Posted: Saturday, November 15, 2008, 11:05 PM | 4 comments |
 

Flyers getting act together
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     MONTREAL - No one in the Flyers' dressing room would call their 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens tonight their most impressive performance of the season.

     So I will.

     Goalie Marty Biron mentioned the Flyers' 7-0 victory over Atlanta last month as their best game.

    I disagree. Atlanta isn't Montreal. The Canadiens have the ability to win the Stanely Cup. By then, Atlanta will have been on the golf course for a month or so.

    Biron (24 saves) was superb tonight. So was the team. They had just 10 giveaways (8 fewer than the Habs) and they spent a majority of the first two periods in Montreal's end.

    The Flyers went into a semi-defensive shell for parts of the third period, but they survived. And they easily killed a late power play, not allowing Montreal to sniff a scoring opportunity.

    John Stevens changed the defensive pairings, moving Braydon Coburn with Matt Carle. Tonight, they looked like the Flyers' best defensive unit. They combined for nine blocked shots. Coburn played a team-high 27:31, while Carle played 25:17, the team's second-highest figure.

    Glen Metropolit also deserves mention; he set up several chances and played his best game as a Flyer.

   Stevens tinkered with the lines, too. He had Mike Richards on the first line with Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble.

    Scotty Upshall scored for the first time in 10 games and Jeff Carter added his 11th goal for the Flyhers (6-6-4), who should go over the .500 mark Sunday when they face Atlanta. If they win, it will be their first time over .500 this season.

 
Posted by Sam Carchidi @ 11:05 PM  Permalink | 4 comments
4
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:25 AM, 11/16/2008
    Very solid win. First time this season where it didn't look like we were scrambling in our defensive zone and getting lucky to come away unscathed. Have to remember that the team is still fairly young and will go through its ups and downs. Making the playoffs is priority number one. Anything can happen once (if) we get there. Good to see Marty play a solid all-around game.
    — toccheyhockey
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:51 PM, 11/16/2008
    I was very critical of the Eminger move but Matt Carle is certainly an upgrade. He is starting to look like a keeper.
    — rockinrob
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:18 PM, 11/17/2008
    Carle is a total keeper. Exactly what the Flyers need. I think I danced a jig when I first read that trade. I liked Eminger and Downie, but I'm curious how Patient Tampa is going to be with them. I think the Flyers were very patient with Downie, sticking by him when he had that ridicules suspension. As for Eminger, I wish him the best, I think we were able to pull him out of Obscurity in Washington and I hope he does well.
    — flyler
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:31 PM, 11/17/2008
    I knew nothing about Carle before he got here but his play definitley stands out.
    — doorspj24


4 comments
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.

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