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FLYERS BEST AND WORST OF 2012
The 2012 calendar year was a mix of highs and lows for the Philadelphia Flyers. Sadly, along with the rest of the NHL, the loss of the first half of the 2012-13 season to a lockout is the most significant and long-lasting development of the year from a hockey business standpoint. Even so, there were some exhilarating moments in the winter and spring months that are also worth recalling.
Flyers Best of 2012: Top 5 Highs
1. April 22, 2012: Game 6 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
There were a lot of nervous people around the Wells Fargo Center complex heading into the sixth game of the Flyers' Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins. After pulling off dramatic comeback wins on the road in the first two games of the series and then building a 3-0 series lead in an 8-4 Game 3 blowout, the Flyers lost the next two games.
Game 4 of the series opened with a festive atmosphere and an early Flyers lead. Things rapidly turned sour, however, and the Pens went on to humble Philly in a 10-3 bludgeoning. Game 5 in Pittsburgh was much more tightly contested but the Penguins skated off with a 3-2 win. Now the Penguins were just a road win away from forcing a seventh and deciding game back in Pittsburgh.
The Flyers weren't about to let that happen. In one of the most memorable tone-setting shifts in recent franchise history, Claude Giroux opened the game by blasting Sidney Crosby with a big hit and then scoring the game's first goal. The entire team picked up from there.
Far and away, Game 6 turned out to be the Flyers' best two-way performance of the entire series. Defensively, they smothered the Penguins. Philly also got strong goaltending in the game when it was needed. Offensively, the Flyers outhustled and outworked the Penguins to loose pucks. Pittsburgh had few easy breakouts and its defensemen had trouble handling the Flyers' forecheck.
Philadelphia built a 2-0 lead on a Scott Hartnell power play goal late in the first period. Early in the second period, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury blew sky high (as he did several times during the series). He allowed an unscreened long-distance shot by Flyers' rookie defenseman Erik Gustafsson to get through. Although Gustafsson fired a cannonball of a shot, it should have been a routine save. Suddenly, the Flyers had a stranglehold on the game.
Another crucial moment happened as the game neared the midway point. Evgeni Malkin scored a dazzling power play goal to get the Penguins on the scoreboard. On the very next shift, Danny Briere answered right back to restore the three goal lead.
Thereafter, the Penguins did not put up much of a fight. Crosby was a non-factor in the final five periods of the series. Meanwhile, Sean Couturier shut down Malkin at even strength and the Flyers also found ways to keep the dangerous James Neal at bay. The outcome was long since sealed by the time Brayden Schenn tacked on an empty net goal for a 5-1 final.
For the Flyers, victory was sweet. They had entered the series as decided underdogs while the Penguins had been picked by many pundits to be the eventual Stanley Cup champion. The convincing nature of Philly's clinching victory showed once and for all that if there was any team in the East that was well-matched to the Penguins in a best-of-seven series, it was the Philadelphia Flyers.
2. January 2, 2012: Winter Classic vs. New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park
The game outcome wasn't what the Flyers wanted, but the 2012 Winter Classic was a smashing success for hockey in Philadelphia. Hockey never seemed more alive and relevant in the city than when huge crowds came out to take in all the associated events. Artistically, financially and dramatically, it could hardly have gone better except if the Flyers had defeated the Rangers in the main event.
For many, including yours truly, the Flyers-Rangers Alumni Game on New Years Eve day was the true biggest highlight of the various Winter Classic Events. For the first and only time in franchise history, Flyers of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s all skated on the same ice and were assembled in the same locker room.
Bernie Parent stood in goal once again. Eric Lindros reconciled with the team once and for all, and got to bask in a standing ovation. Lindros and Legion of Doom linemate John LeClair connected on a beautiful line-rush goal. Newly elected Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Howe scored on a beauty of a wrister on a penalty shot for the final goal of the Flyers' 3-1 win.
An adoring crowd of 45,808 got to witness it all. Despite some media grumbling that Flyers season ticket holders who wanted to see the Winter Classic were also compelled to buy tickets to the Alumni Game and AHL Outdoor Classic, the Alumni Game was every bit as eagerly anticipated by the vast majority of fans as the meeting between the current Flyers and and Rangers. The Alumni event was like one huge family reunion.
