So long, Marty: Biron signs with the Islanders

From the day the Flyers signed Ray Emery, we knew this day would come. Martin Biron, who spent two and a half years as the Flyers top goaltender, has signed with the New York Islanders. Biron was a victim of the Flyers running out of salary cap space and needing to find cheap alternatives in net. He signed a one year deal with the Islanders for 1.4 million.

Biron, who was originally acquired by the Flyers at the 2007 trade deadline for a second round pick, was an above average goaltender for the Flyers but lacked consistency. He will always be remembered for standing on his head as he led the Flyers deep into the 2008 playoffs.

He will now head to the Islanders, a team that will frequently play the Flyers, but his role there is unknown. The Islanders number one goaltender is the oft-injured Rick DiPietro and they recently signed Dwayne Roloson to be his backup, so, barring further injuries to DiPietro, Biron could be looking at very little playing time. It's safe to say this was likely his only contract offer, because he didn't take much money and it's hardly a great situation to be in.

Regardless of what happens to Marty with the Isles, I wish him the best of luck. He was always a great guy and played well in pressure situations. We will all miss the "Marty!" chants.

Goodbye, Marty: Flyers to sign Ray Emery

Well, the Flyers didn't take my advice. Back in May, rumors began to surface that the Flyers were in discussions with goaltender Ray Emery about being the starter in net for the Flyers next season. Emery is a headcase who has been essentially banished to Russia, so I advised the Flyers to stay away from Emery and his poor attitude. Unfortunately they didn't listen to me, and it appears that Emery is headed to Philadelphia, which means we can say goodbye to both free agent goalies Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki.

According to Tim Panaccio, word has spread around the NHL that the Flyers are deep in discussions with Emery and, barring a last-minute breakdown, will sign the goalie when free agency opens in July. Emery last played for a team in the KHL, a Russian League, after being waived by the Ottawa Senators in 2008 for his poor off-ice behavior. He led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, so he has the ability, it's simply a question of whether he can straighten up and play his best and not be a distraction.

This move could easily turn out to be a coup for the Flyers, or it could blow up in their face. I would guess that Emery is willing to play for less than the Flyers would have had to sign Marty Biron for, so they will save some money to be used on other players. But, if Emery should be the distraction he was in Ottawa, the Flyers will be left with no one to step in, since the backup is likely going to be Johan Backlund, also signed away from a non-NHL team.

The Flyers are employing an interesting, although backwards, strategy with their goaltenders. The signing of Emery screams of a move to save salary by signing someone out of the league, and that gives them two goaltenders for next year that are relatively cheap. The Flyers are choosing to spend as little money as possible on goaltending, which just so happens to be the most important position in hockey. If this gamble pays off, they will look like geniuses. If it doesn't, Paul Holmgren should be fired.

Goaltender Ray Emery is on the Flyers radar, let's hope they stay away

After a quick exit out of the playoffs, the Flyers have some serious work to do to in the offseason to fix all of the holes on their roster. The Flyers find themselves with too many forwards signed to big, long term contracts and not enough quality defensemen on the roster. They somehow need to turn a forward or two into solid defensive players. Of course, their biggest need in the offseason is a starting goaltender, since currently they don't even have a goalie on the roster: both Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki are unrestricted free agents.

While common sense would point to the Flyers re-signing Biron and allowing recently signed Johan Backlund be the back-up when Niittymaki signs elsewhere, apparently the Flyers are looking at other options. Rumors have surfaced that the Flyers have had discussions with hothead goaltender Ray Emery, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, with the idea of bringing him in as the starting goaltender. Emery did lead the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but has since been basically banished to the KHL, a Russian League, after Ottawa waived him for poor play and bad off-ice behavior in 2008. Emery did have a stellar season in the KHL, putting up a 22-8 record and a sparkling 2.12 goals against average, and by all reports his behavior has improved. Still, how can the Flyers be seriously considering handing this guy the keys to the net?

If Emery has straightened out his act, he can be a good goaltender in the NHL. That's a mighty big if, though, and it's a huge risk for a team that has so many good, young players and appears to be on the doorstep of being an elite team. Is Martin Biron really that bad? At least with Marty, you know he's a team guy, even if his play has been uneven. I'd rather have a guy like Biron in net even if his level of play is a little lower than a guy like Emery, who has the potential to completely disrupt the team.

