The Flyers invade HP Pavilion, aka The Shark Tank, in San Jose this evening. Photo by Astro Guy on Flickr.

View full size photo »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

• Last night's NHL scores... CAR 6, TOR 5 (SO) - BOS 4, ATL 3 (SO) - OTT 6, PIT 2 - STL 3, PHX 2 - NSH 3, NJD 2 - CBJ 4, DAL 1 - CHI 7, CGY 1 -  ANA 4, TBL 3 (OT)
• We're gearing up for tonight's showdown with West-leading San Jose with previews from the Inquirer, NHL.com, and San Jose Mercury News. Slim selection today...
• Ray Emery will be in net this evening.
• Out in San Jose, they won't get a chance to see every East Coast team. Thanks, NHL. [Mercury News]
• Get your Flyers and Sixers at recession buster prices. Someone tell them the recession is over... [Gormley]
• The Flyers defense has been good. [Daily News]
• Notably, Matt Carle has been good. The effects of The Pronger rear their head... [CSN]
• Jari Kurri runs things in Finland, and he likes Mika Pyorala's game. The word Olympics has been mentioned. [Bucks Co. Times]
• The Flyers are usually plagued with injuries, and while we haven't be exempt this season, it clearly hasn't been as bad as in recent years. Philadelphia ranks 20th in the league, on pace to lose 183 man games to injury this season. [From The Rink]
• There was another incidence last night where referees had to use their discretion on the "intent to blow the whistle" rule. I don't think it was as bad, nor as obvious, as the terrible call in the Stars/Wings game the other night, but this one was in OT, so it's clearly not good. It went against the Leafs, so we need a Toronto-based site to break this down. Just for laughs, if nothing else. [Pension Plan Puppets]
• Dallas' James Neal scrambles Derek Dorsett's eggs. Suspension worthy? [Kukla's]
• Scott Niedermayer tries to give a stick to a little girl, but two drunken idiots decide they want it more. Brawling ensues on live television. [Puck Daddy]

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

• Last night's NHL scores... Flyers 3, Kings 2 - FLA 6, BUF 2 - DAL 3, DET 1 - PHX 3, MIN 2 - EDM 6, COL 4
• Recaps of last night's/this morning's squeaker in LA from the AP, NHL.com, the Inquirer, Daily News, Bucks Co. Times, CSN Philly, the Kings (and much more at Kings Insider), FGSB, and Flying P.
• Several articles about Randy Jones playing the Flyers for the first time. [Inquirer] - [Daily News] - [CSN]
• Keith Primeau speaks on living life with head injuries. [Daily News]
• This story was posted by Geoff in the FanShots yesterday, but I wanted to put more of a spotlight on it here. Apparently, Metro Philadelphia thinks that Darroll Powe is a defenseman. I've reached out to the editor for comment, so hopefully we'll have more on this later. [Metro]
• The Phantoms won last night 2-0 over Toronto. Tim McManus: "How do you have a winning record (8-6-1-0) when you’ve scored just 34 times in 15 games? By only allowing 37" Johan Backlund has been great. [Post-Star]
• Adirondack has a game on Thanksgiving. Really, AHL? [Phantoms]
• The worst call all season. And I don't think this can be topped. From Wings-Stars last night... [Puck Daddy]
• CSN is giving away a trip to Boston for the Winter Classic. [CSN]
• I firmly believe the Flyers are contenders; they got better over the summer and they’re used to playing without Simon Gagne anyway. They had great special teams last year, and Chris Pronger has been playing at a Norris Trophy level so far this season. [Hockey Or Die]
• Become a fan of Broad Street Hockey on Facebook. [Facebook]

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

1 day ago: Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, left, tries to stop a shot by Philadelphia Flyers left wing Daniel Carcillo, right, as Kings' Matt Greene defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Browse more photos »

[Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Complete Coverage] - [LAK Reaction]

These 10:30 PM ET start times are pretty rough. It's already an hour into Thursday here in the East, so I'm going to cut right into the bullet points:

