Philadelphia Flyers Daily Clips – March 28, 2011

FLYERS Headlines1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers fall to Bruins; lead is just two points over Penguins andCapitals2. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers Notes: Bill Barber having a banner night on Thursday3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Charlie Sheen salutes Pronger; Flyers raising ticket prices4. Philadelphia Daily News- Is trouble Bruin for Flyers after loss to Boston?5. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers, please start the playoffs6. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers on ticket increase: 'We're rescaling the house'7. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers fall again to top tier team, lose to Bruins8. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers to raise and restructure ticket prices9. Delaware County Times- Flyers' slumping offense dooms them again10. Delaware County Times- Flyers paying price for playoff fitness11. Bucks County Courier-Times- Another frustrating defeat for Flyers12. Bucks County Courier-Times- Barber set for day in spotlight13. Camden Courier-Post- Bruins net late goal, steal win14. Camden Courier-Post- Barber says, 'It's time'15. Philadelphiaflyers.com- Looking for O16. Philadelphiaflyers.com- Bruins 2, Flyers 1

Boston Bruins Headlines (FLYERS Last Opponent)1. Boston Globe- Bruins fly into the postseason2. Boston Globe- Bruins beat Flyers to clinch playoff spot3. Boston Herald- Bruins power into playoffs4. Boston Herald- Stuck in funk, Michael Ryder sits one out5. BruinsBlog.net- Marchand makes March part of monumental season with big goal

Pittsburgh Penguins Headlines (FLYERS Next Opponent)1. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins win fourth game in a row, 2-1, against Panthers2. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins set NHL record by winning 4th consecutiveshootout3. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins Notebook: Bylsma scores with decision to playLovejoy4. Pittsburgh Tribune Review- Penguins' shootout success continues5. Pittsburgh Tribune Review- Crosby return could come soon

Flyers Cup Headlines1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Seeking state crown, La Salle suffers OT loss2. Philadelphia Inquirer- C.R. South falls short in Class AA hockey title game3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Springfield hockey team falls in state final4. The Times Herald- La Salle battles back in the third but falls in overtime5. Bucks County Courier Times- Hawks suffer tough loss6. Delaware County Times- Springfield denied Pennsylvania Cup by Blaney, Mars

Adirondack Phantoms Headlines

1. Glens Falls Post Star- Late surge leads Sharks2. Glens Falls Post Star- Road report: Worcester 3, Phantoms 1

NHL Headlines1. ESPN.com- Wings G Howard day to day after positive MRI

FLYERS Articles

1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers fall to Bruins; lead is just two points over Penguinsand Capitals

Sam Carchidi

The Flyers' hold on first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division got a littlemore tenuous on Sunday night at the sold-out Wells Fargo Center.

They dropped a 2-1 decision to their old playoff pals, the Boston Bruins, and their lead inthe Atlantic Division was trimmed to two points by Pittsburgh, which edged Florida in ashootout earlier in the day.

The Flyers, who lost on a late power-play goal by rookie center Brad Marchand, play inPittsburgh on Tuesday night.

"The first period, we felt pretty good. We had some passion and some energy," saiddefenseman Andrej Meszaros, who had a game-high six hits. "After that, it justdisappeared for some reason. They did everything better than us."

The Flyers, who had a nine-game points streak (5-0-4) snapped, are also just two pointsahead of Washington in the Eastern Conference. They have a game in hand on both theCapitals and Penguins.

Just 44 seconds after Mike Richards went to the penalty box for high-sticking TomasKaberle, Marchand scored on a rebound with 3 minutes, 43 seconds left to snap a 1-1 tie.Both of the Bruins' goals were scored on rebounds shortly after the Flyers went to thepenalty box.

A partially screened Brian Boucher stopped a point drive by former Flyer DennisSeidenberg, but Marchand pounced on the rebound and deposited his 20th goal. MarkRecchi, another former Flyer, also notched an assist.

"I got my glove on it, and the rebound went up to him and hit him on his chest and landedright on his stick on the forehand," Boucher said. "It was a gift."

The Flyers picked up just two out of a possible six points in three games this weekagainst conference contenders Washington, Pittsburgh, and Boston.

Richards was annoyed when a reporter began to ask about the Flyers' carelessness withthe puck - "same old question," he whispered at one point - but coach Peter Laviolettesaid it was a major reason for the loss. The Flyers couldn't get in sync because of aseason-high 20 giveaways, including four by Claude Giroux. Boston had just sevengiveaways.

Laviolette added that the Flyers attack has been too stagnant recently.

"Our offensive zone time is the staple of our identity," he said. "A lot of movement, a lotof opportunities at the net. . . . Our opportunities have been low for a while now, exceptfor the Washington game."

It's difficult to watch a Flyers-Bruins game and not think back to last year's stunningconference semifinals. The Flyers became the third team in NHL history to overcome athree-games-to-none series deficit.

But the Bruins went 3-0-1 against the Flyers this season, extracting a tiny bit of revenge.

The Flyers struck first as Kris Versteeg became the sixth player on the team to reach 20goals, though 14 of his tallies were with Toronto.

Richards took a pass from James van Riemsdyk - who hustled to get to the puck and keepit in the zone - and wound up to take a slap shot. Instead, Richards deftly fed Versteeg tothe left of the net, and the winger one-timed it past an out-of-position Tim Thomas with15:15 left in the first period.

With 12:20 remaining in the second period, however, Boston's Nathan Horton scored theequalizer four seconds after Blair Betts went to the penalty box for tripping.

"We only have seven games left," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said. "You can't go intothe playoffs playing up-and-down hockey."

2. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers Notes: Bill Barber having a banner night onThursday

Sam Carchidi

Flyers Notes

The Flyers and the Spectrum are slowly parting ways.

The venerable building was recently torn down, and construction of "Philly Live!" - acomplex of eateries, retail shops, and perhaps an outdoor skating rink - is expected tostart this week.

On Thursday, before the game against Atlanta at the Wells Fargo Center, the final"banner night" of the season will be held, saluting a star player from the Spectrum era.

Former Flyer and Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Barber will be presented with his No. 7banner, the one that used to hang from the Spectrum rafters, and fans will receive replicabanners.

Barber, 58, now a scouting consultant with the Flyers, became teary-eyed Sunday as hetalked about what the night was going to mean to him.

Calling it an "honor," Barber said he was "excited for the evening" and that he was in thearena when Bernie Parent was honored this season and that he watched a video of BobbyClarke's ceremony.

"I have the grandkids coming in, which I think is going to be a thrill for them, and abigger thrill probably for me," Barber said before Sunday's game against Boston."They're 6 and 8 years old now, so they have an idea of what's going on. They're comingin [from Kansas City, Mo.] on Wednesday, and they get a chance to get out on the icewith me, so I'm excited about that."

Barber smiled.

"They'll probably boo me, you never know."

Barber was asked to compare the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup champions - he was a keymember - with this year's Flyers.

"The game has changed so much, I find it very hard to compare," he said. The starplayers today "are far faster and more talented than we were in our time. The game haschanged so much in how it's played. The biggest thing I notice in today's game is thateight teams in each conference make it, and the way it is with parity . . . you couldprobably pick 10 teams" that could make it to the Finals.

Barber said there were "similarities in balance" of the attacking units that the Cup champshad to this year's team. "The Flyers in our era had three lines that could do some damageand were hard to contain. And I believe the Flyers are hard to contain [this season]. Theirdefense here is phenomenal, and once [Chris] Pronger gets back and gets game-ready forthe playoffs, they can move the puck."

Barber still holds the franchise record with 420 goals. He ranks second in points (883)and games (903) and third in assists (463).

Breakaways

Goalie Brian Boucher started for the first time in four games Sunday. Sergei Bobrovskyallowed just one goal in each of the two previous games. . . . Before Sunday, BraydonCoburn had played 27-plus minutes in his last three games. . . . The Flyers play inPittsburgh Tuesday night and can set a franchise record for road wins in a season. TheFlyers are 24-9-4 on the road. . . . Jeff Carter started the night tied for seventh in the NHLwith 34 goals. . . . Matt Carle began Sunday with 33 even-strength assists, tops amongNHL defensemen and tied for seventh in the league.

3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Charlie Sheen salutes Pronger; Flyers raising ticket prices

Sam Carchidi

Chris Pronger is sidelined as he recovers from hand surgery, but the Flyers’ defensemanstill drew some national attention Sunday when he showed up on Charlie Sheen’sFacebook page.

Sheen’s Facebook page displayed a photo of Pronger wearing a blue shirt that says,“Duh, Winning.”

For some reason, “Winning” has become one of Sheen’s popular catchphrases _ as if theword was never used before.

Underneath the photo of Pronger, were these words, apparently written by Sheen: “Areyou #WINNING? Chris Pronger from the Philadelphia Flyers is.”

The Flyers are raising ticket prices for the 2011-12 season, a club official told ComcastSportsNet.

Shawn Tilger, The Flyers’ senior vice president for business operations, said the rise inthe salary cap _ from $39 million in 2005-06 to $59.4 million this season _ played a rolein the ticket increase.

Tickets will increase between 8 to 10 percent, CSN reported, adding that the lower bowlwill be restructured into six different price ranges. The seats behind the south net, wherethe Flyers shoot twice a game, will cost more than the seats at the north end, where theteam shoots once.

4. Philadelphia Daily News- Is trouble Bruin for Flyers after loss to Boston?

Frank Seravalli

KIMMO TIMONEN called the Flyers' effort "average." Mike Richards said the Flyerswere "right there."

The perspective, and concern, varies with the voice emanating from the hallowed halls ofthe Flyers' locker room. There is no uniformed voice or opinion.

Is the glass half-full or half-empty? For the Flyers, over the last month, it depends onwhich side of the puck ends face up when dropped at center ice for each game.

Admittedly, 1 week in a 6-month season is not a fair sample size. But the Flyers had achance last night to salvage an important week in the Eastern Conference standings,against the Bruins. They had failed both of their tests against Washington and Pittsburghearlier in the week, dropping both in a shootout.

Instead, thanks to two Boston power-play goals, including one from Brad Marchand withjust 3 minutes, 43 seconds remaining, the Bruins silenced the Flyers, 2-1, at the WellsFargo Center.

Glass half-full: It was just the Flyers' first regulation loss since March 6, breaking a nine-game point streak that saw them post a 5-0-4 record.

Glass half-empty: The Flyers have not beaten a playoff team since Feb. 20.

"When you say it like that, it doesn't sound very good," said Brian Boucher, who stopped34 of 36 shots in his first start in six games. "I thought the Washington game we playedreally well and the Pittsburgh game not so good. If we win this one, it's four out of the sixpoints."

The Flyers left the initial stage of their gantlet - with Pittsburgh on the docket againtomorrow night - with just two of six points against teams that are chasing them.

Then again . . .

"I don't want to be too negative about it," Boucher continued. "Because here we are, wehave 100 points, sitting in first place in the conference. So we've done some good things.I don't think it's time to start jumping ship. But, at the same time, I think we can playbetter."

The Flyers have a two-point lead over both Washington and Pittsburgh, and have playedone less game.

Some of the recent trends have been alarming. Last night, the Bruins needed just 48seconds on the power play to solve the Flyers twice. Yes, both of the goals were slamdunks off rebounds in front of the net.

But with Marchand's late game-winner, it was only a matter of time before the Bruins'pressure was able to break through.

It was the third consecutive game the Flyers have allowed 30 or more shots, includingone game against the rinky-dink Islanders.

Consider: The Flyers committed a season-high 20 giveaways last night, well above their8.11 average for the season.

"It's just the little things that we need to correct," said Richards, whose high-stickingpenalty led to Marchand's goal. "[The games] were right there and we didn't find ways towin. Consistency is something we have been good with all year but we are beinginconsistent within the game."

Still, should it say something that even through the inconsistent strings over the lastmonth that the Flyers managed to go on a nine-game point streak? Only their 10-gamestreak from Oct. 26 to Nov. 15 was longer.

"It's not like we don't try to play 60 minutes," said Kris Versteeg, who scored the Flyers'goal 4:45 into the game. "You're not happy when you don't get the points you want out ofit. I don't think we had the 60-minute effort we needed. We have got to find it. I think itcomes from within, and we have a lot of character within this room."

Even though Timonen said he thought the Bruins were "the better team" last night, hesaw a flash in the pan last Tuesday against Washington that reminded him of the team hehelped run to the top of the standings on Jan. 4.

"The Washington game was the game we would like to play every night," Timonen said."It showed this week that we can play that game when everybody is on the same page andeverybody wants to play well."

That's the issue, though - not every player is on the same page. They say the first step inrecovery is admitting the problem. Is it possible to have a problem during a 5-0-4 run?

"We have only seven games left," Timonen said. "We can't go into the playoffs playingup-and-down hockey. It's not going to work."

5. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers, please start the playoffs

Rich Hofmann

IT WAS ANOTHER one of those games, and another one of those awkward postgames,and Flyers captain Mike Richards stood there and muttered under his breath, "Samequestions."

It is that time of year, when everybody is tired of looking at each other and everybody istired of waiting for the stuff that really matters.

Hurry, playoffs.

The Flyers are a good team. You know it, they know it, everybody in the NationalHockey League knows it.

The real scorekeeping begins in the second week of April. You know it, they know it, etcetera.

In the meantime, we are all in this uncomfortable middle ground. The Flyers are trying togenerate some momentum going into the playoffs but cannot seem to sustain anything forvery long; Bruins 2, Flyers 1, case in point. The media are wondering why.

The players are unable to say what everybody knows in their hearts - that is, that theyhave been in first place in the NHL Eastern Conference for nearly 3 months, and that it isdifficult to manufacture urgency at a time when staying healthy is really the mostimportant thing for a hockey player whose playoff berth is already clinched. So we gothrough this dance, picking at scabs and covering them with platitudes - everybodyinvolved knowing that none of it is likely to matter on April 13, when the playoffs begin.

This is going to play out in one of two ways. If the Flyers find a way to get bounced outof the first round of the playoffs, everybody will point to their lack of consistency downthe stretch. If the Flyers find a way to make another long run this spring, everybody willacknowledge this was a 100-something-point team whose mediocre last couple of weekswere forgotten the moment that the urgency was ratcheted up.

Hindsight will be unimpeachable, as is the custom. In the meantime, though, the Flyershave to get from now to then.

In the last week, they played a good game but lost in a shootout against Washington on anight when starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was marked absent, and then theyplayed a bad game against Pittsburgh and lost in another shootout, and then they tap-danced on the New York Islanders, and then they lost last night when the Bruins scored alate power-play goal.

None of it has been horrible, even as this is now nine games without defenseman ChrisPronger and his broken hand. It has just been kind of . . . blah. (That's a hockey term.)

"The [Bruins] were just right there and we didn't find ways to win," Richards said. "It isjust little things that we need to correct and keep the foot on the gas. Consistency issomething we have been good with all year but we are being inconsistent within thegame."

You notice it mostly in the offensive end. The Flyers go through long stretches when theydon't seem to generate a whole heck of a lot. Theirs is a physical, imperative kind of styleof offense when it is working best, and the Flyers don't seem all that interested right nowin playing that way. The result is this extended series of doldrums.

"Yeah, and . . . when we start turning pucks over is when we don't get those scoringchances," Richards said.

The turnovers mean they spend too much time in their own end, stressing thedefensemen. The defense has played well in Pronger's absence, but they are spending alot of time in front of their goaltenders, and their goaltenders have seen 104 shots in thelast three games, which is high.

We all know what the Flyers look like when they're playing well. The Bobrovsky fiascoagainst Washington masked it, but that was the game they need to play to be a winningteam. Everybody knows they have the ability to do it. They just . . . haven't.

Richards says some of it is physical, some of it is mental, and all of it is correctable. He isright about the first two parts and we will find out soon enough about the third part.

If they fall out of first place in the conference - their lead is down to two points over bothWashington and Pittsburgh, but the Flyers have played one fewer game - skeptics willunderstandably sprout. But it will all just be conversation, however it turns out.

Hurry, playoffs.

6. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers on ticket increase: 'We're rescaling the house'

Frank Seravalli

Michael Strulson, a third-generation owner of a set of Flyers season tickets, neverthought there would be a day that he would consider not renewing his center-ice seats atthe Wells Fargo Center.

That was until Strulson, 39, received a surprising notice in the mail from the Flyers onSaturday.

That's the first time, Strulson said, that he found out the Flyers are instituting a priceincrease of more than 21 percent for six sections in the lower bowl as part of a wider"rescaling" that will see almost every ticket increase in price next season.

What's worse, he said, is that he had already paid his deposit for next season.

"It's a business, and I know that," Strulson, of Aston, Pa., said yesterday. "I thinkeveryone understands that. But it's just unfortunate. We have a great fan experience. Wehave fun. They gave me no mention of an increase when I put my deposit down as an'early bird.' "

Even Comcast-Spectacor president and chief operating officer Peter Luukkoacknowledged that some of the increases, especially for fans in the lower bowl, may be"harsh."

"We're rescaling the house," Luukko told the Daily News. "Since the lockout [in 2004-05], we've increased ticket prices just 5 percent. And that's 5 percent as a total for the sixseasons, not 5 percent each year.

"The salary cap in the NHL has increased more than 50 percent over the 6 years. We're atop 5 market in the league and we've had the 15th or 16th average ticket price."

According to Team Marketing Report, the Flyers had an average ticket price for thisseason of $60.89, which is seventh in the NHL.

Strulson spent $79 per game per seat this season for tickets with a face value of $96. Nextseason, those tickets will increase to $96 for season ticketholders, with a face value closerto $115.

Suddenly, Strulson's season-ticket cost for two seats rocketed from $6,900 to $8,360 -with little notice or explanation. Luukko contends that the timing and manner ofnotification are standard practices.

"The Flyers know that they have a loyal fanbase, but it's simple economics," Strulsonsaid. "We're in a recession still. For a recreational expense, that's a number that's reallyhard to justify without hearing why."

The Flyers are one of many NHL teams with increasing ticket prices. In Pittsburgh,where the Penguins opened the new Consol Energy Center this season, fans saw a similar20 percent spike in prices.

In New York, where $850 million is being spent on renovations for Madison SquareGarden, 32 seats will increase 198 percent for next season. Prices for the next 11 percentof seats closest to the ice will be raised 50 percent and the remaining 11,789 seats willincrease 10 percent or less.

"It's something that we thought long and hard about," Luukko said. "With the rescaling,some fans may have to move over a section or two to stay at their current price point, butthey won't be priced out of the lower bowl."

That's partially true. Previously, every ticket in the lower bowl - regardless of section orrow, with the exception of the first row against the glass and those in the Cadillac Grille -was just $79 for season ticketholders.

Next season, just two of the sections in the lower bowl will feature the same $79 pricepoint. Those that are not increasing to $96 - or $193 for the first row or $102 for theCadillac Grille - will bump to either $85 or $89.

That's still an 8.8 percent increase or 12.6 percent increase for most seats.

In addition, the Flyers are starting a new price point for each row in the upper deck. Eachrow will have a different price, ranging from $65 in the first row to $37 in Row 15.

"Yes, we increased prices, but we're allowing fans more flexibility," Luukko explained."Rather than one price, we're changing things around, but we're not pricing anyone out ofthe building. They just may need to change a section or a row."

Luukko said the Flyers examined prices in the secondary market on websites such asStubHub and Razorgator to determine their pricing.

"For those that were increased 22 percent, those seats are in higher demand thananywhere else in the building," Luukko said. "People fill those seats no matter the game.We think the new price is reasonable compared to the marketplace."

Since Comcast-Spectacor owns both the Flyers and Sixers, Luukko said the Sixers willnot be raising ticket prices for next season. Still, some wonder if the Flyers' record profitsfrom last season, according to Forbes magazine - and increases for next season - helpstomach money losses by the Sixers.

On the ice, the Flyers have been competitive. After last season's thrilling run to theStanley Cup finals, the Flyers have held down the top spot in the Eastern Conferencesince Jan. 4. Off the ice, Forbes said their franchise value increased from $273 million to$301 over the last calendar year.

So, why the hike?

"It's tough," Luukko said. "You can see the renovations that we've made to the arena.We're a team that goes after it every year. It's something that we need to do to keep upand be competitive."

That doesn't make it any easier for Strulson, a self-described "upper-middle class, hard-working fan," to swallow.

"If they're trying to make up for increasing just 5 percent over the last 5 years, I wish theywould have just done it 5 percent each year and told us in advance," Strulson said. "Thatwould've been much more palatable.

"I feel like I'm being taken for a ride. I love the team. But they're acting like a team that'swon the last 12 Stanley Cups."

7. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers fall again to top tier team, lose to Bruins

Tim Panaccio

Perhaps the most telling stretch of games in the Flyers season ended with a thud Sundaynight at Wells Fargo Center against the Boston Bruins.

Three games against top-notch Eastern Conference contender -- Washington, Pittsburghand Boston, all in South Philly.

Peter Laviolette’s players predicted a week ago that these games would provide someinsight into this Flyers club, which has been inconsistent night-to-night during the secondhalf of the season.

So what we did learn after two shootout losses plus Sunday’s partly lethargic 2-1 loss tothe Bruins, in which too many players didn’t elevate their game?

“Average,” Kimmo Timonen said, adding that the Flyers could “work harder” than theyhave.

The road to the Stanley Cup Final is looking a lot harder than it did back in mid-January.Although the Flyers still hold the top seed, the “reality” gap between themselves andothers is much closer than we suspected.

Timonen said the “concern” level in the dressing room needs to ramp up “soon.”

“We only got seven games left and we can’t go into the playoffs playing up and downhockey,” Timonen said. “It’s not gonna work. They were a better team. They had moreenergy. They deserved two points.

“It’s an individual thing. If you’re not prepared to play, it’s hard to ramp it up. It’s one ofthose things. You got to come to the rink and be ready to play. I’m saying we played badbut we could have done a better job.”

Had the Flyers duplicated the effort they showed against Washington, they would havetoppled the Bruins.

“Oh, big time,” Timonen agreed. “The Washington game was the kind of game we’d liketo play every night. It shows we can play that game when everybody is on the same pageand really play well. We’re looking for that game again.”

Overall, the Flyers collected just two points against The Other Three. Shootouts can goeither way, yet the fact remains, Laviolette expected much more from this group.

He said the Washington loss established “the identity” this team needs every night.

“We were not up to that [tonight],” he said. “Some lines generated. Mike’s [Richards]line probably generated the most. But as a group, we need to go over the boards andconsistently bring it, line after line in the attack.

“Because that [is] missing, the game’s got to be played somewhere else and its beingplayed in our end.”

Boston has been the best team in the East in the third period this season, outscoringopponents, 89-51, coming into the game. It was a 1-1 affair going into the final period, sothose numbers didn’t bode well.

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas had two huge stops on Jeff Carter to open the third. Those twoshots were quality.

And that’s just it. The Flyers had only 28 shots and not enough quality scoring chances.When things were going good in January, scoring chances came in bunches. Now, they’reminutes or periods apart. It’s happening every game.

“Yeah, and that is when we start turning pucks over is when we don’t get those scoringchances,” said Richards, who alternated between being terse and cooperative inanswering questions, while also mumbling under his breath about “same questions.”

“We are chipping pucks in and being physical and that is what gets us in trouble, too. Wecan be so aggressive and so physical that it seems like it is so unstoppable, but we startturning pucks over and are not playing the body.

“It is pretty easy when you come off the ice and play in the red zone for a while. It issomething that we have talked about but it is obviously something we need to put morework into.”

A high-sticking call against Richards gave the Bruins a late power play. Rookie BradMarchand made the Flyers pay with a rebound in the crease for the eventual game-winner.

Scoring chances aside, the Flyers were careless with the puck in this one, trying blindpasses that ended up as turnovers. They had a season-high 20 giveaways.

“Number one, you got to make them come to you on your feet and you can’t turn thepuck over in the neutral zone,” Bruins winger Mark Recchi said.

“You can’t turn the puck over against them or they will kill you, our neutral zone playwas good, we had good gap control and good tempo. We know they’re a good team andwe can’t afford to make many mistakes against them or it will cost you.”

These losses are costing the Flyers. Pittsburgh moved to within two points of them in theAtlantic Division with a 2-1 shootout victory over Florida earlier Sunday.

The Flyers and Pens meet Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

“I don’t think we had the 60-minute effort we needed,” Kris Versteeg said. “We have gotto find it. I think it comes from within, and we have a lot of character in this room. It’s

not like we don’t try to play 60 minutes. We just have to go out there and get ready forthe next game.”

Versteeg had the lone Flyer goal at 4 minutes, 45 seconds of the opening period. Heredirected Richards’ half-pass, half-shot on Thomas for his 6th goal as a Flyer and 20thoverall of the season.

The Flyers now have six players with 20 or more goals.

“It was a great play by Richie,” Versteeg said. “I didn't think he saw me when he reallydid. He set me up and it was a great play.”

Brian Boucher, who played well with 34 saves, had 10 that period alone. Four werequality stops on Patrice Bergeron and Shawn Thornton.

Thomas robbed Flyer defenseman Andrej Meszaros in the crease to start the secondperiod and then the Bruins went on the power play and scored quickly to tie the game.

Tomas Kaberle’s point shot hit Boucher in the paddle and the puck caromed onto NateHorton’s stick with Boucher moving the opposite way, not expecting the rebound to gowhere it did.

