Top 11 Flyers Moments

Its been awhile since I posted, but I've been busy finishing school and working for other websites and this blog has been my lowest priority so I put it on the back-burner. With the alumni game and Winter Classic coming up fast, I thought a good way to bring this back would be to count down my favorite Flyers moments ever. These are not the best moments in team history, rather my personal favorite moments. I wanted to do a top 10 list, but I just couldn't figure out which moment to leave off, so let's get this started with number 11.

11. Feb. 12, 2007, Keith Primeau Night, Flyers 6 vs. Red Wings 1
The first of several moments on this list to include Keith Primeau was one of the few bright spots from the 2006-07 season, the worst in franchise history. Few represented Flyers hockey the way Primeau did for six seasons. He was never the most skilled player, but always one of the hardest working and his play during the 2004 run to the Eastern Conference final is the stuff legends are made of. When he was forced to retire due to concussions, the Flyers lost a great leader and they honored him before a game against the Red Wings, the team that drafted Primeau third overall back in 1990, two spots ahead of Jaromir Jagr. The Red Wings would tie Buffalo for the league lead with 113 points that season, 57 ahead of the last place Flyers. But you would not have known that on this night.

It was an emotional game from the get-go thanks to Primeau's pre-game speech. As tough a player as there is, he had a hard time making it through the entire speech and the crowd gave him several standing ovations. Michael Leighton was in net for the Flyers as part of a four-game stint with the team that season and I remember hoping he would never have anything to do with the Flyers again. Funny how things turn out sometimes. The score was knotted at one going into the third period and my thought process was Hey, as long as we don't get annihilated, its a good game for us. Then there was a third-period explosion of offense as the Flyers played probably their best period of the season, putting five goals behind Joey MacDonald. Capping the offense was this beauty by Todd Fedoruk.

10. Jan. 1, 2010, Winter Classic, Flyers 1 @ Bruins 2, OT
Every Winter Classic has been special, but this one was an almost perfect setup. My favorite team growing up playing just down the road from where I went to school. It was an amazing atmosphere, probably the best weather at any Classic so far and it was a highly physical game. Having the Dropkick Murphys play "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" was a great sight as well. It may be odd that a game as epic as a Classic isn't higher on the list, but this is not a list of the best hockey moments, it's the best Flyers moments and, well, they lost.

The game was highlighted by the first fight in Winter Classic history as Dan Carcillo took on Shawn Thornton before drawing the ire of the crowd by giving them a rocker salute on his way to the box. There was also Danny Syvret's first career goal which was fortunate as Tim Thomas was too busy dealing with Hartnell in front of the net. It was an off season for Thomas who dealt with hip issues all year, but he showed up big for that game and stymied the Flyers shooters all game. It was former Flyer Mark Recchi who tied the game, allowing Marco Sturm to score the overtime winner.


9. April 17, 2004, Conference Quarterfinal Game 5, Flyers 3 vs. Devils 1
This was a really nerve-wracking game even though the Flyers had controlled the series to that point. But this was the Devils and, after losing the two previous series against them, including blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2000 Eastern Conference final, this series was huge. Even without Scott Stevens, the Devils still had Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez, all in their prime.

The game was tied at one with just over five minutes remaining when Danny Markov, who combined with fellow mid-season acquisition Vladimir Malakhov to form the Flyers' best defensive pairing of the playoffs, threw an innocent wrist shot on net from just inside the blueline that fooled Brodeur, when off the pipe and in. It wasn't enough that they just won the series, it was that they finally exorcised their demons and beat the Devils in the playoffs.


8. April 22, 2003, Conference Quarterfinal Game 7, Flyers 6 vs. Maple Leafs 1
This remains the only Game 7 I have ever been to. This series was an epic battle that featured three multi-overtime games and was one of the longest series ever played in terms of total minutes. It was a physical battle and there were some odd moments including a goal allowed by Roman Cechmanek where he was trying to put his glove back on, a penalty shot by Robert Reichel who blasted a slapshot straight into Cechmanek's chest and a freak injury to Alex Mogilny which ended up helping the Flyers as he had the hottest stick in the series.