• Big Flyers fan presence in LA, as per usual.  There was an enormous Flyers flag in the corner to Quick's right throughout the first, and around the rest of the arena there was a ton of visible orange.  Good on the Flyers to give the faithful a win.
• I'd give Brian Boucher a B+ for his performance in this game, his first win of the season.  The first goal he allowed was easily the softest goal a Flyers goalie has let in all year, but he only let in one more after that, making 37 saves on 39 shots.  Good numbers, but he looked far from rock solid or even steady for most of the game.  But a win is a win is a win.
• Speaking of shot totals, the Flyers got absolutely dominated in this category for the first time all year, almost getting doubled up by the count of 39-20, including a ridiculous 21-5 deficit in the third period.  For a team that regularly breaks 40 in this category, it came out of nowhere.  The Flyers did get a lot of pressure and puts down low in the Kings end, though, so the numbers are a little scarier than the reality was. And the bigger numbers, 3-2, are the ones that matter in the end.
• The diving backhand Mika Pyorala netted for his first career goal is the stuff of dreams.  He was playing notably better for the rest of the game, hopefully indicating that scoring a goal lifted a big weight off his shoulders and will let him regain the free flowing form he showed in the pre-season.
• James van Riemsdyk is looking more and more like a legit threat to win the Calder Trophy with every game.  His goal was super aware and super pretty, and he's just generally pretty super.  It's been a long time since the Flyers had a guy this great out of the gate, not since Simon Gagne, at least.
• Speaking of young guys, that Drew Doughty fellow they've got over there is ridiculous.  Glad he's not in the East.
• The shot with under 20 seconds left that snuck through Boucher's legs and squeaked along the goal line definitely took years off the life of any Flyers fan watching.
• The win was the Flyers' seventh in their last eight games, which is pretty friggin' awesome.
• The win also puts the Flyers in sole possession of third in the Atlantic, and only three points behind Pittsburgh with three games in hand.

After the jump, Travis' pregame questions answered, the video highlights from the game, and your comments on the win.

Continue reading this post »

Matt Carle and Teddy Purcell, two modern knights in the Flyers-Kings joustings. (Photo via Life Magazine)

View full size photo »

One of the biggest surprises early on in this nascent NHL campaign is the Los Angeles Kings, who have stunned many by racing out to a 13-7-2 start that has them in fourth place in the Western Conference. And while most Flyers fans don't know (or care) a whole lot about the Kings, there's a lot of ice under the bridge between these two squads.

Along with the Penguins, Blues, North Stars, and Golden Seals, the Flyers and Kings were part of the six-team expansion of the NHL in 1967.  The two have had a pretty long (but not particularly storied) history with one another, the latest chapter of which is set to be written at 10:30 ET tonight, in the House That Kobe Built.

With that historical perspective in mind, here are some things you almost certainly do not know about the Los Angeles Kings, seen through orange-tinted lenses:

• The Flyers and Kings have played 135 times, with the Flyers posting an 80-37-16 record in those contests.  None too shabby.  The Flyers are also a pretty awesome 38-22-8 all-time in Los Angeles.
• 17 of those 80 Flyers wins over the Kings were of the shut out variety, including four each by Bernie Parent and Doug Favell, and two each by Wayne Stephenson, Pelle Lindbergh, and Roman Cechmanek.

• The 1974-75 season, best known in these parts for being the year of the Flyers' last Stanley Cup win, was also the most successful regular season in Kings history in terms of points.  The Kings 105 point total was largely because of their incredible number of ties, with their 42-17-21 record including more ties than losses.  Sadly for the Kings, there are no ties in the playoffs, and the Kings bowed out in three games to the Maple Leafs in the first round.

• The Kings have only won their division once in 41 seasons (1990-91 Smythe Division), a number that compares none-too favorably with the Flyers fifteen division crowns over the same time period.
• The Kings and Flyers have never met in the playoffs, making the Kings the oldest team still in existence that the Flyers have never faced in the postseason.  
• Recent Flyers Hall of Fame Inductee Dave Schultz was traded to the Kings in September of 1976 in exchange for two picks (4th Rd 1977 and 2nd Rd 1978).
• Powered almost entirely by Head Coach Barry Melrose's hair gel, the Kings made the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, their only trip to date to the last stage of the playoffs.  The Kings lost to the Canadiens in five.  In a feat not likely to be repeated any time soon, the Kings played all four of their playoff series against Canadian teams, knocking off the Flames, Canucks, and Maple Leafs on their way to the final.  That means that "O Canada" was played eleven times in The Forum during the playoffs, a record for an American arena.  The Flyers also didn't face an American team during the 1993 playoffs.  Or any team, for that matter.
• In the fourteen seasons since that run, the Kings have only won one playoff series, a first round upset of the Red Wings in 2001.  The Flyers have fared somewhat better, winning thirteen series.

Little of that will matter come tonight though.  With Anze Kopitar and the two or three other Kings you might have heard of at the wheel, there's a pretty good team in Los Angeles these days.  But the Flyers are awesome themselves, so it should make for a decidedly good late slate of hockey. 

It definitely beats watching that terrible new Jay  Leno Show, that's for sure.

