Sharks Continue Domination over Flyers with Shutout

The Philadelphia Flyers were shutout by the San Jose Sharks 1-0 tonight. It was the 9th straight loss against San Jose.

Sharks score on the 1st shot of the game

Both teams played very well defensively in this tight checking playoff-like game. Tonight's game featured more hits than shots; their were only 48 shots combined while there were 56 checks.

The Flyers followed the exact same trend they had set in their last 7 games, playing form behind early. San Jose scored on the very 1st shot of the game, less than 3 minutes in. Philadelphia has now surrendered the 1st goal of the game to their opponents in 8 straight and 11 of their last 12 games. The Flyers have only had a lead once in their last 34 games at the halfway mark of the 1st period.

Coming from behind has become a norm for them. Unfortunately they couldn't get it done tonight.

The Sharks scored their 1st goal on a poor defensive play by the Flyers. It was a 2 on 2 and the always dangerous Joe Thornton drew both Flyers defenders allowing Ryan Clowe untouched to the faceoff dot. He took a quick snap shot that seemed to have deflected off a Flyers skate (according to Bryzgalov) and past Ilya Bryzgalov.

Bryzgalov makes a great save on Thornton

Bryzgalov was not at fault for the goal and played a terrific game, keeping the Flyers alive all the way to the end. One of his saves came in the 3rd period, when the Sharks went in on a 2 on 1. Thornton received the pass and made a move but Bryzgalov stuck glove out making his best save of the night, keeping it a 1 goal hockey game.

But the Flyers couldn't take advantage.
Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi played well, but the Flyers just didn't get enough quality chances.

There was a scare late in the game in the 3rd period when Sharks defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic checked Danny Briere from behind sending him head first into the boards. Briere just laid on the ice struggling just to get on all fours as play continued without any penalty. Play was eventually stopped and Danny was able to leave the ice on his own volition. Briere stayed in the game, and afterwards said he was a little dizzy immediately following the hit, but feels better now.

Niemi makes one of his 25 saves

Tonight is the 2nd time the Flyers have been shutout in their last 3 games. They also continued their losing streak in games after a win. The Flyers have lost 9 in a row in games following a victory.

With the loss they fall to 6th place in the East.

Game Notes:

• Ilya Bryzgalov, who made his 6th straight start tonight, stopped 22 of 23 shots while Antti Niemi stopped all 25 shots, recording his 5th shutout of the season. 
• Last time the Flyers faced Niemi was in game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals (the game Chicago won the Cup).
• Claude Giroux was held without a shot for the 1st time all season.
• Danny Briere, who was moved to the 4th line to start the game, failed to score for the 17th straight game. His longest single season goalless streak is 19, back in the 1998-9 season.
• It is the 5th time the Flyers have been shutout this season, yet they still have the highest scoring percentage in the NHL.
• The Flyers went 2 and 2 on their West coast road trip.

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers finally come home after an 11 day road trip and get back into action against the Islanders.

(photos courtesy of ESPN NHL)

Can Flyers Take a Bite Out of Sharks

The Philadelphia Flyers (34-20-7) face off against the San Jose Sharks (32-22-7) tonight at 10:30 PM.

Trade Deadline:
The trade deadline came and went, without any significant names being moved (Rick Nash stayed in Columbus). There were only 16 deals, which was the lowest amount of trades on deadline day in 12 years (March of 2000). The Flyers stood pat, satisfied with the acquisitions they made a few weeks back (Nick Grossman and Pavel Kubina), while preparing for Tuesday night's game.

Here is a link to all the trades: Click Here

History vs Sharks:
The Philadelphia Flyers and the San Jose Sharks will meet for the 1st time this season tonight and 1st time since December of 2010. It is also the 1st time the these 2 teams will play against each other in San Jose since November of 2009. The Sharks have owned the Flyers over the last decade, winning their last 8 games against Philadelphia. And the Sharks have gone unbeaten against the Flyers in their last 12 contests (10 wins, 2 ties). The last time Philadelphia defeated the Sharks was in December of 2000, and the last time they beat the Sharks in San Jose was in November of 1999 (they won 3-2; Eric Lindros was the number 1 star of the game, scoring a goal and an assist).

Currently:
San Jose, 7th place in the West, is currently fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. They have been streaking in the month of February, unfortunately in the wrong direction. The Sharks have lost 6 of their last 7, and 9 of their last 12 games. In their last 3 losses, they have given up 16 goals, 5 of them coming against their penalty kill.

The Flyers have won 3 of their last 5 games, including a dramatic victory over Winnipeg, in which they scored with under 10 second in the game, leading to an overtime victory, and and thrilling comeback win against the Flames, in which they came back from a 3-0 deficit to win in a shootout. Philadelphia hopes that the momentum from their resilient win over Calgary will carry over into tonight helping the team win 2 games in a row for the 1st time since January 10th and 12th.

Who to look out for:
Joe Thornton's career numbers tell the story. He averages over a point per game (1056 games, 1059 points) and has scored over 100 points twice in his career. This is no different. He currently leads the Sharks in assists with 44 and points with 58. Thornton is riding a 5 game point streak; he has 7 points during the streak.

Scott Hartnell continues to tear up the league. His 2 goals against Calgary got him up to 30 for the season. Hartnell has 5 goals and 12 points in his last 8 games.

Who's in net:
Ilya Bryzgalov (22-12-6, 2.82 GAA) will get his 6th straight start in goal against Antti Niemi (24-15-6, 2.51 GAA) tonight.

Drop the Puck:
The San Jose Sharks host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 10:30 PM. 

Flyers Show Resiliency, beat Flames in a Thriller

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Calgary Flames in a thrilling comeback victory, 5-4 in a shootout tonight.

