November 28 In Philadelphia Flyers History: Sittler Hat Trick, Tocchet Caps Late Comeback

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 lost their first two and last two November 28th outings, the Flyers have still managed to compile a respectable 8-6-3-1 overall record in November 28th games -- with a 3-1-0-1 mark at home -- over the course of franchise history.

Philadelphia has scored 63 goals while allowing 60 to their opponents in the 18 contests.

Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place in November 28th games:

1976: Bill Barber and Tom Bladon each scored one goal and assisted on another and Bernie Parent stopped 21 shots as the Flyers defeated the New York Islanders, 5-3, at the Spectrum.

With the score tied 2-2, Barber tallied late in the middle stanza to give Philadelphia a lead they would not relinquish.

Rick MacLeish, Gary Dornhoefer, and Joe Watson also lit the lamp for Philly, while Bobby Clarke and Mel Bridgman added a pair of assists.

1980: Bobby Clarke and Mel Bridgman netted two goals apiece and Phil Myre made 32 saves to lead the Flyers over the Rockies in Colorado.

Clarke scored two late-second period goals to erase a 3-1 deficit, and Reggie Leach scored the go-ahead marker with the man advantage early in the third.

Tim Kerr and Rick MacLeish also tallied for Philadelphia, and MacLeish added a pair of helpers.

1982: Darryl Sittler scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to complete a hat trick and salvage a 5-5 tie with the Canucks in Vancouver.

Sittler was in on four of the five Philadelphia goals, having also assisted on Bill Barber's first period marker. Ilkka Sinisalo also tallied for Philly.

The Flyers twice forged two-goal leads, only to have the Canucks storm back.

The second time was when Sittler broke a 2-2 deadlock late in the second period, then gave Philadelphia a 4-2 lead early in the third.

But Vancouver ran off three unanswered goals, with Moe Lemay (who fought Ron Flockhart in the first period and ended the night with a Gordie Howe hat trick) and Patrik Sundstrom scoring to tie the score at 4-4, and Jiri Bubla giving the home squad their first lead of the contest with 8:30 left in the third period.

The four-point outing extended Sittler's point-scoring streak to four, over which he netted five goals and seven points.

1986: Peter Zezel scored one goal and assisted on another and rookie Ron Hextall stopped 25 shots to lead the Flyers over the Washington Capitals at the Cap Center in Landover, Maryland. The win was Philadelphia's fourth in a row and left them unbeaten in six straight contests (5-0-1-0).

Rick Tocchet, Brian Propp, and Dave Brown also lit the lamp for Philly.

1987: Peter Zezel, Ilkka Sinisalo, and Doug Crossman each scored a goal and assisted on another and Ron Hextall made 19 saves as the Flyers overcame a two-goal deficit in defeating the Quebec Nordiques, 6-3, at Le Colisee.

Goals by Zezel, Scott Mellanby, Crossman, and Pelle Eklund within a span of 6:30 erased a 2-0 Quebec lead early in the second period. Mark Howe also scored for Philadelphia (third period, shorthanded), while Dave Poulin added three assists and Brian Propp a pair.

1989: Ilkka Sinisalo and Mark Howe each scored twice and Ken Wregget stopped 33 shots to lead the Flyers to a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Igloo.

Philadelphia torched Wendell Young for four first period goals on 17 shots before the former-Flyers netminder was replaced at the start of the second by Frank Pietrangelo.

Former-Penguin Mike Bullard scored a goal and added two helpers, while Rick Tocchet also netted a goal. Defenseman Kerry Huffman assisted on a pair of Flyer goals.

1990: Rick Tocchet capped off a furious Philadelphia comeback by scoring his second goal of the game with 49 seconds remaining in regulation to force a 5-5 tie with the New Jersey Devils at Brendan Byrne Arena.

Goals by Tocchet and Murray Baron staked the visitors to a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but the Devils potted the next five to take a 5-2 lead late into the third period.

Darren Rumble scored his first NHL goal with 3:38 left to bring the Flyers back to within two then another blueliner, Terry Carkner, made it 5-4 with 1:47 on the clock to set up Tocchet's game-tying marker.

Pelle Eklund had a pair of assists for Philly.

Bruce Hoffort stopped nine of 10 N.J. shots in relief of Pete Peeters to earn the tie.

1997: John LeClair and Chris Gratton scored two goals apiece to lead the Flyers to a 4-1 triumph over the New York Islanders at the CoreStates Center.

Rod Brind'Amour added a pair of helpers, and Ron Hextall gained the victory by making 26 saves.

2003: Joni Pitkanen scored the eventual game-winner on a second period power play and Robert Esche made 28 saves as the Flyers stretched their undefeated streak to 11 games (9-0-2-0) with a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at the Wachovia Center.

Jeremy Roenick, Claude Lapointe, and Tony Amonte also scored for Philadelphia, and Kim Johnsson assisted on three of the four tallies.

Esche had to be especially sharp in the third period, when the 'Canes outshot the Flyers by a 17-6 margin. It was the goalie's eighth consecutive appearance without a loss (7-0-1-0).

2007: Mike Knuble figured in on all three Flyers goals and Martin Biron made 40 saves as Philadelphia defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, at the RBC Center.

Following a scoreless first stanza Knuble assisted on second period markers by Derian Hatcher and Kimmo Timonen, then scored a power play goal 33 seconds into the third.

Mike Richards added a pair of assists.

Biron was spectacular in facing 41 shots, losing his shutout bid when Cory Stillman converted a man advantage opprtunity midway through the third period.

As For The Present:

With the lockout now well into its third month and games canceled through December 14th, the official count of games the team has lost all-time due to lockout is now at 147 -- 36 in the shortened 1994/05, the entirety of the 82-game schedule in 2004/05, and 29 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
December 1 FLYERS @ Florida Panthers
December 4 FLYERS @ Tampa Bay Lightning
December 6 San Jose Sharks @ FLYERS
December 8 FLYERS @ New York Islanders
December 9 New York Islanders @ FLYERS
December 11 New Jersey Devils @ FLYERS
December 13 FLYERS @ Washington Capitals

Many Flyers are currently playing as the lockout drags on -- now past the 70-day mark -- scattered throughout different leagues in Europe.

U.S. federal mediators will take a shot at helping the sides come to some type of common ground as they will join negotiations when they resume -- rumored to be Wednesday at a private location.

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.