hopefuly that continues for the rest of the season.
With Ken Hitchcock back in town I had a feeling there would be some entertainment down at the Wachovia Center last night. Hitchcock is never afraid to answer questions to the media and is known to speak honestly about a number of topics. I found it interesting to learn that the former Flyers head coach voiced his support for Flyers captain Mike Richards, who has recently reignited his battle with the local media.
I have made clear my opinion on Richards. I do not think he is mentally ready to be the captain of a hockey team. Maybe pressure is getting to him, maybe he is just too young. The fact that Sidney Crosby has already lead his team to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances and won one makes it a little more frustrating to watch Richards go through what he is going through right now.
I'm sure by D.C. blogging friend Will is happy about this one today. I did not watch the game so feel free to fill me in down below. I was watching football and doing grocery shopping instead. I am interested in the Mike Richards news that followed the game though.
It is not exactly something new to have a captain, or player, that does not get along with the media, but judging purely on what I have read, it doesn't seem right for Richards to be the captain of this Flyers team at this point in time. He seems to lack the maturity, and leadership, needed to take charge of this team. And honestly, relating with the media should be a priority when wearing the "C".
The hot Flyers offense must have had their good sticks fail to pass through customs because for the first time in 17 games the orange and black were shut-out. The four game winning streak also comes to an abrupt end as the Maple Leafs found a way to get back at the Flyers a little bit.
There was some rough stuff the other night when these teams last played, and before this game Toronto called up a tough guy. But the rough stuff was held off until late in the game when Toronto got a cheap hot on Mike Richards.
Remind me again which team has a reputation for being full of nothing but bullies and goons?
The Flyers are on a roll right now. Offense is scoring, defense is keeping the other team at bay and the goal tending has been solid. Not much else to say really. The Flyers have moved into 7th place in the Eastern Conference.
While it is fun to see a Philly team beat up on a team from Dallas, this win does nothing to relieve the sting of losing two consecutiveweeks to the Cowboys. But thanks anyway for the effort Flyers. They have scored more times this season against the Dallas Stars than the Eagles have against the Cowboys.
Before the Eagles drowned the city's sports fans of their enthusiasm, the Flyers (and Sixers) actually provided some positive wins. The Flyers took on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who will essentially be playing three games in three days, with the third coming this evening.
Simon Gagne's 500th career point, just days after teammate Danny Briere scored his 500th point, will be overshadowed in the sports headlines today, but it is worth mentioning.
Gagne has only played with the Flyers and when healthy gives the Flyers a goal scorer on any given line. With all of the injuries he has dealt with the 500th point should have come a long time ago, but it is still a remarkable feat. Congratulations to Gagne.
Sure the Flyers took care of business against the hated Penguins in blow out fashion, but will Flyers fans be talking about? How the NHL screwed Simon Gagne and the Flyers by not awarding a short-handed goal. After looking at some video (and photo) evidence I am not sure how the NHL decided that Gagne did not score a goal.
Or the Sidney Crosby goal that never should have been because the Penguins were offsides. Take your pick really.
I'll be honest though, I did not watch the game originally. I was covering the BCS Championship game over on Examiner with a live examination. But if you watched the Flyers-Penguins game feel free to let me know what I missed last night.
Now that's the kind of hockey I like to see the Flyers play. Six goals, including Danny Briere's 500th career point, and some fights. Who doesn't love old time hockey? The win puts the Flyers in tenth place n the Eastern Conference and just two points behind the current eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens with two games in hand.
And whikle we are on the topic of the Flyers, it was cool seeing them wear their Winter Classic jerseys again for their home fans. I guess tht would be the final time they wear those jerseys though. I love the look of the classic jersey.
The Flyers get right back on the ice tonight with a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Read more...
The Flyers lost a wild one up north, but what I find amusing is the fact that Senators fans tossed just one hat on the ice after Alex Kovalev scored a hat trick in the game. Had a Flyers player done it in the Wachovia Center I venture to say that there would be more than one hat thrown on the ice to honor the achievement.
Therefore Ottawa fans are at the bottom of my list when ranking NHL fan bases!
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One of the drawbacks of yesterday was that the Capital One Bowl was on at the same time as the Flyers in the Winter Classic. I chose to DVR the hockey game and flip over to it during commercials of the Penn State game. I finally got to watch it this morning.
Although the Flyers went down in overtime it was still a cool experience to watch the Flyers and Bruins battle on one of baseball's most storied stadiums, Fenway Park. The Winter Classic has become a great tradition in the NHL and I hope it continues to be held in future years. I would still love a chance to see the Flyers take on the Penguins up in Beaver Stadium.
The Flyers entered the third period tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning last night but used a dominating third period to pull away with a 5-2 win, snapping a four game losing streak that saw goals hard to come by.
