Flyers 3 Senators 1

Coming off a ten game losing the streak the Flyers have now won their second game in a row. Ottawa had fired their coach and Bryan Murray took over to now become both their GM and coach. With the Flyers looking like the team they were at the beginning of the season they cruised to a 3-1 win in front of a sold crowd last night in Philadelphia.

“We had a bit of a nasty edge in our play and I think that’s the way we have to play the rest of the year,” Biron said.

Biron played with a nasty edge himself by taking on Sens F Jason Spezza after he scored on a deflection of his shin that led to Ottawa’s lone goal of the game. Biron shoved the celebrating Spezza which then led to a scrum in front of the net. Spezza and Biron would both get 5 minute penalties but Spezza was slapped with a game misconduct for butt-ending D Braydon Coburn.

After being down one goal, Kimmo Timonen made a beautiful pass to Riley Cote who would then poke to Jim Dowd. Dowd absolutely blasted the puck and hitting the top right corner of the net and tying the game at 1. Mike Knuble would later score the goal to make it 2-1. He also received credit for a goal to make it 3-1 after Wade Redden fell into Ray Emery and the puck went into the net.

The Flyers now head up to New York to play the Islanders on Saturday afternoon.

Notes:

F Vaclav Prospal played his first game for the Flyers since being acquired at the trade deadline.

2/28/08 3-1 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total OTT 0 1 0 - - 1 PHI 0 1 2 - - 3 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total OTT 7 12 14 - - 33 PHI 11 16 11 - - 38

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Mike Knuble broke a deadlock early in the third period and Philadelphia hung on to beat Ottawa, 3-1, in the first game for the Senators since the firing of coach John Paddock.

James Dowd and Scottie Upshall also tallied, Kimmo Timonen had a pair of assists and Martin Biron ended with 32 saves for the Flyers, who have won two straight on the heels of a 10-game skid.

Jason Spezza had the lone goal and Ray Emery turned aside 34 shots for the free-falling Senators, who have dropped three straight and 16 of their 27 games since the beginning of the year. They have dropped five of their last six on the road and fell to 17-11-3 away from Scotiabank Place.

Despite Ottawa’s hot start to the campaign and first-place standing in the Northeast Division, Paddock on Wednesday became the third NHL coach to be fired this season, joining Glen Hanlon in Washington and Bob Hartley in Atlanta.

General Manager Bryan Murray, who was at the helm during the franchise’s only Stanley Cup finals appearance in 2006-07, has returned to the bench for the final 18 games of the regular season.

After a scoreless first period in which both sides wasted a power play opportunity, Ottawa struck on the man-advantage in the second period.

With Dowd off for interference, Spezza put the Sens on top at 6:33 when he deflected Andrej Meszaros’ slapper from the point past Biron. Things only got more interesting from there, as Biron shoved Spezza, who was celebrating in front of the crease.

Several players from both sides joined the scrum, but it was Spezza who was handed a five minute major and game misconduct for jamming the end of his stick into the stomach of a Flyers’ player.

Philadelphia quickly cashed in, as Dowd took a pass from Riley Cote, raced toward the net and found the open corner on the far side to tie the game at 13:32.

Knuble then made it 2-1 just 41 seconds into the third, as he stationed himself in front of the crease and deflected a shot by Jason Smith with the top of his skate.

Timonen helped to add the insurance goal at 6:30 when he hit Upshall with an outlet pass. Upshall then attempted to jam the puck through Emery’s pads, before it squeezed under his leg and was pushed over the goal line by a sliding Ottawa player.

Game Notes
The Flyers snapped a six-game skid at home and are now 14-12-6 this season as hosts. It was their first victory at the Wachovia Center since a 3-0 shutout of Anaheim on Feb. 2…The Flyers have taken three of four from the Senators this season…The Sens have dropped four of six and five of their last eight tests in Philly…Both teams had new faces in the lineup. Ottawa acquired forward Martin Lapointe from Chicago prior to Tuesday’s NHL trading deadline, one day after Philadelphia picked up Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

OTT – 06:33 PPG – Jason Spezza, Assists: Andrej Meszaros and Cory Stillman
PHI – 13:32 James Dowd, Assists: Riley Cote and Kimmo Timonen

