Bill Meltzer Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
7:15 AM EDT
TODAY'S GAMES WITH LINKS
Tonight would have been the Flyers' 2012-13 regular season opener if not for the lockout. In a rematch of last year's opening-night game, except with the venue shifting to Philly, the Flyers had been scheduled to take on the Boston Bruins. Instead, this game is a casualty.
These games involving Flyers players/prospects actually WILL be played today:
* Ruslan Fedotenko is in action with HC Donbass Donetsk today, taking on Dinamo Minsk. The game starts at noon eastern U.S./Canada time. A free webcast is available.
* Nick Cousins is off to a strong start in the OHL season, ranking second in the league in scoring to date. In his first six games of the 2012-13 season, Cousins has five goals and 12 points. Tonight, his Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds club takes on the Windsor Spitfires. Game time is 7:05 p.m. eastern. A free radio stream is available (Soo announcers) or a webcast stream can be purchased for $6.99.
* Derek Mathers enjoyed a rare two-point, penalty-free game in his last outing. Tonight the enforcer's Peterborough Petes take on the Kingston Frontenacs. Game time is 7:05 eastern. A free radio stream is available (Petes announcers) or a webcast stream can be purchased for $6.99.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
* Taylor Leier did not record a point and was whistled for a pair of minor penalties in a 4-0 win for the Portland Winterhawks against the Saskatoon Blades. Leier (4 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, -3) is off to a slow start after returning from a torn abdominal muscle that caused him to miss the month of September.
* Fredric Larsson was plus-one (+3, -2) in Brynäs Gävle's 5-3 win yesterday over AIK Stockholm in J20 SuperElit. For the season, the defenseman has three points (1G, 2A), 10 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating (+11, -10) in nine games. A rebroadcast of yesterday's game is available here.
*****************
TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY (OCTOBER 11)
* 1967: The Flyers played their first regular season in franchise history, losing 5-1 to the California Seals. After leaving the team to stage holdouts during the preseason, defensemen Joe Watson and Ed Van Impe rejoined the club for the opener. Paired together by head coach Keith Allen, the duo was out for several Seals goals. Bill Sutherland scored the lone Philadelphia goal. The Flyers followed up that defeat with low-scoring losses in the next two games. Watson wondered if the team would be able to score enough to beat even the other expansion teams, let alone the Original Six. For more on the first Flyers season from Watson's point of view, click here.
* 1973: Newly reacquired Bernie Parent faced off against former Flyers goaltending partner, Doug Favell, and former Toronto Maple Leafs teammates in the opening game of the 1973-74 regular season. Parent gave a hint of what was to come over the next two magical seasons by posting a 28-save shutout in a 2-0 home victory. Low-scoring checking liner Terry Crisp (whom Favell used to tease at practice by taking off his glove and daring Crisp to shoot at his bare hand) opened the scoring and Bill Barber provided some insurance in the third period. Click here for more on this game.
* 1975: Andre "Moose" Dupont scored two goals and Bobby Clarke (1G, 3A) had a four-point night as the Flyers outgunned the Minnesota North Stars, 9-5. Wayne Stephenson got the win.
* 1979: In a preview of what would ultimately be a matchup of the two Stanley Cup finalists, the Flyers built a 4-0 lead en route to a 5-2 win at the Spectrum against the New York Islanders. Rick MacLeish, Al Hill, rookie Brian Propp and T.J. Gorence scored for the Flyers, while Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier tallied for the Islanders. Veteran goalie Phil Myre got the win.
* 1981: The Flyers whipped the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-2. The score was tied, 2-2, after the first period but the Flyers went on to explode for six unanswered goals, including five in the third period. Rookie winger Ilkka Sinisalo scored his first NHL goal on a penalty shot. The Flyers also got two goals from Reggie Leach and single tallies from Behn Wilson, Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke, Brian Propp and Kenny Linseman.
* 1984: Early in his Vezina Trophy winning season, Pelle Lindbergh earned first star honors in a 2-2 tie against the Washington Capitals. Lindbergh turned 30 of 32 shots in a game where the Flyers were largely outplayed. Tim Kerr rescued a point from the game with a game-tying goal on a Mark Howe rebound with 1:39 remaining in the 3rd period. Ilkka Sinisalo scored the other goal for Philadelphia.
* 1986: The Flyers pummeled the Capitals, 6-2. Tim Kerr led the way with a pair of goals in the first period. Peter Zezel (shorthanded), Derrick Smith, Murray Craven and Scott Mellanby also got in on the fun. Ron Hextall had a relatively easy night for two periods but had to make 15 saves in the third period as Philly spent most of the final stanza playing shorthanded.
* 1990: Young Czech defenseman Jiri Latal received a lot of hype when the Flyers acquired his rights from Toronto the previous year. There was a lot of excitement when Latal scored two goals on this early-season night in a 7-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. Unfortunately, that game turned out to be just about the biggest highlight of Latal's checkered NHL career. Rick Tocchet, Norm Lacombe, Gord Murphy, Ron Sutter and Tim Kerr scored the other Philly goals.
* 1995: Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig stood on his head to keep the Legion of Doom off the scoreboard for half of the game, but John LeClair eventually broke through with a second period goal. Rod Brind'Amour's shorthanded goal off a breakout pass from Ron Hextall provided what proved to much-needed insurance. The Caps got one back on a Sergei Gonchar goal, but Hextall slammed the door thereafter. The Flyers won, 2-1.
* 1997: John LeClair tortured the Montreal Canadiens on a regular basis following his trade to Philadelphia, and this night was no exception. Much to the vocal displeasure of the Montreal crowd, the big forward from Vermont tallied a hat trick and Eric Lindros produced a goal and three assists in 6-2 pasting of the Habs. Dainius Zubrus and (of all players) Dan Kordic added insult to injury with insurance goals.
* 2003: The Flyers built a 3-0 lead over Pittsburgh on firs-period goals by Justin Williams, Claude Lapointe (shorthanded) and Donald Brashear. Unfortunately for Ken Hitchcock's team, the club did a little too much sitting on the lead, and Penguins goals by Dick Tärnström, Mario Lemieux and Alexei Morozov enabled Pittsburgh to storm back. The teams settled for a 3-3 tie.
* 2010: Claude Giroux's early shorthanded goal got the Flyers off to a fast start and a pair of Jeff Carter were the difference in a hard-fought home game against a game but undermanned Colorado Avalanche lineup. Darroll Powe added a late empty-netter in the Flyers' 4-2 win.
*****************
Kindle users: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information click here.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»