Forget everything you think you know about Michael Leighton. The fact that he has been a journeyman backup means nothing. The fact that he has had a fantastic year, which has produced a great winning percentage and a sub-three goals against average this season is also meaningless.

Right now everything changes. When the Flyers decided not to bring in a veteran goaltender to replace the injured Ray Emery by yesterday’s trade deadline, everything concerning Leighton changed. He was no longer a Cinderella story that had a nice little run at the NHL level.

He was now the undisputed No. 1 goalie for a Flyers team that has Stanley Cup aspirations. Now the pressure is on and soon we will find out how [...]

It appears as if the Flyers have a deal in the works.

Things looked to be heading in that direction yesterday when the team place Riley Cote and Danny Syvret to the waiver wire in a salary cap clearing move. The team also put injured goalie Ray Emery on the long-term injured list, opening up an addition roster spot.

Philly.com’s Frank Seravalli said that according to a league source the Flyers are close to trading for defenseman Dan Hamhuis, of the Nashville Predators – a move that would solidify the back line.
According to Seravalli, the Flyers will have cleared $2.652 million on yesterday’s moves and taking on Hamhuis would only cost the team $2 million.

As for what type of player the Flyers [...]

After a much needed  sports and writing sabbatical, I return to the scene to observe the streaking Flyers.  At Christmas time, I never would have believed this team stood a shot at leading the Atlantic, I was simply hoping they would qualify for the playoffs.  Imagine my happy surprise when I observed the latest power rankings propelling the Flyers from 21st to 12th in the standings !

There are a few reasons for this resurgance that puts the Flyers in third place in the Atlantic divison and 6th place in the conference at the two week break for the winter olympics.  If they resume play on March 2nd and pick up where they left off, they still stand an outside chance [...]

It may not be the way Peter Laviolette draws it up, but for one reason or another it has worked.

For the second-straight game the Philadelphia Flyers spotted the New Jersey Devils a 2-0 lead.

For the second-straight game the Flyers came back to win 3-2.

Simon Gagne broke his 12-game goalless skid with a beautiful goal in overtime to give the Flyers a home-and-home sweep of the rival Devils on Wednesday. The win helped the Flyers keep themselves in playoff position in the  clustered bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff race. They currently are tied for seventh place with Tampa Bay with 63 points. The Bruins sit in ninth with 61, while the Rangers, Thrashers, Panthers and Islanders have all slipped [...]

On Saturday I eliminated four teams from the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race. Today, I find three playoff teams and eliminate one more squad.

Playoff team No. 1: Flyers – This choice is not about hometown favoritism, it’s all about numbers.

The Flyers are by far the most talented of the eight teams vying for the final three playoff spots. They are the only team that has a positive goal differential with a plus-11. No one else is even close. The team is about to engage on a critical stretch as it heads west for three games followed by a home-and-home series with New Jersey. The team appear completely over a horrible December stretch that dropped it to the second-to-last place in the [...]

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Eight teams, three spots.

On Thursday I spoke of the jumbled mess that is the bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings. As it stands now there are only two teams that look out of the playoff chase: Toronto (45 points) and Carolina (43) points. There are also five teams that seem to be a lock to make the postseason baring a major New York Mets-style collapse: Washington (78 points), New Jersey (72 points), Buffalo (71 points), Pittsburgh (67 points) and Ottawa (64 points).
What is left is eight teams separated by just two points, fighting for the final three playoff spots. There is still between 27 and 29 games to be played for these teams so things will certainly shake [...]

The Flyers have no one else to blame but themselves. Picked as preseason favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup, the Flyers will first have to spend the final half of their season simply chasing a playoff spot.

Any spot.

The Flyers blew a 3-1 third-period lead Thursday night, falling to the Thrashers, 4-3, and dropping to 7th in the Eastern Conference Standings.

Philadelphia is currently 12 points out of fourth place in the East meaning any realistic chance of the team securing home ice advantage for even the first round is highly unlikely. Their place in the standings also indicates that they will be in a dogfight with no less than eight teams for the final three playoff spots in [...]

Anyone who watches Flyers games knows the personality of announcer Steve Coates. He has been with the Flyers since 1982 and has done Coatsey’s Corner since 1999. He is a man with great hockey knowledge, and a big sense of humor.

Thursday night, the joke was on him.

