Philadelphia Flyers Daily Clips – October 7, 2013 FLYERS Headlines

1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers would like to hit 'reset' button 2. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers Notes: Players preach patience with sputtering attack 3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Snider after Flyers fire Lavy: 'My fears were realized' 4. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers lose to Hurricanes, 2-1, for three-game losing streak 5. Philadelphia Daily News- Poor Flyers start fuels trade buzz 6. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers enter theater of the absurd by firing coach Peter Laviolette 7. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers fire coach Peter Laviolette 8. Philly.com- Flyers GM Paul Holmgren: Firing Peter Laviolette a 'gut feeling' 9. Philly.com- Coaching turmoil in Philly seems to be historic 10. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers-Hurricanes: 5 things you need to know 11. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers Notes: Where are the goals? 12. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers remain winless after loss to Hurricanes 13. CSNPhilly.com- Snider: 'Nobody shined, nobody looked good' 14. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers fire head coach Peter Laviolette 15. Delco Daily Times- Frustrated Flyers lose third straight 16. Delco Daily Times- Flyers GM Holmgren says after last season, Laviolette had one last chance 17. Bucks County Courier Times- Flyers start 0-3 for second straight season 18. Bucks County Courier Times- Berube new head coach after Laviolette firing 19. Courier- Post- FLYERS: Gustafsson waiting to play 20. Courier-Post- Flyers falter, drop to 0-3 21. Courier- Post- Winless Flyers fire Laviolette; Berube takes over 22. Courier-Post- Berube takes reins after Laviolette firing 23. HockeyBuzz.com- Meltzer's Musings: Laviolette Fired; Loss in Carolina; Laughton 24. HockeyBuzz.com- Flyers Gameday: 10/6/13 @ Carolina; Loss in Montreal; Phantoms Win Opener 25. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- FIVE THINGS: Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes 26. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Craig Berube Named Flyers Head Coach 27. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Laviolette Fired; Berube The New Coach 28. The 700- Level- Danny Briere on Montreal’s win over Flyers: ‘I got them tonight’ 29. The 700-Level- Flyers Chairman Ed Snider: ‘We don’t need a fresh perspective’ 30. TSN.com- Dvorak, Harrison Lead Hurricanes to Win Over Flyers 31.TSN.com- At 0-3, Flyers Replace Head Coach Laviolette with Berube 32. ESPN.com- Radek Dvorak, Hurricanes edge Flyers to earn first win 33. ESPN.com- Peter Laviolette fired after 0-3 start 34. NHL.com- Dvorak and Harrison score to lead Hurricanes to 1st win of season, 2-1 over Flyers 35. NHL.com- Flyers' coaching change, Monday action on NHL Live 36. NHL.com- Flyers fire Laviolette, replace with Berube Carolina Hurricanes Headlines (FLYERS Last Opponent)

1. Raleigh News and Observer- Canes get first win of season, 2-1 over Flyers

Florida Panthers Headlines (FLYERS Next Opponent)

1. Florida Panthers take in NFL game, try to regroup after blowout

PHANTOMS Headlines

1. Glens Falls Post-Star- Phantoms open with road win 2. NHL.com- OHL Roundup: Laughton with three points as Generals down Storm

Junior FLYERS Headlines

1. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Crowning Achievement 2. Pointstreaksites.com- Royal Flush

FLYERS Articles

1. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers would like to hit 'reset' button

Sam Carchidi

RALEIGH, N.C. _ Excuse the Flyers if they probably feel like petitioning the NHL to kindly hit the “reset” button on the start of the season. For the second straight season _ and just the fourth time since the franchise started in 1967-68 _ the Flyers have opened with three consecutive losses. They dropped a 2-1 decision Sunday evening to the host Carolina Hurricanes, a team projected to finish toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Flyers play host to Florida on Tuesday and will try to avoid their first 0-4 start in their history. In three games, the Flyers have scored a total of three goals. Asked if he thought his forwards were pressing, coach Peter Laviolette was curt. “Could be,” he said. The Flyers were outshot, 34-18, and managed just three third-period shots. If this pace continues, it’s fair to wonder how patient general manager Paul Holmgren will be with Laviolette, especially since the Flyers are coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last 18 seasons. Carolina, playing without two injured regulars, embarrassed the turnover-plagued Flyers in the first period, outshooting them, 17-5, and taking a 1-0 lead when goalie Steve Mason allowed defenseman Jay Harrison’s long drive to squirt between his legs. A bad clear by Mason had enabled the Hurricanes to keep the puck in the zone prior to the goal. The new NHL rule that reduced the goalies’ pads a few inches, on average, may have contributed, Mason said.

“It’s a stop I should have made,” he said. “It might have been easier if I had those extra inches on my pads, but I’m not going to make an excuse there. It’s a save that needed to be made.” Besides that gaffe, Mason was terrific in the first period, stopping 16 of 17 shots. He kept the Flyers in the game with 32 saves. The Flyers were coming off a 4-1 loss to Montreal that ended 19 hours earlier. “We got in late last night and it was a tough game in Montreal, so I think the first period, we were running around a little bit,” Mason said. “But for the remainder of the game, the guys were fighting hard. Things just aren’t happening for us right now and it’s frustrating, but we just have to keep working through it.” The Flyers tied it on a goal by defenseman Luke Schenn early in the second period. It was the Flyers’ first even-strength goal of the young season, ending a 143-minute, 1-second drought. Schenn fired a shot that ricocheted off the right post and past Anton Khudobin with 16:59 left in the second period. A little over five minutes later, however, Schenn’s turnover helped put Carolina ahead, 2-1. Operating from behind his net, Schenn tried an ill-advised pass up the middle of the ice. But the pass deflected off the skates of Jeff Skinner (two assists) to Radek Dvorak, whose slot shot sailed over Mason’s glove. Schenn said he saw Sean Couturier open in the middle and “just tried to make a play. There was nobody behind him, so if I could have gotten him the puck, we would have had a clean exit out of the zone. Sometimes, when you try to make plays, you don’t always get the bounces you want. It went off his skate and on the other guy’s (Dvorak’s) tape. Mistakes like that become big in games when we don’t get much offense going.” Breakaways. The Flyers made the playoffs just once in the three other times they started a season 0-3 _ that was in 1994-95, when they turned around a 3-7-1 season by acquring Eric Desjardins and John LeClair. Meanwhile, Holmgren is working the phones for a poential deal. Another option: Rolling the dice and promoting someone like Nick Cousins or Jason Akeson from the Phantoms......The Flyers have a day off on Monday.

