Gagne Scores in First Game Back as Flyers Roll Over Capitals

Gagne scores in his first game back

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals tonight 4-1.

The Flyers finally played a full 60 minutes tonight as they controlled the game right out of the gates. Claude Giroux scored 23 seconds into the contest giving the Flyers a lead that they would never relinquish.

Several members of the Flyers organization, including Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen and coach Peter Laviolette all mentioned after the loss to Toronto, that the team needs to play a full 60 minute game. So the team had off practice yesterday to watch video to fix the problem.

And the Flyers responded beautifully. Philadelphia started the game with a bang scoring 2 goals in the first 4:04 minutes giving themselves immediate control. Giroux contributed with his early goal, and then tacked on an assist on Wayne Simmonds tally on the PowerPlay.

The 2nd period was a near perfect one for Philadelphia. They continued their strong play outshooting the Capitals 12-3 while outscoring them 2-0.

Gagne's first goal in 2nd stint as a Flyer

Simon Gagne, who the Flyers acquired in a trade yesterday, made his presence known immediately tonight. Gagne scored the Flyers second PowerPlay goal of the night after receiving a nice pass from Brayden Schenn right in front of the net. This was Gagne's first goal as a Flyer since scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals on June 6th 2010. The goal was Gagne's 260th as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Simmonds scored his 8th of the season

Later in the period, Max Talbot scored his first goal of the season on a bomb beating Brayden Holtby giving the Flyers a commanding 4-0 lead.

Washington, despite being in 14th place had played much better hockey of late winning 5 of their last 8 games. So the Flyers faced a hot team, and they were up for the challenge.

Ilya Bryzgalov played well even though he didn't see a lot of rubber. He stopped 23 of 24 shots just barely missing the shutout. The Capitals forward Joel Ward scored with just over 2 minutes left in the game ending the shutout.

Despite the late goal, the Flyers gave a full team effort and played a full 60 minutes. Now they just need to play like this on a more consistent basis as they will try to string together a few wins in this upcoming week.

Flyers improve to 10-11-1 on the season and will have a 7th chance to pull to .500 on Saturday against the Senators.

Game Notes:

• In Gagne's first game as a Flyer this season he scored a goal, took 4 shots, 2 hits in 16:00 minutes.
• Simon Gagne's goal tonight was his first of the season. He played 11 games with the Kings before being traded to the Flyers for a conditional 4th round pick.
• Jake Voracek failed to register a point tonight ending his 6 game point streak.
• Giroux, however kept his streak alive and extended it to 6 games.
• Giroux has 12 points during his 6 game streak.
• Luke Schenn had a team high 5 shots, 6 hits in 24:36 minutes, his season high for a regulation game.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers finish their 5-game home stand Saturday afternoon when they host the Ottawa Senators.

Flyers Acquire Simon Gagne

The Philadelphia Flyers have completed a trade with the Los Angeles Kings which sent Simon Gagne to the Flyers. Los Angeles received a 4th round draft pick.

Gagne, 32, was drafted by Philadelphia in 1998 and played with them from 1990-2010. He was then traded to Tampa Bay and played with them for a season before signing with Los Angeles the next season, helping them win the cup past year.

Simon Gagne has scored 283 goals and 581 points in 761 games.

Flyers Fail To Reach .500 Again, Fall to Maple Leafs

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 tonight.

Flyers fail to reach .500 for the 6th time this season

Tonight was the 6th time the Flyers had an opportunity to gain a .500 record this season and it was the 6th time that they failed.

Philadelphia continues their inconsistent ways as they fail to string together wins again and again. The only thing that has been consistent of late has been that fact that they have fallen down by multiple goals in 4 straight games. The Flyers were able to mount comebacks against Pittsburgh and Winnipeg but failed to do so against Florida and now tonight against Toronto. It's a trend that has to stop if the Flyers are going to make the playoffs and they certainly know it.

After the game Scott Hartnell told CSN Philly, "It's been talked about too many times (not playing a full 60 minutes) and its gotta change fast. We can't get down by 2 every game and expect to win. It's just frustrating to be apart of it."

Hartnell scores his 1st goal of season

As Scott Hartnell points out, the Flyers consistently fail to play a full 60 minutes. But when they do, they are a great team. "When we play like we did in the last 10 minutes, I don't think there is anyone in the league that can play with us. We were skating, hitting, beating them to pucks and winning battles. That's something in the first 50 minutes that we hardly did."

And that's the problem. Philadelphia has the talent and drive to win, they just take shifts off and drop their coverage allowing bad goals forcing them to play comeback over and over again.

Toronto scored the first goal of the game when Phil Kessel beat Ilya Bryzgalov on a bad angle from the right side. Then the Leafs scored the second goal of the game taking advantage of a slow line change. Nikolai Kulemin scored his first goal in the last 12 games putting it past Bryzgalov on the backhand to the low blocker side.

And the Flyers found themselves down by 2...again.

Philadelphia finally got on the board late in the 2nd period on a nice rush that saw Jake Voracek assist Hartnell in front of the net for his first goal of the season.

However, the Flyers came out flat in the 3rd period, despite the late goal, registering only 3 shots in the first 10 minutes and surrendering yet another goal. Mikkail Grabovski found a second rebound in front burying it past Bryzgalov putting the Flyers comeback on hold.

Leafs improve to 2-0 vs Flyers this season

The next 10 minutes would prove to be the best for the Flyers as Hartnell pointed out. They got back into the game on the PowerPlay. Voracek, who was named the NHL star of the week for his 11 points in 4 games, kept his hot streak going as he scored his 8th goal of the season cutting the lead to 1 again.

Unfortunately that would be as close as the Flyers would get.

Jay McClement tacked on an empty net goal sealing the victory for the Leafs, 4-2.

After the game, Bryzgalov spoke of the urgency for wins, telling CSN Philly, "We need to play every game like it's our last otherwise we'll be watching the playoffs on TV. We have lots of work in front of us."

Hartnell elaborated further, "If we don't learn fast, as in Wednesday night, it's going to be a long season. We're not going to make the playoffs if we keep playing this way."

The Flyers fell to 9-11-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Jake Voracek scored a goal and an assist extending his point streak to 6 games.
• Claude Giroux registered 2 assists. He now has a 5 game point streak.
• Giroux has scored multiple points in 5 of his last 7 games.
• Scott Hartnell, who scored his first goal of the season, was the only Flyers player on the plus (+1) side tonight.
• The Flyers outhit the Leafs 37-24.
• The Leafs have now beaten the Flyers in both meetings this season outscoring them 9-4.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers look to put this loss behind them on Wednesday night when they face the Washington Capitals.

Flyers vs Leafs: Round 2

The Philadelphia Flyers (9-10-1, 19 pts) will host the Toronto Maple Leafs (11-8, 22 pts) tonight. This is a perfect opportunity for the Flyers to take points away from a team that is just a few ahead of them. The Flyers are currently tied for 8th place, while the Maple Leafs reside in 7th, just 3 points in front. Philadelphia has already played more games than every team in the entire lead, so points are at a premium right now.