Despite outplaying and outshooting the Flames, the Flyers fell down 3-0 in the game after a PowerPlay goal, a weak goal, and a shorthanded goal. But they showed their resiliency as they fought back and stepped up when it mattered, multiple times tonight, resulting in a gritty team victory. 

Read is mobbed after game winning shootout goal

The Flyers had a strong 1st period outshooting the Flames 9-2 in the first 10 minutes; however, the 2 shots the Flames took both resulted in goals. The 1st came on the PowerPlay off a failed clear. Mark Giordano kept the puck in the zone and blasted it from the point, beating Ilya Bryzgalov. It was the 7th straight game that the Flyers have failed to score first.

Then less than 2 minutes later, on the 2nd shot of the game for the Flames, Matt Stajan scored a soft goal on Bryzgalov, giving the Flames a 2-0 lead. The Flames had 2 goals, on 2 shots.

The Flyers outshot them 15-6 in the 1st period but the Flames led where it mattered.

Philadelphia started the 2nd period off very flat. They only had 1 shot on goal in the first 13 minutes of play. But then they were awarded a PowerPlay, and had hopes of getting back into the game.

Flame take 3-0 lead to Jagr's dismay

Those hopes would be crushed when they turned the puck over in their defensive zone. Tom Kostopoulos found the loose puck and went in all alone on Bryzgalov beating him for the shorthanded goal. The score was now 3-0 with 7 minutes remaining in the 2nd.

The Flames' 3rd goal seemed to light a fire under the Flyers, as they finally came alive in the 2nd. Following the goal, the Flyers outshot the Flames 13-1 in the final 7 minutes of the period. And with about 4 minutes left, Jake Voracek made a nice individual effort to get across the blue line and went in on a 2 on 1 and beat Flames goalie Miikka Kipprusoff cutting the lead to 2, finally getting the Flyers on the board.

The Flyers had life. They continued to push and in the final minute of the 2nd, Braydon Coburn threw a shot in on goal that Kipprusoff stopped easily, but the rebound came out and bounced off a Flames defenseman and into the goal. The Flyers finally caught a break and things were starting to turn their way. It was 3-2 after 2.

The 3rd period was underway and about 7 minutes in, Calgary was called for overlapping penalties, resulting in a 5 on 3 opportunity for the Flyers. Timonen and Giroux played catch back and forth until Timonen blasted a shot that deflected off Scott Hartnell's equipment (pants or kneepads) and past Kipprusoff tying the game at 3.

After the tying goal the Flyers were still buzzing. But the game turned again quickly. Pavel Kubina took a blast from the point that was blocked by Flames forward Alex Tanguay out to the neutral zone, and he was off to the races. Kubina got a stick on Tanguay and....Penalty Shot.

Tanguay faked, Bryzgalov went down and Tanguay finished making Bryzgalov look bad. The Flames had their lead restored.

Flyers celebrate game tying 4th goal

However, resiliency continued to be the theme of the night. Instead of letting the penalty shot goal bury them, the Flyers kept fighting. And 90 seconds later Nick Grossman wound up and fired it from the point, and it was Hartnell again who deflected it past Kipprusoff tying the game once again, this time at 4.

60 minutes wouldn't be enough. Heading into the overtime the Flyers outshot the Flames 43-19. After 2 shots a piece and an Andrej Meszaros' wide open net miss as time was about to expire, the game required a shootout.

Flyers were 1 for 6 on shootouts this year, while the Flames were 3 and 8. Bryzgalov was 0 for 4.

The first 4 shooters failed to score and it was Mike Cammalleri in the final round. He scored on a beautiful high glove side shot.

Then it was all up to Claude Giroux, who needed to score to keep the Flyers alive. He skated in, backhand, forehand, goal. Resilient.

Mike Cammalleri and Claude Giroux trade SO goals

The next 3 shooters failed to score. Bryzgalov made 2 nice saves on Curtis Glencross and Jarome Iginla, while Wayne Simmonds hit the post.

Then in the 5th round, it was Matt Read, who has never scored in the shootout (0 for 2). He stared down Kipprusoff and ripped it high glove scoring the game winning shootout goal.

Matt Read wins it in the 5th round of the shootout

The Flyers fought back from a 3-0 deficit, then came back from being down 4-3 late in the 3rd, and finally came through in a must-score situation in the final round of the shootout; all resulting in a well deserved 5-4 victory over the Flames.

They have won 2 of 3 games on this West Coast road trip so far, both in dramatic fashion.

Game Notes:

• At one point in the game, the 3rd goal was given to Timonen while the 4th was awarded to Grossman. Both were later changed, and Hartnell ended the game with both of those goals, his 29th and 30th.
• Bryzgalov, despite allowing 2 weak goals early, came up big in the shootout stopping 4 of 5 shots. It was his 1st shootout win with the Flyers.
• Despite Danny Briere's team leading 5 shots, he failed to score again for the 16th straight game. His longest goalless drought since 1998.
• Penalty Killing Struggles: The Flyers have allowed 5 PowerPlay goals against in their last 3 games, including 1 tonight.
• PowerPlay success: They have scored 5 PowerPlay goals in their last 5 games.
• The win keeps them tied with Pittsburgh (who destroyed TB 8-1 today) for 4th place in the East. 
• It was the 3rd time this season the Flyers have come back from a 3 goal deficit to win.  

Game Hightlights:

• Watch Full Highlights: HERE
• Watch Full Shootout: HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers road trip continues in San Jose on Tuesday when they face the Sharks.

(thanks to ESPN NHL, CBC Sports, NHL Network, and the Philadelphia Flyers)

Old Flames

The Philadelphia Flyers (33-20-7) face off against the Calgary Flames (28-23-10) tonight at 10:00 PM.