Ray Emery should only be a desperation option for the Flyers. If both Antero Niittymaki and Martin Biron sign elsewhere, or if they are asking for too much money, then the Flyers should take a risk with someone like Emery. Otherwise, there is no sense in ruining the team chemistry and bringing in Emery just for the small chance that he has straightened himself out. Let another team ruin their season by wasting their time and money on Ray Emery. Move along, Flyers.

Biron blanks Penguins to keep Flyers alive

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In the 2008 NHL Playoffs, Martin Biron played the best hockey of his career and the Flyers rode him to the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, Biron hasn't been bad but he also hasn't been great, and the Flyers have floundered as they were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Penguins after a Game 4 defeat. If the Flyers were going to make a comeback in the series, they would need Marty Biron to play like he did last year.

Which is exactly what Biron did in Game 5 as he shut out the Penguins in a 3-0 Flyers victory. Biron held off a strong initial rush by the Penguins, who tried desperately to score the first goal, and made 28 stops in all. Marty was able to coast later in the game as the Flyers played great team defense that limited the Penguins scoring chances. It was the kind of defensive effort coupled with strong goaltending that is a staple of teams that go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Flyers didn't explode offensively in this game but they did score timely goals. After a scoreless first period, the Flyers got on the board when Arron Asham netted a rare goal. Rookie sensation Claude Giroux and Mike Knuble also scored for the Flyers. It was Knuble's first goal in the playoffs and it was a long time coming.

The series will now return to Philadelphia for Game 6, something the Penguins desperately wanted to avoid. With the rabid Philly fans rocking the house, the Flyers have a huge home ice advantage. If they can find a way to win Game 6, then it's all on the line in a Game 7 where anything can happen.

I was one of the many who thought the Flyers season was over after losing Game 4. It's amazing how one win can turn all of that doubt into hope. Winning two more games, one at home and one on the road, doesn't seem like too tall of an order, especially for a streaky team like the Flyers.

Flyers sign goaltender Johan Backlund

In an effort to bring in more depth to the organization, and to possibly replace Martin Biron or Antero Niittymaki, both free agents after this season, the Flyers have signed Johan Backlund, a 27 year old netminder from Sweden. Backlund, who signed a one year deal with the Flyers, had played 5 seasons in the Swedish Elite league and has a career 2.54 goals against average in 287 games. He has no NHL experience, but Backlund was the starting goaltender for Team Sweden at the 2007 World Championships, leading the team to a 4th place finish.

The signing looks like a move to bring in a possible backup goalie for next season. With the way Biron is playing right now, the Flyers would be smart to try to sign him to a new deal and let Niittymaki, who will also be a free agent, sign elsewhere. Niittymaki will surely be looking for starter money in free agency, something the Flyers, who are already close to the salary cap, could never afford. Backlund represents a cheap option for a backup goalie who won't be expected to challenge for the starting role.

This is a no-risk signing for the Flyers. Backlund signed a one year deal for likely a small amount of money, so if he can't cut it in the NHL, the Flyers can send him packing after a year. If he somehow emerges as a legitimate NHL player, the Flyers would then have quite a bargain on their hands.

A healthy Briere leads Flyers past Devils

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

The Flyers are playing their best hockey of the season at just the right time. With just a handful of games left in the season and playoff positioning on the line, the Flyers played two of their most inspiring games of hockey in the last two days. First, the Flyers downed Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on Sunday, then Monday they took care of Martin Brodeur and the Devils.

Lead by the resurgent Danny Briere (5 points in his last 3 games), who had a goal and an assist, and Simon Gagne, who had a goal and two assists, the Flyers defeated the Devils 4-2. Briere set the tone for the game with a nice deflection goal in the first period and a beautiful pass to Mike Knuble to set up the Flyers second goal. Claude Giroux also had a superb game, highlighted by his sick no-look pass to Gagne for a goal in the 3rd period. Jeff Carter also added his 40th goal of the season, hopefully the first of many 40-goal seasons for the young forward.

The Flyers looked especially good on special teams, where they scored 3 power play goals and allowed the Devils to score only once with the man advantage despite taking a number of penalties and having long stretches of penalties to kill. The Flyers still commit way too many penalties, and better offensive teams will burn them, but their penalty killing units looked strong tonight.

Also looking strong in the game was Marty Biron, who out-dueled the other Marty on the ice. Biron stopped 32 of 34 shots and has long since made everyone forget that there was ever a goaltender controversy in Philly (Antero who?). With the way Biron is playing, they are going to have to get him signed to a deal and not allow him to leave via free agency in the offseason.

