Mike Richards

Flyers Look Foolish A Year Removed From Trading Vezina Finalist Sergei Bobrovsky

May 8, 2013

Since dealing two of the franchise's most prominent stars of the 2000's, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, it seems the Philadelphia fan base has surgically dissected every single move made by the Flyers front office.

The two most scrutinized moves in the past two years though are the dealings of young stars James van Riemsdyk and Sergei Bobrovsky. To be fair, the former was an even trade that benefited both the Flyers, who got Luke Schenn, and the Maple Leafs, who landed the scorer in van Riemsdyk.

As for the latter, Bobrovsky was traded this past offseason to the Columbus Blue Jackets where he won the starting job over now-current Flyers back-up goaltender Steve Mason. After turning the Blue Jackets around and nearly making the post season, Bobrovsky is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's best goaltender.

(Pictured: Serge Bobrovsky against the Stars on April 25, 2013. Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

Playoff Preview? Kings take on Sharks

April 16, 2013

Shane Brennan

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Preview: The Kings (24-14-4; 52 points) look to end their local road woes as they head to San Jose to take on the Sharks (22-13-7; 51 points) tonight at 7:30. The Kings enter in fourth place in the Western Conference with the Sharks in fifth, only one point behind. With seven games left the Kings playoff chances look secure as long as they can avoid a major collapse.

The Kings have lost three road games in a row and the Sharks have one of the best home-ice records in the league. There’s a good possibility that the Kings could meet the Sharks in the first round of the playoffs, making tonight’s game not only preview but a battle for the better se...

Game Preview: Flames vs Chicago Blackhawks

March 26, 2013

NickSymon

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The Flames head back on the road tonight, a place they have not been too fond of as of late, currently riding a 9-game win-less streak (0-8-1). Breaking the streak will not come easy heading into Chicago to face the league’s best team. The Blackhawks will finish off rare back-to-back home games after losing last night, 5-4 to the defending champs Los Angeles Kings.

Game Preview: Kings vs. Avalanche

February 23, 2013

Shane Brennan

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Preview:

The Kings (7-6-2; 16 points) host the Avalanche (7-7-1; 15 points) today at 1. Capturing two wins in their back-to-back games in Canada the Kings return to the Staples Center where they will play 13 of their next 16 games. A slow start to the season landed the Kings in the basement of the Pacific division one point behind Dallas. Despite their positioning Los Angeles has played more consistently and is poised to make a run. The Avalanche beat the Predators and Blues in their last two games and have Gabriel Landeskog returning. Landeskog scored the game-winning goal in the third period when the Kings lost to the Avalanche, 3-1 in Colorado.

Jeff Carter and...

Game Preview: Flames vs Los Angeles Kings

February 20, 2013

NickSymon

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The Flames kick off a three game homestand tonight as the defending Stanley Cup champions; Los Angeles Kings come to town for the first meeting between the clubs this season. The Flames have underperformed at the Dome thus far with a measly 2-4-2 record. The Kings will conclude their three game road trip after defeating the Oilers 3-1 last night in Edmonton.

Game Preview: Kings vs. Oilers

February 19, 2013

Shane Brennan

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Preview: The Kings (5-6-2; 12 points) head into Edmonton with the second worst record in the Western Conference. A physical 3-2 loss against the Blackhawks on Sunday should focus and motivate the Kings who have had success at Rex Place (7-0-2) over the past couple of seasons. The Oilers (6-5-3; 15 points) are rolling after a 6-4 come from behind win against the Avalanche, which was their highest point total of the season.

The 40-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin will be making his second start of the season for the Oilers. The veteran has had quality production in his previous two appearances allowing only three goals on 47 shots. Edmonton has a physical defense that seldomly...

Struggles Mount, Pressure Increases for Kings

February 9, 2013

Ty Fisher

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Photo courtesy of sportsnet.ca

It would have been foolish to assume that the Kings wouldn’t hit a speed bump or two over the course of their road-trip. The second game of their trip, following a relatively easy win against lowly Columbus on Tuesday night, saw the defending champs stroll into Nashville looking for another victory to add to their win total. They didn’t get it.

Despite outshooting the opposition by more than sixteen, the Kings’ offense struggled mightily to register a single goal before bowing out with a final score of 0-3. Predators’ goaltender Pekka Rinne recorded his first s...

Failure to Develop a Blue Line May Have Cost the Flyers JvR

February 3, 2013

Matt Bernot

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Saturday night against Carolina, the Flyers dressed Kimmo Timonen, Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann, Kurtis Foster, and Bruno Gervais as their defense.

All six shared one thing in common -- not a single one of them were drafted by the Flyers.

In fact, the Flyers have a consistent issue with things like that. Since the lost season of 2004-05, the Flyers have not gotten more than 150 games played from a defensemen they drafted and only one home grown defensemen has played more than 200 games in a Flyers uniform since that time, Randy Jones, an undrafted defender.

(Pictured: Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen. Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Hartnell: "Giroux is ready to be captain"

January 11, 2013

John Russo

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Hockey will finally resume on January 19, but the talks concerning a certain letter in the alphabet has already begun for the Flyers.

Chris Pronger is nowhere nearing a return to the ice. And with his retirement inevitable - but not official due to his contract - the designated captain slot will remain vacant until the Flyers decide to finally fill the void.

Three names have been on the lips of fans during the 2011-12 season: veterans Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen, and the young leader of the team, Claude Giroux. Only one of those players has remained a hot topic for the captaincy and it's the one who many around the NHL view to be the future of the Flyers and the league.

Sam Carchidi threw up a tweet that shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. Giroux's best friend and locker room leader Scott Hartnell said that "Giroux is ready to be captain."

Schenn Brothers Re-Unite in Philly

June 23, 2012

John Russo

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A dream come true.

That’s exactly how both Brayden and Luke Schenn feel after Luke was traded from Toronto to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon for James van Riemsdyk.

Luke, 22, will join his 20-year-old brother Brayden in Philadelphia a year after Brayden was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in a package deal for Mike Richards.