Past History:
The Philadelphia Flyers continue their road trip and their next stop is Calgary.  It is the first and only time they will face the Calgary Flames this season. The Flyers have had a lot of success in Calgary over the last decade. They have won 5 of their last 6 games there, including their last 3 in a row. The last time the Flyers lost in Calgary was on March of 2001. However, since the first time these 2 teams met in 1980, they have played very evenly; the Flyers overall record against Calgary is 30-27-3.

Currently:
Both teams have been struggling of late. The Flames have dropped 3 of their last 4 games, only scoring 7 goals during that span. They are currently outside of a playoff spot, sitting at 9th place; however, they are only 2 points behind the 8th seeded Dallas Stars.  The Flyers have lost 4 of their last 6 games. They are currently tied for 5th place with Pittsburgh and are 1 point from jumping up to 4th yet also 1 point from falling to 7th place.

Special Teams: 
Special teams play has been the difference maker in several recent games for the Flyers. Philadelphia has given up 10 PowerPlay goals (30 attempts), while only scoring 4 PowerPlay goals (on 25 attempts) of their own in the last 7 games.
The Flames PowerPlay has struggled tremendously. They have only scored once on 18 attempts over their last 7 games. However, their penalty kill has been excellent. They have only allowed 4 PowerPlay goals against in their last 15 games.

Scoring First:
Another area the Flyers hope to improve upon is scoring first. The Flyers have failed to score first in their last straight 6 games, and 9 of their last 10. Philadelphia has only scored the first goal of the game in 30 of their 60 games. 16 of their 20 regulation losses have come in games when they have trailed first. So the Flyers need to score first, more frequently.

Who to look out for:
Veterans Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla have both excelled this year. Iginla leads the Flames in goals with 23, while Jokinen leads in points with 50.

Since returning from the flu, Jaromir Jagr has 3 goals in his last 3 games, including the huge overtime goal against Winnipeg. Jagr has great career numbers against Calgary; in 24 games played, Jagr has scored 35 points.

Who's in goal:
Ilya Bryzgalov (21-12-6, 2.80 GAA) will make his 5th straight start in goal against workhorse, Miikka Kiprusoff (27-18-6, 2.31 GAA) tonight.

Drop the Puck:
The Calgary Flames will host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 10:00 PM.

Flyers Fall to 29th Place Oilers

The Philadelphia Flyers were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 tonight.

It was the 2nd straight shutout for the Oilers over the Flyers in Edmonton. The Flyers haven't scored in Edmonton in the last 7 periods. Simon Gagne, in 2007, was the last Flyer to score in Edmonton.

Dubnyk shutting down Flyers

Philadelphia was the highest scoring team in the NHL scoring 198 goals in 59 games and the Oilers were the 29th place team in league, yet none of that mattered as Edmonton was still able shut down the Flyers.

The 1st period started well for the Flyers. There was an 8 minute span during the period in which the Flyers outshot the Oilers 9-0, but Edmonton goalie Devan Dubnyk stood strong and kept the game scoreless after 1.

The 2nd period began, but the Flyers were no where to be found. Edmonton outshot Philadelphia 8-1 in the first 9 minutes and scored 2 goals in the process.

The Flyers have struggled tremendously on the penalty kill recently. They have given up 9 PowerPlay goals in the last 6 games, going 67%; make that 10 in their last 7 games. Philadelphia was down a man when Taylor Hall was the first to the rebound off the backboards and used his quick release to beat Ilya Bryzgalov giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. It was the 6th straight game in which the opponent has scored 1st against the Flyers.

Almost immediately following the goal, the Flyers had a prime opportunity to tie the game. Brayden Schenn found himself on a breakaway, but instead of a tie game was Dubnyk made a huge save stopping one of his 35 saves tonight.

Bryzgalov beaten by Eberle

Ilya Bryzgalov, who has struggled to find himself all year, gave up another questionable goal tonight. Jordan Eberle's hard work created a turnover in the Flyers zone. Eberle picked up the loose puck and fired it from the the top of the circle beating Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov had a clean look as there weren't any screens nor deflections yet Eberle beat him cleanly; a goal Bryzgalov would like to have back. Edmonton went on to outshoot the Flyers 15-6 in the period.

Forced into comeback mode, the Flyers picked up the pace in the 3rd period. They had the 1st, 9 shots of the period, but again were unable to score.

Bryzgalov did however, keep the team in the game late in the 3rd period. Shawn Horcoff was awarded a penalty shot with 3 minutes to play. Bryzgalov came up big shutting the door against Horcoff, keeping the Flyers alive a little longer.

Despite ending the game with almost 2 minutes of 6 on 4, in which the Flyers actually played 6 forwards, they were still unable to solve Dubnyk and the Oilers.

Laviolette not happy with team's play

Edmonton went on to win 2-0. It was the 4th time the Flyers have been shutout this season.

After the game, coach Peter Laviolette wasn't very happy with his team's effort, "The assessment of the 2nd period is accurate, it's disgraceful. You'd like to think it serves as a wake up call, because we're in a playoff race and tonight is unacceptable. We eased our way into the 1st period, the 2nd period was horse****, then we wake up and try to win a game in the 3rd period. Hopefully it's a wake up call."

Game Notes:

• The Flyers lost, an unbelievable, 67% of their faceoffs tonight. Danny Briere won just 3 of 15 draws while Schenn only won 2 of 10.
• Bryzgalov made 27 saves on 29 shots.
• Claude Giroux and Schenn led the way with 5 shots a piece.
• Briere has now gone 15 games without a goal.
• Sean Couturier missed tonight's game with what is being called a lower body injury.

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action on Saturday when they face the Calgary Flames.

(thanks to NHLI via Getty Images and ESPN NHL)

Flyers vs Oilers: 1st/Only Time This Season

The Philadelphia Flyers (33-19-7) face off against the Edmonton Oilers (23-30-6) tonight at 9:30 PM.

