Another Flyers season ends but the future remains bright

It really wasn't supposed to happen this way for the Flyers, at least not this season.  No, I'm not talking about how the Flyers weren't supposed to lose to the Devils; the Flyers weren't supposed to even get to the second round this season.

After making drastic changes last offseason, the Flyers instantly entered a rebuilding mode, one that will feature a number of young players who are years away from their primes.  Sure, the Flyers were still supposed to be competitive but they really weren't expected to be serious Cup contenders until the kids had a chance to develop.  Really, anything that happened this season was gravy.

So why is it still so disappointing to see them lose to the Devils on Tuesday and get ousted from the playoffs?  Mostly because of how much fun it was to see these upstart Flyers stick it to the Penguins in one of the most entertaining series of games in many years.  To follow up all of that entertainment with four straight losses to the Devils in a series of games that were very uneventful was what was so disappointing.

The future is very bright with these Flyers. Claude Giroux could still get better.  The 8 rookies that hogged all the ice time this season should only improve with even more experience.  Chris Pronger hopefully will return.  Ilya Bryzgalov will hopefully keep his head on straight.  There is a lot to like about the future of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Despite all of this, it still hurts to see them lose to a Devils team that doesn't really feel like a great team. Hey, we'll always have that Penguins series.
(Getty Images)

Flyers kick Penguins to the curb

Pennsylvania now belongs to the Flyers. 

There was certainly reason to be nervous after how Games 4 and 5 went but the Flyers quickly put any thoughts of a possible Penguins series win to bed by jumping out to an early lead in Game 6 and never looking back.  In the series that had a little bit of everything, Game 6 was fairly normal as the Flyers dominated from start to finish, winning 5-1 to send the Penguins packing.

Claude Giroux set the early tone for the Flyers, first crushing Sidney Crosby then picking up a goal 32 seconds into the game.  Giroux later added a pair of assists and continues his emergence into the upper echelon of hockey players.  In a series that featured Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, supposedly two of the top 5 players in the world, Claude Giroux was often the best player on the ice.

The series was also a coming out party for Sean Couturier, who not only had a hat trick in Game 2 but also made it his personal mission to shut down Malkin.  While Malkin had a fair amount of points, Couturier shut him down at critical moments and continually got under his skin.  It will be a lot of fun watching the 19 year old Couturier own Malkin for years to come.

With the Penguins pushed aside, the Flyers now wait for their next opponent.  Who they will play is still pretty up in the air depending on the outcomes of the Rangers/Senators and Bruins/Capitals series.  With the Flyers already having beaten the supposed Cup favorite, a deep playoff run certainly seems like a strong possibility.

Claude Giroux fights?!?

The Flyers played one of their worst games of the season on Thursday night, losing to the Islanders 4-1, but there was one interesting development in the game: Claude Giroux fought:
 
He certainly is much better with the stick than the fists.  Perhaps this will help him snap out of his offensive funk.

Shutout! Bryzgalov, Flyers blank Devils

It's been a long, long time since the Flyers had a shutout.  85 games to be exact.  It's only fitting, then, that the supposed savior between the pipes ends the drought.  Ilya Bryzgalov stopped all 20 shots he faced as the Flyers blanked the Devils, 3-0, to remain unbeaten through two games.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the game:

-Bryzgalov gets credit for the shutout but he didn't have to do much work as he had some long stretches between shots.  That is often more difficult for goaltenders to have sporadic work than to be in the middle of the action for the entire game so Bryz certainly earned his shutout.

-Plenty of credit for the shutout should also go to the penalty killers, who were a perfect 5 for 5.  The Flyers continue to give the kids, Sean Couturier and Matt Read, plenty of penalty kill time and they haven't dissapointed.  Read also notched his first career goal and will be fun to watch develop over the course of the season.

-I said after the last game that Claude Giroux would score 40 goals this season but I might amend that to 50 goals.  With the way he is already clicking with JVR and Jaromir Jagr, 100 total points really doesn't seem to far-fetched for Giroux.