3rd Period

PHI – 00:41 Mike Knuble, Assists: Jason Smith
PHI – 06:30 PPG – Mike Knuble, Assists: Scottie Upshall and Kimmo Timonen

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period

OTT – 04:15 Heatley, D. : Cross checking – 2 min
PHI – 19:14 Jones, R. : Slashing – 2 min

2nd Period

PHI – 05:20 Dowd, J. : Interference – Goalkeeper – 2 min
OTT – 06:33 Robitaille, R. : Butt ending (maj) – 5 min
OTT – 06:33 Spezza, J. : Game misconduct
PHI – 06:33 Kapanen, S. : Roughing – 2 min
PHI – 17:51 Timonen, K. : Holding the stick – 2 min

3rd Period

PHI – 06:21 Downie, S. : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
OTT – 06:21 Fisher, M. : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
PHI – 06:21 Downie, S. : Roughing – 2 min
OTT – 06:21 Fisher, M. : Roughing – 2 min
PHI – 06:21 Cote, R. : Misconduct – 10 min
OTT – 18:29 Stillman, C. : Hooking – 2 min

Its been a long time since Vaclav “Vinnie” Prospal has pulled on a Flyers sweater in a regular season game. More than 10 years, actually.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago though since the Flyers moved Prospal, Pat Falloon, and a 2nd round pick to Ottawa for one of the greatest draft flops in NHL history, Alexandre Daigle.

But Prospal’s story in Philly can start anew tonight as he will face that same Ottawa Senators club.

Personally, I’m thrilled to see Vinnie back in town. I hated to see him leave in the first place and hated the deal when it went down. And since his departure, I have made it a point to follow his career loosely.

Hopefully, Vinnie will see his way clear to resign with the Flyers in the offseason and forego free agency. With the core group of players Philly now has, it’s realistic to think that the future is as bright as it appeared to be back when Prospal was originally jettisoned to Ottawa.

Who knows. Maybe the Flyers can help Prospal earn the Stanley Cup championship that eluded him both in Tampa and Anaheim. He left Tampa for the Ducks the summer before their championship season, and then returned to the Lightning immediately following the lockout only to see Anaheim win the Cup two seasons later.

Every Flyers fan will be pulling for you to get your championship, Vinnie. Welcome back to Philly.

Pittsburgh – Losers

The Pens’ deal for Marian Hossa was a gross overpayment almost to the level of Atlanta’s stupid deadline deal for Keith Tkachuk last season. Armstong and Christensen
were young, but VERY important parts of the Penguins’ chemistry, and Hossa doesnt address the issues with that team. Pittsburgh is trying to blast their way to the Cup like Buffalo did last year, but without better defense, and especially without a clear-cut #1 goalie, the payoff from the Hossa deal will never happen. If anything good can come of this, at least the Thrashers may have gotten back some of the value they lost in Tkachuk.

Montreal - Losers

The Canadiens are the other losers in my book. dealing away Cristobal Huet without bringing in at least a veteran presence to back up Carey Price is careless at best, and could prove to be terribly costly. Montreal has a legit chance to make it to the Finals this season (and still may), but resting the goaltending load on a rookie without a Plan B is simply foolish. Bad move by Bob Gainey.

Washington – Winners

Washington really did a hell of a job to add to their team. First, they stole Huet from the Habs, then they brought in Fedorov. Sergei isnt what he was back in the late 90′s with the Wings, but he is definitely still dangerous if put together with the right mix. Add in Matt cooke, agitator extraordinaire, and suddenly the Caps look like they could possibly ride that wave created by Glen Hanlon’s firing even higher.

San Jose – Winners

The Sharks picked up possibly the biggest deadline acquisition of the day, grabbing Brian Campbell from the Sabres. The Sharks have been up and down throughout the season, and continue to play in the shadows of Western Conference powerhouses like Anaheim and Detroit. Although Campbell sometimes pays for his willingness to join the offense, he remains one of the most dangerous blueline weapons in the league. San Jose may now be equipped to truly take it to the Wings or Ducks, should they meet in the postseason.

Following a win of epic proportions over the Sabres, news broke that the Flyers had traded for former Flyer Vinny Prospal. In the deal Tampa Bay recieved D Alexander Picard and a conditional draft pick.

