The Flyers traveled to Montreal tonight to complete a home and home with the Canadiens and their schedule before the Olympic break. Coming with 3 straight wins they had all the momentum in the world and used it to rollover the Habs in this one. Just 4 seconds into the game Ian Laperriere set the tone by picking a fight with Ryan O'Byrne and beating him up pretty badly. From there the Orange and Black simply put the hammer down. Danny Briere, Mike Richards on the power play, and Jeff Carter all scored in the opening period for a quick 3-0 lead. After Brian Gionta finally got the Habs on the board to start the 2nd period, Blair Betts scored shorthanded, and Danny Briere added his 2nd tally of the night, this time on the power play, to push the lead to 5-1 and all but erase any Canadien's comeback hopes.
Late in the 3rd period Briere scored unassisted to complete a hat trick, fittingly in his home town, and put the Habs away for good 6-2. This was about the best the Flyer's have played all season and it is shame they now have only an Olympic break to take all this momentum into. Hopefully when the break is over in a couple weeks they'll be able to pick up right where they left off here and keep rolling. As usual playing in his home town, brought out the best in Danny Briere. Hopefully this isn't the last time we see that kind of play from him. Micheal Leighton continued to make a case the Flyer's number 1 goalie, saving 26 of the 28 shots he faced tonight. For whatever reason the Flyer's just play well in front of him and that's all you need to be successful in the NHL, a goalie the team plays well in front of. Anyway so the Flyers now have 67 points and sit a little more safely in 6th in the East. Hopefully they'll stay there long after the break is over.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
After back to back dramatic wins over the hated New Jersey Devils the Orange and Black looked to keep it going tonight as they returned to the Wachovia center, to begin a home and home with the Canadiens, their last games before the Olympic break. Right from the beginning the Flyers picked up right where they had left off against the Devils, with same kind of intensity on both sides of the ice. They just dominated Montreal for the first 2 periods and it looked this one might be a blow out. With a couple minutes left in the 1st period Jeff Carter slapped one in for a 1-0 lead. Carter scored again just a minute into the 2nd for a 2-0 lead, followed closely by Matt Carle, who finished off a rare breakaway, for him, to make it 3-0 Orange and Black. With the way Micheal Leighton has been playing lately there as no way Montreal was going to come back right?
Apparently the Flyers forgot there was another period to play. They turned off the intensity for the final period and it almost cost them. The Habs rallied early in the period to cut it to 3-2. Then after killing off 3 straight Flyer's penalties late in the period, Montreal got a power play to finish the game. Just as in the last 2 games though, Leighton and the Flyer's defense stood tall and held off the late charge for an important 3-2 win. It was another solid night for Leighton who saved 23 of the 25 shots he faced. It was also the best night of the season so far for Jeff Carter with the 2 goals and hopefully he'll continue with that kind of play for the remainder of the season. With the win the Flyers now have 65 points overall and are up to 6th in the Easter conference. Not bad place to be heading into the break, but it would be even better if they could win tonight and got into the break with 67 points and a little breathing room.
Apparently the Flyers forgot there was another period to play. They turned off the intensity for the final period and it almost cost them. The Habs rallied early in the period to cut it to 3-2. Then after killing off 3 straight Flyer's penalties late in the period, Montreal got a power play to finish the game. Just as in the last 2 games though, Leighton and the Flyer's defense stood tall and held off the late charge for an important 3-2 win. It was another solid night for Leighton who saved 23 of the 25 shots he faced. It was also the best night of the season so far for Jeff Carter with the 2 goals and hopefully he'll continue with that kind of play for the remainder of the season. With the win the Flyers now have 65 points overall and are up to 6th in the Easter conference. Not bad place to be heading into the break, but it would be even better if they could win tonight and got into the break with 67 points and a little breathing room.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
After a rallying from 2-0 to defeat New Jersey in their last game the Flyers and Devils got together again, this time in New Jersey, to finish off a home and home series. Just like last time New Jersey jumped out early as Micheal Leighton alloted a weak goal just seconds into the 1st period, to Travis Zajac for a 1-0 Devils' lead. Some time later in the 1st period Rob Niedermayer slipped one by Leighton for a 2-0 lead. So again the Flyers found themselves down 2-0 to Marty Brodeur, not exactly the position you want be in. Once again the Orange and Black didn't panic, but this time there would be no furious late game comeback. Instead Aaron Asham got things going early, scoring just 33 seconds after Neidermayer to cut it to 2-1. Then late in the 2nd period Jeff Carter slapped one in to knot it up at 2. From there until the end nether team could really come up with anymore good scoring chances. In fact the Flyer's had just one shot on goal the entire 3rd period, as New Jersey tried to charge and steal back the momentum.
