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Quote of the day - - and using the 'E' word: “It’s a lot easier when you get guys like Nolan Patrick back,” Hayes said when asked to explain the power play’s Game 1 resurgence. “He kind of controls that (second) power play and he’s an elite player and he got rewarded with a goal tonight.”

For those who may not have seen this - SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE D, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS Shayne Gostisbehere was not available for Wednesday's season opener because of COVID protocol. A COVID Protocol Related Absence does not necessarily mean that a player tested positive for the virus. Gostisbehere wasn't available for Sunday's team scrimmage and he was ruled out for Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. SOURCE: NHL Public Relations on Twitter Jan 13, 2021, 6:27 PM ET

Third period goal was officially changed from Konecny to Lindblom. So, both Patrick and Lindblom scored in their Game 1. Awesome !

Depth, depth, depth. Four line depth. Forecheck, forecheck, forecheck. Conditioning. We share this opinion with Charlie O'Connor as he is 'right-on' in his Game 1 observation:

Mark Friedman in the pre-game warm-up - - - has a new jersey number:

Yes. His #86 is one ahead of Crosby's #87 ! Actually - And, it worked !!!

Farabee leads the NHL in scoring That line of 'Giroux-Hayes-Farabee' is going to be awesome this season.

Today - NBC Sports’ NHL game analysts AJ Mleczko and Eddie Olczyk weighed in as the Flyers open their 2020-21 season tonight against the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. “The idea that you’re playing more nights with less breaks, and the physical breakdown these players will take makes the depth of all of these teams super important,” Mleczko said. “You look at the rivalries, you look at the intensity of a shorter season, and there is an argument it’s more like a sprint than a marathon of a normal 82-game season. “What Philly showed before the pause last year, they were a hard team to play against and they were physical. What impressed me the most about Philly, especially in February and March, and fast forward to August, was their ability to play any style. “Whatever teams threw at them, they were able to adjust. Part of that is how they’re made up and it also has a lot to do with their grittiness, no pun intended towards their mascot. They have a chip on their shoulder and they’re proving people wrong. That Eastern Division is going to be really, really tough, but I think Philly is built for longevity this season.” What you do see are a lot of grinders, character guys, guys who aren’t afraid to win races, or take hits to make plays, they’re important players. “The Flyers have a lot of those guys.” Olczyk does believe friction will be there, especially playing the same teams twice within 24 hours. “The way the schedule is this will be very similar to baseball, where all you can do is shack up, go to the rink and go back to your hotel and that’s it,” Olczyk said. “Somebody puts one high and hard one around somebody’s chin, within reasons of good taste and within rules of the game, you have the opportunity to come right back in 24 hours or 48 hours and either settle the score or send a message. “It is going to be intense — it really is. Looking at the teams in that Eastern Division, you can have a few points between first and fifth. The temperature is going to rise as we get further into the season.” Sam Moran, 6-7 230, will be Watching

Flyers Depth at Center A repeat theme, but a very important theme - - strong through the middle - strong at Center, depth at Center, as stated again today by Fletcher: The regular-season opener will be Patrick's first NHL game since April 2, 2019, a span of over 650 days. "It's been, at least in my eyes, the biggest story of camp," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Tuesday. "Not only to see that Nolan is feeling better physically and able to participate in camp, but after all the time he's missed, he's been able to go out and play at a high level, which is remarkable. Regardless of why you missed time, to be able to come back and play at that level, play with the speed, the pace, the energy that he has played with has been great to see." Patrick's presence is huge for the Flyers down the middle of the ice. Along with Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes, Patrick gives the Flyers three tough-to-play-against centers with size and smarts. "His skill level has always spoken for itself," Fletcher said. "He sees the ice so well, 200-foot player, doesn’t cheat away from the puck, he doesn’t cheat defensively and has a very good shot. I look at our top three centermen in Couturier, Hayes and Patrick, and all three of them are going to play important even strength minutes, all three of them are going to play power play minutes and all three of them are going to play PK minutes. We're very fortunate, and obviously we have Scotty Laughton and even Morgan Frost that can move up in the lineup and play big minutes, too. We like our depth through the middle of the ice and I'm excited to see what Nolan can do this year, as well as everybody else." Patrick's nasty goal as he reaches back between his legs:

I apologize for hammering this theme over-and-over, but, as an old-timer, I remember all the crap from Malkin and Crosby over the years. OR, CX, remember? Below is a quote from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this morning. It uses gentle words like "increase the rivalry aspect" (Crosby quote) and "the increased tension in the second game". Translation: back-to-back games with our Flyers and Pens dirty players Malkin/Crosby will increase the 'hate' factor and 'vicious retaliation'. Again, prepare to move LW Sam Morin from the Taxi Squad to the game roster for game 2 on Friday night vs Malkin and the Pens (quoted post above). Malkin SIDNEY CROSBY C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Sidney Crosby likes the NHL's plan of having two or sometimes even three-game series this season. This season's schedule will feature frequent examples of teams playing consecutive games against each other in the same building. The NHL has had home-and-away series in the past, but they previously shied away from having, for example, Pittsburgh playing consecutive games in Philadelphia in the same way the MLB does series. However, with the condensed schedule and division-only play, it made sense for this season. “Yeah, I like it,” Sidney Crosby said. “Obviously, it’s more because of the (pandemic) situation. It’s something that came up before, and it didn’t really materialize. Not having to travel (as much), just kind of getting settled in one place and playing a team a couple of times should increase the rivalry aspect.” The increased tension in the second game of the set should be an interesting factor in this schedule. While this schedule structure came about because of the unique challenges presented in 2020-21, it will be interesting to see if this series idea continues beyond this season. SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Jan 13, 2021, 10:16 AM ET

Flyers Helmet Ad Sam Carchidi this afternoon - Excerpt: Flyers to advertise on helmets this season. Spoiler alert: It’s not Wawa. Trying to gain a revenue stream during a pandemic-shortened season that may not have fans at any games, the Flyers are joining some other NHL teams and putting advertisements on their helmets. No, it’s not Wawa, Tastykake, or any of those iconic cheesesteak places in South Philly. Instead, the helmet partner will be Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), according to a league source. TCS is an international IT consulting firm, and it was attracted to the domestic and international element of the partnership, the source said. They have offices in the United States, Canada, and many other countries, several of which are home to many Flyers, including Sweden and Austria. The helmets, which will have TCS on them and no slogan, will debut Wednesday in the season opener against Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center.

Our Flyers are ready. This is a very, very, good team. Deep team. This team is a SC contender. Here is an outsiders' view: NBC analysts like the Flyers’ chances in rugged NHL East If Flyers fans are feeling optimistic after a pretty successful turnaround a year ago, they are not alone. The national TV folks are positively bullish about what Chuck Fletcher and Alain Vigneault have cooking. “What impressed me about Philly in February and March and fast-forward to August was their ability to play any style,” said NBC analyst AJ Mleczko. “Whatever [opponents] threw at them, they were able to adjust. Part of that is the way they’re made up, their depth. It has a lot to do with their grittiness. They’ve got a chip on their shoulders, and they’re proving people wrong. “Once the top four teams make the playoffs, it’s anyone’s game at that point. The Eastern Division is going to be tough. But I think Philly is built [to make a run] this season.” Coach AV: General manager Chuck Fletcher said Vigneault’s hiring was a step in “returning the winning culture” to the Flyers. He did that last season. Now he wants to bring the franchise its first championship since 1975. “We are not in this to win one series,” Vigneault said. “We are in this to win the Stanley Cup.” I believe that we’re on the right track as far as moving forward to win a Stanley Cup. I do firmly believe we have the players. We have the pieces. We have the will. We have a lot of work left to do, but we are on the right track to get it done.”