2. Philadelphia Inquirer- Flyers Notes: Players preach patience with sputtering attack

Sam Carchidi

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Flyers lead the league with 97 hits, but their attack has been abysmal in the first three games with a total of three goals. "The goals are going to come," goalie Steve Mason said after the Flyers dropped a 2-1 decision in Carolina on Sunday night, falling to 0-3. "We just have to be patient and keep working." The Flyers managed 18 shots - just three in the final period.

"The final push is missing," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said. "When you have to make a statement, for some reason, we haven't been able to do that. There's going to be ups and downs in a season, and this is the first test for us as a team . . . and how we can come out of this. Now is not the time to start blaming people. There are 79 games left." Added Timonen: "If we start blaming people and not playing as a team, we're going to be 0-6 soon. It's about sticking together, sticking to the game plan, and put the work boots on." Telling stat: Kris Newbury, who was promoted from the Phantoms last week, collected an assist in his first game with the Flyers on Sunday. That gave him one more point this season than Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Read, Sean Couturier, and Max Talbot. "It's not for a lack of effort," said veteran center Vinny Lecavalier, one of the few Flyers who has been productive. Giroux, the team's captain, suggested that the Flyers' forwards may be trying too hard. No Flyers forward has an even-strength goal. "When you only score three goals in three games, guys get more frustrated and want to do more," he said. "Sometimes less is more." Asked what would turn things around, Giroux said: "We just have to breathe a little bit here. It's obviously not the way we wanted to start the season, but we're going to turn it around. There's no doubt in my mind." Breakaways Zac Rinaldo had 10 of the team's 46 hits. . . . Newbury replaced Jay Rosehill on the fourth line. . . . The Flyers are 25-5-4 in their last 34 games against Carolina.

3. Philadelphia Inquirer- Snider after Flyers fire Lavy: 'My fears were realized'

Sam Carchidi

Peter Laviolette, the fiery coach whose Flyers grew progressively worse after he directed them to an improbable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, was fired Monday and replaced with one of his assistants, Craig Berube. "I'm not going to let the players off the hook," general manager Paul Holmgren said at news conference at the Wells Fargo Center. “Things have to get better and they will." After serving parts of five seasons with the Flyers, the coach who implored his team to play with “jam,” was jammed out the door after his team started the year with three straight losses. He had a 145-98-29 record since being hired early in the 2009-210 season.

In 2013, the Flyers missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last 18 seasons. “From my own point of view, I really wasn’t happy with last year, but we blamed it on a lot of issues; we thought those issues were valid and thought Peter deserved an opportunity,” said Ed Snider, the Flyers’ chairman. Snider said he received a call from Holmgren late Sunday _ after the Flyers’ 2-1 loss in Carolina, the team Laviolette once coached to the Stanley Cup _ and that he “approved” the GM’s decision to replace the coach. Snider said he thought the Flyers’ performance in the lockout-shortened 2013 season was “an anomaly. He’s a great coach, a great guy; he works his butt off. But I thought our training camp, quite frankly, was one of the worst training camps I’ve ever seen. And I’m not talking about wins and losses. There was nothing exciting. Nobody shined. Nobody looked good. I couldn’t point to one thing that I thought was a positive coming out of training camp, and personally I was worried.” The Flyers went 1-5-1 in the preseason. “Unfortunately, my fears were realized in the first three games _ scoring one goal in each game. And looking disorganized,” Snider added. “If it wasn’t for our goalies, I think it could have been a lot worse.” Berube, 48, was in his seventh season as a Flyers’ assistant and 17th overall season with the club. He added Ian Laperriere and John Paddock as assistants. Joey Mullen and Jeff Reese will remain as assistants, and assistant Kevin McCarthy was fired. Holmgren said Berube will bring a more defensive-minded approach to the team. Berube recieved a multi-year pact, but the length of the deal was still being finalized, said Peter Luukko, the president of Comcast-Spectacor, the Flyers' parent company. Laviolette took over for the fired John Stevens into the 2009-10 season. The Flyers earned a playoff berth on the final day of the season by winning a shootout as Brian Boucher outdueled the star goalie Henrik Lundqvist. From there, the Flyers ousted favored New Jersey in the opening round, overcame a 3-0 series deficit to shock Boston, and wiped out Montreal to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers lost in the Finals to Chicago, four games to two, dropping the decisive Game 6 in overtime as Patrick Kane’s shot from a bizarre angle got past goalie Michael Leighton. That magic run _ and especially how the team overcame a 3-0 deficit in Game 7 of the Boston series, capping a wild four-game comeback _ will be Laviolette’s legacy with the Flyers. He led Carolina to the Stanley Cup in 2006. Asked if the Flyers’ poor start was the players’ fault, Snider said, “That’s what we’re going to find out. Unfortunately, in the business we’re in, the only way to find out is to make a change.