Thanks to Leighton the Devils came up empty in the 3rd period as well and it was on to overtime. There about 3 and half minutes into the OT, Simon Gagne put forth a herculean effort in the New Jersey zone. First he tried a wrap around that got blocked. Then he recieved a perfect centering pass in front of the net, but misfired wide. Finally he got the puck for a 3rd time, skated into the open, wound, fired and ......... scored! Just like that the Orange and Black had beaten Marty and the Devils from 2-0 down in 2 consecutive games for 2 straight 3-2 wins. Who would have thunk that? I know I didn't. Anway with the thrilling victory the Flyers now have 63 points overall and sit 7th in the Eastern conference. They'll have to keep playing like this, not just in stretches, but consistently for 60 minutes if they want to stay there in 7th or move up the standings.
Thanks to Leighton the Devils came up empty in the 3rd period as well and it was on to overtime. There about 3 and half minutes into the OT, Simon Gagne put forth a herculean effort in the New Jersey zone. First he tried a wrap around that got blocked. Then he recieved a perfect centering pass in front of the net, but misfired wide. Finally he got the puck for a 3rd time, skated into the open, wound, fired and ......... scored! Just like that the Orange and Black had beaten Marty and the Devils from 2-0 down in 2 consecutive games for 2 straight 3-2 wins. Who would have thunk that? I know I didn't. Anway with the thrilling victory the Flyers now have 63 points overall and sit 7th in the Eastern conference. They'll have to keep playing like this, not just in stretches, but consistently for 60 minutes if they want to stay there in 7th or move up the standings.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Toronto tonight for matchup with the Raptors as they looked to rack up their 6th straight win. They almost got it despite getting off to a horrible start on the night. In fact for the better part of the 1st 3 quarters it looked like they left their game back across the border. They just couldn't stop the Raptor's inside game so every time Toronto came down the court they were able to get the ball inside for an easy score. The Sixers just couldn't cover it, mostly because Elton Brand got into foul trouble and Samuel Dalembert only played about 20 minutes. It's hard to control things inside when you're best big men are on the bench. Anyway Toronto used their obvious size advantage to jump out to a 9 point lead at the half and a 23 point lead with 3 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.
Then suddenly the slumbering Sixers awoke, rallying to within 15 heading into the 4th. From there it just kept getting tighter and tighter, from 15 down to 10, to 9, to 7 etc; Finally with 2 minutes to play in the 4th the Sixers completed the remarkable comeback knotting things up at 93. From there it was all Toronto though, with Jose Calderon completing a 4 point play, followed by a Lou Williams turnover, followed by a Andre Bargnani trey to all but sink the Sixers. Eventually after a painful 11-0 Toronto run to finish the night, the Sixers fell 104-93 . So in the end Toronto blew a 23 point lead and the Sixers let them get away with it. Really though it wasn't a particularly well played by either team. The Sixer's shot just 43% from the field while Toronto shot 47% from the field but hit one fewer trey than the Sixer's did. So the Sixer's should have at least been abe to keep it close, but they play so poorly early on that they fell way behind.