Captain Mike Richards had two goals and an assist but the story of the night was the two goals by Blair Betts. Betts just rejoined the team after recovering from a shoulder injury a few games ago and finally found a bit of a scoring touch last night. The veteran center's career high for goals in a season is nine, which he scored with the Rangers in 2006-2007. He now has three goals in 17 games this season for the orange and black.
Once upon a time, opponents used to fear facing the Flyers in South Philadelphia. Remember? Not anymore. They don't push teams around with any physicality. They don't score many goals. They don't win the special-teams battles. Other than that, they look like Stanley Cup contenders.
Don't look now but the Flyers are the next to worst team in the Easter Conference. Scratch that. they are the next to worst team in the entire NHL. When will the organization realize that it is not the coach but the players?
But hey, at least they brought their fighting gloves last night, right?
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So much for feeling good about the team again. A night after the Flyers stole a win in Boston the team came out flat in Pittsburgh. Along the way to another loss to the in-state rivals the Penguins demonstrated what a real hockey team does.
Score goals.
Sure there were fights but when push came to shove the Penguins got the last laugh in a 6-1 blow out of the Flyers. New coach, same lousy attitude on the ice. Something needs to be done to shake up the team. Strip Richards of the "C". Make a big trade. Something, any thing to get the team back in gear and on the right track.
The loss sends the Flyers below .500 at 15-16. To add salt to the wound, the win puts the Penguins in sole possession of first place, breaking a tie with the New Jersey Devils.
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I didn't watch any sports last night, but it sounds like I missed some good games by the local squads. The Flyers trailed the Boston Bruins 1-0 entering the third period and then proceeded to score three goals in the final frame to pick up a win. Judging from my Twitter feed during the game the Flyers power play was still anemic at best so I wouldn't say the team is fixed, but a win in Boston is something to be proud about anytime.
The win puts the Flyers in third place (three way tie) in the Atlantic Division. The next time the Flyers play in Boston will be New Year's Day in the annual Winter Classic game. The game will be played outside in Fenway Park.
The 1999-2000 Philadelphia Flyers will always hold a bit of a special spot in my heart. And why not? They were the hot team in the city back then. My beloved Phillies were a mess, coming off an 81-81 season in 1999 by going a dreadful 69-93 in 2000. Desi Releford was playing shortstop and Ron Gant was playing left field. Pat Burrell? He was covering first base duties. And Macho Row leftover Mickey Morandini was still patrolling second base.
The Eagles were coming off their first season with Andy Reid on the sidelines and a young quarterback named Donovan McNabb still had a lot of question marks surrounding him...when he got to play ahead of Doug Pederson. As for the Sixers? Allen Iverson had started to get the team moving in the right direction, but we'll get to them later on.
The Flyers, for much of my high school years, were THE team in Philadelphia. A trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was not long behind us in 1999 and 2000 and it was every fan's expectation that this season would be the return to the Finals we had been waiting for since the debacle against the Detroit Red Wings in 1997.
But advancing to the Cup Finals would require some changes to be made, and some tragic events had to be overcome. And since we are talking about the Flyers you can imagine that it was not without controversy.
Saying Sad Good-Byes Over the summer, before the hockey season even entered the mindsets of most Philadelphia sports fans, Flyers fans and the city had to say farewell and best wishes to the long time voice of the Flyers, Gene Hart at the age of 68. Hart was hockey's version of Harry Kalas in Philadelphia. If you were watching the Flyers you expected to hear Hart's voice at the microphone. Jim Jackson was the voice I always identified with the Flyers but I can understand the sadness that must have surrounded the organization.
I was always rooting for the Flyers but I had still not formed my bond with them the way I do with the Phillies. So I regret to say I do not remember much about the passing of Hart. If you care to elabrate on Hart's passing or your memories from when it happened, please do so in the comments section.
But just over a week later the Flyers lost one of their players. Promising young Dmitri Tertyshny was killed in a bizarre boating accident. The boat he was in with a pair of Philadelphia Phantoms players hit a rough wave, throwing him from the front of the vehicle. Before anyone could react the boat had run over the player who had just completed his rookie NHL season.
Needless to say, the 1999-2000 Flyers were going to be playing with heavy hearts all season.
Controversial coaching change During the season head coach Roger Neilson was diagnosed with bone cancer. In February Neilson stepped down from the head coaching job to undergo his treatment. Craig Ramsey was named his replacement, although to this day I still think the Flyers went about the decision in the worst way they could in regards to public relations. Rather than let Neilson take a leave of absence they practically handed Ramsey the job.
So long old friend In order for the Flyers to take the next step and reach the Stanley Cup Finals again it was apparent that some kind of change needed to be made. The big trade that was made sent fan favorite Rod Brind'Amour to the Carolina hurricanes in exchange for a big center. That player was Keith Primeau.
Primeau was brought to Philadelphia to compliment captain Eric Lindros. For the most part, it worked. But soon after Ramsey took over the reigns as head coach Lindros suffered his second concussion of the season and all hell broke loose between Lindros, his family and general manager Bobby Clarke.