You can’t get rid of all the players. That’s why coaches lose their jobs and sometimes you lose them BECAUSE of the players,. But we don’t know that until you make a change.” Added Snider: Sometimes we’re right and sometimes we’re wrong. We think our players are better than they’ve looked.” Holmgren said he didn’t believe the recent $3 million lawsuit Laviolette filed against Bank America was a distraction to the coach. The GM would not permit the players to talk to the media after they met with Berube for a 20-minute meeting that ended around 2 p.m.

4. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers lose to Hurricanes, 2-1, for three-game losing streak

Frank Seravalli

RALEIGH, N.C. - It took them three games, but the Flyers finally scored their first even-strength goal of the season. The only problem is that one goal won't win you many hockey games. Even the blaring Hurricane warning siren in PNC Arena, once made famous by pro wrestler Ric Flair during Peter Laviolette's heyday in Carolina, couldn't shake the Flyers' offense from their doldrums last night. Without any support for Steve Mason, the Flyers returned home from their two-game road trip winless after dropping a 2-1 decision to the once cure-all 'Canes. The Flyers, who entered on a 25-4-4 run against Carolina, had scored four or more goals in 10 of their last 16 games against the Hurricanes. "We've got a lot of potential," Mark Streit said. "But so far, we really haven't shown it." The Flyers are 0-3 for the second season in a row - and a different kind of warning siren is growing louder with each game. The Flyers managed to put just one goal past Carolina backup Anton Khudobin and a defense that ranked 29th in goals-against last season. Oh, and the Hurricanes were without longtime defenseman Tim Gleason, who missed the game due to injury. "It's the same story," captain Claude Giroux said. "It just won't go in." Even including their two power-play goals, the Flyers have netted a total of three goals in their first three games. Minor league call-up Kris Newbury has more points (1) in one game with the Flyers than Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jake Voracek and Wayne Simmonds have combined. This marks the 10th time in his 336-game career Giroux has gone three games or more in a row without a point - but the longest he's gone to start a season. Giroux scored a goal in each of the Flyers' season-opening games the past 3 years in a row. By comparison, the Hurricanes haven't gotten a point from either Eric Staal, Alexander Semin or Jordan Staal and they're still 1-0-1.

"It's difficult to see them struggling right now," Mason said. "Things just aren't happening for us right now. That's frustrating, but we've just got to keep working through it." Last night, the Flyers never got off on the right foot. They were outshot, 17-5, to start the game and were pounded in the faceoff circle, winning just 38 percent of the draws. Normally, completing back-to-back road games with start times 22 hours apart would be an excuse. It's tough to fathom the Flyers would be that tired, though, in just the third game of the season. "It shouldn't be an excuse," Giroux said. "Every team has to do it. We've got to fight through it." At one point in the first period, Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner had as many shots (4) as the Flyers' entire team. Luke Schenn finally got the Flyers on the board early in the second period when his shot from the lower circle redirected past Khudobin with the help of bodies in front, tying the score. The Schenn brothers have accounted for two of the Flyers' three goals. Carolina quickly responded, thanks to a rushed Schenn outlet pass that bounced off Skinner's skate directly to Radek Dvorak in front. The play perfectly encapsulated the Flyers' lack of precision in their own end to start the season. "Offensively, if you're not scoring, then everything else in the game has to be perfect," Laviolette said. "Especially early on, we were sloppy in our play. Our execution was off, I would say, in general." Mason was nearly perfect, giving the Flyers every opportunity to win. He stopped 32 of 34 shots. Poor defensive zone play - from both forwards and defensemen - kept the Hurricanes buzzing around him for stretches of minutes at a time. Last night was Mason's first career loss (5-1-0) against Carolina. Very clearly, goaltending is not the problem. "We wanted to get off to a good start and we're 0-3. That's obviously not good," Kimmo Timonen said. "The last two games, the final push has been missing. When you have to make a statement, for some reason, we haven't been able to do that. The last two games, it looked like we were standing still. There's going to be ups and downs in a season, but this is the first test for us. If we start blaming people and not play as a team, we're going to be 0-6 soon." Slap shots This weekend was the Flyers' first of 14 back-to-back sets this season . . . One bright spot: The Flyers' penalty kill did not allow a goal on four chances. They are now 12-for-15 (80 percent) on the young season . . . Winger Kris Newbury picked up his first point in his first game as a Flyer, an assist on Schenn's goal. Newbury was scratched for the first two games in favor of Jay

Rosehill, who sat out last night . . . Defenseman Erik Gustafsson took part in warmups but did not play . . . The Flyers have a day off today.

5. Philadelphia Daily News- Poor Flyers start fuels trade buzz

Frank Seravalli

RALEIGH, N.C. - With the Flyers limping to an 0-3 start, the whispers are quickly growing louder and louder that jobs are on the line. No one has ever accused Flyers chairman Ed Snider of being a patient man. Is it possible that the Flyers would consider making a trade first? "I think we just need to breathe a little bit here," Claude Giroux said last night. "It's obviously not the way we wanted to start the season, but we're going to turn it around. There's no doubt in my mind. We've got to stick with the plan." Despite what the Flyers captain said, his general manager has been sniffing around. But the hardest part may be finding a willing partner this early in the season as teams sort out their own rosters. In their history, the Flyers have only made one somewhat significant trade in October after the start of the season: an eight-player deal with Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, 1983, that landed Rich Sutter. So far, the Flyers have shown interest in the Flames, a team in the midst of a rebuild expected to finish near the bottom of the standings. Complicating matters even more is the fact that the Flames are off to a 1-0-2 start. One name the Flyers have been kicking around is winger Curtis Glencross, who has been playing on Calgary's first line. Glencross, 30, netted 26 points in 40 games last season. He has 24- and 26-goal seasons on his resume, he's consistent, and he's one of the few players on Calgary's roster to play a gritty game. The Flames are desperate for a defenseman to play with Mark Giordano and the Flyers have a glut of high-priced blue-liners. Even without trading a defenseman, the Flyers could fit a player like Glencross' $2.55 million salary-cap hit on the books - if he were willing to move his no-trade clause. Last week, the Flyers sent assistant general manager Ron Hextall and director of scouting Chris Pryor to Washington for Calgary's first game of the season. Head pro scout Dave Brown traveled to Columbus for Calgary's matchup the following night. And a Flames representative was one of 13 scouts from Western Conference teams to show up last week at the Wells Fargo Center for the Flyers' opener.