A couple weeks ago Coates (who does commentary down on the ice) suffered a minor injury when a stick came up and clipped him on the forehead. There was a little blood shed, but Coates, as all hockey men should do, stayed in and finished the game.

Tonight, when Coates appeared during the first period of the Flyers game against the Thrashers, he was looking a little different. He was wearing a helmet

Coates was clearly not [...]

If you were able to watch Thursday night’s hockey game between the Flyers and Rangers, you saw a one of the best moments of the season.
Ray Emery was great, stopping 24 pucks to record a shutout in his fourth game back from injury – but I’m not talking about him.
James Van Riemsdyke continued his stellar rookie season, scoring his 12th goal to give the Flyers a 1-0 first period lead – but I’m not talking about him.
Mike Richards, who is regaining his scoring touch, scored on a power play with just two seconds left in the second period to give the Flyers some breathing room – but once again I am not talking about him.

I’m talking about Scott Hartnell and [...]

Three weeks ago many would have written the Flyers off.  Three months ago, many would have picked them to win the Atlantic.  The truth is, this season is not following any logical path, and just when you think the home team can’t do anything right, they have a streak like they have gone through in the past 10 games, going 7-2-1.  Discount the stinker against Ottawa, and they have looked as good as anyone in the conference.

At just past the halfway point of the season, the Flyers sit poised on the edge of the playoff bracket with 49 points in 46 games.   They are third in the Atlantic in wins, but also lead in losses and are currently last [...]

In a move so minor that it hardly made a splash, the Philadelphia Flyers claimed Carolina’s Michael Leighton off re-entry waivers on Dec. 15. At the time it hardly stopped the presses as Leighton was nothing more than a backup with a goals against average over four.

One month later and it is hard to imagine where the Flyers would be without him.

Leighton continued his host streak, helping lead the Flyers to their fourth straight win, 6-3, over the Dallas Stars. Leighton has now made 10 straight starts, going 8-0-1. His goals against is an impressive 2.14. So impressive, in fact, that despite Ray Emery being cleared to play, Flyers manager Peter Laviolette decided to stick with Leighton Tuesday against the [...]

The Flyers are contenders to win the Stanley Cup.

The Flyers are worst team in hockey.

The Flyers are just another average team.

At different points of this season all three statements have been made about the Orange and Black and we still don’t know which one is true.

The Flyers reached the midway point of their schedule on Sunday with a wild, if not fitting, 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The game featured the Flyers starting cold, getting hot, then going cold again.

Hot and cold — sounds a lot like their season.

Entering the season the team had expectations of winning the Stanley Cup. As they  reach the halfway point they are exactly .500. At 19-19-3 the Flyers sit at the bottom of [...]

There have been some great players to don a Flyers uniform over the past 10 years. From Peter Forsberg to Keith Primeau, there has been no shortage of stars. Only one, however, has contributed to the team year after year for an entire decade.

That man, of course, is Simon Gagne.

Gagne was called up by the Flyers prior to the 1999-2000 season and wasted no time making an impact, scoring 20 goals and dishing out 28 assists in his first pro season. He made the All-Rookie team that year and had the fan base in his back pocket.

One of the biggest goals of his career came in the 2003-04 Eastern Conference finals.

With the Flyers trailing three-games-to-two against the Tampa Bay Lightning, [...]

The Flyers started the season strong, but since the week before Thanksgiving they have posted a 4-13-1 record and dropped to next to last in the entire Eastern Conference.

With nearly 50 games to go, it is too early to say their season and playoff hopes are over, but it is getting close.  Tomorrow they play the Carolina Hurricanes, the only eastern team with a more pathetic record and a team the Flyers beat in their season opener.  I think it is fair to say they need to beat this team.  Consider it a late Christmas present.  Combined with their last game, a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay, it will constitute a modest two game winning streak.  Early in the year, [...]

You can’t make stuff like this up.

The Flyers had their Tuesday afternoon practice in Tampa Bay canceled because of sewage leak in the locker room.

It makes sense considering how much crap the Flyers have put forth over the last two months.

Once picked as the Stanley Cup Favorites, the Flyers have sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic – and for that matter the NHL. Only the Carolina Panthers have fewer points than the Flyers’ 32.

Things have been nothing short of awful. The team has lost 14 of its last 17 games and has scored just 18 goals in the 10 games since John Stevens was fired. Against the Panthers on Tuesday, Chris Pronger, who was signed to help keep pucks [...]