News Archive: April 2001

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Gagne to go under the knife

(4/24) According to GM Bob Clarke, LW Simon Gagne has agreed to undergo shoulder surgery udring this summer. It may not be absolutely necessary, but it ought to help prevent future injury. Gagne should be ready for training camp in August. Gagne's bum shoulder is probably the reason why he is not playing for Team Canada at the World Championships right now.

LeClair still undecided

(4/23) John LeClair spoke about his contract status with the press today, as Bill Barber continued his end of the year interviews with individual players. LeClair mentioned that he believed a deal could have been done last summer, but that he's likely to test the open market this summer. On another interesting note, LeClair wondered about his long-term future with the team, as Simon Gagne is now often considered the number one left wing on the squad. LeClair probably wants to play with a top center, and Gags seems to be pretty set on Keith Primeau's left side. The acquisition of a top centerman (Roenick? Sakic?) could definitely help convince LeClair to stay.

World Championship news

(4/22) Is Simon Gagne going to play for Team Canada at the World Championships in Germany? Probably not. Five players were added to the Canadian roster today, leaving just two spots open. Team Canada GM Lanny McDonald mentioned that he had hoped to finalize his roster, but two players backed out due to injuries. McDonald confirmed that one was Anson Carter; the other is strongly rumored to be our own Gagne. Gagne, of course, is still recovering from his subluxation of his shoulder suffered in February during a fight with Andrew Zyuzin. Flyers doctors have expressed a desire to see him get surgery this summer to prevent further injury--several Phantoms have had similar injuries in the past and reinjured their shoulders later, necessitating shoulders anyway. More info should be coming in the next couple of days.

Several other Flyers received invitations to play in the tournament, but turned them down for various reasons. Mark Recchi and Paul Ranheim are both staying behind because their wives are due to give birth soon. And Keith Primeau is trying to avoid injury to his gimpy knee.

Meanwhile, Derek Plante is playing for Team USA in Germany.

Flyers eliminated

(4/21) The Flyers were completely decimated this afternoon in Buffalo by the Sabres. The 8-0 loss marks the worst playoff defeat in Flyers history. Goalie Roman Cechmanek made only 4 saves on 9 shots; Brian Boucher gave up 3 more goals in relief (14 saves on 17 shots). The Flyers special teams proved their undoing, as their penalty kills allowed 3 goals on 6 Buffalo power plays. The Flyers power play was scoreless in 2 attempts.

I expected a better effort from this team, who has worked so hard this entire season to overcome injuries and other distractions. Expect my season review sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Flyers stave off elimination

(4/19) For the first time in seven years, the Flyers have come to the rink with their season on the line and put their money where their mouth is. Special teams and hard play helped the Flyers a 3-1 victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The power play struck twice, while the penalty kill kept the Buffalo power play off the board. Simon Gagne opened the scoring halfway through the first period on the power play. Gagne's goal is his third in three games (notably the three games that Primeau has been back). The Sabres tied things up in the second, as Maxim Afinogenov (a former Remparts teammate of Gagne) scored his first of the playoffs. At 16:02 of the second period, however, the Flyers power play came through again, as Mark Recchi scored to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Chris Therien scored an important insurance tally off a Langkow faceoff win three minutes into the third to seal the deal. The Flyers' victory forces a Game 6 on Saturday afternoon at Buffalo.

Noteworthy:

Flyers face elimination after another OT loss

(4/17) The Flyers just don't seem to be getting any breaks. Dan McGillis scored a short-handed third period goal to force overtime, but Curtis Brown scored to give the Sabres a 3-1 series lead. Simon Gagne and Daymond Langkow scored the other two Flyer goals. Roman Cechmanek made 31 saves in the losing effort. The Flyers face elimination in Game 5 in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Since Eric Lindros came to Philadelphia, the Flyers have yet to win a game when facing elimination. Now that the Lindros era is essentially over, maybe that'll change.

It's not over yet--but the fat lady's warming up in the corner.

