Posts for flyers

Sad news from the Flyers on a Friday afternoon:

We’re all fighting with @oskarlindblom. pic.twitter.com/8ceHDn4OCk

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 13, 2019

Lindblom was in the midst of his best professional season and tied for the team lead with 11 goals.

Ewing’s sarcoma is extremely rare, a cancer that forms in and around bones. There’s no information right now on whether they caught this early or late, or what stage the cancer is currently in, so it’s probably irresponsible to do any speculation on anything regarding that. Hopefully we’ll get an update after doctors do that additional testing next week, as noted in the statement.

But it’s a huge bummer for a good dude who was playing extremely well. He’s only 23 years old, and if you type his name into the Twitter bar you’ll see a bunch of positive personal stories from people who have spent time around him. Spare a thought for Oskar and his family.

More on the cancer here:

Ewing’s sarcoma

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The formula for the Flyers 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver Wednesday was pretty simple.

They had to go up against one of the Western Conference favorites, who entered the game on a 6-0-1 roll, minus their two leading scorers and one of their defensemen, all sitting out with injuries.

So, with a mishmash lineup that consisted of a fourth line of two AHLers and a veteran who has been a healthy scratch for 95 percent of the season, forcing coach Alain Vigneault to shorten his bench in the thin air of the Mile High City, and the Avs humming on all cylinders, the Flyers were at a significant disadvantage from the puck drop.

Give them credit for hanging around. Heck, after getting blitzed in the second half of the first period, only to be able to stay in the game courtesy of stellar goaltending from Carter Hart, the Flyers dominated the second period. They outshot the Avs 15-4 in the period, including 11-0 from the start of the frame.

The problem was, they couldn’t get a puck past Colorado backup goalie Pavel Francouz.

Who?

Yeah, I admit, I didn’t know who he was either. But, Philip Grubauer was hurt for Colorado, so the rookie goalie got the start. And as I watched him, I thought he had happy feet in the crease, which is never a good thing, and yet, he seemed to be able to stop everything thrown his way.

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I know, I know. I asked you, begged you even, to pay attention to the Philadelphia Flyers after Tuesday’s win over Toronto.

And then they went out and lost their next game, in regulation for just the second time all-season on home ice, to the Arizona Coyotes, 3-1.

Great.

Now, as an avid hockey follower and your friendly neighborhood puck scribe, I can tell you these aren’t your parents’ Arizona Coyotes, or even your older brother’s Arizona Coyotes. This team is good. It’s disciplined. It’s going to be a real threat in the Western Conference to make a long playoff run.

And I’m also going to tell you the Flyers played a pretty good game against them. They controlled possession for much of the night. They outshot the Coyotes by double digits. They stuck to what has been working for them in the previous seven games, in which the Flyers were 6-0-1. It just didn’t work out.

That’s because Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper, who leads the NHL in goals against average, was once again very good in net and his defense in front of him was bend, don’t break.

So the Flyers fell to 16-8-5 and have one more game at home (Ottawa Saturday) before they head out on the road and the schedule lightens up a little bit as they’ve been playing pretty much every other day for more than a month now.

It’ll be important that the Flyers have some stick-to-it in their mindset and keep doing what they’ve been doing to continue being a successful team.

That said, there are some things to discuss from last night that are likely going to change, maybe as soon as Saturday. So, let’s hit it:

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Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia Flyers are actually a good hockey team again.

Actually…

You should look now. Please do. Take notice of this team. I know it sounds weird to hear me begging you to do so, but there is a reason I’m doing this: these Flyers deserve your attention and support.

Yes, I know there is some bad blood between the organization and their fans that has nothing to do with the players, coaches, or anyone in the hockey operations side of things with the team.

Yes, some – actually a lot – of business decisions being made by the new brass have rubbed fans the wrong way. There are some fans who were completely affronted by the huge spike in ticket prices this year after another season of mediocrity and missed playoffs.

There are some fans who feel like their access to the team has diminished as more and more season ticket holder perks have been altered or taken away altogether. And while some would argue there is a sense of entitlement with some of those fans – and I don’t disagree – paring back access at a time when the team has been off the radar of the city’s sports landscape for so long was probably not the right time.

There are other things, too – I’ve heard from season ticket holders , including those with partial plans, who say the same level of service from their ticket reps has eroded. That the fans used to be treated as family, and now they aren’t at all.

And of course, there is the whole segment of the fan base – small though it might be, but still out there – who are still mad at the team at their fumbling of the Kate Smith debacle.

But whatever the reason fans are mad at the team, there is no reason – none – that a game between a white hot Flyers team and a highly-skilled and talented Toronto Maple Leafs team with some of the brightest stars in the sport – should draw just 15,811 fans.

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