THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
NEW YORK _ The Flyers dropped a 2-1 decision to the New York Rangers Thursday night, but still control their own destiny in the battle for the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seeding.
That's because Carolina had its nine-game winning streak stopped as it fell to Buffalo, 5-1.
The Flyers, Hurricanes and Pittsburgh are tied for the No. 4 spot with 97 points. The Flyers have two games left (at the Islanders, vs. the Rangers). Carolina (at New Jersey) and Pittsburgh (at Montreal) each have one game remaining.
If the teams finish tied, the first tie-breaker is wins. Carolina has 45 victories, Pittsburgh has 44, the Flyers have 43.
The second tie-breaker is head-to-head competition. The Flyers were 3-0-1 against Carolina and 1-2-1 against Pittsburgh.
The Flyers can win the fourth seed if they go 1-0-1 in their last two games.
Winger Scott Hartnell called Thursday's performance "one of our best 60-minute efforts in a long time."
He was right. The Flyers were relentless most of the night and spent much of the game in New York's end.
The problem was, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular as he made 37 saves, including several that had the Flyers muttering to themself. (See Dan Carcillo). Carcillo again played a strong game, leading the Flyers with six shots.
But Lundqvist had all the answers, and early in the final period he made a had-to-see-it-to-believe-it glove grab of Carcillo's blast from four feet away.
"That's the way my season has gone," said Carcillo, still looking for his first goal as a Flyer.
The Flyers, stung by a controversial goal in the opening minute, fell into a 2-0 first-period hole before taking play away from the Rangers.
The Flyers have not had the lead after the first period in 17 of their last 21 games.
That's a trend that has to stop if this team is going to make playoff inroads.
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In a surprise move earlier Thursday, the Flyers signed an inexperienced defenseman and thrust him into the playoff race.
The Flyers signed 6-foot-2, 205-pound David Sloane, an Ambler resident, to an amateur tryout under emergency conditions and he gave a good account of himself in Thursday's loss to the Rangers, who clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season.
Sloane, the first Philadelphia-born player to ever play for the Flyers, was paired primarily with Andrew Alberts. He played 6:44, blcoked a shot and was even in the plus-minus ratings.
"The speed of the game is a lot different up here," he said after the game.
Sloane, 24, who played this season for Colgate University, replaced the injured Ryan Parent. Parent is listed as day to day with a strained groin. The Flyers hope he can play Saturday against the Islanders.
Under emergency conditions of an amateur tryout, Sloane was available to play for a 24-hour period beginning with Thursday's game. He earned just a per diem (about $100) and will go back to the AHL Phantoms on Friday.
The Flyers used him because they had no room under the cap to promote anyone else from the Phantoms.
As an amateur, Sloane was a "zero" against the cap.
"I just want to keep it simple and play my game,” Sloane said beofre the game. “I want to get the butterflies out early."
Sloane also signed an amateur tryout with the Phantoms on March 17, but had yet to appear in a game for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate.If he had, he would not have been able to play Thursday.
Sloane posted four assists and 37 penalty minutes in 35 games this season in his senior year at Colgate, where he was named to the ECAC hockey all-academic team. In 129 career games over four years at Colgate, Sloane recorded 10 goals, 13 assists for and 100 penalty minutes.
"I'm very surprised and excited about this opportunity. I had no idea this was happening,” Sloane said. “I have been with the Phantoms since our season ended at Colgate. I found out between the second and third period (Wednesday) night in Albany and I couldn't believe it.”
Added Sloane: "Just throwing the Flyers uniform on and playing at a place like Madison Square Garden has been a dream of mine my whole life.”
The Flyers clinched a playoff spot and remained tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers Tuesday night.
But the big story on Action News.....was Marty Biron's return to form.
Biron made 29 saves and looked like the goalie who played brilliantly for most of March, then sputtered in his last four games before Tuesday.
"We can't play much better than that," Florida coach Peter DeBoer said. "....We had our chances. Their goalie was real good. Was he first star? If he wasn't, he should have been." (Jeff Carter was No. 1; Biron was No. 2.)
The Flyers are going to need Biron to be at his best if they are going to make any noise in the playoffs, plain and simple.
