Photo: bridgetds/Flickr

The Flyers had Monday off after back-to-back losses to start the season to get some rest before they head to New Jersey.

Paul Holmgren confirmed they will be without Zac Rinaldo when they take on the Devils Tuesday night. Rinaldo will be out at least a week after getting 20 stitches in his leg  Sunday against Buffalo. Danny Briere also won’t be in the lineup against the Devils.

Tye McGinn was called up to take Rinaldo’s spot just days after getting sent back to Adirondack.

McGinn was the Flyers 4th round pick in 2010 and has 23 goals and 10 assists in 96 career AHL games. Holmgren and the rest of the Flyers brass was impressed by McGinn during training camp. McGinn isn’t a huge offensive threat but he uses his big body and plants himself in front of the net, trying to cash in on rebounds and distract the goalie.

There wasn’t much good news to come of the weekend other than the New York Rangers lost their first two games too. The Flyers and Rangers are the only two teams in the Atlantic Division to not record a win yet.

Credit: bridgetds/flickr

After having 256 days off, the Flyers were back on the ice for their second game in less than 24 hours against the Buffalo Sabres.

Perhaps it was the quick turnaround but the Flyers fell to 0-2 on the season in the 5-2 loss on Sunday afternoon. There was some poor officiating but the Flyers’ special teams are to blame, not to mention the spotty defense.

The Flyers could have taken advantage of the Sabres’ rust considering it was Buffalo’s first game but they came out slow again in the first period. They fell behind 1-0 on a power-play goal by Steve Ott with Nicklas Grossmann in the box for tripping.

Early in the second period, Kurtis Foster showed why the Flyers brought him in by blasting a shot that was tipped in by Sean Couturier for his first goal of the season. The Flyers finally cashed in on the power-play when Claude Giroux one-timed it over Ryan Miller to tie the game at two.

Thomas Vanek scored his first of two goals on the day with Luke Schenn in the box for the second time. Max Talbot and Couturier got caught changing and let Vanek go in alone. Ilya Bryzgalov was clearly annoyed, throwing his hands up in frustration.
» Continue reading “Flyers Fall To 0-2 Against Sabres”

Credit: InsideHockey/Rob Marks

First Case of Tastycakes: Brayden Schenn

The obvious choice would be Claude Giroux but with Schenn joining G and Scott Hartnell on the first line there is a pretty good chance Schenn will be the first one to light the lamp.

Most Tastycakes: Claude Giroux

Giroux was second to Hartnell in goals scored last season but while Hartnell will continue to benefit from top-line minutes, it’s hard to imagine he will match last year’s production. In a shortened season where almost every game is a must win, look for postseason Giroux to emerge.

First Shanaban: Zac Rinaldo

So far, I haven’t picked outside the box yet but Rinaldo is always a safe bet to do something worthy of a suspension. With the first game coming against Pittsburgh, it’s a big possibility that he may not finish the game.

First Fight: Scott Hartnell

Again, this isn’t a stretch but how can you not pick Hartnell when you open up the season against the Penguins? There is no way Hartnell isn’t going to drop the gloves whether it is to come to the protection of his linemates or to get the momentum on the Flyers side.

Biggest Surprise: Sean Couturier

Couturier was just one of the many surprises of the 2011-12 season, scoring 13 goals as a 19-year-old rookie. Couturier combined for 10 goals and 18 assists in 31 games with the Phantoms during the lockout, just second best to Schenn. Couturier will continue that production and stay out of that sophomore slump.

Biggest Disappointment: Wayne Simmonds

To say Simmonds’ 28 goals last year was a surprise is an understatement. Simmonds scored only one goal in 11 playoff games and that one goal came in the Flyers 8-4 blowout in Game 3 against the Penguins. He will still contribute but he certainly won’t score the same amount of goals as Giroux this season.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division: Third behind the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins
Eastern Conference: Sixth behind Rangers, Penguins, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals

Inside Hockey/ Bill Stahl

They may call the Flyers the comeback kids but even they couldn’t come back from a seven goal deficit. In a decisive Game 4 where the Flyers could have sent the Penguins home in embarrassment, they laid down and let the Penguins score 10 goals to send the series back to Pittsburgh.

Flyers fans packed in the Wells Fargo Center with brooms in hand and “we hate you too” shirts on, anticipating a sweep. Instead they were subjected to the most decisive home playoff loss in team history.

It wouldn’t be a Flyers playoff series without a goalie change, would it?

Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled after giving up five goals on 18 shots. His replacement, however, actually made him look like a Vezina Trophy winner. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up four goals on just 13 shots.

