Dramatic Win Over Capitals in Overtime for Flyers on Easter

Timonen scores the tying goal with 9.5 seconds remaining

The Philadelphia Flyers came from 2 goals down to defeat the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime in dramatic fashion tonight.

The game was knotted at 2 in the final period when the Washington Capitals scored 2 goals on consecutive PowerPlays in the 3rd period, giving them a 4-2 lead. However, the Flyers battled back scoring a PowerPlay goal of their own, before Kimmo Timonen scored with just 9 seconds remaining in the 3rd to send the game into overtime.

Then in overtime it was Ruslan Fedotenko who became the hero for the Flyers scoring game winner.

Fedotenko scores the overtime winner

The Flyers pull to within 2 points of the 8th placed New York Rangers with their dramatic victory tonight.

Overall Philadelphia played a very decent hockey game, yet the breaks didn't go their way. Leading 2-1 in the 2nd period, just after the Flyers failed to score on their man-advantage, Mike Greene was sprung on a breakaway out of the penalty box, beating Ilya Bryzgalov to tie the game at 2.

Fedotenko waves to the fans

Then tied in the 3rd period, Claude Giroux took a heavy hit from Steven Olesky. Jake Voracek confronted Olesky who engaged him in a fight. Voracek was then given 19 penalty minutes on the play when Olesky only got 5; 2 minutes for instigation, 2 minutes for fighting with a visor, 5 minutes for fighting and a 10 minute misconduct, giving the Capitals 4 minutes of PowerPlay time. And the Capitals delivered scoring 2 PowerPlay goals: one from Marcus Johansson and another from Alex Ovechkin. Johansson's goal was a direct result of a poor turnover from Giroux who spun back into his zone to kill time, then gave the puck right to Johansson.

Despite the poor turnover, the unfortunate penalties and the new 2 goal deficit, Giroux was now fueled and determined to make up for his mistake. So his hard work drew a penalty, and on the ensuing PowerPlay it was Claude who made it a 1 goal game on a laser one-time shot.

With under a minute to play and the goalie pulled it was Giroux again causing havoc for the Capitals. Giroux eventually set up Timonen who blasted it from the point stunning the Capitals as he tied the game at 4 with just 9.5 seconds remaining in the contest.

2 points were imperative to the Flyers who were 4 points out of a playoff spot with fewer and fewer games remaining. With the new found point, the Flyers were eager to grab the second one. So they used their momentum that they had built up in the end of the 3rd period and carried it into the overtime session.

Voracek standing up for Giroux

94 seconds into the extra session, Kimmo Timonen and Ruslan Fedotenko were playing give and go in the Capitals zone when Fedotenko crashed the net. Timonen fired a pass back to the man they call Rusty, in front of the net, to which he promptly redirected past Capitals goalie Brayden Holtby sending the Flyers and their fans leaping out of their seats in elation.

The fight that the Flyers showed tonight and yesterday against the Bruins was something they have been looking for all season. And with 13 games remaining, 2 points out of a playoff spot, they are going to need to bring this effort more often. The Flyers have picked up points in 3 straight games and will look to win 3 in a row for the first time all season on Wednesday night.

Philadelphia improves to 15-17-3 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Max Talbot and Matt Read scored for the Flyers in the 1st period.
• Talbot left the game in the 2nd period with an apparent leg injury and did not return. Flyers announcer Jim Jackson speculated that Talbot may have been cut with another player's skate blade; however, management denied this just saying Talbot has a lower body injury.
• Newly acquired defenseman Ken Huskins played his first game with the team wearing number 23. Huskins was a -1 with 3 blocked shots in 16:02 minutes.
• Oliver Lauridsen played his second game in the NHL tonight after playing his first yesterday versus Boston. Lauridsen was a +1 with 2 hits in 11:16 minutes.
• Claude Giroux registered 3 points tonight (1 goal and 2 assists) and now has 9 points in his last 6 games and 35 for the season.
• Giroux also had 7 shots, 3 blocked shots, 2 hits and won 56% of his faceoffs in 23:54 minutes.
• Kimmo Timonen registered 4 points tonight (1 goal and 3 assists). It was the first time Timonen scored 4 points in a game since 10/27/11.
• Jake Voracek's fight was the first of his NHL career in the regular season (he had a preseason fight in 2010).

Highlights:

To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:

The Philadelphia Flyers look to keep their winning ways going when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. 

Flyers Snap Losing Streak, Defeat Bruins

The Philadelphia Flyers snapped their 4-game losing streak today when they defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1.

The Flyers played very well today as they scored a goal in every period, while shutting down Boston, who has the 3rd most points in the Eastern Conference.

Mike Knuble, Matt Read, and Ruslan Fedotenko scored for the Flyers.

Anthony SanFilippo from the Flyers.nhl.com writes,

The Flyers had just won a game for the first time in two weeks, a 3-1 upset of the Boston Bruins.

He (Jake Voracek) had also found out that the New York Islanders had lost their game, meaning that if the Flyers got a little help from the Montreal Canadiens later Saturday night, his team could be playing for a shot to be just two points out of a playoff spot on Easter Sunday.

And considering how things have gone lately, that’s a chance the Flyers are hoping for.

To read the rest: CLICK HERE

To view highlights of today's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
Happy Easter to ALL!
The Flyers play on Easter Day at 6 PM vs the Washington Capitals.

Flyers Give Up Two Goal Lead, Lose to Islanders in Shootout

Islanders celebrate their go-ahead goal

The New York Islanders handed the Philadelphia Flyers their 4th straight lose tonight as they won 4-3 in the shootout.

The Flyers played well in the first half of the game and earned a 2-0 lead. Yet in the second half they disappeared. The Islanders then scored 3 straight goals erasing the lead.

Philadelphia tied the game in the final minute on the PowerPlay with their goalie pulled, but ultimately lost in the shootout.

Scott Hartnell played one of his better games of the season scoring 2 goals including the tying goal with 30 second remaining. After the game, Hartnell told CSNPhilly that after they got their lead they just just froze.

