Quick HIts: October 17, 2021
1) The Flyers return to the ice at the FTC in Voorhees on Sunday. The team will prepare for Monday's game at the Wells Fargo Center against Dake Hakstol's Seattle Kraken. It should become clearer at practice whether Rasmus Ristolainen (upper-body injury) will be available or at least a game-day decision for Monday.
2) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms sustained a 2-1 road loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the regular season opener on Saturday. Ian Laperriere's team had a puck possession advantage for much of the game and also had five power plays but found themselves twice chasing the game.
An early WB/S power play goal by Valtteri Puustinen put them ahead despite a 14-6 shot edge for the Phantoms. Pens goalie Filip Lindberg (30 saves on 31 shots) played a legitimately great game in net. He erased at least four chances over the course of the game that looked like a sure goal.
Flyers 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster had several good looks at the net on the power play during the game. He finally cashed in late in the second period as he wired home a shot off the rush where he was fed by Cam York. Linus Sandin got the secondary assist as the Phantoms finally tied the score at 1-1.
The Penguins regained the lead just 69 seconds into the third period. It started with Morgan Frost (who, apart from two scoring chances he set up on the power play and a couple of nice stick-on-puck defensive plays, had a rough season opener) losing a left circle draw cleanly. The Phantoms got set defensively as the Pens moved the puck in the attack zone and Sandström was beaten on a shot from the right by defenseman Niclas Almari. It wasn't a soft goal but it also wasn't unstoppable for the Phantoms' netminder. The assists went to former Flyers draftee Michael Chaput and ex-Phantoms defenseman Chris Bigras.
The Phantoms made two heavy pushes at getting the game tied including lengthy possession at 6-on-5 with Sandström (21 saves on 23 shots) pulled for an extra attacker. That got short-circuited with 50 seconds left in regulation when the Phantoms were called for too many men on the ice.
Lehigh Valley is right back in action on Sunday. The team will visit the Hershey Bears. Game time is 3:00 p.m. ET.
3) Having seen the roster and attendee list that Brad Marsh has assembled for the Flyers Alumni Hall of Fame Game on Nov. 15 -- which will feature a coaching matchup of Paul Holmgren (Team Holmgren, with Pat Croce as an honorary assistant coach) vs. Mike Keenan (Team Tocchet) -- one of the coolest aspects is how Marshy incorporated multiple players/attendees to represent every era in franchise history. Players' NHL careers began as early as 1964 (Joe Watson) and ended as late as the end of the 2010s.
With Tocchet and Holmgren (an assistant coach under Keenan by the mid-1980s) as this year's Flyers Hall of Fame inductees, there will be a large-scale reunion of Flyers figures from the "Keenan's Kids" teams of the mid-1980s. But there are also quite a few attendees from the 20007-08 to 2009-10 years when the Flyers reached an Eastern Conference Final and a Stanley Cup Final. There are two Broad Street Bully era players who are playing in the game, and a host of others who will be participating in non-playing capacities. There are guys from the 35-game unbeaten streak season (1979-80). There are seven Flyers Hall of Famers who are playing in the game -- including Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mark Howe -- and 10 others who will be attending/participating but not playing. There's a variety of Alumni from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s as well.
The VIP level tickets are rather pricey item in terms of cost, but most who've attended similar events in the past -- the 50th Anniversary reception in 2017, the recent VIP reception after the Flyers Alumni vs. Flyers Warriors Showcase, etc. -- will attest to having a great time. The pregame meet-and-greet Happy Hour aspect is the highlight for most: a chance for fans to mix and mingle with Flyers Alumni literally by the dozens (more than 50 in all), with personal photo and autograph opportunities galore.
General admission tickets range from $25 to $105. To purchase general admission or VIP level tickets,
click here.
4) In Memoriam: Popular latter 1970s Flyers defenseman Rick "Jumbo" Lapointe passed away at age 44 on this day in 1999 after suffering a fatal heart attack.
5) Today in Flyers History: On Oct. 17, 2017, a four-goal outburst by the Flyers in the second period -- Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere, Claude Giroux (PPG) and Dale Weise -- spearheaded a 5-1 home victory over the Florida Panthers. Valtteri Filppula tacked on an empty netter after a Jamie McGinn power play goal in the latter stages of the third period broke up a shutout bid for Michal Neuvirth (40 saves on 41 shots).
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