After the jump, a look back at the most recent Kings foray into Philadelphia, from last February, as well as any comments or thoughts you may have on the Flyers-Kings match-up.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

4 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Danny Briere, left, and New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur watch the puck bounce loose after Brodeur blocked a shot by Briere in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

• Last night's NHL scores... WSH 4, NYR 2 - MTL 3, CAR 2 (SO) - OTT 3, TOR 2 - NSH 4, SJS 3 - COL 3, CGY 2
• The Flyers are in Los Angeles preparing to take on the Kings at 10 Eastern tonight. We've got previews from NHL.com, the Inquirer, Daily News, Bucks Co. Times, and Meltzer. I don't even think the LA papers have a Kings beat writer now that Rich Hammond has moved his operations to the Kings' website. Be sure to check out lakingsinsider.com, though. SBN's Battle of California should have something later as well.
• The only thing I could find from the LA Times was this three paragraph blurb on Schultz's HOF induction. One of those paragraphs were a quote of Anthony SanFillippo. [LA Times]
• Want a free t-shirt? Who's gonna score the most points on this upcoming road trip? [FGSB]
• Brendan Shanahan has retired from the NHL. [From The Rink]
• After a "lazy" road loss in Philadelphia, the Devils took no rest on Tuesday. [Star-Ledger]
• Goal celebration goes terribly wrong. Side note: why do people insist on throwing an annoying song over a perfectly good video? [FanHouse]
• NHL teams, and really, teams in every pro sport, have taken up the practice of legalizing scalping on internet marketplace's like StubHub and so TeamExchange. Here's how they make their money. [Mike Chen]
• Colton Orr just absolutely demolishes Matt Carkner. [YouTube]
• Thanks to everybody who listened to BSH Radio last night. If you missed the show, however, the recording is now up. We should be listed on iTunes soon as well. To get the recording, look over on the right side bar here at the site. In the player that's embedded, you can play the show right from your computer. Or, you can download an mp3 at our page on Talkshoe, linked right here. Apparently my mic wasn't on for the first five seconds or so. What an idiot.

The state-of-the-art radio facilities here at BSH. We wish.

View full size photo »

Tonight, join myself, Ben, and Geoff as we delve into all things Flyers on the premiere edition of Broad Street Hockey Radio. The show will begin at 7 PM ET, but the live stream will be available beginning at 6:45. How do I get to the stream, you ask? Don't fear. Just come right here at show time to broadstreethockey.com and the player will be located right at the top of the page.

On tonight's show, we'll break down the Flyers 3-2 win over New Jersey from a night ago and look ahead to a brutal road trip that sees the orange and black travel out west to face off against some of the best teams the other conference has to offer. We'll also take a look at the brewing competition for the third defensive pairing, and we'll make our selections for the Flyers All-Decade Team.

Of course, we'll be taking your calls all show long. The number to call in is (724) 444-7444, with a Call ID of 66314.

If you can't tune in live, you'll be able to catch a recording of the show at your leisure beginning about 15 minutes after we go off the air.

We'll see you tonight!

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

• Last night's NHL scores... Flyers 3, Devils 2 - NYI 4, BOS 1 - CBJ 3, EDM 2 (SO) - PIT 5, ANA 2 - LAK 4, FLA 3 (SO) - TBL 4, PHX 1
• We've got recaps of last night's from NHL.com, CBC, the Inquirer, Daily News, CSN Philly, the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger, the Bucks Co. Times, the NY Post, FGSB, Meltzer, and In Lou We Trust.
• ... and stories on Dave "The Hammer" Schultz's induction into the Flyers Hall of Fame from the Flyers' official site, the Daily News, the Bucks Co. Times, and Anthony SanFillippo. 
• Schultz speaking pre-game about the current problem with headshots in the NHL: "Get rid of the instigator and I bet most of the players would be a lot more careful with those hits to the end (sic?). There are no consequences. And the equipment is out of hand. I want the guys to be protected, but the shoulder pads now are a joke. When I played, I wouldn't hit a guy with my shoulder. I would hurt my shoulder!" [FanHouse]
  
• A transcript of John Stevens' post-game presser. [Courier-Post]
• Arron Asham suffered an oblique strain in the game and he won't make the trip out west with the team this week. He'll miss about two weeks, overall. [Inquirer]
• David Laliberte has been recalled from Adirondack to replace Asham. He'll meet the team in Los Angeles. [Post-Star]
• The Florida Panthers have a new owner, and when asked if his club is the next Phoenix, he says "Absolutely not. It's not even a good comparison at all" The man's name is Stu Siegel, and he has a Philadelphia connection as a former member of the UPenn hockey club. [Puck Daddy]
• You've probably realized that Comcast SportsNet in our fair city has re-branded themselves as "CSN Philly" and that they're pushing content on their website more and more, even introducing television reporters as "CSNPhilly.com Insiders." Could this be a preemptive strike at ESPN by Comcast, as they deepen their local roots? [The Sporting Blog]
• A defense of the Bullies-era of hockey in regards to today's headshot issue. [USA Today]
• The top-10 worst teams of the decade. Guess which one of ours makes the cut... [PD]
• Broad Street Hockey Radio goes LIVE tonight at 7 PM Eastern. Just come right here to the homepage later today for everything you need to know.