Previously vs Toronto:
Tonight will be the 2nd of 3 meetings between the 2 teams this season. Toronto bested the Flyers in the first contest beating them 5-2 despite being outshot 46-24 by Philadelphia. Former Flyer James vanRiemsdyk scored as the Leafs emerged victorious in Toronto.

Streaks:
The Flyers have won 9 of the last 11 meetings against Toronto including 7 of the last 8 in Philadelphia versus the Leafs.

The Leafs have lost 2 of their last 3 games, while the Flyers have won 3 of their last 4.

Who's Hot:
James vanRiemsdyk continues to lead the Leaf in both goals and points. He has 11 goals and 15 points in 19 games. VanRiemsdyk has 3 goals in his last 3 games.

Jake Voracek is one of the hottest players in the league right now. He has registered an incredible 11 points in his last 4 games. Voracek leads the Flyers in all 3 major categories: goals 7, assists 15, and points 22. Jake has climbed to 9th in the league in total points.

Who's in Net:
Ilya Bryzgalov (9-8-1, 2.77 GAA) will get the start opposite Ben Scrivens (5-5, 2.19 GAA).

Drop the Puck:
The Philadelphia Flyers will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7:00 PM.

Hartnell Returns as Flyers Comeback to Beat Jets

Simmonds jump starts his team

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 this afternoon.

The Flyers won for the first time all season when trailing after 2 periods. They were 0-7 all year, but that didn't stop them from putting their foot on the gas in the 3rd today. Down 3-2 heading into the final stanza, Philadelphia mounted a comeback as they took advantage of their PowerPlay scoring 3 goals on the man-advantage today including 2 in the 3rd period.

Scott Hartnell, who missed the last 16 games due to a broken foot, made a welcomed return to the Flyers lineup this afternoon well ahead of schedule. Hartnell was put on Claude Giroux's line with Jake Voracek and the line combined for 13 shots including Hartnell's 5.

Schenn scoring 1 of his 2 goals today

Winnipeg got on the board first on a goal from Evander Kane, who has 12 points in 11 career games against the Flyers. The Jets outshot the Philadelphia 11-1 in first the 10 minutes of the 1st period, so Wayne Simmonds took it upon himself to jump start his team when he dropped the gloves with Chris Thorburn. After the spirited bout, the Flyers finally came to life. In the next 10 minutes, the Flyers outshot the Jets 16-1 and scored the tying goal when Brayden Schenn crashed the net and found Danny Briere's rebound.

Unfortunately the momentum did not stay with the Flyers to start the 2nd period. Winnipeg outshot Philadelphia 11-5 in the first half of the period, while tacking on 2 goals. The first came from Olli Jokinen on a spin-around shot while the second on perfect deflection from Alex Burmistrov. And just like, the third momentum swing gave the Jets a 2 goal lead.

Philadelphia's PowerPlay became the story of the rest of the game. The Flyers scored goals on 3 consecutive PowerPlays. The first came in the 2nd period when the Flyers were on a 2 man-advantage. Claude Giroux scored on a laser shot that snuck in under the crossbar starting the comeback.

Simmonds scoring the eventual game winner

In the 3rd period, fresh off killing a penalty, the Flyers then received a PowerPlay of their own. Brayden Schenn scored the tying goal from the high slot after receiving a great pass from Jake Voracek, who added 3 assists to his points total this afternoon. It was Schenn's 2nd of the day, 6th of the season.

Less than 3 minutes later, with 8 minutes gone in the 3rd period, the Flyers were given another PowerPlay, with the chance to take the lead, and they took full advantage. This time it was Brayden Schenn who made the great pass to Simmonds for the go-ahead goal, giving the Flyers their first lead of the day. 

Special teams played an enormous role today, but not just on the PowerPlay. The Flyers penalty kill was also tremendous. In fact, they were a perfect 4 for 4 including a huge kill with less than 4 minutes remaining in the game to help preserve their 1-goal lead.

Zac Rinaldo tacked on an empty net goal, sealing the 2-point victory, 5-3.

Philadelphia improves to 9-10-1 on the season; alone in 8th place, with 19 points.

Game Notes:

• Zac Rinaldo played his best game of the year. Rinaldo played a season high 14:18 minutes, while registering a career high 4 shots on goal and had an unprecedented 12 hits this afternoon. He played so well, head coach Peter Laviolette awarded him by putting him out with less than a minute remaining allowing for him to get an empty net goal.
• Scott Hartnell played in his first game since January 22nd. Hartnell had 5 shots and 1 hit in 14:54 minutes.
• The Flyers took 39 shots on goal today, their second highest total all season.
• Ilya Bryzgalov made 34 saves on 37 shots.
• The Flyers PowerPlay was 3 for 6 today, tying their season high for most PowerPlay goals scored in a single game.
• Jake Voracek had 3 assists today. He now leads the Flyers with 22 points and is tied for 5th in the NHL.
• Voracek has 12 points in his last 5 games, becoming the first Flyers player to do that since Peter Forsberg in 2005, 13 points in 5 games (per Anthony SanFilippo).
• Claude Giroux's goal and an assist give him a total of 18 points in 20 games. He is tied for 14th in the NHL.

Highlights:
To view highlights of today's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers have off tomorrow and will get back into action when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Flyers Suffer Huge Letdown

Bryzgalov gives up a penalty shot goal

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a huge letdown loss to the Florida Panthers tonight 5-2.

Emotions were high last night as they went into Pittsburgh and played one of the most entertaining games of the year, defeating the Penguins 6-5.

The Flyers flew home and had to play the Panthers less than 24 hours later. Florida came into tonight's game second to last place. Whether the Flyers took them lightly or they were emotionally spent and tired from the night before, Florida took full advantage.

The Panthers scored 3 goals in a 2 minute span before the halfway mark of the 1st period. Peter Mueller scored the first off a defensive breakdown in coverage. Mueller was left alone in the high slot and beat Ilya Bryzgalov to the high blocker side. Just 29 seconds later, Tomas Kopecky caught the Flyers on a change and went in alone on Bryzgalov putting it in the same spot that Mueller did moments earlier. 91 seconds later, Luke Schenn's shot was blocked sending Jonathan Huberdeau on a breakaway. Kimmo Timonen wrapped him up on the back-check which led to a penalty shot call. Huberdeau made a great move on Bryzgalov giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

Grossmann fights Parros

Despite the 3 goal explosion, the Flyers actually looked like the better team and even outshot the Panthers 13-10 in the 1st period.

Philadelphia came out strong in the 2nd period outshooting the Panthers 6-0 in the first 5 minutes, but then got into penalty trouble. The Flyers took 3 minor penalties in a row and the Panthers finally took advantage on the third one when Huberdeau notched his second goal of the game.