“I mean the first period we played was pretty good,” Meszaros said. “We had somepassion. We had some energy. In the second, I don’t know, it just disappeared for somereason. They were better. They did everything better than us … We just need moreenergy, passion, and more battling out there…”

Boston hammered the Flyers on the faceoff through two periods, winning 62 percent ofthe draws.

Obviously, the Bruins are not the Islanders, who the Flyers beat up on Saturday, 4-1.

“Hopefully, the last seven games we can find that consistency and build on it,” Timonensaid. “The last few games we haven’t been able to do that. Hopefully, we can regroup inPittsburgh.”

They’re running out of time.

8. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers to raise and restructure ticket prices

Tim Panaccio

Flyer season ticket holders will begin receiving new invoices this week that reflect anentirely new price structure throughout Wells Fargo Center for 2011-12.

And a ticket increase, as well.

The objective, according to Shawn Tilger, Flyers’ senior vice-president of businessoperations, was to restructure prices depending on view, seating, overall location andother factors including inequities within seating, plus market demand for specific tickets.

In terms of inequities, for instance, a fan at the very top row near the blue line is currentlypaying the same amount as a fan in row three center ice. That is no longer the case.

“We are rescaling the arena so that our revenues are more in line with other top teams inthe National Hockey League,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “Thisrescaling still allows us the opportunity to provide affordable pricing options for ourfans.”

Tilger said the Flyers marketing and sales department researched this for eight monthsusing statistics from the NHL, in-house and outside sales, secondary market research(StubHub, eBay etc.), plus input from a fans’ advisory board on what they felt were thebest locations in the arena.

The Flyers also looked to see what tickets in the arena were and weren’t moving on re-sale and what prices people were willing to pay for specific tickets in certain parts of thearena.

The average season ticket will increase $6 per ticket or $260 overall in the full seasonpackage. The top seats currently at center ice cost a season ticket holder $79 (discounted).That price will increase to $95.

Tilger said the price increase was spurred, in part, by the dramatic rise in the salary capfrom $39 million in 2005-06 to nearly $60 million this season.

Tilger pointed out that ticket prices here have risen 5 percent in eight years, while thesalary cap has increased 52 percent.

The ticket increase amounts to an average 8-10 percent. However, the lower bowl is nowrestructured into six different price ranges. For instance, those seats behind the south netwhere the Flyers shoot twice a game will cost more than the seats at the north end wherethe team shoots once.

The seats directly in the middle of the ice will cost more than those near the corners.

The upper mezzanine will also change. There will be 15 different prices for all 15 rows.The farther back you are, the less you pay.

Current season ticket holders will be offered a chance to move to cheaper seats if theyprefer.

“We’re encouraging our season ticket holders to call our customer service departmentbecause they’re going to have questions about this and we’ll be happy to clarify it,”Tilger said. “Any issue they raise with us we’ll address with them.”

The Flyers last raised ticket prices three years ago. The new invoices went out in the maillast Friday.

9. Delaware County Times- Flyers' slumping offense dooms them again

Anthony San Filippo

The Flyers built their lead atop the Eastern Conference by playing a theoretically simplebrand of offensive hockey that has been proven to work in every era of the sport.

Get the puck deep in the offensive zone, apply relentless pressure, force the other team tomake mistakes and capitalize on the opportunities.

The explanation makes it sound uncomplicated. The practice though, requires so muchmore. It calls for a commitment to the physical end of the sport. It requires adetermination to keep driving, keep striving, keep grinding.

In short, it means you have to work your tail off, but the rewards are definitely plentifulwhen you do.

For some time now though, the Flyers have chosen to try a different tact. One centered onthe complexity of on-ice creativity. One that looks pretty with all the dipsy-doing, butfinishes with little in the way of execution.

If they wanted to get points for style and creativity on the ice, they should have taken upfigure skating.

Instead, another woebegone offensive effort begat another loss – this time 2-1 to theBoston Bruins at Wells Fargo Center Sunday.

Sometimes statistics don’t tell the whole story of a hockey game, but one nearlyscreamed itself off the page. The Flyers turned the puck over 20 times against the Bruins– a season high.

Not a number that is usually looked at in hockey as much as it is in basketball or football,it certainly becomes prominent when the final total is almost 150 percent higher than theteam’s average per game (8.1).

A guy like Kris Versteeg, who scored the lone Flyers goal in the loss, will chalk that upto skill guys being skill guys.

“I think when you have a lot of skill on the team those are the things you try,” he said.“That’s what makes the guys on this team good, the way they can make plays withouteven knowing the guy is there. At times, maybe you have to take care of the puck a littlemore. When you have skilled guys they are going to make plays whether it’s blind or aplay that they can see.”

OK, but that’s not quite how the coach sees it.

“We had opportunities in the offensive zone or on breakouts and we took the puck andwe whipped it,” Peter Laviolette said. “We just kind of threw it and hoped withoutputting in the grind or the work. We put the puck in areas where we didn’t check to see ifthey were safe or not.

“I would think that’s a fair assessment (that the players are taking the easy way) and wedo have a plan, an attack to that chaos in the offensive zone. When we were on our game,we were humming in the offensive zone, the defense was hammering, the forwards werecutting back, there were lots of opportunities, second opportunities, second efforts on thepucks. … We’ve lost that.”

It’s not like this is something new for the Flyers. They’ve been off the reservationoffensively for about a month, a stretch of games that has seen them lose nine of 14 (5-5-4).

“Our offensive zone time is our identity. It’s the staple of our system. That grind, thatattack. … it’s a lot of work,” Laviolette said. “Our opportunities have been low for awhile now, for quite a few games except the Washington game.”

And when they’re not generating chances, they are making life even more difficult onthemselves, because they are giving the opposition a head start in the other direction.

“That is when we start turning pucks over — when we don’t get those scoring chances,”said Mike Richards, who took a penalty at 15:33 of the third period that led to the game-winning goal for Boston by Brad Marchand. “We are chipping pucks in and beingphysical but that gets us in trouble, too. We can be so aggressive and so physical that itseems like it is so unstoppable but we start turning pucks over and are not playing thebody. It is pretty easy when you come off the ice and play in the red zone for a while. It issomething that we have talked about but it is obviously something we need to put morework into.”

And they better do it quick. The Flyers (45-20-10, 100 points) have a slim two-point leadon the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic Division, and the two will square off inPittsburgh Tuesday.

“We have only seven games left, and we can’t go into the playoffs playing up and downhockey,” Kimmo Timonen said. “It’s not going to work. For example, (Sunday) I thinkthey were a better team. They had more energy, and they deserved two points … (But) I

still think we can play better. It was a tight game. We had some chances, and they hadsome chances, but overall I think we could have done a better job.”

10. Delaware County Times- Flyers paying price for playoff fitness

Anthony San Filippo

The month of March has been all about pushing the envelope for the Flyers conditioning-wise.

Coach Peter Laviolette has made his feelings about the Flyers conditioning this monthquite public. He repeatedly has said he wants to make sure his team is ready to go in theplayoffs. He’s been pushing them physically by ramping up minutes for certain playersand giving them a more difficult off-ice program consisting of a lot of stationary biking.

The idea is to feed the beast so that the players are more prepared for the intensepostseason grind than anyone else.

While the Flyers have been committed to a more intense program, it has had an effect onthe team’s production, which is being masked as the team’s “struggles” lately.

“Our conditioning is good,” Laviolette said. “The games that we’ve had some problemswere not conditioning. It’s been fatigue more than anything else.”

Those tired legs can be linked to the increased workload, bringing an off-again, on-againgame.

The inconsistent play hasn’t greatly affected the Flyers, who still are in control of theirspot at the top of the Eastern Conference after a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at the WellsFargo Center Sunday – their first regulation loss in the last 10 games.

But it certainly is making for a lot of tension as the team careens toward the playoffs notfiring on all cylinders.

There are a series of players who are feeling the ill effects of all the extra work.

n Captain Mike Richards has just three goals in 17 games since suffering from the flu inCarolina in mid-February.

n Scott Hartnell has just three goals and seven assists in his last 26 games and s ia minus-6 in that span.

n Ville Leino has four goals and seven assists in his last 22 games, and three of the goalscame in a one-game outburst.

“Some nights you just don’t have your legs,” Richards said following the Flyers loss toPittsburgh last week. “We can’t use that as an excuse. We have to find a way and will itthrough the game. I thought we could (do) a better job than that and played morephysical.”

The Flyers will turn over the last of the four retired number banners that used to hangfrom the Spectrum when they pay tribute to Bill Barber prior to Thursday’s game againstAtlanta.

Barber, now a scouting consultant for the team, was one of only two Flyers to play hisentire career of 12 years or more with the franchise along with Bob Clarke.

A Hockey Hall-of-Famer, Barber later coached the Philadelphia Phantoms to the CalderCup Championship in 1998 and won the Jack Adams award as the NHL coach of the yearin 2000-01 with the Flyers.

“It’s quite an honor,” Barber said. “It’s good to get back. I’m excited for the evening. Ihad the opportunity to get back here to see Bernie’s (Parent) night, and I viewed (BobClarke’s) on video. So I have the grandkids coming in, which I think will be a thrill forthem and a bigger thrill for me. They are six and eight years old now, so I think that theyhave an idea of what’s going on.”

With Sunday being the final visit by the Bruins to Philadelphia this season, it could alsohave possibly been the final game for Mark Recchi in Philadelphia.

Recchi’s 22-year career is expected to come to an end upon completion of the Bruinsseason, and he is a surefire Hall-of-Famer who spent more time in Philadelphia thananywhere else.

Recchi has played 1,646 games through Sunday, which is the fifth most all-time behindGordie Howe, Mark Messier, Ron Francis and Chris Chelios.

11. Bucks County Courier-Times- Another frustrating defeat for Flyers

Wayne Fish

They might be on top of the conference standings, but the Flyers this week were made tolook like paper tigers by Washington, Pittsburgh and now Boston.

With a chance to make a statement against their closest pursuers, the Flyers laid an eggthree times, culminating with Sunday night's 2-1 loss to the Bruins.

Although the Flyers have been finding ways to generate points - particularly with severalshootout losses - clearly there's something wrong when it comes to playing the big boys.

Too many turnovers (a season-high 20 vs. Boston), an excess of blind passes and notenough cohesiveness between the forwards and defensemen.

Plus, a lack of scoring chances.

"I would agree with that," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Offensive-zone time is the stapleof our identity, that grind and that attack. It's a lot of work, a lot of movement and a lot ofopportunities fighting at the net.

"Our opportunities have been low, for a while now."

The Flyers have been too loose with the puck.

"No question," Laviolette said. "We had opportunities in the offensive zone, on breakoutsand we took the puck and we whipped it. We just kind of threw it and kind of hopedrather than doing the work . . . we put the puck in areas that we didn't check to see if theywere safe."

The winning goal came on a Boston power play, courtesy of Mike Richards' high-sticking infraction against Tomas Kaberle, who embellished the contact a bit.

Richards, clearly frustrated by the unintentional hit, took out his frustration after thegame by commenting on the validity of media questions.

"I don't think I hit him that hard," he said. "A stick in the face still hurts but, yeah, tough."

The captain implied the three games against leading contenders were there for the taking.Each was a one-goal loss, with the outcome going down to the wire.

"They were right there and we just didn't find ways to win them," Richards said. "It's justlittle things that we need to correct. Keep the foot on the gas. It's correctible."

But Kimmo Timonen says there's still a lot of work to do.

"We have only seven games left," Timonen said. "You can't go into the playoffs playingup and down hockey. It's not going to work. For example, tonight, they were the betterteam. They deserved two points.

"We could have done a better job. I think it's an individual thing. You have to come to therink ready to play. Hopefully in these last seven games we can find some consistency."

After the Richards penalty, when Brian Boucher couldn't control the rebound of a DennisSeidenberg point shot, Brad Marchand was in position to swat in the rebound with 3:43 toplay.

After a one-game respite in New York on Saturday night, it was back to fingernail-bitingtime again against the Bruins.

An early Flyers goal by Kris Versteeg was countered by a Boston power-play goal fromNathan Horton in the second period.

Then it settled down to a tight defensive battle, similar to Thursday night's skirmish withPittsburgh.

Versteeg opened the scoring at 4:45 of the first. Richards got control in the high slot,faked a shot and found Versteeg wide open on his left flank for a slam dunk past TimThomas.

Horton responded for Boston at 7:40 of the second. Just four seconds into a penalty toBlair Betts for jacking up Chris Kelly, Horton popped in a rebound past Boucher.

The Flyers have been trying too many risky plays, especially at home, where thetemptation to impress the home following is great.

"I think when you have a lot of skill on the team those are the things you try," Versteegsaid. "That's what makes the guys on this team good, the way they can make playswithout even knowing the guy is there.