The main event on Jan. 2 was a game that could have gone either way. Unfortunately, the Flyers were unable to hold onto a 2-0 lead in the second period, and Briere was not able to convert a late-game penalty shot with the Rangers holding a 3-2 advantage that became the final score. Earlier in the game, Philadelphia lost Jaromir Jagr to a groin pull that never fully went away for the rest of the season.
Despite the unfavorable outcome for the Flyers, the game was still filled with plenty of positive moments. Schenn scored his first NHL goal. Giroux scored on a dazzling backhanded shot. The snow flurries that fell during the second intermssion and early in the third period helped add to the atmosphere.
Most of all, the sight of 46,967 people in the stands -- a majority whom were clad in hockey jerseys or team colors -- was quite the indelible image. Beyond the ticket holders, many more came out to attend the various hockey-related festivities held around the sports complex before and during the game.
The 2012 Winter Classic did not get great television ratings compared to previous installments of the event. However, it also has to be noted that this was not an apples-to-apples comparison. First of all, the previous games were held on Jan. 1. This one was held on Monday, January 2, which was not a national holiday (i.e., some would-be viewers were at work). It should also be noted that the original 1 p.m. start time was rolled back two hours. Beyond that, the event drew big ratings in both of the participating markets.
While there was not nearly as much attention paid to the AHL Outdoor classic between the Adirondack Phantoms and Hershey Bears on Jan. 6, that event was another big success. There were 45,653 tickets sold for the event, with about 70 to 75 percent making use of the tickets to see the Phantoms stage a comeback 4-3 overtime win over the Bears. It was the highest-attended game in AHL history. For many in attendance, the AHL game was the only one for which tickets were affordable and readily available.
To cap off the week's worth of activities, there was a massive fireworks display after the Flyers-Bears game that was worthy of any Independence Day gala or related fireworks night during baseball season. Despite being a minor league game, the AHL Outdoor Classic was done first-class all the way. No one cared that NBC had already packed its "snow rugs" and other made-for-TV-effect Winter Classic accoutrements had been removed in and around Citizens Bank Park.
3. March 15, 2012: Bryzgalov Sets Franchise Shutout Streak Record
The 2011-12 season was a roller coaster ride for newly signed goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Expectations for the former Vezina Trophy finalist were sky high after he was acquired from the Phoenix Coyotes and signed to a nine year, $51 million contract. What ensued was a year filled with inconsistency and bizarre dramas.
It all started out auspiciously enough. On opening night, the Flyers opposed the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, who held a lengthy pregame ceremony to celebrate their title of the previous season. Bryzgalov helped to spoil the party by outdueling Tim Thomas in a 2-1 Flyers win.
In his next start, Bryzgalov opposed Martin Brodeur in the New Jersey Devils home opener. On this night, the Flyers' new starting goalie made a 1-0 lead stand up through periods until Matt Read (scoring his first NHL goal) and Wayne Simmonds (first Flyers goal) added insurance early in the final stanza. Bryzgalov finished with 20 saves for his first Flyers shutout. Seventeen of the saves came in the first two periods while the outcome was still in doubt.
Bryzgalov's third start was the Flyers' home opener. The opponent was another NHL powerhouse: the defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. In something of a precursor to the Flyers-Penguins playoff series, neither Bryzgalov nor Roberto Luongo ended up with good statistical lines. But Bryzgalov was the better of two at bending but not breaking. Philly left with a 5-4 win to open the season 3-0 despite having the NHL's toughest opening three-game schedule.
Thereafter, not much went right for Bryzgalov during the autumn and winter. He struggled for the remainder of October and was inconsistent in November. Bryzgalov's often-hilarious appearances on HBO 24/7 in December were initially sent against the backdrop of a seven-game Flyers' winning streak. But then things soured again, starting with a 6-0 loss to Boston and several poor starts. Outplayed for several weeks by backup Sergei Bobrovsky, Bryzgalov was ultimately benched for the Winter Classic.