With the win, the Flyers stay in the 4th spot in the East and move within 7 points of the Devils for the 2nd spot. With 10 games left to play, it will take a monumental collapse by New Jersey for the Flyers to move any higher, but their stranglehold on the 4th spot is only getting stronger.

Flyers turn Penguins aside, solidify playoff position

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In a possible preview of the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers had a nice all-around effort as they downed the Penguins 3-1. It was a big win for the Flyers on National TV as they further solidified their hold on the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference. They are now up 2 points on the Pens with 3 games in hand.

The Flyers got two goals on the power play, one by Simon Gagne and the other by Scott Hartnell, and Darroll Powe later added an empty net goal. Marty Biron also continued his strong play of late by stopping 27 of 28 shots. He is certainly rounding back into the form he showed in last years playoff run.

Even more notable for the Flyers was their defensive effort. While the Flyers were outshot 28-20, the didn't allow a shot on goal by either of the Pens star players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. While that's probably a bit of a stasticial anomaly and may never happen again, the Flyers did a good job of keeping two top scorers in the league from getting inside and firing away.

If the season ended today, the Flyers would face these same Penguins in the first round. Barring a late season dive, Philly appears pretty locked in to the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. With three teams within two points of one another, there will be a battle for the 5th spot between the Pens, Hurricanes and Rangers. As much as I would love watching an early Keystone State series in the playoffs, I think I speak for most Flyers fans when I say that I hope the Pens take a dive and Philly gets to play anyone else in the first round. A battle with Pittsburgh would be fun, but it would be an actual battle with a ton of attrition for whichever team manages to survive into the second round. A nice easy series against someone like the Rangers is a much better way to start a nice, long playoff run.

20 years and counting: the Flyers still can't win in Detroit

Don't blame Marty Biron for this one.

The Flyers were seemingly in total control against the Red Wings, leading 2-0 late in the second period and cruising despite being badly outshot by the defending champs. Biron was at his best, stopping everything the Wings threw at him, and eventually made 45 saves on the night. Unfortunately, the Wings ended up with 48 shots, nearly twice as many as the Flyers (26) had, and ended up winning the game 3-2.

A late second period goal started the Red Wing rally, and they later added two more that were 1:30 apart midway through the third period and held on to win. The Flyers showed some fight at the end to try to salvage a point but they couldn't muster the same fire they had earlier in the game.

The Flyers blew a golden opportunity to win for the first time in Detroit since 1988. I looked at this game against the Red Wings as a real measuring stick for the Flyers. They have been sitting in the middle of the Eastern Conference for most of the season and they needed this test to see how far they are from being an elite team. They learned tonight that two quality periods aren't enough, it is going to take a full 60 minutes of maximum effort to beat a team like the Wings. No matter how good the guy is in net, the Flyers also need to stay on the throttle and put teams away. If you let a team as good as the Red Wings hang around, eventually they will make you pay.

Good game, Marty Biron. Hopefully next time the rest of the team will hold up their end.

Penalties, Sean Avery are downfall of Flyers

After playing an inspiring game of hockey in a playoff-like atmosphere at the Wachovia Center Saturday, the Flyers let their emotions get the best of them in a rematch against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The Flyers lost 4-1 and couldn't stay out of the penalty box all game. They finished with 34 minutes of penalties, including 15 of them when Braydon Coburn was tossed from the game for high sticking Nik Antropov in the face. While Coburn was retaliating for an earlier cheap shot by Antropov, it was dumb penalties like that that gave the Rangers a string of power play chances and all four of their goals came on the man advantage.

The Flyers march to the penalty box was aided by the antics of Sean Avery, who is back to his usual tricks to get under opponents skin. Avery also added two goals in the game, so needless to say, the Flyers saw more of Avery than they wanted to. The Madison Square Garden loved his every move, however.

It also now appears that the Flyers goaltender battle is over. Antero Niittymaki started in net for the Flyers and gave up 4 goals, and even though they were all on the powerplay, his performance paled in comparison to what Martin Biron did yesterday against the Rangers. The Flyers would be wise to ride out Biron for the rest of the season and hope he gots hot like he was in the playoffs last year.

So, the Flyers end up splitting the home and home series with the Rangers. While things could have been worse, if the Flyers had stopped their parade to the penalty box, they might have actually has a chance to sweep the series. With a game against the Red Wings looming on Tuesday, it would have been nice to leave New York with a little more confidence and a little less Sean Avery.