"At times, maybe you have to take care of the puck a little more. When you have skilledguys they are going to make plays whether it's blind or a play that they can see. It's notreally something there, but about playing 60 minutes.

12. Bucks County Courier-Times- Barber set for day in spotlight

Wayne Fish

Fred Shero was right when he predicted the Flyers would walk together forever if theywon on that warm May afternoon in 1974.

Just ask Bill Barber.

One of only three Flyers players in the Hall of Fame, Barber's life changed when his teamwon its first Stanley Cup. And to this day, he continues to walk with those formerteammates in a life centered around a home in Philadelphia and a scouting job with theFlyers.

"What a great thing (Shero's message) to have put up in front of us," Barber said Sundaynight during a press briefing to discuss the presentation of his retired No. 7 banner fromthe now-gone Spectrum that he will receive before Thursday night's game againstAtlanta.

"I don't think we realized we had a game to play. But we found out, as time goes by, howtrue that statement really is. I'm very fortunate to have the teammates that I played with.And I still feel a strong friendship to everyone of them."

That connection carried over to the fans and the hockey community in the tri-state area.Barber remains one of the most popular players in team history, even though he didn'tgarner the headlines of a Bobby Clarke or the awards of a Bernie Parent.

He just put together a solid 13-year career that was cut short by a knee injury but stillresulted in the highest goal total (420) in team history.

When it was over, Barber and Clarke remain the only two players in franchise history tohave played at least a dozen years and their entire careers in Philadelphia.

"We had some fun characters and a lot of great times," Barber said of the rambunctiousBroad Street Bullies, who upset Boston in '74 and thumped the Buffalo Sabres for asecond Cup in '75. "Having a statement like that, that Fred put up there for us, I think weall realized in a short period of time, even after we won the second Cup, the guys wantedto make their lives there in Philly.

"I know I did. I'm not just speaking on my behalf. I'm speaking about the teams that won.I think winning is a success thing. When you are in an area where you win, you reallydon't want to leave that. I think that's been the case here."

This is the final ceremony for the Spectrum banners. Previous presentations were made tothe family of the late Barry Ashbee, along with Parent and Clarke.

Barber predicts it will be an emotional night.

"I am very honored and thrilled," he said. "I can't thank the Flyers enough for where I amtoday and being part of it. I have always been proud to have a longevity of being part ofthem there for 30 straight years and not having to change teams as a player, which I tooka lot of pride in.

"I believe in honor and all of the good things that go along with staying with one team. Iwas very privileged to be drafted in '72 and come in to Philly and spend my career here.It's been great."

Barber's two grandchildren, who live with their parents in Kansas City, will be on the icewith grandpa for the ceremony.

"I think it will be a big thrill for them," Barber said, "and a bigger thrill for me."

13. Camden Courier-Post- Bruins net late goal, steal win

Chuck Gormley

It would be accurate to say Mike Richards' high stick to the chin of Tomas Kaberle late inthe third period directly led to the Flyers' 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins Sunday night infront of a sellout crowd of 19,927 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

Just 44 seconds after Richards went to the box, Brad Marchant tapped a DennisSeidenberg rebound past Brian Boucher for the game-winning goal with 3:43 remaining.

The regulation loss snapped a points streak of nine games (5-0-4) and marked the Flyers'first game without a point since their 7-0 shellacking in New York on March 6.

But if you want to dig deeper into the defeat, one statistic will tell you why Flyers fansshould be concerned with seven games remaining in the regular season.

The Flyers committed a season-high 20 turnovers against the Bruins, including a team-high four by Claude Giroux. He was not alone. Thirteen different Flyers gave the puckaway in their loss to the Bruins.

Compare that to the season average of eight giveaways a game and you have a red flag,right?

"We had opportunities in the offensive zone and we took the puck and we whipped it,"Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We just kind of threw it and we were hoping, asopposed to going through that grind and that work."

Flyers right wing Kris Versteeg, who gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead on a nice pass fromRichards 4:45 into the game, didn't necessarily agree.

"I think when you have a lot of skill on a team those are things you try," said Versteeg,who was credited with one giveaway but had at least three blatant turnovers in the game."That's what makes a lot of players on this team good, the way they can make playswithout even knowing a guy's there.

"At times, maybe you've got to take care of the puck a little more, but if you watch skillguys throughout the league, they're going to make plays, whether they are blind or a playthey can see."

You can bet Laviolette will make sure his players understand the difference betweenbeing creative and risky today when they meet at the Wells Fargo Center for a teamphoto.

The Flyers still lead the Eastern Conference with 100 points, two ahead of theWashington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers hold one game in hand on bothteams and will play the Penguins for the final time this season on Tuesday night inPittsburgh.

If the Flyers can hold onto the conference lead, they are likely to face the Buffalo Sabresor New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs. If they lose the lead, they'llfall to fourth in the conference and face the fifth-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I don't want to be too negative about it," Boucher said. "Here we are with a hundredpoints and sitting first in the conference. We've done some good things and it's no time tostart jumping ship. But at the same time, I think we can play better and hopefully we canget that going in these last seven games."

The Flyers were locked in a defensive 1-1 battle with the Bruins Sunday night untilRichards got his stick up on Kaberle, who grabbed his chin in pain and drew a penalty.

"I don't think I hit him that hard," Richards said. "But I guess a stick in the face hurts."

"Mike's battling for position there and that's one of those things you can't control,"Laviolette said.

14. Camden Courier-Post- Barber says, 'It's time'

Chuck Gormley

With all due respect for the Stanley Cup teams he played on more than 35 years ago, BillBarber has four words of advice for today's Flyers and their fans.

Win now.

Move on.

"It's time," said Barber, whose No. 7 will be re-retired on Bill Barber Banner Nightbefore Thursday's game against the Atlanta Thrashers at the Wells Fargo Center."They've honored us enough. It's time for another team to win and get the adulation. Ihope this team does it."

Earlier this season, Flyers legend Bob Clarke shared a very similar sentiment when hewas given the No. 16 banner that hung from the rafters of the Spectrum, which is now apile of rubble. Clarke did not prepare a speech for that night, opting instead to wave tothe crowd with his grandson, Peter White, Jr., at his side.

Barber, 58, will take a similar tact on Thursday. He said he'll share the ice with his twograndsons, Connor, 8, and Cameron, 6, and does not plan on giving a speech. Hisdaughter, Kerrie, and son, Brooks, will watch from the stands.

"I was very honored and thrilled to have my number retired, but if I was a young kidcoming in and I liked seven, I would like him to wear it," Barber said.

"I was very fortunate. I was taken seventh overall in the draft, and I got number seven. Itjust seemed to work out for some unknown reason. I'm very honored that it's hangingthere and recognized, but again it goes back to your teammates. I'm not a lone soldier outthere; there's no white horse getting this done. It's about the team, always has been."

Now a scouting consultant with the Flyers, Barber still holds the club regular seasoncareer scoring record with 420 goals. He is tied for the lead for career playoff goals withRick MacLeish with 53 playoff goals.

He and Clarke are the only two players in club history to play 12 or more consecutiveseasons with the Flyers without playing for another NHL organization.

On Sept. 25, 2010, Barber's hometown of Callander, Ontario opened the Bill BarberSports Complex in his honor.

Despite some reluctance, Barber said he is honored by what he hopes will be his final on-ice recognition by the Flyers.

"I am very honored and thrilled," he said. "I can't thank the Flyers enough for where I amtoday and being part of it."

Sid-less Pens

The Flyers will have their annual team photo today at the Wells Fargo Center, then headto Pittsburgh for Tuesday night's game against the Penguins.

The Pens will be without captain Sidney Crosby, but it appears the 25-year-old centerwill begin practicing with his team before the end of this week. Crosby has been sidelinedsince Jan. 5 with a concussion but has been working out hard on his own and skated for45 minutes on Sunday.

15. Philadelphiaflyers.com- Looking for O

Joe Siville

The Flyers are looking for more offense. In their loss tonight at the hands of the Bruins,the offense managed just one goal. It wasn’t for lack of effort or even quality scoringchances it was more about puck possession.

“I would definitely agree with that. Our offensive zone time, really is, I think, the stapleof our identity,” said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette when asked if the offense hasbeen getting shots in bunches. “That grind and that attack… it’s a lot of work, a lot ofmovement, a lot of opportunities at the net, fighting for second opportunities, fighting forspace in the tough areas. Our opportunities I think have been low for a while now,probably a few games, except for the one [Washington].”

The Flyers have allowed 30 or more shots in three consecutive games. They alsocommitted a season-high 20 giveaways. Who really knows if it is a trend lately, or if itjust happens to be the Bruins themselves. Their previous season high was 18, also athome against Boston, on Dec. 1.

“That is when we start turning pucks over is when we don’t get those scoring chances,”said Flyers captain Mike Richards. “We are chipping pucks in and being physical andthat is what gets us in trouble too. We can be so aggressive and so physical that it seemslike it is so unstoppable but we start turning pucks over and are not playing the body. It ispretty easy when you come off the ice and play in the red zone for a while. It issomething that we have talked about but it is obviously something we need to put morework into.”

In the month of March, the Flyers have recorded three goals or less in nine of their 13games thus far. Despite the erratic play as of late, the Flyers maintain their Top 5 positionin the NHL for goals-scored per game at 3.13 (posting 235 goals over 75 games).

It’s hard to call the Flyers play a slump considering that tonight was the first game sinceMar. 6 vs. Rangers that the team failed to gain at least one point in the standings.Previously they had gone 4-0-4, earning 12 out of a possible 16 points in that span, withtheir most recent game against Washington standing out as the most complete game theyhave played despite the loss.

“You know it was one of our better games in a while and that’s the type of game we’relooking to play and the identity of the game we’re looking to play,” said Laviolette. “Ithink some lines generated, Mike’s line probably generated the most tonight, but as agroup we need to go over the boards and consistently bring it line after line in the attack.Because of that missing in our game, the game’s gotta be played somewhere else, and it’sbeing played in our end.”

However the inconsistent play and bad habits the players and coaching see with theteam’s play over the last few weeks can’t be cured overnight. It needs to be a work inprogress, but the progress needs to happen fairly quickly with just seven games remainingin the regular season.

“Hopefully soon,” said Kimmo Timonen. “We can’t go into the playoffs playing up anddown hockey. It’s not going to work. For example, tonight I think they were a betterteam. They had more energy, and they deserved two points. Back to back games, wetraveled last night, it’s one of those things that’s hard, but we can’t use that excuse. I stillthink we can play better. It was a tight game. Overall I think we could have done abetter job.”

The Flyers face another tough test on Tuesday when they travel across the keystone stateto take on their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are right on the Flyers heals with 98points in the standings, two behind the Flyers.

16. Philadelphiaflyers.com- Bruins 2, Flyers 1

Associated Press

Brad Marchand picked a perfect time to snap his scoring slump.

Marchand's power-play goal with 3:43 left in regulation lifted the Boston Bruins to a 2-1victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.

Nathan Horton also scored to help the Northeast Division-leading Bruins clinch a playoffspot. Marchand's goal was his 20th and first in 13 games.

"There's been pressure on him to get the 20th and a great way to get it is a game winner,"said Mark Recchi, who assisted on the goal.

The Eastern Conference-leading Flyers had been unbeaten in regulation in their previousnine games. They are two points ahead of Washington and Pittsburgh for the top spot.

Kris Versteeg scored for Philadelphia.

The two teams could be headed for a playoff rematch. Last spring, the Flyers become thethird NHL team in history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit when they beat the Bruins toadvance to the conference finals.

"It's going to be very interesting," Marchand said. "Every game determines who we'regoing to play. It's going to be exciting watching every game because it could determinethe outcome of where we're at in the playoffs."

With Flyers captain Mike Richards in the penalty box for high-sticking, Marchandstuffed a rebound off a slap shot by Dennis Seidenberg past Brian Boucher.

"We were patient and disciplined," said Tim Thomas, who made 27 saves for the Bruins."They took the penalty at the end and we capitalized."

Versteeg opened the scoring early in the first with his 20th goal. His one-timer from theside of the net off a pass from Richards beat Thomas to the stickside.

But the Flyers, coming off a 4-1 win at the New York Islanders on Saturday night, lookedsluggish the rest of the way.

"First period, we had some passions, some energy," defenseman Andrej Meszaros said."Then it disappeared for some reason. They did everything better than us."

The Bruins tied it on Horton's 23rd goal in the second. Just 4 seconds into a power play,Horton put in a rebound off a slap shot from the point by Tomas Kaberle.

Thomas went down to his knees to block a point-blank shot by Jeff Carter early in thethird to keep it tied.

The Flyers went 0-1-2 against the Bruins, Capitals and Penguins in the past week.

"It's just little things we need to correct," Richards said. "We need to be more consistent."

Boston is four points out of second place in the East.

