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This is a daily column that will run during the duration of the NHL lockout. It is not meant to depress hockey fans, but is rather intended to provide a reminder of some of the more memorable moments in Philadelphia Flyers' history, and act as a much-needed distraction from the ongoing negativity surrounding the lockout for hockey fans. What must not be forgotten during the labor strife is just how great of a game we have been blessed with to enjoy throughout the years.
After being drubbed, 7-1, by the Chicago Blackhawks in their initial November 11th contest, the Flyers ran off a streak of nine wins in a row on the way to having compiled an excellent 15-3-0-1 overall record -- which includes a near-perfect 12-1-0-1 mark at home -- over the course of franchise history. Philadelphia has scored 77 goals in the 19 contests (an average of 4.05 GPG), while allowing 56 to their opponents (2.94 GAA), and is on a current two-game win stretch and 6-0-0-1 in the last seven.
Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place in November 11th games:
1971: Simon Nolet scored with 5:20 left in the third period to lift the Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at the Spectrum. Nolet also assisted on two of the Philadelphia goals.
Andre Boudrias had given Vancouver a 3-2 lead at the 10:14 mark of the final frame, but defenseman Brent Hughes notched his first goal of the season to tie the contest just 1:24 later.
Barry Ashbee and Jim Johnson also scored for the Flyers, while Doug Favell made 18 saves to record the victory. Dunc Wilson stopped 31 of 35 offerings in defeat.
1972: Rick MacLeish scored a pair of goals and assisted on a third and Bill Barber added a goal and a helper as the Flyers built a 3-0 margin before beating the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, at the Spectrum. Gary Dornhoefer assisted on all three Philadelphia tallies.
Doug Favell made 31 saves to pick up the win, with Rene Robert providing the lone shot that eluded him on a power play marker at 6:04 of the third period to break the shutout bid. Roger Crozier stopped 23 of 26 Flyers offerings but took the loss.
1979: Rick MacLeish netted a hat trick -- including the game-winning goal with 6:31 remaining in regulation -- as the Flyers won their eighth consecutive game with a 5-4 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks at the Spectrum. It was also the 12th straight contest without a loss for the Orange-and-Black ('The Streak' now at 11-0-1)
MacLeish scored a goal in each period and Philadelphia also got tallies from Brian Propp and Ken Linseman.
Phil Myre stopped 24 Canucks shots to register the win, while Curt Ridley made 29 saves in a losing cause.
1982: Lindsay Carson and Tom Gorence each scored a pair of goals as the Flyers posted all of their goals over the final two periods in a 7-3 romp over the New York Rangers at the Spectrum.
After falling behind 1-0 midway through the first period, Philadelphia stormed N.Y. netminder Eddie Mio for 20 second period shots and five unanswered goals to take a commanding lead into the final stanza.
Mark Taylor, Ron Flockhart, and Darryl Sittler all scored for the Flyers, while Flockhart, Paul Evans, and Bobby Clarke each added two assists.
Pelle Lindbergh made 28 saves in a winning effort, while Mio stopped 33 Philly offerings.
1984: Brian Propp (two goals and an assist), Dave Poulin (goal and two assists), and Tim Kerr (goal, assist) led the Flyers to a wild 7-5 triumph over the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum.
Trailing 4-3 after a Wayne Gretzky strike 7:02 into the final frame, Philadelphia received goals from Lindsay Carson, Mark Howe, and Ilkka Sinisalo before Jari Kurri and Propp (empty net) traded markers in the last half minute to set the final score.
The Flyers outshot Edmonton by a 46-26 count, including a 22-10 shot differential in the pivotal third period. Pelle Lindbergh made 21 saves, while Andy Moog stopped 39 in the loss.
1989: Rick Tocchet posted a Gordie Howe hat trick (two goals, two assists, fight), Ron Sutter also scored twice and recorded four points, and Bruce Hoffort made 28 saves in a 7-5 Flyers triumph over the New Jersey Devils at Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena.
Murray Craven, Mark Howe, and Kjell Samuelsson also lit the lamp for the visitors.
Tocchet notched a goal and an assist in both the first and third periods and fought Ken Daneyko in the third.
Chris Terreri made 29 saves for the Devils.
1990: Pete Peeters stopped all 31 shots he faced for his 21st and final NHL shutout (fifth with Philadelphia, and lone whitewash of the season) and the Flyers got goals from Mike Ricci and Kjell Sameulsson in a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at the Spectrum. Samuelsson also assisted on Ricci's goal.
Peeters was tested most in the middle stanza, when Vancouver outshot Philly, 16-5.
Troy Gamble made 23 saves in defeat.
1997: Paul Coffey scored an unassisted tally early in the second period for the game's lone goal and Ron Hextall stopped all 16 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and 15th of his career as the Flyers blanked the Ottawa Senators, 1-0, at the CoreStates Center.
Hextall had light work only being required to stop two Sens shots in the first period, but was solid throughout. Damian Rhodes made 26 saves in a losing cause.
1999: Eric Lindros recorded a goal and assist and the Flyers held Carolina to just 11 shots on goal for the game in a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes at the First Union Center.
After Bates Battaglia staked the visitors to an early 1-0 lead with a power play goal, second period goals from Lindros, Eric Desjardins, and Sandy McCarthy and a late third period empty-net marker by Mark Recchi sealed the team's fates.
Carolina managed six shots in the opening period, and just three in the second and two in the third.
Brian Boucher made 10 saves to post the win, while a much-busier Arturs Irbe stopped 33 of the 36 Philly shots thrown his direction.
2000: Simon Gagne scored 1:42 into the third period to snap a 1-1 tie to lead the Flyers to a 4-3 triumph over the Ottawa Senators at the First Union Center.