Flyers vs Pens back-to-back games this week. A quote from the Pens defenceman Letang: Familiarity will breed contempt, especially in the East Division, the only of the NHL’s four divisions that is restricted to a single time zone. “It’s going to be fun,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “It’s going to create more rivalries and emotion will probably be higher because of what happened the night before. It can translate to the next game. And obviously, you play (only division opponents) so every game will be super important. It will raise a lot of intensity.” The Taxi Squad is an extension of the NHL team's roster. The assumption here is that a player can be called from the Taxi Squad to the main roster if there is a vacancy in the 23-player roster. "Players can move freely between the taxi squad and the NHL roster, but call-ups must be made prior to 5 p.m. on game day." Therefore, with our Flyers playing the Pens back-to-back, and with Malkin (and maybe Crosby) doing their crap, dirty play, perhaps Fletcher/AV will rotate 2 players temporarily for game 2 only: - Morin from the Taxi Squad to the main roster - Frost from the main roster to the Taxi Squad - - and insert LW Morin, 6-7 230, in place of LW Raffl for game 2 vs the Pens only. Malkin

Meltzer - PROBABLE OPENING NIGHT LINEUP 23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny 28 Claude Giroux - 13 Kevin Hayes - 86 Joel Farabee 25 James van Riemsdyk - 19 Nolan Patrick - 93 Jakub Voracek 12 Michael Raffl- 21 Scott Laughton- 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel 9 Ivan Provorov - 61 Justin Braun 6 Travis Sanheim - 5 Phil Myers 8 Robert Hägg - 56 Erik Gustafsson 79 Carter Hart [37 Brian Elliott] PP1: Provorov, Giroux, Hayes, Couturier, TK PP2: Farabee, JVR, Patrick, Voracek, Gustafsson Scratches: 48 Morgan Frost (healthy), 53 Shayne Gostisbehere (undisclosed), 59 Mark Friedman (healthy). Bring-on the Penguins!

We have been waiting for this. Thx. Great to see Provorov get the "A". Good to see defenceman Friedman on the 23-man roster and protected from waivers (to get to the Practice Squad) where he would have been very vulnerable to be grabbed. It makes sense now to have Zamula and Sandin go to the Phantoms where they can play regularly, rather than on the Taxi Squad. This is a very, very, good team. Bring-on the Penguins! (Remember, tomorrow night's opener on TV is at 5:30 PM ET, not 7 PM ET)

On Oct 10, 2020 The Philadelphia Flyers announced today they have signed defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a one-year, two-way contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $700K, according to President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Chuck Fletcher. Below are notes on Pouliot and his career: DERRICK POULIOT (POO-lee-awt) POSITION: Defenseman PREVIOUS TEAM: St. Louis (NHL), San Antonio (AHL) DRAFTED: 2012 - 1st Round (8th overall) by Pittsburgh Penguins AGE: 26 (1-16-1994) BORN: Estevan, Saskatchewan VITALS: 6'0", 196 lbs SHOOTS: Left * Pouliot spent most of the 2019-20 season in the American Hockey League with the San Antonio Rampage where he recorded 39 points (7g-32a) in 58 games, which ranked sixth among all AHL d-men. * He skated in two games for the St. Louis Blues in 2019-20. * Pouliot has appeared in 202 regular season games in the NHL with three teams and posted a career total of 48 points (8g-40a) in those 202 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2014-15 through 2016-17), Vancouver Canucks (2017-18 through 2018-19) and the Blues (2019-20). * Pouliot also skated in two games with the Penguins during their run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Championship. * He has also appeared in 172 games in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2014-15 through 2016-17) and Rampage (2019-20), and has posted 109 points (27g-82a).

Good stuff OR, Thx.

Roundtable: Bold predictions for the 2020-21 NHL season By Sean Leahy NBC Sports Jan 11, 2021, 11:00 AM EST Sean Leahy, NHL writer: After signing a deal following his camp PTO, Mike Hoffman will lead the Blues in scoring. James O’Brien, NHL writer: I chose Rick Tocchet to be the first coach fired, but he won’t get that pink slip during the regular season. That’s right: no in-season coaching firings for 2020-21. (But all bets are off during the 2020 offseason.) Adam Gretz, NHL writer: The Winnipeg Jets trade Patrik Laine to the Philadelphia Flyers. Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer: Predicting the Sharks as a playoff team is probably the boldest take I have, but the wilder take in the back of my head has been about the Kings making a playoff push, but still falling short. Jake Abrahams, Managing Editor, NHL content: Taylor Hall will pair perfectly with Jack Eichel and will sign a massive contract extension to stay with the Sabres. Michael Finewax, Rotoworld Senior Hockey Writer/Editor: The Stanley Cup will finally return to Canada with the Toronto Maple Leafs claiming the crown.