"We're focused on where we are and not where we're going to be," Recchi said. "We'repretty confident we're not going to slip past third. We just want to be playing our besthockey full speed ahead."

NOTES: The Bruins are 7-0-1 in Philadelphia since March 10, 2007. ... The Flyers are13-6-5 without D Chris Pronger this season. He's sidelined by a hand injury. ... TheBruins are 3-0-1 against the Flyers this season. They're one of only two teams with awinning overall record (90-56-27) against the Flyers. Montreal is the other. ... Thomas is10-2-2 against Philadelphia.

Boston Bruins Articles (FLYERS Last Opponent)

1. Boston Globe- Bruins fly into the postseason

Fluto Shinzawa

PHILADELPHIA — Tomas Kaberle had two assists last night. One that counted on thescoresheet. A second that didn’t register as a point, but left a mark on his neck.

At 15:33 of the third period, Mike Richards swiped Kaberle across the neck with a highstick. On the following power play, Brad Marchand scored the deciding goal in a 2-1 winover the first-place Flyers before 19,927 fans at Wells Fargo Center.

“We used two power plays, which is good for us,’’ said Kaberle, who assisted on NathanHorton’s second-period man-advantage strike. “Lately, we’ve been a lot better at movingthe puck on the PP. We’re getting rewarded right now.’’

With the win, the third-place Bruins clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season.They are now 7 points ahead of sixth-place Montreal.

“It’s nice with some games left, not just the last game or two in the season, to know thatyou’re in the playoffs,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “Right now, the challenge is we can’tget comfortable. You’ve got to build momentum heading into the playoffs and showsome consistency in our game so we can be consistent in the playoffs.’’

On the winning goal, Mark Recchi got the puck to Dennis Seidenberg at the right point.As Seidenberg walked the blue line and carried the puck into the middle, the defenseman

made eye contact with Marchand, who had been drifting down low in the right corner.Marchand knew then that Seidenberg was going to shoot.

As Seidenberg let his shot fly, Marchand darted into the slot. Brian Boucher stoppedSeidenberg’s shot, but the puck hopped into the air and bounced off Marchand’s chest.He shook off a Kimmo Timonen check and jammed the puck past Boucher at 16:17 forhis 20th goal.

Before the season, the brassy Marchand had informed Julien that he would break the 20-goal mark. Marchand’s goal-scoring progress, however, had stalled. His last goal cameagainst Calgary Feb. 22. Marchand had gone 12 games since without a goal. He wassuspended for two more.

So when his third-period shot hit the back of the Philadelphia net, there was not justsatisfaction, but relief.

“It was nice to get it out of the way,’’ Marchand said of his 20th strike. “It was on mymind the last little while. A little bit of a scoring drought. It was nice to get one,especially at a key time of the game. It was nice. But as long as we’re winning, it doesn’tmatter.’’

More than two months had elapsed since the Bruins recorded two power-play tucks in thesame game. The last time they turned the trick was Jan. 18, when they scored two power-play goals in a 3-2 road win over Carolina.

Since then, the Bruins had fumbled their way through a one-up slump. They went througha 1-for-31 downturn. They even tried three power-play units compared with the standardtwo.

Last night, they were successful on two of their PP chances. In the second, withPhiladelphia holding a 1-0 lead, the Bruins needed all of four seconds to net a five-on-four goal.

At 7:36, Blair Betts clipped Chris Kelly in open ice. Betts was called for tripping. On thefollowing faceoff, David Krejci beat Richards clean and pulled the puck back to Kaberle.The knock on Kaberle — in Toronto as well as in Boston — is that he doesn’t shootenough. But when the puck came his way, Kaberle’s intention was clear: get the puck onBoucher.

“He got a clean faceoff, so it’s going to take a while before they get to me,’’ said Kaberle(three shots in 20:55 of ice time). “When we get chances to shoot, we’re always going totake it. We’ve got big bodies in front. It’s hard for goalies to stop or get to the rebounds.’’

Boucher got in front of Kaberle’s shot. But Horton, stationed in front, tapped home therebound at 7:40 to tie the game at 1 with his 23d goal.

Philadelphia scored its only goal early in the first when the Bruins didn’t have theirfreshest legs. Adam McQuaid took out James van Riemsdyk with a heavy hit behind theBoston net. But McQuaid’s backhand clearing attempt sailed weakly up the gut. Richardsintercepted the pass and spotted Kris Versteeg at the left circle. Versteeg went upstairs onTim Thomas at 4:45 to make it a 1-0 game.

But Thomas was otherwise perfect. He stopped 27 shots, foiling Versteeg on severalmore attempts.

“They’re allowing me to see a lot of the shots. Almost all of them,’’ Thomas said. “Ithink there was only once tonight when I felt I totally couldn’t see a shot that was beingtaken. We’re doing a lot of little things right. We’re forcing teams to take that shot just alittle bit earlier. They don’t have as much time to aim and pick that corner. Our backpressure is coming back to help the D. The D can keep the gap and feel confident instanding up.’’

2. Boston Globe- Bruins beat Flyers to clinch playoff spot

Rob Maaddi

PHILADELPHIA—Brad Marchand picked a perfect time to snap his scoring slump.

Marchand's power-play goal with 3:43 left in regulation lifted the Boston Bruins to a 2-1victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.

Nathan Horton also scored to help the Northeast Division-leading Bruins clinch a playoffspot. Marchand's goal was his 20th and first in 13 games.

"There's been pressure on him to get the 20th and a great way to get it is a game winner,"said Mark Recchi, who assisted on the goal.

The Eastern Conference-leading Flyers had been unbeaten in regulation in their previousnine games. They are two points ahead of Washington and Pittsburgh for the top spot.

Kris Versteeg scored for Philadelphia.

The two teams could be headed for a playoff rematch. Last spring, the Flyers become thethird NHL team in history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit when they beat the Bruins toadvance to the conference finals.

"It's going to be very interesting," Marchand said. "Every game determines who we'regoing to play. It's going to be exciting watching every game because it could determinethe outcome of where we're at in the playoffs."

With Flyers captain Mike Richards in the penalty box for high-sticking, Marchandstuffed a rebound off a slap shot by Dennis Seidenberg past Brian Boucher.

"We were patient and disciplined," said Tim Thomas, who made 27 saves for the Bruins."They took the penalty at the end and we capitalized."

Versteeg opened the scoring early in the first with his 20th goal. His one-timer from theside of the net off a pass from Richards beat Thomas to the stickside.

But the Flyers, coming off a 4-1 win at the New York Islanders on Saturday night, lookedsluggish the rest of the way.

"First period, we had some passions, some energy," defenseman Andrej Meszaros said."Then it disappeared for some reason. They did everything better than us."

The Bruins tied it on Horton's 23rd goal in the second. Just 4 seconds into a power play,Horton put in a rebound off a slap shot from the point by Tomas Kaberle.

Thomas went down to his knees to block a point-blank shot by Jeff Carter early in thethird to keep it tied.

The Flyers went 0-1-2 against the Bruins, Capitals and Penguins in the past week.

"It's just little things we need to correct," Richards said. "We need to be more consistent."

Boston is four points out of second place in the East.

"We're focused on where we are and not where we're going to be," Recchi said. "We'repretty confident we're not going to slip past third. We just want to be playing our besthockey full speed ahead."

NOTES: The Bruins are 7-0-1 in Philadelphia since March 10, 2007. ... The Flyers are13-6-5 without D Chris Pronger this season. He's sidelined by a hand injury. ... TheBruins are 3-0-1 against the Flyers this season. They're one of only two teams with awinning overall record (90-56-27) against the Flyers. Montreal is the other. ... Thomas is10-2-2 against Philadelphia.

3. Boston Herald- Bruins power into playoffs

Steve Conroy

PHILADELPHIA — On so many nights this season, the Bruins [team stats]’ power playhas let them down.

Last night, it got them into the playoffs.

The Bruins scored two power-play goals to beat the Flyers, 2-1, at the Wells FargoCenter to clinch a spot in the postseason and take the season series against the EasternConference-leading Flyers, 3-0-1.

Nathan Horton tied the game in the second period, then Brad Marchand got the winninggoal with 3:43 remaining in the third. After Mike Richards was sent off for high-stickingTomas Kaberle, Dennis Seidenberg took a point shot that Flyers goalie Brian Boucherstopped, but the rebound went right to Marchand, and the rookie popped home his 20thgoal of the season.

The B’s hadn’t scored more than one power-play goal in a game since Jan. 18.

“The power play is really coming along lately. We’ve been getting a lot of opportunitiesbut the pucks just haven’t been going in. It was great that (last night) it set up a couple ofbig goals,” said Marchand. “We have to build off that, get some confidence and continueit.”

Tim Thomas was excellent in backstopping the B’s to victory, turning away 27-of-28shots, including one on a breakaway by Kris Versteeg early in the second period whenthe Flyers were already up 1-0.

He has allowed a total of two goals in his last three starts and appears to be near or at theform that made him the Vezina Trophy favorite at midseason.

“Timmy’s been really good for us all year,” coach Claude Julien said. “He had a littletime there where he was good, not great. People expect him to be great every night andthat’s not realistic, and maybe (he was) a little bit tired. But Timmy’s never been bad forus. He’s always been good and, more so, great. Right now I think he’s feeling pretty goodabout his game, and so are we.”

Thomas had little chance on the only goal that he allowed 4:45 into the game. AfterAdam McQuaid separated James van Riemsdyk from the puck behind the Bruins net, thedefenseman made the mistake of poking it out into the slot. Richards swooped in and atfirst looked like he was going to blast a shot at the net, but instead he sent a perfect, one-time pass to Versteeg at the side of the net, and the former Bruins farmhand buried it.

That was one of the few mistakes the B’s would make, as they did a terrific job offrustrating the Flyers in the offensive zone and, at times, keeping them hemmed in theirown zone.

The Bruins got on the board in the second after Blair Betts tripped Chris Kelly at 7:36.Four seconds later, the score was tied after David Krejci won the draw back to Kaberle.The defenseman threw the puck toward the net and the rebound went right to Horton,who deposited it into an empty net for his 23th goal of the season.

It stayed that way until late in regulation when Marchand acted as a screen forSeidenberg’s shot, then collected the gritty goal.

“It’s nice to see us get the results that we want (on the power play), and it’s got tocontinue,” said Julien. “As we finish off the schedule here and go into the playoffs,you’re going to need those kind of goals.”

For Marchand, it was his first goal since Feb. 22.

“It was nice to kind of get it out of the way. It had been on my mind for the last littlewhile,” said Marchand. “I’d been in a scoring drought so it was nice to get one, especiallyat a key point in the game.”

With the goal, Marchand hit a plateau that he had brashly told Julien he could make backin training camp. Julien’s response then was along the lines of “Fine. Show me.”

“Well,” said Julien with a big smile last night, ‘I can’t call him a liar now.”

4. Boston Herald- Stuck in funk, Michael Ryder sits one out

Steve Conroy

PHILADELPHIA — When Michael Ryder notched a goal and an assist in Edmonton onFeb. 27, it appeared as though the Bruins streaky winger was ready to go on one of histears. Unfortunately for Ryder, it just hasn’t happened.

Since that game, Ryder has no goals and just two assists in 11 contests, not counting apair of healthy scratches — including last night’s 2-1 win over the Flyers.

Coach Claude Julien has been trying to get him going while at the same time notcompromising the success of the team. He’d been using Ryder with Patrice Bergeron andMark Recchi at times during games, but also switching him out with Brad Marchand onthe fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

In the 1-0 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, Ryder saw a season-low 9:40 of ice time, andlast night he was strictly a spectator.

Julien said that the root of Ryder’s problem right now is how he’s skating.

“Skating is a mindset, right? You have to go in there and make sure you’re winning yourbattles and winning your races. And he’s capable of doing that when he sets his mind toit,” said Julien. “On nights when Michael is playing well, he can be one of our betterplayers. When he’s not, it certainly takes away from our hockey club.”

Prior to the game, Ryder said he has to work his way through his struggles, as well as thefact that he doesn’t have a semi-permanent home on a line.

“You have to play your game. You can’t think about it too much about it,” Ryder said.“It’s the way it is right now. I’ve got to find ways to get myself into it, trying to staypositive.

“It’s tough sometimes to build chemistry. But for me, I just have to make sure I keep upmy speed and shoot as fast as I can. I just have to take what I can right now in terms ofice time.”

With Ryder out, Daniel Paille was back in on the fourth line, which created a lot ofenergy last night.

Savard troubles

An ESPN.com report on Saturday, quoting an unnamed source, stated that Bruins centerMarc Savard was suffering from “real memory problems and he’s quite worried about it,”as a result of the Jan. 22 concussion he suffered in Colorado. It was his secondconcussion in less than a year.

Communicating through e-mail, Savard’s agent, Larry Kelly, did not want to discussSavard’s condition at any length, but noted that the report was “not inaccurate.”