The Philadelphia Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers will see each other for the 1st and only time this season. Last time they met was in March of 2011 and the Flyers came out on top 4-1. Prior to that win, the Oilers had gone unbeaten by the Flyers for 7 straight games. 5 of those 7 games, however, were decided by 1 goal or less (there was 1 tie). Philadelphia hasn't won in Edmonton since March of 2001(Eric Desjardins scored the game winning goal).

Philadelphia comes into tonight's game in the process of turning their slump around. They have currently lost 6 of their last 9 games, however, they have won 2 of their last 3 (28 goals were scored in those 3 games). They are coming off a dramatic victory against Winnipeg, in which Wayne Simmonds scored the tying goal with under 10 seconds left in the game forcing overtime, which ultimately led to Jaromir Jagr's game winner. The team will look to carry over that momentum into tonight's contest.

The Oilers are going through struggles of their own, but they are not recent. Edmonton has the 2nd fewest wins in the NHL (23) and 2nd most regulation losses (30). They have currently lost 5 of their last 7.

Who to look out for:
Jordan Eberle is developing into the player Edmonton hoped for when they drafted him in the 1st round in 2008. It's Eberle's 2nd season, and he already leads the Oilers in just about every important statistical category: goals (26), assist (32), points (58) and plus/minus (+5, only 2 other Oilers are in the plus. Only 4 regular Flyers are a minus for the season).

Wayne Simmonds has been one of the hottest players in the NHL in the month of February. Simmonds has tallied 9 goals, tied for the league's best in February with Steven Stamkos, in 10 games this month. He has scored 4 goals in his last 3 games.

Who's in net: 
Ilya Bryzgalov (21-11-6, 2.82 GAA), despite the poor showing in his last 2 games, will most likely get the start in goal against Devan Dubnyk (11-14-1, 2.97 GAA) tonight. 

Drop the Puck:
The Edmonton Oilers host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 9:30 PM.

Flyers Avoid Sweep in Dramatic Fashion

Simmonds tying goal

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Winnipeg Jets for the 1st time this season in dramatic fashion after Simmonds forced OT with under 10 seconds left in the game allowing Jagr to win it 5-4 in overtime.

The Flyers were down 4-3 late in the 3rd period. Kimmo Timonen patiently waited for the perfect breakout with 25 seconds left. He gave it to Claude Giroux, who sent James vanRiemsdyk flying into the offensive zone with less than 15 seconds to go. He crossed the blue line passing by two defenseman and sent a perfect pass to Wayne Simmonds in front of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. Simmonds redirected vanRiemsdyk's pass past Pavelec beating him on the 49th shot of the game for Philadelphia, scoring the game tying goal with only 9.7 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.

Simmonds Ties It

Jagr Scores Game Winner

After the dramatic tying goal, the Flyers had momentum going into overtime and did everything they could to win it during the 4 on 4 rather than forcing a shootout (the Flyers are 1-5 in shootouts this year and 33% lifetime). That included playing 3 forwards and 1 defenseman after the 1st shift. The momentum, however started earlier, following Evander Kane's PowerPlay goal early in the 3rd, which gave the Jets their 4-3 lead. The Flyers dominated Winnipeg after that goal outshooting them 15-2 in the 3rd and 6-1 in overtime.

4 minutes had gone by in overtime and the 2 forwards on the ice were Danny Briere and Jaromir Jagr. They were working a cycle deep in the offensive zone, but the play had died and the Jets appeared out of danger. But instead, Briere kept fighting and forced a turnover. He took the puck behind the net and found Jagr, who was guarded by 2 defenseman in front, but Briere threaded the needle and Jagr's quick release was no match for either defenseman or Pavelec. Jagr snapped it into the goal winning the game for Philadelphia with 44 seconds left in overtime. It was Jagr's 16th career overtime goal, which set a record for most NHL overtime goals.

Jagr Wins It

The Flyers outplayed the Jets throughout most of the game, but Pavelec and special teams kept Winnipeg alive. Pavelec was awarded the number 1 star of the game, despite allowing 5 goals in a loss (has that ever happened?). However, the 5 goals do not tell the whole story. Pavelec made save after save all night, including some highlight reel stops, on his way to stopping 50 shots on goal, keeping the Jets alive.

1 of Pavelec's 50 saves

Winnipeg's special teams also dominated. Their PowerPlay went a perfect 3 for 3, scoring goals in opportune moments. The 1st was on a blast from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien which gave them the 1st goal of the game. Their 2nd PowerPlay goal came in the 2nd period off the stick of Andrew Ladd, when the Flyers were up 2-1. It tied the game and changed the momentum. Ladd would score again on the same shift a little over a minute later, giving them back their lead 3-2.
Kane got their 3rd PP goal in the 3rd putting them back on top, forcing the Flyers to fight back again.

Claude Giroux tied the game early at 1 when Scott Hartnell went backdoor on his backhand right onto Claude's stick who deposited it into a wide open net. "Hartnell will probably say he saw me backdoor but there's no way he saw me." Giroux said with a smile after the period, "but it was a great pass by him and I thought I was going to miss the net, but I got lucky." It was Giroux's 69th 'lucky' point of the season.

Talbot ties it at 3

The Flyers gave themselves a lead in the 2nd period on a PowerPlay goal of their own. Timonen fired a shot from the point that was deflected by Simmonds landing right onto Hartnell's stick. Hartnell made no mistakes scoring his 28th of the season and league leading 14th PowerPlay goal.

After the Jets took a 3-2 lead it was Max Talbot who got the equalizer, redeeming himself after he missed a wide open net earlier in the period. He was given another chance and didn't miss.

