Flyers at the Olympics: the Wrap-up

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Well, if that wasn't enough to convince the NHL to let its players go back to the Olympics in 2014, then I don't know what would. With the best players playing in huge games in front of millions of fans, it's impossible to call it anything but a success. Time will tell if it leads to higher ratings in the NHL but at the very least the Olympics have to be looked at as something for players and fans to salivate for every 4 years.

As Philadelphia fans, we should be very proud of how the Flyers fared in the Olympics. The Flyers sent 4 representatives to Vancouver and 3 went home with medals, including 2 with gold. Every one of the Flyers at the Olympics was a key contributor for their club, whether it was matching up against the opponents top lines (Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Oskars Bartulis), putting in work on the penalty kill (Mike Richards, Timonen) or just logging a ton of ice time (Timonen, Bartulis). While it kills me that Sidney Crosby of the Penguins will be looked at as the hero of the Olympics, we can be proud that our Flyers had a huge impact in some of the biggest hockey games of the decade.

Here is the statistical breakdown of the four Flyers who played in the 2010 Olympics:
Now let's get back to the regular season games. The Flyers take on the Lightning on Tuesday, and as much fun as the Olympics were, I can't wait to see the orange and black back on the ice once again.

Flyers at the Olympics: the Medal Round

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So close! After a great run, Team USA came up just short in their quest for a gold medal. The US's loss was the gain of two Flyers, however. Here is a recap of how your Flyers did during the Medal Round:

Medal Round theme: Why did it have to be Crosby?

Gold Medal Game:
Canada 3, USA 2, OT After starting slow, the US clawed their way back into this one, getting a goal from Zach Parise in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. Ryan Miller was stellar in net all game long and only made one bad play; unfortunately, that bad play was in overtime on a shot by Sidney Crosby that won gold for Canada. While the US deserves a ton of credit for overcoming the odds and getting the silver medal, it was nice to see them not be happy with coming in second place after they lost the game. It's important to remember that this US team is really young and they just got a ton of experience on the world stage. If NHL players are going to Russia in 2014, the US has to be considered one of the favorites.

As for the Flyers in the game, both Mike Richards and Chris Pronger did their part to earn the gold. Richards had an assist on the first goal of the game by Jonathan Toews and he really settled into his checking role nicely for Canada. Richards played just under 15 minutes in the game and also had two shots on goal. Despite being largely criticized for his play in the tournament, Pronger put together a nice effort, leading the Canadian team with 23 minutes of ice time. He wasn't always out there when the Canadians needed to shut down the US but he was never on the ice when a goal was scored against him on Sunday. Let's hope Richards and Pronger can take this experience with Canada back to the Flyers and lead them to a championship of their own.

Bronze Medal Game:
Finland 5, Slovakia 3 Kimmo Timonen and the Fins knocked off Slovakia to earn the bronze medal. Timonen continued to be one of the best players on the ice for Finland, notching a team high 26 minutes of ice time and a pair of assists. He was a great player throughout the tournament, whatever the Fins needed him to do, Timonen did it. Hopefully he didn't get too worn down by the big minutes in pressure situations and now he can come back to the Flyers and continue to be his usual consistent self.

That's it for my daily game recaps of how the Flyers did on each day of the Olympics. Look for a complete statistical recap of each Flyer in the Olympics coming tomorrow. After that, this blog will return to its regular Flyers programming with the focus on what the orange and black can do to bring home the Cup.

Flyers at the Olympics: the Semifinals

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USA! USA! We're on to the medal round! Here is a recap of how your Flyers did during the Semifinals:

Semifinals theme: Bring on the rematch

U.S. 6, Finland 1 Talk about an explosion. The usually defensively sound Fins got hammered right out of the gate by the U.S., who scored 6 goals in the first, including 5 in a 5 minute span. The one Flyer in the game, Kimmo Timonen, didn't play terrible, notching a team-leading 23+ minutes of ice time and finishing with a plus/minus of 0, a remarkable feat considering the score. The Fins will still have a chance to take home a medal on Saturday when the take on Slovakia. As for the U.S., they played about as well as they possibly could as they tuned up for their rematch with the Canadians. They are going to need the offensive roll to continue if they are going to knock off their North American rivals for the second time and take home the gold.