Last night, Flyers scout John Chapman was in Calgary to see the Flames reopen the Saddledome. The Flames' East Coast scout, Steve Leach, along with three other teams' scouts, was in Carolina to take in the Flyers and Hurricanes last night. Flames GM Jay Feaster said last April that 25 teams inquired about Glencross at the trade deadline. In addition to Glencross, the Flyers could be interested in 20-year-old Sven Baertschi, a first-round pick who was blasted by new Flames president Brian Burke last week. "All I've seen so far is flashes of brilliance, [which] are fine if you're working in a university but they're not much good to people in an NHL building," Burke said Sept. 30. "There are three zones on the ice surface in this league. I don't see that he's learned to compete in two of them. I see this guy right now who's focusing on one area - and, even then, sporadically. So, I don't know what we have. I'm not ready to quit on the young kid . . . but I think you can tell from my comments that I see big holes and a lack of commitment that's not going to get him anywhere in my books." Baertschi, who posted 94 points in 47 junior games in 2011-12, entered last night with 14 points in 27 NHL games. TSN's Darren Dreger reported last week that the Flyers were one of three teams pursuing some of Anaheim's young forwards. The Ducks also need defense. Right now, a trade does not seem imminent, but it's not out of the question that Paul Holmgren is interested in shaking up the locker room. If the Flyers had their way, they would handle their own business. "Everyone knows what happened last year," Kimmo Timonen said. "We're 0-3 now, but it's a test for us. We've got some home games coming up now. Now, we really see where we are as a team and how tight we are as a team. "Now is not the time to start blaming people. There's still 79 games left. Because if we start blaming people, and not play as a team, we're going to be 0-6 soon. It's about sticking together, sticking with the game plan. It's time to put the work boots on." More jam, please Just about the only noticeable forward for the Flyers last night was Zac Rinaldo, who recorded an eye-popping 10 hits. Rinaldo leads the NHL in hits with 19 in three games - an average of more than six per game. Rinaldo, 23, was rewarded for his hard work. Last night, for just the second time in 101 career games, he broke 14 minutes of ice time. He finished with 14:02. In all, the Flyers were credited with 46 hits against the Hurricanes, the most they've had in one game since March 10, 2012 (48). The Flyers also lead the NHL with 97 total hits.

"The minutes he had, he was noticeable every time he was on the ice," coach Peter Laviolette said. "You've got to love the way Zac plays and what he brings to the table; there's no question we could use a little more of that jam in there."

6. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers enter theater of the absurd by firing coach Peter

Laviolette

Rich Hofmann

In 2006, the Flyers waited eight games -- 1-6-1 -- to fire Ken Hitchcock. Then again, Ed Snider was only 73 years old in 2006. Snider is 80 now, and time is a-wasting, and the last Cup was in 1975, and the team is 0-3, and Peter Laviolette has been fired, and no one seems all that surprised by the tragicomedy. Everybody could see this coming...but three games? How can you bring Laviolette back and give him only three games? If the Flyers had fired him at the end of last season, everyone would have understood. But to bring him back this season and to fire him during the appetizers is ridiculous. Short leash? Fine. But has anyone ever heard of a leash that has only three links in its chain?

7. Philadelphia Daily News- Flyers fire coach Peter Laviolette

Frank Seravalli

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Flyers have fired coach Peter Laviolette, the Daily News has learned. Laviolette will be replaced by assistant coach Craig Berube, according to a club source. It is unclear at the moment as to whether Berube will be an interim coach or whether he will be given the job on a permanent basis starting today. The Flyers are holding an 11 a.m. press conference at Wells Fargo Center with GM Paul Holmgren and team president Peter Luukko to discuss the news. Laviolette and the Flyers got off to an 0-3 start for the second season in a row - and just the second time in franchise history. Laviolette, 49, seemed to be on a short leash to start the season, despite a vote of confidence from chairman Ed Snider. On Sept. 13, Snider denied any claim that Laviolette was on the hot seat. Laviolette was 149-98-29 with the Flyers over parts of five seasons. He was the third longest-tenured coach in Flyers history. He also had two years remaining on his contract, which was not set to expire until 2014-15. Berube, 47, has never been a head coach in the NHL. He was the head coach of the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms for one season before moving to the Flyers’ bench. He played 1,054 NHL games with the Flyers, Leafs, Flames, Capitals and Islanders. More coming.