Carter was Tuesday's offensive hero. He had an assist and scored the game-winner with 12:28 left in the game, somehow finding room on the short side with a lightning-quick shot.
Carter became the 20th player in the Flyers' history to reach 45 goals in a season. He has six points (four goals, two assists) in his last three games.
The center said it was a relief to qualify for the playoffs. "But our main goal is to get fourth place and get the home-ice advantage," he said.
The Flyers and Carolina each have 97 points, but the Flyers have a game in hand.
The Flyers play the Rangers twice, sandwiched around a game against the lowly Islanders.
Sizzling Carolina, a 9-0 winner over the Islanders on Tuesday, plays host to Buffalo on Thursday, then ends the regular season by playing at New Jersey on Saturday.
Stay tuned.
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Breakaways. Much-maligned LW Dan Carcillo played his best game as a Flyer, generating a handful of scoring chances and giving the team lots of energy......D Ryan Parent injured his groin in the second period and is day to day. Look for Danny Syvret to be recalled from the Phantoms.....Luca Sbisa, currently playing for Lethbridge, is expected to join the Flyers for the playoffs.....On $1 Pretzel Night, Wachovia Center fans devoured over 11,000 soft pretzels. That's 9,000 more than usual. You could look it up.
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Playoff tickets for Round 1 (Home Games 1, 2 & 3) are on sale exclusively through ComcastTix at philadelphiaflyers.com, by calling 1-800-298-4200, or visiting the Wachovia Center Box Office.
The dates and times for the games will be determined by the NHL after final seedings are set.
If Kimmo Timonen had a choice, the Flyers' defenseman said he would rather face a playoff contender than an also-ran.
Timonen should be happy, then, with the Flyers' remaining schedule: Three of the four games are against teams in the playoff hunt.
On Tuesday, the Flyers host Florida, a team tied for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot with the New York Rangers.
“It’s easier to play teams that have something on the line, too,” said Timonen, whose team is tied with Carolina for the No. 4 seeding in the East. “Sometimes we play a team like Toronto or Ottawa , which have nothing to lose, (and) loose hockey players are dangerous players.”
In their last three games, the Flyers were 1-1-1 against Toronto and Ottawa, teams that are out of the playoff picture.
In addiiton to facing Florida, the Flyers have two games left against the Rangers and one against the lightweight Islanders.
“We just have to play the four games like it’s a playoff series…and you’ll be better prepared when the playoffs start,” winger Simon Gagne said.
Marty Biron, who has not been sharp in his last four games, will start Tuesday for the Flyers.
Biron seemed to be at the top of his game in today's practice.
"When he’s confident, he’s aggressive and pucks stick to him," coach John Stevens said. "He can turn it on. You don’t want to say there’s a switch there, but for some reason, he can turn it on, and we need him to turn it."
The Flyers' magic number for clinching a playoff spot in one point.
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.In a ceremony before Tuesday's game, the Flyers' award winners will be announced. Here, in order, are my top three choices for the team's MVP award:
1. Mike Richards _ Plays hard every night _ and in all situations _ and is the team's best all-around player.
2. Jeff Carter _ Having a breakthrough season and his hot streak keyed the Flyers' surge.
3. Kimmo Timonen _ He quarterbacks the defense and the power play _ and is arguably the team's steadiest player.
Would love to hear your top 3 choices and your reasons.
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Tuesday is Pretzel Night at the Wachovia Center _ soft pretzels will cost $1. About 550 tickets remain for the game.
OTTAWA _ With just two wins in their last six games, the Flyers aren't exactly charging into the playoffs.
Yes, they picked up a point in Saturday night's 4-3 shoot-out loss in Ottawa, but they fell into a fourth-place tie with streaking Carolina in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers finished 1-2-1 against lowly Ottawa this season.
After Sunday's action, it has come down to this:
* * The Flyers have four games left and have 95 points.
* * Carolina has three games left and has 95 points.
* * Pittsburgh has three games left and has 93 points.
* * Montreal, which has quietly entered the race for the No. 4 seed, has four games left and has 92 points.
The Flyers can clinch the fourth seed _ and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs _ if they go 3-0-1 in their last four games. The Flyers play host to Florida Tuesday, play on the road against the Rangers on Thursday and against the Islanders on Saturday, then conclude the regular season by hosting the Rangers on Easter Sunday.