Flyers remain hot despite mounting injuries

Remember when the Flyers started off the season winless in their first 6 games? Seems like a distant memory now as the team has won 13 of its last 18 and ascended into second place in the Atlantic Division, a mere 3 points behind the Rangers, a team that has played 3 more games than the Flyers. The streak is amazing considering they have done it with Danny Briere on the shelf for most of the season and Martin Biron out for the last few games.

While Briere still figures to be out a few more weeks, the Flyers are hoping that Biron, who has been battling the flu, will take the ice again Tuesday night against the Senators. Biron will be a welcome sight on the ice because, while Antero Niittymaki has played well, the sooner Marty can establish himself as the number one goaltender the better. If there is one knock against the Flyers, it's the fact that they don't have a true, number one, superstar goaltender that they can ride. Biron has shown flashes of greatness, like in the playoffs last year, but he has had trouble being consistent in goal.

While one Flyer returns to the ice tonight, another will be leaving: Scottie Upshall will be sidelined for 10 to 14 days with a knee sprain. Upshall could be joined on the sidelines by Glen Metropolit who has been dealing with back problems. All of these injuries leave the Flyers thin at forward and force them to rely on AHL guys like Josh Gratton, Jon Kalinski, Darroll Powe and Andreas Nodl. And, when they are really desperate, they move Lasse Kukkonen from defenseman to 4th line center.

The Flyers have made a remarkable run to get themselves back into the mix at the top of the Eastern Conference, a run that looks even better considering all the injuries. When the Flyers finally do get to full strength, they figure to have tremendous depth and three solid scoring lines that will be difficult for other teams to deal with. Right now the Flyers are relying on Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards to carry the load offensively so when Danny Briere gets back it should open things up even more for one of the best offenses in the league.

Health permitting, this Flyers team looks poised to make another deep run into the playoffs. That's quite a statement considering how terrible they looked at the beginning of the season.

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Flyers remain consistently inconsistent

With the Phillies World Series win and all the drama surrounding the Eagles, I haven't had much time to write about the Flyers. After a slow start to the season, the Flyers have rebounded and find themselves in third place in the division. Considering how awful they looked at the beginning of the year and the number of injuries they have overcome, third place sounds pretty good.

With winning streaks of 4 and 6 games and losing streaks of 6 and 3 games, the Flyers have been riding a roller coaster all season long. Two major issues seem to rise up for this team when they lose: defense and goaltending. After injuries to Randy Jones and Ryan Parent at the start of the season, their inexperience on the blueline was exposed on a nightly basis. Acquisitions of Andrew Alberts and Matt Carle have shored things up significantly but the Flyers are still prone to giving up bad turnovers.

Bad turnovers aren't necessarily costly when you have a goalie standing on his head, unfortunately the Flyers rarely get that kind of performance from Martin Biron. Even in last nights game against Toronto, Biron made a pair of costly errors that led directly to goals against. His save percentage currently sits at .900 which ranks 31st in the league. That number is unacceptable considering how often the Flyers get outshot. With the amount of shots Biron faces on a nightly basis, he needs to be stopping more.

With the defense and goaltending sub-par, the offense is leading the way for the Flyers. The resurgence of Simon Gagne, who is third in the league in points, and the continued emergence of Jeff Carter, who is second in the league in goals, have given the Flyers a dangerous attack that ranks near the top of the league. The play of those two have allowed the offense to keep flowing even with top playmaker Danny Briere out for an extended period of time.

If the season were to end today, the Flyers would be the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. Considering how maddening their play has been at times, it's hard to complain with that seeding. The Flyers aren't likely to make a bunch of moves this season to try to find consistency, so it's up to the guys on the roster to find their groove and stay there. Hopefully it's the same groove they found in last years playoffs.

Biron leads Flyers to 2-1 series advantage

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

It's the oldest hockey adage there is: hot goaltending wins in the playoffs. The Flyers got another amazing game from goaltender Martin Biron to help them to a 3-2 win over the Canadiens in Game 3 of their playoff series. The win gives the Flyers a 2-1 edge in the series.

Biron was on all night, and he needed to be to bail the Flyers out. The Canadiens out-shot the Flyers 34-14 which meant Biron was kept busy all night. The Flyers goalie had to make numerous saves when the defense broke down, including his best stop on a breakaway by Saku Koivu in the first period. Biron nearly pulled out a shutout but the Canadiens managed to capitalize on a long power play in the third period. Biron is the hottest of any goalie in the playoffs right now, a good sign for the Flyers as they look to continue their run.