8. Philly.com- Flyers GM Paul Holmgren: Firing Peter Laviolette a 'gut feeling'

Jonathan Tannenwald

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren and chairman Ed Snider met with reporters at a press conference announcing the dismissal of head coach Peter Laviolette. Craig Berube is the new man in charge, and he won't have the interim tag. Holmgren said Berube's deal is for "more than this year." "I've always been a Flyer in my mind," Berube said after being introduced. Here are some more highlights of what Holmgren said. Paul Holmgren I met with Peter Laviolette earlier this morning and informed him that he was being relieved of his duties as head coach. Right after that I met with assistant coach Kevin McCarthy and told Kevin the same thing. After that I met with Craig and we talked and I offered him the job to be head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Craig accepted and here we are today. I think from a timeline standpoint of my decision, on making this change at such an early point in the season, I can go back a little bit to last year and my concerns about how the team played. I was looking back and you think: in a lockout-shortened year, we didn't have a training camp. We had a lot of injuries. I thought it was important that Peter had another shot with a training camp, and I think some of the additions we made this summer were good additions, in Ray Emery and Vinny Lecavalier and Mark Streit. I think there was some excitement about our team going into training camp, and right from day one of training camp, I was concerned about how the team looked. And I think obviously our play - 0-3 [the team's record] is 0-3. We've still got a long way to go in terms of the season, but it was more about how we played. It was unacceptable. We don't look like a team at all, and I felt just a gut feeling that I needed to make the decision. I made the decision last night on the plane when we came back from Carolina [after Sunday's 2-1 loss], and here we are today. I'm excited about the opportunity to have Craig coach the Philadelphia Flyers. Craig is one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever been around. He's learned the coaching business over the last nine years. He has been a head coach with the Phantoms. He demands respect. He's a guy that holds people accountable. He's a no BS kind of guy, and i'm looking forward to Craig taking over the team today. We have some work to do. Craig has some work to do. I'm not going to let the players off the hook ... We'll meet with them later today. Things have to get better, and they will.

[...] The expectations are big with the Philadelphia Flyers. We expect to be in the playoffs. We expect to win. Sometimes that's just the way the busines goes. Look, I think Peter - I'd be remiss to not thank Peter Laviolette for what he brought to the Philadelphia organization over the last three-plus seasons. I think Peter did a good job. He's a good coach and we wish him all the best. But you know what, things weren't going well, and we needed to make a change. I felt this was the right time. [...] Did it enter my mind [during the summer] that we needed a fresh voice, maybe new ideas? [No], I like Peter. I thought he deserved another opportunity. We made some changes during the summer that got us all excited. It was a fleeting thought [to fire Laviolette during the summer]. But at the end of the day, I just think - going back, I think it was the right thing to do at the time, too: to start training camp, start the year with Peter. I just didn't like what I was seeing [now], and it's a gut decision. [...] This is just a gut feeling on my part. Right now, we're just not playing the way we have to play. We're not playing well enough to win in the National Hockey League, and that's got to change. Now, whether it's fresh ideas or a new voice, I'm not going to try to sit here and pinpoint - that's up to Craig. That's his job. But I didn't like the direction the team was heading [in], and I think we needed a change. [...] I think Peter worked his hardest to try to get things turned around. He's as frustrated as all of us right now... When I met with him this morning he expressed his frustration about trying everything. He gave it all he could to try to get things turned around. [...] Sometimes that happens in all sports that teams need fresh ideas or a new voice, or whatever. Peter Laviolette worked his ass off for the Flyers, and it just came to that point where, as I said, it was a gut feeling on my part where I felt we needed to make a change. I believe in our players, and I said earlier that I'm not going to let them off the hook, because at the end of the day, they didn't do their job either. But I still believe in our players - we have good players, we just need to play better. Ed Snider There was a reason each time [a coach has been fired in his time owning the team]. The general manager at the time - and Paul now - made decisions. They thought that we needed coaching

changes and they made them. Period. Of course I approved them. They [the coaches] work for the general manager, and if the general manager feels he has to make a change, I approve it. It's as simple as that. It's not any more complicated than that. [...] Obviously it may be a mistake [to hire a coach who ends up being fired], but it wasn't a mistake with Peter Laviolette. He did a very good job for us. But right now, we've been struggling, and we think we need a change. I'm a fan of Peter Laviolette - I think he did some very good things for this organization. It's a tough day when you have to let somebody go. But Paul felt it was time to make a change, and I would never say to Paul, "You can't make a change." [...] It's Paul's job to make these kinds of decisions. From my own point of view, I'm very disappointed in the start that we've had, and quite frankly I was very disappointed in the preseason that we had. I'm hoping for better. We always try to make the team as good as we possibly can, and sometimes we're not right. Hopefully this time it will work out on our behalf. [...] We haven't won a championship [since 1975], but we've been in the Stanley Cup Final a lot of times, and we've been in the playoffs a lot of times. That's our culture. No, we don't need a fresh perspective, We have a pretty good culture, and we know who we're dealing with.

9. Philly.com- Coaching turmoil in Philly seems to be historic

Peter Mucha

The Eagles' Chip Kelly, just five games into his first NFL season, is now the longest tenured coach of the big four pro franchises in Philadelphia. And he was just hired in January. The Flyers confirmed the firing of head coach Peter Laviolette at an 11 a.m. news conference. His replacement: Craig Berube, a former player, who moves up from assistant coach. The hiring of four new coaches in a single calendar year here seems to be historic. Coaching turmoil seems historic in Philly In 1991, the Eagles replaced Buddy Ryan with Rich Kotite, the Phillies replaced Nick Leyva with Jim Fregosi, and the Flyers replaced Paul Holgren, the current general manager, with Bill Dineen. The Sixers, though, didn't replace Jim Lynam with Doug Moe until 1992. The mid-1980s were also a period of major overhaul. In 1984, Paul Owens managed the Phillies, Billy Cunningham coached the Sixers, Marion Campbell guided the Eagles, and Bob McCammon was Flyers head coach. By the end of 1985, they were all gone, replaced, respectively, by John Felske, Matt Goukas, Fred Bruney (interim coach for one game, a victory,

