Archive: February, 2013
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
A dozen observations from the Flyers’ 3-2 shootout loss to visiting Florida on Thursday.
1. Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has been superb this season, but he has still struggled mightily on breakaways. Hence, the two goals in two shootout tries against him Thursday were not surprising.
2. The Flyers’ top line of Claude Giroux (three shots), Danny Briere (four) and Tye McGinn (three) put lots of pressure on Jose Theodore, but the goalie had all the answers and deserved the No. 1 star.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE: The Flyers announced before Thursday's game that they had signed Timonen.
The Flyers will sign veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen to a one-year, $6 million extension in the next few days, a league source confirmed Wednesday night.
Timonen, who will turn 38 next month, would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July. He has a $6.3 million cap hit this season.
Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds participated at his first practice today since suffering a concussion in Friday’s 3-2 loss at Washington to the Capitals.
Simmonds suffered his injury when Washington’s John Erskine elbowed him in the face. Erskine was not called for a penalty but later was issued a three-game suspension.
Simmonds wore a non-contact yellow jersey in practice. The Flyers will later issue an update on Simmonds status but it would be a surprise if he is cleared to play in Thursday’s game at the Wells Fargo Center against the Florida Panthers.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Winger Tom Sestito (Tom Sestito!) was the game’s star, and goalie Ilya Bryzglaov was again superb, but the tone of the Flyers’ 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday was set by winger Zac Rinaldo.
Despite being outweighed by about 40 pounds, Rinaldo pounded B.J. Crombeen in a first-period fight.
It sent a message. The Flyers weren’t going to lie down, like they did in a 5-1 loss in Tampa on Jan. 27.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
When the Flyers host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, they are hoping goalie Ilya Bryzglaov makes a major difference.
"Right now, he's our best player," center Claude Giroux said after Tuesday's morning skate in Voorhees.
When the teams met on Jan. 27, backup Michael Leighton looked rusty as the Flyers fell to host Tampa Bay, 5-1.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds did not practice Monday and will not play in Tuesday's game against visiting Tampa Bay because of a concussion, GM Paul Holmgren said.
Simmonds was injured when Washington's John Erskine elbowed him to the face last Friday. He missed the last two-plus periods of that game, then sat out Saturday's 5-3 win over Carolina.
Holmgren also hinted that Simmonds will not play Thursday against Florida, but that won't be known until later in the week.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers' 3 for 3 power play was the focal point (see story) in their 5-3 win over visiting Carolina on Saturday, but the team's 32 blocked shots also keyed the much-needed victory.
The Elias Sports Bureau could not find an instance when the Flyers had that many blocks in a game in their history, but the stat has not always been kept.
Nick Grossmann and Luke Schenn led the way with six blocks apiece.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
WASHINGTON _ The big news Friday was that the Flyers lost another key player (see story), Wayne Simmonds, to an injury.
But lost in the shuffle of their 3-2 defeat to Washington was the fact that they were outplayed in the third period.
That shouldn’t happen when you are facing a team playing its second game in as many nights.
