Tag: Wayne Simmonds

If the Flyers did everything they could to eliminate chances in front of Carter Hart in the first two games of his career, they didn’t do him any favors in his third game. Hart was left in difficult position, needing to recover from the shortcomings the Flyers had early in the season, in a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A clean slate for the Orange and Black rings in a new era for the team, one where they can hopefully move on from the identity of inconsistency. It won’t happen overnight, but the many changes — and the magnitude of them — ushers in a new era for the team as they begin the road ahead under GM Chuck Fletcher and interim head coach Scott Gordon.

The Flyers get back to action following a disappointing road trip that forced the team’s hand to make a coaching change. They take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night looking to start anew with a win.

If the five-game road trip was going to be an evaluation period for new GM Chuck Fletcher, he should have all the answers he needs. It’s time for changes to happen and they could be coming soon.

Things surrounding the Flyers will remain the same with the makeup of the team for one more night, as the Flyers close a five-game road trip in Vancouver against the Canucks.

This is a game of two teams going in opposite directions. The Edmonton Oilers have surged back into a playoff spot with an 8-2-2 record under new coach Ken Hitchcock. The Flyers, meanwhile, are 1-1-1 on a five-game road trip with very little, if any, progress made since the firing of GM Ron Hextall.

For the Flyers to avoid more significant changes as the season progresses, finding some consistency in the results is imperative. The next chance for a victory comes on Wednesday night against the Pacific Division leading Calgary Flames.

With little to cheer for Philadelphia, the Flyers’ new GM might look to swap players around as everyone is under surveillance during this evaluation period. The question is, how long will it last and who will be gone?

The Flyers road trip continues on Sunday afternoon as the Flyers face the Winnipeg Jets.

The game turned in the second period as the Flyers applied more pressure and got the game tied. In the third, four more goals contributed to a big day on the scoresheet for the Orange and Black in a 6-2 win in Buffalo.

Buffalo entered the game with a 12-0-3 record when scoring first, but the Flyers handed the Sabres their first regulation loss in that category, scoring six unanswered goals, including four in the third period, to get a 6-2 victory to open a five-game road trip.

The Flyers hit the road for the first of five games by facing the Buffalo Sabres, with the recent memory that their last trip to Buffalo was not a successful one.

The Flyers need to channel the energy from a character win in Pittsburgh that was led by their goaltender, especially as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team challenging for the Metro Division lead. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Flyers face the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that has certainly had its struggles this season. But last season’s playoff series, when the Flyers were heavily outplayed by the Penguins, is still in recent memory.

Tuesday’s game will have a different vibe after Ron Hextall was dismissed as GM on Monday, but the Flyers have a game to play against the Ottawa Senators with two points on the line. Game time is 7 p.m.

The reaction to the Flyers dismissal of Ron Hextall as GM was similar around the locker room. This was a shocking change.

In the midst of a stretch of five losses in six games, there are too many questions and flaws with this team. It’s not a question anymore. A change is needed.

The Flyers next challenge comes just over 24 hours after completing the shutout win. The Toronto Maple Leafs await, fresh off a loss to Columbus.

The Flyers enter the Black Friday matinee against the Rangers on a four-game losing streak, last in the Metro, 15th in the conference and 28th in the league standings. And the road doesn’t get easier. The Rangers come into Friday’s game on a 9-1-1 stretch over their last 11 games.

The Flyers struggled at the start and were massively outplayed early, but managed to trim a 4-0 lead to a 4-2 margin, but never any closer in a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

The Flyers hit the road for the first of three games in four days, traveling to face the Buffalo Sabres. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.

Allowing three power-play goals, six goals to even the most potent offense in the Tampa Bay Lightning and making enough fundamental mistakes to create a deficit in the first place don’t look good. But the rally showed some character. It may not be a win but the Flyers need to channel this effort late in the game into better results from here.

The Flyers rallied with four unanswered goals in 6:04 to erase a 5-1 deficit, but fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

The opponent in this final game of the homestand is the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team atop the Eastern Conference standings and they bring a wealth of scoring into Philadelphia. Game time is at 1 p.m.

It’s a game where the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story. The Flyers 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night was much closer than the final score. That said, it was also a game that could be summed up in three words: That’s. So. Flyers.

It was that kind of night for the Flyers, who hit the post five times and had a goal disallowed in a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers next meeting on home ice comes against the New Jersey Devils, a team that has fallen in the standings after a hot start. The Devils sit in last place in the Metropolitan Division, but are just four points behind the Flyers.

With James van Riemsdyk expected to return to the lineup Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils, the team looks forward to his scoring abilities and what he can bring to a struggling power play.

For the Flyers, it’s a game that should serve as a lesson. They did not play well in the second period, certainly not well enough to put any pressure on the opposing goalie through 40 minutes. The 20-minute push in the third was great, but it was too little, too late on this night.