before Buddy Ryan named as successor), and Mike Keenan. But Keenan was hired in '84, Ryan not till '86. In 1973, Danny Ozark joined the Phillies, Mike McCormack became Eagles head coach, and the Sixers had two new coaches, first Kevin Loughery, then Gene Shue. But the Flyers were ensconced in the middle of Fred Shero's reign. 1968 and 1969 also saw four news in the coaching ranks -- another two-year period. This time, in less than 10 months, all four of Philadelphia's major sports franchises have parted ways with their game-time generals, beginning with the firing of Andy Reid by the Eagles at the end of last December. Kelly joined the the Eagles in January, leaving the University of Oregon Ducks amid rumors of looming NCAA sanctions. Brett Brown joined the Sixers on Aug. 14, after being a San Antonio Spurs assistant. He replaced Doug Collins, a former star guard for the club, who resigned in April. On Aug. 16, the Phillies held a news conference to announce the departure of Charlie Manuel, who was at the helm when the club won the World Series in 2008. Hall of Fame second basement Ryne Sandberg was moved up from third base coach to interim manager. On Sept. 22, the club announced he'd been signed as manager in a three-year deal. Sandberg has managed the most games and had most wins of any current Philadelphia head coach, compiling a record of 20-22 this season.

10. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers-Hurricanes: 5 things you need to know

Tim Riday

Two games, two goals. Obviously, that’s not the type of offensive start Peter Laviolette was hoping for from his club. Luckily for the Flyers (0-2-0), who fell to the Montreal Canadiens less than 24 hours ago (see story), the Carolina Hurricanes (0-0-1) are next up on the schedule. The orange and black have earned points in 24 of their last 27 meetings against the 'Canes. Puck drop for Sunday’s contest between the Flyers and Hurricanes is set for 5 p.m. at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., and the game will be televised on CSN. Here are five other things you need to know: 1) Good timing The Flyers can put Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Montreal behind them quickly, as they prepare for their first back-to-back situation of the 2013-14 season.

Through the first two games, the Flyers have fired 55 shots on goal but have beaten opposing goalies just twice -- both times on the power play. A matchup with Carolina couldn’t have come at a better time. The Flyers have potted four or more goals in 10 of their last 16 meetings against the Hurricanes. The Flyers also won all three games they played against Carolina in the 2013 season series, outscoring the Hurricanes by a 14-9 margin. Matt Read (two goals, four assists) and Brayden Schenn (one goal, four assists) led the Flyers offensively against the Hurricanes last year. Wayne Simmonds added three markers and a helper of his own. 2) Strong start Vinny Lecavalier has arguably been the best Flyer through the first two games of the season. The 33-year-old has a goal, an assist, six shots, four hits and three blocked shots in his first action donning orange and black. Lecavalier signed a five-year, $22.5 million deal with the Flyers less than a week after being bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning this past offseason. 3) Struggling special teams One of the few bright spots for the Flyers last season was their special teams play. The Flyers owned the third-best power-play percentage in the NHL (21.6 percent) and finished fifth on the penalty kill (85.9 percent). So far this year, those units haven’t clicked in the early going. The Flyers are just 2 for 12 on the man advantage and have allowed three goals in 11 shorthanded situations through the first two games. The good news? The Flyers still have 80 games to play and their power-play units have been generating plenty of opportunities. Don’t panic just yet. 4) Connections Flyers coach Peter Laviolette coached the Hurricanes for parts of five seasons, leading Carolina to a Stanley Cup championship in 2005-06. He went 167-122-6-28 during his tenure with the 'Canes before being fired on Dec. 3, 2008. After being placed on waivers by the Lightning last season, Adam Hall joined the Hurricanes for a short period of time after being claimed on March 16. He appeared in six games for Carolina, but was traded back to Tampa Bay along with a seventh-round pick for Marc-Andre Bergeron on April 2. The Flyers would go on to claim Hall the next day, when the Lightning placed him on waivers for a second time in 2013.

The Hurricanes’ organization selected injured Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger with the second-overall pick at the 1993 NHL draft. He played two seasons with the Hartford Whalers before being traded to the St. Louis Blues for forward Brendan Shanahan. Injured Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen was drafted by the Flyers with the fourth-overall pick at the 2002 NHL draft. He played in 206 games for the Flyers over three seasons, registering 25 goals and 91 assists. 5) This and that • The Flyers and Hurricanes will face off four times this season. Sunday will mark the first time the two clubs will play each other within the newly-created Metropolitan Division. • The Hurricanes will be without forward Tuomo Ruutu (lower-body) and defensemen Tim Gleason (concussion) and Pitkanen (heel). • Flyers captain Claude Giroux has five goals and 10 assists in 15 career regular-season games against Carolina. • Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward has struggled mightily against the Flyers in his career. He has a 5-10-3 record with a 3.16 goals-against average in 19 games versus the orange and black. • Both Ray Emery and Steve Mason have found success against Carolina in their careers. Emery is 5-0-0 with a 0.73 goals-against average and two shutouts and Mason is 5-0-0 with a 1.80 GAA. 11. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers Notes: Where are the goals?

Tim Panaccio

MONTREAL -- It’s only two games, but the gang that still can’t shoot straight doesn’t have a 5-on-5 goal this season. What the Flyers do have are just two power-play goals -- Brayden Schenn and Vinny Lecavalier. Those two and Mark Streit have all the team's points so far -- six. And it appears to be a carryover from preseason while also resembling last season, as well. Where has the Flyers' scoring gone? “We’ve had our chances,” Claude Giroux said after the Flyers' 4-1 loss to the Canadiens on Saturday (see story). “Guys are working their butts off to create chances. We’ve just got to put it in the net.” Easier said that done. The Flyers had 23 shots on goal Saturday, 13 missed shots and 12 shots that were blocked. “The goals will come,” Schenn said. “We can’t start worrying. The goals will come. We’ll generate chances and the goals will come.”

