Game Thread Flyers at Ducks, 2/12/2011

[brelic]

From http://www.hockeybuz...-Ducks/45/40183

PREVIEW 9 AM EST

It has been six long days since the Philadelphia Flyers (13-7-3) last played a hockey game. Tonight, the club opens a brutally difficult December schedule that will see the team play 13 of 16 games on the road. The opponent will be the Anaheim Ducks (7-13-4), with new head coach Bruce Boudreau making his debut less than 48 hours after replacing former Stanley Cup winning coach Randy Carlyle behind the bench.

The game starts at 10 PM EST (7 PM PST) and will be broadcast locally on the Comcast Network (not CSN Philly).

The game marks the only meeting of the season between the two clubs. Last year, the Flyers played the Ducks twice, with Anaheim winning both times (3-2 and 5-2).

The first game last season was a heartbreaker at home for Philly, as the Flyers battled back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 on goals by Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux to take the game late into the third period tied. With 1:46 left in regulation, Ryan Getlzaf put the Ducks ahead to stay.

The second meeting took place in Anaheim on New Year's Eve. The Ducks built a 3-0 lead, which the Flyers (Andreas Nodl and Jeff Carter) whittled down to a single goal by early in the third period. Anaheim struck right back, as Bobby Ryan quickly restored a two-goal lead and Philadelphia never really mounted another challenge. Lubomir Visnovsky added some additional insurance late in the game.

In preparation for tonight's game, the Flyers took advantage of the lengthy schedule break to fly out to California a full two days in advance of the game, which eliminated the three-hour time change being a potential factor. Meanwhile, Bruce Boudreau ran the Ducks practice yesterday.

The Flyers expect to have Jaromir Jagr (groin pull) back in the lineup today. He has not played a full game since suffering the initial injury in the game against Phoenix. The club will also have Brayden Schenn in the lineup for the first time since rehabbing a broken foot.

If Matt Walker clears re-entry waivers today, he is expected to be in the starting lineup in place of rookie Kevin Marshall.

James van Riemsdyk (upper body injury) appears likely to miss the game. Defensemen Chris Pronger (LTIR, knee surgery and illness), Andreas Lilja (LTIR, high ankle sprain) and Erik Gustafsson (LTIR, hand/wrist surgery) are all out for lengthy stretches.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

FLYERS

Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr

Schenn - Briere - Read

Voracek - Talbot - Simmonds

Shelley - Couturier - Rinaldo

Timonen- Coburn

Carle - Walker/Marshall

Bourdon - Meszaros

Bryzgalov

[bobrovsky]

DUCKS

Ryan - Getzlaf - Perry

Cogliano - Koivu - Selanne

Hagman - Maxwell - Smith-Pelly

Beleskey - McMillan - Gordon

Fowler - Lydman

Beauchemin - Sbisa

Brookbank - Guenin

Hiller/Mason

**********

[brelic]

Looking forward to seeing Schenn again... Now's his time to shine

[Irishjim]

i forgot what web site i posted tonights lineup from in the shout box but i like them better. schenn on the third line, harry z on the 4th and no shelly

[hf101]

Laviolettes pre-game interview stated that Schenn will get some PP time and that this is a brand new start for him.

There are other noteables in tonights game:

Hopefully Bryz plays strong in net.

Jagr is recovered and is able to play the entire game without further injury.

Does Walker play and how does he fit in the defensive mix?

and last I want to see Hiller's 3-D mask.

[pvbears]

I saw Harry Z in the lineup earlier today what happened

[five6four]

walker not in the lineup. good thing we brought him and his 1.7 cap hit back.

[doom88]

So much for Bryz looking strong in net, or like an NHLer for that matter.

[hf101]

So much for Bryz looking strong in net, or like an NHLer for that matter.

So of my four choices, the only one that has merit is Jagr seems to have some game back.

[OzFlyer]

Schenn looked good tonight and what a difference Jagr makes to the PP!

[bernardmarcel1]

I was at the game tonight - thought there was no way the Flyers were coming back after Bryz let in those softies. After the Ducks' 3rd goal, every Flyer on the ice was visibly deflated.

That said, tons of props to the offense for keeping at it, getting a ton of shots on Hiller even when it looked like they were never going to get anything past him. Impressed with the leaders that stepped up tonight after the Pronger / JVR, etc injuries, notably Kimmo, Hartnell, Briere, Jags & of course G with the GWG in OT. Very impressed with the energy that Rinaldo & Harry Z bring in their checking roles.

However have to completely (respectfully) disagree with you Oz - was not impressed with Schenn whatsoever as much as I really was hoping to be. He looked like he was getting pushed around out there & very hesitant (aside from that nice offensive rush he had that didn't actually result in a SOG). He made some very rookie-looking miscues, whereas Coutourier almost always seems to look the more seasoned player, special things happening when he's around the puck. I didn't agree with Lavvy's decision to put Schenn on the 1st PP unit - he seemed to cost them some momentum earlier on in the game with simple things like keeping the puck in at the point or giveaways.

