UPDATE 11:15 AM EST
Here are a few Phantoms notes:
Michael Leighton will get the start in goal for the Phantoms tonight when they take on the Syracuse Crunch on the road. He is also expected to start tomorrow against the Portland Pirates at the Glens Falls Civic Center. That will be the final game he is allowed to play under his extended conditioning assignment.
Do not expect to see failed third-round pick Garrett Klotz in a Phantoms uniform again. After being loaned to the ECHL he has demoted one step further down the ladder, to Bloomington of the CHL. Klotz, a project pick based on his raw size, simply does not have the talent to play at the upper minor league level on a regular basis nor is he good enough as an enforcer to hold down a job.
The Phantoms have acquired forward Brandon Connolly on loan from the Flyers' ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors. An exciting little player, the 5-foot-7 forward, led Greenville this season with 27 points (14 goals and 13 assists) in 23 games. The 25-year-old Ferris State alum was never drafted by an NHL club and will never see the top level but could potentially add some desperately needed scoring punch to the Phantoms.
Right now, the Phantoms (3-20-2) are 15 points behind Syracuse for seventh place in the East Division. Division leader Wilkes Barre/Scranton (21-4-0) is a whopping 34 points ahead of the Flyers' affiliate.
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Last night's effort in Toronto was just good enough for the Flyers to skate off with a relatively comfortable win against a struggling opponent. Any night when members of the Danny Briere line combine for four goals -- including a pair of tallies by Briere, and a power play goal by Ville Leino -- it's going to go a long way toward victory.
On the flip side, the Flyers had far too many turnovers (17 giveaways, their second-highest total of the season) and allowed too many odd-man rushes to the Leafs. If they had done that against a more formidable offensive club, the result of the game may have been far different than Philly's 4-1 victory. But confidence in hockey is a strange thing: after a collapse like the one against San Jose on Wednesday night, it's easy to start trying to do too much and going into a tailspin. The only game in which they turned over more pucks was the shutout loss to the Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center last week. In Toronto, Brian Boucher played no small part in holding the fort, and the Flyers finally did a better job defensively in the final stanza.
Faceoffs have been a problem area for the Flyers in recent seasons, including the current one. The problem especially severe in the San Jose game, and contributed directly to several Sharks goals. But last night, at least, Philly buckled down in the faceoff circle and did an excellent job.
The Flyers won 68% of the draws (43 of 63) last night, which was their best single-game performance of the season to date. Their previous best was 63 percent (38 of 50) in a 3-0 loss to Montreal on Nov. 22. Jeff Carter led the way last night by winning 13 of his 14 draws on the night (93%). Mike Richards was 11-for-15 (73%).
Also of note: The Flyers erased a lot of failed clears and sloppy giveaways last night with their shot-blocking prowess. They blocked 22 offerings by the Leafs. The team has now blocked 20-plus attempts in the last three games.
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Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at the Jeckyl and Hyde sides of Danny Briere.
Do the many clutch goals he scores balance off all the bad penalties? Weigh in on the message board.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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