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Painful Victory for Flyers: Carcillo, JVR, and Krajicek require stitches

The Flyers trailed the Islanders 2-0 halfway into the second period of Tuesday's game.  In the end, they would come back to win 3-2, their 15th consecutive victory against the Islanders - a franchise record!  

It was a painful victory for the Flyers, with Dan Carcillo, James Van Riemsdyk, and Lukas Krajicek leaving the ice for medical repairs along the way.

Lukas Krajicek was struck in the face by Islanders' Frans Nielson as he went down to block a shot.  A good amount of blood was dripping from his face as he left the ice, requiring stitches above his eyelid.  

Moments later, JVR took a puck to the chin, requiring roughly 25-stitches.

Lastly, Dan Carcillo was sliced by the skate of Islanders' Tim Jackman along the boards.  He was cut on the thigh, right above his knee.  He required 27-stitches.

Never count these guys out; all three returned to the ice!

For Game Recap, Click Here!

Flyers overcome 2-0 deficit - Beat Islanders for 15th consecutive time

FINAL	1	2	3	T
ISLANDERS	1	1	0	2
FLYERS	0	1	2	3

Halfway into the second period, the Flyers trailed the Islanders 2-0.  They were getting their chances, but allowed the Islanders to control the game to that point.

Just a few minutes after the Islanders scored their second goal, Jeff Carter scored his 31st goal of the season.  Momentum quickly shifted.  The Flyers out-shot the Islanders 11-5 in the second period.

Penalties killed the Islanders in the third.  Eight minutes in, Claude Giroux tied it up with a power-play goal, his 14th goal of the season.  Roughly five minutes later, Simon Gagne gave them the lead with a power-play goal.  The Flyers held on to win 3-2.

• Flyers won their 15th straight victory over the Islanders, a franchise record!

Penalties:  It was great to see the Flyers play a disciplined game.  Playing short-handed took a 2-1 lead away from the Islanders, and left them trailing 3-2.  Penalties will kill a team, and the Flyers always seem to take them.  They did okay Tuesday night, giving the Islanders just one power-play opportunity.  They killed it off!  Penalties were the difference between a win and a loss in Tuesday's game.  It's important to stay out of the box!

Simon Gagne:  He is making his presence known!  He has now scored in three consecutive games, and has 5-goals in the 5-games played since returning from the Olympic break.  This is the Gagne the Flyers need!     

Pictures from Flyers/Lightning Game in Tampa - 3/2/2010

Hey everybody, I was down in the Tampa area last week for the beginning of the Phillies Spring Training, and was fortunate enough to make it to Tuesday's Flyers/Lightning game at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.  I thought it would be fitting to share some pictures I took...

        

I have to say, there were a lot of orange shirts in the crowd!

For a recap of the game, click here!

Flyers Beat Maple Leafs 3-1

After losing two in a row, the Flyers knock off the Leafs 3-1.  They are now 2-1-1 since returning from the Olympic break.

• Michael Leighton had a strong performance, stopping 27-of-28 shots.  
• Special Teams: Flyers were 1-for-6, while killing off all four short-handed situations.
• Flyers goals by: Jeff Carter (30), Simon Gagne (11), and Danny Briere (23)
• Toronto out-shot Philadelphia 28-25

Dan Carcillo deserves credit for discipline, however, the opposite is true for Leafs' Colton Orr.  During the first period, Orr tried to mix it up with Carcillo along the boards, but Carcillo didn't take the bait.  

Orr ended up in the box for 4-minutes.The Flyers failed to capitalize on the power-play, but Orr came through for the Flyers moments later.  While short-handed, Orr ran over goalie Michael Leighton, giving the Flyers a 2-man-advantage.  Jeff Carter scored on the power-play, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

This is the way Carcillo needs to play!  He plays with tons of heart, but is often costly when taking stupid penalties.  If he can stay out of the box, he will be productive - not to mention the penalties opponents will take against him along the way.  Carcillo ended up with an assist in the game.

FINAL	1	2	3	T
MAPLE LEAFS	0	1	0	1
FLYERS	1	2	0	3

Flyers return strong - crush Lightning 7-2

The Flyers returned to action on a positive note!  Winning seventeen of their last twenty five games, the Flyers were hot.  Then - a 16-day break from action, along with the news that goalie Ray Emery was lost for the remainder of the season - would they lose their stride? 

The answer, apparently not!  It didn't look good from the start, but momentum eventually swung in favor of the Flyers.  They were out-shot 13-8 in the first period, and were lucky to head into the third period tied at two.  

The third period was a huge turnaround, however, with the Flyers scoring five unanswered goals.  Special teams killed Tampa Bay in the third.  Within five-minutes of the period, Gagne scored two power-play goals.  Shortly after, Jeff Carter scored a short-handed goal.

• Flyers' goals scored by: Mike Richards, Dan Carcillo, Simon Gagne (two goals - both power-play), James Van Riemsdyk, Claude Giroux, and Jeff Carter (SH)
• Special Teams looked good!  The Flyers power-play was 3-for-9, while killing off all 7 short-handed situations.