Anything can happen in a Game 7, especially when Cechmanek is your goalie, but I never thought the game would be such a drubbing. Justin Williams, Recchi and, figure this one out, Claude Lapointe each had three points and the Flyers won 6-1. For a team that had been eliminated in embarrassing fashion in the two previous Springs, it was great to see them win a round so convincingly.


7. Feb. 15, 2001, Meeting Dave Schultz, Flyers 5 vs. Maple Leafs 2
This one makes me laugh every time I think about it. For those of you who don't know, this is Dave Schultz. Before the game, which honestly I hardly remember and can't find a boxscore to, there was an alumni signing. I was only 11 at the time, so I didn't recognize anyone yet, other than Bernie Parent who is at every Flyers game. So I'm going through the line and I get to the third guy. I hand him my program and that's when I notice he has two Stanley Cup rings on. Two! So naturally I ask "Hey, can I have one?" I didn't get an answer, just a dirty look as he signed my program. Sheepishly I start walking away when he called me back.

"Hey kid. You can have the ring if you can get it off my finger."

Well Dave, if the offer still stands, I think I'm ready to take you on now.


6. May 12, 2010, Conference Semifinal Game 6, Flyers 2 vs. Bruins 1
When this series started, I was just hoping it would last long enough to be able to go to a game. The way the schedule worked, I would be driving home during Game 5. Both teams were so evenly matched I though for sure I would get to go to at least one game during the playoffs. Then they went down 3-0 and the best I could really hope for was they didn't get swept. Simon Gagne helped me out a lot by potting the overtime winner in Game 4, then I was able to listen to the Flyers beat the Bruins 4-1 in Game 5 while driving home, one of only two game during the series that was decided by more than one goal.

The Philly faithful was rocking all night and even though the comeback was only half complete to start the game, everyone in the building could sense the series would not end that night. Mike Richards opened the scoring just under seven minutes into the game on a scramble in front and Danny Briere netted the winner on a snipe over Tuukka Rask's glove in the second period. Leighton played a spectacular game, including a big save on a Trent Whitfield breakaway when the score was still 1-0 and not allowing a goal until there was a minute to go in the game. Yes, the Bruins got their poetic justice the next season, sweeping the Flyers out of the playoffs in convincing fashion, but that series will always be a lasting memory.


5. May 24, 2010, Conference Final Game 5, Flyers 4 vs. Canadiens 2
This may be the best game Mike Richards ever played in a Flyers uniform. His entire shift that led to the first Flyers goal was absolutely brilliant and he was physical all game long. Arron Asham also played great, getting several quality scoring chances and was a force on the forecheck all game. Really, I may have been more nervous heading into that game than any other I have been to. Jaroslav Halak was playing out of his mind in the first two rounds and there was no reason to think he wouldn't be able to stymie the Flyers like he did the powerhouse Capitals and Penguins; I simply was not going to be satisfied until the series was over.

The game seemed to take forever, but there was a huge wave of relief when it was over and Richards lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy. Sure, many say you shouldn't touch it, but it really doesn't matter when half of the teams that refuse to touch the conference championship trophy lose anyway and this was a long time coming. It was the Flyers' fourth trip to the conference final since 1997 and they had yet to get back to the final.


4. Feb. 21, 2004, Fan Appreciation Day, Flyers 5 vs. Thrashers 4
It's funny, I didn't see the entire third period of this game and I could only listen to the crowd roar as Simon Gagne won the game on a penalty shot with 1:01 remaining. The game was pretty exciting, especially seeing Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk work their magic. But it was after the game that made this day so memorable. It was fan appreciation day and among the many prizes given out was a chance to win a game-used jersey after the game during a shirt-off-the-player's-back ceremony. As luck would have it, my seat was called during the game and me and 20 other winners got to watch from a private area before heading to the bowels of the Wachovia Center.