Before Saturday's game, coach John Stevens was undecided about his goalie rotation for the rest of the way. The guess here is that Marty Biron will get the call Tuesday, but we'll see. Stevens will address the issue at Monday's practice.
Antero Niittymaki, who slammed his stick against the goal post after Ottawa scored the game-winner in the shoot-out, was solid in Saturday's game and couldn't be faulted for any of the goals. One of the goals was scored on a five-on-three power play that was triggered, in part, by Dan Carcillo's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Fourth-line center Darroll Powe gets my vote as the Flyers' best player in Saturday's loss. Powe scored on a penalty shot, drew a penalty that led to a PP goal, and led the Flyers with four hits.
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Shoot-out blues: The Flyers are now 4-6 in shoot-outs this season and 12-24 in their history.
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In Sunday's Inquirer, I look at some of the goalie possibilities if the Flyers decide not to re-sign Biron in the off-season. Biron and Niittymaki are potential free agents, and it's unlikely the Flyers will sign both of them.
OTTAWA _ Just talked to Flyers coach John Stevens and he said goalie Antero Niittymaki will start tonight in Ottawa.
Marty Biron had been shaky in the two previous games, both against Toronto.
Niittymaki has not fared well against Ottawa this season. Before tonight, he was 1-2 with a 4.02 GAA and .824 save percentage against the Senators this season.
Stevens also said LW Riley Cote re-injured himself in Friday's 8-5 win over Toronto and did not make the trip to Ottawa. Andreas Nodl will take his spot.
The Flyers can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight.
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In Sunday's Inquirer, I'll take a look at some of the potential free-agent goalies who may interest the Flyers if they do not resign Biron. Biron and Niittymaki can both become unrestricted free agents and it's doubtful the Flyers will sign both of them.
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With Friday's wild victory over Toronto, the Flyers moved to within one win of clinching an Eastern Conference playoff spot. That's the good news.
The bad news: The Flyers allowed too many scoring chances, and Biron had one of his worst games in the last six weeks.
But, considering that the Flyers had lost three of their previous four games, they'll take the win and try to build off it. They moved back into fourth place in the East, ahead of Carolina.
It'll be interesting to see how they respond in Ottawa Saturday night. The Flyers are 1-2 against the lowly Senators this season.
Jeff Carter notched his first career hat trick to highlight last night's win. But my favorite stat, courtesy of PR guru Ike Richman, was this: 412 hats were thrown onto the ice after Carter's third goal.
The Flyers, answering a challenge issued by GM Paul Holmgren the previous day, built a 5-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes.
“The first period was great. I think we did all the things that we wanted to do, and then I don’t know," Carter said. "It’s definitely not the way we need to be playing in the last two periods, and we were lucky enough to get away with two points.”
In the second period. "we gave them some chances and kind of got into a little bit of a track meet," Carter said, "but we got two points and that’s what we need right now.”
There were unconfirmed reports last year that Carter would have been dealt to the Leafs if Tomas Kaberle had agreed to a deal at the trade deadline.
“I’m glad he didn’t," Carter said.
Many of the Flyers' top players were verbally scolded by Holmgren on Thursday.
"Tell me one team in the league that’s going to win when their best players aren’t their best players,"Stevens said. "It just doesn’t happen. Take (Pavel) Datsyuk and (Henrik) Zetterberg off Detroit, or they don’t play well, they don’t win. Our top two lines have carried us all year. Richie (Mike Richards) and Carts’ (Jeff Carter) line, they have been together most of the year. We have had a variety of third and fourth lines all year. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, and the guys they play with are responsible for us and the position we are in. They have a lot of responsibility; they deserve a lot of the credit. Sometimes when we stumble the finger points at them because they have done so many good things this year, but I’d put those guys on my team this time of year any day.”
TORONTO _ The Flyers' season is at a crossroad.
Either they regroup, take some momentum into the playoffs and make a strong Stanley Cup challenge.
Or they continue their lackluster play, finish with a poor seeding and bow out in the first round of the playoffs.
This is a team that has been very good for most of the season. Not great, but very good. After starting the season with six straight losses (0-3-3), the Flyers became one of the NHL's better teams.
Until recently.