Canada 3, Slovakia 2 This one sure got interesting at the end. Canada seemed to be coasting to a win, leading 3-0 halfway through the 3rd period, when Slovakia started their comeback, scoring a pair goals to make things interesting. Canada managed to just enough to withstand the Slovakia attack and advance to a rematch with the U.S. with gold on the line. As for the two Flyers in the game, both Chris Pronger and Mike Richards had solid games. Pronger had his highest scoring game of the Olympics, picking up 2 assists in 18 minutes on the ice. While Richards didn't score a point, he did have three shots on goal in his 12 minutes of ice time. Canada was fortunate to get past Slovakia, who played a great last 10 minutes of desperation hockey.

Saturday's Bronze Medal Game: Finland (Timonen) vs. Slovakia, 10:00 pm
Sunday's Gold Medal Game: USA vs. Canada (Pronger, Richards), 3:15 pm

Flyers at the Olympics: Quarterfinals

On to the Semifinals! Here is a recap of how your Flyers did during the Quarterfinals:

Quaterfinals theme: Um, Canada is really good

U.S. 2, Switzerland 0 They made us sweat a little more than they should have but the end result is what we expected. After many near-misses and disallowed goals, the U.S. outlasted the Swiss and their stellar goaltender, Jonas Hiller. While the U.S. only had a one goal lead for most of the game, you can't really say they looked past Switzerland considering how tough the Swiss have been to play against this Olympics. Let's hope the U.S. got all the near-misses out of their system as they are set to take on a tough Finland team in the Semifinals.

Canada 7, Russia 3 Was this a hockey game or a football game between two teams with great defenses? Canada definitely came into this one on a mission to just wipe out the Russians early and not look back. While they were certainly helped by some shaky goaltending by Evgeni Nabokov, the Canadian attack looked extremely dangerous as they poured in goal after goal in the first two periods. As for the Flyers playing in the game, both Mike Richards and Chris Pronger registered one assist. Richards played nearly 16 minutes in the game and didn't have a shot on goal and somehow managed to have a 0 plus/minus. Pronger played 14 and a half minutes and didn't do much of note except for a late holding penalty. The Canadians face Slovakia in the Semifinals. I'll be shocked if they slow down the Canadian attack at all.

Finland 2, Czech Republic 0 Kimmo Timonen and the Fins won a tough, low-scoring contest against the Czechs to move into the semifinals. No goals were scored in this game until deep into the third period when Niklas Hagman scored for Finland. Timonen continued his strong play for the Fins, leading the team with nearly 26 minutes of ice time. He has been out on the ice for nearly every big moment for Finland, including when they added the empty netter at the end of the game. Expect to see plenty more of Timonen against the top U.S. lines on Friday.

Slovakia 4, Sweden 3 Slovakia jumped out to a 2 goal lead twice in this game and they hung on in the third period to pull off the minor upset. The only former Flyer to have an impact in this game was Peter Forsberg, who picked up an assist. Some thought that if Forsberg turned in a good performance at the Olympics, he might make a comeback to the NHL. Foppa is clearly a shell of his former self, though, so I'm not sure teams are going to be knocking down his door with offers.

Friday's Semifinal games: Finland vs. U.S., 3:00 pm; Canada vs. Slovakia, 9:30 pm.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Seven

REUTERS/Shaun Best

The Olympic Tournament is under way! Here is a recap of how the Flyers did on Day 7 of the Olympic Games:

Day 7 theme: Canadians beat up the little guys

Switzerland 3, Belarus 2, SO No Flyers in the first elimination game but it was still a pretty entertaining contest between two evenly matched teams. You knew the Swiss would win once the game went into a shootout because Jonas Hiller is that much better than anything Belarus can throw out there. Up next for the Swiss? Another loss to the US in the quarterfinals.