The Bruins shut down Savard for the season in February.

Super stop

Tim Thomas’ biggest save of the night came early in the second period when the Flyerswere up 1-0 and Kris Versteeg had a breakaway that Thomas stopped with his glove.

“A lot of teams like to put a guy behind the ‘D’ at times and blow the zone early. Weknow that they can do that and we got caught on that one,” said Thomas, who said histeammates have allowed him to see shots very well recently. “It happened so fast that Ididn’t have time to figure out if it was Versteeg or (Jeff) Carter.

“They both have right-handed black sticks and I actually thought it was Carter shootingon me, so I wasn’t going by the book on Versteeg. It just happened to work out. I read itwell and I was in the right place.”

Thomas’ performance earned him the Bruins windbreaker that the team has beenbestowing on its top players after wins. Andrew Ference picked it up recently on eBay,and it’s magnificent in its hideousness.

“This is the kind of jacket you would have worn in Flint, Mich., in the ’80s,” saidThomas, referring to his hometown.

Glad to be back

The B’s clinching a playoff spot was pretty much a formality, but not to Tomas Kaberle,who last appeared in the postseason in 2004 with Toronto.

“It’s just the start. It’s a long way and we know it. You have to take one game at a timeevery game, and even though we have seven games left, we have to keep performing,”the defenseman said. “We just have to get everything together now and we’ll see whathappens.”

5. BruinsBlog.net- Marchand makes March part of monumental season with biggoal

Matt Kalman

Considering the way he busted his way onto the Bruins’ opening-day roster and thenforced the Boston coaching staff to move him into a top-six role, you just knew thatsooner or later Brad Marchand would break through the wall that seemingly had beenbuilt between him and the 20-goal mark.

After all, he’s a hyper-active 22-year-old who on and off the ice always seems like he’sready to go through a wall.

The rambunctious, diminutive winger reached that impressive plateau tonight in dramaticfashion, as he ended his 12-game goal drought with a power-play score that lifted theBruins to a playoff-spot-clinching 2-1 victory at Philadelphia.

Marchand became the fourth Bruins player this season to reach 20 goals and the firstBoston rookie since Blake Wheeler two years ago to score that many.

It’s been an eventful rookie-year month of March for Marchand, who scored his 19thgoal Feb. 22 in Calgary and was starting to garner some Calder Trophy buzz for not justhis scoring but all-around play and penalty-killing.

He hadn’t scored since the turn of the calendar, however, and grabbed several headlineswith his elbow to R.J. Umberger’s head that earned a two-game suspension from theNHL. The month also featured him publicly characterizing the Montreal Canadiensplayers as divers and fakers, getting benched for an entire third period on Long Island forsome bad penalties and haphazard play, and skating a few shifts back with the fourth-lineteammates that helped him get his feet wet at the start of this season.

Just as there was a fear Marchand would tone down his game and be less of a physicalpresence after the suspension, there was also a possibility that Marchand would neverfind his scoring touch again and turn out to be a fluke. Once a 33-goal scorer in junior,Marchand scored just 18 goals in his one full season of American Hockey League play.His pro projections mostly figured him to a be a grinder and agitator with the hands to

contribute offensively here and there, not to be the prime threat he’s become with Bostonthis season.

Marchand, head coach Claude Julien and others in the Bruins’ dressing room admittedMarchand was pressing. When you’re serving as a sniper for the first time, it has to bedifficult to figure out one’s way out a sniper’s slump. Marchand solved the problem theway every Bruins player should attempt to break out of a funk and the way he has to getmost of his goals – by getting his nose dirty.

Taking advantage of the power-play time that used to belong to slumping Michael Ryder,Marchand carved out an area at the top of the crease and batted home a rebound of aDennis Seidenberg point shot. It was a goal more reflective of Marchand’s fourth-lineroots than his current status as the team’s fourth-leading goal-scorer. But now he has theweight of wanting to get to 20 off his shoulders and he can work on scoring some fancierones in the last couple weeks of this season.

As for Marchand’s edge, we know that hasn’t vacated his repertoire since the league ban.He had some folks up in arms for his high hit on Scott Gomez Thursday againstMontreal. Tonight against a Flyers team that plays a style perfect for Marchand to cause aruckus against, he tried to mix things up after Patrice Bergeron had to take a penalty tomake up for a Boston giveaway. Marchand might be a goal-scorer these days, but thatdoesn’t mean he’s going to shy away from coaxing an opponent into a power-playcanceling penalty.

Any rookie is going to endure some growing pains. Marchand has made the most of thecoaching he’s received, the lessons he’s learned and the ice time he’s been granted.Hopefully for him and the Bruins, reaching 20 goals is just another wall he had to breakthrough on the way to grander things this season and in his career.

Pittsburgh Penguins Articles (FLYERS Next Opponent)

1. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins win fourth game in a row, 2-1, againstPanthers

Shelly Anderson

The Penguins won for the fourth game in a row, 2-1, against the Florida Panthers thisafternoon at Consol Energy Center.

As with the previous three, this one was decided in a shootout. Alex Kovalev and JamesNeal scored in the shootout for the Penguins. The four shootout wins in a row is an NHLrecord. The shootout was introduced for the 2005-06 season.

The win moved the Penguins to within two points of Atlantic Division and EasternConference leader Philadelphia, pending the Flyers' game tonight against Boston.

The four consecutive shootout games ties a Penguins record.

There was no scoring in the first period, during which the Panthers outshot the Penguins,11-5.

Florida opened the scoring at 15:32 of the second period. Ryan Carter deflected a leftpoint shot by Alexander Sulzer past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to make it1-0.

That ended a personal shutout streak by Fleury of 150 minutes, 14 seconds, a Penguinsrecord. Jocelyn Thibault previously held the record at 136:13.

Ben Lovejoy tied it, 1-1, for the Penguins 2:17 later. He got the puck from Kovalev to theright of the crease, took his time and lifted it through the tiny triangle under Panthersgoaltender Tomas Vokoun's left arm and over his stick.

Kovalev's assist was his 350th assist in a Penguins uniform.

There was no scoring in the third period.

The Panthers, surprisingly, replaced Vokoun with Scott Clemmensen in goal for the startof overtime.

The Penguins will complete a three-game home stand Tuesday with an important gameagainst Philadelphia.

2. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins set NHL record by winning 4th consecutiveshootout

Dave Molinari

This is living dangerously, and the Penguins know it.

Frankly, it would be pretty tough not to.

Routinely having games stretch into overtime, let alone shootouts, is a high-risk way tooperate, because defeat -- and perhaps a less attractive playoff spot -- is never more thanone unfortunate bounce away.

That is how it is supposed to be, anyway, although it has been a while since any of thathas gotten past the theoretical stage for the Penguins.

Their 2-1 decision against Florida Sunday at Consol Energy Center was their fourthconsecutive shootout victory, an NHL record, and it followed what has become thestandard storyline.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was unbeatable -- he has allowed one goal on nine attempts inthe past three shootouts -- and left winger James Neal put the exclamation point on thevictory by ringing up his third shootout-clinching goal in the past week.

The victory moved the Penguins (45-23-8) back to within two points of first-placePhiladelphia in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins sit fourth in the conference, sevenpoints ahead of fifth-place Tampa Bay.

They also are on the cusp of clinching no worse than fifth place in the East. Montreal, theNew York Rangers and Buffalo, who currently rank sixth, seventh and eighth,respectively, all can finish with no more than 99 points.

And the Penguins got more than just a couple of points Sunday, as defenseman BrooksOrpik rejoined the lineup after missing 13 games because of a fractured right indexfinger. He logged 20 minutes, 54 seconds of ice time, which was enough to record ateam-high four hits.

Orpik is, of course, just one on a long list of key players to miss extended portions of thisseason because of injuries. Some fairly prominent centers -- Sidney Crosby, EvgeniMalkin and Jordan Staal -- are among the others who have done hard time in the trainer'sroom.

Fleury not only is one of the few Penguins players to stay healthy all season, but is themajor reason the Penguins' game against Philadelphia at 7:08 p.m. Tuesday at ConsolEnergy Center will have genuine significance in the conference standings.

The miserable early weeks of Fleury's season, when he was 1-6 and had a goals-againstaverage that looked like a bad mortgage rate, morphed into the finest run of his career.

Fleury is 33-12-5 in his past 50 starts, including an 11-game winning streak, and hasestablished himself, in the eyes of his teammates, as a viable candidate for the HartTrophy, awarded to the NHL player "adjudged to be most valuable to his team."

"If you subtract [Fleury], with the season and the [injured] guys we've had, I don't thinkwe'd be in the position we're in right now," left winger Mike Rupp said.

"He had a rough start to the season, and he turned it around. And he single-handedly hasgiven us points in games. If you take him away from the Pittsburgh Penguins this year,we're looking a lot different."

The only goal Fleury allowed Sunday, on a Ryan Carter deflection, ended a shutoutstreak of 150 minutes, 14 seconds, the longest by an individual Penguins goalie.

Still, numbers aren't necessarily the best way to express Fleury's value. His savepercentage of .920 ties for 11th place in the NHL rankings, and his 2.28 goals-againstaverage places 20th.

"Teams that play more of a trap or defensive system, the goalies are probably going tohave better stats," Orpik said. "But he constantly finds ways to win, and with the two bigguys getting hurt, a lot of pressure was put on him.

"But the thing that impressed me the most was the way he responded to the first two orthree weeks of the season. Much as you say you don't pay attention to what people aresaying outside the locker room, guys are well aware of it, and I know he was well awareof it."

Much of what was said about Fleury last fall was scalding criticism; most of the rest wasworse.

Nonetheless, he kept his composure and focus, and his teammates' confidence in himnever was shaken. That faith has been rewarded with dozens of world-classperformances, including one against the Panthers.

"He's been the backbone of our team and our most consistent performer," coach DanBylsma said. "And that has given our team the confidence to win hockey games nomatter what our lineup is, no matter what the score is."

And no matter whether the game is in regulation, overtime or a shootout.

3. Pittsburgh Post Gazette- Penguins Notebook: Bylsma scores with decision to playLovejoy

Shelly Anderson

With Brooks Orpik coming back from an injury, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma had todecide between two other defensemen for the remaining lineup spot for Sunday's matineeagainst Florida.

He opted for Ben Lovejoy over Deryk Engelland, but probably not because he envisionedLovejoy getting the team's only goal in regulation in a 2-1 shootout victory at ConsolEnergy Center.

"That might have been an out-of-body experience for Ben," Bylsma cracked of Lovejoy'sthird goal of the season, and his finest.

It came at 17:49 of the second period, 2:17 after Ryan Carter opened the scoring for thePanthers.

"[Bylsma] kind of made fun of me after the period," Lovejoy revealed. "I came in and hemade a comment that he didn't think that I was going to score."

Lovejoy said his confidence in his skating and ability to pinch deep to help the forwardshas soared recently. He was often a healthy scratch the first four months of the season, infavor of Engelland, but he got in the lineup because of injuries and has played in the past16 games.

Although he is not considered an offensive defenseman in the mold of teammate KrisLetang, Lovejoy has two goals, five assists in the past 13 games.

On the scoring play Sunday, he chased down an errant shot that went off the end boardsand got the puck to winger Alex Kovalev in the right circle. Kovalev ignored the bodiesaround him and got the puck back to Lovejoy, who found himself staring point-blank atFlorida goaltender Tomas Vokoun from just to the right of the crease.

"Yeah, Kovy and I have developed some real chemistry," Lovejoy deadpanned. "I had anassist on his first goal [after he was acquired from Ottawa], and he gave it back to me.That was an unbelievable pass. He's so good with the puck and so sneaky."

Lovejoy had time and space and the presence of mind to plot a strategy. He roofed thepuck toward the near corner of the goal cage.

"I didn't rush," he said. "Believe it or not, I picked my head up and was aiming there.Luckily, it went in."

Actually, Lovejoy was aiming "above his shoulder," and replays clearly showed the pucksquirted through the little triangle below Vokoun's left arm and above his stick andblocker. Close enough.Impressive workout

Count Bylsma among those impressed with the on-ice workouts of center Sidney Crosbyafter Crosby's early morning session Sunday.

"I was on the ice," Bylsma said. "I left before he got finished. He tired me out."

Bylsma, however, stopped well short of any prediction that Crosby, who is recoveringfrom a concussion, is close to getting clearance to begin practicing with the team.

"That conversation has not been broached, and I don't have expectations for it right now,"Bylsma said. "Obviously, I'm encouraged to watch him on the ice and watch him skateand go through the paces that he's going through. Those are encouraging signs to see himable to do that."

Crosby has been out since Jan. 6. Returning to practice and being cleared for contactwould be big steps that would seem to need to come relatively soon if Crosby has a shotat playing in the regular season or the first round of the playoffs.

