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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.
The Flyers have compiled a 9-7-2-0 overall record -- which includes a 4-3-1-0 mark at home -- in games played on November 14th over the course of franchise history. Philadelphia has scored 56 goals in the 18 contests (an average of 3.11 GPG), while yielding 57 to their opponents (3.16 GAA).
Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place in November 14th games:
1968: Gary Dornhoefer scored twice and Bernie Parent made 31 saves to lead the Flyers to a 4-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum.
Leon Rochefort and Brit Selby also scored, while Jim Johnson added a pair of assists. In addition to his two goals, Dornhoefer also fought Bruins' defenseman Bobby Orr twice, once time each in both the first and third periods.
Derek Sanderson and Phil Esposito scored for the visitors, while Gerry Cheevers took the loss after making 23 saves.
The win over Boston snapped a five-game losing streak against the Bruins -- two in Philadelphia and three at Boston Garden -- after beating the B's in their inaugural meeting in November of 1967.
1973: Tom Bladon scored early in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and Bernie Parent stopped 27 shots to give the visiting Flyers a 5-4 victory over the Kings in Los Angeles.
Bobby Clarke scored the first two goals of the contest -- once shorthanded and the other while Philly skated with a man advantage -- and Terry Crisp and Don Saleski also beat L.A. goalie Rogie Vachon, while Bill Barber and Joe Watson added a pair of helpers apiece.
The win was the Flyers second in a row, fourth of five games, and seventh in nine outings.
1985: Following an emotional pre-game memorial ceremony in honor of goaltender Pelle Lindbergh -- who was killed in a car accident the previous weekend -- the Flyers scored four third period goals to propel them to their 11th consecutive triumph, 5-3 over the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum. The victory gave Philadelphia a 13-2-0 record, tops in the NHL.
Brian Propp and Rich Sutter each scored a goal and assisted on another in the decisive third frame, while Ron Sutter added a pair of assists.
Goalie Darren Jensen -- recalled from the AHL's Hershey Bears -- was forced into action after Bob Froese pulled a groin in practice. Jensen performed admirably against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, stopping 29 of 32 Oilers offerings -- including all seven directed his way by Wayne Gretzky -- to record his first NHL win and garner Third Star honors.
Gene Hart, Father John Casey, and Lindbergh's hero and Flyer legend Bernie Parent all spoke during a moving 23-minute memorial service for the Flyers fallen netminder, with a wreath of orange flowers shaped in the number 31 in Pelle's honor placed at center ice.
1989: Defenseman Jay Wells beat Glenn Healy to break a 4-4 tie midway through the third period and Ron Hextall made 23 saves to lead the Flyers to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
Ilkka Sinisalo scored two times, while Brian Propp and Don Biggs (first NHL goal) also beat starter Mark Fitzpatrick, who was pulled in favor of Healy for the final stanza.
Murray Craven and Mike Bullard each added a pair of assists.
1991: Goals by Andrei Lomakin and Rod Brind'Amour staked the Flyers to a 2-0 lead and the team held on for a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum.
Vincent Damphousse drew Edmonton to within a goal with a power play marker midway through the second period, but Kevin Dineen iced the game into an empty-netter with Bill Ranford pulled for an extra attacker with one second remaining.
Netminder Ken Wregget stopped 19 shots to earn his second consecutive win after beginning the season with two losses and battling back after suffering a torn hamstring.
1992: Kevin Dineen bested Patrick Roy 48 seconds into overtime and Dominic Roussel stopped 30 of 33 shots to lift the Flyers to a 4-3 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum.
Two goals by Brent Fedyk and one from Claude Boivin gave the visitors a 3-1 lead at the second intermission, but Montreal tallied twice in the third to force the extra session.
The win made it three in a row for the Orange-and-Black, who prior to the stretch of good fortune had meandered their way through an 0-5-2 skid.
A few future Flyers made their presence felt in the contest, as John LeClair scored a second period goal, defenseman Eric Desjardins assisted on all three Canadiens strikes, and blue liner J.J. Daigneault provided the game-tying goal with 2:36 left in regulation to set up Dineen's heroics.
1995: John LeClair scored with 17 seconds remaining in regulation time to salvage a point in a 2-2 tie with the Washington Capitals at the Cap Center.
Shjon Podein also scored for Philadelphia, and Ron Hextall made 17 saves -- including two in overtime -- to ensure the deadlock.
1997: John LeClair's second goal of the game midway through the third period snapped a 2-2 tie as the Flyers went on to defeat the Panthers by a 5-2 score in South Florida, giving Philadelphia its fifth win in the last six outings.
LeClair also added an assist. The outburst gave him 18 goals and 29 points for the season in just 21 contests, well on the way to his third consecutive 50-goal campaign.
Eric Desjardins, Shjon Podein, and Trent Klatt were also able to beat Cats netminder John Vanbiesbrouck, while Garth Snow made 22 saves to post the victory.
Eric Lindros assisted on a trio of Flyers markers.
1998: Eric Lindros scored twice and assisted on three others and John LeClair posted a pair of goals and an assist as the Flyers went on to a 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at the First Union Center.
Philadelphia blew open a 1-1 game early in the third period -- one in which they outshot New Jersey by a 17-2 margin-- when Keith Jones (0:45), Lindros (2:54), and Rod Brind'Amour (4:13) all put the puck past Martin Brodeur. Lindros and LeClair each added their second of the contest to close out the scoring. Of Lindros' five points, two goals and a pair of helpers came in the decisive final frame.
Ron Hextall made 17 saves in the winning effort, while Brodeur took the loss having stopped 34 of 40 Flyers shots he faced.
2011: Claude Giroux scored twice and added an assist as the Flyers weathered two shorthanded tallies by Patrick Dwyer -- including one on a penalty shot -- to hold off the Carolina Hurricanes. 5-3, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Maxime Talbot, Wayne Simmonds, and Matt Read also scored for Philadelphia, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of the 20 'Canes shots directed his way.
Cam Ward was yanked after yielding Simmonds' second period tally and was relieved by former-Flyer Brian Boucher. 'Boosh' stopped 10 of 11 shots the rest of the way to keep Carolina in the contest, allowing only Read's fifth of the season with 3:51 remaining in regulation to clinch the victory.
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 last week, but the momentum gained dissipated when core issues hit a snag. The sides have retreated to their staring match to see which one will blink first.
While there is still a chance 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.