Canada 8, Germany 2 After scoring only 1 goal in the first period and probably making their entire country nervous, the Canadians exploded in the final two periods against the Germans and cruised into their quaterfinal match with the Russians. Despite being moved off the Sidney Crosby line (as if he's upset by that), Mike Richards had a goal and an assist in just over 10 minutes of ice time. Chris Pronger also had an assist on a Rick Nash goal. The Canadians looked strong but I didn't expect anything less from them against poor Germany.

Czech Republic 3, Latvia 2, OT The first Flyer has been eliminated: Oskars Bartulis of Latvia. Despite making a valiant effort to come back from a 2-0 deficit and forcing overtime, Latvia fell to the Czech Republic after David Krejci scored the game winner. Bartulis played 22 minutes and once again failed to score a point. While he didn't register even a single assist for Latvia throughout the Olympics, Bartulis played a ton of minutes as part on the top defensive pairing and did as well as you could expect. Next up for the Czechs will be Finland.

Slovakia 4, Norway 3 Norway gave them a bit of a scare in the late game but Slovakia hangs on and moves on to face Sweden tomorrow. Former Flyer Michal Handzus had a goal for Slovakia.

Wednesday's Quarterfinal games: USA vs. Switzerland, 3:00 pm; Russia vs. Canada (Chris Pronger, Mike Richards), 7:30 pm; Czech Republic vs. Finland (Timonen), 10:00 pm; Sweden vs. Slovakia, 12:00 am.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Six

AP PHOTO

What a Day 6 of Olympic hockey! Yeah, no major efforts by the Flyers, but some great action nonetheless:

Day 6 theme: USA! USA!

Late Saturday:
Belarus 5, Germany 3 The Germans ended their preliminary action without picking up a win. Former Flyer Dennis Seidenberg scored a goal for Germany but it wasn't enough to knock off Belarus. The Germans now get the privilege of playing against a pissed off Canadian team in the first round of elimination games. Good luck with that.

Sunday:
Russia 4, Czech Republic 2 No Flyers in this game, either, but it was an intense, hard-fought game between two countries that definitely hate each other. And that hit by Alexander Ovechkin on Jaromir Jagr? OUCH. Hated Penguin Evgeni Malkin netted a pair of goals for the Russians.

U.S. 5, Canada 3 What a game! For more of my thoughts on it, see the previous post. Ryan Miller had to stand on his head but the US made noise when it mattered. As for Mike Richards and Chris Pronger, they were thankfully quiet for Team Canada. Richards had a few good shifts with Rick Nash and Sidney Crosby but he was a poor -2 in his 12 minutes of ice time. Chris Pronger made a bad play that led directly to a US goal and was a -1 in the contest. Neither Richards or Pronger had a point.

Sweden 3, Finland 0 With Sweden's win, the U.S. is now the #1 seed for the Olympic playoff. Obviously, given the shutout, Kimmo Timonen didn't have any points for Finland in 21 minutes of ice time. Former Flyer Peter Forsberg still hasn't registered a point for Sweden. It's safe to say a comeback to the NHL probably isn't in the cards for Forsberg.

Next games are on Tuesday, 2/23: Belarus vs. Switzerland, 3 pm; Germany vs. Canada (Richards, Pronger), 7:30 pm; Latvia (Bartulis) vs. Czech Republic, 10 pm; Norway vs. Slovakia, 12 am.

USA! USA! USA!

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Rather than lump this into my daily Flyer recap at the Olympics, I figured the U.S. victory over Canada deserves it's own post. From Ryan Miller's stellar play in net to the timely goals, USA hockey pulled off a great win in one of the best hockey games in recent memory. Yeah, it's only a preliminary game, but the win tonight felt like so much more for the U.S., who hadn't beaten Canada at the Olympics since 1960.

Can you imagine if these two teams play again at some point? Maybe with a gold medal on the line? It would be incredible, to say the least.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Five

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Day five saw the best performance to date of any Flyer at the Olympics:

Day 5 theme: Kimmo!