The referees set the tone early, calling the game’s first of many penalties just 17 seconds into the game. Unlike the first three games, Claude Giroux put the Flyers on the board first with a power-play goal, his fifth of the series.
» Continue reading “Penguins Score 10, Embarrass Flyers”

Hartnell goes Hulk Hogan on Pittsburgh

The pot has been stirring for the entire season between the cross-state rivals but things finally came to a boil during Sunday’s explosive match-up between the Flyers and Penguins. The Flyers beat the Penguins 6-4 in what was most likely a preview of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals that start next week.

The Flyers won their fifth straight at the CONSOL Energy Center with Sergei Bobrovsky in net after having to overcome an early lead yet again.

Bobrovsky got the start in net with Ilya Bryzgalov still sidelined with the chip fracture in his right foot and like yesterday, Bob got off to a rough start. He let in the game’s first two goals less than five minutes into the first period to leave the Flyers having to overcome an early deficit for the sixth time in their last nine games.

Peter Laviolette used this time to call his infamous time-out and it worked its magic again. It was all orange and black from there on out.

Claude Giroux got the Flyers within one with a drive from the slot that trickled under Marc-Andre Fleury. With a little over a minute into the second period former-Pen Max Talbot tied the game at two with a tip-in from Zac Rinaldo for his 19th of the season.
» Continue reading “Flyers Beat Pens in Explosive Battle, WrestleMania Preview”

Photo: bridgetds/flickr

It was a record-setting night for the Flyers in their 3-2 win against the New York Islanders.

Ilya Bryzgalov set the franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes with 249:43 and was just six minutes from getting his fourth shutout in a row.

Claude Giroux set a career high with 26 goals when he scored the game’s second goal in the first period. He finished the game with two points to bring his total to 82 on the season.

Kimmo Timonen earned his 200th point as a Flyer with his assist on Scott Hartnell’s 33rd goal of the season, which is a career high for Hartnell.

Despite the win and the record-setting effort, the Flyers can’t come away feeling too good about themselves. The game looked to be in the bag late in the third until Bryzgalov’s streak ended on Michael Grabner’s goal. Just 35 seconds later, John Tavares made it a one-goal game and suddenly the Flyers found themselves clinging to the 3-2 lead.
» Continue reading “Flyers Set Records, Survive in Win Over Isles”

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

In the first game where the players were miked up for the HBO series 24/7, Zac Rinaldo wanted to see the spotlight, along with Brandon Prust, who dropped the gloves just 4 seconds into the game. Prust, who is probably going to get a lot of airtime in the series, caught Wayne Simmonds up 9 minutes later, both serving unsportsmanlike conducts. When released from their respective boxes, Simmonds and Prust found each other, and dropped the gloves.

15 seconds into the second period, the Flyers caught a break. The puck had been swatted behind Sergei Bobrovsky for what was called the first goal of the game, only to be waved off after a call to Toronto.

That was the only break, as 30 seconds later, Brad Richards scored on the Power Play. With 5 minutes played in the 3rd period, Carl Hagelin scored his first NHL goal, producing the end score of 2-0. “King Henry” Lundqvist stopped 29 shots.

A post game interview with Maxime Talbot shed light on what was part of the demise of the Flyers in Madison Square Garden. “They played defense well, and I don’t think our fore check was aggressive enough” “They clogged the middle, and when they do that, you need to adjust your game and play the middle more.”

Flyers and Rangers faceoff again December 23rd, before the Winter Classic on January 2nd.

Yesterday was Black Friday, but as a Flyers fan I could argue it should have been called “Black & ORANGE” Friday after the Flyers beat the Montreal Canadians.  And even better I was actually at the game.  And sometimes my track record isn’t good.  So it was a big “PHEW” moment when they went up 3-1 and pretty much had the game in hand.

Claude Giroux continued to show his dominance by scoring two goals, bringing his total to 13 on the season.

“This year he’s really spread his wings,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s consistently one of the top forwards in the game.” – Flyers.com

Jakub Voracek scored in the second giving him 11 points in his last eight games.

Sergei Bobrovsky, used with permission © Bob Fina/InsideHockey.com

Sergei Bobrovsky was in net and made 23 saves out of 24 shots.  The Habs didn’t exactly have tons of quality shots, but the ones they did Bob looked damn good.

Giroux, Voracek, and Bobrovsky were selected three stars of the game.

The injuries keep piling up for the Flyers as they lost defenseman Andreas Lilja in yesterday’s game.  Diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, Lilja is expected to be out for at least six weeks.  James van Riemsdyk was scratched from yesterday’s game with an undisclosed upper-body injury.  The original time frame was that he would be out for 1-2 weeks but there’s a possibility that time could be cut short.

Chris Pronger was scratched again due to a virus he’s been suffering from and Jaromir Jagr was also out for the third time in four games with a lower-body injury.

