Last night's game in Minnesota was not the sort of match that we'll be talking about years down the road. Both the Flyers and Wild looked lethargic at times during the game, but the Flyers turned in a reasonably solid effort that showed off the club's scoring depth.

Any game in which you get goals from all four lines and from six different scorers is a feather in your cap. The Flyers also played strong defense, limiting Minnesota to 16 shots for the game, and got a strong game in goal from Sergei Bobrovsky when he was needed. The most memorable moments of the game were Andreas Nodl's shorthanded tally and Jody Shelley scoring a rare goal (his first as a Flyer).

With back-to-back matinee games tomorrow in Philly against Calgary and Saturday in New Jersey, it was good that the club was able to spread around the ice time. After Saturday's game, which will mark the Flyers' 8th game in 13 days, the club will play just 3 games over 10 days. There will also be seven consecutive non-game nights over the Christmas holiday (the Flyers play Florida at home on Dec. 20 and then do not play again until they begin a West Coast swing in Vancouver on Dec. 28).

After the Florida game on Dec. 20, the Flyers will play nine of 10 games on the road (the lone home tilt is against New Jersey on Jan 8) before a busy slate of home games starts anew on Jan. 18 against Washington.

In other words, the Flyers have a lot of challenges right around the bend: back-to-back games, two lengthy stretches of inactivity and a massive three time zone road trip that includes games against the likes of the Canucks, Kings, Red Wings, Bruins and Rangers. It's going to be very interesting to see how they handle it mentally, whether they can keep their energy up and whether they have luck in avoiding injuries.

Last but not least, happy Thanksgiving to all U.S. readers of HockeyBuzz. If you are a Flyers fan, there's a lot to be thankful for in 2010 with the club having reached the precipice of the Stanley Cup earlier this year and the club being tied for the most points in the NHL through the games of Nov. 24. Over their last 15 games, the Flyers enjoy a gaudy 12-2-1 record.

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Today's Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at Antti Niemi's first game against his former Chicago Blackhawks team.

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