Late Friday:
Finland 5, Germany 0 Finally, a Flyer leads his team to victory! Kimmo Timonen notched a pair of powerplay goals as the Fins rolled past the Germans. Timonen deftly ran the point on the Fin powerplay, keeping the puck moving and even firing it on net from deep for one of his goals. His play helped the Fins score 4 times with the man advantage to coast past the usually solid German defense. Former Flyer Joni Pitkanen also had a power play goal for Finland.

Saturday:
Switzerland 5, Norway 4 The Swiss squeaked out their first win of the tournament over the Norwegians when they scored a goal in overtime. After the effort the Swiss showed against the Canadians, this game had to be a letdown for them. Former Flyer Patrick Thoreson (Yep, he's the guy that took that shot to the groin) had three assists for Norway. Both of these countries will need miracles to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.

Slovakia 6, Latvia 0 Oskars Bartulis and the Latvians appear to be the worst team at the Olympics as they have now been outscored 19-4 in their three losses. Miraculously for Bartulis, he had a plus/minus of 0 despite getting 21 minutes of icetime in this blowout. The Latvians need the second coming of Arturs Irbe if they want to compete at the Olympics.

Games tomorrow (2/21): Germany vs. Belarus, 12 am; Russia vs. Czech Republic, 3 pm; Canada (Richards, Pronger) vs. US, 7:30 pm; Sweden vs. Finland (Timonen), 12 am. Now that's a good slate of games.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Four

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Day four of Olympic hockey is in the books. Here is your recap:

Day 4 theme: Finally, an upset!

Late Thursday: Slovakia 2, Russia 1, SO The Slovaks pulled off the first upset of the tournament after they capped an exciting day of hockey by beating Russia in a shootout. Jaroslav Halak was the MVP in this one, stopping 36 shots and holding the Russian attack at bay. The two ex-Flyers playing for Slovakia, Michal Handzus and Branko Radivojevic, did nothing of note.

Friday:
Sweden 4, Belarus 2 Belarus hung tough and made the defending Olympic champs fight to earn the win. There were no current Flyers playing in this one and only one former Flyer, Peter Forsberg, who still hasn't registered a point in the Olympics.

Czech Republic 5, Latvia 2 Oskars Bartulis and the Latvians came up short yet again against a superior opponent. The Czech's got 3 quick goals in the first period and the game looked like it was going to be a blowout but Latvia hunkered down and played better from there. Despite committing a ton of penalties, the Latvians were just a bounce away from making things interesting in the third. As for Bartulis, he logged over 20 minutes of ice time and did plenty of penalty killing against the top Czech forwards. He's being asked to play way over his head for the Latvians and hasn't done anything to embarrass himself.

Games tomorrow (2/20): Finland (Timonen) vs. Germany, 12 am; Norway vs. Switzerland, 3 pm; Latvia vs. Slovakia, 7:30 pm; Germany vs. Belarus, 12 am. Look for my recap of Timonen from Friday's late game tomorrow.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Three

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Three days in, here is your daily recap of how Flyers players are doing at the 2010 Olympics:

Day 3 theme: The Swiss are good for something besides cocoa and knives!

Late Wednesday:
Czech Republic 3, Slovakia 1 No Flyers in this one but it was interesting to see that Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist. We'll see how he does against some tougher opponents.

Thursday:
U.S. 6, Norway 1 On the scoreboard, it looked like the U.S. rolled yet again, meeting very little resistance from former Flyer Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and the Norwegians. On the ice, though, the Americans didn't put away this weak Norway team like they should have. This game was within reach for Norway until late in the third period when the U.S. tallied three goals to turn the game into a blowout. If the U.S. wants to hang with the big boys in the coming days, they are going to have to put together 60 minutes of solid hockey

Canada 3, Switzerland 2, SO This was by far the best game of the day and of the tournament to this point. The Swiss goaltender, Jonas Hiller, stood on his head for 65 minutes and forced the game to go into a shootout. The Canadian team squeaked out the win after Sidney Crosby finally got one past Hiller but the Swiss really made the rest of the tournament stand up and take notice with their effort. We all know that a hot goaltender can carry you in a tournament situation so the Swiss might be a team to watch for in the coming days. As for the two Flyers on the Canadian roster, Mike Richards and Chris Pronger, neither had a single point. Richards didn't get a ton of minutes in the game but did provide good energy when he was out there. Pronger didn't seem to get quite as much ice time in this one for whatever reason.