The Flyers were forced to pull Bryzgalov following the 4th tally. It was the second time Bryzgalov has been pulled this season, the first being against Toronto in a 5-2 loss on February 11th.

Despite the change in goal, a timeout and a fight (Nicklas Grossmann vs George Parros) the Flyers couldn't gain any traction.

Philadelphia did finally break the shutout in the 3rd period with a pair of goals, from Luke Schenn and Jake Voracek. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Florida tacked on another goal from Mueller, killing any chance of a comeback.

Philadelphia falls to 8-10-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Last time the Flyers failed to get a point on home ice was the first game of the season.
• Flyers outshot the Panthers 34-26.
• Ilya Bryzgalov made only 11 saves on 14 shots.
• After going 6 straight games without allowing a PowerPlay goal, they have given up 2 in back to back games.
• Voracek got his 8th point in the last 3 games and 4th goal in the last 2 games.
• Jonathan Huberdeau registered a career high 4 points tonight.
• Peter Mueller led both teams with 7 shots.
• Claude Giroux, who won 67% of his faceoffs, was given an assist on Voracek's goal giving him 6 points in the last 3 games.

Injury Update:

• Matt Read, who was injured in yesterday's game versus the Penguins, suffered torn rib muscles and will miss at least 6 weeks.
• Scott Hartnell skated with the team for the first time since his foot surgery. Hartnell skated for about 90 minutes and said he's still not 100% but is improving everyday and can't wait to get back into the lineup. Hartnell will miss another 5-8 days.
• Andrej Meszaros visited the doctor today and his updated status was 7-10 more days. Meszaros suffered a shoulder injury and has been out since January 24th.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers look to put this loss behind them as they face the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon at home.

Flyers Defeat Penguins in Wild One

Flyers score one of the craziest goals in the craziest game

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 tonight in one of the craziest games all season.

Tonight's game had playoff hockey written all over it as the Flyers fought to keep their season alive. With a win, Philadelphia would be tied for 8th in the standings, yet with a loss they would be in 10th, and 3 games below a .500 record. Pittsburgh knew this and wanted to put a damper on the Flyers season.

And just like last year's playoff series between these two team, it was a nasty yet high scoring affair. Tonight's game saw 11 goals, 64 shots, 48 penalty minutes, 13 PowerPlays, two 2 goal comebacks, 2 disallowed goals, a hat trick, a Gordie Howe hat trick, and 21 players who registered at least 1 point.

Voracek scores hat trick and game winning goal

The Flyers battled all game as they had to overcome a 2 goal deficit, a lengthy 5 on 3 penalty, and a late game comeback by the Penguins. And when the final horn sounded, Philadelphia emerged victorious after 60 brutal minutes.

Giroux celebrates after Simmonds scores

The Penguins got off to a great start scoring the first 2 goals of the game in just over 7 minutes. Matt Niskanen got the first, while Evgeni Malkin scored the second on the PowerPlay. At that point, Pittsburgh outshot the Flyers 12-2. However, following the goal, the Flyers turned it around, outshooting the Penguins 13-1 in the rest of the period, scoring 2 goals of their own.

Nicklas Grossmann got the Flyers on the board after a wild scrum in front of the net that saw all 5 Penguins in the crease including a few Flyers and Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun. The puck somehow stayed out of the net and wasn't covered which lead to the Flyers having at least 6 chances before Grossmann finally found the back of the net.

Announcer "Doc" Emrick: "Humanity All Around!"

Following Grossmann's crazy goal, injured Flyers forward Scott Hartnell tweeted, "Best goal I've ever seen! Never laughed so hard!"

Voracek scores one of his 3 goals

Then just 60 seconds after Grossmann's goal, Wayne Simmonds scored the equalizer on a rebound off Danny Briere's shot and the game was knotted at 2.

The first period consisted of 4 goals, 28 shots and 24 penalty minutes including a great fight between Simmonds and Tanner Glass.

The 2nd period was much calmer turning out to be the calm before the storm, which was the 3rd period. The Flyers did, however, gain the lead for the first time in the contest after Jake Voracek scored his first goal of the game with just 9 seconds left in the period on the PowerPlay, giving the Flyers a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd period.

Jake Voracek was at it again, to start the next period scoring his second goal of the game in a hurry. Just 18 seconds into the 3rd period, Vokoun had a costly giveaway behind the net which led to Voracek's wide open net goal putting the Flyers up by 2.

Tyler Kennedy and Wayne Simmonds would exchange goals in a two minute period which saw the score go from 4-2 to 4-3 to 5-3. But then the Flyers got into penalty trouble. Mike Knuble received a double minor for high sticking. During the penalty, Ruslan Fedotenko was given a minor for high sticking then during that kill, Max Talbot received a penalty for closing his hand on the puck.

Giroux ecstatic after Voracek's go-ahead goal

Pittsburgh was able to score during their lengthy PowerPlay on a one-timer from James Neal cutting the lead to 1. Then Chris Kunitz appeared to score as well; however, the goal was waved off when the replay clearly showed Kunitz kicking the puck into the goal.

The penalties were over and the Flyers maintained their 1 goal lead with 3 minutes remaining. Unfortunately for Philadelphia the Penguins were so in sync due to their lengthy PowerPlay time, it didn't take them long to find the equalizer. Brandon Sutter scored the Penguins 5th and tying goal on a wrap-around that squeezed past Ilya Bryzgalov with just over 2 minutes to go in regulation.

But the Flyers continued to battle as they did all game and refused to go down that easily. Jake Voracek continued his monstrous night after Pittsburgh tied the game. Voracek found the puck behind the net and threw it on goal and it somehow went off Vokoun and into the back of the goal giving the Flyers their 1 goal lead back, 6-5, with just 1:31 left in the game. Voracek's go-ahead (turned into game winning) goal was his third of the night, giving him his first career NHL hat trick.

The Flyers fought off the Penguins in the closing minute preserving the much needed and well deserved 2 point victory. After the game, Giroux referred to the game as a blur saying, "I'm not too sure what to say. The whole game was kind of a blur. It's always fun to play Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, but it's more fun when you win. We're excited to play in front of our fans again and hopefully, we can stay on fire."

All 3 of Voracek's goals

Philadelphia, in essence, saved their seasons tonight. With their back to back wins they come away with a 3-3 road record in this trip and head home for a 5 game home stand. The Flyers are 4-1-1 at home this season.

Philadelphia improved to 8-9-1, 17 points, tied for 8th in the Eastern Conference.

Game Notes:

• Matt Read left tonight's game in the 1st period with an upper body injury. He did not return.
• Wayne Simmonds recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick registering 2 goals and assist and a fight.
• Both Voracek and Sean Couturier led the game with 6 shots a piece. 
• Voracek has an unprecedented 7 points in his last 2 game, while Giroux has 5 points.
• The Flyers won a terrible 33% of their faceoffs.
• 11 different Flyers registered at least 1 point. Giroux had 2 assists, Simmonds had 2 goals and an assist while Voracek scored 3 goals.
• Both the Penguins and the Flyers ended the game with 32 shots on goal.
• The Penguins went 2-7 on the PowerPlay while the Flyers went 1-6.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Game Notes:
The Flyers finally come home tomorrow when they will face the Florida Panthers.