Too many shots are errant. There is no finish on open looks close in, either. “I can’t think of one problem except maybe attack at more speed,” Schenn said. “Just start creating chances.” The Flyers are in Carolina to face the Hurricanes on Sunday. “It’s a big game for us and a quick turnaround,” Schenn said. “We got to be ready and focus on winning and forgetting about this game tonight. “But we can’t be taking nine, 10 or 11 penalties a game. We have to be way more disciplined and way more composed. You can’t give a team 9-10 chances on the power play at night.” It does seem that players are squeezing their sticks. “That is something that is going to come -- the offense,” Max Talbot said. “We have the offense, we have the skills. We have great players in here. We need more shots and traffic at the net.” Boos for Vinny Remember how Danny Briere used to get booed in Montreal every time he touched the puck when he played for the Flyers? Same thing Saturday night for Lecavalier. “I felt sorry for Vinny, but I've been that guy,” Briere said. Lecavalier seemed unbothered. Losing two straight means more than 21,273 people booing him at Bell Centre. “I just want to help our team win the game, that is all it is really,” Lecavalier said. “It’s always special playing in Montreal. Same thing tonight.” Added Talbot: “You can’t take it personal.” 'Bragging rights' That is what Briere called this game. Even though he didn’t score a goal or even get an assist, Briere felt good after the game. The Flyers shut him down. “This was for bragging rights,” he said. “I got them tonight, but I know there will be other games down the road. “I was glad when the first period was over and we were up 1-0, because the Flyers are a tough team to play when you're behind.”

Loose pucks Zac Rinaldo was credited with six hits in just 5:15 of ice time while playing his 100th career NHL game. … Kimmo Timonen had five blocked shots, while Nicklas Grossmann had four, as well as four hits. ... Timonen and Braydon Coburn each played 25-plus minutes. ... Jakub Voracek rejoined Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux on the top line about 14 minutes into the second period when nothing was being generated offensively for either team. 12. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers remain winless after loss to Hurricanes

Tim Panaccio

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It’s starting to resemble last winter’s lockout-shortened season for Peter Laviolette’s Flyers. After three games, they remain winless following Sunday’s 2-1 loss at PNC Arena to previously winless Carolina. Kimmo Timonen says the Flyers are about to find out what their made of. “It’s disappointing. We wanted to get off to a good start, and we’re 0-3,” said the Finnish defenseman. “That’s not good. “There’s going to be ups and downs in the season. This is the first test for us as a group, a team. Now is not the time to blame people. There’s still 79 games left, but this is the test for us, at the same time, as a team. “How do we come out of this? How do we start playing? We’re not happy at all. Everyone knows what happened last year “Now we really see where we are as a team and how tight we are as a team. … If we don’t starting playing as a team, we’re going to be 0-6. Now it’s sticking together, stick with the game plan and put the work boots on.” Looking at the Flyers' schedule last week, even a pessimist would have conceded a victory against rebuilding Carolina. But with guys squeezing their sticks into sawdust -- three goals in three losses -- there’s no margin for error. And errors are costing the Flyers dearly. “I would say that is probably the case, and that’s what happened in the first game, as well,” Laviolette said. “Offensively, if you are not scoring, then everything has to be perfect on the defensive side of things.” As bad as it was, the Flyers had their chances. Jakub Voracek, back on the top line throughout the game with Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux, almost got a stuffer inside the right post during a late third-period power play that would have tied it, 2-2.

Then again, the Flyers were nearly out-shot by a 2-to-1 margin, 34-18. That’s not Flyer hockey. Sloppy play at both ends of the ice in the first period hurt, too. “Early on, I thought we were a little bit sloppy with our play and our puck movement,” Laviolette said. “Simple things that should not get turned over. Execution. It got better but still not much room offensively.” Much of the opening period was played in the Flyers' end while the Hurricanes had numerous scoring chances on goalie Steve Mason. “Our execution was off in general, early only on,” Laviolette said. “We talked about a couple of different things. Support on the puck being better. Puck battles were not strong enough. “In the first period, we lost way too many puck battles – staying in the battle, positioning, heavy stick in the battle. If you don’t come up with those battles, you’re chasing them.” The Flyers were also irresponsible with the puck, tossing blind offensive passes into the slot without skaters there, not to mention clearing pucks in their own end without looking. Jay Harrison had the opening period’s only goal on a slapper from atop the left circle that squeezed through Mason’s pads then trickled into the net. “That’s a stop that I should have made, and it might have been easier if I had those extra inches on my pads,” Mason said, referring to rules change mandating smaller goalie pads this season. The period ended with Hartnell taking a pass from Giroux on right wing and putting a shot off goalie Anton Khudobin’s shoulder as the buzzer sounded. Giroux agreed the team is pressing to score. “Yeah, when you only score three goals in three games, guys get more frustrated and want to do more,” the Flyers' captain said. “Sometimes less is more.” Things picked up for the Flyers in the second period when they ended their even-strength scoring drought with Luke Schenn’s drive from the left circle that deflected high to glove side of Khudobin, off the right post, and in the net to tie the game. Since the start of the season, the Flyers had gone 143 minutes and one second without an even-strength goal. Schenn’s goal seemed to give the Flyers some “jam” -- as coach Peter Laviolette is fond of saying -- but Schenn negated his own goal with a terrible turnover that burned Mason at 8:20 of the second.

