Tag Archive for 'Dave Poulin'

Game 2 View from the Press Box

On a cold, damp night that made it feel like November instead of playoff time, the Flyers took down the Canadiens 3-0 in Game 2.

Maybe it was the weather, but the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as charged as it was for Game One on Sunday, and neither were the Flyers. Despite being outplayed for the majority of the first period, Danny Briere’s power play goal sent the Orange and Black to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead despite being outshot 16-5.

The second period seemed to be in slow motion, as the teams traded icing calls and conservative play which forced 22 faceoffs alone in the middle period. The Flyers did strike again when the red-hot Simon Gagne cashed in from the doorstep for a power play goal with Brian Gionta off for holding.

Despite being down 2-0 entering the third, Montreal played like they were the team with a lead. The Habs managed only four shots on goal and showed no sense of urgency to stage any type of rally.

Continue reading ‘Game 2 View from the Press Box’

Published
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Bill
on May 19, 2010
in Uncategorized
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Firsthand observations from the 2010 Winter Classic

Despite the outcome, the 2010 Winter Classic was a thrill as well as a once in a lifetime experience for the thousands of Flyers fans who made the trip to Fenway Park.

Philly fans once again were out in full force for a road game. Boston fans were commenting on how they had never seen their city taken over like that. If there were 40,000 in Fenway on New Year’s Day, at least 15,000 of them, if not more, were wearing orange.

Flyers fans were all over New England:

  • The flight up on Thursday morning was packed with orange and black. One guy got on the plane wearing a Cam Neely t-shirt and got booed.
  • In line at the supermarket in Scituate MA on New Year’s Eve, two separate guys turned around to me and yelled Let’s Go Flyers!
  • On the train ride in to the game from the South Shore suburbs of Boston, at least 10 other Flyers fans were waiting at the station along with me.
  • Lansdowne Street behind the Green Monster before the game was overtaken by orange. The coolest thing was seeing fans on top of the Monster looking down at fans on the street and chanting Let’s Go Flyers back and forth at each other. Amazing.
  • Inside the park, I didn’t see anything crazy between Bruins and Flyers fans. Sure there was plenty of talk back and forth but from what I saw, everybody was there to have a good time. At numerous times during the game, fans were chanting Let’s Go Bruins and then Let’s Go Flyers back and forth, pretty cool.
  • The fans in centerfield got into the Fenway spirit and got a ‘Yankees suck’ chant going, one of the few things all the fans could agree on.
  • Both teams fans booing a Reebok hockey commercial with Sidney Crosby and Max Talbot every time it was shown on the big screens during the game.
  • Hours after the game, taking a cab back to the train station, all you saw walking the streets of Boston were people in orange Mike Richards jerseys. Everywhere.
  • Even with the disappointing finish, what a great day to be a Flyers fan.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino told the Boston Herald he’d be happy to have the Winter Classic in town every year. “It’s been a very special week in the city,” Menino told us. “This game brought a lot of energy with it. On the first night, I saw a lot of Philadelphia fans out enjoying the city. January is always the quietest month of the year and this brought 40,000 people into Fenway Park and to eat in our restaurants and stay in our hotels. I told the commissioner, I want this back next year. I love this.”

Other observations:

  • It seemed like most fans had a very limited or almost no view of the ice from their seats.
  • The B-2 bomber flyover before the game was the best one I’ve ever seen. You couldn’t hear it even as it went over the field.
  • The weather was perfect. No rain, overcast and not really cold until the third period when everyone started to feel the chill.
  • Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke’s lame attempt to get the crowd going and sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ was probably the low point of the day for me. Just horrendous. I know the song is a staple at Fenway for Sox games but those two should’ve stayed in their luxury boxes and not embarrassed themselves.
  • When the puck flew out of play and rolled until it hit the Green Monster took me back to the days of playing street or pond hockey.
  • Bobby Clarke taking the ceremonial faceoff against Bobby Orr, and of course, winning it cleanly.
  • The jackets worn by each team’s coaches were great. Where can we buy those?
  • The mini rink in center field had a game between kids from the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation against kids in Bruins jerseys with a guy dressed as the Geico caveman in goal. Every time I looked over, the Philly kids were taking it to the Bruins…great stuff.
  • Great collection of old school Flyers jerseys sighted at Fenway: Multiple Dave Schultz, a Doug Crossman, Mike Bullard, Bob Froese walking next to a Pelle Lindbergh, JJ Daigneault, Terry Carkner, Dave Poulin, Tim Kerr…and plenty of Lindros, LeClair, Clarke and Parent’s as well.
Published
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Bill
on January 5, 2010
in Flyers
. 1 Comment

Flyers’ Game 3 Observations and Notes

The Flyers clawed their way back into the series with a 6-3 win over the Penguins in Game Three Sunday afternoon.