The 2012 calendar year saw Bryzgalov continue to run hot and cold, sometimes within the same game. He posted a 2.67 GAA and .912 save percentage in January and a 2.28 GAA and .910 save percentage the next month.
Bryzgalov's fortunes took a turn for the better in March. Actually, it started in late February. Although his stats may not have shown it, the Flyers' western Canada road trip was a big boost for Bryzgalov and his club. After rough early-game performances in Winnipeg and Calgary, he settled in and was downright spectacular as the games progressed.
That was especially true in a 5-4 shootout win in Calgary on Feb. 25. Bryzgalov hung in after the team fell into a 3-0 hole in the game, eventually battling back to knot the score at 4-4 in the final minute of the third period. After a scoreless overtime, the game moved to a shootout. Bryzgalov had struggled in shootouts all season. But on this night, he turned back four of five shootout attempts. Finally, Read scored to make a winner of the Flyers.
When the Flyers returned home after the road trip, Bryzgalov settled into his best groove since his career-best season of 2009-10. On March 4, he posted a 34-save shutout of the Washington Capitals. Two nights later, Bryzgalov played a strong game in a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Mark Howe Night at the Wells Fargo Center.
On March 8, Bryzgalov shut out the Florida Panthers on 28 shots in a 5-0 Flyers romp. Two evenings later, the Flyers and Maple Leafs battled to a scoreless tie after regulation and overtime. Bryzgalov, who made 29 saves during game play, then turned back all three shots he faced in the shootout. Giroux tallied the lone skills competition goal for Philadelphia, and the Flyers left the building with an extra point for their efforts.
Following the Flyers game in Toronto, the team had to turn around and play again the next day. As a result, an increasingly rusty Bobrovsky got the start in a 4-1 road loss to New Jersey. Bryzgalov returned to the net on March 13 for the back end of the home-and-home set with the Devils.
The game was scoreless through one period, as New Jersey outshot Philly by an 8-7 margin. Midway through the second period, Couturier scored the game's first goal. The skinny lead held until Jakub Voracek provided an insurance goal early in the third period. Bryzgalov and the penalty killers got the team through a four-minute penalty kill midway through the period, and Briere tacked on an empty net goal. Bryzgalov had his third straight shutout (17 saves) and fourth in his last five starts.
Entering the Flyers' home game against the Islanders on March 15, Bryzgalov had a shutout minute streak of 196:13. He needed to reach the 11:27 mark of the second period to surpass the franchise record set by John Vanbiesbrocuk. Bryzgalov sailed past the mark and took another shutout bid into the latter stages of the third period.
Finally, at the 13:30 mark of the third period, the Islanders' Michael Grabner re-directed a point shot by defenseman Mark Streit past a helpless Bryzgalov. The Russian goaltender's shutout streak was over at 249:43. New York tacked on another goal, but the Flyers hung on for a 3-2 win.
Symbolic of his topsy-turvy season, Bryzgalov's March ended on a sour note. On March 26, he sustained a chip fracture in his right foot during a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. Bryzgalov stayed in for the entire game, but was then forced out of the lineup until April 3.
Bryzgalov finished the month of March with a 10-2-1 record, 1.41 goals against average, .947 save percentage and four shutouts. He won a pair of NHL Player of the Week awards and was named the Player of the Month despite the late-month injury. Some believe that the chip fracture was still bothering him in the first round of the playoffs and affected his side-to-side movements in the first-round playoff series against Pittsburgh.
4. March 18 and April 1, 2012: Flyers Get in Penguins' Heads
The seeds for the Flyers' first-round playoff victory over Pittsburgh were set throughout the course of the 2011-12 regular season. Numerous times during the season, the Penguins jumped to early leads in games against Philadelphia, only for the Flyers to storm back and ultimately prevail. This theme repeated itself in the playoffs.
On March 18 in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh held a two-goal lead after two periods. The Flyers came back to tie the game on third-period goals by Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. The game moved to overtime. As the clock ticked down below one second, a blast by Hartnell eluded Marc-Andre Fleury. The Flyers were 3-2 winners.
