Posted: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 11:29 AM | 58 comments |
 

Flyers fall, need to bolster D; can they stop Wings' history try?
options
 

UPDATED: 6:40 p.m. on Sunday.

* * *

The New York Rangers have the Flyers' number.

Led by Ryan Callahan's hat trick, the Rangers whipped the host Flyers, 5-2, on Saturday and are now 5-0 against Philadelphia this season. Oh, and they have outscored the Flyers, 19-8.

Clearly, the Flyers need to add another defenseman before the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

Nashville doesn't appear willing to deal Shea Weber or Ryan Suter, so the Flyers should pursue, in order: Toronto's Luke Schenn, Carolina's Bryan Allen or Montreal's Hal Gill.

Listening, Paul Holmgren?

* * *

New York has won seven straight against the Flyers, their longest winning streak against the Orange and Black since they won 10 in a row from 1971-73.

* * *

The Flyers will play in Detroit Sunday night, and they have a tall task.

The Red Wings, you see, will be chasing history _ some of it set by a Flyers team from yesteryear.

Detroit will be trying to equal an NHL record for consecutive home wins at 20, co-owned by the Flyers of 1975-76 and Boston in 1929-30.

That 1975-76 Flyers team was led by Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Reggie Leach. Wayne Stephenson was the primary goalie because Bernie Parent was injured.

Surprisingly, Sergei Bobrovsky will start Sunday for the Flyers. Ilya Bryzgalov will be his backup.

Coach Peter Laviolette said Bryzgalov needs another day to get back his stength after missing two games because of the flu.

* * *

BREAKAWAYS: he Flyers are 13-9-5 at home, 18-8-2 on the road......Laviolette will appear on “Charlie Moore: No Offense” on the NBC Sports Network. The fishing show will air Sunday at 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. _ before and after the Flyers-Red Wings game. It will also be shown Thursday at 9 p.m.
Posted by Sam Carchidi @ 11:29 AM  Permalink | 58 comments
58
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:11 PM, 02/12/2012
    Right on. As Kimmonen said, "It comes to the system." Why was Mezzaros behind the Ranger net during a penalty kill (resulting in NY goal #2)? Because he forgot how to play defense, thinks he's Bobby Orr, or because he's been brainwashed to "jump into the play" on every rush? Time for a coach who understands defense.
    — icarus
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:02 PM, 02/11/2012
    Hopefully, Laviolette's not going anywhere. He's the best coach the Flyers have had since Fred Shero.
    — stonelamb
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:04 PM, 02/11/2012
    Good to know the Rangers are 6th in blocked shots and the Flyers are 13th. I was wondering.
    — Rabe56
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:45 PM, 02/11/2012
    1 dman wont make a difference on this team unless his last name is Weber. Schenn, Allen are 3rd or 4th dmen.
    — shanehockey28
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:48 PM, 02/11/2012
    BOB not standing on head! 5 Goals Against! Yikes! LOL
    — DLW
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:56 PM, 02/11/2012
    Where are all they Bryz haters? Shouldn't you be calling for a radical change right about now?
    — uscg60
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:17 PM, 02/11/2012
    bruzgalov sucks and so does bobrovsky. neither of them is in the top 20 goalies in the league. what's your point, dope?
    — The Boston Strangler
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:03 PM, 02/11/2012
    If Matt Carle was a food, he'd be a turnover. Wow. I heard 'Carle' and 'turnover' a number of times today in close succession.
    — jeff.deang
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:03 PM, 02/11/2012
    If Matt Carle was a food, he'd be a turnover. Wow. I heard 'Carle' and 'turnover' a number of times today in close succession.
    — jeff.deang
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:24 PM, 02/11/2012
    Matt Carle = out of town hopefully at the trade deadline.
    — dismonkey
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:32 PM, 02/11/2012
    Not singling one player out, just a general lack of defense by the entire team. I seem to be in the minority on this but you cannot blame everything on the goaltender when the D-men are backing in from the blueline and retreating instead of pursuing.
    — boris
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:11 PM, 02/11/2012
    Finally, someone wrote it. It's not the defensemen, it's the team defense. I can't ever recall so many open guys right next to the goal who then scored on re-directions. Bob wasn't the problem. No goalie is going to stop those types of goals.
    — sklandog
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:45 PM, 02/11/2012
    went to the game today terrible defensive game for us way more than just carle.they called every bs penalty on us and we couldn't overcome it .we def need a bid d man but dont wanna pay to much maybe gill will be a good fit
    — broadst.17


58 comments | View All Comments | View All By Latest
View comments: 1  |  2  |  3  |  4
About Sam Carchidi
Sam Carchidi is in his fourth year as the Flyers' beat reporter. He became an Inquirer staff writer in 1984 and covered mostly South Jersey high school sports and the Phillies before taking the Flyers beat.

Carchidi has written three books _ the nationally acclaimed Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story, which he co-authored with Scott Brown; Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports; and Standing Tall: The Kevin Everett Story, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He also contributed to a 1993 Inquirer book on the Phillies.

A lifelong South Jersey resident, Carchidi lives in Wenonah with his wife, JoAnn, and their two children, Sara and Sammy.

Follow on Twitter

Advertise Here
Latest Flyers Videos