This season F Vinny Prosal has 29 goals and 28 assists and is a -7.

This is huge. Once Lupul and Richards come back this could be a turning point for the team this year.

It’s official. The Flyers’ losing streak ended tonight at 10 games. After going down 3-0 just minutes into the game against the Sabres the Flyers battled back and tied the game in the third period. Daniel Briere capitalized on a beautiful attempt and completely undressed Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

With the loss of Mike Richards, forwards Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter stepped their game up and scored in the game.

More to Come…

2/25/08 4-3 SO Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 2 0 1 0 2 4 BUF 3 0 0 0 1 3 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 11 9 12 3 3 35 BUF 12 11 5 1 3 29

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Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) – Danny Briere netted the deciding shootout tally against his former team, as Philadelphia stormed back from a three-goal deficit to down Buffalo, 4-3, snapping a 10-game losing streak.

The Flyers entered the game shorthanded and on the brink of a new franchise low — no team since the club’s inception had ever dropped 11 in a row. Going down 3-0 and operating without the likes of Mike Richards (hamstring), Simon Gagne (concussion) and Joffrey Lupul (ankle), they appeared poised to set the new mark.

Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell and R.J. Umberger scored in regulation to stage the comeback, however, and Briere polished it off in the shootout for Philadelphia, which hadn’t won since February 5 at Atlanta.

Philadelphia signed Briere to a lucrative eight-year contract in the offseason, luring him away from Buffalo, where he played the previous three seasons.

Help for Briere and the rest of the squad is on the way. After the game, it was announced that the Flyers had acquired Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay for defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick in 2009.

Jason Pominville had a goal and an assist while Ryan Miller made 32 stops for the Sabres, who are now tied with Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Flyers finished the opening stanza strong to turn a 3-0 hole into a one- goal deficit. Carter broke free for a breakaway before lifting a backhander under the crossbar at the 14:33 mark, and Hartnell made it 3-2 with 3:39 left in the first with a one-timer from the left circle.

The scoring went silent until the latter stages of the third, when Philadelphia cashed in on a man advantage to pull even. Pominville’s clearing attempt caromed out of play for a delay-of-game penalty. In the next sequence, Umberger snapped a shot from the right circle that made it through traffic in front and into the back of the cage to force overtime.

After an active but fruitless extra session, Ales Kotalik beat Martin Biron in the second round of the shootout to give the Sabres the advantage. Carter responded with a marker of his own, however, before Derek Roy fanned on his attempt at the other end. That put the spotlight on Briere, who pulled off a series of quick dekes before slipping a forehand attempt past Miller to complete the comeback win.

Biron had 26 saves in the victory.

The Flyers yielded two goals in an 11-second span early in the contest to dig a 2-0 hole. Both came off turnovers, the first ending with a Roy backhander from the high slot that beat Biron.

Moments later, Pominville came up with the puck in the Philadelphia zone and dished it to a streaking Clarke MacArthur, who finished for the 2-0 advantage.

The Sabres established a 3-0 lead at the 14:16 mark of the first on a quick cross-crease feed and finish from Tim Connolly to Pominville.

Game Notes
Hartnell scored for the first time in seven games, while Carter entered the night with just one marker in 15 contests…Philadelphia improved to 18-13-1 as the visiting team…The Flyers had just one win in their previous 11 trips to HSBC Arena coming in.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

BUF – 06:31 Derek Roy, Assists: Jaroslav Spacek
BUF – 06:42 Clarke MacArthur, Assists: Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly
BUF – 14:16 Jason Pominville, Assists: Tim Connolly and Jaroslav Spacek
PHI – 14:33 Jeff Carter, Assists: Mike Knuble and Randy Jones
PHI – 16:21 Scott Hartnell, Assists: Patrick Thoresen

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

PHI – 12:45 PPG – R.J. Umberger, Assists: Braydon Coburn and Mike Knuble

OT Period

NONE

Shootout

BUF – Connolly Save
PHI – Timonen Save
BUF – Kotalik Goal
PHI – Carter Goal
BUF – Roy Miss
PHI – Briere Goal