Michael Leighton:  With Emery out, the weight falls on Leighton.  He has been superb, but there were many questions left to be answered.  Was he overachieving?  Was this eventually going to go away?  Would he lose momentum following the Olympic break layoff?  I had my concerns!  I have been waiting for him to become the same guy that was cut by the Hurricanes earlier in the year.  

His return couldn't have been any better!  He continued to be solid for Philadelphia, coming up with big saves at crucial times.  He stopped 36-of-38 shots.  If he continues at this level, the Flyers have everything they need in net going into the playoffs.

Simon Gagne:  Great to see Gagne with a multiple goal game.  He had played solid hockey prior to the Olympic break, but couldn't catch a break.  He managed just 2-goals in his last 21-games.  He looked good, was handling the puck well, and registered a couple power-play goals.  Nice!

Jeff Carter:  Carter also struggled offensively for parts of the season, but headed into the Olympic break on a roll, scoring 5-goals in his last 4-games.  It was nice to see the break didn't disrupt him!  His short-handed breakaway goal was sweet!

Ray Emery on Injured Reserve - Flyers look to add Dan Hamhuis

Flyers' goalie Ray Emery was place on long-tern injured reserve on Monday, clearing up salary cap space.  In addition, Riley Cote was cut.  These moves clear up over $2-million in salary cap (Emery $1.5-M and Cote $550K).

Emery has been sidelined with injuries most of the season.  After a strong start, he underwent surgery to repair a torn abdomon muscle, but after returning, injury forced him out once again.  Michael Leighton has filled in nicely!  Placing Emery on the injured reserve does not mean he cannot come back, but his return has been somewhat questionable for some time.

The Flyers apparently have interest in Nashville Predators' defenseman Dan Hanhuis.  Hanhuis is a solid defenseman that moves the puck well.  This could be a nice pick-up for the Flyers as they head towards the playoffs!  Ryan Parent and Braydon Coburn are rumored to be traded for Hanhuis.

Flyers are Back - Returning Medal Winners Set to Take on Lightning

The Flyers return to the ice tonight following a 16-day break in favor of the Olympic Games.  They will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

Team USA may not have won us a Gold, but we welcome back some medal winners who will hopefully help us win a Cup!  

Gold: Canada

• Mike Richards 2-G 3-A 5-Points    in     7-Games
• Chris Pronger 0-G 5-A 5-Points    in    7-Games

Bronze: Finland

• Kimmo Timonen 2-G 2-A 4-Points    in    6-Games

It will be interesting to see if the Flyers can get back into the swing of things.  Earlier in the season, they deeply struggled, losing 14-of-17 games - including an overtime loss.  They were able to get back on track, winning 17 of their last 25 games before heading into the Olympic break.  Let's hope it didn't break their momentum! 

USA fails to win Gold, but Flyers' Chris Pronger and Mike Richards do!

Assuming most people reading this blog - being Flyers' fans - were rooting for Team USA in the Olympics, it was disappointing to see them fall short when a Gold was so close within reach!

It would be tough to make an argument that USA was a better team than Canada, but you can't argue that a Gold Medal was out of the question.  They entered the Gold Medal game undefeated, including a victory over Canada.  Despite being out-shot 45-22, USA won 5-3.  It would be tough to beat them again, but held their ground.  Trailing 2-1 with 25-seconds left, they tied it up, sending the game into sudden-death overtime.

It wasn't meant to be.  Sidney Crosby - the enemy on different levels - scored the game-winning goal, giving Canada the Gold.

USA may have lost, but a few of our guys prevailed.  Mike Richards and Chris Pronger represented Team Canada, and will be bringing Gold Medals back to Philly.

Hey, I guess it's better than nothing!

Kimmo Timonen Wins Bronze - Congratulations!

Flyers' defenseman Kimmon Timonen will be bringing a Bronze Medal back to Philly with him following Finland's 5-3 victory over Slovakia on Saturday.  

Timonen had two assitsts in the game, ending the tournament with 2-goals, 2-assists, and 4-points in 6-games.

Along with Timonen, ex-Flyers' Antero Niittymaki and Joni Pitkanen are members of Team Finland.

 

For a game recap, click here!

Chris Pronger helps Canada advance to Gold Medal Game

Team Canada narrowly advanced to the Gold Medal Game, beating Slovakia 3-2.  They dominated for two periods, heading into the third with a 3-0 lead.  Momentum changed in the third, with Slovakia dominating the period, but it wasn't enough.  Canada will face Team USA on Sunday for the Gold Medal.

Flyers' defenseman Chris Pronger made an impact in the game, registering an assist on two of Canada's goals.  

 

Ex-Flyer Michal Handzus scored a goal in the game, and came close on many other occasions.  He's a solid player!  He scores a fair amount of goals, is a fine defensive forward, and is one of the best penalty killers in the game.  I wish we never got rid of him!

For Recap, Click Here