:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3287361/gyi0060621014.0.jpg)
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.
Despite going winless in their first five games played on this date (0-4-1, all of which were played on the road), the Flyers have managed to put together a very respectable 12-4-3-1 overall record in November 15th games -- including a 10-0-1-1 mark at home -- over the course of franchise history. The exemplary record is mostly because the team went unbeaten in 12 straight November 15th tilts (10-0-2-0) from 1979 through 2006.
Philadelphia has scored 72 goals in the 20 contests (an average of 3.60 GPG), while yielding 49 to their opponents (2.45 GAA), and the club has allowed just 15 goals in their last 10 November 15th outings.
Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place in November 15th games:
1974: Orest Kindrachuk scored 6:35 into the third period lifted the Flyers to a 2-2 tie with the Flames at the Omni in Atlanta, stretching the club's unbeaten streak to 10 games (8-0-2).
Trailing 2-0 early in the second period Philadelphia turned up the offensive pressure, sending 32 shots on Atlanta goaltender and future-Flyer Phil Myre. Rick MacLeish cut the deficit in half with a power play marker at 3:42 of the middle stanza, setting the stage for Kindrachuk's game-tying goal in the third.
Bernie Parent made 32 saves for the Flyers.
1979: Ken Linseman scored twice and Phil Myre made 35 saves as the Flyers held on for a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum. Bill Barber, John Paddock, and Reggie Leach also put the puck past Oilers netminder Dave Dryden, and defenseman Norm Barnes assisted on two Philadelphia tallies.
An 18-year-old rookie by the name of Wayne Gretzky assisted on a pair of Edmonton goals and was named Second Star of the contest.
It was the club's ninth straight win as 'The Streak' reached 13 games (12-0-1), and the Flyers record stood at an impressive 13-1-1 for the season.
1980: Bill Barber, Paul Holmgren, and Tim Kerr each scored a goal and assisted on another as the Flyers defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, at the Spectrum. Brian Propp and Rick MacLeish also dented the twine for the Orange-and-Black.
Following a scoreless first period, George Lyle scored the first of two goals on the night to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. But Propp, MacLeish, and Holmgren answered for Philadelphia before the end of the stanza.
After Lyle drew the Red Wings to within 3-2 with a power play marker with 8:56 remaining in regulation, Kerr connected with the man advantage and Barber provided more insurance with less than four minutes left.
It was the 17th goal and 27th point for Barber in his 18th game of the season.
Tom Gorence added a pair of assists for Philly.
1981: Ron Flockhart's third period power play goal snapped a 4-4 tie and Pete Peeters overcame a shaky start as the Flyers skated to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders at the Spectrum.
New York took a quick 3-0 in the game's first 5:48 on goals by Butch Goring, Bobby Nystrom, and Mike Bossy, but Peeters settled in and didn't allow another Isles tally before the end of the frame despite Philadelphia being outshot by a 12-4 count.
The Flyers gained traction in the middle session and pushed back, knotting the contest on goals from Bill Barber, Jim Watson, and Ilkka Sinisalo by the midpoint of the second.
But Denis Potvin struck back with a power play marker to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead at the second intermission.
Propp tied it at 1:48 of the third, setting the stage for Flockhart's game-winner.
Flockhart and Bobby Clarke each assisted on a pair of Philly goals, and Peeters finished with 22 saves in the win. Billy Smith stopped 20 Flyers shots in defeat.
1984: Tim Kerr scored a pair of goals and Pelle Lindbergh made 26 saves as the Flyers won their fourth consecutive game by blasting the Hartford Whalers, 6-1, on Bobby Clarke Night at the Spectrum.
The two-goal performance was Kerr's sixth multi-goal game in just the team's 15th contest and gave the hulking forward 17 goals for the campaign. It was also Kerr's fourth straight multi-point game, a stretch in which he recorded seven goals and 12 points.
The triumph also ran Philly's home record to 7-1-1.