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

There was no melee. There were no fights. There were no teeth knocked out, nor was there any blood drawn. But the Philadelphia Flyers honored Dave "The Hammer" Schultz as best they could with a 3-2 win on his night, tonight. Yes, the story of the night, regardless of the score, was his induction into the Flyers Hall of Fame.

His name will live forever in the rafters of the Wachovia Center and every subsequent building the Flyers call home. After tonight, he will be forever enshrined as one of the greats in team history, an honor reserved for just twenty of the hundreds of players that ever pulled on an orange and black sweater. He thanked his teammates, the front office staff, his coach, his family, and us.

But after the nostalgic ceremonies, there was a hockey game to be played, and the current incarnation of the Broad Street Bullies would successfully halt the streaking New Jersey Devils. They entered the game with an eight game win streak and they exited it with a one game losing streak and their first road loss on the season. How did Philadelphia do it?

For starters, Ray Emery put together another excellent game. It's one thing to out-duel Martin Brodeur in one game, as Emery did when these teams first met last month. But to do it in two games against him, as a member of the team he's owned for his entire career, is something else. Emery made 33 saves in total, and many of them came in an up and down first period that the Flyers escaped with a 1-0 lead. If it weren't for Emery's performance in the first twenty minutes, in which he made 14 of his saves -- many of them difficult -- the face of the game could've been vastly different.

The Flyers took over the contest in the second period, stretching their lead on a Scott Hartnell power play tally before penalties would turn around and haunt them. You can sit and debate the weak tripping call on Mike Richards at the 15:18 mark of the second period all you want, but when it comes down to it, the Devils capitalized on the 5-on-3 chance they had following it, trimming the Flyer lead to 2-1. 

New Jersey was outplayed by the Flyers in the second, but to come out of the period with only a one-goal deficit was huge for them. It was also a credit to Brodeur, as well, who played great in the second. For a team that had made it their M.O. this season to come from behind on the road, the Devils felt good as they entered the third. Luckily, the Flyers came out and proved that they weren't going to let NJ come back on their ice.

James van Riemsdyk would score a power play tally on a fumbled pokecheck by Brodeur with about nine minutes left in the game, and then played suffocating hockey the rest of the way. The Devils would strike with less than a second left in the game, but it was obviously too little, too late as the orange and black sent them packing.

After the jump, a few more assorted thoughts from the evening, we'll answer our pre-game questions, grab some popcorn and watch the highlights, and select a comment of the night.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Dave Schultz speaks during his induction ceremony to the Flyers' Hall of Fame.

Browse more photos »

Good luck, and God bless the Philadelphia Flyers.

>> Dave Schultz, pointing to the Flyers bench

Prior to this evening's game at the Wachovia Center, the Flyers inducted Dave "The Hammer" Schultz into the team's Hall of Fame. He is the 20th player to receive the honor. The ceremony reportedly went long and the organization will likely be fined by the league for delaying the start of the game. Any fine levied is well worth it, however, and I'm sure Ed Snider agrees. UPDATE: According to Anthony SanFillippo, the Flyers were given an extension for puck drop. They just made the 7:20 PM deadline, meaning no fine will be handed out.

It would've been fitting for the team to be handed a penalty by the league on Dave Schultz night.

Take a jump and check out the videos from the arena tonight, courtesy of the Flyers and the NHL.

Continue reading this post »

Dave Schultz will enter the Flyers Hall of Fame this evening.

View full size photo »

From a total lack of identity in the sixties, two players gave the Flyers their character in the seventies. Bobby Clarke gave them their hard-working, tenacious, never-say-die quality, while Dave Schultz gave them their sneering, cocky, even arrogant "Broad Street Bullies" temperament.

>> Gene Hart, the Voice, in his 1990 book SCORE!

Following the 1969 season, the Philadelphia Flyers were a two-year-old organization with an identity crisis. They had been defeated by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. But it wasn't just the fact that they had lost -- after all, Ed Snider, Bud Poile, Keith Allen, and the rest of the Flyers' brass knew it wouldn't be easy going as an expansion franchise.

No, it was the way they lost. The Blues absolutely stomped all over Philadelphia in the 1969 West Division Quarterfinals. They embarrassed every single player that wore orange and black and every single person that worked in the front office. Jacques Plante stood on his head in goal while his comrades in front of him beat the living daylights out of the Flyers en route to a four-game sweep. While Philadelphia went home ashamed, the Blues went on to second of what would be three straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances.

What nobody knew at the time, however, was that the Flyers would win two Cups in the next decade, while the Blues still have yet to hoist the trophy in their history. But if it weren't for that beatdown at the hands of St. Louis in 1969, there might not have been a parade down Broad Street in 1974 or 1975. If not for that beatdown, the Flyers would have never realized the identity that still follows them to this day.

Continue reading this post »