When the game ended the red carpet was rolled out and the winners headed onto the ice after given a card we would all open later to see which player's jersey we had won. I was the third person in line and when it was my turn, Lauren Hart asked me my name (listening to her try to repeat my last name was the first time I though maybe I should just start going by my first name only) and told me to open the card. Sure enough, there was a big 25 there. I won Primeau's jersey. The captain, the leader, the heart and soul of the team.

The only downside was he wasn't playing that day; he wasn't even at the game because of consussions so Recchi skated over with a jersey that would be mailed to me later when Primeau was finally able to sign it. I have the jersey hanging in my basement right now, easily one of the coolest things I own. The only bad thing wasn't that I didn't get a freshly worn (and by fresh I mean sweaty) jersey, it was that I was never able to thank him for it. I really hope to meet him one day, just to give him the thanks he deserves, not just for the jersey, but for everything he did for the franchise.


3. May 20, 2004, Conference Final Game 6, Flyers 5 vs. Lightning 4, OT
That jersey was great by itself, but it certainly jumped in value during the 2004 playoff run. Primeau had seven goals in 54 regular season games that year and just nine in 110 playoff games in his career. He would dominate in the postseason, recording nine goals and 16 points in only 18 games. He hit everything that moved, recorded three game-winning goals, two shorthanded goals and was a plus-11. Everything culminated for him in that Game 6, a must-win for the Flyers to force Game 7 in Tampa Bay.

The game didn't go smoothly as three of the four Tampa Bay goals should have been stopped by Rob Esche, but that allowed for one of the most dramatic endings in Flyers history. Primeau's goal to tie the game at four was astounding. He danced around the net like a gazelle, slamming home the deflection off his own foot. That in turn set up the game-winner by Simon Gagne. I was nine rows behind that net and when I saw the puck drop behind the goal line, I just went nuts. Unfortunately the Flyers would lose Game 7 in Tampa Bay, but that does nothing to diminish what an amazing game it was. It was easily the best game of Primeau's career and has to be considered one of the best individual performances of the past decade.


2. June 2, 2010, Stanley Cup Final Game 3, Flyers 4 vs. Blackhawks 3, OT
The Stanley Cup final, there is no better spectacle in pro sports. The Flyers lost the first two games in Chicago and they weren't about to try and work their way back from 3-0 down again, so this was a must-win Game 3.

Briere opened the scoring, but it was a brilliant pass from Scott Hartnell who threw the puck to the open side of the net while falling down (what else is new?) that set up the play. Duncan Keith scored on a laser from the point just a few minutes before Hartnell put the Flyers back on top on a strange power play goal. He deflected a shot in front of the net and the puck just barely made it across the goal line, but since the ref didn't see it, play continued on for a few more minutes. When there was finally a stoppage in play, they were able to look at it again and determine the puck did cross the line. It just barely did, but sometimes just barely is good enough. Things looked good for the Flyers, but Brent Sopel scored at the end of the period on another long shot. Patrick Kane took all of the air out of the crowd when he scored on a breakaway to put the Hawks up 3-2 just 2:50 into the third, but the place erupted when Ville Leino tied the game just 20 seconds later, putting home a rebound off the rush.

Chris Pronger was as physical as ever, leveling Jonathan Toews in the first period and Leighton, despite giving up three goals, kept the Flyers in the game for long stretches as the Blackhawks dominated play. Giroux almost single handedly got the Flyers back in the series with three points, including the overtime winner, tipping in a shot from Matt Carle by Antti Niemi. It was a picture-perfect finish to a Stanley Cup final game and it gave the Flyers new life in the series. The overtime was short, but thrilling as Gagne almost won the game when he snapped a shot off the post that trickled across the goal line, but never crossed it. It was only a few minutes later they won the game for real.


1. March 10, 2011, Postgame, Flyers 3 @ Maple Leafs 2
The game itself wasn't anything special, a pretty good regular season game, but the only memorable play was the bad goal allowed by James Reimer. Rather it was after the game that made this so special.