Flyers take Game 3

(4/16) After getting nothing for all their hard play in Games 1 and 2, the Flyers are finally seeing some concrete results for their effort. The much reviled Chris Gratton opened the scoring for the Sabres on the power play in the first period, but Kent Manderville (of all people!) got that one back on an unassisted goal early in the second. The Buffalo power play struck again to give the Sabres another 1 goal lead, as Steve Heinze scored his first of the series against Cechmanek. Again, the Flyers came back to tie the game with a very welcome goal from a previously silenced source: Simon Gagne. Gagne struck on the power play off assists from Keith Primeau and Mark Recchi at 11:23 of the second. The game remained tied until midway through the third period when Andy Delmore (in his first game of the playoffs) scored a tip-in off a Daymond Langkow shot. The defense and Cechmanek held the fort for the rest of the game, and the Flyers have made a key step in digging themselves out of a big hole.

Cechmanek made twenty-six saves to get his first career NHL playoff victory. This has got to feel good for him, as he was upset with himself for allowing Jay McKee's game-winner on Saturday afternoon. In his first game back, Keith Primeau logged 19:42 minutes of ice time and garnered an important power play assist. Primeau won two important faceoffs in the game's last minute. Gagne's goal marked his first tally since his return from his shoulder injury. Justin Williams, Todd Fedoruk, Peter White, Chris McAllister (who was benched for much of Game 2) and P. J. Stock were scratches for the Flyers. The Flyers were outshot 28 to 19 by the Sabres.

Phantoms finish off Rochester

(4/16) Perhaps the Flyers should take their cues from their farm team. The Phantoms clinched their first-round series against Rochester (Buffalo's AHL affiliate) with a 4-2 win at the Spectrum on Monday night. For more info, visit Phantoms Village.

Primeau wants to play

(4/15) After participating in his first full practice with the team since his knee injury, first-line center Keith Primeau declared his desire to play in Game 3 in Buffalo. "If you ask me, I'm pretty darn close to 100 percent," Primeau said. "But that's just my mind over my body. I'll wait to get assessed by the doctors." Team doctors will examine his knee, and his playing status will be a game day decision. This webmaster's hoping for the best...but worrying that Primeau may be risking a more serious injury by returning prematurely.

New LeClair offer?

(4/15) After the Flyers' Sunday practice, Flyers GM Bob Clarke informed the press that he was expecting a new contract offer from John LeClair's agent Lewis Gross. This may be a major step forward. After all, most hockey observers expect Johnny to fly the coop as soon as he's a free agent this summer.

Flyers lose in overtime

(4/14) The Flyers find themselves in a dangerous hole now, as they lost to Buffalo in OT. The Flyers led as they entered the third, but they let in a goal of a faceoff in the defensive zone. Langkow, Recchi, and LeClair scored for the Flyers.

Flyers lose Game 1 and home ice

Did you hear a big cracking noise around 9:45? That was my heart breaking as time expired on a messy and hard-fought Game 1 in the conference quarterfinals series between Buffalo and Philadelphia. The Sabres struck first as the hated Chris Gratton scored a fluky goal on Roman Cechmanek early in the the first period. Soon after, the Flyers had a perfect opportunity to even the score. A Sabres defenseman put his hand on the puck in the crease, and the Flyers were awarded a penalty shot. Rex tried to fool Hasek with a head fake, but the winger couldn't lift the puck over the Dominator. It fell to our captain, Eric Desjardins, to get the Flyers' first (and only tally) midway through the first period. Paul Ranheim lost the puck on a breakaway, but Desjardins had joined the rush. He popped the puck over Hasek's shoulder and into the net. The Flyers had another (fatal) piece of bad luck, when Cecho made a save and couldn't come up with the puck. Doug "Killer" Gilmour got the puck first, and he banked it off Cecho's pad and into the net. At the end of 20 minutes, it was 2-1 Sabres and that would be all the scoring for the rest of the night.

The series resumes on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. (My heart will be fully recovered by then, I think.) Game 2 will be part of ABC's regional coverage. Meanwhile, your trusty webmaster will steadfastly ignore the Internet because all the wolves are going to come out to howl about the Flyers' loss in the days to come. My advice? Ignore them, and have faith. There's still plenty more hockey to be played.

100 points...and home ice!