Even during warm-aups the Wachovia Center was in a frenzy, and the energy never waned. Pittsburgh actually came out strong to start the game, with much of the early play spent in the Flyers zone. But despite being outshot 9-to-2 twelve minutes into the game the home team made the most of their chances, and the scoreboard had the Flyers leading 2-0.

Getting Away With It
Late in the first period, the Flyers were looking to take a 2-0 lead into the dressing room before Evgeni Malkin struck with only 12 seconds remaining. Usually those late goals are killers and the reason teams stress never giving up goals in the first or last minute of a period. Well, the Pens stormed out and tied the score 13 seconds into period two. In basically 25 seconds of playing time, Pittsburgh erased a two-goal deficit and the Flyers had broken two cardinal sins by allowing goals in the first and last minutes. It’s not often a team can do that and live to tell about it.

The Refs
As was the case in Game One, the referees disrupted the flow of the game. Marc Joannette must have had a quota on the number of penalties to call because he was brutal. It was tough to figure what the refs, and Joannette in particular, had in mind. Numerous non-calls had the fans and players frustrated while calls like Mike Richards’ hold on Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter’s slash on Jordan Staal were questionable at best in a playoff game. To be fair, after Carter’s slash, Malkin was charged with a cheap hooking call as an even-up 14 seconds later.
This is the Stanley Cup Playoffs between two good teams and bitter rivals. Let them play and put the whistles away! The NHL has to let the players decide the series, not the zebras.

Claude Giroux
The 21-year old may have had the best game of his brief NHL career. After picking up the slashing penalty on Chris Kunitz which gave Pittsburgh a two-man advantage in OT Friday, Giroux redeemed himself in Game Three. He picked up a huge goal to regain momentum for the Flyers after the Pens had tied it at two, and set up a beautiful shorthanded goal by Simon Gagne, which turned out to be the game-winner.

After ragging the puck in the Pens zone in an attempt to kill time, he found Gagne alone in front for a 4-2 lead.  The line of Giroux, Danny Briere and Darroll Powe was outstanding once again. I think Bob Clarke knows the kids name now, unlike when we drafted him in 2006.

Crosby
As is usually the case in Philadelphia, Sid the Kid was serenaded with “Crosby Sucks” chants all day long. It’s hard to imagine a visiting player currently more vilified in any city or sport than Crosby is in Philly right now. Despite picking up two assists, Sid was fairly quiet in Game Three. He was not nearly as noticeable as Malkin, and finished the day with four shots on goal and a minus-one. He did continue his domination in the faceoff circle though, winning 14-of-20.

Faceoffs

The Flyers continue to improve in the circle. Pittsburgh did win 29 of 55 (53%) draws, but unlike the first two games the orange and black were able to avoid being hurt by losing critical faceoffs in the defensive zone.
Late in the second period a kid who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old screamed out “Come on Carter, start winning some faceoffs!” Only in Philly….

Carter did have his first strong game in the circle, winning 8 of 15, including going 5-and-1 vs Staal - a complete reversal from Games One and Two.

Lauren Hart Does It Again
The Flyers had Hart sing ‘God Bless America’ along with a recording of Kate Smith. In all of sports, there is nobody better than Lauren Hart…anywhere. Most nights, if they sent you home after watching her sing, it would still be worth the price of admission, and Sunday was no exception. Just fantastic. Why TV networks don’t show the anthems anymore is beyond me.

Classic Jerseys
Big games in Philly always mean the fans will bust out some great jerseys. Spotted in the crowd today were some classics: Rick Tocchet, Bobby Clarke, Brian Boucher, Gary Dornhoefer, Ed Van Impe, Brad McCrimmon (don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those before), Mikael Renberg, Danny Markov, Jeff Hackett, Dale Hawerchuk, Dan McGillis, multiple Jeremy Roenicks, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent, Dainius Zubrus, Tim Kerr, Dave Poulin, and Dave Brown.