-It's hard not to notice all the things that Wayne Simmonds does well on the ice.  He only got 12:52 of ice time but he made the most of it, picking up a goal, a fight and 4 shots on net.  If Brayden Schenn turns out to be the player everyone thinks he will be, the Flyers won't have any regrets about trading Mike Richards.

Two games in and 82-0 is still in play for the Flyers!  After the disappointment of the ending of the Phillies season, this hard-working Flyers team is the perfect thing to wash away the pain.
(AP PHOTO)

New-look Flyers win season opener

After knocking off the defending champs, the Flyers are on their way to a perfect season!  Ok, not really, but the Flyers did look pretty impressive in their season opening 2-1 win over the Bruins.  Here are my thoughts on the win:

-It was exciting to see all the new faces and what their contributions would be to the Flyers.  With more than half a dozen skaters suiting up for the Flyers for the first time, we almost needed a scorecard to keep up with the action.  Of the newcomers, I was most impressed with Matt Read, Wayne Simmonds and, of course, Jaromir Jagr.  Read didn't get a ton of ice time but he did play some on the penalty kill and was aggressive.  Simmonds picked up a few penalties but he will quickly become a Flyers fan favorite.

-Jagr and Claude Giroux are going to be fun to watch this year.  The two playmakers worked together for their first of many goals tonight and had several quality chances throughout the night.  Giroux could easily get 40 goals playing with a motivated Jagr.

-No, it wasn't that elusive shutout the Flyers have been looking for, but Ilya Bryzgalov looked solid in net.  While he only had to face 23 shots, Bryzgalov stayed sharp and buckled down after giving up the first period goal.  It's way too early to tell if he is a significant upgrade in net but that was as good a start as you can ask for.

-Waaaaay too many penalties for the Flyers.  It's an issue that has plagued this club since their inception but the Flyers continue to give their opponents too many power play opportunities.  Maybe they just wanted to test out their PK?

-I'm not a big fan of Zac Rinaldo.  At all.  I like Jody Shelley better and that's really saying something.

At the very least, this should be a very interesting season for the Flyers with all the new players in the lineup.  While I still have some worries about where the offense is going to come from (besides the top line), their defense and goaltending should keep them in most games.

Giroux the only Flyer to make the All-Star team

I guess the NHL is trying to tell us that having the best team in the Eastern Conference doesn't necessarily mean you have the best players.

The NHL announced the rosters for the 2011 All-Star game and, surprisingly, only one Flyer made the team: Claude Giroux. While Giroux is having a great season, the Flyers had at least two other players who are equally deserving in Danny Briere and Mike Richards. Given that Briere is 7th in the league in goals, it's fair to call him a snub and the only likely explanation as to why he wasn't named to the team was that he asked the league not to pick him.

Of course, before we get too angry about who was left off, it's important to give Giroux his due. The 28 year old is averaging nearly a point per game and has developed into the player we all thought he could be, already hitting career highs in goals, assists and points this season.

Still, only one All-Star from the best team in the East? Come on, NHL!

Claude Giroux signs contract extension with Flyers

We will be graced with the presence of Claude Giroux in orange and black for at least a few more years. After a hot start this season, the Flyers have smartly signed Giroux to a contract extension that will keep him with the team for three more years for 11.25 million, a cap hit of 3.75 million per year.

For the Flyers, this is the right signing at the right time for the right price. Giroux has been incredible this season, using his slick passing skills and his incredible vision on the ice to pick up 7 goals and 7 assists through 15 games. To get a player of his skill wrapped up for a few years for such a reasonable salary is a smart move no matter how you look at it.

One has to wonder what the signing of Giroux means for the Flyers plans with Jeff Carter, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and will command a much higher salary. You can bet the Flyers will now be hard at work trying to wrap up Carter, if they can even afford him.

Flyers continue to own CONSOL Energy Center

Talk about a home away from home.

The Flyers are making themselves feel right at home at the Penguins new building, winning for the second time this season at the CONSOL Energy Center on Friday night. While both wins ended with the same 3-2 score, the season opening game and the game tonight started off on completely different notes.