I was interning with The Hockey News at the time so I was able to watch from the pressbox. And as if that wasn't cool enough, I was also able to go to the locker room after the game and talk to the players for an issue of Fully Loaded. It was an amazing experience seeing these guys off the ice, from the sarcasm and good-natured (well, sort of) ribbing from Pronger to THN senior writer Ken Campbell before the game to the fire, passion and enthusiasm of Carcillo who wanted nothing more than to get back at Mike Komisarek who boarded him just a few minutes into the game. Unfortunately for Carcillo, Komisarek also received a game misconduct in addition to his major for boarding, so he would have to wait for their next meeting to get his revenge.

One-on-one, I was able to talk to Brian Boucher, Briere and Hartnell. Boucher was pretty humble, almost surprised I wanted to talk to him for the magazine. I was trying to find out what players did in their spare time in the summer, what hobbies or big toys they might have. Briere was a good interviewee, he gave me some pretty good content and was happy to talk to me. And of course there was Hartnell's reaction to me wanting to interview him, giving me a minute to talk to him before changing his mind and giving me 30 seconds instead. Fortunately I was able to get everything I needed from them, though only Briere's comments actually made it into the magazine.

Of course, I have to give an honorable mention to Jeremy Roenick dressing up as Bobby Clarke for Halloween back in 2002. Each moment was amazing in its own way, but nothing beats being able to interview the guys you grew up cheering for. There are going to be two more moments added to this list in the next week, it's just a matter of how high they go. That of course depends on the score and tone of the game, but there shouldn't be any problem with that as it will certainly be a physical game, maybe the toughest battle of any Classic yet.

NHLers on Twitter

There has been some interest in my thesis research, so I figured I should post some of my information. The following is a list of all NHL players with an active Twitter accounts (50 posts or an update in the past month) as of Oct. 6. I will try to update this once in a while, but with my workload from school and a few websites, it's hard for me to do more research than completely necessary.

Please note Phil Kessel (PKessel81) has joined since I did my Twitter search and it would not surprise me to find out a few more have joined as well, but as I said it is simply too much for me to keep checking especially when I have to look for 700 players and there is apparently an hourly usage limit that I keep surpassing. Please, if you know of any players with accounts I do not have posted here, let me know. Leave a comment or send an email to timkolupan@gmail.com, I would like to have a verified, official list shortly. Now, here are the 141 players on Twitter.