On Wednesday night, they dropped a 3-2 decision to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs and missed a chance to move closer to the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils, who dropped their sixth straight.
It was the Flyers' third loss in their last four games, and it left them tied for the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seed with Pittsburgh. The Flyers have six games left _ one more than the Penguins.
Don't look now, but the Flyers (92 points) are closer to ninth-seeded Florida (87) than to third-seeded New Jersey (98 ) in the East.
Inexplicably, the Flyers looked listless for 2 1/2 periods Wednesday. Against a Toronto team that has already been knocked out of the playoff picture and was forced to use a way-past-his-prime goalie (Curtis Joseph).
Defenseman Kimmo Timonen called the effort unacceptable. He won't get an argument from here.
It wasn't until the final 10 minutes of the game that the Flyers showed any urgency. And this from a team that all week was saying it wanted to finish strongly, like last year, and carry the momentum into the playoffs.
The Flyers plan to have a team meeting Thursday, but talk is cheap. The proof is on the ice. We'll see how they respond when they host Toronto on Friday.
Notes. Marty Biron, who allowed three goals on 28 shots, was not happy to get pulled late in the second period with the Flyers trailing, 3-1.....The Flyers had 24 hits _ 15 more than the Leafs. Braydon Coburn had a game-high four hits......The Leafs blocked 19 shots _ 10 more than the Flyers.....Ryan Parent, Danny Briere and Timonen were each a minus-2.....Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist.....Jeff Carter had a game-high seven shots on goal but did not score.
The Flyers finally signed James van Riemsdyk today, and the left winger could play for their AHL affiiliate, the Phantoms, tonight.
Van Riemsdyck, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft, played two seasons at the University of New Hampshire.
More details to come.
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TORONTO _ Realistically, the Flyers could finish anywhere between third and eighth in the parity-filled Eastern Conference.
The fourth-seeded Flyers have seven games left and trail third-seeded New Jersey by six points _ and have a game in hand on the Devils.
If the Flyers go 6-1 the rest of the way and the Devils go 3-3, the teams would finish tied with 104 points, but New Jersey would win the Atlantic Division _ and, in all probability, the No. 3 seed _ because it would have more wins than Philadelphia.
The the Flyers need to pick up at least seven more points than the Devils to pass them.
That's not likely. Then again, how many thought the Devils would be in the middle of a five-game losing streak?
The Flyers will play a home-and-home series with Toronto (Wednesday and Friday) before going to Ottawa on Saturday. Their other four games are against Florida, the Rangers (twice), and the Islanders.
New Jersey has a difficult game Wednesday in Pittsburgh. After that, the Devils' schedule lightens as they face Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Toronto, Ottawa, and Carolina.
The Flyers say they aren't focusing on New Jersey; they're focusing on securing the fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round. They have one point lead on fifth-seeded Carolina and a two-point edge on sixth-seeded Pittsburgh.
Even eighth-seeded Montreal is just four points behind the Flyers.
On Wednesday, Marty Biron will face Toronto's Curtis Joseph ..
It's not true that Joseph has been in the league since the days of Bobby Hull.
It just seems that way.
Joseph will turn 42 later this month. He will be in goal Wednesday because Martin Gerber will be serving the final game of a three-game suspension for shooting the puck at the officials last week.
That's a break for the Flyers, Joseph is 4-8-1 with a 3.62 GAA and an .863 save percentage. Gerber is 8-12-1. 2.87 and .904.
Biron is 26-16-5, 2.72 and .916. He has been sharp the last five weeks, although he has allowed too many juicy rebounds in his last two outings.
The Flyers will be trying to force the play and draw penalties Wednesday because Toronto has one of the NHL's worst PK units _ 29th out of 30 teams with a 75.3 success rate. Only Atlanta (75.2 percent) is worse.
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Notes. Simon Gagne has 27 shots on goal in his last four games. "Earlier in the season, I was not shooting the puck enough on net," Gagne said. "I was looking maybe to pass first. Now I'm a little bit back to basics, trying to put it on the net, and my teammates go for the rebound." . . . Riley Cote (dislocated finger on right hand) is questionable for Wednesday and be may be replaced by Andreas Nodl. . . . Claude Giroux centered Danny Briere and Arron Asham in practice Tuesday.
