Flyers Midseason Report: Broad Street Bullies in Good Shape

It was game five of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers finally showed some heart in game four, but they were still down to the Pens (3-1) in the series.  The Flyers came to play, but their season was soon over after a 6-0 throttling compliments of Sid the Kid and Co.

Still their performance for the 2007-2008 season left the Flyers' faithful looking forward to the 2008-2009 season, even the Flyboys themselves were hungry for more.

With high expectations coming into the new season, Flyers' fans and hockey analysts liked their chances to take the next step towards winning the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately for the Flyers and their fan base, things didn’t start off as well as one would imagine. 

The Flyers went 0-6 in their first six games sending shockwaves through the hockey world.  No one could figure them out, and many thought that maybe last year's run was just that of an overachieving team.  People even questioned the coaching staff and the general manager, up until now.

The Flyers currently find themselves sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division (23-12-9 55 Points), one point behind the New York Rangers halfway through the season.

Now that we are at the halfway mark let’s have some fun and hand out some mid-season awards.

Best Game of The Season:  Down four goals in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes all but seemed lost.  One would think that the game was way out of reach and another mark was soon to be placed in the loss column.  The Flyers weren’t having that. 

Scottie Upshall, Simone Gagne, and Scott Hartnell lit up the goal light in the third period sending the Flyers into a shootout in which the Flyers came out with the win, matching a franchise record for best comeback ever. 

Worst Game of The Season:  It was the night after Christmas.  Flyers' fans sat in front of their TV’s wearing their new gear they got from Santa hoping to see their team play well against a West Coast team that is on track to make a playoff run. It was a test to see how good they really are.  

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks wanted to show their home crowd just how dominant they can be.  They Flyers got beat down, out shot, out hustled, and ultimately embarrassed as they were run out of town by the streaking Hawks who won their eighth consecutive game in front of a rowdy Chicago crowd.

Best Coaching Move of The Season:  It was Veterans Day, and the Flyers were on Long Island in a match-up against the struggling Islanders.  The game was close, too close for coach John Stevens.  Scott Hartnell wasn’t having the best game of his career and he didn’t really seem like he wanted to be out there. 

Stevens also felt that way, so before the third period started Stevens showed that he indeed was not only a badass on the ice, but that he could be a badass behind the bench as well.  Hartnell was benched for the rest of the game, and the Flyers won 3-1 in a good third period to end it.

When asked about his decision to bench Hartnell Stevens simply said:

"It didn't look like he wanted to play tonight so, we went another direction," Stevens said of Hartnell, an eight-year veteran. "I didn't like his game. I didn't think he was moving his feet. I thought [Andreas] Nodl was going. And then [Arron] Asham moved up and we got more jump in our game."

Kudos John Stevens your team has respected you from then on.

Best GM Move: Bringing in defenseman Matt Carle from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Steve Eminger, and right wing Steve Downie.

Comeback Player of the Year: With speculation that he was going to be the next Eric Lindros, Simone Gagne has continued to prove his doubters wrong.  Gagne has returned from his season plagued by concussions to post great numbers  (18G, 24A, 42PTS). Congratulations Mr. Gagne you are the 2008 Comeback Player of The Year.

Overall Stud: You can’t say enough about Jeff Carter.  The kid has it all, speed, hands, and most of all one heck of a shot.  Carter has emerged to be one of the best young players the NHL has to offer.  He has almost doubled his numbers from last season (29G, 19A, 48PTS) and is headed to Montreal for the All-Star game. 

He is also being compared to Eric Lindros, but instead of being called Big E he is now known simply as “The Cannon."

Heart and Soul:  This award goes to none other than the captain Mike Richards whose grit, determination, leadership, and playing ability on a nightly basis show why he deserves to wear the "C" hands down.  Ev  en if it is a tough night or a bad game, Flyers' fans know one thing, Mike Richards will give it all he has night in and night out.

Tough Guy Award: This award speaks for itself, and we have two winners.  Riley Cote is the obvious choice for this award, but Josh Gratton has emerged as one tough you know what in recent weeks.  Kudos to both of these guys, being the tough guy on a hockey team is no small task.

Rookie of the Year: Luca Sbisa is obviously the winner of this award.  Although he isn’t racking up the goals or slamming people around, Sbisa has played solid defensively and continues to grow on a nightly basis.

Mr. Goalieman:  Neither goaltender on the team really deserves to be put at the No. 1 spot yet.  Frank Nitty is hurt, and Biron is just too up and down.  This one is a draw.

Biggest Disappointment: Briere has been on the IR for a while now, and it will be great to see him get back on track.  Reports are that he will return to the lineup next week after finishing his last game with the Phantoms today.  Its tough to watch one of your premiere players sit out for such a long time.

With the season at the half way mark things are looking good for the 2008-2009 Philadelphia Flyers.  The Flyers will need to continue to come out strong on a nightly basis if they wish to continue their hopes for a Stanley Cup Championship.