Posts Tagged ‘Jaromir Jagr’

The Boys (Flyers) are back in town

January 19th, 2013 by Emily Phung | Comments Off on The Boys (Flyers) are back in town | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

The Boys are Back in Town

Winter doesn’t feel the same without a bit of hockey. Philadelphia sports fan have been rejoicing since the lockout ended. The Flyers are so glad to be back for so many reasons. A few of the Flyers had sustained injuries from playing in European leagues overseas (Jakub Voracek, Danny Brière, and Claude Giroux) and didn’t want to continue with the rough style hockey that may have put their careers in jeopardy. Some just felt like they were not part of a team even when they joined one. For example,Wayne Simmonds felt out-of-place and uncomfortable since there were so many racial remarks made by fans at a Czech Extraliga league. He definitely is more than thrilled to be back in action in the states where such incidents are rare and remote. With a shortened hockey season, what will the Flyers team possibly be like?

Here’s a few dynamics that can be major factors for the season.

– Departure of players may change the dynamic of the team. Without the presence of major producer, Jaromir Jagr, many wonder who will step into his shoes. Jagr was a team player by helping individuals to improve on the ‘basics’ that the Flyers had lacked in many seasons prior to Jagr’s arrival. On another note, with Matt Carle migrating to a Tampa Bay, the Flyers team needs to negate this deficit as well since Carle was able to move the puck efficiently on the ice that opened many game making opportunity plays for other players.

– Claude Giroux hits back the ice as the Flyers captain. His leadership last year helped motivate the team to unprecedented levels at time. Finishing 3rd in the NHL with points was an impressive feat. It is only so fitting that he represents the Flyers team in a recognized leadership position such as captain.

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Early Season Thriller for the Flyers

October 13th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on Early Season Thriller for the Flyers | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

Yes it was only October 12th, but if you are a Philadelphia Flyers fan there is reason to be enthusiastic. This is a team that came into the season with huge question marks surrounding every aspect of the club, but after just three games there are some answers to those questions and for the most part they are good. The home opener provided an extremely tough test for this young Flyers team and they passed, maybe not with flying colors, but with a W in the left column.

Right off of the first face off the Flyers came out and took control. One of the aspects of the new Flyers that has been prominent is their speed. It frustrated the Bruins, it frustrated the Devils and it definitely frustrated the Canucks. Within the first 10 minutes of the game the Flyers were able to draw three penalties.

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It had been 11 straight times since Philadelphia lit the lamp on a power play, but they scored on two of those three penalties in the first period. The first goal came from Claude Giroux, thanks to a weird bounce off of the glass that left him right in front of Luongo and the second came from a tremendous slap shot by Chris Pronger, snapping a 25 game drought. Up 2-0 against the defending Western Conference champs the Flyers were skating with tremendous confidence, but it was going to take much more than that to beat the Presidents’ Trophy winner from last year.

The theme of the night was a Vancouver comeback and the first step in this process was a Mikael Samuelsson power play goal, a Scott Hartnell high stick led to the power play chance. The Flyers were quick to answer however.

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Flyers hold onto 2-1 win over Bruins

October 7th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on Flyers hold onto 2-1 win over Bruins | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

28 long minutes kept the Flyers from taking the ice and beginning the 2011-12 season. It was difficult for me to sit through the ridiculously long and tiring banner raising ceremony in the TD Garden. Just imagine what it was like for the Flyers to sit there and listen to the crowd roar with appreciation, much like they did after game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That was the game that set all of the offseason changes in motion, this was the perfect opportunity for Philadelphia to show that those moves were the right ones and if this was the first act, it was pretty damn impressive.

When the puck finally dropped at 7:28pm the Bruins began the season right where they left off. They dominated the Flyers for the first 10 minutes. Ilya Bryzgalov was tested early as it seemed every 20 seconds he was having to either fend off a shot or be in position to do so. This was because of an early abundance of turnovers from the Flyers forwards in the neutral zone. Yes the defense wasn’t in the groove that it needed to be in, but like we all saw in the playoff match up last season the Bruins aggressiveness was just too much for the Flyers to handle.

Boston’s momentum culminated in a Brad Marchand power play goal, thanks in part to a Zac Rinaldo holding the stick penalty. This would be the end of any kind of Boston momentum until way later in the 3rd period.

The Flyers began to finally look comfortable together on the ice. Claude Giroux capitalized on a Nathan Horton slashing penalty with a razzle dazzle move past Zdeno Chara and then one that froze Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Nice way to start out what many analysts are saying could be his breakout season. It wasn’t all Giroux on the play though, Chris Pronger began the play with a pass to Jagr who fed it to Giroux who took it from there. On the play Jaromir Jagr reached the milestone of his 1,600th point.

Less than a minute later and with only 2.4 seconds left in the 1st period one of the “new guys” lit the lamp. After a Andrej Meszaros shot was blocked, Jakub Voracek spun around and flung the puck at the net. The biscuit slid past the five-hole of Thomas and just like that it was 2-1. The air was taken out of the championship balloon.

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Out with the old, in with the new… sorta

July 8th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on Out with the old, in with the new… sorta | Filed in Flyers, Hockey

Remember when GM Paul Holmgren said that the Flyers were going to make a few changes during this offseason? It seems as if his definition of few is much different than what everyone else’s is. When the puck drops for the first time on October 6th the Flyers will suit up with a totally new look squad. One that is bigger offensively and for the first time in this century they will have a top flight goaltender.

With all of these changes however, there is one simple question that will be asked until the season finally begins. Will this version of the Flyers be better than the one that was together when last season ended?

This is a simple question with many different answers.

The Flyers traded away their two cornerstones of their team and then never looked back. Here are all of the players that they have let go or traded away, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Darrell Powe, Villie Leino, Brian Boucher, Sean O’Donnell, and Dan Carcillo.

Out of all the players that will not be on the team next year, Villie Leino will be missed the most. It would have been foolish for Leino to turn down the 6 year $24 mil. offer from the Sabers. The Flyers could not afford to keep him and he is now set for life in the bank. His puck control and pass first mentality will be an aspect that hopefully one of the young guys has.

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