Inside the Flyers: Flyers' story lines right out of the movies

OTTAWA - In honor of Sunday night's Oscars, here are some of the year's movies, applied to the Flyers' season.

The Kids Are All Right. The emergence of James van Riemsdyk, 21; Sergei Bobrovsky, 22; Claude Giroux, 23; and Andreas Nodl, 23, has played a major role in the Flyers' climb atop the Eastern Conference.

The King's Speech. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette recently went on the radio and proclaimed it was "Stanley Cup or bust" for his team this season.

From here, the Flyers' toughest challenge in the Eastern Conference playoffs may again come from Boston, which strengthened itself greatly with the addition of Tomas Kaberle and Rich Peverley.

Peter Chiarelli, the Boston general manager, went on XM radio late Thursday night and said the East title "goes through Philadelphia."

But Chiarelli added a caveat: "Actually, we think we match up well" with the Flyers, he said.

The Way Back. That's what they should call the apparent turnaround of Nik Zherdev's odd Flyers season.

Talk about a surprise script.

One day a limo driver was taking Zherdev away from practice, his Flyers career supposedly over.

Two days later, after he cleared waivers, the guy they call "Z" was making up with his bosses and promising to stop being lazy on the ice.

If Zherdev sticks with the Flyers and gets his name on the Cup, it will be the best comeback since Mickey Rourke.

Illusionist. See Claude Giroux. See him emerge as the Flyers' best all-around player. See him seemingly disappear in the crowd of defenders, and then make a blind backhand pass that somehow finds a teammate between two defenders in front of the net.

 Grown Ups. Showing more maturity (read: discipline) than any team in franchise history, the Flyers did the unthinkable: zero penalties against the New York Rangers last Sunday. On the road. In a grudge match.

But this wasn't a Diary of a Wimpy Kid performance, said some former Flyers who made brawling part of their identity in the 1970s. Yep, some members of the Broad Street Bullies said they were proud of last Sunday's penalty-free game. Honest.

The Fighter. Flyers enforcer Jody Shelley got about 60 stitches from his bout with Phoenix's Nolan Yonkman on Tuesday.

Oh, and Shelley won the fight.

127 Hours. Typical workweek for Barry Hanrahan. OK, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point. Hanrahan, the assistant general manager, has shrewdly handled the cap and helped the Flyers to make some important moves.

 The Town. What the Flyers will own if they win their last game in June. For proof, see the many ex-Flyers from the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup champs who have successful careers in the area.

True Grit. Story about a hockey team that refused to go on long losing streaks.

The Flyers haven't lost two straight since late December.

But the best example of the team's resiliency is this: They have not lost two straight road games in regulation all season.

Think about that.

The last time they lost two in a row on the road was in their second and third road contests, but one of them was an overtime loss in St. Louis, so they picked up a point.

The Social Network. Actually, from the Flyers' perspective, maybe it should be called the Anti-Social Network.

Matt Carle (mattcarle25) and James van Riemsdyk (JVReemer21) are the only Flyers on their 23-player roster on Twitter.

Based on some of the trouble pro athletes have gotten into with their tweets, that may not be such a bad thing.

It's Kind of a Funny Story. Remember the TV show Full House? The Flyers have their own version. Danny Briere, who was divorced last year, and Claude Giroux are living together in Haddonfield. Giroux, playing the role of Uncle Jesse, is helping out with Briere's three kids.

Remember Me. This is what goalie Brian Boucher surely had to be thinking when Peter Laviolette started Sergei Bobrovsky for 12 straight games earlier this season. But Boucher patiently waited his turn and has had a stellar season.

Predators. General managers will be busy through 3 p.m. Monday, the NHL trade deadline. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren isn't expected to do anything major.

The players he has assembled, he believes, are good enough to have their names engraved on the Cup in less than four months.

Extraordinary Measures. The Flyers reached 40 wins faster than any NHL team, and they did it in 61 games, third-quickest in franchise history.

The question is, can they close the deal?