Two weeks later, the teams met in Pittsburgh. The Penguins quickly rolled out to a 2-0 lead against Bobrovsky. But the goalie, who has a history of success against Pittsburgh, eventually settled in along with the rest of the team. A late first-period goal by Giroux gave the Flyers some life heading to the locker room. Early in the second period, former Penguins forward Max Talbot tied the game at 2-2.
The third period saw the Flyers explode for three straight goals (Simmonds, Voracek and rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon) as Fleury and the Penguins came unglued. The waning minutes of regulation were filled with after-the-whistle activities, including a fight and a shouting match between the coaches.
When all was said and done, the Flyers had a 6-4 victory and the fuse had been lit for the postseason fireworks to come.
5. January 24, 2012: Hartnell Named to All-Star Game
It took many Flyers fans a long time -- in some cases, four-plus years -- to warm to power forward Scott Hartnell. Despite the fact that he entered the 2011-12 season having scored 22 or more goals (with a high of 30 in 2008-09) in five of the six previous seasons, there were many who believed Hartnell's negatives outweighed the positives.
Critics pointed to his $4.2 million cap hit and proneness to taking undisciplined penalties. People poked fun at his tendency to lose his balance and fall down on the ice; which Hartnell eventually turned around by eagerly joining in on the "Hartnell Down" joke and turning the catch-phrase into an opportunity to raise money for charity.
By the end of the 2011-12 season, Hartnell had become one of the most popular Flyers players of recent vintage. But it didn't start out that way. As a matter of fact, the 2011-12 season got off to a poor start for Hartnell.
Heading into the season, Hartnell was battling through injury (a fact that was not revealed until much later, by which point he was having a stellar season). In early October, he lost both even-strength and power play ice time to Simmonds. Through the first seven games of the season, Hartnell had yet to score a goal and had two assists to his credit.
Hartnell's season turned around shortly after he was moved from the third line to the top unit with Giroux and Jagr. He scored a pair of goals in his first game on the line, and never looked back en route to setting new career highs with 37 goals and 67 points.
Nevertheless, when the NHL All-Star Game rosters were announced in mid-January, Hartnell found himself on the outside looking in. He took it in stride, saying that he's not really an All-Star Game type of player and there were plenty of other worthy candidates who fell victim to the numbers game.
Even so, everyone in Philadelphia was pulling hard for Hartnell to get the recognition he deserved. When Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews withdrew from the All-Star Game due to injury, Hartnell was tabbed as his replacement on the roster. The announcement became official on January 24, five days before the All-Star Game.
Hartnell's first NHL All-Star Game ended up being a memorable one, although the game itself was typical dull, no-hitting and no-checking ASG fare.
First of all, he raised awareness for "Hartnell Down", as the power forward pledged to donate $1,000 to charity for every time he fell down during the game and Giroux jokingly promised to help out by tripping his Flyers linemate at every opportunity. He ended up tumbling to the ice four times, not including once in warmups, where Giroux actually did assist Hartnell in meeting the ice.
Hartnell, who wore a microphone during the game, also got to teasingly chirp Toronto defenseman Dion Phaneuf after a goal for Team Alfredsson. Hartnell's "Suck it, Phaneuf!" comment was said in good fun but it became another catch phrase of the 2011-12 season. The next time the Flyers played the Maple Leafs, Hartnell scored a goal and a less-than-amused Phaneuf immediately dropped the gloves with him.
HARTNELL'S ALL-STAR GAME CHIRP: January 29, 2012
HARTNELL SCORES, FIGHTS PHANEUF: February 9, 2012
Flyers Worst of 2012: Bottom 5 Lows
1. Sept 15 - Dec. 31, 2012: NHL Lockout
Rather than talking hockey, here we are on New Year's Eve day wondering if and when there will be a season. There is reason to believe there will be a settlement and an abbreviated season beginning in mid-to-late January. But the whole thing is asinine and was absolutely preventable. No one wins, everyone loses.
2. May 8, 2012: Game 5 of Eastern Conference Semifinals
One of the biggest oddities of the Flyers' playoff run in 2012 is that the team went 4-0 in games in which it trailed first, but just 1-6 in games were they scored first. Historically, teams that score first win about 70 percent of the time, but the Flyers of 2011-12 never seemed to do much the conventional way.
