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7:30 AM ET
TODAY'S GAMES (WITH LINKS)
* KHL: Ruslan Fedotenko and HC Donbass Donetsk host Severstal Cherepovets today. The game starts at noon eastern U.S./Canada time. A free webcast stream will be available.
* KHL: Without the services of injured Jakub Voracek but with Zdeno Chara in the lineup, Sans Voracek, HC Lev Prague will appear on ESPN3.com and ESPN2 tomorrow when they take on Alex Ovechkin and the rest of Dynamo Moscow. The KHL game will be broadcast (in English) at 1 p.m. eastern U.S./Canada time. If you can't catch it on TV, the Russian-language broadcast will be streamed here.
* Allsvenskan: Matt Read will center New York Rangers forward Carl Hagelin and French national team forward Damien Fleury today when Södertälje SK hosts Tingsyrd. Live updates in English will be available here. The Allsvenskan game starts at 1 p.m. eastern.
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GIROUX AND BRIERE IN BERLIN
Claude Giroux and Daniel Briere have arrived in Berlin and participated in their first practice with Eisbären Berlin. Afterwards, the two Flyers players were formally introduced at a press conference. Video embedded below:
Giroux and Briere will make their DEL debuts on Friday against Kölner Haie (the Cologne Sharks). As with many DEL games, there will be a free webcast available on Laola1 TV.
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PHANTOMS ROSTER CUT-DOWN
Yesterday, the Phantoms trimmed their roster to 25 players. Some thoughts:
* The numbers crunch created by the NHL lockout. There were spots and ice time available in Trenton. Even though the ECHL is a cut below the American Hockey League in caliber of play, it's better to play regularly at a lower level than play sparingly (if at all) at the higher level. While no AHL player ever wants to get sent down to the ECHL, it need not be a death sentence to one's career. Among others, Ruslan Fedotenko and Marc-Andre Bourdon were able to turn demotions to the ECHL into a springboard to improvement that ultimately brought them to the National Hockey League.
* Many people were stunned by the decision to demote Jason Akeson who led the Phantoms in scoring as a rookie last season, to the ECHL. There was also a lesser degree of surprise that Blake Kessel was assigned to Trenton.
Personally, I was only mildly surprised about Akeson -- and that was mostly because he opened the preseason on Brayden Schenn's line and due to the the Phantoms are still not a particularly deep offensive team, even with the NHL influx. But there have been signs for months that the organization is not entirely satisfied with Akeson (or Kessel).
For one thing, Akeson was not added to the extended Flyers roster as a Black Ace during the playoffs last season. That is always a telling sign that an organization feels a prospect, for one reason or another, is not progressing to their satisfaction.
Secondly, during the Flyers summer prospect camp, neither the 22-year-old Akeson nor the 23-year-old Kessel were mentioned by Ian Laperriere and other team personnel as players who stepped up during the camp. Such omissions are rarely accidental.
Last but not least, the addition of Terry Murray as the Phantoms' new head coach did not immediately bode well for Akeson's status with the team. The undersized forward is a bit of an offensive specialist, not known for his defensive awareness. That doesn't fly well with Murray, who is a stickler for team defense. Regardless of a player's offensive responsibilities, Murray expects him to backcheck consistently and make defensively-wise decisions on when to push the attack and when to peel back defensively.
Bottom line: Murray must not have been happy with what he saw from Akeson at practice or in the exhibition games he played. But Akeson can be recalled to the Phantoms at any time, and I suspect he will be sooner rather than later. He just has to maintain a positive attitude and show the organization that he belongs back in the Phantoms' top six.
* Regarding the decision to demote Niko Hovinen and keep Cal Heeter on the AHL club, it was entirely based on merit. Heeter has been very sharp in the preseason, while Hovinen has struggled in his first North American training camp. It was known all along the club would keep veteran Scott Munroe along with one of the two rookies. Hovinen entered camp with the inside track but Heeter has out-performed him by a wide margin thus far. The competition between the goals will continue all season, and the two players will be re-evaluated as the year progresses.
* Marcel Noebels has overage eligibility remaining in the WHL, so I was a tad surprised that he was assigned to the ECHL rather than being sent back to Portland. I suppose the organization feels the rookie has gotten all he can from junior hockey and is better off getting ECHL ice time rather than sitting in the AHL or playing against mostly younger players in junior hockey.
* The following Phantoms tryout players have been added to Trenton's training camp roster: Mike Banwell, Connor Goggin and Mitch Versteeg. In addition, Phantoms' minor-league contract forward Ian Slater will report to Trenton. It appears that all other tryout players have been released.
Here is the AHL roster as it stands now:
Forwards: Rob Bordson, Tyler Brown, Sean Couturier, Shane Harper, Ben Holmstrom, Andrew Johnston, Matt Ford, Matt Mangene, TyeMcGinn, Zac Rinaldo, Garrett Roe, Brayden Schenn, Mike Testwuide, Eric Wellwood, Harry Zolnierczyk.