Hartnell got the Flyers on the board early in the 1st period on a one-time shot assisted by Claude Giroux on the PowerPlay.

Mike Knuble, who played his first game since March 5th, added to that lead late in the 1st period, scoring his third goal of the season. Giroux set up Knuble in front and he went forehand to backhand beating Evgeni Navokov.

Hartnell scoring 1 of his 2 goals

The Flyers cruised through most of the 2nd period enjoying their lead, until John Tavares turned the game around in the final minute of the period. Tavares innocently threw the puck in front of the Flyers cage which double deflected off both Flyers defensemen and past Ilya Bryzgalov cutting the lead in half.

Tavares' goal fueled the Islanders, who finally woke up in the 3rd period. They outshot the Flyers 9-4 and scored 2 goals in the first 15 minutes of the period, shocking Philadelphia, who played as if their lead was secure.

Philadelphia did battle back in the final minute. They were awarded a PowerPlay and pulled their goalie giving them a 2-man advantage. They crashed the net relentlessly and then a scramble ensued in front of Nabokov until Hartnell batted the loose puck into the net trying the game at 3.

Overtime wasn't enough so a shootout was required. Giroux scored on a beautiful move that he's pulled off in the past, but then Brad Boyes and Josh Bailey beat Bryzgalov defeating the Flyers 2-1 in the shootout.

Watch Giroux's nifty shootout move

The Flyers have now dropped 4 straight games and have lost 8 of their last 10. They did, however, pick up 1 point on the 8th placed Rangers, who lost today in regulation, and are now 6 points back with 15 games remaining.

Flyers fall to 13-17-3 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Braydon Coburn left the game in the 2nd period due to an upper body injury. He did not return. The Flyers were already playing without defensemen Nicklas Grossmann (upper body) and Andrej Meszaros (shoulder).
• Giroux, who register 2 assists tonight, has points in 4 straight games and 6 of his last 7.
• Luke Schenn led the Flyers in shots (6), blocked shots (5), and icetime (28:04 minutes).
• Wayne Simmonds had 2 points tonight. It was his first multipoint game since March 5th.
• Flyers fall to 1-2 in the shootouts this season.

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

Drop the Puck:
The Philadelphia Flyers host the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon at 1PM.

Nash Scores 300th Goal Helping the Rangers Defeat the Flyers

Flyers honor Timonen by wearing him jersey in pregame

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New York Rangers 5-2 on a night in which they celebrated Kimmo Timonen's 1000th career NHL game.

The celebration was full of passion, emotion and excitement, which is more than can be said for the actual game.

The fans were pumped up after Timonen's ceremony which included his parents, wife and children; however, the players inexplicably, were not.

Philadelphia came into tonight's game 5 points behind the 8th placed Rangers with a chance to pull within 3 points and make a run at the playoffs. Instead, the Flyers fell 7 points back and now sit alone in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with just 16 games remaining.

Timonen thanks fans and organization

The Rangers came out with much more energy and passion than the Flyers, whose season was basically on the line. Rick Nash got the Rangers on the board scoring his 300th NHL goal of his career in the 1st period.

The Flyers defense was dreadful throughout most of the game tonight. They had 13 turnovers to New York's 3. Nash's goal was direct result of a turnover from behind the net from Timonen. Philadelphia's top 3 defenseman Timonen, Andrej Meszaros and Luke Schenn were a combined -6.

The Rangers built a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period that would prove too much for the Flyers to comeback from. Philadelphia has only scored 3 goals or more once against the Rangers in the last 12 games or over 2 years. So the uphill battle seemed like Mt. Everest.

The Flyers did get 2 goals back on a PowerPlay from Wayne Simmonds and then a deflection goal off Jake Voracek. However, the comeback was quickly thwarted only 74 seconds later when Nash scored again. This goal was a back-breaker. The fans finally had something to cheer for, the players finally showed some emotion and then a weak wraparound goal buried them.

Nash scores 300th career goal

New York tacked on another goal later in the 3rd period giving them their insurmountable 3 goal lead back.

It was not the Rangers who ruin Timonen's celebration, it was the Flyers. Poor defense plus an offense that goes missing for periods at a time and average goaltending equals a loss in the game and most likely the season.

The Flyers fall to 13-17-2 on the season becoming the 3rd worst team in the NHL.

Game Notes:

• Jake Voracek's goal in the 3rd period deflected off his face. Claude Giroux took the shot which banked off Voracek's chin and past Henrik Lundqvist.
• Claude Giroux had 2 assists.
• Giroux was the only Flyers player to win more than 50% of his faceoffs, while every Rangers players who took a faceoff was over 50%.
• Rangers won 41 of 66 faceoffs.
• Timonen took a team high 6 shots while Schenn had a team high 5 hits.
• Nicklas Grossmann (upper body) and Danny Briere (concussion) both missed their second straight game tonight.

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

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Penguins Extend Winning Streak to 12, Defeat Flyers in OT

Pens extended winning streak to 12 games

The Philadelphia Flyers squandered another lead as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat them 2-1 in overtime.

The Flyers have currently lost 3 of their last 5 games in which they have held a lead, and tonight was no different. A lot of those troubles have stemmed from 3rd period period problems.

These 3rd period issues have become a major crux for the Flyers this season. They are -14 in 31 games in the 3rd periods. In fact, they have scored the 2nd fewest 3rd period goals (20) in the entire NHL, while giving up the the 7th most 3rd period goals (34). In their last 10 games, they have been outscored 9-1 in those final periods; 3 of those were go-ahead goals, turned game winners, while 1 was a tying goal.

The 3rd period woes continued for the Flyers tonight. Philadelphia had a 1-0 lead heading into the final stanza and they lost their lead after giving the Penguins a 2-man advantage. Wayne Simmonds was called for a slash, then Kimmo Timonen for a hook.

Sydney Crosby took full advantage, scoring on the one-timer tying the game for Pittsburgh with 6:14 minutes left in the game.

Kennedy scores game winner

During an 11 minute stretch in the period, the Penguins outshot the Flyers 11-2, while outscoring them 1-0. This is the point in which the game is on the line, and it was Pittsburgh who came out to win. And that's exactly what transpired.

The first two periods saw a tight checking, good defense and great goaltending. The Flyers scored their lone goal on the PowerPlay from Claude Giroux. Giroux, who scored his 10th goal of the season, attempted a pass, which was blocked and ended right back in his stick. He then quickly fired the shot beating Marc Andre Fleury, who wasn't set due to the blocked pass.

Crosby's PowerPlay goal ultimately sent the game into overtime where Tyler Kennedy scored the game winner on a nice shot from the high slot putting it right under the crossbar.

The victory for the Penguins extends their winning streak to 12 games.

The Flyers, who are 2-6 in their last 8 games, gain a point yet fall to 13-16-2 on the season, still 5 points behind the 8th seeded NY Rangers, who they will face on Tuesday.

Game Notes:

• The Flyers were without forward Danny Briere and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann both out with upper body injuries. More will be known tomorrow.
• Scott Hartnell, who has played on the 1st line with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek most of the season was demoted due to his poor play of late to the 3rd line with Max Talbot and Zac Rinaldo.
• The Flyers surprisingly dominated on faceoffs tonight winning 29 of 51 draws.
• Claude Giroux won 60.7% of his 28 faceoffs.
• Luke Schenn led all players in ice time with 28:29 minutes. Schenn also had team highs with 4 blocked shots and 7 hits.

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

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers will look to steal 2 points from the NY Rangers on Tuesday in when they face off in Philadelphia.

Why the NHL Shootout Needs To Go

From my article on the Collingswood Patch ...

The shootout was added to prevent the game from ending in a tie, a concept that was vastly popular and very exciting to watch. The fans in most stadiums still stand up through the entire shootout.

But to the hardcore fans, the shootout needs to go. It is not because it's not exciting, it's not because it's not fun, and it certainly isn't that we want ties. It is simply not part of the game and still has become so pertinent to the standings year in and year out.

To Read the Rest... CLICK HERE

Stamkos Scores 200th Goal, Lightning beat Flyers

Stamkos scores 200th career goal (as is shown on scoreboard above)

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 tonight.

The Flyers hoped that the shootout win on Friday night versus the New Jersey Devils would help spark a winning streak; however, they followed it up with yet another loss. Philadelphia is now just 4-9 in games following a victory.

The Flyers are struggling to find any grove at all this season. After winning 3 of 4 games towards the end of February and start of March, they followed it up by losing 5 of their next 7 games. And some of those games were crucial, such as loses to the Devils, the Rangers and now the Lightning, all of which are fighting for their playoff lives, just like the Flyers.

Philadelphia now falls to 12th place as the Lightning have passed them in the standings. They are 5 points out of a playoff spot and have played more games than all 4 teams they are trying to catch. As reported by the Philadelphia DailyNews, the Flyers need to pick up at least 27 points in their final 19 games to have a decent probability to make the playoffs. Now it's down to 18 games with the same amount of points needed. Realistically the Flyers need to win about 13 of those 18 games, despite the fact that they haven't had a 3 game winning streak all season. They have only picked up 27 points in their first 30 games, now they need another 27 in their next 18.

Tampa Bay came out tonight fighting for their lives just like the Flyers should have. The game went back and forth for the most part but Tampa Bay never trailed in the game. Lightning rookie Ondrej Palat got Tampa Bay on the board first scoring his second of the season.

Giroux scores his 9th of the season

The Flyers responded on a beautiful goal by Max Talbot, who split the defense then went 5-hole on Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback. Talbot had by far his best game of the season as he took a career high 6 shots on goal tonight, playing with Simon Gagne and Matt Read.

It didn't take long for Tampa Bay to respond. Just over 3 minutes later, the Lightning were back on top from a goal by Taylor Pyatt.

Claude Giroux sniped his 9th goal of the season, tying the game again, this time at 2 apiece. It was only Giroux's second goal in his last 8 games.

The 3rd period began and the Flyers fell flat once again. Philadelphia has only scored 20 3rd period goals in 30 games this season. Only 3 other team in the NHL have scored less. In the first two periods the Flyers amassed 24 shots, yet in the 3rd when the game was on the line, they only took 6 shots on goal.

Third time was the charm for Tampa Bay as they finally held on to their lead. Teddy Purcell made a nice deflection past Ilya Bryzgalov halfway through the final period giving the Lightning the lead for the 3rd straight time.

In the final 10 minutes following the go-ahead goal, the Flyers had no fight in their game and barely threatened Tampa Bay only taking 2 shots.

Steven Stamkos tacked on an empty netter, scoring his 200th career goal, to close out the game.

Flyers fall to 13-16-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Kimmo Timonen played in his 1000th career NHL game. It was also his 38th birthday. Therefore, he became the first NHL player ever to play his 1000th game on a birthday.
• Timonen played a team high 24:06 minutes. 
• Tampa Bay leads the season series 2-1.
• Ilya Bryzgalov made 23 saves on 26 shots while Anders Lindback stopped 28 of 30.
• Both teams went 0-4 on the PowerPlay.
• Sean Couturier received a season low 8:10 minutes tonight as he was benched throughout most of the 3rd period due to his poor play.
• Scott Hartnell was also benched a few times in replacement of Zac Rinaldo, who played with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek on the first line for several shifts.
• Rinaldo led the team with 4 hits.

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

Drop The Puck:
The Flyers have a long stretch before they play again. Their next game is on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Flyers Defeat Devils in Shootout

Flyers mob Bryzgalov after shootout win

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils tonight 2-1 in a shootout.

In more of a defensive battle than the last game played on Wednesday (5-2), the Flyers prevailed. Good goaltending, tight defense and great penalty killing held the Devils to just 1 goal in 65 minutes.

GM Paul Holmgren addressed the team yesterday following the loss to New Jersey, sending an intense message of urgency, as the Flyers only had 20 games left and needed to start winning.

And the Flyers appeared to respond.

Philadelphia's penalty kill came up huge tonight as they went a perfect 5 for 5, including a minute and a half two-man advantage and a kill in the final 1:42 minutes of the game.

Read scores in the SO

After 65 minutes, and 50 shots (28 for New Jersey and 22 for Philadelphia) the game was still tied and a shootout was needed. The Flyers entered the shootout with an 0-1 record on the season while having lost 8 of their last 12 shootouts in the past 2 seasons. On top of that, Philadelphia has never beaten the New Jersey in a shootout, posting an 0-7 lifetime record against the Devils.

Despite the odds against them and the immense pressure behind their GM, coach and screaming fans, they stepped up and got the job done.

Matt Read went first and beat New Jersey goaltender Johan Hedberg through the 5-hole. Then Ilya Kovalchuk tied the shootout at 1 as he beat Ilya Bryzgalov on a nice shot over the glove.

Claude Giroux then put the Flyers back on top when he made a nice fake move then beat Hedberg between the wickets. Then after both goalies traded saves on David Clarkson and Danny Briere, it was up to Patrik Elias, who has been a Flyer killer, scoring 80 points in 79 career games. And Elias skated in, fired, and missed the net giving the Flyers a 2-1 victory and an all important 2 points in the standings.

Full Shootout

More importantly, this is a character win for the Flyers. They played tight defensively and blocked 16 shots, while keeping a strong physical presence out hitting the Devils 37-23. They came out and said they needed a win tonight and they got it. Bryzgalov even went as far as saying that if they lose both games to New Jersey, they were 'done.'

Giroux score SO winner

But they are far from done now. Philadelphia is only 3 points out of a playoff spot right now, and the teams ahead of them aren't excelling either. The Leafs have lost 4 straight, the Rangers have lost 2 in a row, and the Devils have won only 3 games in their last 10. The Flyers will look to use this game as a stepping stone towards the right direction and put together a nice winning streak.

Max Talbot scored his second goal of the season for the Flyers in the 1st period as he helped his team improve to a 10-4 record, when scoring first. David Clarkson tied the game for the Devils in the 2nd period when deflected he the puck off past Bryzgalov.

The Flyers improve to 13-15-1 on the season and will only play 2 games in the next 10 days.

Game Notes:

• Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27 of 28 shots faced tonight.
• Matt Read registered an assist on Talbot's goal. It was Read's first point since returning from his rib injury (in 5 games).
• Luke Schenn, who missed Wednesday's game due to flu-like symptoms, returned tonight in a big way. He had 9 hits in 22:37 minutes.
• Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek combined for 11 shots (4 for Briere, 4 for Giroux and 3 for Voracek) while the rest of the team only had 11.
• Flyers went scoreless on their PowerPlay going 0-4. It was only the 3rd time in the last 10 games that they didn't register at least 1 PowerPlay goal.

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

Drop The Puck:
The Flyers face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.

Devils Take Home and Home Opener

Devils scored 5 goals on 32 shots

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils 5-2 tonight.

This game was massively important to Philadelphia because they came into New Jersey just 4 points behind the Devils to start this home and home. A sweep could mean a tie in the standings, yet multiple losses would be back-braking, or as Ilya Bryzgalov said, if they lose both games, they are 'done.'

So with the season on the line, the Flyers laid another egg. New Jersey came out with more jump in their skates and scored within 2:02 minutes into the game. Andrej Meszaros made a sloppy turnover behind his net which led directly to a Patrick Elias goal putting the Devils in charge immediately.  

The Flyers showed some fight as they were able to tie the game on the PowerPlay halfway through the period. However, this was all the fight Philadelphia had tonight. Jake Voracek scored after a nice passing play from Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux.

36 second later, the Devils were on top again when Adam Henrique's shot deflected off Matt Read and past Bryzgalov. Despite the back luck goal, the Flyers still found themselves in the game and were awarded a PowerPlay opportunity late in the opening period. However, instead of scoring the tying goal, they surrendered a short handed goal off the stick of Ilya Kovalchuk, which became the unofficial back-breaking goal of the game. Read failed to keep the bouncing puck in the zone which led to a Kovalchuk breakaway and a 3-1 lead.

After the shorthanded goal, the Flyers had closed up shop and thrown in the white towel.

Kovalchuk scored the back breaking shorthanded goal

New Jersey outshot Philadelphia 13-7 in the 2nd period and added to their lead on a 2 on 1 goal from Andrei Loktionov. The Devils had 7 odd man rushes to the Flyers 1, after 2 periods.

Philadelphia then lost their 'cool' and became frustrated and undisciplined. They took 5 straight penalties thwarting any miraculous comeback only giving the Devils more of a chance to add to the onslaught. And they did just that. Henrique notched his second goal of the game one of those PowerPlays giving the Devils a 5-1 lead.

Scott Hartnell, who took 3 of those penalties, scored a meaningless goal with just over 3 minutes remaining.

The tough loss brings the Flyers to a 12-15-1 record now 6 points behind the Devils, still sitting in 11th place. They will need to take a long hard look over things and need a desperation win when they face New Jersey again in Philadelphia on Friday night; or they just might actually be 'done.'

Game Notes:

• Luke Schenn was scratched tonight due to the flu. Kurtis Foster played in replacement.
• The new line consisting of Danny Briere, Sean Couturier and Simon Gagne were a combined -8.
• Flyers were 1-4 on the PowerPlay while The Devils were 1-6.
• The Flyers have now lost 3 straight against the Devils this season.
• The Devils outshot the Flyers 32-25.

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

Drop The Puck:
The Flyers finish the home and home versus the Devils on Friday night in Philadelphia.

Flyers Snap Losing Streak, Beat Sabres

Gagne gets the Flyers on the board first

The Philadelphia Flyers finally got a win as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 tonight.

The Flyers snapped their 3 game losing streak tonight against the struggling Sabres. Prior to tonight's game, Buffalo had lost 3 straight and 7 of their last 10 games. So both team were fighting to get out of their respected losing streaks and it was the Flyers who fought the hardest emerging victorious.

After the shutout loss to Boston, the Flyers held a closed door meeting to discuss the status of their team. Several of the Flyers said afterwards that the meeting was about remaining positive while sticking together as a team.

The meeting clearly got through to the Flyers as they came out tonight and played a complete game. And as Claude Giroux, who scored the game winning goal for the Flyers, said on NBCSN, "We had confidence in our play and were positive on the bench and the room, so we had fun."

Talbot scores a shorthanded goal

Philadelphia took advantage of special teams play tonight registering 2 PowerPlay goals and scoring their first shorthanded tally of the season.

Simon Gagne got the Flyers on the board 4:31 minutes into the 1st period on the PowerPlay. Kimmo Timonen made a great stretch pass to Gagne who blasted the puck past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller giving the Flyers the early 1-0 lead.

After the game, in an interview with the NHLNetwork, Gagne also spoke about their confidence, "The first goal on the PowerPlay helped us to get a bit more confidence on our side which was something that played against us our last couple games."

Max Talbot extended the Flyers lead to 2 while shorthanded. Talbot and Ruslan Fedotenko went in on a 2 on 1 and Fedotenko made a perfect saucer pass to Talbot and Max scored the first shorthanded goal for the Flyers this season.

Philadelphia played very well both offensively and defensively to start the period. The Flyers outshot the Sabres 9-0 and outscored them 2-0 in the first 10 minutes. However, Buffalo finally got their first shot on goal in the 11th minute and then Brian Flynn immediately scored on the rebound cutting the lead in half.

Giroux after scoring the game winner

The Flyers outshot the Sabres 12-4 in the 1st period and they came out in the 2nd period wanting more. Starting the period on the PowerPlay, Flyers captain Claude Giroux brought the puck up the ice skating right through the Sabres, then fired the puck past Miller just 17 seconds into the period giving them their 2 goal lead right back.

Confidence was the key for the Flyers tonight. And confidence became a bit of an issue in the 3rd period when the Flyers had to face some adversity. Philadelphia was on the PowerPlay looking for a 3 goal lead when Buffalo jumped on a turnover from Giroux and went in on a 2 on 1, ultimately scoring on Ilya Bryzgalov, cutting the lead to 1. Instead of enjoying a 2 or 3 goal lead, the Flyers had 15 minutes to hold a 1 goal lead.

After the game, when asked about this, Simon Gagne told the NHLNetwork, "We didn't panic and we found a way to win the game."

Gagne was right. In the final 15 minutes of the 3rd period, the Flyers shut down Buffalo allowing only 5 shots preserving their 1st victory in the last 4 games.

Philadelphia improves to 12-14-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Wayne Simmonds checked Tyler Ennis in the back sending him into the boards in a controversial play in the 1st period. Ennis did not return to the game. There was rightfully no call on the play because Ennis turned his back immediately prior to contact.  Simmonds then engaged in a fight with Mike Weber and won the fight helping keep the momentum on the Flyers side.
• Claude Giroux scored his second game winning goal of the season, took 3 shots and won 60% of his faceoffs in 21:32 minutes.
• Flyers went 2 for 6 on the PowerPlay and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. 
• The Flyers have scored 2 or more PowerPlay goals in 5 of the last 8 games. 
• Zac Rinaldo led the Flyers with 5 hits and 14 penalty minutes. 
• Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves on 20 shots.

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

Drop The Puck:
The Flyers have off until Wednesday night when they play the NJ Devils. 

Flyers Follow Up Embarrassing Loss to Penguins with Shutout Loss to Bruins

The Philadelphia Flyers were shutout by the Boston Bruins 3-0 this afternoon.

Many of the Flyers admitted that they were embarrassed after blowing a 3 goal lead against the Penguins on Thursday night.

So they wanted to respond today against Boston, but instead they followed it up with a shutout loss.

Boston scored 3 goals in 2:18 minutes

Once the Bruins got a 1-0 lead in the 1st period, the Flyers just folded. They allowed 3 goals on 3 shots in just 2:18 minutes.

Boston scored their first goal as a result of a PowerPlay from Tyler Seguin, then their second came off blown coverage from Chris Kelly and finally their third after a sloppy turnover at the blue-line from Sean Couturier, which ultimately led to a David Paille goal. And in 2:18 minutes the Flyers were down by 3.

After that Boston put on a clinic defensively as they held their lead and shutout intact throughout the rest of the contest. The Flyers ended up with only 23 shots on goal, their second lowest total of the second.

After the game, the team held a closed door meeting to discuss the status of the team. There is no arguing that this is a team that has lost their confidence. Turnovers, sloppy play and coverage breakdowns attest to this. So the closed door meeting, which coach Peter Laviolette refused to even acknowledge to the media, was mainly about this team needing to stay positive and remain tight as a group.

After the game both Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell confirmed this to CSNPhilly.
"It's on us to pick each other up and to support each other and be positive, Hartnell told CSNPhilly. "Its about attitude, it's about supporting each other and being good teammates."

Danny Briere reiterated Hartnell's point that they must stick together. "There's only one way of getting out of this (slump). You have to stick with each other," Briere said in an interview on CSNPhilly. "What's important is we stick together, come tomorrow and play with more passion. We have to stick together, do the right things and at some point if you work hard and play with passion good things are going to start to happen."

The Flyers have currently lost 3 games in a row. This is the third time this season that Philadelphia has dropped 3 straight game. After finally reaching .500 last week, the Flyers now fall to 11-14-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Andrej Meszaros returned to the Flyers lineup tonight after missing 21 games with a shoulder injury.
• Meszaros had 3 shots on goal, 3 blocked shots and 3 hits in 17:28 minutes.
• Read played in his second game since returning with a rib injury. Read was a -2 with 1 shot in 16:37 minutes against Pittsburgh, while today he was even, with 3 shots in 18:45 minutes.
• Flyers leading scorers Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux, and Wayne Simmonds were all held without any shots.
• The entire Flyers offense only took 14 shots all game.
• Ilya Bryzgalov has allowed 10 goals against in his last 3 games.
• Sean Couturier who has struggled mightily of late had a season low 10:40 minutes of ice time.
• Today's game marked only the second time the Voracek didn't register any shots on goal. 
• The Flyers have given up PowerPlay goals in 3 straight games.

Drop The Puck:
The Flyers get right back into action tomorrow night when they face the Buffalo Sabres.

Flyers Embarrass Themselves, Lose 3 Goal Lead to Pittsburgh

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered their worst loss of the season tonight as they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4.

The Flyers held a 3 goal lead after the first period, yet they allowed the Penguins to come all the way back in ... only 15 minutes.

15 minutes is all it took for the Penguins to score 3 goals to tie the game at 4 in the 2nd period. In fact after the Flyers played arguably their best period of the season in the 1st, outshooting Pittsburgh 18-4 while outscoring them 4-1, they followed it up with, by far, their worst period of the season. The Penguins came back as if it was expected. The Flyers just sat back and watched like the rest of us allowing Pittsburgh easy access to their defensive zone taking shot after shot and scoring goal after goal.

1 goal should have been the wake up call, 2 goals should have been the slap in the face. But it wasn't. The Flyers continued their lackluster play as Pittsburgh walked all over the same team that just outshot them 18-4 in the prior period. Then Pittsburgh finally tied the game.

This infuriated the Flyers and they came storming back for revenge and blood and fought with everything they had to obtain the important 'W' in which they knew they deserved ... wait, no they didn't.

They just took it.

And they took it some more.

And more.

And in the 3rd period with a chance at redeeming themselves, by scoring a goal and putting this all behind them, they surrendered another goal ... 18 seconds into the period.

After that, Pittsburgh taught Philadelphia a lesson on 'how to hold a lead:' play tight in the neural zone, get the puck in deep, put pressure on, and keep the puck out of your defensive zone. And they did a perfect job, sealing their victory.

Every Flyer is accountable. Forwards, defensemen, goalies, coaches ... everyone. At this point in the season a victory to just get back to .500 was imperative and a win in any fashion would have been a confidence booster. But losing a 3 goal lead and falling 2 games below .500 with a tough schedule coming up is back-breaking.

On top of that, they embarrassed yourselves and their fans, especially being at home, with such a demoralizing loss at such a crucial junction in the season.

It's time to for the Flyers to wake up.

Philadelphia fell to 11-13-1 on the season, 11th place.

Game Notes:

• Flyers goals were scored by Jake Voracek (2), Zac Rinaldo, and Kimmo Timonen.
• Penguins goals were scored by Chris Kunitz (2), Pascal Dupuis, Tyler Kennedy and James Neal.
• Timonen scored a goal and 2 assists, Rinaldo registered 1 goal and 1 assist and Voracek had 2 goals and 7 shots.
• Flyers went 2-4 on the PowerPlay while 2-3 on the penalty kill.
• Both starting goaltenders were pulled today. Marc Andre Fleury gave up 4 goals on 18 shots while Ilya Bryzgalov gave up 4 on 16 shots.
• Sidney Crosby had 3 assists.

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers will look to put this behind them on Saturday when they face the Boston Bruins at 1 PM.

Flyers Reach Halfway Point

The Philadelphia Flyers have officially reached the halfway mark of this shortened season already having played 24 games in 46 days. They are only 1 of 2 teams (Buffalo) to have played half the season in this short amount of time. The second half of the season will be a bit lighter as they will play their final 24 games in 53 days.

So how did their first half compare to the rest of the league (as of all completed games on March 5th):

Record:

• Overall: 11-12-1 for 23 points currently in 9th place, outside of the playoffs
• Home: 7-3-1; the 4th best record in the East
• Road: 4-9-0; 9 road losses is more than any other team in the NHL
• Overtime: 1-0
• Shootouts: 0-1 
• Streaks:
  
  • Longest winning streak: 2 games (4 times)
  • Longest losing streak: 3 games (twice)

Top 5 Goals of First Half: (in order of date)
(click on the link to see the goals)

1. Matt Read on January 26th vs Florida (the first goal of his hat trick)
2. Danny Briere on February 9th vs Carolina (overtime game winner)
3. Claude Giroux on February 18th vs NY Islanders
4. Nicklas Grossmann on February 20th vs Pittsburgh
5. Jake Voracek on March 2nd vs Ottawa 

Runner up:
Wayne Simmonds on February 23rd vs Winnipeg and again on March 2nd vs Ottawa 


Best and Worst Games:

• Most entertaining game of the Flyers season:
  • February 20th against the Pittsburgh Penguins: Flyers won 6-5
• Most well played game of the Season:
  • February 18th against the NY Islanders: Flyers won 7-0
• Most poorly played game of the season:
  • February 16th against the Montreal Canadiens: Flyers lost 4-1 and took a season low 19 shots.

Offense:

• Goals Scored: 68; 7th in the NHL
• Goals Per Game: 2.82; 12th in the NHL
• Period by Period Breakdown:
  • 1st Period: 23 goals; 5th in the NHL
  • 2nd Period: 25 goals; 5th in the NHL
  • 3rd Period: 19 goals; 16th in the NHL

Defense:

• Goals Against: 72; 5th worst in the league
• Goals Against Average: 2.97; 8th worst in NHL 
• Period by Period Breakdown:
  • 1st Period: 26 goals against; 2nd worst in NHL
  • 2nd Period: 17 goals against; 6th best in the NHL
  • 3rd Period: 28 goals against; 5th worst in the NHL

Special Teams:

• PowerPlay %: 22.2%; 6th in the NHL
• PowerPlay Goals: 22; 2nd in the NHL
• Penalty Kill %: 84.0%; 8th in the NHL
• Times Shorthanded: 100; most in the NHL
• Number of Minor Penalties Taken: 117; most in the NHL
• Times Shorthanded in 3rd Period: 36; most in the NHL
• Total Penalties: 149; most in the NHL
• Total PIM (Penalties in Minutes): 413; most in the NHL
• PIM Per Game: 17.2; most in the NHL

Real-time stats:

• Hits: 668; 2nd in the NHL (48 hits ahead of the 3rd placed team)
• Blocked Shots: 370; 2nd in the NHL
• Faceoffs: 47%; 25th in the NHL

Individual Stats:

• Leading Point Scorer: Jake Voracek - 27 points; 7th in the NHL
• Leading Goal Scorer: Jake Voracek and Wayne Simmonds - 10 goals; tied for 17th in the NHL
• Average Time on Ice: Brayden Coburn; 23:01 minutes
• Most PIM: Zac Rinaldo - 57; 7th in the NHL
• Faceoff %: Claude Giroux - 53.5%
• Most Faceoff Wins: Claude Giroux - 327; most in the NHL
• Hits: Luke Schenn - 91;  4th in the NHL and 1st among defensemen
• Blocked Shots: Nicklas Grossmann - 68; most in the NHL
• Plus/Minus: Luke Schenn - +4
• Giveaways: Brayden Coburn - 28; 3rd in the NHL
• Wins (by goaltender): Ilya Bryzgalov - 11; tied for most in the NHL

Injuries:

• On IR (Injured Reserve) before the season:
  • Chris Pronger: post concussion symptoms - out for season
  • Matt Walker: lower body injuries - out indefinitely
  • Marc Andre Bourdon: concussion - out indefinitely 
• Injured Players Who Have Returned:
  
  • Danny Briere: wrist - missed 4 games
  • Scott Hartnell: foot - missed 16 games
  • Wayne Simmonds: concussion - missed 3 games
  • Zac Rinaldo: skate laceration - missed 4 games
  • Sean Couturier: sickness - missed 2 games
• Currently Injured Players
  
  • Matt Read: torn ligaments in rib cage - missed 6 games - 
    • Current status: day to day
  • Andrej Meszaros: shoulder - missed 20 games 
    • Current status: day to day
  • Nicklas Grossmann: groin - left yesterday's (March 5th) game
    
    • Current status: day to day
  • Tye McGinn: broken orbital bone - missed 3 games
    • Current status: out 3 more weeks

Rangers Defeat Flyers in New York, Again

Rangers score 4 goals on 20 shots

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New York Rangers 4-2 tonight.

The Rangers have extended their winning streak as they have now beaten the Flyers in 6 straight games on their home ice in Madison Square Garden.

New York and Philadelphia started the 3rd period knotted at 2 apiece, but when it mattered the most the Rangers played better hockey.

Head coach Peter Laviolette summed up the game perfectly afterwards telling CSNPhilly, "We shot ourselves in the foot too many times. There weren't a lot of chances both ways. We made more mistakes than they did. And that's why they won the game."

The Flyers also lost key defenseman Nicklas Grossmann in the game. Grossmann, who leads the NHL in blocked shots, left the game after the 1st period with what was reported by FOX29 as a groin injury. Grossmann did not return and will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the severity.

Voracek and Simmonds both scoring 10th goal tonight

The 1st period saw an uncharacteristic 4 goals scored in what normally are low scoring affairs with the Rangers. There were more goals scored in the 1st period of tonight's game than there were in both of their previous 2 meetings (both were 2-1 games). The first 3 of those 4 goals were on the PowerPlay.

Ryan Callahan got the scoring started for the Rangers just a minute an a half into the game on their first PowerPlay. Callahan scored on a nice east to west set up.

The Flyers then responded with a PowerPlay goal of their own when Claude Giroux set up Wayne Simmonds in front for the tap in goal past Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Again on the PowerPlay, later in the period, Philadelphia capitalized for the second time. Simmonds found Jake Voracek wide open in the circle and Voracek made Rangers pay on the rebound after Lundqvist stopped the initial shot giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short lived for the Flyers as just over 2 minutes later with 40 seconds to go in the period, Callahan continued his strong play against the Flyers as he made a nice individual play to move around Luke Schenn and then beat Ilya Bryzgalov, who has had better games. Bryzgalov made 16 saves on 20 shots tonight.

Nash puts nail in coffin

The 2nd period was a more familiar one. Both teams combined for a total of 12 shots and no goals setting up for a tight final stanza.

However, the Rangers capitalized early. Rick Nash skated in on a 3 on 2 and beat Bryzgalov to the low blocker side giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead; a lead that they would never lose.

Nash would strike again later in the period taking advantage of a slow line change by Philadelphia, leading to a breakaway goal putting the nail in the coffin.

After the game, Claude Giroux told CSNPhilly, "We need to find a way to win those 3rd period games." And when asked how important the next game is, Giroux stressed urgency, "All our games are big. The next game is the biggest game of the season. After that we have to move on, and the next one will be the biggest game of the season."

And the next game of the season will be against the division leading Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Flyers fall to 11-12-1 on the season, 9th place in the East.

Game Notes:

• Ryan Callahan has scored 3 goals in 3 games against the Flyers this season. In 15 games against the rest of the league, Callahan only has 4 goals.
• Rangers defenseman Marc Staal left the game after getting hit in the face with the puck. Staal appeared to be in a lot of pain as he left the ice. He did not return.
• In the last 11 games versus the Rangers, this is the 10th time the Flyers failed to score more than 2 goals.
• Luke Schenn led the game in hits with 5.
• Tonight's game marked the halfway point in the season. When asked by CSNPhilly about how he thought the Flyers fared in the first half, Ilya Bryzgalov simply replied, "Not good...not good."

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action on Thursday when they host their cross state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Flyers Rangers: Round 3

The Philadelphia Flyers will go to New York to face the Rangers tonight. The Flyers (11-11-1) and the Rangers (10-8-2) will meet up for the 3rd time this season out of 5 scheduled meetings. The first 2 contests both ended 2-1 with the Flyers winning the first and the Rangers taking the second.

Both Philadelphia and New York are currently riding a 2-game winning streak; however, the Flyers have won 5 of their last 7, while the Rangers have lost 5 of their last 8 games. They are also both fighting for the final playoff spot in the East; the Flyers reside in 8th with 23 points, while the Rangers currently sit in 9th with 21.

Philadelphia will look to end their losing streak in New York tonight. The Flyers have lost 5 straight games in Madison Square Garden and haven't won there since February of 2011. In the last 10 games versus the Rangers, the Flyers are 1-8-1, having only scored more than 2 goals in a game once.

Who to look out for:
Rick Nash has been pivotal to the Rangers success this season. When Nash sat out with a concussion, the Rangers lost 4 straight games. However, with Nash in the lineup, New York has won 6 of their last 7 games. Also when Nash registers at least 1 point, the Rangers are 9-3. And they are 1-7 when Nash doesn't play or fails to score a point. Despite missing 4 games, Nash still leads the Rangers in points with 16.

Wayne Simmonds has been Mr. Clutch for the Flyers recently. Simmonds has the last 3 game winning goals in the Flyers last 3 victories. He also has 7 goals and 12 points in his last 11 games. Simmonds is currently tied for the Flyers lead in goals with 9 with Jake Voracek.

Who's in Net:
Ilya Bryzgalov (11-9-1, 2.61 GAA), who is tied for the NHL lead in wins, will make his 8th straight start in goal against Henrik Lundqvist (9-7-1, 2.28 GAA).

Injury Updates:
Matt Read (torn rib muscles) skated with the team yesterday with a regular contact jersey. Read, who says he still feels some discomfort, said he is ahead of the original 6 week estimate. Read hinted maybe 2-3 more weeks, but surprisingly didn't completely rule out this weekend.

Andrej Meszaros (shoulder) didn't skate with the team yesterday. While some thought maybe he suffered a setback, GM Paul Holmgren said that he sat out due to illness. Meszaros, who has been out since January 24th, will hope to return to action at some point this week.

Suspension/Recalls:
Harry Zolnierczyk was suspended for 4 games by the NHL Disciplinary Committee for his hit on Mike Lundin against the Ottawa Senators Saturday afternoon. Zolnierczyk launched himself into Lundin leaving the ice while making contact with Lundin's head. Lundin was forced to leave the game due to a concussion. Zolnierczyk has no prior history, yet because Lundin was injured on the play, the supplementary discipline was increased to 4 games. Zolnierczyk will miss his first of 4 games tonight.

The Flyers have recalled Eric Wellwood from the Adirondack Phantoms this mornings. It is not certain yet whether Wellwood or Mike Knuble will get the start today.

Drop the Puck:
The New York Rangers will host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7:30 PM.

Flyers Finally Reach .500, Defeat Senators

Voracek scores his 9th of the season

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 this afternoon.

Today's game was the 7th chance the Flyers had this season to pull to an even .500 record. They had lost their previous 6 chances but finally achieved that goal today.

This afternoon's contest marked the 5th and final game of the Flyers current home stand and with the victory the Flyers put up a winning 3-2 record. However, today's game was anything but easy. Ottawa came into this game having won 5 of their last 6 games.

Ottawa played very well in the first period, while the Flyers struggled a bit from the start. Then Harry Zolnierczyk got a 5 minute major for charging as he launched himself and connected with the head of the Senators forward Mike Lundin. Zolnierczyk will likely face further supplemental discipline. However, the Flyers were able to kill off the penalty and end the period scoreless due to the great play of Ilya Bryzgalov who made 14 saves on 14 shots including multiple chances at point black range keeping the Flyers alive.

Zolnierczyk launches into Senator

The 2nd period is where all the goal scoring took place. The Flyers turned their game around in the period and put constant pressure on the Senators outshooting them 22-9. Jake Voracek got the Flyers on the board first on a great individual effort. Voracek carried the puck into the offensive zone skating around the Senators defenseman then put the puck through the 5-hole of Ottawa's goaltender Ben Bishop.

Less than 4 minutes later Wayne Simmonds gave the Flyers a 2-goal lead. Brayden Schenn sent Simmonds on a breakaway from the blue line and he beat Bishop on the backhand through the 5-hole just as Voracek did earlier.

The lead was cut to 1, when Senator's defenseman Marc Methot beat Bryzgalov on a long shot from the point. Bryzgalov knew immediately that it was a shot he needed to stop as he stared at his glove in disbelief. Fortunately for Bryzgalov and the Flyers the goal didn't rattle him and he continued to play solidly following the hiccup. Bryzgalov stopped all 14 shots after the goal preserving the lead.

Simmonds scores the GWG

It was a hard fight to the finish to gain the all important 'W' for both teams and the 3rd period got a little rough because of it. Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson completely lost his composure as he cross-checked Zac Rinaldo to the back of his head when trying to stand up for a teammate who was hit cleanly by Rinaldo. Alfredsson received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Unfortunately the Flyers were unable to score on the ensuing PowerPlay.

Despite the failed efforts to score on the PowerPlay, the Flyers still played near perfect defense to close the game. They held the Senators to 1 shot in the final 10 minutes of the game, earning that 'W.'

With the win, Philadelphia is currently seated in the 8th spot as they improve to 11-11-1 on the season for 23 points.

Game Notes:

Bryz wins 200th career game

• Ilya Bryzgalov won his 200 career game today.
• Claude Giroux's 6 game point streak was snapped today as he was held off the scoreboard for just the 2nd time in his last 10 games.
• It wasn't for a lack of effort: Giroux took a season high 9 shots in 23:02 minutes.
• Nicklas Grossmann led the team with 5 blocked shots while Luke Schenn led the way with 6 hits.
• Both teams went 0-5 on the man-advantage even though they both had a 5-minute major PowerPlay.
• The Flyers end their home stand 3-2. They went 6-22 on the PowerPlay while going 17-18 on the penalty kill.

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

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers go to New York to play the Rangers on Tuesday night.