It has been a strange road trip structure for the Flyers annual jaunt to California this season.
The Flyers embarked on the road trip two days after Christmas, opening in Anaheim on Sunday. After two days off between games, the Flyers then played in San Jose. They close the road trip after another two-day break from game action in Los Angeles.
With two practice days between games, the Flyers used Thursday to pay a visit to team owner and chairman Ed Snider.
Snider lives in Santa Barbera, where in October, a rink bearing his name opened. The Flyers practiced there in the morning, then went to Snider's mansion for lunch.
"I know what it meant to me and to the rest of the team," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "It was tremendous. I’m sure it was great to see it light a fire in his eyes and to be able to spend that time with him. It was a great afternoon all around."
"Just walking into his place today, there’s a big Flyers flag and you just see the passion he has for hockey and for Philadelphia," Claude Giroux said. "We talked a little bit about hockey, but not that much. More about life and looked at everything he had in there. He’s got a really nice place. There’s a lot of cool stuff in there."
Snider has mainly been in California for much of the season. He did attend the team's first few games this season, but hasn't been in Philadelphia as much as usual since dealing with cancer treatments in the past couple of seasons.
"To walk up to the house and see the big Flyers flag at his front door, that speaks to the passion he has," Hakstol said. "It was a great afternoon for the team and all of us."
"It was great," Giroux said. "We haven’t seen him in a while. It was good to talk with him."
The Flyers are currently riding a two-game losing streak on the trip after back-to-back 4-2 losses in Anaheim and San Jose earlier this week.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