The Flyers played very well and fought hard tonight yet they almost failed to gain even 1 point. Pavelec stole the show and almost the game. But it was the James vanRiemsdyk, Wayne Simmonds connection that finally solved him on the 49th shot and then Danny Briere to Jaromir Jagr on the 55th shot that won it. Philadelphia outshot Winnipeg 55-26. 

After the game Laviolette said, "I'm really proud that the guys kept coming and pumping. It was one of our best, toughest wins of the season."
And he was right, the better team got the 2 points tonight.

Laviolette pumped after after Simmonds ties it

Game Notes:

Kubina makes debut

• The Flyers tied their record for most shots in a road game with 55. 
• They avoided being swept by the Jets tonight (1 win 3 losses) and they broke Winnipeg's 6 game winning streak against Philadelphia.
• Pavel Kubina made his Flyers debut tonight. He was even, had 3 shots, 2 hits, and had 20:38 minute of ice time. 
• The Flyers got their 1st win in Winnipeg since 1993.
• Claude Giroux recorded his 70th point tonight. His career high is 76 from last year.
• Hartnell had a goal and an assist. He now has 56 points. His career high is 60.
• During the game, Claude Giroux's stick accidentally hit 'between the glass' announcer, Mike Johnson's wrist breaking his watch.

Johnson says for Claude to expect a bill coming

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action Thursday night when they face the Edmonton Oilers.

(Thanks to ESPN NHL, CSNPhilly, the Philadelphia Flyers, Sam Carchidi, the NHL Network, Mike Johnson and TSN)

Season Sweep

The Philadelphia Flyers (32-19-7) face off against the Winnipeg Jets (29-26-6) tonight at 7:00 PM.

Season Series:
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Winnipeg will meet for the 4th and final time this season. Winnipeg has owned Philadelphia so far this season, winning all 3 previous contests; the Jets scored an incredible 17 goals in the process. They have also won 6 in a row against the Flyers dating back to last season and 10 of the last 11 games. Between March of 2006 and February of 2009 the Flyers won 14 straight against the Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets). And since then, they have only won once. Also the last time the Flyers won in Winnipeg (before the Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes) was in April of 1993.

Currently:
Philadelphia has hit a bit of a rough patch while Winnipeg has found success lately. The Flyers have lost 6 of their last 8 games while averaging 4 goals against per game during that span. They have fallen into a tie for 5th place in the East and find themselves 10 points behind the division leading NY Rangers. The Jets on the other hand have won 5 of their last 7 games propelling them into a tie for the 8th and final seed with Toronto. They are also only 1 point behind their division leader the Florida Panthers. With a win over the Flyers tonight the Jets would take over the lead in their division and be thrust into 3rd place in the East.

Who to look out for: 
Blake Wheeler, who is having a career year, is coming off a 4 point night against the Avalanche on Sunday. Wheeler has 8 points in his last 3 games. He currently lead the Jets in points with 46, and has scored 5 points in 3 games versus the Flyers this season.

Scott Hartnell continues to lead the Flyers in goals with 27 and has been on a tear lately scoring 8 points in his last 5 games. Hartnell has also played very well against Winnipeg this season. He has tallied 3 goals and 5 points in 3 games played against the Jets.

Why Slumping Flyers Will Turn it Around Tonight:
Even though the Flyers have the 2nd best offense in the league (3.33 goals per game) and have scored the 2nd most goals (193) they still have some players who are struggling tremendously:
Danny Briere has scored 0 goals in his last 13 games. However, he has 2 goals and 5 points vs the Jets in 2 games this season.
Matt Read has 0 goals in his last 8 games. However, he has 3 goals vs the Jets in 3 games this season.
James VanRiemsdyk has only 3 goals in his last 19 games (including before and after injury). However, he has 2 goals and 3 points vs the Jets in 2 games played this season.
Look for these players to get out of their slumps tonight. 

Who's in net:
Ilya Bryzgalov (20-11-6 2.79 GAA) played very poorly against the Penguins on Saturday, however, Laviolette is going right back to him. He will start in goal against Ondrej Pavelec (22-20-6, 2.73 GAA) tonight.

Drop the Puck:
The Philadelphia Flyers go to Winnipeg to face the Jets tonight at 7:00 PM.

Trade Alert!!!

Kubina, the newest Flyer

The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired defenseman Pavel Kubina from Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league player, Jonathon Kalinski, a 2nd and 4th round draft pick.

Pavel Kubina, 34, has 11 points in 52 games played with Tampa Bay this season. Kubina, 6'4", 250 lbs, will bring 14 years of experience and a heavy, much needed right-handed shot as the Flyers currently have 7 left handed defensemen.

Kubina was 2nd on TB in hits with 96, and 3rd in blocked shots with 100. He's currently averaging about 20 minutes of ice time per game (19:54).

Pavel Kubina, native of the Czech Republic, has accumulated 382 points in 953 career games with 3 teams.

Kubina's yearly salary cap hit is $3.85M but the Flyers get him prorated at 1.04M, so to fit him in, they sent down Marc Andre Bourdon to the AHL and placed Tom Sestito (groin) on the LTIR (long term injured reserve). The Flyers are currently at the cap ceiling.

Flyers Goaltending Fails them, Allows 6 vs Pittsburgh

Bryz pulled after allowing 3 goals on 13 shots

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4 this afternoon, after their goaltending duo failed them.

Ilya Bryzgalov started the game and allowed 3 weak goals, including 2 shorthanded tallies on the same PowerPlay. He was then pulled, and Sergei Bobrovsky allowed 3 more goals in the 3rd, and the Flyers just couldn't recover.