Games tomorrow (2/19): Slovakia vs. Russia, 12 am; Belarus vs. Sweden, 3 pm; Czech Republic vs. Latvia (Bartulis), 7:30 pm; Finland (Timonen) vs. Germany, 12 am.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Two

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Day 2 is in the books so here is your daily recap of how Flyers players are doing at the 2010 Olympics:

The theme for Day 2: Favorites still rule

Late Tuesday:
Russia 8, Lativa 2 As expected, the Russians rolled over the Latvians, who feature Oskars Bartulis as their top defenseman. Given Bartulis had the task of shutting down some serious Russian firepower, he did about as well as could be expected. Bartulis did have a cross-checking penalty in the first period of the game but it didn't lead to a PP goal. Russia looks mighty dangerous.

Wednesday:
Finland 5, Belarus 1 The only Flyer in this game was Kimmo Timonen of Finland. Timonen didn't notch any points in this one but he did log plenty of ice time and helped to shut down the Belarus offense. Former Flyers Lasse Kukkonen and Joni Pitkanen each had assists for Finland. Anyone else find it interesting that the Finn defense features three players who have suited up for the Flyers? Not sure if that is a good or bad thing for Finland's medal hopes.

Sweden 2, Germany 0 This game was closer than expected as the Germans played their usual lockdown defense and the Swedes failed to really get into any kind of flow offensively. Former Flyer Dennis Seidenberg racked up a ton of PK time with Germany and is their best defender. Of note for Sweden was the fact that Peter Forsberg survived the game with both feet intact.

Games tomorrow (2/18): Czech Republic vs. Slovakia, 12 am; USA vs. Norway, 3pm; Switzerland vs. Canada (Pronger, Richards), 7:30 pm; Slovakia vs. Russia, 12 am.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day One

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This is your first in a series of daily recaps of how Flyers players are doing at the 2010 Olympics:

The theme for day one: Go North America!

United States 3, Switzerland 1 The U.S. doesn't feature any Flyers players but they cruised past the Swiss behind solid goaltending by Ryan Miller and timely goals. Former Flyer Luca Sbisa is on the Swiss team and didn't do much.

Canada 8, Norway 0 There was speculation early in the day that Mike Richards wasn't going to play for Canada in this one which would have been quite a surprise. Richards had practiced with Canada's top power play line so it didn't make much sense for him not to play. Fortunately, Richards did suit up and he even netted a goal (although he should have had two--he missed a gimme earlier in the game). Chris Pronger also saw a ton of ice time on Canada's top defensive unit and picked up an assist when Dany Heatley deflected his shot from the point for a goal. Overall, this game was simply a breeze for Canada as Norway put up a fight for a period but then folded against the mighty Canadian attack.

Games tomorrow (2/17): Russia vs. Latvia (Bartulis), 12 am; Finland (Timonen) vs. Belarus, 3pm; Sweden vs. Germany, 7:30 pm; Czech Republic vs. Slovakia, 12 am. Check back tomorrow to see how Oskars Bartulis does against the potent Russian offense in the late game tonight.

Five Flyers to take part in 2010 Olympics, none for Team USA

Following the Winter Classic, USA Hockey announced the players that will represent the United States in the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. Unfortunately, no Flyers were selected to play for Team USA. After their hot starts this season, both James van Riemsdyk and Matt Carle were believed to be in the running for a spot but both came up short. Goaltender Brian Boucher is the only other American on the Flyers roster and his injuries this season likely eliminated whatever slim chance he had of making the team.

There have been five Flyers selected by their respective countries to play in the Olympics in February, four of them defensemen:

Oskars Bartulis, D (Latvia)
Chris Pronger, D (Canada)
Mike Richards, C (Canada)
Kimmo Timonen, D (Finland)
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D (Norway)

Jeff Carter was also chosen as an alternate for Canada.