(4/8) The Flyers went to Buffalo and grabbed a win this afternoon to give them home-ice advantage for their first round matchup with Buffalo. The second line provided the offense today, as Derek Plante and Ruslan Fedotenko each had a goal and an assist to give the Flyers a 2-1 win. Simon Gagne remains scoreless since his return from his shoulder injury, but he had some jump and contributed two assists to the Flyers' cause. The game was scoreless through the first two period--partly due to the great goaltending, partly due to the Flyers' lack of shots. Plante opened the scoring less than a minute into the third as he corraled his own rebound past Hasek. Soon after, the Flyers had a goal disallowed because Todd Fedoruk was sitting on top of Hasek when the puck went in. At 6:33, the Sabres tied the game on Donald Audette's power play goal. It looked like the clubs were headed for overtime when Fedotenko scored the go ahead goal at 12:26. Cechmanek made some beautiful saves--early in the game on Buffalo breakaways and late in the game after Hasek was pulled for the extra skater. He had 36 saves for the afternoon; Hasek had 15 on the Flyers' measly 17 shots. Justin Williams and Andy Delmore were healthy scratches.

Prospect Update: Maxime Ouellet

(4/8) Hotshot goalie prospect, Maxime Ouellet, has backstopped his team, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, into the second round of the QMJHL playoffs. Ouellet is in his last year of junior hockey eligibility. He is widely expected to play with the AHL Phantoms or the Flyers next season. For more on prospects, click here

Here's Johnny!

(4/7) John LeClair is finally showing flashes of his old goal-scoring self, and the Flyers are showing signs of emerging from their offensive rut. LeClair scored the Flyers' last two goals--the tying goal and the game-winner--to help his team complete an exciting comeback from a three goal deficit. The Flyers spotted the Penguins a 3 goal lead in a fight-filled first period on goals by Jagr, Lemieux, and Bergevin. Coach Barber must have been awfully persuasive in the intermission, because they stormed back with a vengeance in the time to follow. Paul Ranheim opened the scoring for the Flyers 17 seconds in the second period. Aided by a long string of power plays, the Flyers struck again when Simon Gagne's pass carommed off Ruslan Fedotenko's skate and past former Flyer Garth Snow into the goal. After a brief review, the goal was declared valid, and Fedotenko had his 15th goal of the season. Now it was LeClair's turn to shine. Eleven minutes into the third period, LeClair scored the first goal of his comeback from a staph infection by knocking in a Desjardins' pass from the point. In the last minute of OT, with the Flyers again on the power play (4 on 3), LeClair struck again.

There was a scary moment late in the second period when the Pens' Wayne Primeau (yes, Keith's brother) checked P. J. Stock head first into the boards. Primeau was ejected from the game, while Stock left with a "neck stinger"....The game marks Cechmanek's 34th win of the season....After a bad first period, the Flyers offense had a 25 shot advantage on the Penguins, as Cechmanek faced 14 shots to Snow's 39....The Flyers went 2 for 9 on the powerplay....Healthy scratches for the Flyers included Justin Williams and Andy Delmore; Rick Tocchet sat out to rest his achy back....The Flyers' OT wins assures that they will face Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs. Home ice advantage will be determined tomorrow afternoon in the Flyers' game against Buffalo.

Flyers lose in OT

(4/5) Flyers lost a crucial point to the Habs in OT today. They scored two goals in the first period (Fedotenko, Sykora) only to allow three unanswered goals. The Flyers return to action on Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Flyers lose to Panthers

(4/5) This one hurts. The Flyers' anemic offense again cost them a game, as they lost to the Panthers by a score of 1-2. Daymond Langkow had an assist in his first game back.

Cechmanek named Flyers' MVP

(4/5) Before the Flyers-Panthers game on 4/3, the team announced the winners of its four yearly awards. Goalie Roman Cechmanek was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP by the media. Defenseman Dan McGillis broke Eric Desjardins' six year stranglehold on the Barry Ashbee Trophy for the team's best defenseman. Super soph Simon Gagne and dman Dan McGillis each took home a share of the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy for the most improved player (as voted by the players themselves). Finally, Keith Primeau won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award for dignity and character on and off the ice while maintaining a strong rapport with the media.

Langkow expected to return Tuesday

(4/2) After an extended absence caused by hairline fractures in both feet, Daymond Langkow is set to return to the Flyers' lineup on Tuesday night. The club desperately needs his grit and scoring in the center of the ice; in their past three games, they've only scored 5 goals (and how many more shutouts can they expect from Cechmanek, especially when they're not winning faceoffs?). Langkow's return leaves Keith Primeau as the only injured regular.


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