Philadelphia has been notorious for getting off to slow starts lately. In 7 of the last 10 games, the Flyers have failed to score the 1st goal of the game and have been outscored in the 1st 11-7 over that 10 game span. Today was no different. The Penguins opened the scoring when Pittsburgh broke out on a 2 on 1. Matt Cooke, normally known for his feisty play beat Bryzgalov to the short side on Pittsburgh's 1st shot of the game. It was a save Bryzgalov has to make, and he failed to do so, which resulted in putting Pittsburgh up 1-0 only 3 minutes into the game.

Jagr salutes 1 of his 2 goals

Jaromir Jagr, who returned after missing the previous game with the flu, got the Flyers back into the game and then put them on top all in a matter of 18 seconds. First, Jagr went on a rush down the ice with Briere and was able to cut to the middle and roofed it over Pittsburgh goalie Marc Andre Fleury tying the game at 1. Then 18 seconds later, the Flyers went to a 4 on 3 PowerPlay and Claude Giroux set up Jagr who went high glove side again putting the Flyers on top 2-1.

Then the goaltending troubles began. The Flyers held their 1 goal lead late into the 2nd period when they found themselves on a PowerPlay, hoping to extend their lead. Instead Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal carried the puck across blue line and innocently threw the puck on goal, no screen, no deflection, 35 feet away, and Bryzgalov completely whiffed at his attempt to catch it, rendering the tying goal of the game.

Bryz allows his 3rd and final goal

The Flyers were then given a 2 man advantage and great opportunity to take the lead right back. But again it was Pittsburgh who was on the attack. The puck jumped over Kimmo Timonen's stick and Cooke was off to the races. Timonen slowed him down with a hook but Bryzgalov still couldn't stop the puck. It was the 2nd shorthanded goal during the same Flyers PowerPlay, and this one was a 3 on 5 goal. It was the 1st 3 on 5 goal allowed by the Flyers since 1993 (and it was an empty net goal).

Laviolette had seen enough of Bryzgalov who only made 10 saves on 13 shots.

Late in the 2nd period Eric Wellwood was able to tie the game at 3 for the Flyers when Pittsburgh defenseman Derek Engelland made a costly turnover in front of his own goal. Wellwood picked up the puck and put it past Fleury scoring his 1st NHL goal.

Wellwood's 1st NHL goal

Wellwood became the 8th Flyers to score his 1st National Hockey League goal this season, the most for Philadelphia since 1993.

After a strange 2nd period that consisted of ugly goals, 2 shorthanded tallies, bad turnovers and terrible penalties, the Flyers were hoping they could turn things around in the 3rd.

Unfortunately Bobrovsky wasn't much better than Bryzgalov and early period trouble continued for Philadelphia. Over the last 9 games (including today's game), the Flyers have surrendered 12 goals in the 1st, 3 minutes of any period. The 11th came 37 seconds into the 3rd period giving the Penguins the lead back. Bobrovsky gave up 2 huge rebounds and Dustin Jeffrey buried the 3rd chance.

Grossman had season high 8 hits in Flyers debut

Less than 2 minutes later, the Penguins found the back of the net once again (12th goal allowed in first 3 minutes to start a period in the last 9 games). This time Pascal Dupuis just threw it towards the net and it bounced off Bobrovsky's skate for the 5th goal of the game, giving the Penguins their first 2 goal lead over the Flyers since October, 2010 (6 games).

The Flyers were deflated. Pittsburgh ended up out shooting them 15-8 in the final period and outscored them 3-1.

The Penguins tacked on a 6th goal when James Neal drove the net, Bobrovsky again allowed a big rebound and Neal quickly buried it.

Wayne Simmonds would get the Flyers final goal with 18 seconds left for good measures. It was Simmonds 8th goal in his last 9 games.

Goaltending has been Philadelphia's Achilles heel over the years and regardless of spending a lot of money to fix it in the off-season, today proved that the problem remains.

Game Notes:

Even the ice girls had a bad day

• Both Evgeni Malkin and Claude Giroux (NHL's top 2 leading scorers) each had only 1 point today.
• Bryzgalov made 10 saves on 13 shots while Bobrovsky made 14 saves on 17 shots. Marc Andre Fleury stopped 27 of 31 shots for Pittsburgh.
• Newcomer Nick Grossman, who was +1, led the Flyers in both hits (8) and blocked shots (3).
• 4 injured players made their return today: Danny Briere (upper body), Jaromir Jagr (flu), Andrej Meszaros (upper body) and James VanRiemsdyk (concussion). 
• With the win, the Penguins tied the Flyers for 4th place in the East.

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action on Tuesday when they face the Winnipeg Jets.

Evgeni Malkin vs Claude Giroux

The Philadelphia Flyers (32-18-7) host the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-20-5) this afternoon at 1:00 PM.

The Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins face off for the 3rd time this season. The Flyers won the previous 2 meetings this season, 3-2 and 4-2. Philadelphia has won 3 in a row against Pittsburgh and 5 of the last 6 games; their only loss came in a shootout. The Flyers have held the Penguins to only 2 goals in every match during that 6 game span (3-2 W, 3-2 W, 1-2 L, 5-2 W, 3-2 W, 4-2 W).

The Flyers head into this game following a nice victory over Buffalo 7-2 in which Flyers leading scorer Claude Giroux recorded a career high 5 assists. Unfortunately that was only the Flyers 2nd win over their last 7 games. The Penguins have been facing troubles of their own. They have lost 3 of their last 5.

Who to look out for:
Evgeni Malkin (69 points) versus Claude Giroux (67 points) or NHL's number 1 leading scorer versus number 2. A week ago, Malkin registered 5 points in a win over Winnipeg, and most thought that he would run away with the scoring title. But on Thursday, Giroux had a 5 point game of his own, pulling right back within 2 points of Malkin. Over the last 8 games Malkin has scored 11 points while Giroux has 12. In the 2 games played against each other this season, both Malkin and Giroux have 3 points.