The Flyers' series against the Devils began with a comeback overtime win by Philadelphia. Philly dominated after the first period against a tired-legged New Jersey team. Game 2 saw the Flyers badly outplayed but clinging on to a 1-0 lead after two periods, pretty much solely due to a spectacular performance by Bryzgalov through the first 40 minutes. New Jersey finally broke through in the third period, exploding for four unanswered goals.
In my opinion, Game 3 of the Flyers-Devils series was really were the series was lost for Philadelphia. The team scored first and had a pair of overtime power play opportunities before New Jersey's Alexei Ponikarovsky won it. If the Flyers had won that game, I don't think they would have blown an early 2-0 lead in Game 4 or lost 4-2 with relatively little fight.
The Flyers entered Game 5 needing a win to stave off elimination. Things got off to a good start as Talbot opened the scoring. But New Jersey came back to take a 2-1 lead by the first intermission. Most notably, a horrific puckhandling gaffe by Bryzgalov resulted directly in an all-too-easy goal for New Jersey's David Clarkson.
Philadelphia's offense, which had been so explosive in the first seven games of the playoffs, struggled to sustain momentum in the last four games against the Devils. The team trailed by one goal heading into the third period of Game 5, but it might as well have been five goals. Nothing clicked.
Ultimately, Ilya Kovalchuk added an insurance goal early in the third period to close out a 3-1 win for New Jersey. The series was over. Due to the lockout, the May 8 closeout game is also the most recent game the Flyers have played.
3. 2012 Offseason Plans Go Awry
The Flyers entered the 2012 off-season with big plans to upgrade their defense and add a top four forward. First, the team reportedly outbid every other NHL team for the services of All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter and foward Zach Parise. However, both players decided to sign with the Minnesota Wild. It was later said that Philly was never on the short-list of destinations that the two players considered.
During the first week of July, Philadelphia lost minutes-eating Matt Carle to the Tampa Bay Lightning via unrestricted free agency. They also saw 40-year-old top line winger Jaromir Jagr depart to sign a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars.
The Flyers made their boldest move in targeting two-time Norris Trophy runner up Shea Weber. A restricted free agent who was one year away from attaining unrestricted free agent status, Weber was unable to come to contract terms with the Nashville Predators. Nashville general manager David Poile was also not willing to accept any of the trade offers that the Flyers and other teams dangled for his franchise player; saying he would only consider blockbuster offers that provided full value.
Unable to trade for Weber, the Flyers instead signed the restricted free agent to an astronomical offer sheet. The contract offer spanned 14 seasons, paying out a total of $110 million, including $26 million worth of signing bonuses owed in the first 11 months of the deal, whether or not there was a 2012-13 NHL season.
The offer sheet was an odious one for Nashville. A small-market team that was not even at the 2012-13 cap floor despite signing goaltender Pekka Rinne to a seven-year extension paying $7 million per season, the team had just lost Suter to Minnesota. But team simply did not have the hockey-related budget to match Philadelphia's offer sheet to its franchise player. Matching the offer would mean that the ownership group members would have to pay Weber out of their personal wealth -- and it would be money they'd be unlikely to recoup. That was especially true with a lockout looming.
However, in order to save face and continue to be taken seriously as a viable NHL franchise, the Predators owners felt there was no other choice. They matched the offer, and locked up Weber for many, many years to come.
Apart from drawing the ire of many teams around the NHL -- and, no doubt, the League office itself -- the Flyers came away from the 2012 offseason pretty much empty handed. As of now, their roster replacements for Carle and Jagr are role-players Bruno Gervais and Ruslan Fedotenko.
As such, if and when there is an abbreviated 2012-13 season, the Flyers will go in with serious question marks, especially on defense. The team hopes that the James van Riemsdyk trade for Luke Schenn partially helps to address their needs.
4. Defense Racked by Injuries
Apart from the Flyers' loss of Carle and inability to land either Weber or Suter, the Flyers' remaining defense corps was surrounded by injury concerns throughout the second half of last season and spanning the current lockout.