Andre Iguodala had 8 points on the night while Elton Brand posted just 11. Conversely, Lou Williams was the Sixer's leading scorer with 26 off the bench. It is usually not a good sign when your bench scores more than your starters. if nothing else this the Sixers best performance of the season while playing from behind. It's just unfortunate that they couldn't pull it out. Anyway with the loss the Sixers drop to 20-32 overal, but remain 10th in the Eastern conference, 5.5 games out of 8th.
Then suddenly the slumbering Sixers awoke, rallying to within 15 heading into the 4th. From there it just kept getting tighter and tighter, from 15 down to 10, to 9, to 7 etc; Finally with 2 minutes to play in the 4th the Sixers completed the remarkable comeback knotting things up at 93. From there it was all Toronto though, with Jose Calderon completing a 4 point play, followed by a Lou Williams turnover, followed by a Andre Bargnani trey to all but sink the Sixers. Eventually after a painful 11-0 Toronto run to finish the night, the Sixers fell 104-93 . So in the end Toronto blew a 23 point lead and the Sixers let them get away with it. Really though it wasn't a particularly well played by either team. The Sixer's shot just 43% from the field while Toronto shot 47% from the field but hit one fewer trey than the Sixer's did. So the Sixer's should have at least been abe to keep it close, but they play so poorly early on that they fell way behind.
Andre Iguodala had 8 points on the night while Elton Brand posted just 11. Conversely, Lou Williams was the Sixer's leading scorer with 26 off the bench. It is usually not a good sign when your bench scores more than your starters. if nothing else this the Sixers best performance of the season while playing from behind. It's just unfortunate that they couldn't pull it out. Anyway with the loss the Sixers drop to 20-32 overal, but remain 10th in the Eastern conference, 5.5 games out of 8th.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves to the Wachovia center tonight. Incredibly the last time these two teams met in Minnesota the Sixer's lost, but they were a different team then. As it did then Minnesota still has the worst record in the Western conference and they played like it tonight. This time the Sixers were able to take advantage dominating Minnesota from start to finish for their 5th straight win. They quickly jumped out to a 7 point lead after a quarter of play, and were already up by 22 by halftime. They were still up 21 heading into the 4th quarter before winning easily 119-97, which just makes you wonder how in the world they lost to the T-Wolves the last time around. There was a never doubt who was going to win this time around though.
The Sixers were simply too hot for Minnesota to handle on this night. Offensively, they shot a lights out 57% from the field, including 5 threes, as 5 Sixers scored in double figures. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand each had huge nights with 24 and 21 points respectively. Willie Green again starting in place of Allen Iverson, chipped in with 15, and Lou Williams and Thad Young added 16 and 15 off the bench, as part of another 50+ point effort by the Sixer bench. Defensively, the Sixers were just as solid, forcing 19 T-Wolve turnovers, and outrebounding them 39-32. The T-Wolves did at least shoot 47% from the field with 6 guys in double figures, but none had more than 16 and they missed 7 free throws, so it made no difference.
Incredibly, this win gave the Sixers back to back wins at home for the first time this season. Better late than never I guess. Samuel Dalembert had just 7 rebounds tonight which ends his streak of games with at least 10 rebounds at 14. It was great while it lasted. This was the Sixer's 20th win of the season at last. Better late than never I guess. With the win the Sixers are currently 20-31 overall, good enough for 10th in the East, just 4.5 games out of 8th. So all of the sudden they have playoff hopes again should they choose to pursue them.
The Sixers were simply too hot for Minnesota to handle on this night. Offensively, they shot a lights out 57% from the field, including 5 threes, as 5 Sixers scored in double figures. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand each had huge nights with 24 and 21 points respectively. Willie Green again starting in place of Allen Iverson, chipped in with 15, and Lou Williams and Thad Young added 16 and 15 off the bench, as part of another 50+ point effort by the Sixer bench. Defensively, the Sixers were just as solid, forcing 19 T-Wolve turnovers, and outrebounding them 39-32. The T-Wolves did at least shoot 47% from the field with 6 guys in double figures, but none had more than 16 and they missed 7 free throws, so it made no difference.