On The Fly

  • The Flyers outscored Pittsburgh 2-1 in each of the three periods.
  • For the first time in the series, Kimmo Timonen led the Flyers in ice time with 26:36. Twenty-nine seconds more than Braydon Coburn.
  • The Flyers outhit the Pens 29-18…Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe and Andrew Alberts led the way with four each.
  • In only eight shifts and 6:37 of ice time, Alabama native Jared Ross scored his first NHL goal and was 5-and-1 on faceoffs.
  • Evgeni Malkin now has seven points (4-3) in the series after his two goal performance Sunday.
  • After being credited with 14 hits in Game 2, Brooks Orpik was not awarded any in Game 3.

Big Day in Philly
Aside from the Flyers win, Raul Ibanez’ 2-run walk-off lifted the Phils to a much-needed win, and the Sixers rallied from 18 down to beat Orlando 100-98 in Game One. A beautiful spring Sunday to be a fan in Philly…

Published
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Bill
on April 19, 2009
in 76ers, Flyers and Phillies
. 0 Comments

Flyers All-Time Team by Uniform Number #1-20

1. Bernie Parent
232 wins, 2 Stanley Cups, number in the rafters, and the Hall of Fame. And of course, “Only The Lord Saves More Than Bernie.”

2. Mark Howe
Acquired in a steal of a deal from Hartford in August of 1982, Howe became arguably the greatest defenseman in Flyers history. My favorite Howe stats are the three-year run he had in +/- from 1985-87: +51, +85, +57. A plus 85, wow, think about that.
Honorable Mention: Ed Van Impe

3. Tom Bladon
A second round pick in 1972 who spent six seasons in Philly, including the two Cup years. May be best remembered for notching an NHL record eight points in one game (4 G, 4 A) by a defeseman in December of ‘77 against the Cleveland Barons (remember them?).
Honorable Mention: Doug Crossman, Behn Wilson

4. Barry Ashbee
Tough D-man who was the first Flyer to have his number retired. His career ended early after being struck in the eye with a puck in the playoffs against the Rangers in 1974. He passed away in 1977 from leukemia.

5. Larry Goodenough
A second-round pick in 1973, Goodenough won a Cup in 1975 before being traded with current assistant coach Jack McIlhargey to the Vancouver Canucks for Bob Dailey. Braydon Coburn will soon be the Flyers best #5, but Goodenough was good enough, for now.

6. Chris Therien
The franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a defenseman with 753 over parts of 11 seasons in orange and black. Therien scored only 29 goals, but was a +126 for the Flyers, and always did a great job playing against Jaromir Jagr.

7. Bill Barber
A franchise best 420 goals, 2 Cups, a retired number, and Hall of Famer. Barber even led the Phantoms to a Calder Cup 1998, and won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year for the Flyers in 2001.
Honorable Mention: Lou Angotti

8. Dave Schultz
Mark Recchi had some great seasons in Philly and holds the Flyers’ record for points in a season, but the franchise known as the Broad St. Bullies was led by the ultimate Bully in Dave Schultz. “The Hammer” was an important part of both Cups, and even put up 115 points to go along with his 1,386 PIM in Philadelphia.
Honorable Mention: Mark Recchi, Brad Marsh

9. Bob Kelly
“The Hound” was an integral part in the birth of the Bullies. After getting roughed up by the Blues in the playoffs in 1968 and ‘69, the Flyers decided to toughen up, and Kelly was added, in the the 1970 Draft, to a mix that already included Schultz and Don Saleski from the ‘69 Draft.
Honorable Mention: Pelle Eklund

10. John LeClair
As soon as he arrived from Montreal in 1995, LeClair became a force. Part of the vaunted “Legion of Doom,” Johnny Vermont put up three 50-goal and two more 40-goal seasons for the Flyers. His 333 goals rank fifth in franchise history.
Honorable Mention: Brad McCrimmon and although he didn’t last very long, one of my favorite Flyer names…Magnus “Roooooo” Roupe

11. Don Saleski
“Big Bird” Saleski was drafted to provide toughness and size. In nearly 500 games with the Flyers, he contributed 235 points and 602 PIM to go along with two Stanley Cup rings.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Dineen, Ron Flockhart, Mark Recchi