In early March, 2010-11 Barry Ashbee Trophy winner Andrej Meszaros exited the lineup with a back injury that required surgery. He missed the rest of the season, returning to grit his way through the final game of the playoffs. Meszaros worked out diligently over the summer but then suffered another major injury: a torn Achilles tendon. The team hopes he will be cleared to play in January, but it is likely he will need some time beyond that to fully recover his game.
With the career of Chris Pronger likely over due to post-concussion syndrome sustained in the first half of last season, the Flyers top defenseman is 37-year-old Kimmo Timonen. Entering the final season of his contract, the four-time NHL All-Star is coming off back surgery. Before going under the knife during the summer, he dealt with assorted mid-to-lower-body physical problems (including a bad knee) in the second half of last season.
Nicklas Grossmann provided steady positional defense and physical play after his acquisition from Dallas last season. The Flyers pre-empted his impending unrestricted free agency by inking the Swedish blueliner to a four-year extension. But Grossmann, who already wore a knee brace on his left knee, sustained a right knee injury courtesy of a questionable knee-to-knee hit by Pittsburgh's Joe Vitale on April 1. He returned wearing a brace on his other knee. Grossmann also sustained a concussion during the playoffs.
Following the Flyers playoff elimination, Grossmann declined an invitation to play for Sweden at the World Championships. He told team officials that he likely needed knee surgery to repair partially torn ligaments suffered in the April 1 game. However, the player ultimately opted for a physical rehabilitation regimen instead of surgery.
Needing some game action during the lockout, Grossmann performed well during a four-game stint in Sweden with Södertälje SK. He reportedly feels fine to start the NHL season if and when the lockout ends, and has continued to work out without incident.
Two of the younger defensemen on the Flyers roster have also had injury concerns of their own. Marc-Andre Bourdon has sustained three concussions over his last 26 games played, and is currently sidelined with the Phantoms. Meanwhile, Erik Gustafsson (who had hand surgery last season) has been waylaid recently by a high ankle issue.
Veteran role-playing defenseman Andreas Lilja underwent hip surgery late in the summer. He was medically cleared in early December.
5. Allen Battles Dementia
I debated whether to include this sad story in the year-in-review blog, but I figured it deserved mention. Dementia is an issue that affects many families with elderly parents and gradparents, and this story involves an iconic figure in Flyers' history.
Last week, Philadelphia Inquirer beat writer Sam Carchidi wrote an excellent article detailing 89-year-old Keith Allen's battle with a form of dementia. He currently receives care in an assisted-living facility in the Philadelphia suburbs. As is often the case, Allen has good and bad days but at least he has family members and some of his Flyers associates for love and support.
A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Flyers Hall of Fame, Allen was the Flyers' first head coach when the club entered the NHL as an expansion team in 1967-68. Later, as general manager, he was the architect of the Broad Street Bullies teams of the 1970s that won two Stanley Cups. He was instrumental in the hiring of the maverickFred Shero over the initial objections of team owner Ed Snider.
In the early- to mid-1980s, before giving way to Bob McCammon and Bob Clarke, Allen influenced roster decisions that impacted the team all the way through its runs to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1985 and 1986.
Apart from his laundry list of accomplishments on the ice, Allen was beloved by many around the Flyers for his warmth and caring away from the ice. Around the hockey world, he was respected for his honesty as well as his sharp eye for talent. Despite his intensely competitive spirit and "Keith the Thief" nickname, Allen was always regarded as a man of integrity. In fact, the nickname was one born of admiration rather than scorn. When Allen inquired about trade candidates from other teams, other GMs soon learned to double- and triple-check with their coaches and scouts to make sure they weren't about to trade someone who would come back to haunt their club.
Keith Allen has always been a fighter, and he's battling a horrible illness with all the strength and dignity he can muster. Sadly, it's a fight he cannot win. I think I can speak for everyone in saying our thoughts and prayers are with the Allen family and the Flyers family as a whole. There is no stopping the illness from taking its horrible course, but everyone who knows and cares for Keith Allen can be strong for one another.
I will close by saying this: May the 2013 year bring better things to all, and comfort and support to those in need.
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