Lindros had criticized the team's training staff because he played a few games after suffering the concussion. In response the Flyers ripped the "C" off of Lindros's jersey and placed it on defense man Eric Desjardins. With Lindros out of the mix on the ice the Flyers came back strong to capture the Atlantic Division as well as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Playoff memories: The Good When you think back to the 2000 NHL playoffs in regards to the Flyers you likely have two distinct memories. The first one that go down as one of the top overtime moments of all time...
After the Flyers had disposed of the Buffalo Sabres in the first round they had dug an early hole against in-state rival Pittsburgh in round two. The Flyers dropped the first two games at home and headed to Pittsburgh in deep trouble against Jaromir Jagr's Penguins. The Flyers took game three and evened up the series in game four in the very late hours of the night, or early hours of the morning, in the fifth overtime.
I can still remember to this day all of my fellow class mates falling asleep in English class that (next?) day. It was rough at school that day, but somehow I do not think any of us will ever have any regrets.
Playoff memories: The Bad Then there is the turning point of the Flyers' post season.
The Flyers were paired up against their old nemesis, the New Jersey Devils, in the Eastern Conference Finals. They once again dropped the first game at home but came back to win the next three games in dominating fashion. The Devils picked up a win in game five to keep the Flyers from clinching. Then came the return of Lindros.
Lindros had not played since losing his "C" and leaving with a concussion, but he was determined to put the team on his back and get the Flyers back to the Cup Finals. Despite a good game from Lindros in game six the Devils sent the series to a seventh and deciding game.
Enter Scott Stevens.
Early in the first period of Game Seven Stevens rocked Lindros with his head down, sending the big center down to the ice with yet another concussion. The Flyers went on to lose the game 2-1 and the Devils went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Post-Mortem Looking back on things now it seems kind of silly to have loved this team as much as I did. Imagine if a team was in a battle with their captain and essentially letting go a coach with cancer today? That kind of drama would not be tolerated by me, I can surely tell you.
That Flyers team though was the first good team in Philadelphia this decade, and they deserve to be mentioned. Sadly, that is the last time the Flyers will appear on my list. Sure, the Flyers have made a couple runs this decade but this team was the one that I enjoyed the most at the time. And when you see the rest of the teams on my list I think you may have a hard time arguing against that.
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Earlier I posted about the Flyers losing a game to the Senators. In it I included a video of the 2004 melee between the two teams. It was a night that every Flyers fan will remember. But the video I included had the commentary from the Senators broadcasting team. So I decided to revisit the melee and give you the video from the view point of the Flyers broadcasters.
It is interesting to hear the different slants each broadcaster had on the epic melee.
Last night the Flyers dropped another game at home, this time to the Ottawa Senators. In a game in which goalie Brian Boucher only allowed one goal the offense made like the Phillies offense when Cole Hamels pitches and came out flat. The Flyers just could not get anything past Ottawa's Brian Elliot.
So far the coaching change seems to have had zero impact on the organization, despite the tougher approach from the head coach. The day after back-to-back games Peter Laviolette held a 70 minute practice the day after the team blew out the New York Islanders at home. Now you have to wonder if it was a detriment to the team last night.
As it was Ottawa who the Flyers played last night I could not help think back to the 2004 melee game. You know which one I'm talking about...
Watching that video should be a great way to get your Friday started.
UPDATE: Click here for the Flyers broadcast team calling the melee.
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Finally, Peter Laviolette can have a press conference with a smile on his face. After dropping the first two games under Laviolette as the new head coach in frustrating fashion, the Flyers lit the lamp six times against their former teammate, Islanders goal Martin Biron.
Ending a five game losing streak is a bit of a relief but before the game it was announced that goalie Ray Emery was placed on injured reserve with an abdominal injury.
Early indications are that Emrey could miss as much as six weeks, which would mean Brian Boucher will certainly be the key to the team's success until February. considering the week ahead of the Flyers, it will be tough. It looks as though Emery could be back before the NHL shuts down for the winter Olympics.
Johan Backlund was called up from the Phantoms to fill the vacant goalie roster spot.
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Lost in the main event last night at the Wachovia Center, the return of Allen Iverson to the Sixers, was a hockey game that was probably best kept in the dark.
The Flyers lost their fifth straight game, this time up in Montreal against the Canadiens. The 3-1 final should tell you that the Flyers offense was once again absent but what is alarming is that the defense only allowed 13 shots on goal. THIRTEEN!
Three goals on 13 shots is not good, especially when your offense is not clicking. This team is in disarray right now. The coaching change has not shown any difference on the ice in terms of results in two games and both losses have been ugly. The owner apparently does not understand why John Stevens was let go, Chris Pronger is left to defend the team captain to the Canadian press just days after he spoke some harsh words that were directed toward Mike Richards, and now the Flyers are in last place in the Atlantic Division, and 13th in the Eastern Conference (granted they are only three points out of the eighth spot with two games in hand).
