Through the first two games of the 2011-12 regular season, the Flyers have looked like a faster and hungrier team than last year's squad. They have forechecked aggressively, defended well and received strong goaltending from new addition Ilya Bryzgalov. The newcomers have all looked good so far, and the youngsters have infused some more energy into the team.

Last night's workmanlike 3-0 win in New Jersey was as solid as it gets. Philadelphia dominated the first period and easily could have gone off with a multiple-goal lead if it had not been for several outstanding saves by Martin Brodeur. Claude Giroux got open in the slot to snap a shot home for the one-goal lead on a shift that saw James van Riemsdyk make a perfect setup pass and both Jaromir Jagr and Matt Carle (the latter received the secondary assist) provide good puck support.

Play in the middle stanza was much more even. Bryzgalov (20 saves for the game in his second Flyers win and first shutout) was equal to a few real testers. The team preserved its skinny lead and came close a few times to extending it.

In the third period, the Flyers finally broke through. Matt Read beat Brodeur from the slot for his first NHL goal. Later, Wayne Simmonds put a stranglehold on the game with his first Flyers goal, scored from the goal mouth moments after the expiration of a power play. Shortly thereafter, Simmonds delivered a quick KO victory in a fight with David Clarkson, landing two heavy blows. The Devils lost their composure as the third period progressed, taking several bad penalties.

Following are some individual player notes from the game:

* The Giroux line continues to look outstanding. Jagr actually had the "weakest" game of the three line members, yet his individual performance was still quite solid and he could have had a goal and an assist with a little better luck. His two young linemates were absolutely dominant, with JVR (who was pretty quiet in the opener) asserting himself and Giroux playing another phenomenal game.

* Giroux did not skate a shift in the final three-plus minutes with the team leading by three goals. He had taken a heavy hit in the corner. He appears to be fine, however, as he did postgame interviews per normal and there was no indication he'd been injured.

* Jakub Voracek was the recipient of a more borderline hit in the final period, and got up slowly. But he returned to the ice for the team's final power play and also seems OK.

* Danny Briere has been fairly quiet in the first two games but came within a whisker of a goal last night, beating Brodeur cleanly but ticking a shot off the crossbar.

* Simmonds is rapidly establishing himself as an extremely valuable member of the team (and quite the local fan favorite). He has shown speed, tenacity, toughness and a good finishing touch around the net from day one of the preseason through the second game of the regular season. What's not to like?

* So far, Sean Couturier is making himself very tough to send back to junior hockey. He came close (for the second straight game) to scoring his first NHL goal and was outstanding on the penalty kill.

* Read absolutely looks like he belongs in the NHL. He is an ideal role player for today's game. Although he lacks size, he has speed, two-way ability, hockey sense and good skill.

* Max Talbot is not as good as Blair Betts on faceoffs, but he has been an upgrade in pretty much every other area (and I am someone who liked Betts and wished he'd been kept to center Talbot on the fourth line).

* Andreas Nodl had a shorthanded breakaway chance last night. He hit the blueline with good speed but did not deke at all and Brodeur snapped up his wrist shot cleanly. In terms of all around effort, Nodl was good on the boards and good on the PK last night.

* Zac Rinaldo wears a target on his back because of his history of suspensions in junior hockey and the AHL. He's also an NHL rookie, which means refs won't give him the benefit of many doubts. In both games so far this season, he has taken minor penalties up the ice. Last night's tripping penalty was borderline, but I'm sure he still heard about it at the bench because Peter Laviolette has been hammering home the importance of him not taking penalties where he's the only one to go off the ice -- at least not in situations where an opposition scoring chance is not involved.

* The entire defense corps was strong last night. Braydon Coburn ran into some penalty trouble in the first and second periods but got better as the game progressed. Chris Pronger looks to be coming along from his back surgery. Matt Carle is coming off an excellent training camp and has usually been a fast starter in the regular season (a trend that has continued through the first two games). The new pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Andrej Meszaros was excellent in last night's tilt after Timonen was the Flyers' best defenseman in the opener. Last but not least, Andreas Lilja has had a pair of solid games in the sixth defenseman spot in the absence of Matt Walker.

* Bryzalov got strong defense in front of him last night but was also excellent in goal. So far he has inspired confidence by allowing very few rebounds, making tough saves in traffic and using his size to his advantage in scrambles around the net (which have been few and far between so far but will inevitably increase in the games to come).

* Finally, a quick note from the farm. Brayden Schenn had an excellent regular season debut for the Phantoms last night. He logged a pair of assists, created a couple of power plays for the team and played in all game situations. It's up to him to give the Flyers a dilemma about when to call him up to the big club, and he did his part in Adirondack's opening game. In addition, Oskars Bartulis tallied a goal and an assist.

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