Derrick Smith, Dave Poulin, Rich Sutter, and Murray Craven also scored for Philadelphia, while Brian Propp and Craven added two assists apiece.
In a pre-game ceremony, the club retired the number 16 jersey of Clarke -- the franchise's leader in games played (1,144), assists (852), and points (1,210) -- and captain of the Flyers during their two Stanley Cup triumphs (1974, 1975).
1992: Rookie Eric Lindros notched his first career hat trick as the Crazy Eights Line combined for 12 points and Dominic Roussel made 31 saves in a 7-2 blowout of the Ottawa Senators at the Spectrum. The win was the fourth in a row for Philadelphia.
In addition to Lindros' trio of goals he also added an assist, Mark Recchi scored once and added four helpers, and Brent Fedyk finished with a goal and three points as the Crazy Eights made it 11 goals and 29 points in just their last three contests (13 v Isles November 12, four v Canadiens November 14).
The line was on a blistering pace over the course of that three-game span:
- Recchi posted three goals and 12 points
- Lindros five goals and eight points
- Fedyk three goals and nine points
Mark Pederson and Claude Boivin also scored for the Flyers, who torched Ottawa goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz seven times on 27 shots.
2000: Roman Cechmanek made 30 saves and Mark Recchi beat Curtis Joseph with 1:34 remaining in overtime to give the Flyers a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
It was a triumphant return to the lineup for Recchi, who had missed 13 of the previous 14 contests with concussion-related injuries.
The only goals scored in regulation time were done so in quick order late in the first period, when Toronto's Darcy Tucker connected at 17:50 of the frame, and Ruslan Fedetenko answered for Philadelphia just 12 seconds later.
2001: Keith Primeau posted a goal and three points and Brian Boucher and Roman Cechmanek combined to stop 24 shots to record a shutout as the Flyers blanked the Washington Capitals, 5-0, at the First Union Center.
Boucher made 13 saves but left the game after being injured in a goalmouth scramble 4:18 into the second period. Cechmanek stopped all 11 shots he faced the rest of the way.
Primeau scored the only goal Philadelphia would need just 44 seconds after the opening faceoff. Jiri Dopita (power play), Mark Recchi (shorthanded), John LeClair (power play), and Simon Gagne also beat Caps goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who made 20 saves and was collared with the loss.
Eric Desjardins and Kim Johnsson each added a pair of assists for the Flyers.
2003: Sami Kapanen scored the game-winning goal early in the third period and assisted on another and Jeff Hackett made 24 saves to record his third shutout of the season as the Flyers defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-0, at the Wachovia Center.
Kapanen beat Byron Dafoe to break a scoreless tie, then assisted on a Simon Gagne tally a little more than five minutes later.
John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick added goals to close out the scoring.
2006: Sami Kapanen scored a pair of goals and the Flyers used a five-goal first period to propel them to a 7-4 victory over the Ducks in Anaheim.
After tallies from Kapanen, Geoff Sanderson, Peter Forsberg, Mike Knuble, and Simon Gagne chased Anaheim starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere on just 11 shots at 16:26 of the opening stanza, future-Flyer Ilya Bryzgalov entered the contest. The Flyers could only muster five shots in the final 43:34, but beat the current Philadelphia netminder for two goals in the third period -- to Alexandre Picard and Kapanen's second -- after the Ducks had climbed back to within 5-3.
Robert Esche was solid, making 37 saves and protecting the early lead even though the Flyers were outshot 27-4 over the last two frames.
2010: Both Mike Richards (two goals) and Claude Giroux (two assists) figured in on three goals and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots as the Flyers defeated the Ottawa Senators, 5-1, at the Wells Fargo Center.
Danny Briere and Darroll Powe also scored for Philadelphia, who poured 46 shots on Sens goalkeeper Brian Elliott.
As For The Present:
With the lockout now 60 days old and games 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.
With games having been canceled through the end of November and the calendar creeping into the middle portion of the month, it's likely if no significant movement is not made soon, more games will fall by the wayside.
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.