Better effort helps Flyers swat away Jackets

The Flyers chased away another goalie tonight. This time, Mathieu Garon was the victim. Garon allowed five goals on thirty Flyer shots and was finally pulled late in the third period.

There are two stories to tonight’s game. One which I’ll get into a little bit later. However, first I need to talk about Jeff Carter’s tremendous effort tonight. I’ve been really hard on Jeff Carter as of late, but over the last five or six games, he’s starting to heat up. Tonight was no different. Carter finished tonight with 2 goals, an assist, and a +/- rating of 2. He was all over the ice and tried to elude skating down the wing and firing the puck into the goalie’s chest, which has been quite the normality for him since the middle of last season. He seems to be getting away from that, though. Jeff Carter played in the center of the ice tonight more than I have ever seen him play there. He made cuts, shot the puck with his head up, and wasn’t afraid to maneuver into spots where there was a Columbus defender. Carter now leads the team in points with 45 and it’s so nice to see him finally turning on the jets.

The team as a whole started tonight’s game with a flurry of chances and didn’t show many signs of slowing until Jeff Carter put their first tally on the board just 58 seconds into the game after forcing a turnover just inside the Columbus defensive zone. Carter would break alone on Garon and put a nifty backhander into the back of the net to start the scoring.

Peter Laviolette put it perfectly when he said, “I thought it was one of our best first periods.” I can agree with that. Although the Flyers did show a few moments of sloppy hockey throughout the game, it’s to be expected. They were clearly the better team tonight, and even though it came against a lowly Blue Jackets club who are also struggling for wins, this is not the time of the season to take any team lightly, and the Flyers didn’t do that.

Along with Jeff Carter’s two goals, Chris Pronger, Arron Asham, and Dan Carcillo also added onto Garon’s goals against statistic tonight. Asham’s goal came on a beautiful feed from Claude Giroux, Chris Pronger’s goal came on another nice feed from Danny Briere (weird to see Pronger in front of the net like that), and Dan Carcillo left Garon clueless when he shot through a screen and added the Flyers fifth goal.

The Good, and the Bad

The Good

• Claude Giroux being moved back to center paid off big time tonight. He was amongst one of the most noticeable Flyers on the ice. His assist on Asham’s goal was a thing of beauty, and that wasn’t the only play of his that made me say, “wow”.
• The Flyers showed tonight that when they actually try to play hockey, they’re good at it. For the first time in awhile, I saw more than two or three rushes with sustained pressure and it was definitely key in helping them to victory when you look at how tonight’s goals were scored.
• I already said my piece about Jeff Carter, but his second goal which he scored off the face off was one of the better things I’ve ever seen him do.

The Bad

• Like I said earlier, it wasn’t much, but the Flyers still showed signs of breaking down and playing some sloppy, scrambled hockey. This is definitely something they’re going to have to cut down on as the end of the season nears, and match ups become more and more crucial.
• Ray Emery looks better, but the rebounds he’s kicking out are beginning to worry me. Does he need another game to get them back under control, or is this a weakness that’s recently been exposed? I guess we’ll find out.

I mentioned that there were two stories to tonight’s game, and the second belongs to former Flyer RJ Umberger who, was by far, the Blue Jackets’ best player tonight. Umberger tallied two goals and was a pest in our offensive zone.

Late in the third period, Rich Nash fired a shot from just above the circle that made its way into the back of the net. The crowd originally thought that RJ Umberger deflected the puck into the net, and immediately began throwing their hats onto the ice. Ironically, tonight’s giveaway to fans entering the game was an orange Flyers hat, so everyone had something to throw. About a half minute late, Flyers famed PA announcer Lou Nolan came over the loudspeaker and whispered, “RJ Umberger did not score a hat trick.” The crowd erupted into laughter and applause.

After the game, Umberger spoke to the media:

“With them noticing the effort I put in here and how much it meant for me to be a Flyer, you know, it was a great feeling.”

“I left here on pretty good terms,” he said. “It wasn’t my choice. When I was here, I loved every minute of it. It’s a great city, I tried to be part of the community and really buy into the Flyers’ mentality.

“I owe a lot to this organization – Paul Holmgren and Bob Clarke gave me an opportunity in this league. There’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t think about this place.”

We miss you, too, RJ.

This goes to show what a blue-collar, hard working attitude will get you in Philadelphia sports. Some of this city’s athletes should take note.

One more note, RJ Umberger was given tonight’s second star selection of the game. When announcing Umberger’s name, Lou Nolan mistakenly exclaimed, “Tonight’s second star is a Flyer, ehm, excuse me, a Blue Jacket, RJ UMBERGER!”

We’ll see ya Thursday when the Rangers come to town.

[Quotes from this article courtesy of CSNPhilly.com]

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Flyers Home Opener – Nothing Short of Thrilling

In a battle of two unbeaten, rival teams coming into Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers bested the Washington Capitals in a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory. Danny Briere, celebrating his 32nd birthday, netted the overtime winner, giving the Flyers a 3-0 start for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

The sold-out crowd of 19,567 was full of anticipation for the first home game of the season. “I think the teams match up very well and I hope the Flyers will have the advantage because of the crowd,” said Adam Necelis, a fan eagerly waiting to see the team for the first time. “I’m very excited for this season, especially with the additions of Pronger and Emery.”

The excited crowd made sure the Capitals wouldn’t forget where they were with their loud and raucous cheers and boos. Mike Knuble, on the other hand, received a nice ovation from the appreciative crowd for his four years of service as a Flyer.

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