New Guy:
The Philadelphia Flyers will have a new defenseman in the lineup today. Nick Grossman, was acquired a couple of days ago and he will take the place of Erik Gustafsson. Grossman led his former team, the Dallas Stars in blocked shots with 100 in 52 games. He will also bring some much needed help on the penalty kill. The Flyers have allowed 6 PowerPlay goals in the last 4 games. Grossman will wear #8.

Injury Update:
Forward Danny Briere (upper body injury) will most likely not be in today's lineup. A source close to the team says that Briere has a shoulder injury.
Jaromir Jagr (flu) and Andrej Meszaros (upper body injury) both missed Thursday's game, but will be back in the lineup today.
James VanRiemsdyk skated with the team and felt good yesterday. He said that if he feels good this morning, that there is a slight chance he could play.

Who's in goal:
Ilya Bryzgalov (20-11-6, 2.75 GAA) will start in goal against Marc Andre Fleury (29-14-3, 2.34 GAA) today.

Drop the Puck:
The Philadelphia Flyers face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins today at 1:00 PM.

Injured Flyers Practice

Briere in non contact jersey

The Philadelphia Flyers were on the ice in Voorhees, NJ at their practice facility this morning. All 4 injured Flyers, who missed yesterday's game were on the ice with the team. James VanRiemsdyk (concussion) skated with a regular (contact) jersey, as did Jaromir Jagr (flu), and Andrej Meszaros (upper body injury).

Danny Briere practiced with the team, however, he was in a non contact jersey. Briere's injury is shoulder related, not a concussion, which is good news for Danny and the Flyers. However, Briere will most likely miss tomorrow's game versus the Penguins.

JVR could suit up tomorrow

James VanRiemsdyk, who hasn't seen action since January 12th said that there is a slight chance that he could be in tomorrow's lineup. He said he has to see how he feels when he wakes up in the morning.

Jaromir Jagr sat out Thursday's game with the flu. He looked much better today in practice. Jagr practiced on the PowerPlay unit then after skated with a weighted stick for a while. He stayed on the ice about a half an hour after the rest of the team left, practicing with one of the trainers and Sergei Bobrovsky. When asked if he'll play tomorrow, Jagr said with a smile, "If you can walk, you can play." He will be in the lineup tomorrow.

Jaromir Jagr will play tomorrow

Andrej Meszaros also practiced today. He wouldn't specify about his injury only saying it was upper body. Meszaros will most likely suit up tomorrow as well. Meszaros was paired up at today's practice with newly acquired defenseman Nick Grossman. Grossman, who will wear the number 8, was acquired from Dallas yesterday for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick.

Newcomer Nick Grossman

Grossman will be #8

In 52 games with Dallas, Grossman has accumulated 96 hits and 100 blocked shots; only Timonen and Carle have more blocked shots for the Flyers. Grossman will be in the lineup tomorrow, likely replacing Erik Gustafsson, who just scored his 1st NHL goal. Gustafsson should be sent down the the AHL soon.

Tom Sestito was injured yesterday after his fight. He apparently tore his groin muscle. He will have surgery to fix it, which will keep him out for 6 to 8 weeks.

Flyers Explode for 7 Against Sabres

Giroux gets 1 of his 5 assists

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Buffalo Sabres tonight 7-2 after a 4 goal 2nd period.

The Sabres jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st but the Flyers would score 7 unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes. Claude Giroux scored a career high 5 assists while Hartnell had 4 points.

Buffalo's quick start came off the the stick of Jason Pominville, who continued his red hot play. The goal added to his point streak which is now at 6 games.

Then less than 5 minutes later the Sabres would strike again. This time it was off a slap shot from Thomas Vanek as he crossed the blue line; a goal Ilya Bryzgalov would like to have back.

The Sabres had outshot the Flyers 12-11 and outscored them 2-0 after the 1st period.

The rest of the game belonged to Philadelphia. The momentum flipped instantly when the 2nd period began. Max Talbot went hard to the net and deflected Braydon Coburn's shot past Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth putting the Flyers on the board.

Simmonds scores his 1st of the game

Only 3 minutes later the Flyers went to the PowerPlay. Special teams has been the story for the Flyers in their previous 2 games. Their PowerPlay in the last 2 games was 0-6 while their penalty kill was a terrible 7 for 12. This was an area of their game that coach Laviolette stressed. And tonight they came through.

Flyers went 2 for 3 on the PowerPlay and 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.

Both of their PowerPlay goals came from Wayne Simmonds, who has 7 goals in his last 8 games. And both goals came within 4 minutes of each other. Simmonds parked himself in front of the net and got Giroux's rebound on the 1st goal and Hartnell's rebound for the 2nd. And just like that the Flyers had their 1st lead of the hockey game. Simmonds took a puck to the face prior to the game during the pre-game skate when Scott Hartnell's shot ricocheted off the post; the cut required 25 stitches. He missed only a few shifts and played the rest of the game with a full face mask. His game, however, didn't miss a beat.

Gustafsson's 1st NHL goal

The Flyers continued to dominate the Sabres in the period. Erik Gustafsson scored his 1st National Hockey League goal on a one-timer that beat Sabres goalie Ryan Miller; Enroth was pulled after the 3rd goal of the game. Jake Voracek came flying into the Sabres zone and dished the puck off perfectly to Gustafsson.

In the 1st 18 minutes of the 2nd period, Philadelphia outshot the Sabres 11-2.

The lead was 4-2 going into the 3rd, and the final period was more of the same. Max Talbot continued the onslaught by scoring his 2nd goal of the game; it was his 2nd multi-goal game as a Flyer, and 16th goal of the season.