Breakdown of All Twitter Users (as of Oct. 6)
Player	Age	Username	Followers	Tweets	Followers per tweet
Paul Bissonnette	26	BizNasty2point0	142,983	4,386	32.6
Michael Grabner	24	grabs40	29,297	2,462	11.9
Anthony Stewart	26	EhStew13	13,018	2,008	6.48
Bobby Ryan	24	b_ryan9	60,237	1,929	31.23
Logan Couture	22	Logancouture	59,617	1,730	34.46
David Perron	23	DP_57	34,722	1,653	21.01
Colby Armstrong	28	armdog	59,493	1,335	44.56
Tyler Bozak	25	Bozie42	46,015	1,299	35.42
James van Riemsdyk	22	JVReemer21	47,774	1,252	38.16
Matt Moulson	27	MMoulson	22,171	1,199	18.49
Blake Geoffrion	23	BlakeGeoffrion	11,766	1,149	10.24
Carey Price*	24	carey31price	2,180	1,146	1.9
Kyle Turris	22	kyleturris	13,193	999	13.21
John Carlson	21	JohnCarlson74	36,156	948	38.14
Mike Cammalleri	29	MCammalleri13	91,798	810	113.33
Matt Kassian	24	Kassassination	2,588	785	3.3
Steven Kampfer	22	SteveKampfer47	15,008	733	20.47
Joffrey Lupul	28	JLupul	61,737	728	84.8
Eric Fehr	26	Eric Fehr	32,770	669	48.98
Ryan Whitney	28	ryanwhitney6	52,421	661	79.31
Nate Thompson	27	NateThompson44	9,089	657	13.83
Pekka Rinne*	28	PekkaRinneCom	832	604	1.38
Brent Burns	26	Burnzie88	20,722	582	35.61
Sami Lepisto	26	Sami Lepisto	14,315	549	26.07
Matt Duchene	20	Matt9Duchene	53,996	538	100.36
PK Subban	22	PKSubban1	70,679	529	133.61
Dustin Brown	26	DustinBrown23	44,707	506	88.35
Karl Alzner	23	karlalzner	23,472	480	48.9
Scottie Upshall	27	ScottieUpshall	38,345	473	81.07
Matt Carle	27	mattcarle25	28,394	467	60.8
Zac Dalpe	21	ZacDalpe22	3,935	458	8.59
Bruno Gervais	27	bruno_gervais27	10,866	448	24.25
Martin Biron	34	martybiron43	26,330	445	59.17
Mike Rupp	31	Rupper17	31,281	436	71.75
Kevin Shattenkirk	22	shattdeuces	9,732	404	24.09
Matt Beleskey	23	Matt_Beleskey	7,112	399	17.82
TJ Oshie	24	OSH74	11,799	389	30.33
Ryan Strome	18	strome18	13,091	389	33.65
Jordin Tootoo	28	Jtootoo22	25,532	385	66.32
Mikael Backlund	22	mbacklund11	4,982	384	12.97
Taylor Hall	19	hallsy04	73,949	378	195.63
Tim Brent	27	Brenter37	19,170	374	51.26
Evander Kane	20	EKane9JETS	40,891	369	110.82
Blake Wheeler	25	BiggieFunke	8,825	355	24.86
Ian Laperriere	37	dooda1414	8,451	354	23.87
Jack Skille	24	JackSkille	3,636	342	10.63
Michael Del Zotto	21	MichaelDelZotto	22,054	326	67.65
Derek Roy	28	Roy9er	22,585	321	70.36
John-Michael Liles	26	hoosierjm26	14,338	314	45.66
Ben Maxwell	23	benmaxwell61	4,566	289	15.8
Nino Niederreiter	19	theInino25	3,878	275	14.1
Derick Brassard	24	dbrassard16	9,890	274	36.09
Steve Sullivan	37	Sullivan26	21,648	267	81.08
Mathieu Darche	34	matdarche52	26,600	264	100.76
Jonathan Quick	25	JonathanQuick32	19,631	262	74.93
Brad Richards	31	BRichards_1991	42,849	257	166.73
Chris Stewart	23	CstewSTL25	16,332	255	64.05
Martin Havlat	30	martinhavlat	32,851	221	148.65
George Parros	31	Stache16	21,699	218	99.54
RJ Umberger	29	Umby18	10,549	215	47.07
Jamie McGinn	23	JamieMcGinn64	12,814	214	59.88
Mike Green	25	GreenLife52	53,927	213	253.18
Mike Commodore	31	commie22	31,385	211	148.74
Max Pacioretty	22	MaxPacioretty67	54,208	211	256.91
Daniel Winnik	26	Danwinnik34	3,926	206	19.06
Ryan Kesler	27	Ryan_Kesler	81,492	204	399.47
Alex Ovechkin	26	ovi8	215,164	195	1,103.41
Brandon Prust	27	BrandonPrust8	21,581	190	113.58