Defensemen: Marc-Andre Bourdon, Jeff Dimmen, Cullen Eddy, Zack Fitzgerald, Erik Gustafsson, Oliver Lauridsen, Brandon Manning, Danny Syvret.
Goalies: Cal Heeter, Scott Munroe.
The Phantoms resume camp today in Glens Falls. The regular season opens on Saturday.
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BIG FINISH FOR LAUGHTON
Scott Laughton played a key role in the Oshawa Generals' 4-3 overtime win over the Belleville Bulls yesterday afternoon. After being rather quiet for two periods -- in a game that had few early chances for either side -- Laughton asserted himself in the latter stages of the game.
First, he set up a wide-open Michael Dal Colle for a go-ahead goal with 1:47 remaining in regulation. After Belleville tied the game in the final 17 seconds of regulation, the Flyers' 2012 first-round pick scored the game-winner in overtime.
On the deciding play, Laughton simply wound up for a shot from the deep slot and beat unscreened goaltender Malcolm Subban (the Boston Bruins' 1st-round selection in the 2012 Draft) with the shot. Subban yielded three such goals in the game, and two of them were ones where he had a good look at the puck but simply didn't come up with it. But Laughton's third goal of the regular season was a laser beam, and they all count the same on the score board.
Laughton's teammate and fellow Flyers prospect Colin Suellentrop earned the secondary assist on a Boone Jenner goal (a similar tally to the GWG) at the 20 second mark of the third period.
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TODAY In FLYERS HISTORY (OCTOBER 9)
1975: In their 1975-76 season opener, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Flyers blew a 3-1 third period lead against the lowly Washington Capitals only to have right winger Reggie Leach rescue a late victory. Leach scored with 1:59 left to seal a 4-3 victory. Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish and Mel Bridgman (1st NHL goal) were the other goal scorers.
1980: Bill Barber, Al Hill and rookie Yves Preston scored two goals apiece for the Flyers in a 7-4 trouncing of the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night of the 1980-81 season. Flyers defenseman Behn Wilson scored the other Philadelphia goal.
1982: Brian Propp sealed a hard-fought 3-2 win over Washington an early third period goal. Rick St. Croix earned the win with 35 saves.
1983: Goals by Tim Kerr and Bill Barber (the 400th of his Flyers career) in the opening 40 seconds of the first period staked the Flyers to a 2-0 lead that ultimately turned into a 7-1 trouncing of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kerr and Barber would later go on to score their respective second goals of the game, while Mark Howe, Ron Sutter and the (briefly) returning Rick MacLeish tallied a single time. Pelle Lindbergh earned 3rd Star honors for a 28-save performance that saw the Flyers shorthanded nine times. The lone Pittsburgh tally was a late PPG by Rick Kehoe.
1986: Third period goals by Ron Sutter and Peter Zezel staked the Flyers to a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Despite only facing 22 shots, debuting rookie goalie Ron Hextall was severely tested about a half dozen times by the dangerous Edmonton attackers. Jari Kurri's power play rebound goal early in the first period was the only time Hextall got beaten. The Flyers managed to keep Wayne Gretzky (183 regular season points) off the score sheet in this game.
1988: Ron Sutter's overtime goal sealed a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers trailed 3-2 late in regulation and had their goalie pulled for an extra attacker when Peter Zezel converted a Mark Howe rebound with 30 seconds left in regulation.
1992: Eric Lindros scored his 2nd NHL goal and first home goal in Philadelphia as the Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 6-4. The goal, scored at 15:14 of the third period, proved to be the game winner.
1997: Goals by Eric Lindros, seldom-used defenseman Chris Joseph and Shjon Podein (ENG) sealed a tight-checking 3-1 win over Pittsburgh. Chris Therien played a stellar game matched head-to-head against Jaromir Jagr, keeping him off the scoresheet.
1998: John Vabiesbrouck posted 20 saves and Alexandre Daigle scored the lone goal in a 1-0 shutout win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
1999: Vanbiesbrouck and the Flyers found themselves trailing the Bruins just 46 seconds into the game but did not yield again in what turned into a 1-1 tie. A picturesque power play hookup between Mikael Renberg and Mark Recchi in the second period provided the lone Philadelphia goal. Therien earned 2nd Star honors in the game for his four-hit, three block performance in 23 minutes of ice time.
2003: Recchi broke a scoreless tie in the third period and Michael Handzus added some power play insurance in a 2-0 home victory over the Sabres. Jeff Hackett faced just 17 shots in earning the opening night shutout victory in the first game of his brief Philadelphia career.
2010: The Flyers trailed the St. Louis Blues, 1-0, in the third period before Danny Briere tied the game. Carlo Colaiacovo won the game for the Blues in overtime. Brian Boucher finished with 23 saves.
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