31 seconds later Jake Voracek continued his strong play. Voracek missed the last game due to an undisclosed upper body injury. Jake made his presence felt today in his return registering a goal and an assist. Voracek retrieved the bouncing puck and patiently waited for Miller to go down before making his move and tallying the 6th goal of the game for Philadelphia.

Hartnell makes it 7

The Flyers continued to pour it on in the period. Matt Read and Scott Hartnell went in on a 2 on 1 and Read made a beautiful pass over the diving Sabres defenseman right onto Hartnell stick for the tap in goal. It was Hartnell's 4th point of the night and Giroux's 5th.

Not only was the team's offense explosive tonight but the defense was near perfect. The 1st goal was the only defensive breakdown in the game while the 2nd was a poor goaltending. They only allowed 17 shots on goal in the final 2 periods while blocking 17 shots in the game.

The 7-2 victory put the Flyers 2 points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for 4th place in the East. The Flyers play the Penguins on Saturday.

The win, however, didn't come without a cost. Danny Briere, who just came back 6 games ago from a concussion, took a hit from Patrick Kaleta, before leaving the game in the 2nd period, with an upper body injury. A source close to the team says the injury is NOT concussion related, and that it is his shoulder.  More will be known about Danny tomorrow.


Game Notes:

• Claude Giroux scored a career high in both points and assists with 5 tonight. Only Eric Lindros has more assists in a single game as a Flyer (6 in '97).
• Scott Hartnell scored 4 points (1 goal and 3 assists) for the 1st time since March 10th, 2009 (2 goals and 2 assists).
• 11 Flyers scored at least 1 point tonight while 5 players scored 2 points or more. 
• Tonight was the 3rd time this season the Flyers won by 5 or more and 1st since November 5th (9-2 vs Columbus).
• Erik Gustafsson became the 7th Flyer to get his 1st NHL goal this season, most since 1993 (8).

Trade Alert:
The Philadelphia Flyers acquired defenseman Niklas Grossman from the Dallas Stars for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick. Grossman is a stay at home defenseman, a good shot blocker and a terrific penalty killer. He should be in the Flyers lineup Saturday.

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action Saturday afternoon against the Penguins.

(Thanks to ESPN NHL, @NHLFlyers, Sarah Baicker of CSNPhily,  Sam Carchidi of Philly.com, Y!Sports NHL, Scott Hartnell, and TSN)

Can the Flyers Turn Things Around

The Philadelphia Flyers (31-18-7) host the Buffalo Sabres (24-26-6) tonight at 7:00 PM.

The Philadelphia Flyers come into tonight's game struggling mightily. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and have only won 5 times in their last 14 contests. During those last 6 games they've given up 24 goals and have only scored 15. And 4 of those games came against divisional opponents, in which the points are even more important.

The Sabres have struggled to get to .500 all season. Many of their players have underachieved all year. Free agents Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff, both of which the Sabres spent a lot of money on in the off-season, have 8 goals combined in 45 games.

The Sabres and the Flyers have played twice this season so far, and the Flyers have emerged victorious both times, 3-2, and 5-4. Last time they played it was December 7th, and Claude Giroux scored the game winning goal in overtime on a breakaway against Ryan Miller.

Injuries:
Jake Voracek, who missed Sunday's game with an upper body injury, skated with the team during Wednesday's practice (with a no contact jersey). He is listed as day-to-day and will be a game-time decision. 
Andrej Meszaros was added to the injury list today when GM Paul Holmgren said that he is also day-to-day with an upper body injury. 
Jaromir Jagr missed practice yesterday because he has been suffering from the flu as well. He has been labeled OUT for tonight's game. Eric Wellwood has been recalled and will replace Jagr.  

Who to look out for:
Jason Pominville is one of the few Sabres who is playing very well. He is averaging almost a point per game, and leads Buffalo in just about every statistical category (goals: 21; assists: 32; points: 53). Pominville is currently on a 5 game points streak as well. 
Claude Giroux has 5 points in 2 games versus Buffalo this season, including that game winner in their previous game.  
Danny Briere is also dangerous against the Sabres. He played with Buffalo for 4 seasons before coming to Philadelphia. Briere loves to play his former team; he has 15 points in 19 games against them in his career.

Who's in net:
Ilya Bryzgalov, who suffered from the flu last week, said he's ready to go. So Bryzgalov (19-11-6, 2.78 GAA) will get his 1st start since February 7th against Jhonas Enroth (8-9-3, 2.59 GAA) tonight in goal.

Drop the Puck: 
The Buffalo Sabres face off against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7:00 PM.

In Other Unrelated News:
I just want to wish a Happy Birthday to my sweet, wonderful and beautiful girlfriend, Monica.
Happy Birthday!

JVR Status: "The Same"

JVR status is the same

Today, James VanRiemsdyk, who has been out since January 14th, skated with the team at practice. He skated on the 1st line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell, because Jaromir Jagr has been bothered by flu-like symptoms this week. VanRiemsdyk skated hard, but continued to wear a 'no contact' jersey. He refused to speak with the media, only saying that his status is 'the same as last week,' which continues to be out-indefinitely.

Jake Voracek, who missed Sunday's game with an upper body injury also skated today with the team today. He too wore a 'no contact' jersey and GM Paul Holmgren says Voracek is day-to-day. He will most likely be a game time decision tomorrow against Buffalo.

Ilya Bryzgalov has also been battling the flu and wasn't in the lineup for a couple games last week. He has practiced all week and said he should be 'good to go' for tomorrow's game.

Andrej Meszaros was added to the injury list today. Holmgren said that Meszaros is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Drop the Puck: 
Flyers face the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.

Rinaldo Suspended

NHL.com writes,

Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo has been suspended for 2 games, without pay, for a charging incident in which he launched himself to hit Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson Sunday, Feb. 12, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

See Video Explaination Here