Claude Giroux	23	C_Giroux28	3,511	189	18.58
Mike Fisher	31	mikefisher1212	23,176	188	123.28
Max Talbot	27	Max25Talbot	51,409	186	276.39
Derek Stepan	21	DerekStepan21	12,693	185	68.61
Carl Gunnarsson	24	carl_gun	10,282	179	57.44
Mike Richards	26	MRichie18	45,244	175	258.54
Mike Komisarek	29	mkomisarek	26,375	171	154.24
Jeff Petry	23	PetryJ	8,194	165	49.66
Devin Setoguchi	24	Dsetoguchi10	10,998	162	67.88
Ilya Bryzgalov	31	bryzgoalie30	30,650	155	197.74
Theo Peckham	23	PECKS24	11,371	149	76.32
DJ King	27	DJKING_17	7,513	142	52.91
Dave Moss	29	djmoss25	4,824	139	34.71
Anze Kopitar*	24	AnzeKopitar	1,385	138	10.04
Luke Adam	21	LukeJAdam	5,368	137	39.18
Evgeni Malkin	25	malkin71_	48,652	136	357.74
Alex Steen	27	Steener20	10,072	136	74.06
Ryan Shannon	28	ryanshannon22	5,455	136	40.11
Jacob Markstrom	21	j_markstrom	1,763	134	13.16
Ryane Clowe	28	ryaneclowe	20,727	120	172.73
Ryan Jones	27	jonesry28	35,816	120	298.47
Victor Hedman	20	heds77	5,840	117	49.91
Shane O’Brien	28	ShaneOBrien55	28,384	114	248.98
Andrew Ladd	25	aladd16	10,398	105	99.03
Patrick Dwyer	28	pattydwyer39	1,519	105	14.47
Brian Gionta	32	Giostyle21	33,581	103	326.03
Alex Goligoski	26	gollygoose33	7,121	101	70.51
James Wisniewski	27	jameswisniewski	1,554	99	15.7
Patrice Bergeron	26	P_Bergeron37	1,918	93	20.62
Jake Gardiner	21	Jgardiner272	10,242	90	113.8
Linus Omark	24	RealLinusOmark	2,948	90	32.76
Nazem Kadri	21	43_Kadri	17,998	88	204.52
Magnus Paajarvi	20	mps_91	9,228	87	106.07
Nathan Gerbe	24	NathanGerbe42	7,943	87	91.3
Steve Montador	31	SteveMontador	7,106	87	81.68
Sergei Bobrovsky	23	realbobrovsky	134	75	1.79
Jamie McBain	23	jbain4	3,670	74	49.59
Steven Stamkos	21	RealStamkos91	65,919	72	915.54
Marc-Andre Gragnani	24	Grags17	4,731	69	68.57
Ryan O’Bryne	27	ryanobyrne84	4,089	69	59.26
David Jones	27	djones5454	2,823	67	42.13
Tyler Seguin	19	tylerseguin92	48,946	66	741.61
Olli Jokinen	32	ollijokinen13	6,058	66	91.79
Brad Winchester	30	bradwinchester	5,647	63	89.63
Justin Falk	22	JuicerFalk	616	62	9.94
Yannick Weber	23	yanweber68	20,818	60	346.97
Ryan McDonagh	22	RMcDonagh27	7,501	56	133.95
Ryan Murphy	18	ryanmurphy24	3,698	55	67.24
Jim Vandermeer	31	Jim_Vandermeer	15,569	52	299.4
Tanner Glass	27	TGlass15	6,580	52	126.54
Brendan Morrison	36	7bmo	6,558	51	128.59
Keaton Ellerby	22	ellerby88	809	49	16.51
Viktor Stalberg	25	VStalberg	8,307	41	202.61
Kyle Okposo	23	bookerT2116	4,061	40	101.53
Kevin Porter	25	kporter12	3,813	40	95.33
Kevin Westgarth	27	KWesty19	3,129	39	80.23
Nikolai Kulemin	25	NikKulemin41	472	36	13.11
Marc Savard	34	MSavvy91	51	34	1.5
Curtis Sanford	33	CurtisSanford	1,924	34	56.59
James Neal	24	jneal_18	12,186	26	468.69
Marc-Andre Bergeron	30	bergeron47	5,418	24	225.75
Jason Garrison	26	JasonGarrison52	790	21	37.62
Mattias Ritola	24	ritto21	1,089	17	64.06
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	18	RNH_93	13,707	16	856.69
Kevin Bieksa	30	kbieksa3	33,013	15	2,200.87
David Backes	27	dbackes42	6,916	13	532
Jakub Voracek	22	jachobe	3,940	13	303.08
Milan Lucic	23	Real_lucic17	116	12	9.66
Duncan Keith*	28	DuncanKeith	1,520	8	190
Hal Gill	36	Skillsy75	11,913	7	1,701.86
Patrick Kane	22	88PKane	31,138	7	4,448.29
Tyler Kennedy	25	tk1448	12,255	4	3,063.75
Raffi Torres	29	RaffiTorres1	37	1	37