Blair Betts registered a short-handed goal tonight in the blowout win against the Canadiens only days after receiving a nice two-year extension from the organization.
There may be no better way to head into the Olympic Break than with four straight wins through two home-and-homes against playoff bound teams.
First the Flyers iced the Devils with the newly acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, twice coming back from 2-0 deficits to win both games 3-2 in dramatic fashion. Next up was the Montreal Canadiens who fell down 3-0 in the first game and never quite recovered enough. Then, in response to some late game extracurriculars and perhaps a little blurb likening them to NAZIs, the Flyers took out their pre-Olympic frustrations on a worn, battered, and beaten Montreal Canadiens, even chasing Team Slovakia’s Olympic goalie, Jaroslav Halak, from the net.
Most importantly, the Flyers nest themselves fairly comfortably in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand against Ottawa above them, two points in hand against Boston below them, and three games in hand against Montreal, who now sit below the Bruins at 64 points. The Flyers have 67 points with 22 games left to play. The magic number is likely somewhere around 90.
For now at least, it seems the offense has returned as well. Though the stellar defensive play is helping Leighton keep the Flyers in games with Emery resting through the entire Olympic Break, the team is now putting some points up once again.
Believe it or not Hartnell wins the week of four wins with 6 assists for 6 points. Carter is up next with 5 goals, and Briere, after a hat trick tonight, ties him with 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points. Pronger gets 4 assists, and Giroux gets 3. Gagne gets a pair of assists and an incredible OT winner against the Devils. Betts and Carle both get a goal and an assist while Timonen and Coburn each get a pair of assists. Richards, vanRiemsdyk, and Asham walk away with a goal each, and Powe and Bartulis each finish out with an assist.
Needless to say, this week has done wonders for some offensive point totals. Two great come-from-behind wins against the division rival Devils as well as a pair of dominant efforts against Montreal had to have done wonders for the team’s confidence.
Now, the Olympics
Former Flyer Peter Forsberg carrying the Swedish flag yesterday night after the first Montreal game signaled one thing: the Olympics are back. Forsberg, as the leader for Sweden, is definitely one of the most important hockey players to watch. He will obviously be wearing #21. If he performs well, the Flyers could look into him for next season.
Former Flyers at the games:
- Peter Forsberg will be wearing #21 for Sweden.
- Luca Sbisa will be wearing #91 for Switzerland.
- Joni Pitkanen will be wearing #25 for Finland.
- Lasse Kukkonen will be wearing #5 for Finland.
- Antero Niittymaki will be wearing #30 for Finland.
- Patrick Thoresen will be playing for Norway. (#TBD)
- Ole-Kristian Tollefsen will be playing for Norway. (#TBD)
Of the current Flyers competing:
- Chris Pronger will be wearing #20 for Canada.
- Mike Richards will be wearing #18 for Canada.
- Jeff Carter will be playing for Canada pending news on Ryan Getzlaf’s injury. (#TBD)
- Kimmo Timonen will be wearing #44 for Finland.
- Oskars Bartulis will be playing for Latvia. (#TBD)
Need a reason to cheer for Team USA?
There are some that believe defenseman Matt Carle was a snub. It’s very possible with his play this season that Carle deserved to be on the roster more than 1 or 2 of the defensemen that Toronto Maple Leaf’s GM Brian Burke selected for the team. James vanRiemsdyk, with his outstanding rookie season, also could have made a case for himself, but in the end, he was likely a little too young to compete at the Olympics against the best competition in the world. There are enough Flyers on Canada’s team (Richards, Pronger, and Carter will likely play due to Getzlaf’s injury being more severe than previously thought) to make a case to cheer for Canada as a back-up.
Even so, this is America. You can pick Sweden as a back-up (as I am) or Finland for Timonen, but the reality is that as an American you should keep Team USA at the front. Well, I have your reason.
His name is Bobby Ryan, and he will be sporting #54.
He was born and raised a Flyers fan right across the river from Philly in Cherry Hill, NJ. He grew up working out at Bobby Clarke’s own facilities, and it is widely known that the Flyers desperately tried to move up to the 2nd overall position in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft to take Ryan right behind Sidney Crosby. He is a good, young powerforward currently playing out in Anaheim if you’ve never heard of him. I will be cheering for him and Team USA to capture gold this winter in Vancouver with Sweden and Canada as my fall-backs.
I will also be providing updates on games here at Phinally Philly and through my twitter account.
Go Team USA!
To the Flyers not participating…heal those wounds. The season starts up again in March, and the Trade Deadline is right around the corner.