12. Tim Kerr
Maybe the number with the toughest competition, and I don’t mean from Jim Cummins and Colin Forbes. Tim Kerr is the choice here with 650 points in 601 career Flyer games. He played through countless injuries, and had more pins holding him together than a bowling alley. The big man compiled franchise records with 17 hat tricks and 145 power play goals. From 1984-87 he put together four straight 50+ goal seasons. If only he were able to stay healthy during the ‘87 Playoffs, the Flyers might have another banner hanging from the rafters.
Honorable Mention: Simon Gagne, Gary Dornhoefer

13. Claude Lapointe
Twelve points in 56 games over parts of two seasons usually won’t land you on many lists. Lapointe gets the nod over the likes of Dave Michayluk and Glen Metropolit due to….well, not much…who would you choose?? Maybe Daniel Carcillo can make his mark here…

14. Ron Sutter
The Flyers picked Sutter one spot ahead of Scott Stevens in the 1982 Draft. Ron played parts of nine seasons on Broad Street and was a premier checking center and faceoff man. He chipped in 323 points in 555 games and served as captain for two seasons before being traded to the Blues for Rod Brind’Amour.
As a side note, check out some of the other players to wear #14 in orange and black: Dave Snuggerud, Peter White, Dave Tippett, Dan Quinn, Mark Pederson, Mike Maneluk, Craig MacTavish, Chris Jensen, Pat Hannigan, Denis Hamel, Craig Darby, Kimbi Daniels, Mark Cullen and Mikael Andersson. Whew, not exactly a who’s who in Flyers history. However, Brian Propp did wear 14 before switching to his familiar 26.
Honorable Mention: Joe Watson, Ken Linseman, Justin Williams

15. Joffrey Lupul
Despite being a Flyer for less than two seasons, Lupul has established himself as the best of another less than stellar class. Also, only Lupul can say he scored an OT winner in Game 7 of a playoff series for the Flyers.

Other not so notable #15s: Niko Dimitrakos, Al Conroy, Dale Kushner, Doug Evans, Pat Falloon, Craig Fisher, Mark Greig, Steve Kasper, Andrei Kovalenko, Danny Lucas, Mike Maneluk, Larry Mickey, Richard Park, Garry Peters, Joe Sacco, Jarrod Skalde, John Slaney, Doug Sulliman, Rich Sutter, Mark Taylor, Peter White, Todd White…Wow, maybe the Flyers should retire this number just so no other stiffs could wear it.
Honorable Mention: Terry Crisp

16. Bobby Clarke
You think Flyers, you think Clarkie…

17. Rod Brind’amour
With all due respect to Billy Tibbetts, Rod Brind’Amour gets the nod- Roddy was the Flyers lone representative at the 1992 All-Star Game at The Spectrum and finished his career in orange and black in the franchise’s top 10 in goals, assists and points. One of the most popular players in recent Flyer history, he was traded to Carolina for Keith Primeau, and captured that elusive cup as captain of the ‘Canes in 2006.
Honorable Mention: Paul Holmgren, Jeff Carter, Simon Nolet

18. Mike Richards
At age 24, Richards has already displayed all the qualities that make him the quintessential Flyer. Tough, talented, humble, yet confident. A quiet guy who leads by example. I’ve always thought of him as the Chase Utley of hockey. A player who does anything necessary to win and who will be a Flyer for the next decade.
Honorable Mention: Lindsay Carson, Ross Lonsberry, Mike Ricci, Dale Hawerchuk, Daymond Langkow, Brent Fedyk

19. Rick MacLeish
The Flyers acquired MacLeish from Boston in 1971 and the mustachioed one would score the only goal in the Stanley Cup clinching game against his former team in 1974. MacLeish ranks sixth in both goals and assists, and fourth in points in Flyers history. In 1972-73 he became the first Flyer to reach the 50-goal mark.
Honorable Mention: Scott Mellanby, Mikael Renberg, Scott Hartnell

20. Dave Poulin
Captain Courageous was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1983 and became the sixth captain in Flyers history, serving six seasons from 1984-1990. During that span, the Flyers captured three Patrick Division Championships and two Wales Conference titles. Poulin represented the Flyers in two NHL All-Star games and was a member of the NHL All-Star team that participated in Rendez-Vous ‘87. He also claimed the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward in 1987. He became the 18th member of the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2004. Poulin may be best remembered for his breakaway goal while two-men down in Game 6 of the 1985 Wales Conference Final against Mario Gosselin and the Quebec Nordiques. I can hear Gene Hart now…”He’s going right on in….shoots….score!!”
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Watson

Published
by
Bill
on March 16, 2009
in Flyers
. 1 Comment