Flyers Close Road Trip Versus Penguins

The Philadelphia Flyers (7-9-1, 15 pts) will faceoff against the Pittsburgh Penguins (11-5, 22 pts) tonight as they close out their 6-game road trip. The Flyers have had a rough time on the road this season including during this trip. They are 3-8 on the road this season and 2-3 on this particular trip. Philadelphia went 1-3 in their first 4 games of this trip losing to Toronto, beating Winnipeg, then losing two ugly games in a row to New Jersey and Montreal.

Following the lackluster game against Montreal, Flyers captain Claude Giroux had enough. Giroux publicly called out his team and held a private meeting to address their (and his) lack of effort and dive to win. So on Monday, Giroux and the Flyers had something to prove as they came into New York to face the Islanders.

And all they did was hand the Islanders their worst home shutout ever, 7-0. Giroux held up his part as he got the team going by scoring 26 seconds into the game. The rest of the team would follow suit as they played their best complete hockey game of the season. They tied their season high scoring 7 goals while registering their first shutout; they also went a solid 2 for 4 on the man-advantage and a posted a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. Giroux ended the game with 2 goals and an assist while 10 other Flyers registered at least 1 point.

Philadelphia will look to carry their momentum into Pittsburgh tonight as they try to turn this road trip from a disaster to an even record. The Flyers have had a lot of success against the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Since the opening of their new building in 2010, the Penguins have lost 5 of 6 games to the Flyers allowing 23 goals against in the process.

The Penguins have had a very strong start to their season currently sitting in 1st in the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh has won their last 3 games and are 8-2 in their last 10.

Who to look out for:
The Penguins big 3: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal have accounted for 56 combined points in 16 games. Crosby leads his team in points and is second in the league with 24, while James Neal has the most goals for the Penguins and is also second in the league with 11 tallies.

The Flyers first line of Claude Giroux, Matt Read and Jake Voracek found great chemistry versus the Islanders on Monday. The new line combined for a total of 10 points, including Voracek's career high 4 assists in Monday night's game. Voracek leads the Flyers in points with 15 while Read leads the team in goals with 7.

Who's in Net:
Ilya Bryzgalov (7-7-1, 2.42 GAA), who earned his 30th career shutout against the Islanders will start in goal against Tomas Vokoun (3-2, 2.27 GAA).

Drop the Puck:
The Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7:30 PM.

Flyers Dominate Islanders, Gain Huge Character Win

Flyers 1st line combines for 10 points

The Philadelphia Flyers destroyed the New York Islanders this afternoon 7-0 in a game the Flyers needed desperately.

Philadelphia finally played the game that they have been looking for after two bad losses in a row, to New Jersey and Montreal. The Flyers played a full 60 minute hockey game without any blemishes. The offense was explosive scoring 7 goals, the defense was stellar allowing only 19 shots while blocking 23 shots, their goaltending was perfect stopping all 19 shots, and their PowerPlay clicked going 2 for 4 while their penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5. There was not a weak spot in the Flyers game tonight.

Giroux scores 2 goals and an assist

"It was a complete game today. Started from the first shift until the horn sounded.
It was a really strong effort by the group tonight." Peter Laviolette said of his team today.

Giroux revs up team scoring 26 seconds in

Captain Claude Giroux got the Flyers started immediately in a shift that eerily resembled his first shift in Game 6 versus Pittsburgh in the playoffs when his team desperately needed a boost. In Giroux's first shift of that game, he destroyed Crosby then scored the first goal. This afternoon Giroux opened this game with a great check on John Tavares, the Islanders best player, then scored 26 seconds in, lighting a fire under the Flyers.

Giroux continued his hard work all game ending with 2 goals, 1 assist, +3, 4 shots, and 3 hits while winning 67% of his faceoffs. After the game his team couldn't say enough about his efforts. "He's our best player, he's our leader." Jake Voracek said, who registered 4 assists today. "When he says something, he always does it. That's why he's a winner."

Briere scores 2 goals in the 3rd

The Flyers played a solid first period which included killing a full 2 minute 2-man advantage; however, a 1-goal lead was all they had to show for it. So to start the 2nd period, it was Claude again. With just 15 seconds into the period Giroux's line was pressuring and Giroux took a shot on a wide open net that an Islanders defenseman blocked but Matt Read was there to jump on the rebound, giving the Flyers a 2-goal lead.

"Our captain led the way," Briere said. "He called us out after last game and his first shift of the game he had a big hit on Tavares then finds a way in and scores a goal. Can't say enough about his leadership right there."

The Flyers added 2 more goals to their lead in the 2nd period. Brayden Schenn scored on the PowerPlay, and then it was Claude Giroux again. Giroux found himself open in front and patiently tucked the puck in past Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov. And the Flyers lead was increased to 4 entering the 3rd period.

Philadelphia's lead was increased to 4 entering the 3rd period where they continued to dominate. They scored their 5th goal of the game on Zac Rinaldo's 1st tally of the season then Danny Briere tacked on 2 more scoring his 4th and 5th goals of the year, the first coming on the PowerPlay.

Bryzgalov earns first shutout of the season

All that was left was for the Flyers to get the all important shutout for Ilya Bryzgalov. And they did just that, allowing only 5 shots on goal in the final period, helping preserve Bryzgalov's first shutout of the season.

"It was fun to play tonight. We weren't satisfied with how were playing as a team, it wasn't acceptable," Giroux stated. "Tonight everyone wanted to win. And it's a lot more fun to play like that. And we're going to keep playing like that. Every game we have to show up and play a full 60 (minutes). We have to keep playing like this, with the want to win."

The Flyers improve to 7-9-1 on the season and are 2-3 on this current 6 game road trip.

Game Notes:

• The Flyers first line of Giroux, Read and Voracek accounted for 10 combined points today.
• The 2nd line of Briere, Schenn and Wayne Simmonds combined for 6 points.
• Zac Rinaldo's goal was the 3rd of his career and first since March 15, 2012, which also came against the Islanders.
• 11 different Flyers registered at least 1 point while 5 Flyers had at least 2 or more.
• The Flyers were a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill today. They have killed off 21 straight PowerPlays and 37 of the last 39.
• During that stretch they have gone 6 straight games without giving up a PowerPlay goal.
• Bryzgalov posted his 30th career shutout and first since March 13th of last year against the Devils. That was his third straight shutout, en route to setting the Flyers longest shutout streak.

Highlights:
To view highlights of today's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers finish off their road trip in Pittsburgh Wednesday night when they face the Penguins.
"We've got a big game against Pittsburgh, we'd like to bottle up tonight and bring it into Pittsburgh." Laviolette said after today's game.

Flyers Lose on the Road Again, This Time to Montreal

Montreal scores the first goal of the game

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 tonight.

The Flyers had one of their most disappointing offensive efforts this evening, including their 2-shot 1st period and their 0-4 PowerPlay. But it wasn't only about the shots, in which Montreal had the edge 29-19, it was the fact that the Flyers continue to play without heart and desire. Philadelphia isn't showing the drive to win. They need to play with some urgency in this shortened season as points are so important.

After the game, head coach Peter Laviolette spoke about this urgency saying, "We're not understanding the fact that we new to win hockey games."

Mike Knuble reiterated that fact, "The urgency has to be extremely important because we're a third of the way through with 60 possible points left." Knuble continued, "If you play well you're getting 40 to 44 points and other teams are winning their share of games, so it's hard to climb up the ladder (standings)."

Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen suited up tonight despite leaving last night's game with a lower body injury, unfortunately even that couldn't spark Philadelphia.

Plekanec puts one past Boucher

Canadiens rookie Brendan Gallagher got Montreal on the board on a nice move on Timonen, using him as a screen, then took a quick shot that beat backup goalie Brian Boucher to the low blocker side. Montreal outshot Philadelphia 12-2 in the period.

Despite the poor lack of effort in the 1st period, it was the 2nd stanza that would do them in. First Montreal increased their lead to 2 only 1:15 minutes into the period on a goal from David Desharnais. Then the Flyers had a prime opportunity to mount a comeback when they were given 4 straight PowerPlay; however, they were unable to generate any goals and only got 5 shots in 8 minutes with an extra skater. On top of that, the Flyers only registered 3 shots while playing even strength in the period (11:24 minutes).

The only bright side in the period came when Danny Briere caught a lucky break after his shot deflected off Canadiens defenseman Andre Markov and past backup goalie Peter Budaj cutting the lead to 1.

Due to Briere's goal, the Flyers still had life going into the 3rd period only down by 1, despite two terrible periods. Yet again, they continued their horrific play, only putting 2 shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the 3rd period, proving their hearts just were not in the game.

Canadiens close out Flyers

Montreal kept playing hard though and they gained their 2-goal lead back on Tomas Plekanec's 7th of the season, 4:32 minutes into the period.

The Flyers would throw 7 shots on goal in the closing 5 minutes, but it proved too late. Rene Bourque tacked on an empty netter (on an 'awarded goal') solidifying Montreal's 3rd straight win.

Following the game, Flyers captain Claude Giroux spoke about the Flyers lack of passion, "We weren't competing and we're not winning the battles. We are going through the motions. It's just frustrating to see, and I know I have to be better, but we have 20 guys and we need everybody to step up."

The Flyers fall to 6-9-1 on the season, last in the Atlantic division.

Game Notes:

• Tonight's game was a battle of the backup goalies: Brian Boucher made 25 saves on 28 shots, while Peter Budaj made 18 saves on 19 attempts.
• Claude Giroux led the Flyers with 4 shots. It was only the second time all season that Giroux took more than 3 shots and first time since February 2nd.
• Giroux also led the team in hits with 5 and time on ice with 22:38 minutes.
• Every player who took draws for the Flyers was 50% or lower on faceoffs.
• Timonen, who played despite being injured yesterday, was a -2 without any shots in 17:36 minutes.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers play a matinée game on Monday against the NY Islanders at 1 PM. It is their 5th game on this 6 game road trip. So far they are 1-3 on the trip.

Flyers Blow a 2 Goal Lead, Lose to Devils

Brodeur outplayed Bryzgalov on his way to 5-3 win

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a disappointing loss to the 1st place New Jersey Devils, 5-3 tonight.

Not only did the Flyers lose the game, but they also lost lead defenseman Kimmo Timonen. Timonen left the game in between the 2nd and 3rd period with what the Flyers are only calling a 'lower body injury.' More will be known later.

The Devils got off to an early lead in the 1st period, but the Flyers exploded for 3 goals in less than 3 minutes giving them a 3-1 lead.

However, the Flyers blew their lead in the 2nd period as the Devils tied the game up, then Philadelphia lost it in in the 3rd period on a failed clear.

The Flyers had every opportunity to win this game but instead it turned into a huge letdown game. Turnovers, failed clears, and poor goaltending led to a tough loss. Ilya Bryzgalov only made 14 saves on 18 shots faced.

Zajac scores 40 seconds into the game

The Devils got on the board quickly when they scored 40 seconds into the game on a goal from Travis Zajac.

The Flyers then tallied 3 goals in 2:36 minutes, the fastest 3 goals they've ever scored on Martin Brodeur. Their first goal came on a PowerPlay from Wayne Simmonds working his magic in front off a rebound. 1:48 minutes later, Mike Knuble gave the Flyers the lead on a long shot from the high slot after receiving a nice pass from Ruslan Fedotenko. The Flyers then increased their lead to 2, 48 seconds later, when Claude Giroux set up Matt Read for the one-timer and the Flyers led 3-1. Unfortunately, that would be the extent of the Flyers offense tonight.

The 2nd period began and New Jersey got off to an even faster start than they did in the 1st by scoring only 26 seconds in. Newly acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovski scored on a play started by the ageless Marty Brodeur. Brodeur made a long pass up the ice sending Ilya Kovalchuk on a 3 on 2 and Kovalchuk set up Ponikarovsky who beat Bryzgalov, quickly making it a 1 goal game.

Read gives Flyers a 2 goal lead

Brodeur's goaltending and puck handling kept his team alive. Following the Flyers 3-goal spurt, Brodeur registered an assist and stopped all 20 shots faced.

The Devils tied the game up on a rare turnover by Timonen, some think that was the play in which he got injured. Timonen turned the puck over to Kovalchuk who set up a wide open Patrick Elias from the top of the circle tying the game at 3.

It seemed as if every time the Flyers made a mistake it was in the back of their net. Despite the fact that most of the goals scored against were direct results of breakdowns or turnovers, Bryzgalov still failed to stopped the puck when it mattered the most.

Poor defense plus poor goaltending always equals a loss.

The Devils cashed in on their go ahead goal on another Flyers mistake. Matt Read failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone and right to New Jersey defenseman Adam Larsson. Larsson quickly put the puck on net which deflected off David Clarkson and past Bryzgalov.

Devils get the go ahead goal in the 3rd

New Jersey finally had their lead back, and this time they wouldn't lose it.

Following the Devils goal at 10:43, the Flyers only registered 1 shot on goal. Steve Bernier added an empty net goal to add insult to injury.

Philadelphia had a 2-goal lead on the best team in the league with a chance to get back into the playoff hunt, instead the lead was squandered. However, they still went into the 3rd period tied with a chance to redeem themselves, yet instead they left disappointed, rejected, and without any points.