During intermission, the Flyers roster for the 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game was announced. See list below:

Roster courtesy of: Flyers.com

Last night HBO premiered the Flyers-Rangers 24/7 preview.  And for a brief 12 minutes, we got a glimpse of what’s to come.  And it looks to be just as good if not better than the series last year which highlighted the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.  A couple times the tag line “From Broadway to Broad Street” was used and I like it!  I also love that it emphasized on not just the heated rivalry between the Flyers and Rangers but the disdain the fans of both teams have for one another.

The full-show debuts on Wednesday, December 14th @ 10:00 pm EDT.

And speaking of the Rangers, today the Flyers are in New York to face them in a 2:00 pm match-up.  The game will be televised on the NHL Network.  The Flyers are 13-6-3 while the Rangers’ record is 11-5-3.  And as always, a game between these two teams is never boring!  Quite the contrary.  Especially since public enemy number one Sean Avery is back with the Rangers, after his brief demotion to the AHL.  I’m holding out hope this afternoon that someone on the Flyers (such as Zac Rinaldo) pummels his ass!  A girl can dream can’t she?

On Friday, November 25th at 9:15 pm EDT, HBO will air, Preview to 24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road To The NHL Winter Classic.  The 12-minute preview will feature players/coaches from both the Flyers and the New York Rangers, giving viewers a sneak-peek of what they can look forward to.

 ”Preview to 24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road to the NHL Winter Classic” will air a total of 12 times on the main service plus six times on HBO2 (see replay schedule below). The preview also will be available 24 hours a day at HBO ON DEMAND, starting Nov. 27 as well as on HBO GO.

 HBO replay schedule:
Nov. 25 (9:15 p.m.)
Nov. 26 (12:00 p.m.)
Nov. 29 (12:30 p.m. and 4:05 a.m.)
Dec. 2 (9:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.)
Dec. 4 (9:00 a.m.)
Dec. 6 (8:15 p.m.)
Dec. 9 (2:30 p.m.)
Dec. 12 (5:15 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.)
Dec. 14 (7:00 p.m.)

HBO2 replay schedule:
Nov. 25 (5:40 a.m.)
Dec. 8 (1:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.)
Dec. 11 (8:15 a.m.)
Dec. 15 (6:15 a.m. and 9:45 p.m.)

-courtesy of HBO and Flyers.com

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On Saturday, November 5, 2011, the Flyers didn’t just beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, they downright slaughtered them.  But to be fair, the Blue Jackets aren’t exactly lighting the NHL on fire with their 2-11-1 record.

Eight different Flyers recorded goals in the 9-2 rout, with rookie Sean Couturier scoring two.

With 18-points, the Flyers are sitting 2nd in the Atlantic Division (8-4-2 record) 3-points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Flyers are fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Right-winger Claude Giroux is 2nd in the NHL with 19-points and 3rd with 9-goals.  He’s tied for 1st with four other players with 4-power play goals.

Zac Rinaldo has logged 49-penalty minutes, ranking him 3rd in the NHL.

Couturier is ranked 3rd in the NHL with a +9 (plus/minus).

Max Talbot - used with permission © Bob Fina/InsideHockey.com

Thursday night the Flyers should have won against the New Jersey Devils but instead skated away with one point instead of two.  And I guess one is better than none but hate seeing them lose in a shootout.

Especially after Max Talbot‘s beautiful penalty shot on New Jersey’s goalie Johan Hedberg, that put the Flyers up 3-2.  Kind of sucks that the Devils ended up tying the game with only a few minutes left in the third, sending it into overtime and eventually to the dreaded shoot out.

Zac Rinaldo scored his first ever NHL goal in the second period.  And Talbot had been 0-for-1 in his career with penalty shots.

“I don’t have many moves in my toolbox so I went with what I can do,” Talbot said. – Flyers.com

Left winger James van Riemsdyk didn’t play in last night’s game due to a lower body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Update on Chris Pronger:

According to Flyers’ beat writer Sam Carchidi, Pronger skated in Voorhees, NJ (Flyers Skatezone) earlier today and for the first time since his eye injury, he took part in team drills. There were only seven players on the ice with him and Pronger was wearing a visor.

General manager Paul Holmgren said he didn’t know if the star defeneseman would be able to play Wednesday in Tampa Bay, but he didn’t rule it out.   “It depends on how he progresses” in the next several days, Holmgren said. – Philly.com

I know the league might be a tad overzealous when it comes to handing out suspensions this season but since Wednesday night’s head butting incident against Flyers’ Jakub Voracek wasn’t Buffalo Sabre Patrick Kaleta’s first or even second infraction, I think he definitely deserved to be suspended for 4-games.  Playing tough is one thing, playing downright dirty is another story.

Sam Carchidi, also known as the Broad Street Bull is a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and can be followed on twitter: @BroadStBull
Image source: BobFina/InsideHockey.com