Flyer Flyer, Net On Fire

Celebrated National Hockey Column Month, which is February, at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Wednesday. Walked into the press room and the regulars looked at each other and said, "Oh, man. Is it February already? Where did the season go?"

They pretended they were joking, but you know how those guys are. Post-sarcasm, I talked to Marty Biron for a column in Thursday's editions of The Inquirer and Philly.com. The goaltender, so great in last year's playoffs, has been sort of average this season and it's time to hit the gas -- which he did in two wins over the weekend.

The Flyers have been using both Biron and Antero Niittymaki recently and the old saying is that a hockey team with two goaltenders has no goaltenders.

A couple things Biron said that didn't make the column, but were interesting, include how slumps happen during the long, 82-game season.

Biron: "Sometimes, you get an average game and you say, 'Ah, you know what? Bad bounces. And you keep going and the next one you say, 'Ah, another one, just OK, but I wasn't lucky here and there.' Then you realize it's three or four games down the road and it's been two weeks and you've got to put a stop to it... You look at what makes you successful and it's because you created the good bounces, you created the luck, you created the effort saves and all that. That's what makes a difference."

The Flyers are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but only nine points ahead of the ninth seed, so it's time for a difference-maker. Last season, that was Biron. This season? We'll find out.