NHL 23-player Rosters and 6-player Taxi Squad Lists are due today. A good clarification on NHL Taxi Squads - Every team will likely lean on taxi squads this season. NHL teams get to have four to six players on taxi squads after they clear waivers, essentially expanding the size of the team beyond the 23-man limit when teams submit their rosters to the league on Tuesday. “We’re going into unchartered waters with the taxi squad that is in place to try to get us through the season,” Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Taxi squads will give us 29 players tested every day, practicing and traveling with us that are eligible to play in games on short notice.” Players on taxi squads can be put on the active roster as late as 5 p.m. ET on a a game day, giving clubs a better chance to having four lines, three defensive pairings and two goaltenders even if rosters take a hit because of COVID-19 protocols. To keep healthy players in net to let the games go on, teams must have three goaltenders available among the 29 players on their active roster and taxi squads. While taxi squads will benefit teams trying to navigate the season, general managers will wrestle with whether they should keep prospects to play sparingly in the NHL or if sending them to compete regularly in American Hockey League games is better for their development. “You’d have to prioritize your thinking,” Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams said. “I’d say we’ll start with what we feel is what gives the Buffalo Sabres, the best opportunity to be successful and win hockey games, and we’ll work off of that.” When NHL teams do want to call up prospects from the minor leagues, those based in the U.S. will be able to get them on the ice quicker than some of the Canadian counterparts. “There will be a quarantine period of seven days to bring somebody up,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary will have to wait even longer to have access to prospects they recall. Those teams have U.S-based minor league affiliates and anyone crossing the border for nonessential reasons must isolate for 14 days. “That adds another six days to anyone coming to Canada to the clubs in western Canada,” Holland said. “When we assign players to the AHL, it’s much more difficult to get them back. And, that will factor into our decisions when we have to submit rosters on Tuesday.” Taxi squads are like the NFL’s practice squads during the pandemic, giving teams a way to bolster depth at thin positions and to provide a layer of insurance if COVID-19 protocols rule players out. In the postseason, though, “Black Aces,” are generally prospects just happy to be around the NHL club after their minor league seasons end. In this pandemic-altered season, those same young players may grow tired of being relegated to practicing while their peers are gaining experience playing in the minors. Detroit Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula fondly recalls his 74-game run with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins 15 years ago before moving up to play in the world’s top hockey league. “I felt fortunate getting sent down, getting to play and play in a lot of situations in all the games,” the 36-year-old Finn said. “It depends how old you are. But for everybody, it’s good to play games and not just practice.” The AHL season was in doubt until recently when it announced 28 teams plan to start their season in February, adding that three clubs opted out of playing in the pandemic. Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice made it clear he would rather have prospects competing for the Manitoba Moose than simply skating, testing and traveling with the Jets. “I don’t want young guys in general on the taxi squad not playing,” Maurice said. This makes me think about our Flyers high quality prospect defenceman Zamula. It may be best overall to have him play in the AHL with our Phantoms for his development. That would mean a veteran defenceman with NHL experience on the Taxi Squad such as: Derrick Pouliot Chris Bigras Nate Prosser Tyler Wotherspoon Defensemen Nate Prosser continues to look for a spot on a NHL roster after he had previously spent the past eleven seasons with Minnesota and St. Louis. The 35-year-old veteran is likely to clear the waivers and be assigned to the AHL club where he was serving as the Captain. Derrick Pouliot also has some pretty extensive NHL experience, appearing in 202 NHL games with three different teams. He last appeared in a NHL game in the 2019-2020 season with St Louis. Chris Bigras, the 25-year-old from Canada, has played in two NHL seasons both with the Colorado Avalanche. He made his NHL debut in the 2015-2016 season, and has not appeared in a league game since the 2017-2018 season. Tyler Wotherspoon is battling for a return to the NHL where last played a regular season game with the Calgary Flames in the 2016-2017 season.