Carey Price, the Canadiens goalie, is the worst goaltender of any team in the playoffs right now. Price let in three goals on nine shots and never looked comfortable in the crease. Any time the puck was shot at him, he seemed to misplay it and allow the Flyers second and third chances. Price was later pulled in favor of Canadiens back-up Jaroslav Halak, something that could further lower Price's confidence level. As commenter Joe said in my Game Three Live Blog, "The price is wrong, bitch!". Those of you that have seen Happy Gilmore have to appreciate that one.

The Flyers built a 3-0 lead in tonight's game thanks to goals by Scottie Upshall, Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger in a second period they completely dominated. Upshall's goal was set up nicely by Joffrey Lupul, Richards' goal was shorthanded and Umberger managed to get one past Price that the goaltender should have been able to stop.

Philly looked to be on their way to an easy win when Derian Hatcher was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Francis Bouillon five minutes into the third period. The play was definitely a penalty, but the refs were a little extreme in tossing Hatcher from the game. The Canadiens scored twice on the ensuing power play and the game tightened up once again. Each team got one more power play opportunity, but the Flyers were content to sit back and let their goaltender do all the work. Thanks to Biron repeatedly making the big stops, the Flyers just managed to hold on to the win.

The Flyers take a big 2-1 series win with Game Four coming up on Wednesday in Philly. The Flyers will continue to soar if Biron can keep up his high level up play. A hot goaltender can carry a team far, and if the Flyers continue to get timely scoring and take advantage of their opponent's mistakes, there is no reason they won't be able to get past the Canadiens. It will be interesting to see how Carey Price handles himself in the next game. He could come back full of confidence or he could continue to play like the inexperienced 20 year old he is. With the way Biron is playing, if Price can't step his game up, this series is as good as over.

Highlights of Martin Biron's stellar game via Comcast SportsNet:

Flyers win, will face Washington in first round

The Flyers didn't play with nearly as much intensity as they did against the Devils on Friday night, but they did just enough against the Penguins to win 2-0. The victory vaults the Flyers into the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and sets up a series against the Washington Capitals, who finished with fewer points than the Flyers yet still won their division.

The Penguins played without their star player, Sidney Crosby, and looked like they didn't want to win the game. They played with very little energy and even went 0 for 8 on the power play. Flyers goalie Martin Biron needed to stop only 20 shots to record his second shutout in a row. Offensively, Scottie Upshall scored a goal late in the second period off a faceoff, and Mike Knuble added an empty net goal at the end of the game.

If the Penguins had won, they would have clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference. It would have guaranteed them home ice advantage until they reached the Stanley Cup Finals. A win would have also meant they would play the Flyers in the first round, instead of their current opponent the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins would never admit it, but they are much happier playing the Senators than the Flyers. The Flyers would wear the Penguins down in a grueling series, so even if the Pens managed to get past Philly, they would be exhausted for the subsequent rounds. Playing the Senators allows Pittsburgh to play their style of hockey, and will keep them fresher for the later rounds.

The Flyers will meet the Capitals in the first round. The season series is tied 2-2 between the teams, with the Flyers outscoring the Caps 15-14 in those games. Alexander Ovechkin will make the Caps a tough team to beat, but they don't have much depth beyond him. I will post the schedule for the games as soon as it becomes available, and I will have an in-depth preview posted in the next few days.

Highlight of Scottie Upshall's game winning goal:

Martin Biron = Islander Killer

The Flyers look to be turning the corner again at just the right time. They defeated the New York Islanders 4-1, mostly thanks to a tremendous effort by Martin Biron. Biron, who made 32 saves and gave up the lone goal late in the third period, has owned the Islanders this season, going 6-0 against them. He has a chance to earn another win against the Islanders when the teams play again next week.

The win was the third in a row for the Flyers, who have moved into the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Bruins and two points behind the Rangers. Both the Rangers and Bruins have played one less game than Philly. Their final seeding may not matter too much, because they will likely end up playing either the Devils, Canadiens or Penguins, three teams they have had trouble with all season long.

Biron was the main story for the Flyers, but Danny Briere had a goal and two assists and Vaclav Prospal picked up a goal and an assist to lead the offense. Thanks to the great chemistry that is developing between Briere and Prospal, the Flyers played extremely well on the powerplay, scoring 3 times.

But, it was Biron's night. The fans at the Wachovia Center broke into "Marty!" chants several times, including the following after he made a spectacular save:

Next up for the Flyers are three road games in a row against the Rangers, Devils and Islanders. This week could be do or die for the Flyers and their playoff hopes.