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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.
Having won their last three November 20th contests, the Flyers have put together a 10-5-4-0 overall record -- which includes a 8-2-2-0 mark at home -- over the course of franchise history. Philadelphia has scored 61 goals in the 19 contests, while allowing 53 to their opponents.
Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place in November 20th games:
1969: Jim Johnson scored 7:24 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and Bernie Parent made 37 saves to lead the Flyers to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Spectrum.
Bill Sutherland and Larry Hillman also scored for Philadelphia, while future-Flyer Ross Lonsberry scored for the Kings.
1975: Gary Dornhoefer scored late in the second period to snap a 2-2 deadlock and Wayne Stephenson made 23 saves as the Flyers defeated the California Golden Seals, 3-2, at the Spectrum.
After Jim Watson gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead early in the opening stanza, California got goals from Dennis Maruk and Bob Girard to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
But Bobby Clarke scored a shorthanded goal early in the middle frame, and Dornhoefer gave Philly its first lead of the contest with 5:04 remaining in the second period.
Stephenson made that lead hold up in the third -- stopping all 11 Seals shots -- to ensure the victory.
1977: Bernie Parent stopped all 18 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season and all four goals came from the sticks of two defensemen -- Joe Watson and Bob Dailey -- as the Flyers blanked the Atlanta Flames, 4-0, at the Spectrum.
Watson notched his second and third goals of the season in the first, and Dailey scored his eighth and ninth of the year in the second period, giving Parent more than enough offense with which to work.
Gary Dornhoefer assisted on three goals, and Bill Barber added a pair of helpers to the winning cause.
1983: Bobby Clarke beat goaltender Denis Herron 2:43 into overtime to lead the Flyers to a 5-4 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Spectrum.
Trailing 3-2 heading into the third period, Brian Propp rang up his second goal of the game to tie it up at 4:43, and defenseman Thomas Eriksson 2:21 late to give Philadelphia the lead.
But future-Flyer Mike Bullard -- who notched a Gordie Howe hat trick for Pittsburgh -- knotted the contest with his second tally of the night with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Pelle Lindbergh made 27 saves to record the victory, while Herron stopped 39 shots in defeat.
1986: Tim Kerr took matters into his own hands and erased an early 1-0 deficit by scoring a natural hat trick plus one with four straight goals and assisting on a fifth to lead the Flyers to a 5-1 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Spectrum.
Mark LaVarre's first NHL goal staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead 1:03 after the opening faceoff, but Kerr tied it up midway through the frame with a man advantage tally and gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead with a power play marker midway through the second.
Kerr then gave the Flyers a two-goal cushion with an even strength strike 44 seconds into the third stanza, then notched his third power play goal of the contest 2:15 later.
Brian Propp -- who assisted on three of Kerr's goals -- closed out the scoring at 4:03 of the final period, with Kerr drawing an assist.
The four goals gave Kerr 17 in the club's 19th game of the year.
Rookie Ron Hextall made 24 saves to record the win, while Chicago's Murray Bannerman stopped 26 of the 31 shots he faced to take the loss.
1988: Rick Tocchet notched a hat trick and five points and Tim Kerr added his 17th and 18th goals of the season to lead the Flyers to a 7-1 trouncing of the New Jersey Devils at the Spectrum. It was Tocchet's first three-goal game of the season and fourth of his career.
Following Pat Verbeek's power play goal early in the opening period, Philadelphia ran off the final seven goals of the contest. Before the period was over, Tocchet had struck once and Kerr twice to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
Tocchet connected for his second of the game and Brian Propp made it 5-1 heading into the third, a tally by Peter Zezel and Tocchet's hat trick goal closed out the scoring in the final frame.
Ron Hextall made 22 saves in the winning effort, while future-Flyer Sean Burke stopped 29 of 36 Flyers shots in the loss.
1998: Philadelphia received second period goals from Dan McGillis and Petr Svoboda and Ron Hextall made 18 saves to move ahead of Bernie Parent on the franchise's all-time win list with 233 as the Flyers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at the First Union Center.
Colin Forbes added an empty-netter with 42 seconds remaining in regulation and 'Canes goalkeeper Arturs Irbe pulled for an extra attacker in an effort to get the equalizer.
Hextall finished with 240 victories in 489 during his career in Philadelphia, while Parent ended with 232 wins in 486 contests.
1999: Eric Lindros and Daymond Langkow each scored a pair of goals and Brian Boucher stopped 17 of 18 shots to lead the Flyers to a 4-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the First Union Center.
Eric Desjardins added three assists and Mikael Renberg a pair of helpers for the Flyers.
2001: John LeClair scored a pair of goals and added an assist and Roman Cechmanek made 42 saves but Bobby Holik's second goal of the contest with 3:22 remaining in regulation knotted the game in a 3-3 deadlock.
Justin Williams added a goal and an two assists for Philadelphia -- who were outshot by a 45-17 count, including a lopsided 20-3 margin in the third period.
2010: Danny Briere beat Michal Neuvirth with the lone shootout goal to atone for an earlier costly mistake and Brian Boucher stopped Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, and Alex Semin in succession as the Flyers pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center.
Claude Giroux, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Andreas Nodl all scored in regulation for Philadelphia, but Eric Fehr's power play marker with 39 seconds remaining with Briere off for an undisciplined high-sticking penalty sent the game to the extra session.
Boucher made 33 saves in regulation and overtime, while Neuvirth stopped 31 of the 35 Flyers shots he faced in a losing effort.
November 20th Flyers Birthday:
On this day in 1972, Yanick Dupre was born in Montreal, Quebec. Selected by the Flyers in the third round (50th overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Dupre worked hard with the AHL's Hersehy Bears, playing in the 1995/96 AHL All-Star Game.
He played in 35 games over parts of three different seasons when recalled to Philadelphia. Dupre appeared to be playing his way into a much longer stay at the NHL level after scoring two goals in 12 games when recalled during the 1995/96 campaign, when it was diagnosed with leukemia.
Dupre fought valiantly, but succumbed on August 16th, 1997 after a 16-month battle with the disease.
He was only 24 years old.
In recognition of his courageous fight, the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award was created by the AHL Board of Governors to honor the memory of the former Hershey Bear.
From the AHL's official site:
"Selected by the league president from nominations submitted by each of the league's member clubs, the winner of this award best represents the spirit of Yanick Dupre with his involvement in the community."
As For The Present:
With the lockout now more than 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
Many Flyers are currently playing as the lockout drags on -- now past the 60-day mark -- scattered throughout different leagues in Europe.
After seemingly making a bit of progress on some of the issues, the NHL and NHLPA have abandoned negotiations for the the past several days and had instead resumed the staring contest that was so prevelant during the initial days of the stoppage.
Negotiations resumed Monday.
There was a report in one of the major area newspapers that Philadelphia owner Ed Snider was tiring of waiting for the lockout to come to an end and was going to work on swaying the opinions of the other owners to bring a quick ending to the work stoppage. Snider disputed the story publicly Saturday and said he remains firmly in support of the NHL's bargaining position.
With games having been canceled through the end of November and the calendar creeping towards the latter portion of the month, it's likely more games will fall by the wayside if no significant movement is not made soon.
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 is unfortunately looking more-and-more like the sides may just be content to self-destruct.