Yesterday on the site, Tim wrote a piece on how Petr Mrazek was a perfect fit for the up and down Flyers. Similar to the team, Mrazek was inconsistent with his former club, the Red Wings, prior to the trade.

We saw some of that inconsistency last night when Mrazek faced Detroit in a 5-4 shootout loss. He looked good in the first period, but a stretch of three Red Wing goals in a span of 3:49 spelled the end of his return to his first NHL franchise. Alex Lyon replaced Mrazek and stopped 11 of 12 shots before losing in the shootout (typical) thanks to no goals from the Flyers.

Sean Couturier, Matt Read, and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the Flyers in the loss. It was also Read’s first goal of the season after playing the majority of the year in Lehigh Valley.

As for updated standings, Pittsburgh and New Jersey lost, but Columbus defeated the Rangers to take over the third spot in the Metropolitan division thanks to the extra point earned in the win. And don’t take your eye off of Florida, who crushed Ottawa and are a point behind New Jersey for the second wild card spot. The Penguins host Montreal tonight.

As for the Flyers, they’ll host the Rangers Thursday night at 7 PM. Maybe Dave Hakstol goes to a more consistent and superstitious Alex Lyon this time?

The Roundup:

In honor of Piece of Garbage Madness, Kevin did a Philadelphia-based POG bracket.

Due to the ongoing Nor’easter, the Sixers had to cancel their VIP season ticket holder dinner. They gave the leftover food to Camden’s “Cathedral Kitchen.”

Some observations from Monday’s win over Charlotte.

Ben Simmons is an unbelievable asset to the Sixers, and he should (will) win Rookie of the Year honors:

His teammates are thrilled about playing with him, and Robert Covington explained that their shooters have adjusted to playing alongside him. They are hyper-concerned with getting to their spots on time and being alert, because they know how much pace Simmons can put on the ball.

“Right place right time, he sees the floor compared to a lot of our guys, and he’s 6’10”. He does so much and he’s strong, so he gets the ball there in so many different ways,” said Robert Covington after the victory over Charlotte. “Everybody’s ready because they know once he passes it, it’s going to come fast.”

“How about that, 15 assists and no turnovers? I thought he was great tonight. He really was something unique with the pace that he played [and] finding shooters,” added Brown. “Ben was fantastic tonight … I think it’s a rookie point guard growing. I think it’s a prideful player that understands as a team, with Joel and Ben they have to own some of that. The comfort level of knowing where he can most impact the game, and when we post him, where are his outlets?”

When all was said and done, Simmons accomplished something very few players have. With 15 assists and no turnovers in a game where he had a triple-double, Simmons joined Magic Johnson, Russell Westbook [sic], Fat Lever, and Scott Skiles as the only players to do so in league history.

Simmons and the Sixers look to get win number 40 on the year tonight as they host the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 7 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia. It starts a back-to-back that ends tomorrow night in Orlando.

This is a great picture of Carson Wentz and his fiancee:

I DON’T SEE A BRACE!

Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins announced Troy Vincent will be his presenter in Canton for his induction ceremony in August:

Vincent expressed his gratitude:

As Petr Mrazek is inconsistent, new Eagles cornerback Daryl Worley is in a similar situation, as he looks for consistency in his first season in his new/old home.

Mychal Kendricks’ possible replacement could come in the form of Corey Nelson.

An interesting look at the midnight green and how it’s differed from the past few years.

And finally, this:

A ton of Phillies stuff as Opening Day gets closer. First, the Phils defeated Toronto 2-0 in seven innings due to rain. They play Toronto again today, with Nick Pivetta on the mound.

Along with Jerad Eickhoff, Mark Leiter Jr. is another pitcher that will start the season on the disabled list.

Maybe Ben Lively can make himself a prime candidate as a starter?

“I can pitch anywhere,” the competitive 26-year-old right-hander said. “I don’t care. Wherever they want, I’ll pitch.”

Lively did nothing to hurt his chances of making the club as he turned in five shutout innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in a rain-shortened 2-0 win Tuesday afternoon. He allowed just three hits, walked none and struck out four. He was particularly impressive in the fourth inning, striking out Justin Smoak and retiring Russell Martin on a tapper back to the mound with runners on second and third.

“I just tried to bear down and stick to the game plan,” Lively said. “There’s too much technology around here now. We have all the heat maps and we talked about it before the game and I just stayed with it.”

Jake Arrieta hopes to throw 3-4 innings in his Spring Training debut on Thursday, but he’s hoping to be ready for next week:

“I’m confident, but it doesn’t mean I’m right,” Arrieta said after a bullpen session on Tuesday morning at Spectrum Field. “I’ve been that way my whole career. I’m a little eager, and I like to push the envelope a little bit, but I understand that longevity and long-term health for this group of guys in my situation is vitally important. It does no good if we have something stupid happen in the first week to where I’m not able to be out there for the guys, both from a performance standpoint and a mentorship standpoint. Those are the two most important things, regardless of how eager or ambitious I am to get out there.”

Meanwhile, his wife Brittany is a new must-follow on Twitter.

With Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp having an edge, Cameron Rupp is in an awkward situation.

Finally, the team unveiled their special hats and jerseys for this season.

In other sports news, Bills wide receiver Zay Jones was arrested on felony vandalism in Los Angeles. That wasn’t the weirdest part.

The catch rule is getting changed.

Oklahoma’s Trae Young will enter the NBA Draft. He could be an option for the Sixers if the Lakers stop winning.

Melissa Weishaupt, a former Dallas Mavericks employee, came out and explained the harsh workplace culture, which includes sexual harassment, within the organization.

Gennady Golovkin thinks Canelo Alvarez is a “serial cheater” six weeks before their big rematch in Las Vegas. (Kinkead: GGG won the first fight, the scoring was a joke)

The Redskins sucked in free agency, which isn’t a surprise.

This behind-the-back pass for a behind-the-back goal is sick.

There’s a stupid debate on whether tennis balls are green or yellow. Roger Federer thinks they’re yellow:

In the news, today’s our weekly Nor’easter.

The Austin serial bomber killed himself as cops were closing in on him.

In Sudan, the last male northern white rhino has died. Only two females of the subspecies are still alive.

Millennials are replacing engagement rings with diamonds stuck right in their fingers. The hell? Sometimes I hate Millennials.