The Flyers' lopsided victories in the last two games begs the question of whether Philly really played that well or if the struggling Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning were just that bad.
I'd say it's a little bit of both. To be sure, Carolina received subpar goaltending and rarely tested Ray Emery (despite the club's misleading 40 shots on goal) and Tampa played like it didn't have a pulse while receiving pedestrian goaltending from starter Mike Smith. But the Flyers also cranked out a pair of strong efforts and deserved to win by convincing margins. All you can do is play the game the right way and take advantage of your chances, and the Flyers did exactly that.
The return of Blair Betts to the lineup has clearly helped stabilize the club both on the penalty kill and defensively in five-on-five situations. The checking line of Betts, Ian Laperriere and Daniel Carcillo has supplied a lot of energy to the club, as have role players Darroll Powe and Arron Asham. Mika Pyorala has been fine in a checking role, too, although he hasn't pushed himself to show any of the offensive game he displayed in the preseason. Meanwhile, the two goals and three points in two games by Daniel Laliberte has been an unexpected bonus.
On Monday, the Flyers' key forwards elevated their games as well. It was good to see Mike Richards and Jeff Carter notch goals again. In the absence of Simon Gagne and Danny Briere, they will need to continue doing so (along with Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and at least one among Chris Pronger, Matt Carle and Kimmo Timonen).
On defense, the top pairing of Pronger and Carle continues to play strong hockey. Carle in particular has really elevated his game and shown that he deserves to play alongside Pronger. Timonen has had three strong games in a row after his rough start to the season. Braydon Coburn seemed to be spurred by his short-lived (due to Ryan Parent's reinjury) demotion to the third pairing. The Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Danny Syvret pairing remains worrisome, but the scores of the last two games rendered it a non-factor.
In goal, Ray Emery has looked very sharp in his last two outings. He'll still try to do too much on ocassion and periodically lose concentration on routine shots that turn into dangerous rebounds, but he has been solid and reliable for the balance of the first month of the season. It's tough to judge Brian Boucher based on his one (decidedly rough) outing. He's only played one AHL game and one NHL tilt since going down in the preseason, and it's tough to stay sharp. Boucher has always been a streaky goalie anyway.
One thing to keep an eye on as the Flyers face a tougher test on Friday: how will they respond to in-game adversity. Carolina and Tampa really didn't push the Flyers very hard.
Taking on the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres on the road should be a much tougher test for the Flyers.
Tomorrow's blog will look at Simon Gagne's injury and whether the announced 6-to-8 week timetable for his return is realistic.
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Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com revisits the debate over Chris Osgood's standing among goalies of the last 15 years. Osgood, who has taken his fair share of blame for the Red Wings' mediocre start this season, recorded his 50th career shutout last night.
Meanwhile, this week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com previews the Karjala Cup. All eyes will be on Peter Forsberg, of course. From a Flyers fan perspective, the tourney also features the likes of ex-Flyers Lasse Kukkonen, Ossi Vaananen and the long-forgotten Petr Hubacek playing for their national teams.
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I will be doing book signings for the Pelle Lindbergh book on December 4 at the Chester County Book Company (starting at 7 PM), on the afternoon of Dec. 12 at the Barnes and Noble in Deptford, NJ and on Dec. 14 at the Barnes and Noble in Plymouth Meeting.
You can order
Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask online at
Barnes & Noble, via
Amazon or through
Middle Atlantic Press.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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