Bylsma hasn't heard that Crosby is lobbying doctors for such clearance.

"If he is, he's talking with the doctors about it, not our training staff and not me," Bylsmasaid.

Crosby skated with a handful of teammates who are also out of the lineup. They includedcenter Mark Letestu, who is probable to return from a suspected shoulder injury thisweek, according to Bylsma, and forward Nick Johnson, who is recovering from aconcussion and was not in full gear.

Team awards

The annual team awards, announced during a pregame ceremony:

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was team MVP and won the booster club award;Engelland is the Penguins' nominee for the NHL's Masterton Trophy, which recognizesperseverance and sportsmanship; Orpik won the players' player award and was named thetop defensive player; the team's top rookie is Letestu; forward Mike Rupp won the goodguy award for cooperation with the media; and the community service award went toRupp and forward Max Talbot.

4. Pittsburgh Tribune Review- Penguins' shootout success continues

Rob Rossi

Wingers James Neal and Alex Kovalev have played 14 games together since joining thePenguins, and they've combined to score two goals.

Yet they can only be considered deft deadline-period acquisitions by general managerRay Shero given their impact in shootouts, which continued Sunday in a 2-1 victory overthe Florida Panthers at Consol Energy Center.

Kovalev and Neal scored to secure a NHL-record fourth straight shootout victory. Thisone provided the Penguins (45-23-8, 98 points) a seven-point cushion for the No. 4 seedin the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in at least Round 1 of the Stanley Cupplayoffs.

Still...

"We need to start scoring some goals in regulation," Kovalev said. "We need to starttaking a little bit of pressure off our goalie."

Marc-Andre Fleury is quite capable of handling pressure.

His big saves in crucial moments were pivotal for the Penguins' Cup win two years ago.

This season, teammates and coaches believe he deserves consideration for the HartTrophy. He has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 17 of 28 starts since superstarcenter Sidney Crosby (concussion) last played Jan. 5.

Fleury is 34-18-5 overall and has surrendered two goals in the past 195 minutes and 53seconds.

The Penguins have scored six over that span, which has included a 1-for-10 stretch on thepower play.

Actually, 1-for-10 on the power play is pretty good considering the Penguins have scoredjust three times on their past 55 advantage opportunities.

"If there's one area where there would be any concern it's the power play," coach DanBylsma said after the Penguisn went 0-for-3 against the Panthers. "It hasn't been a realfactor. It hasn't been a threat or a weapon."

The Penguins are 46-for-290 on the power play this season, a 15.8-percent efficiency ratethat is perplexing even considering the excuse of playing without Crosby and fellowformer NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin the last 23 games.

Without Crosby and Malkin, neither of whom is guaranteed to return this season, thePenguins are 9-for-81 on the power play (11.1 percent).

Of course, they're also 11-8-4 over that span - and Panthers coach Peter DeBoer offered areason as to why "teams like (the Penguins) win the Stanley Cup."

"Their top four (defensemen) are as good as any four defensemen in the league," he saidin reference to Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek.

No slight was intended, seemingly, to No. 6 defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who scored histhird NHL goal late in the second period to pull the Penguins even after Panthers centerRyan Carter deflected a puck past Fleury about two minutes earlier.

Kovalev and Neal assisted on Lovejoy's goal, and a little while later did their thing in theshootout.

Lovejoy called them "huge pickups."

Indeed, but the option of winning games in a shootout disappears once the playoffs begin.

At that point close games - and the Penguins play enough of them, going 23-7-8 in one-goal contests - are decided in sudden-death overtime if tied after regulation.

The Penguins will be best served to cash in on a few chances, and probably should startdoing that before the playoffs begin in about two weeks.

"I don't think there's a recipe right now," Letang said. "(Keep) playing hard and playingwithin our system, and goals will come."

5. Pittsburgh Tribune Review- Crosby return could come soon

Rob Rossi

Those who know the old Sidney Crosby rediscovered him this week.

A teammate marveled at his timing during individual on-ice workouts. An assistant coachnoted the confidence with which he carried himself in the dressing room. A member ofmanagement mentioned the return of familiar steely focus to his eyes.

All that remains is Crosby slipping on a Penguins game jersey.

That doesn't appear to be far off, barring an unexpected setback in his recovery from aconcussion that has kept him sidelined since Jan. 5.

"There's a good feeling around here," Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis said.

Those associated with the Penguins are expecting to hear "Crosby is cleared" sometimesoon from a team physician.

At that point, which Crosby confidants are cautiously optimistic could come within theweek — he will resume full practices, with sights set on playing in, if not before, theStanley Cup playoffs.

"All year we've battled hard, and sometimes you think, 'If this guy comes back, if thisguy gets back ... ' " Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said, his smile widening as histhought finished. "Obviously, getting (Crosby) back will be the big bonus."

Crosby's return would boost the Penguins, who have played only two games with Crosby,fellow centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, and Fleury in the lineup.

Malkin, the 2009 NHL scoring champion and playoff MVP, is lost for the season afterright knee surgery.

Crosby's return should be enough to make the Penguins one of the favorites to raise theCup in June. After his last game, they were third overall in goals scored, even thoughMalkin had scored only 15 goals and produced just 34 points.

They rated 10th as of Saturday and have scored two or fewer goals in 18 games missedby Crosby. Still, they have recorded 13 of 36 possible points from those contests.

Credit a stout team defense — sixth overall as of yesterday and to be emboldened todayby the return of defenseman Brooks Orpik from a 13-game absence with a broken finger.The Penguins were fourth overall, second in the Eastern Conference, in team defensebefore Orpik's injury Feb. 23.

Consider the type of player potentially added in Crosby, at least based on his statisticalstanding after his last game: first in goals (32) and points (66); tied for second in assists(34) and power-play goals (10); tied for fourth in plus/minus (20); and fifth in shootingpercentage (19.9 percent).

"One of those seasons," veteran Detroit center Mike Modano said of Crosby's pre-concussion dominance, which included a 25-game point streak.

The Penguins are prepared for, and somewhat expecting, a less-dominant Crosby for acouple of reasons:

• If he doesn't play before Game 1 of the playoffs, Crosby will have missed 41 straightgames — half a season. Timing will be a factor, especially if, as anticipated, he is flankedby unfamiliar wingers in James Neal and Alex Kovalev, each of whom has joined thePenguins since Crosby last played.

• As noted by renowned neurologist Dr. Julian Bailes of West Virginia University, thereis no way to predict how an athlete will respond to game situations after a concussion.Crosby's concussion kept him from engaging in strenuous activity for nine weeks, "a longtime to be out," said Bailes, who has worked with the NFL Players Association onconcussions.

Still, Crosby at 75 percent of his pre-concussion form would rate as a significant additionto a team that has gutted out an 18-11-5 record in his absence, including a 12-1-5 mark inone-goal games.

"Even if he's not coming back as hot as he was earlier, he would still help our team,"Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said, citing Crosby's intangibles such as tireless workethic, leadership by example and a lauded lust for winning.

Added Staal: "Every player in this room has that drive and determination to win games,and it starts with our leader. It comes from Sid, the way he carries himself, and it goesright down the line."

The company line for players had been not to speak of Crosby's status.

Their willingness to talk publicly about him this week for the first time in months was thelatest signal of a shift toward optimism first sparked by Crosby's return to the ice March14.

Wednesday morning, Orpik, who in days prior had skated with Crosby, described him as"flying out there."

Friday morning, strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar shook his head inbewilderment as Crosby turned on a dime near the corner boards, darted toward the cageand ripped a shot under the crossbar — knocking a Gatorade bottle off the top of the net.

This all happened about two weeks after coach Dan Bylsma said March 10 there was "nochange" to Crosby's status since he was hit in the head Jan. 1 during the Winter Classicby then-Washington forward David Steckel and struck from behind four days later byTampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman.

Two days ago, on his way into the Penguins' changing room at Consol Energy Center,Crosby spied a reporter and displayed his familiar deadpan playfulness.

"Didn't recognize you," he said.

He smiled politely, nodded his head — as he normally does — and disappeared behind adoor.

It seems likely he'll be coming out to play again soon.

Flyers Cup Articles

1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Seeking state crown, La Salle suffers OT loss

Matt Breen

Shortly before their Pennsylvania Cup Class AAA final against Upper Saint Clair onSaturday, a handful of half-dressed La Salle ice hockey players ventured out of the lockerroom and watched Bishop Canevin celebrate winning the AA state title.

A mere two hours later, the Explorers were limited to the observer role again.

They watched Upper St. Clair players throw their equipment into the air in celebration atcenter ice after edging La Salle, 4-3, in overtime Saturday at Ice Line in West Chester.

The Explorers, winners of the Class AAA Flyers Cup, entered the third period trailing, 2-1, the exact situation they had rallied from in their last two games.

And they seemed to find that magic again, as they tied the game twice in the third period.

But C.J. Murray scored his third goal of the game midway through the overtime period togive the Panthers the title.

"We never quit. This just wasn't our night," La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner said."We have to learn from it and we only have six seniors, so there's a lot of guys in thatroom that will be back here next year and remember that feeling."

The game was the finale of a state-final tripleheader at Ice Line. The Flyers Cup winners- Springfield (Delco) and Council Rock South being the others - lost all three games tothe Penguins Cup titlists.

A minute and a half after Upper St. Clair (17-6-1) took a 3-2 lead, with a little less thanthree minutes remaining in the third period, Ron Greco scored a power-play goal off apass by Sean Orlando to tie the score, 3-3.

Senior defenseman Frank Trocino said the Explorers (23-6-2) believed they had capturedthe momentum, and he called the overtime goal a "crushing blow."

Freshman goaltender Nick DeSimone stopped 35 shots, including a hard chest save thatalmost led to a transition goal early in the overtime. Muehlbronner had turned toDeSimone at the start of the Flyers Cup tournament.

Trocino called the switch a surprise.

"It was kind of weird that Wally would call up a freshman who's never played with us.But I think he proved himself on this team," Trocino said.

2. Philadelphia Inquirer- C.R. South falls short in Class AA hockey title game

Matt Breen

In what coach Joe Houk described as a "full-court press," Council Rock South played thethird period with an overt sense of urgency, trailing Bishop Canevin by a goal in thePennsylvania Cup Class AA ice hockey final at Ice Line in West Chester.

But senior goalie Zackary Daley stopped all 10 of the Golden Hawks' third-period shotsand Canevin knocked in two empty-net goals Saturday to seal a 4-1 win and capture itsfirst AA state title since 1989.

"We were just looking for that one goal, and I really thought we had one there," Houksaid. "That goalie made two stellar saves. He kind of kept them in the game."

It was the second time in three years that Council Rock South, the Flyers Cup winner, fellin the state title game to the Penguins Cup winner.

"This was a little different in a way, because the last time we were underdogs and therewas parity this time," Houk said.

After jumping out to a 1-0 lead after one period on a goal by Zack Goodman, the GoldenHawks (24-5-1) couldn't hold onto the momentum and gave up the lead midway throughthe second period.

With nine minutes left in the second, C.R. South forward Nick Keck raced down the iceon a shorthanded breakaway from the red line and appeared to put the puck past Daley.

But, after Keck crashed into the goalie, the linesman quickly waved off the goal, rulingthe net had become dislodged before the puck crossed the line.

"I thought it was a goal, because our guy came in, made a move, took a shot and thegoalie was in the net as they blew the whistle," Houk said. "I thought it crossed the linebefore the net moved."

With just four seconds left in the second period, a waiting Matt Walsh received a passfrom the left side and sent the puck trickling past goalie Steve Jastrow from the right ofthe goal crease to put Bishop Canevin (20-4) ahead for good, 2-1.

3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Springfield hockey team falls in state final

Evan Burgos

It might be Cinderella's time of year, but the Springfield (Delco) ice hockey team couldn'tmuster the magic Saturday.

Springfield - which won the Flyers Cup as the fourth seed on an overtime goal mereminutes after Unionville's would-be winner was disallowed - was turned away by MarsArea, 5-2, in the Pennsylvania Cup Class A final at Ice Line in West Chester.

The Cougars (17-6-3) were overwhelmed by Mars' dynamic offensive attack. ThePlanets, winners of the Penguins Cup for the third year running, won their secondconsecutive Class A state title behind Nicholas Blaney's hat trick (he added one assist)and senior Elliot Tisdale's two goals.

Springfield coach Phil Eastman, who in his fifth year led the Cougars to their first title-game appearance since 2001, thought his team played solid defense but simply wasunable to match Mars' potent offense.

"When the puck came to their sticks, we were a little slow to react," Eastman said. "Wedidn't take their space away quick enough."

Springfield received goals from senior and team captain Dave Allen and defensemanConnor Phillips, whose score with 31 seconds left was inconsequential.