From the drop of the puck, this one was ugly as the two rivals went after each other right away, with Mike Richards and Matt Cooke fighting just 6 seconds into the game. Things only escalated from there, as Jody Shelley and Deryk Engelland also dropped the gloves 17 seconds later and the two teams met for another scrum just a minute and a half into the game. All told, there were 9 penalties for 30 minutes in the first 2:35 of the game.

Things settled down from there as there were just a few scattered penalties by each team from that point forward. With all the penalties early on, the Penguins had several long stretches of power play time, but the Flyers shut them down, finishing the game a perfect 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.

The player of the game for the Flyers was Claude Giroux, who continued his breakout season by scoring two goals, one of them a shorthanded tally, his third of the season. With 6 goals in 10 games this season, the 22 year old Giroux is making himself quite a highlight reel and is on pace for nearly 50 goals this season.

The other Flyers goal was scored on a deflection by Dan Carcillo, who played in place of Nikolay Zherdev, who was a surprise scratch. Zherdev had recently been demoted to the 4th line in practice for his poor defensive play and Peter Laviolette seems to be sending a message to the young, enigmatic winger. Let's hope Zherdev responds and doesn't go into a funk like he did with the Blue Jackets a few years back.

While they are still trying to find a consistent mix, the win over the Penguins was the Flyers second straight and it did push them to the top of the Atlantic Division standings. The game against the very beatable Islanders tomorrow should tell us a lot about whether this team has turned a corner or whether they are going to be complacent once again against a team they should be able to handle.
(AP PHOTO)

History will be made: Claude Giroux

First, it was Mike Richards who was immortalized in a commercial for the NHL Playoffs. Now, it's Claude Giroux's turn in a spot that features his OT winner from Game 3:

If you don't get goosebumps from these commercials there is something wrong with you.

Giroux's OT winner gets Flyers back in series

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

They're not dead yet! In yet another game decided by just one goal, the Flyers won Game 3 against the Blackhawks after Claude Giroux tipped a goal past Antii Niemi in overtime. The 4-3 win cut the Blackhawks lead in the series down to 2 games to 1 and got the Flyers right back in the series with their first win in the Stanley Cup Finals in 23 years.

Game 3 was just more proof that the Flyers play their best with their backs against the wall. Facing what was essentially a must-win game, the Flyers showed poise throughout the game and even managed to score twice in overtime if it wasn't for a quick whistle. They key word with this team in resiliency; they aren't going to give up the Cup without a fight.

This series is clearly between two very evenly matched teams that are fighting tooth and nail to win each and every game. With each game in the series being decided by one goal so far, it's a pretty safe bet we've got a few more exciting games ahead.

Here's video of the OT winner so you can re-watch it in all its glory:

Leighton shines yet again as Flyers take commanding 3-1 series lead

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

It's getting to the point where I have run out of things to say about how good the Flyers are playing. Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Finals was more of the same for them as they had a ton of energy, scored timely goals and got rock solid goaltending in a 3-0 win over the Canadiens. The win was huge for the Flyers as they come home needing just one more win before they can move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game 4 was all about the Flyers showing whether they could bounce back from adversity. After getting outplayed in Game 3, the Flyers needed to respond or else the Canadiens were going to make take all the momentum in the series. The Flyers didn't let that happen, though, as they dominated play for most of the game and effectively neutralized the Canadiens boisterous crowd.

Michael Leighton once again came up big for the Flyers, stopping the meager 17 shots the Canadiens put on net. This game was another instance where Leighton didn't have to be ridiculously good, just in the right place at the right time. With the Flyers defense blocking 27 shots themselves, Leighton just has to be ready for those few tough chances that actually get through to him. For those scoring at home, that's 3 shutouts in 4 games against Montreal.

Offensively for the Flyers, they continue to get scoring from all lines. Tonight, with the top line and power play failing to produce any goals, Claude Giroux got two goals from the third line and Ville Leino got a goal from the second line. The emergence of Giroux, who now has 8 playoff goals and 16 playoff points, has been one of the better stories of the playoffs and really shows just how deep the Flyers are at forward. How many other teams in the NHL have a third line center that can do the things this kid can do? As for Leino, just remember to chuckle at the fact that the Flyers got him for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 5th round draft pick as you notice his 12 points in 12 playoff games.

The Flyers also got a boost in Game 4 by the return of Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere. While neither player scored a point, both each made an impact in the game. For Laperriere, it was mixing it up with the Canadiens every chance he got. For Carter, it was making the most out of the incredibly short shifts in the beginning of the game as he tried to get his legs under him. Once he did, he had a few flashes of brilliance on his way to tying for the team lead in shots.

After a rocky Game 3, all is well in Flyerland again. While the Flyers have three more chances to put away the Canadiens, you can bet they will be focused on putting them away at home in Game 5 and avoid having to go back to Montreal again. If they play at all like they did in Game 4 they will be just four wins away from bringing home the Cup.

Flyers injury update: Boucher out, Giroux will play

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

And the Flyers goalie carousel continues. The Flyers learned today that Brian Boucher, who was injured in Game 5 against the Bruins on Monday night, will miss about a month after an MRI showed that he had a sprained MCL. Taking his place in net will be playoff rookie Michael Leighton, who filled in admirably for Boucher in Game 5 but is dealing with his own injury issues. While the Flyers should have confidence in Leighton, it will be a shame that they will be without Boucher, who has been one of the best goaltenders in the playoffs.

There was some good news on the Flyers injury front, however, as the team expects Claude Giroux to play in Game 6 after injuring his shoulder in Game 5. While some reports around the league speculated that Giroux had a concussion, the Flyers made it clear that he only suffered a shoulder tweak when he was boarded by Bruin Steve Begin.

With every injury, the chances the Flyers have of coming back in this series becomes slimmer and slimmer, making the fact that they have actually made this a series against the Bruins all the more amazing.

We've got a series: Flyers crush Bruins in Game 5

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

We should have learned by now that we can't ever count out the Flyers. Somehow, despite barely squeaking into the playoffs, despite amassing a heap of injured players and despite them being in a 0-3 hole, the Flyers are persevering. In Game 5 against the Bruins, the Flyers played some of their best hockey of the season, blowing out Boston in a 4-0 win to narrow the Bruins series lead to 3-2.

The Flyers got big-time contributions from three forwards in the game: Simon Gagne, Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell. Continuing his solid play since returning in Game 4, Gagne had a pair of goals in the game, one on the power play and the other an unassisted breakaway goal. Leino (goal, assist) and Hartnell (goal) were also around the net all game long as both finished with a plus/minus of 2. I'm assuming the Flyers have been very happy with what Leino has done with the opportunity he has been given due to injuries.

While the scoreboard shows that the Flyers were the much better team on Monday night, they did have to pay the price for the win. Two more possibly major injuries happened, including one to starting goaltender Brian Boucher and another to one of their most reliable playoff contributors, Claude Giroux. It was frankly remarkable that the Flyers never missed a beat after these two key players went down.

After a collision at the net, Boucher had to leave the game early in the second period and was replaced by Michael Leighton, who was fresh off an injury of his own. Initial reports on Boucher are that he seriously injured his knee and I would expect that he has an MRI tomorrow where we get a clear picture of how long he will be out. In his place, Leighton took over and looked sharp, finishing what was the first combined shutout in Flyers playoff history. While Leighton was as steady as you could ask for, he is a playoff rookie and it's difficult to have too much confidence in him should Boucher be out for any period of time.

Giroux came up his injury after Steve Begin boarded him late in the second period. It is also not known as to whether Giroux will miss any time but he wasn't on the Flyers bench in the third period. With the game a blowout, let's hope the Flyers were just letting Giroux rest up.

Suddenly, with Game 6 coming back in Philadelphia, the Flyers are right back in this series. The way they have played some of their best hockey with their backs against the wall there is no reason to think they can't pull off the comeback. This team has proven again and again, no matter how many players shuttle in and out of the lineup and no matter how tired their legs are, they will give maximum effort. While I hope Boucher and Giroux find their way back to the ice, it's good to know that Leighton is waiting in the wings and guys like Gagne and Leino are picking up the slack offensively.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves and start making plans for the Eastern Conference Finals, however, it's important to remember the Flyers are still only halfway through their comeback attempt. Anyone who has watched the Flyers this season knows that, in any game, for any reason, the Flyers can just not have it and get blown out of the building. Still, it's exciting to know that with a few more bounces and a little more luck, the Flyers could pull off one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history. Game 6 Wednesday night in Philly will be huge.

On to the second round! Flyers rip Devils again

For a team that barely made the playoffs the Flyers sure plan to make the most of their opportunity. Thanks to another dominating performance, the Flyers struck quick against the Devils in Game 5 and never looked back, clinching the series with a 3-0 win.

Danny Briere scored the game-winning goal just minutes into the game but the offensive hero of the night for the Flyers was Claude Giroux, who scored 2 goals midway through the second period. For a team that was worried about where the offense was going to come from with Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter missing time, the continued emergence of Giroux has been a welcome sight. The kid is clearly raising his game to a new level.

As for the supposed weak link of the Flyers, Brian Boucher came up huge once again, stopping all 27 shots he saw in Game 5. For a guy that was thought to be the worst goaltender in the NHL playoffs, Boucher was in the right position at the right time to make every big save in the series. Sure, the Flyers defense deserves plenty of credit for their ability to limit the scoring opportunities in front of him, but Boucher has somehow turned back the clock and emerged as that hot goaltender that took the Flyers deep into the 2000 playoffs.

With the Devils out of the way, the Flyers are on to the second round and a likely showdown with the Capitals, who figure to be a much more formidable opponent than New Jersey. While the Flyers defense might be able to slow down some of their weapons, Philly can't afford to take a bunch of penalties like they did against the Devils and give Washington's dangerous power play numerous chances. While the Flyers do have a great penalty kill, stopping Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom with a man advantage is going to be a tall order.

Anyway, we'll worry about the Capitals later because now it's time to enjoy the fact that the #7 seeded Flyers overcame huge odds and dominated the #2 seeded Devils in the first round. It's time to revel in the idea that this team that barely made the playoffs and is playing with their third string goalie in net and two of their top forwards out with injuries has been able to knock out one of the best teams in the East. It's going to be fun see how long they can keep this unlikely run going. GO FLYERS!

Devils even up series with late goal

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Well, at least the Flyers still have the home ice advantage. Despite playing better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, the Flyers couldn't put away the Devils when they had the chance, losing when former Flyer Dainius Zubrus scored a goal late in the third period to give the Devils a 4-3 lead. An empty net goal later and the Flyers were sent back to Philadelphia with a 1-1 tie in the series.

The Devils managed to even things up by playing with a lot more energy in Game 2, jumping out to an early lead and setting the tempo for the game. While they did allow the Flyers right back into the game, the Devils were much more aggressive, out-shooting and out-hitting Philly throughout the night. Martin Brodeur also played better in net, making big stops in the third period to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard.

It's hard to point at any one reason why the Flyers lost Game 2. The Flyers didn't take advantage of the opportunities the Devils gave them, especially on the power play. Overall, Philly was a respectable 2 for 7 with the man advantage, but they really needed to capitalize when the Devils gave them three power play chances in a row early in the second period in a tie game. Scoring just once early in the second would have completely shifted the momentum.

One other negative for the Flyers was the Ryan Parent and Oskars Bartulis defensive pairing. While Philly really tried to minimize how much both were on the ice, they still played 12 minutes of pretty bad defense, all of which culminated with them being on the ice for the Devils game winning goal late in the third period. The Flyers have four really good defensemen that play the majority of the game but not having anyone they can trust in the third pairing really hurt them.

Everyone's favorite person to blame, Brian Boucher, didn't play great in net but he wasn't terrible, either. Of the 4 goals he let in, only 1 was really of the "soft" variety. No, Boucher didn't steal the game for the Flyers but he also didn't lose it for them, either. After an impressive showing in Game 1, Boucher was simply out-dueled by Brodeur in Game 2.

Even though it's tough to take anything positive from a loss, not everything went bad for the Flyers in Game 2. They generated more quality offense than they mustered in Game 1, more than doubling their number of shots from 14 to 29. Claude Giroux also continued his playoff magic as he looked like the most dynamic player on the ice for most of the night, finishing with a sweet assist and a tip-in goal. The Flyers also did a good job keeping out of the penalty box and only gave the Devils 3 power play chances.

Looking at the bigger picture, every Flyers fan should be happy with a 1-1 tie and the series shifting back to Philadelphia. The Flyers have proven already in this series that they can at least keep up with and often times play better than the Devils. If they can just get a few more opportunistic goals and tighten up the defense a bit, they will still be in great shape to take the series. As in every series that's tied at 1 apiece, Game 3 is going to be huge with the winner of the game poised to take all of the momentum in the series. I'm sure the Flyers fans will set the tone for what should be a great Game 3 atmosphere; it will be up to the team to set the tone on the ice.

Flyers playoff bound after shootout win!

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Flyers are going to the playoffs!

While it's unfortunate that who went to the playoffs had to be decided in a shootout, the better team won on Sunday as the Flyers outplayed the Rangers in a 2-1 win that clinched the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference for Philly. It was a frustrating game throughout as the Flyers had more shots, hits and scoring chances but trailed for most of the contest after Jody Shelley scored early in the first period for the Rangers. It wasn't until the third period that the Flyers evened it up when Matt Carle scored a power play goal and from there the scoring stopped as the Rangers went into a shell and the Flyers just couldn't beat Henrik Lundqvist.

After a few chances for each team in overtime, it all came down to a shootout, a nightmare scenario for hockey purists. The Rangers had to like their chances with the better goalie and the fact that the Flyers traditionally struggle in shootouts but being better on paper didn't translate today. In the third round of the shootout, Claude Giroux beat Lundqvist and Olli Jokinen was stonewalled by Brian Boucher, clinching the game for the Flyers and sending them to the playoffs:

So, after all the frustration of 82 games of up and down hockey, the Flyers have a new life in the playoffs. Their opponent will be determined shortly depending on the outcome of the Devils/Sabres game, but the Flyers have to feel pretty good about avoiding the Capitals and Penguins in the first round. Sure, they aren't consistent and they have a mediocre goalie but we all know that anything can happen in the playoffs, even an improbable run by a team that barely deserves to be there.

There is nothing in sports quite like playoff hockey; fortunately for us the Flyers played just well enough when it mattered to squeak their way in.

Flyers use energy and intensity to down Penguins in Game Three

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Now that's more like it! The Flyers, in winning Game Three against the Penguins 6-3, showed everything they seemed to be lacking the first two games of the series: intensity, a sense of urgency and the ability to not take bad penalties. Maybe it was the home ice or maybe it was the realization that their season was on the line, but whatever it was, the Flyers from the 2008 playoff run finally showed up.

The Flyers jumped out to an early lead when Jeff Carter scored a nice goal, his first of the playoffs, and Mike Richards added another just five minutes into the game. Philly played with a ton of intensity, hitting the Penguins every chance they got and getting into fights after nearly every whistle. Slowly but surely, the Penguins did fight back into the game as they scored a goal late in the first period and early in the second to tie the game at 2. The Flyers would not be denied, however, and scored the next three goals in the game to take a commanding lead that they never looked back from.

The biggest story of the game, besides the increase in energy as a team, was the emergence of Claude Giroux. Giroux, who is just 21 years old, had an amazing game in just the third playoff contest of his career. He had a goal and an assist, with the goal coming on a nice feed from Danny Briere and the assist coming off a beautiful pass to Simon Gagne for a shorthanded goal. No matter how this series turns out, it has been amazing to watch Giroux step right into his first playoff series and shine.

The Flyers seem to have life again despite trailing 2-1 in the series. Game Four is basically another must-win game since it's unlikely the Flyers will be able to win two games in Pittsburgh. Of course, if they show up with the same intensity and drive to win that they showed today for the remaining games of this series, they shouldn't lose again.

Giroux back up with the suddenly healthy Flyers

Much to the delight of Flyers fans, Claude Giroux's trip to the minors was short-lived. With Kimmo Timonen returning to the ice tonight, the Flyers were able to send down defenseman Nate Guenin, along with forward Jared Ross, and re-call Giroux from the Phantoms. Giroux was sent down just a few days ago because the team needed to clear cap space to call up Guenin to replace Timonen in the lineup.

These moves show just how close the Flyers are to the cap and how this whole cap situation has robbed them of having any depth. GM Paul Holmgren has done a masterful job assembling the key pieces to this Flyers team but he has made some mistakes in terms of handling the cap. Losing Glen Metropolit for nothing was one of the first real blunders that Homer has made.

On the bright side, the Flyers will now take the ice with a fully healthy roster for the first time in months. With Danny Briere back in the lineup, the team will finally be able to roll out 3 quality scoring lines. The defense isn't too shabby, either, although the Flyers are still looking to upgrade the blueline at the trade deadline.

Here are the Flyers lines for tonight:

Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Briere - Giroux
Cote - Powe - Asham

Timonen - Parent
Coburn - Carle
Alberts - Jones

It will be interesting to see if the Flyers keep Briere on the 3rd line or if they bump him up to be a winger on the 1st or 2nd line. The 3rd line listed above appears to be a little undersized, although it will have a ton of speed and playmaking ability.

The team that we hoped to see from the beginning of the season is finally taking the ice tonight. Depending on what happens at the trade deadline tomorrow, though, this could be the only time you get to see it.

Flyers send Giroux, Kukkonen to minors to make room for Briere

The mass exodus of Flyers players continues as they make room for the return of Danny Briere. This time, luckily, the Flyers didn't have to outright waive players, but the latest moves are nevertheless shocking: Phenom Claude Giroux and defenseman Lasse Kukkonen were both sent to the Phantoms. The Flyers also called up defenseman Nate Guenin to play tomorrow against the Devils because Kimmo Timonen is sick and the team doesn't have enough healthy d-men.

Sending Giroux down is a perplexing move. He has been one of the Flyers best forwards for the last month and was just starting to hit his stride in the NHL. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren hinted that the Flyers would likely call Giroux back up once Timonen was healthy and Guenin could be sent down, but you would think the Flyers could have figured out another way to get rid of a few dollars, like sending Darroll Powe and Jared Ross down to the Phantoms. Losing Kukkonen isn't a big deal but it does leave the Flyers with no depth on the blue line.

The Flyers are playing a tough game with the salary cap. The move to acquire Matt Carle earlier in the season essentially left them with no choice but to get rid of several players once everyone was healthy. All of the mess they are in now could also hinder them as they try to make a move at the trade deadline. The Flyers are usually always one of the more active teams at the deadline, but they will need to dump some salary before they can make any kind of move for a quality player.

Let's hope that Claude Giroux will only play a few games with the Phantoms and that the Flyers can figure out a better solution to their salary cap woes. Giroux is ready for the NHL now and the Flyers would really be doing a disservice to his development if they make him play in the AHL.

Flyers rout Rangers on National TV

(AP Photo/John Dunn)

There's nothing better than a little Sunday afternoon hockey, especially when it's the Flyers whipping the Rangers. The Flyers beat the Rangers 5-2 in a game that was even more of a blowout than the final score indicated.

The Flyers scored first in the opening period when Claude Giroux netted his 3rd career NHL goal. Philly then blew the game wide open with a 4 goal second period to take a commanding 5-0 lead and never looked back. The Rangers played listlessly throughout the game although they were able to net two inconsequential goals.

Philly had several great efforts in the game. Mike Richards had a spectacular breakaway 5 on 3 shorthanded goal early in the second period. That goal was the third 3 on 5 goal scored by Richards in his career, an NHL record. Giroux also played one of the best games of his career, scoring that early goal and adding a pair of assists. Martin Biron also played well in net, stopping 35 of 37 shots.

As one would expect in a lopsided contest between two rivals, the game was chippy throughout and had a pair of fights and a couple of game misconducts. In a weird scheduling quirk, it was the first time the Rangers and Flyers had played each other since the Flyers first game of the season on October 11th. Now the two teams will play each other 4 more times in the final 27 games so expect a lot more bad blood as the two teams battle for playoff positioning. Of course, with the way the Rangers, losers of 7 of their last 8, are playing, they may be out of playoff contention when these two teams meet up again.