There are a lot of hockey adages, and they all serve the game well.

One of those proverbs, that a two-goal lead is the worst in hockey, is engrained in a hockey player's head at an early age.

Everyone knows that if one goal is scored by the trailing team, they now have the momentum to go out and get a second to tie and a third to win.

"A two-goal lead at home - that's the worst lead in hockey," Anaheim's Teemu Selanne said after Saturday's game against the Flyers.

Why?

"There's always a little bit in the back of your mind that, 'This is going to be an easy one,' " Selanne said.

Selanne knew it. Everyone knew it. Except for the Flyers. They thought it would be easy in the third period.

"We feel pretty good about going into the third period with a 2-0 lead," Chris Pronger said during the second intermission, moments after scoring his first goal of the season.

Pronger, one of the Flyers' assistant captains, was supposed to help change the attitude in the locker room this season. The former Stanley Cup winner was brought in to help avoid situations like what happened Saturday.

But Selanne, nicknamed the Finnish Flash for good reason, torched the Flyers for two goals in the final 6 minutes and netted the game-winner in the shootout.

"We should push that team further away and let them react to us," coach John Stevens said Saturday night. "I thought we let them hang around."

Shocking, right? New team. New season. Same result, reminiscent of last season's Game 6 debacle against Pittsburgh on home ice in which the Flyers blew a three- - not two- - goal lead.

"A 2-0 hockey game, two points has to be in your pocket," Stevens said. "We let that point slip away. The only saving grace is that it's to a Western Conference team."

Here's the problem: That's the attitude of the rest of the team. In this NHL, with divisions and playoff spots being decided by single points, there are no points to spare.

There is no saving grace.

Bonding time

The Flyers kicked off a week-long team bonding session yesterday by having a barbecue before watching the Eagles punch Tampa Bay in the mouth. The entire team sat in Section 236 at the Linc, among the Philly faithful.

The Flyers will travel to Fort Lauderdale tonight to begin preparations for Friday's game against the Florida Panthers. Between now and then, they will have a fishing tournament and a regatta-style sailing competition on the Atlantic Ocean to get to know everyone better.

Don't worry, though. They still will be practicing on the ice every day.

Ticket prices stay steady

Team Marketing Research recently came out with its 2009-10 NHL Fan Cost Index and, with the recession, noted that the average ticket is just 0.3 percent higher than last season.

At least someone is thinking.

Thirteen teams kept prices the same, 12 increased and five decreased. That's a dramatic change from the past three seasons, when ticket prices rose by 16.7 percent.

The Fan Cost Index takes a look at the cost of taking a family of four to a game - including four tickets, two draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, two game programs, two team hats and parking - and the Flyers are the eighth most expensive team to see at $323.30.

Toronto ($585.57) is the most expensive overall and the Rangers ($364.49) are the most expensive American team. The league average is $301.00.

Man of his word

Kudos to Dallas Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh.

He made a guarantee that the Stars would top Nashville in their home opener at American Airlines Center and when the Stars didn't win, Reaugh, through his blog, said he is giving everyone who attended that game a free ticket to come back this week.

"Enjoy your free game people," Reaugh wrote. "But do so knowing that the Reaugh girls just had Christmas cancelled."

Slap shots

Defenseman Danny Syvret was scratched for the second straight game on Saturday in favor of Ole-Kristian Tollefsen ... James van Riemsdyk is still recovering from concussion-like symptoms but is expected to be ready to play by Friday.

ON ICE

BY THE NUMBERS

-- 4: Consecutive games in which defenseman Matt Carle has recorded at least one point. Carle is tied for the team lead in points with eight (one goal, seven assists).

-- 6: Goals by Mike Richards, who leads the NHL. Alex Ovechkin, by the way, is second with five. Richards' total got a boost last Tuesday with his second-period hat trick against Ovechkin and the Capitals.

-- 219: Consecutive regular-season games played by Jeff Carter.

THE WEEK AHEAD

At Florida, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

What to expect: The Panthers have struggled since returning from the NHL's debut in Helsinki, Finland, to open the season, dropping games to Carolina and the New Jersey Devils. Both teams will be well-rested. The Flyers will have had 5 days off and Florida will have had a 3-day break. It will be interesting to see how the Flyers respond after an intense, weeklong team bonding experience with water games on the Atlantic Ocean.

AROUND THE NHL

A Return to Quebec City?

The mayor of Quebec City, Regis Labeaume, met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday in New York to discuss a potential NHL return to Quebec's capital city. Labeaume called the talks "very profitable, very worthwhile," according to ESPN.com. Bettman said he would consider Quebec City for a possible franchise if it followed through on plans to build an arena, found corporate support, and the league had a team for sale. It would be nice to see those Nordiques threads again, eh?

Whiteout in Phoenix

Good for the Coyotes. Selling tickets for a bankrupt team that might move might have been the worst job in sports. But the Coyotes sold out their home opener (17,532) on Saturday, thanks to $25 seats in the lower bowl and $15 in the upper deck, creating a whiteout inside with white T-shirts, a tradition dating back to the franchise's days in Winnipeg. However, the Coyotes lost to Columbus, 2-0.