But Allen's score drew the game even with 9 minutes, 4 seconds left in the second period.About three minutes later, with Springfield shorthanded, junior Conor Doyle's breakawaychance was snuffed when Mars goalie Tyler Stepke made a pivotal pad save.

Tisdale then took the puck in transition, streaking up the boards, and netted a power-playgoal with 5:25 left. The backhanded shot gave Mars a 2-1 lead.

"The swing right there," Mars assistant coach Steve Neese said before pausing andshaking his head. ". . . For Tyler to make a save like that, and for us to go up one onthem, it's just giant."

Mars (24-1) allowed just three goals all postseason and 24 throughout the regular season.

Springfield came out physical and was hitting hard deep into the third period, when theCougars skaters appeared frustrated by their deficit.

"We came out hard, came out hitting. I think we got away from that at times," Allen said.He added: "We knew we could beat this team, but it just didn't happen today."

4. The Times Herald- La Salle battles back in the third but falls in overtime

Stuart Christ

WEST GOSHEN — The La Salle College High School Ice hockey team has been livingon the edge for the better of the playoffs. In its semifinal win over Father Judge, theCrusaders scored the first two goals of the game before the Explorers stormed back toscore the next three including two in the decisive third period. In the Flyers Cupchampionship contest against Malvern Prep, again La Salle trailed 2-0 before tying it upwith two third period tallies and winning it in overtime.

In the Pa. State AAA Championship contest on Saturday afternoon at IceLine, theExplorers tallied the first goal but Upper St. Clair scored the next two to lead theExplorers heading into the third. While they were able to tie it up on two separateoccasions in the third, the Explorers magic ran out as the Panthers, from the Western partof Pennsylvania, tallied the game winner in overtime for a 4-3 win.

“We showed our character again,” said Explorers head coach Wally Muehlbronner. “Wehave been on the good side of getting the bounce in a couple of games. I do not think thepuck was bouncing our way tonight but we kept fighting and tried to find a way to get upon top. They are a tough team.”

The two teams had a bit of contrasting styles as the Explorers possessed the speed whilethe Panthers looked like a college hockey team with all the size. It took the Explorers alittle bit of time to get used to the Panthers physical style of play especially after thewhistle had blown.

I think what happened is they kept hitting us after the whistle and taking us out of ourgame,” said senior Neil Laessig. “We are not the biggest and oldest team. We shouldhave just bounced back and ignored all of that stuff.”

“They were trying to do a lot of things to try and take some speed off our game,” saidMuehlbronner. “After the whistle there was a lot of garbage that we usually don’t dealwith. Hey, they did what they had to do. I give them credit.”

It was the Explorers, who got on the board first when Collegeville’s Nick Burt fired ashot on Panthers goalie Michael Ambrose, who made the initial save but the puckbounced right to an opportunistic Nick Popoff who wasted little time in scoring into theempty net.

“That was a big advantage to us,” said Burt. “It gave us a lot of momentum.”

For a good portion of the first, Explorers goalie Nick DeSimone was flashing someleather as he dazzled the crowd with some phenomenal saves.

With CJ Dunton in the box late in the first period, the Panthers CJ Murray went top shelfto beat DeSimone and tie the game up at one apiece after one.

With La Salle again in the penalty box, this time Ryan Walters for interference, thePanthers went to work when Murray would score his second of the day beatingDeSimone top shelf.

Down 2-1 heading into the third you would think most teams might get a bit nervous in agame of this proportion but La Salle had the Panthers right where they wanted them. Andlike they have done so many times in the past, with just over six minutes to play, La Sallewould score a garbage goal as Sean Orlando knocked one in from in front of the net withRon Greco getting the assist.

It would seem that the Explorers would have the advantage and the momentum but just28 seconds later, Stephen Gielarowski gave the Panthers the lead again on a well played2-on-1 with Luke Stork.

But the Explorers would not go down without a fight as Greco scored with just underthree minutes to play on their first power play goal of the afternoon. For the day, La Sallewas just 1-for-5 on the power play while the Panthers were 2-for-5 with the manadvantage.

“You win some you lose some,” said Laessig. “It was nice that we came back like thatand had a shot at winning it. I guess some things just don’t go your way.”

In the overtime session, La Salle dominated play for the first four minutes but just likethat Murray would score his third of the contest on a loose puck in front of the netsending the Panthers players into a euphoria.

“You can kind of seeing it coming,” said Muehlbronner. “They had a guy open in frontand it was a little too late.”

“It was a shot from the point,” said Burt on the Panthers game-winner. “Rebound in frontand the guy was there.”

La Salle could very well find themselves in the same position next year as they graduatejust six players.

“I am very proud of the six seniors,” Muehlbronner said. “And on the guys returning Ithink they have a great incentive to work extra hard between now and the start of nextseason.”

5. Bucks County Courier Times- Hawks suffer tough loss

Rick Woelfel

WEST GOSHEN - The contest was closer than the score indicated.

Officially, Bishop Canevin defeated Council Rock South, 4-1, to win the Class AA stateice hockey championship at Ice Line. That tally was misleading; the Crusaders led by justa single goal heading into the final of minute before scoring twice into an empty net.

Matt Walsh scored the game-winning goal with just four seconds left in the second periodwhen the Golden Hawks coughed up the puck deep in their own zone.

Zachary Daley took over from there. The senior goaltender stopped 27 shots and wasparticularly impressive in the final period.

"Their goalie sucked everything up," said South coach Joe Houk. "They had a good,solid, defense, though; they took a lot of our opportunities away."

The Golden Hawks (25-5-1) grabbed the early lead. Goaltender Steve Jastrow, whostopped 28 shots, made a save before clearing the puck down the right wing. ZachGoodman corralled the puck and shot it down the ice before putting it behind Daley with54 seconds left in the first period.

Goodman, who was playing the final game of his career, knew from the opening faceoffthat he and his teammates would be in for a battle.

"We realized they were a very good team," he said. "It's definitely fun playing a teamyou've never played."

Nicholas Hart got the equalizer for the Crusaders (20-4) on a power play 4:16 into thesecond period.

Not quite two minutes later, the Golden Hawks nearly got the lead back. With Goodmanin the box for hooking, Patrick Grilli made a move to the net and took Daley off his feet.

Daley ended up in the net. The net ended up off its moorings. A whistle blew. Where thepuck ended up amid all this is unknown. The linesman covering the play behind the netimmediately signaled no goal. The three officials then huddled before referee RickGallagher confirmed the original call.

"I thought the puck was in the net," Houk said. "But you know what? The linesman wasright there behind it. It's hard to look under the (goaltender's body)."

Walsh's game-winner came when the Hawks misplayed the puck along their right wingboards. The disk eventually wound up on Walsh's stick on the right side. He held thepuck to make Jastrow commit himself before finding the back of the net.

"When they scored with four seconds left in the second period, that was definitely amomentum changer," Goodman said. "That threw us off, but we came back in the thirdperiod and played really good."

6. Delaware County Times- Springfield denied Pennsylvania Cup by Blaney, Mars

Matt Chandik

The puck zipped through the neutral zone and settled right on Connor Phillips’ stick.

Much to his surprise, Springfield’s Phillips had no one near him and a clear path to thenet for a shorthanded showdown against Mars goalie Tyler Stepke.

With the game tied and momentum hanging in the balance, Phillips cut left before cuttingback to his right and tried to stuff a low shot past Stepke’s pad. Stepke, however, wouldhave none of it and kicked away Phillips’ shot. Moments later, the score wasn’t tiedanymore, much to the chagrin of Phillips and Springfield, as Mars’ Elliot Tisdale scoredon the power play to break open the deadlock.

Tisdale’s goal was the first of four unanswered from Mars as the Planets roared past theCougars, 5-2, to claim their second straight Class A Pennsylvania Cup championshipSaturday morning at IceLine.

“It feels great,” said Mars forward Nick Blaney, who had a hat trick and an assist. “Itfeels good, especially after coming here two years ago when we lost (5-0 to West ChesterRustin) to get a little redemption on the rink.”

Early in the second period, though, such a convincing win would have been hard toimagine from either side. It was Cougar captain Dave Allen who tapped in a cross-creasepass from freshman Ryan Brawley to knot things up at one and send the partisanSpringfield crowd into a tizzy. With the momentum in their favor after having scored just

the second goal allowed by Mars in the postseason, the Cougars appeared primed to makea run at upsetting the Planets in the latter’s third straight state final appearance.

It just wasn’t meant to be for Springfield, which couldn’t seem to stay out of the penaltybox. With Allen in the box for roughing, Tisdale tucked the puck in past goaltender MikeRice for a 2-1 Mars lead, which would only expand until a late Cougar power-play goalcapped the scoring.

“I mean, it’s a tough loss,” Allen said. “We came out hard, we came out hitting — I thinkwe got away from that at times. They’re a hell of a team, though — they played a greatgame.”

No one played a better game than Blaney. He opened the scoring at 9:13 of the firstperiod when he fired a rebound into a wide-open cage, scored an unassisted goal for whatturned out to be the game-winner and played a role in the Planets’ last two goals.

“I couldn’t do it without my linemates, you know, moving the puck and getting meopen,” Blaney said. “I owe it all to them, really.”

Springfield coach Phil Eastman stressed to his team that a loss to the three-time statefinalist didn’t take away from a roller-coaster season that saw the team lose early in theCentral Division playoffs as the top seed before riding timely scoring and hot goaltendingto a Flyers Cup win.

“There’s a lot of long faces in there,” Eastman said. “We told them that we were proud ofthem, the way that they worked hard, and we had some things not go our way today.There’s no way to get them past the disappointment of not winning this game, but we justsaid that we’re proud of everything they accomplished this year.”

Eastman’s point, which probably didn’t offer much consolation to his team, rings true.Few expected the Cougars to rebound from their early Central Division exit and fewerexpected them to make a deep run in the Flyers Cup tournament, let alone win it andcontend against a team like Mars.

Adirondack Phantoms Articles

1. Glens Falls Post Star- Late surge leads Sharks

Tim McManus

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Worcester poured on the pressure in the third period and scoredtwice to beat the Adirondack Phantoms on Sunday, 3-1.

The Sharks got off 18 of their 30 shots in the third period. T.J. Trevelyan scored with8:14 left in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and Patrick Davis scored an empty-net goal in thefinal few seconds.

Former Phantom Carter Hutton made 35 saves in goal for Worcester to pick up the win.He played four games with Adirondack last season on a tryout, but couldn't agree withthe Flyers on a contract.

Michael Leighton made 27 saves for Adirondack. It was his third straight game in goaland his seventh start in eight games.

The lone Phantoms goal was scored by Jon Kalinski off a Harry Zolnierczyk pass early inthe second period. Kalinski scored for the first time in 32 games, tying the game at 1-1.The Phantoms held a 25-12 advantage in shots after two periods.

The Phantoms thought they had scored a power-play goal later in the second period, butthe net was ruled to be off its moorings when the puck crossed the line. The Phantomswent 0 for 4 on the power play.

The Phantoms visit Albany on Tuesday and return home Friday for the first of fourstraight games at the Civic Center.

2. Glens Falls Post Star- Road report: Worcester 3, Phantoms 1

Tim McManus

T.J. Trevelyan scored the go-ahead goal with 8:14 remaining and Worcester added anempty-netter to beat the Phantoms 3-1 on Sunday spoiling Adirondack’s bid for a 3-0weekend.

A few notes on the action from the DCU Center:

– Jon Kalinski scored his first goal in 32 games and his sixth of the season. He had onepoint in his previous 20 games. He got beat up in this one, taking a stick to the face andblocking a shot with his upper body.

– Michael Leighton started in goal for the third straight day. It was his seventh start ineight games.

– Coming off his three-game suspension, Zac Rinaldo was a healthy scratch. Same lineupas the home games with Stefan Legein and J.P. Testwuide as the healthy scratches.

– Former Phantom Carter Hutton made 35 saves in goal for Worcester. He played fourgames with Adirondack on an ATO last season but couldn’t agree to a contract with theFlyers.

– Danny Syvret had a power-play goal disallowed in the second period when it was ruledthe net was off its moorings. Phantoms were 0 for 4 on the power play, including a 4-minute advantage in the second period. That comes a night after breaking a 2 for 32streak over the previous eight games with three power-play goals.

– Eighteen of Worcester’s 30 shots came in the third period.

NHL Articles

1. ESPN.com- Wings G Howard day to day after positive MRI

Associated Press

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is day to day after an MRIrevealed no major damage to his left shoulder.

General manager Ken Holland says Howard should be able to return next weekend, if notWednesday night against St. Louis. Detroit also plays Chicago on Monday night. TheRed Wings plan to call up Thomas McCollum from Toledo of the ECHL to back upgoalie Joey MacDonald in the meantime.

Howard left the Red Wings' game against Toronto in the third period Saturday night afterthe Maple Leafs' Joffrey Lupul fell on him.

-FLYERS-