When asked about his team's performance, in particularly their 2 goals given up in the first minute of each of the first 2 periods, head coach Peter Laviolette simply said, "It's unacceptable."

The Flyers fall to 6-8-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Out of 6 periods that the Flyers have faced the Devils this season, 3 of them saw the Devils score a goal in the first minute.
• Claude Giroux had 2 assists yet was a -2 and lost 54% of his faceoffs in 20:17 minutes.
• Kimmo Timonen played 11:24 minutes before leaving the game with what is only being called a lower body injury.
• The line consisting of Giroux, Simmonds and Read were a combined -6.
• Both teams only had 1 PowerPlay in the game. The Flyers were 1-1 while the Devils were 0-1.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers look to put their loss behind them as they go Montreal tomorrow to face the Canadians.

What Happened to Claude Giroux?

Check out my article 'What Happened to Claude Giroux' on the Collingswood Patch...

What happened to Claude Giroux?

Most Flyers fans are asking what happened to Claude Giroux? After 14 games, Giroux only has 3 goals and 8 points. So where did his point production go?

Claude Giroux emerged last year as one of the NHL's premiere players. In fact his 93-point season was only bested by 2 players in the entire league: Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos.  After Claude's amazing regular season, he followed it up by posting an incredible 14 points in 6 games in the first round of the playoffs, ousting Sidney Crosby and his mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.  Despite Philadelphia's 2nd round loss, Giroux's 8 goals led the entire playoffs at its end. His head coach Peter Laviolette even went as far as to calling him the 'best player in the world' after Game 6's win over the Penguins.

So what happened?

To read the rest: CLICK HERE

Game Day:

Friday, Feb. 15 at New Jersey Devils (8-2-3, 19 points) @ 7 PM

• The Devils have been one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference,  having currently won 5 of their last 6 games. They also own an NHL best 5-1-1 record at home. 
• Patrick Elias leads his team in scoring with 15 points,  and has owned the Flyers throughout his career, registering 75 points in 77 games.
• Ilya Bryzgalov (6-6-1, 2.49 GAA) will get the start against Martin Brodeur (6-2-2, 2.36 GAA).
• The Flyers will get Sean Couturier back in the lineup tonight after he missed 2 games with the Flu.

Flyers Get Huge Win on the Road Versus Jets

Bryzgalov and Flyers play a great bounce back game

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 tonight in a full team effort.

The Flyers put up a strong effort in response to last night's mess against Toronto in which they played very sloppy in their 5-2 defeat. Also Ilya Bryzgalov made his presence known immediately and throughout the entire game. Bryzgalov was pulled for the first time all season yesterday, yet responded nicely tonight making 24 saves on 26 shots.

Philadelphia was desperate for a road win as they only had one all season coming into tonight's contest. They would need a full team effort to gain their first road victory since January 26th, and that's exactly what they got.

Timonen converts on the PowerPlay

Jake Voracek got the offense going when he perfectly set up Brayden Schenn in front for the tip in goal, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead. The Schenn, Voracek and Tye McGinn line was one of their best tonight as they accounted for 4 total points, including the game winner.

The Jets tied the game at 1 on a nice pass from Blake Wheeler to Andrew Ladd in between the circles. Ladd beat Bryzgalov for his 5th goal of the season.

The lead was restored shortly after Ladd's tally. Less than 3 minutes later, the Flyers converted on their PowerPlay on a blast from Kimmo Timonen with Wayne Simmonds providing the screen in front. Timonen's goal was Philadelphia's first road PowerPlay goal since January 29th versus the Rangers.

The Flyers carried their 2-1 lead into the 3rd period as there were not any tallies in the middle stanza. Tye McGinn increased the Flyers lead to 2 when Jake Voracek provided another great pass setting McGinn up in front. The puck appeared to ricochet off McGinn's skate, but the ruling was that there was 'no kicking motion' thus a good goal. McGinn's goal wasn't his only contribution to tonight's contest. McGinn dropped the gloves with Mark Stuart providing one of the more entertaining fights of the season, helping pump the Flyers up in that slow 2nd period.

The 2 goal lead was kept as the 'last minute to play' announcement was made. The Jets pulled their goaltender and successfully converted with the extra skater with 46 seconds remaining on a goal from Andrew Ladd.

But that would be as close as the Jets would get. The Flyers finally got a road win increasing their poor road record to 2-6 on the season. They still have 4 more road games left on this trip.

The win brings the Flyers to a 6-7-1 record for 13 points, tying them for 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Game Notes:

• Brayden Schenn has 7 points in his last 7 games, while Jake Voracek has 7 points in his last 6 games.
• Harry Zolnierczyk was called up and played in his first game of the season for the Flyers. Zolnierczyk had 2 shots, 2 hits and 2 blocked shots in 9:50 minutes.
• The Flyers improved to 4-0 when scoring 3 goals or more.
• Tye McGinn scored his first career NHL game winning goal tonight.
• Claude Giroux won 56% of his faceoffs while the rest of the team won a pathetic 22%.
• Jets starting goaltender Al Montoya was pulled in between the 2nd and 3rd period tonight for what was only called a lower body injury. He would remain on the bench. Ondrej Pavelec replaced him.
• The Flyers took 12 shots in the first two periods combined, while they took 11 in the 3rd period alone.
• Sean Couturier missed his second straight game with the flu.

Highlights: 
To view the highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers have a rare 2 nights off before they get back into action on Friday at the New Jersey Devils.

VanRiemsdyk Helps Maple Leafs Defeat Flyers

Phaneuf scores the tying goal in 1st

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 tonight.

The Leafs exploded for 3 goals in the first 6:15 minutes in the 2nd period and controlled the rest of the game from that point on.

Ex-Flyer James vanRiemsdyk scored his 8th goal of the season in the 3rd period increasing Toronto's lead to 5-1.

Luke Schenn, the player the Flyers received in the vanRiemsdyk trade, helped get the Flyers on the board right out of the gates. Schenn took a shot from the point that Wayne Simmonds found and buried the rebound 38 seconds into the game. Philadelphia finally got the start they were looking for.

Unfortunately, that would be the lone thing that went right for the Flyers tonight.

Simmonds gets the Flyers on the boars early

Dion Phaneuf got the equalizer late in the 1st when his shot found its way through a wall of players and past Ilya Bryzgalov.

After the spirited opening stanza, Toronto just took over to start the 2nd period. The Leafs took advantage of mistake after mistake and out worked the Flyers to every puck. Toronto scored 3 goals in just over 4 minutes to take a dominating 4-1 lead.

The first goal came off a failed clear, then a long shot from the point. Bryzgalov made the save but left a juicy rebound in front for Colton Orr, who beat Nicklas Grossmann to the puck and put the Leafs on top 2-1, a lead in which they would never relinquish. The next goal came after another failed clearing attempt. Only 28 seconds following Orr's tally, Matt Frattin added to the lead on a tip-in goal.

Following the same pattern, the third goal of the period, fourth in the game for the Leafs, started on a turnover in the defensive zone by Nicklas Grossmann. Clarke MacArthur found himself opened in front and was set up by Nazem Kadri giving the Leafs a 3 goal stranglehold on the Flyers. Head coach Peter Laviolette pulled Ilya Bryzgalov for the first time all season. Bryzgalov made 10 saves on 14 shots; Brian Boucher saw his first action this season.

Bryzgalov gets pulled after 4 goals

Philadelphia had a prime opportunity to pull themselves back into the game when Korbinian Holzer was called for a 5 minute major boarding on Tye McGinn. However, the Flyers squandered that opportunity as they only got one quality chance and no goals.

Toronto started the 3rd period as they did the 2nd, by scoring more goals. James vanRiemsdyk got his revenge against the Flyers as he blew past Luke Schenn and beat Boucher on a nice forehand to backhand move, increasing the lead to 4.

Tye McGinn scored a meaningless goal for the Flyers with less than a minute remaining in the game.

The Maple Leafs had more drive and played better defense than the Flyers and it showed. The Flyers are playing with a total lack of confidence. Claude Giroux is the perfect example of this. Giroux only has 1 goal in his last 11 games and only 1 point in his last 4 games. And the Flyers PowerPlay, which was 0-3 including the 5 minute major tonight, is 1-12 in their last 4 games.

Philadelphia falls to 5-7-1 on the season. They are 1-6 on the road, and have 5 straight road games ahead.

Game Notes:

VanRiemsdyk scores his 8th goal of the season

• Amazingly every single Flyer registered at least 1 shot and 1 hit today.
• Simmonds led the way with 5 shots while Brayden Schenn had the most hits with 5. 
• Toronto starting goaltender James Reimer left tonight's game with a lower body injury. Ben Scrivens made 32 saves on 33 shots in relief.
• The Flyers took a season high 46 shots, including 22 shots in the 2nd period.
• Despite losing on the scoreboard, the Flyers outshot, outhit, and won more faceoffs.
• Brian Boucher made 9 saves on 10 shots in relief of Bryzgalov.
• Sean Couturier sat out tonight's game with the flu. He didn't travel with the team so he will not play tomorrow either.
• James vanRiemsdyk scored a goal, was a +1, had 4 shots and 1 blocked shot in 18:55 minutes in his return against the Flyers.
• Luke Schenn had an assist, was a -1, had 1 shot on goal, 3 blocked shots and 2 hits in 18:24 minutes.

Highlights:
To watch highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get right back into action tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets (5-5-1, 11 points).

Week in Review + GameDay vs Toronto

Collingswood Patch:
Check out my "Weekly Flyer" article on the Collingswood Patch to see how the Philadelphia Flyers used their successful home ice stand, going 3-0-1, to improve to 5-6-1 on the season. Also see what's in the week to come for the Philadelphia Flyers, including a challenging 6 game road trip. All that plus injury updates and more...

All on the Patch! Check it out by:

CLICKING HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7 PM. The Flyers will faceoff against their former 1st round draft pick, James vanRiemsdyk, for the first time since trading him for defenseman Luke Schenn. VanRiemsdyk leads the Maple Leafs in goals with 7 while Luke Schenn leads not only the Flyers but the NHL in hits with 46.

Flyers Win an Overtime Thriller

Briere scores the game winner in OT

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 this afternoon in overtime.

Danny Briere was the hero today as he scored the game winning goal 1:47 minutes into overtime. Nicklas Grossmann sent Briere up the ice on a breakout and Danny crossed the line on a 2 on 2, cut to the middle faking the drop off pass and then ripped a shot that rang off the post, then off Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward and into the back of the net winning the game for the Flyers, in dramatic fashion.

After losing to Florida in the shootout, and being last place in shootout winning percentage, the Flyers wanted badly to win this one in overtime, before the shootout, and that's exactly what they did. Briere's 11th career overtime goal gave the Flyers the all important second point.

Carolina got off to the better start today as they scored only 17 seconds into the game after a failed clearing attempt from Wayne Simmonds, who returned to the lineup from his head injury. The play resulted in a defensive zone draw for the Flyers, who lost the faceoff. Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo took a quick shot that Ilya Bryzgalov stopped then Jiri Tlusty jumped on the rebound and gave Carolina the early 1-0 lead.

Matt Read scores his 5th goal of the season

The Flyers played very well in the 1st period despite the quick goal and even outshot the Hurricanes, who lead the league in shots per game (37), 14-7 following the goal.

Midway through the period, there was a scary play involving Flyers forward Tye McGinn. Tim Wallace sent McGinn head first into the board causing him to leave the game momentarily. Wallace was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Tye McGinn would return later in the game. Unfortunately for the Flyers, they were unable to score despite having over a minute of 5 on 3 PowerPlay time as well.

However, Philadelphia would get the equalizer in the period. Brayden Schenn scored his second goal of the season when he deflected Kimmo Timonen's shot past Ward, and the Flyers would start fresh in the 2nd period tied at 1 apiece.

Matt Read gave the Flyers their first lead of the game early on in the 2nd after Mike Knuble created a turnover in the offensive zone. The puck landed right on Read's stick and he buried it from between the circles putting the Flyers on top 2-1 just 1:33 minutes into the period. 

Carolina tied the game up on a nice shot from Jeff Skinner; however, the Flyers were quick to get their lead back. Only 15 seconds after the Hurricanes scored the tying goal, it was Brayden Schenn, this time making a perfect pass to Jake Voracek in front on the rush and just like that the Flyers had the lead again.

Voracek scores his 3rd goal

They would carry that lead into the 3rd period, where Carolina pushed hard to tie it. They outshot the Flyers 13-7 in the period and finally found the equalizer on a shot from the point from Corvo that deflected off Flyers defenseman Kurtis Foster and behind Bryzgalov.

Furious action took place in the final minute of regulation as the Flyers and Hurricanes traded scoring chances but both goalies stood tall helping earn their respective team a point in the standings. 4 shots were taken in that final minute.

The action continued into overtime as if the teams never stopped. There was only 1:47 minutes of overtime yet 6 total shots were taken, 3 by each team. But it was Danny Briere's shot that ended it all. The game winner was Briere's second goal of the season.

The Flyers got the much needed 2 points and completed their home stand with a solid 3-0-1 record.

The Flyers improve to 5-6-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Both the Flyers and the Hurricanes went 0-3 on their man advantage. 
• The Flyers have killed 20 of their last 22 penalties.
• Eric Staal's assist in the 1st period extended his point streak to 8 games.
• Luke Schenn had 1 shot, 6 blocked shots, and 8 hits in 24:50 minutes.
• Brother Brayden had 1 goal, 2 assists for 3 points, was a +3 and had 3 hits in 16:40 minutes.
• Briere led the team with 5 shots on goal tonight.
• The Flyers scored more than 2 goals in a single game for only the 3rd time this season out of 12 games.

Highlights:

• Watch Full Game Highlights:  
• HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action on Monday when they start their 6 game road trip against Toronto.

Timonen Stays, Simmonds Returns and Gameday

Signing Extension:
The Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Kimmo Timonen to a 1 year extension worth $6 million. Timonen was in the last year of his contract this season which was paying $3 million; however, his cap hit was $6.3 million. Next year will be Timonen's 7th season with the Flyers. Timonen has scored 28 goals and 184 assists in 408 games with the Flyers. He currently leads all Flyers in average time on ice with 23:06 minutes. GM Paul Holmgren said of the signing, "Kimmo's presence on the ice for us and in our locker room is invaluable. We look forward to him continuing his all-around play for us."

Injury Update:
Wayne Simmonds practiced with the team yesterday in full contact gear. Simmonds has not yet been officially cleared to play, but he said he's ready. Simmonds passed his baseline tests and has been headache and symptom free all week.  He is just waiting for the go-ahead from the doctors, which could come this morning. If Simmonds suits up today, which seems very likely, Tom Sestito will likely be scratched.

Game-Day:
The Philadelphia Flyers (4-6-1, 9 pts) host the Carolina Hurricanes (5-4, 10 pts) this afternoon at 1 PM. Carolina has won 3 of their last 4 games, with their one loss coming against the Flyers, who beat them 5-3 last Saturday.
The Hurricanes are led by the Staal Brothers, Eric and Jordan, who have combined for 20 points in 9 games. Carolina leads the league in shots per game with 37 per game. So Ilya Bryzgalov will most likely have a pretty busy day. Bryzgalov (4-5-1, 2.20 GAA) will likely get the start against Cam Ward (3-3, 3.17 GAA).

Flyers Fall in Shootout to Florida

Theodore celebrates his shootout victory

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in a shootout tonight.

Philadelphia's shootout woes continue. In a game that the Flyers should have won, they lost in the dreaded shootout again. Since the shootout's inception, the Flyers have won a league low 23 times and have lost 41. Tonight's game increased that number to 42.

The Florida Panthers got off to an early lead when Jack Skille snuck one past Ilya Bryzgalov halfway through the 1st period. Kimmo Timonen was used as a screen but the goal was one that Bryzgalov would like to have back.

The Flyers tied the game up in a hurry when they were given a PowerPlay. Just 52 seconds following the Panthers goal, Jake Voracek scored on shot from the circle with several bodies in front of the net beating Florida goaltender Jose Theodore, knotting the game at 1.

Philadelphia came out strong in the 2nd period and the hard working line of Sean Couturier, Mike Knuble and Matt Read cashed in 2:42 minutes into the stanza. Knuble got the puck on net and jabbed it free before Theodore could control it and Read picked it up and buried it giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

Huberdeau scores in the shootout

The lead was carried into the 3rd period, where the Flyers seemed content to sit on that lead instead of pressure more in order to add to it. And this proved costly. Philadelphia only registered 5 shots in the period despite being given 2 PowerPlays.

On the other end, Florida took advantage when given a PowerPlay of their own. Stephen Weiss scored only 10 seconds into their PowerPlay tying the score at 2 apiece.

The game was forced into overtime where the Flyers played tremendous hockey. They controlled the puck very well pressured hard and outshot the Panthers 5-0 in the 5 minute period, unfortunately they were unable to close.

So the game required a shootout. Last season the Flyers were 3-6 in the shootout and they hoped to turn that around this season.

Giroux gets stopped in shootout

The Panthers scored on their first 2 attempts from Jonathan Huberdeau and Peter Mueller, while the Flyers failed to score. Theodore stopped Read's 5-hole attempt and then Claude Giroux's nice deke. Theodore stole the game for the Panthers making 28 saves on 30 shots, including 5 great OT saves, and 2 shootout stops.

The Flyers will at least get one point for their effort but still get the loss. They fall to 4-6-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Matt Read has 4 goals in 2 games versus the Panthers this season. And he has 6 goals in 6 career games against Florida.
• Both Philadelphia and Florida went 1-4 on their PowerPlay.
• Ilya Bryzgalov ended the night with 22 saves on 24 shots.
• The Flyers failed to score more than 2 goals again for the 9th time this season out of 11 games.
• Claude Giroux had 1 assist, 3 shots a and won 60% of his faceoffs in 21:05 minutes.
• Kimmo Timonen was signed to a 1 year extension with the Flyers worth $6 million before the game. Timonen had 1 assist, 3 shots, 2 blocked shots in 26:20 minutes tonight.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's games: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers will play Saturday afternoon at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Flyers Look to Keep Winning Streak Alive

The Philadelphia Flyers (4-6, 8 pts) will host Florida Panthers (3-5-1, 7 pts) tonight in their second of 3 meetings this season. The Flyers got the better of the Panthers in their first meeting exploding for 7 goals. Matt Read notched his first career NHL hat trick and 11 different Flyers registered at least 1 points. The 7-1 victory over the Panthers on January 26th was the Flyers best offensive game of this short season so far.

Despite that offensive onslaught, the Flyers are having trouble scoring some goals. Philadelphia has only scored more than 2 goals in a single game twice this season (the 7-1 W over Florida and a 5-3 W over Carolina) out of the 10 games they've played so far. But they are starting to find ways to win.

The Flyers have won back to back games for the second time this season and will look to gain a 3 game winning streak for the first time all year. Philadelphia is coming off two strong victories this week with a 5-3 win over Carolina and a 2-1 edge over Tampa Bay. The Lightning came into that game the highest scoring offense in the NHL, averaging almost 5 goals per game, but the Flyers were able to shut them down.

Ilya Bryzgalov (4-5) was a huge factor in both games and has played well all season. Bryzgalov, who most likely will get the start tonight, has a .923 save percentage and a 2.24 GAA. Jose Theodore (3-4, 3.33 GAA) will likely get the start opposite Bryzgalov.

After losing 5 straight games, the Florida Panthers have played much better hockey of late, winning 2 of their last 3 contests, while their one loss came in overtime. And they have scored 12 goals in those last 3 games. The are being lead by forward Tomas Fleischmann who has 3 goals and a team high 8 points, and scoring defenseman Brian Campbell, who is leading the team with 4 goals and has 7 points.

Injury Update:
Wayne Simmonds, who suffered a concussion on February 1st, skated with the team for the first time yesterday. Simmonds wore a 'no contact' jersey, but said after the practice, "I felt pretty good today, I think everything went well, so we'll have to see what happens." And when asked if he felt any aftereffects bothering him, he quickly answered, "No, nothing, I feel pretty good today." He also pointed out the he has been headache free all week. 
Simmonds remains doubtful for tonight's game but could possibly suit up on Saturday if his progression continues.
Watch Wayne Simmonds' full interview: HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers will host the Panthers tonight at 7 PM.