On the breakout, and under pressure from Jeff Skinner, Schenn passed the puck from behind the goal line up the middle of the ice. It deflected off Skinner’s skate onto Radek Dvorak’s stick. Dvorak ripped an uncontested 30-footer top shelf for the game-winner. “I saw [Sean] Couturier open in the middle and tried to make a play,” Schenn said. “I knew there was no one behind him and if I could get him that puck we’d have a clean exit out of the zone. “Sometimes, when you try to make plays, you don’t always get the bounces you want. It went off his skate -- not like I had put it on the other guy’s tape. “Mistakes like that become big in games when we don’t get much offense going.” Again, no margin for error given the Flyers' lack of goal scoring. Mason saved it from becoming 3-1 near the end of the second period with a terrific kick save on Eric Staal in which he had to go post-to-post to get his pad on the shot during a Carolina power play. “We had a terrible start – 0-3 is not what we wanted,” said newcomer Mark Steit. “The last two games we didn’t play well. … We have a lot of potential, but so far we have not shown it.” 13. CSNPhilly.com- Snider: 'Nobody shined, nobody looked good'

Tim Panaccio

Peter Laviolette knew he had a short leash with the Flyers this season after the club failed to make the playoffs coming out of the lockout last year. How short? Three games short. Three losses short. Laviolette, who celebrated a coaching milestone last April with his 750th career game behind the bench, was fired early Monday morning after back-to-back weekend losses in Montreal and Carolina (see story). Craig Berube, whose only previous professional head coaching experience was with the Phantoms, takes over. Laviolette needed just 48 more games to pass Mike Keenan (320 games) for the second-most games coached with the Flyers all time. His final record was 145-98-29. The Flyers were a mess in the preseason (1-5-1) and things didn’t look much better once the real games began this month. “I thought our training camp, quite frankly, was one of the worst training camps I had ever seen,” club chairman Ed Snider said.

“Not talking about wins or losses. There was nothing exciting. Nobody shined. Nobody looked good. I couldn’t point to one thing as a positive and I was personally worried. Unfortunately, my worries were realized in the first three games.” Snider said the team looked “disorganized.” Despite adding Mark Streit to the defense, the club appeared sluggish on the breakout. Veteran goalie Ray Emery was added, but along with Steve Mason, neither could handle the defensive breakdowns in front of the net. The Flyers seemed to lack their skating legs and energy, being out-forechecked by opponents and lacking any sustained offense in their own zone. One-and-done shots with pucks coming back up ice seemed to mark the Flyers' “attack” in the first three games in which they were outscored, 9-3, and went 143:01 without an even-strength goal, even though the club added veteran scoring centerman Vinny Lecavalier in the offseason. How much of Laviolette’s fall is directly tied to general manager Paul Holmgren’s moves the past two seasons is up for debate, but it’s hard to not accept the fact that the team made good offseason moves that should have shown immediate results. “I’ve had concerns for a while, and you kind of hope things are going to turn around and I didn’t feel like we were in a position to hope any longer,” Holmgren said. “I felt like I needed to make a change.” Laviolette’s high point during his tenure came in 2009-10 when he took over for John Stevens in early December. The Flyers dropped to 14th in the Eastern Conference and, despite having lost eight of their final 12 games, rallied on the final day of the regular season to make the playoffs. Once the 2010 postseason began, the Flyers made a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the farthest the Flyers would go during Laviolette’s tenure. And it was a factor in why the club gave him a two-year contract extension in August 2012. Two springs ago, the club stunned Pittsburgh in the first round only to be systematically ripped apart in five games against New Jersey. The only other Flyers coaches to win at least one playoff round in three consecutive years were Fred Shero and Terry Murray. Laviolette vastly overachieved with the club he inherited in 2009-10 but underachieved last season. From the outset last January when the lockout ended, the Flyers were ill-prepared on defense to pose any serious threat to either Pittsburgh, Boston or the Rangers, let alone be considered a Stanley Cup contender.

The lack of mobility and skill on the back end was plainly evident, especially given that Chris Pronger wasn’t coming back from post-concussion syndrome and the club carelessly allowed Matt Carle to walk in free agency. Holmgren attempted to snag Shea Weber and Ryan Suter in the offseason but wasted precious time waiting for a Suter response before ultimately losing out to Nashville, which matched an RFA offer sheet to Weber. When that failed, Holmgren did not have any viable backup plan. Hence, the Flyers went into the season with Andrej Meszaros coming off Achilles' tendon surgery, and their only answers to losing Pronger and Carle were the additions of three right-handed D-men: Luke Schenn, Bruno Gervais and Kurtis Foster. Holmgren thought right-handed shots on defense would help them of the breakout against forecheck pressure, such as that employed by the Devils. But the fact remained, the Flyers' personnel simply wasn’t talented enough to defend. The threesome didn’t come close to equaling what Pronger and Carle brought to the ice, and the club used 13 defensemen to compensate for lost bodies that season. To worsen the matter, both Meszaros and Braydon Coburn had very poor seasons, even when healthy. When the season arrived, the Flyers were already wrecked with injuries and uncertainty. Soon-to-be-named team captain Claude Giroux was recovering from a neck injury sustained while playing in Germany, not to mention dual wrist surgery from the offseason. Fellow center Danny Briere missed the first four games recovering from a chip fracture in his left wrist, also sustained while playing in Germany during the lockout. Along with Scott Hartnell, his offensive production this season sagged, though both were injured. Young, mobile defenseman Erik Gustafsson sustained a leg fracture playing with the Phantoms and wouldn’t join the Flyers until mid-February. Four games into the season, Zac Rinaldo (skate cut), