Tag: Michael Raffl

Since getting introduced as Special Assistant to the GM, Danny Briere is looking to make a name for himself. If this season continues to get worse, he might soon be in position to be Chuck Fletcher’s replacement.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher addressed the moves made by the team on trade deadline day, trading Michael Raffl and Erik Gustafsson and re-signing Scott Laughton, while also starting to take a glimpse into what should be a busy offseason.

Less than an hour until the trade deadline, Scott Laughton is here to stay with the Flyers, signing a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3 million. The Flyers also dealt defenseman Erik Gustafsson to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2022 seventh-round pick.

The Flyers may be sitting fifth in the East, three points out of a playoffs, still very much mathematically alive. But their defense is in shambles. Almost every core player that was expected to produce on the higher end offensively has shown struggles. The goaltending has been questioned. To put it simply, the Flyers are a mess right now, and it’s become clear that the current system is just not working.

Monday’s game was a battle royale of mediocrity. This was a game that probably played out exactly as it should have in both result and process. Yes, the Flyers are a better team than the Sabres. The standings certainly reflect that. But for 40 minutes, they weren’t close to that, so much so that they not only once again dug a hole to the worst team in the league, requiring another frantic third-period rally, but they also had to shorten the bench to do it.

Sam Morin’s first NHL goal was the difference in this game, one the Flyers absolutely needed to have. It doesn’t solve all their problems and it remains to be seen what effect this has on the team moving forward. But this could be their last chance to take a positive moment, a moment that can bond a team, and turn the season around.

An unlikely hero emerged late in the third, as Sam Morin scored his first NHL goal with 4:27 to play in the game. That goal held up as the game-winner, in a much-needed, 2-1 victory for the Flyers over the Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers gave up three goals in the first four minutes of the game. Alain Vigneault used his timeout. The Flyers didn’t come back in waves, but trimmed away the lead and completed the rally with just over two minutes left in regulation, resulting in arguably their most impressive win of the season.

A deflection goal by Scott Laughton tied the game with 6:23 remaining, then Claude Giroux’s second goal of the game with 2:08 to play proved to be the difference in the Flyers 4-3 comeback win over the Penguins on Thursday night.

This time, it was Carter Hart’s turn in goal to have an excellent outing in goal to help the Flyers get another two points in the standings. It just happened to involve a three-goal second period that produced another 3-0 victory.

Carter Hart’s shutout performance plus three second-period goals were the difference, as the Flyers once again defeated the Sabres, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon to complete the weekend sweep.

While the Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak and earned just their fifth win of the season against the Flyers on Thursday night, the circumstances the Flyers were in made this an uphill battle from the start. The Flyers got off to a good one at that, but ultimately had to overcome too much to secure that second point.

When it came down to the wire, a late goal managed to get them a point in the standings and force overtime, but in a shootout, the Rangers would prevail over the Flyers with a pair of goals in a 3-2 final at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.

The Flyers were back on Tuesday for practice with a limited group and more players are expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers. The Flyers also had five games rescheduled by the NHL in the wake of COVID-19 caused postponements.

If not for their goaltender, it could have been a different game entering the third. Instead, the Flyers had an opportunity in front of them: win a period, win a game. They won the third period with continued timely saves and timely goals to go with it. Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s win over the Devils.

Carter Hart made 23 saves in the first two periods, and the Flyers struck for two goals in the third period to claim a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

After defeating the Penguins on Wednesday, they return to the ice at Wells Fargo Center on Friday night for the second meeting of the season. With Wednesday’s result still fresh in their minds, expect a more determined effort from the Penguins, as the Flyers look to get off to a 2-0 start. The opening face-off is at 7 p.m.

There were returning players who certainly made their triumphant return. There were standout performances from young players. There were contributions across the board. Even in a game that was far from perfect, the Flyers showcased what their potential could be. Here are 5 takeaways from Wednesday’s season-opening Flyers win against the Penguins.

Behind a four-point game from second-year forward Joel Farabee, the Flyers rolled to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the season opener on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The final day before the start of the 2020-21 season is here, and that means roster decisions are due. The Flyers have officially announced their roster for opening night of the 2020-21 season.

The final tuneup for the Flyers before the official start of the regular season came on Sunday night when two rosters skated in a 60-minute scrimmage followed by a shootout at Wells Fargo Center.

On Saturday, the Flyers released their roster and schedule for training camp ahead of the 2020-21 season, set to begin in just 11 days.

Eight players are up for new contracts after the 2020-21 season, and four Flyers have their fates well assumed at this point. The remaining four players have a much hazier future.

A look at some of the things on the Flyers offseason agenda, areas they will look to address, the signings they have to make and some potential trade targets, trade options within the current roster, and free agents that could end up on their radar.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher had his exit day media availability on Thursday afternoon and touched on a number of topics from the progress of the season, what went wrong in the playoffs and what’s ahead for the Flyers in the offseason.

The Flyers never had the answers. They could never counter the Islanders desire to finish this series. So it goes in the playoffs sometimes. Make no mistake, it’s disappointing, and this loss stings knowing the season is over, but there is a lot to take from this season. For now, let’s take a closer look at the game that did the Flyers in.

In a wild, back-and-forth tilt, both teams showed the qualities and identity that they have established. This series has been as hard-fought as they come. Neither team quits. Ever. And it showed in Game 6 as both sides assumed control at different points and as the game drug on into the night.

Ivan Provorov scored the goal that forced a deciding Game 7 at 15:03 of the second overtime, giving the Flyers a 5-4 double-overtime win over the Islanders in Game 6. 

The Flyers have to play from behind in a series for the first time, trying to find a way to even things up in Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.