The early returns on the Daniel Carcillo-Scottie Upshall trade are not good.
Far from it.
Carcillo's acquisition freed cap space so the Flyers wouldn't have to yo-yo rookie sensation Claude Giroux to the minors. That's been the best part about the deal. Carcillo has three assists and no goals in 13 games and does not supply the energy that made Upshall such a fan favorite.
In the last two games, Carcillo has spent most of his time on the fourth line.
GM Paul Holmgren has made several terrific deals in the last two years, and maybe one day this trade _ which also saw the Flyers give a No. 2 pick in 2011 _ will look like a positive.
Maybe.
But right now, it's a head-scratcher.
UNIONDALE, N.Y. _ Outplayed for two periods, the Flyers rallied and avoided what could have been a disastrous loss Saturday night.
They outlasted the New York Islanders in a shoot-out, 4-3, and maintained their slim lead in the race for the No. 4 seed in the East.
A loss would have put the Flyers into the No. 5 spot, behind Carolina and tied with Pittsburgh.
Instead, thanks to a rally that wiped out a 2-0 third-period deficit, the Flyers are one point ahead of Carolina and two ahead of Pittsburgh. (The Flyers have games in hand on both.)
"If we don't take care of ouselves, it doesn't really matter what anyone else is doing," coach John Stevens said.
The Isles have the fewest amount of points among the NHL's 30 teams. Yet, they have played solidly in the last few weeks and were coming off Friday's stunning 2-0 win at Detroit, the defending Stanley Cup champion.
The Flyers scored three goals in a 3:56 span (two by Joffrey Lupul sandwiched around a Scott Hartnell goal) to take a 3-2 lead.
They won the shoot-out thanks to goals by Mike Richards and Danny Briere and two saves by Marty Biron, who became the first goalie to ever register 11 straight wins against the Islanders.
In the third period, Stevens primarily went back to the two lines he had been using until five games ago: Richards centering Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne, and Jeff Carter centering Lupul and Hartnell.
The Flyers will face visiting Boston Sunday night; they will need to play like they did in the third period and OT if they expect another victory. Antero Niittymaki will start in goal for the Flyers.
Notes. Matt Carle and Arron Asham were each plus-2, while Kimmo Timonen and Ryan Parent were each a minus-2.....Each team won 32 faceoffs....Richards had six takeaways....Gagne and Carter each had six shots on goal....The Flyers are 5-0 against the Isles, who have lost 30 games this season either by one goal or one plus an empty-net score.
The Flyers played well enough to win Thursday, but ran into a hot goalie and dropped a 4-2 decision to Florida at the Wachovia Center.
For all intents and purposes, the loss almost assures that the Flyers won't catch Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey, which has a seven-point lead over Philadelphia with nine games left.
In Thursday's game, Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter and Danny Briere were each a plus-two to lead the Flyers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped because backup goalie Craig Anderson made 40 saves, including several outstanding ones.
Another factor: Florida blocked 23 shots _ 16 more than the Flyers.
The Flyers' fourth line _ Riley Cote, Darroll Powe and Arron Asham _ was a combined minus-six. Those players were on the ice for both of Florida's even-strength goals.
Anderson was playing because Tomas Vokoun, Florida's usual starting goalie, blew a 3-1 lead in the third period of Wednesday's 5-3 loss in Buffalo.
"We haven't been winning games and the other guy (Vokoun) hadn't been getting it done for us," Florida coach Pete DeBoer said. "We'd been in this position earlier in the year and made a change. The team responded, and Craig responded. So I give Craig Anderson credit. He's been sitting for a long time. To come in and give a performance like that was great from a confidence point for our team and also personally for himself."
Florida, which iced the win with an empty-net goal, remained two points out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Flyers, who visit the New York Islanders on Saturday, are still the No. 4 seed, and their magic number for clinching a playoff spot is eight points.
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Notes. Florida's Jay Bouwmeester was a minus-2.....On Scott Hartnell Wig Night, Hartnell was all over the ice. The left winger scored his 28th goal and had seven shots on goal _ and another shot that hit the post......The Flyers had 22 hits _ nine more than Florida.....The Flyers also had a huge edge in faceoffs, winning 62 percent of the 55 draws.