Incredibly, this win gave the Sixers back to back wins at home for the first time this season. Better late than never I guess. Samuel Dalembert had just 7 rebounds tonight which ends his streak of games with at least 10 rebounds at 14. It was great while it lasted. This was the Sixer's 20th win of the season at last. Better late than never I guess. With the win the Sixers are currently 20-31 overall, good enough for 10th in the East, just 4.5 games out of 8th. So all of the sudden they have playoff hopes again should they choose to pursue them.
Monday, February 08, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
With only 1 goal in their last 2 games and 2 close losses to show for it, the Flyers couldn't have come into tonight's game against the hated New Jersey Devils with all that much confidence. The last thing you want to do when you're struggling to score is face Martin Brodeur. In fact, the Flyers looked for a while like they wanted no part of Brodeur or the Devils. They were truly a sloppy mess for the better part of 2 periods, committing 6 penalties as the Devils quickly jumped ahead 2-0 just 1 minute into the 2nd period. Then at their lowest moment, down 2 goals to Brodeur with seemingly no hope left, the lightbulb finally turned on for the Orange and Black, and not a moment too soon. With a little under 2 minutes left in the 2nd period James Van Reimsdyk slipped by the defense and fooled Brodeur into looking one way while he shot the other way to cut it 2-1. About a minute later Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter hooked up on a 2 on 1 with Carter slapping one by Brodeur to knot it up at 2 with just 24 seconds left in the period. Considering the Flyers have just 1 win this season when trailing after 2 periods, that was literally perfect timing by Carter.
Later on with a little under 6 minutes to play and the Flyer's on the power play, Mike Richards slapped home a rebound and suddenly the Flyer's had the lead 3-2. From there to the end it was the Micheal Leighton show(Ray Emery sat out again with a bad hip) as the Flyer's number 2 - maybe he should be number 1 goalie, fended off one Devils' scoring chance after another. He made a brilliant glove save to rob Patrick Elias with about 5 minutes to play. Then later after Kimmo Timonen was penalized for boarding to give New Jersey a power play for the final 2 minutes of the game, Leighton stayed cool and helped kill of the penalty. He didn't make any huge saves but kept the puck in front of him and would not allow New Jersey to get anything by until the 3-2 victory was assured for the Orange and Black. In all Leighton amassed 28 big saves and I wouldn't be surprised to see him finish out the Flyer's last few games before the Olympic break.
So it wasn't a great 60 minute performance for the Orange and Black but they found a way to win and if this doesn't give them some momentum moving forward I don't know what will. At any rate with 61 points overall now the Flyers are back up to 7th in the Eastern conference, but far from out of the woods in the NHL playoff picture. Still a win is a win and I am going to go enjoy this one for a while.
Later on with a little under 6 minutes to play and the Flyer's on the power play, Mike Richards slapped home a rebound and suddenly the Flyer's had the lead 3-2. From there to the end it was the Micheal Leighton show(Ray Emery sat out again with a bad hip) as the Flyer's number 2 - maybe he should be number 1 goalie, fended off one Devils' scoring chance after another. He made a brilliant glove save to rob Patrick Elias with about 5 minutes to play. Then later after Kimmo Timonen was penalized for boarding to give New Jersey a power play for the final 2 minutes of the game, Leighton stayed cool and helped kill of the penalty. He didn't make any huge saves but kept the puck in front of him and would not allow New Jersey to get anything by until the 3-2 victory was assured for the Orange and Black. In all Leighton amassed 28 big saves and I wouldn't be surprised to see him finish out the Flyer's last few games before the Olympic break.
So it wasn't a great 60 minute performance for the Orange and Black but they found a way to win and if this doesn't give them some momentum moving forward I don't know what will. At any rate with 61 points overall now the Flyers are back up to 7th in the Eastern conference, but far from out of the woods in the NHL playoff picture. Still a win is a win and I am going to go enjoy this one for a while.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
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