If anyone was able to stay up to watch the game back East, I am sure you could hear how many Flyers fans were there - it was insane. Even when the score was pretty bad, there were so many of us it never let up. I am sure they were feeding off of that - Giroux gave a stick away to a Fan after he scored the GWG!

On a side note - it was my 5 year old daughter's first "big" hockey game (out at night with the boys), & it was funny how when the Flyers were losing she said she was bored & wanted to go home, but when they started scoring & getting back into it she got more & more excited. She was screaming "Lets Go Flyers!" late in the 3rd & in OT almost constantly - even when nobody else was! When we were walking out of Honda Center, she was totally on cloud 9 with all the Flyers fans hooting & hollering - at one point she turned to me with a giant smile & said "I'm so stoked they won Daddy!! I can't even believe I wanted to leave - I would have been so sad to miss that!!" Another Flyer Fan for life!

[TwoDocks]

Bermadmacel, way to go. I have a 21 year old that now lives in Dallas. She and a couple classmates put up money for the NHL package so as to be able to watch the Flyers. She has converted 3 of her friends to be Flyer die-hard fans over the years. I too heard the Flyer chants and am always glad when visiting there seems to be a large gathering of our fans. Somebody once said that being a Flyer fan is like being in a club. It always amazes me that away from home, just wear some Flyer logo and it starts instant conversation and friendship. So hard to explain to someone who is not a Flyer fan. Congrats on bringing up your girl the right way.

[PhlyersPhan]

I watched the first two periods live and then DVRed the rest and watched it this morning.

Flyers looked absolutely flat and sluggish in the 1st Period... and the goals scored by the Ducks?!--wow, can you say SOFT?!

After 5 min into the second period the Flyers dominated and had the Ducks on their heels. So, I went to bed thinking the Flyers just might come back and pull this one out.

Wow! What a great way to enjoy breakfast--nice comeback win for the Flyer! Totally enjoyed that 3rd Period. Flyers showed a lot of patience on the 2-man advantage.

And the OT--well, Flyers got a break on the 4min. penalty; but, that was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Jagr surprised me--I thought he came back too quick with the groin pull; but, he played a great game and his stick handling after all these years is still amazing to watch. He now has 8 goals? He had no less than 20 goals in 17 straight seasons. He's quite a player. I loved Hartnell all game--he was aggressive as always; but, it was more controlled and dileberate. He positioned himself near the crease all game and held his own. Simmonds still kills me to watch. I like his aggressive play in the neutral zone; but, he just can't keep that puck on his stick--LOL!

I have nothing of real value too offer here--I'm sort of rambling--I'm just excited after watching that comeback and domination by the Flyers in the 2nd and 3rd Periods. Ducks did have a couple of surges and a great 2 on 1 chance in the 3rd; but, Flyers stayed tough. And finally, penalties when our way? Really? Ha!

And was there several "Let's Go Flyers" chants in that game? ....Or was I hearing things?

[doom88]

Let's wait and see with Schenn. He will find out real soon which of his AHL moves will and won't work. He will continue to get pushed around a little, just like Couturier, until both get a little older and stronger. I did see the potential, and a bit of rust/inexperience. In due time...

Bryz sucks.

[brelic]

Something to consider from last night: we dressed 7 rookies. Yup, 7, including 5 forwards! That's pretty much HALF our forwards.

Schenn

Couturier

Read

Rinaldo

Harry Z

Bourdon

Marshall

[TedZep]

Schenn looked good tonight

I didn't really notice him except for the fact that he was on the ice for yet another goal. -6 in five games and zero points. He is apparently a fantastic player at every level except the NHL.

I hope the Flyers are more patient with him than they were for, say, Patrick Sharp.

[flyercanuck]

I didn't really notice him except for the fact that he was on the ice for yet another goal. -6 in five games and zero points. He is apparently a fantastic player at every level except the NHL.

I hope the Flyers are more patient with him than they were for, say, Patrick Sharp.

I'm sure they will be. Too bad Flyer fans wouldn't learn to be more patient, especially after previously calling Giroux a bust, Downie a bust, Coburn a bust, Siedenberg a bust, Richards a bust, Carter a bust etc.

[TedZep]

I watched the game again, particularly the 3rd period and I noticed that Schenn did play a lot better, carrying the puck in deep and probably should have drawn yet another penalty when he was blatantly interfered with. He made a bad decision late behind his own net, but no harm became of it.

On to Phoenix!

[LegionOfDoom]

Yah great game, saw a lot of Flyer fans at the game, I was able to contact Exec VP of Ops and plan the West Coast game, and they hooked me up for the game.

Alot of Flyers fans come out to this West Coast trip, it's nice to see. Bryz a little rusty at first, but shored up...Jags, and Hartsy played good, Schenn's an up and comer and G's O.G. Glad your kids becoming a Flyer fan Berny...they remember those moments as they get older.

Some of the security were jerks when I try to get around after the game, trying to maddog me, I was about to tellem wha's up but he went on his way. I guess they don't like us Philly boys. Got to hang out with some fans after the game and wave the Team goodbye on the bus, to represent... back on to the road trip.