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period

PHI – 03:02 Boulerice, J. : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
BUF – 03:02 Peters, A. : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
PHI – 03:02 Briere, D. : Slashing – 2 min
PHI – 16:34 Downie, S. : Interference – Goalkeeper – 2 min

2nd Period

PHI – 03:54 Cote, R. : Tripping – 2 min
BUF – 05:00 Vanek, T. : Tripping – 2 min
PHI – 06:00 Smith, J. : Holding – 2 min
BUF – 09:04 Mair, A. : Holding – 2 min
BUF – 18:49 Spacek, J. : Hooking – 2 min
PHI – 18:49 Upshall, S. : Diving – 2 min
BUF – 19:48 Tallinder, H. : Hooking – 2 min

3rd Period

BUF – 03:39 Kotalik, A. : Hooking – 2 min
BUF – 12:29 Pominville, J. : Delaying Game-Puck over glass – 2 min

OT Period

NONE

2/23/08 2-1 OT Loss SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total FLA 0 0 1 1 - 2 PHI 0 1 0 0 - 1 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total FLA 10 6 6 3 - 25 PHI 15 14 11 1 - 41

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Olli Jokinen scored with 1:16 left in overtime, capping the Florida Panthers’ stunning 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.

With the loss, Philadelphia’s losing streak reached 10 games, and matched the longest such streak in franchise history. Though, very late in the third period, the Flyers looked to have it locked up while up by a goal.

But with under a minute left, the Panthers set up in their offensive zone. A pass to Florida defenseman Steve Montador at the right point nearly crossed the blue line with under 15 seconds left, but Montador held it in with his left leg, and passed it to Jay Bouwmeester at the left point.

Bouwmeester blasted a shot that found its way through traffic and between goaltender Antero Niittymaki’s pads, tying the game with 3.7 seconds left.

Then in the extra session, Florida went up a man after Flyers defenseman Randy Jones was whistled for holding David Booth on a breakaway with 1:25 left.

Shortly into the power play, Panthers center Nathan Horton set a screen on Niittymaki, as Jokinen blasted a shot from the center of the blue line. The puck got through everyone, giving Florida the win.

Craig Anderson stopped 40-of-41 shots, as the Panthers broke a three-game losing streak with the victory.

Niittymaki stopped 23-of-25 shots, as the Flyers equaled a losing streak set from December 2-27, 2006. Daniel Briere scored the only goal for Philadelphia, which fell to 23-1-1 while leading after two periods.

Additionally, Flyers center Mike Richards tore his hamstring while being tugged down near the Florida net in the third period.

After a scoreless first period, Briere opened the scored with 3:40 left in the middle frame with Philadelphia on the power play.

He got the puck behind the net, skated around to the front and flicked a shot that caromed off Anderson and into the net for a 1-0 Flyers lead.

Game Notes
Philadelphia has been outscored 33-19 during its losing streak…The teams split the four-game season series…Florida coach Jacques Martin earned his 100th win as Panthers head coach…The Panthers have played in 37 games decided by one goal, out of 64 total contests.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

PHI – 16:20 PPG – Daniel Briere, Assists: Jeff Carter

3rd Period

FLA – 19:56 Jay Bouwmeester, Assists: Steve Montador

OT Period

FLA – 03:44 PPG – Olli Jokinen, Assists: Cory Murphy and Nathan Horton

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period

FLA – 06:30 Montador, S. : Roughing – 2 min
PHI – 13:05 Hartnell, S. : Interference – 2 min
PHI – 15:02 Smith, J. : Holding – 2 min

2nd Period

FLA – 04:28 Booth, D. : Slashing – 2 min
PHI – 13:54 Dowd, J. : Hooking – 2 min
FLA – 14:33 Bouwmeester, J. : Roughing – 2 min
PHI – 17:07 Briere, D. : Too many men/ice – bench – 2 min

3rd Period

FLA – 02:40 Murphy, C. : Interference – 2 min
FLA – 06:23 Bouwmeester, J. : Hooking – 2 min
PHI – 10:27 Upshall, S. : Hi stick – double minor – 4 min
FLA – 11:48 Salei, R. : Interference – 2 min

OT Period

PHI – 03:35 Jones, R. : Holding – 2 min