GARY BETTMAN COM, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is expecting a $1 billion loss for teams in 2020-21. There will be a limited number of fans at best in a few arenas to start the season and the NHL derives half of its revenues in ticket sales so it is no surprise that the loss league-wide will be high. " It would be cheaper for us to shut the door and not play," Bettman said on Monday on a Zoom teleconference with the media that also included deputy commissioner Bill Daly and other league executives. "The magnitude of the loss starts with a ‘B.’ We’re out of the ‘M’ range and into the ‘B’ range. It’s just what we have to deal with and what clubs have decided they have to do. Everyone thought it was important to play our game and deliver what people expect from us, and that’s what everyone signed on to do." SOURCE: Newsday Jan 12, 2021, 8:16 AM ET

- - or Gustafsson. As Gus gets adjusted to his new team, new system, new coaching, he is very capable to be the first pair right side defenceman with Provorov. Quote: At 28, Gustafsson has been around long enough to know the ropes on a top pairing. And besides playing with Keith, Gustafsson also had a chance to compete with other stars (forwards) such as three-time Stanley Cup champions Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Gus is LH but has played almost exclusevly on the Right Side the last 3 years and prefers it. “I played a couple games on the left with Calgary (recently) but it didn’t feel right,’’ he [Gus] said. “So right now I’m used to playing on the right side. I feel more confident on the right side. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I play there.’’ Today: “For the most part, I have liked what I have seen,” Vigneault said. “I do think as he [Gus] gets more familiar with the way we want to do things, the way we approach our preparation, our expectations — coaches to players — I think the more he understands, the better he is going to play. It is hard for someone coming into a new style of play, a new emphasis on different things, but he seems like a very good young man.” Gustafsson has been “very receptive to the things I have told him, and Mike Yeo, who runs the D, has told him,” Vigneault said. “He’s picking it up every day, and that is what he needs to do if he is going to be an effective player for us.” Left winger James van Riemsdyk has faced Gustafsson in NHL games and, now, in training-camp scrimmages. “He’s super smooth,” van Riemsdyk said. “He moves the puck really well and is just a smart player all around. He’s definitely a guy we’re happy to have on our team. The last couple of days we’ve gotten a chance to do some power-play stuff with him and he is really good up top there, too. That will definitely be a big part of his contribution to the team.” The other element here is that Fletcher and AV know that they have been trying to trade Ghost. The sooner, the better, before we get too close to the July Expansion Draft. He can not make the Protected List (3 defencemen: Provorov, Sanheim, Myers), and a high probability he gets taken by the Kraken, and Fletcher gets no asset in return. We like Ghost's flash-and-dash and PP work, but actually, Gus is better than Ghost in the defensive zone where Ghost continues to struggle. Another element in playing the right side next to Provorov is that Ghost had extra struggles on the right side. AV and Yeo tried to keep Ghost on the left side last season. Quote: "[Gustafsson] has tremendous deception with the puck, tremendous poise," general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "We don't have a defenseman that sees the ice like he does, he can play on the power play. It's a different type of skill set than Matt ... there wasn't going to be that ability to replace Matt per se with the same style." "We think his (Gustafsson) skill set meshes really well with what we need," Fletcher said. "We think we have a lot of strong defenders on our team and we're very structured defensively as a group. His skill set, his ability to go back on pucks and make good decisions and transition the puck up the ice, we thought was a very important element to add to our group." "Gustafsson’s just got tremendous deception and vision." "I think he generates offense a little bit differently than Ghost."

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Monday, Jan 11 Due date for submitting Rosters and Taxi Squad Lists to the NHL is either today or tommorow, I can't remember which. Anyone want to take a guess at the Flyers Roster and Taxi Squad? My guess: Roster - 23 Players Lindblom-Courturier-Konecny Giroux-Hayes-Farabee JVR-Patrick-Voracek Raffl-Laughton-NAK #13-Bunnaman (C/LW/RW) #14-Sandin (C/LW/RW) Provorov-Braun (RH) Sanheim-Myers (RH) Hagg-Gustafsson #7-Ghost Hart Elliott Taxi Squad - 6 Players Frost (C) Twarynski (LW) Morin (LW) Friedman (D) Zamula (D) Lyon (G)