FLYERS NEWS

The Flyer's downhill plummet continued tonight in more ways than one as they dropped their 10th in a row, to the Florida Panthers. Antero Niittymaki got the start in goal and despite facing 40 shots on goal, in regulation, he only allowed on goal. So almost single-handedly he kept the Flyer's in it but it wasn't enough. In the first period of play there was no score. Early in the 2nd period of play Danny Briere, who had been in a bit of a slump himself lit the lamp for a 1-0 Flyer's lead. For a while it appeared that goal would be the only one of the night en route to a Niittymaki shutout and a huge Flyer's win. Instead with just over 8 minutes to play, Jay Bouwmeester scored Florida's first goal of the night to forge a 1-1 tie and thwart the Flyer's chances for a win. From there both teams were scoreless until the end of regulation, setting the stage for an overtime period. There, the two teams combined for only 4 shots on goal, the Flyers with 1, and Florida with 3, but all the Panthers would need would be their last shot. Only 3 minutes into the period the Panthers went on the power play and Olli Jokinen slapped in a power play goal to win it for the Panthers 2-1. So the Flyer's drop to 30-26-7 overall, but since this was an overtime loss, they do earn a point, and at least for now, move back into a tie for 4th place in the Atlantic division. Sadly, things only got worse afterwards when the Flyers learned that Mike Richards had gone down with a torn hamstring during the game and will likely miss 3 weeks, and so this losing streak may never end.