The teams traded goals over the first two stanzas, with Ruslan Fedetenko giving Philadelphia a 1-0 lead, Kevin Stevens making it 2-1, and Dan McGillis 3-2 before heading into the second intermission tied at 3-3.
The visiting Sens outshot the home team, 31-18, including 28-12 over the last two sessions. Roman Cechmanek came up big with 28 saves to record the victory, outplaying Patrick Lalime, who made 14 stops.
2003: Jeremy Roenick figured in on both goals, scoring one and assisting on another, and Mark Recchi tallied the game-winning marker in the latter half of the second period as the Flyers pulled out a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders at the Wachovia Center.
Leading 1-0 into the second period on the strength of a Roenick late first period goal, the Isles knotted the score when Adrian Aucoin scored a power play marker midway through the second. But Recchi answered just 50 seconds later to make the difference for the Orange-and-Black.
Jeff Hackett made 23 saves to pick up the victory, while former-Flyer Garth Snow stopped 31 of 33 shots in defeat.
2008: Danny Briere, Mike Richards, and Kimmo Timonen scored goals while Martin Biron made 35 saves as the Flyers defeated the New York Islanders, 3-1, at Nassau Coliseum. Briere opened the scoring with 6:20 left in the middle frame and Richards added a shorthanded midway through the third to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead, but Trent Hunter scored six and a half minutes later to make it a one-goal game.
Timonen hit the empty cage with Joey MacDonald pulled for an extra attacker with four ticks left on the clock to ice the outcome.
2010: Jeff Carter notched a natural hat trick, Danny Briere scored twice and added an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves as the visiting Flyers stormed past the Hurricanes by an 8-1 score in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Following Briere's first of the contest, Carter connected with the man advantage at 18:42 of the opening period to give Philly a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. Carter posted his second goal of the game at 1:54 of the middle frame and completed the hat trick just over four minutes later, chasing 'Canes starter Cam Ward from the net. Though he was one of the club's most consistent goal scorers during his time in Philadelphia, it was just the second regular season hat trick for Carter and the last in a Flyers uniform before he was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets the following summer.
Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Briere and Nikolay Zherdev all scored third period goals. Claude Giroux added a pair of assists.
Bobrovsky was spectacular throughout the game, allowing only a Chad LaRose goal midway through the final period in 36 Carolina shots. Both Ward (tagged with the loss) and backup Justin Peters finished the night with nine saves on 13 shots.
November 10th Trade:
On this day in 1981, the Flyers shipped popular two-way centerman Mel Bridgman to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defensive defenseman Brad Marsh, who had been a big part of Calgary's seven-game defeat of the Flyers in the playoffs the previous spring.
Bridgman, the lone first-overall draft selection in franchise history (1975), finished his time in Philadelphia with 119 goals, 324 points, and 971 penalty minutes in 462 games. While his departure left a hole in the middle up front, Marsh's presence on the blue line would prove to be invaluable for most of the decade.
Marsh posted 14 goals, 110 points, and 636 PIMs in seven seasons with the Flyers. He was a +99 over that timespan, which includes a career-best +42 in the 1984/85 campaign. His biggest contributions were his durability, positioning, shot-blocking abilities, and shutdown presence. These traits put him in head coach Mike Keenan's 'Big Four' with Mark Howe, Brad McCrimmon, and Kjell Samuelsson, which 'Iron Mike' employed in crunch time, especially in the postseason.
As part of Marsh's shot-blocking repertoire, he would often times be found in or just outside of the goal crease in an effort to get his 6' 3", 220-pound frame between an opponent's shot and his team's net.
Marsh was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs just prior to the start of the 1988/89 campaign. He would play the next five seasons in Toronto, Detroit, and Ottawa before retiring, with more than 1,000 games under his belt.
As For The Present:
With games currently canceled through November 30, the official count of games the team has lost all-time due to lockout is now at 140 -- 36 in the shortened 1994-05, the entirety of the 82-game schedule in 2004-05, and 22 thus far this season:
October 11 Boston Bruins @ FLYERS
October 13 FLYERS @ NY Islanders
October 18 Pittsburgh Penguins @ FLYERS
October 20 Winnipeg Jets @ FLYERS
October 25 FLYERS @ Montreal Canadiens
October 27 Toronto Maple Leafs @ FLYERS
October 28 FLYERS @ Buffalo Sabres
October 30 Dallas Stars @ FLYERS
November 1 New Jersey Devils @ FLYERS
November 3 Anaheim Ducks @ FLYERS
November 4 FLYERS @ NY Rangers
November 6 Buffalo Sabres @ FLYERS
November 8 FLYERS @ Carolina Hurricanes
November 10 Carolina Hurricanes @ FLYERS
November 13 Minnesota Wild @ FLYERS
November 16 FLYERS @ Buffalo Sabres
November 17 Buffalo Sabres @ FLYERS
November 21 Ottawa Senators @ FLYERS
November 23 Winnipeg Jets @ FLYERS
November 24 FLYERS @ NY Rangers
November 28 FLYERS @ Toronto Maple Leafs
November 29 FLYERS @ NY Islanders
The NHL and NHLPA met at length over the course of four days this week, with a mixture of reports giving optimistic and pessimistic feels. The league says it would meet this weekend, but the tone isn't one that makes it sound as though anything productive will be forthcoming any time soon. The sides were contemplating whether or not to meet Saturday in an attempt to stop the madness and end the now eight week long lockout.
While there is still hope that sanity will somehow prevail and there can still be something to salvage of a 2012-13 NHL season -- it's looking like a 64-game game season would be the best-case scenario at this point -- it is unfortunately looking more-and-more like the sides may just be content to self-destruct.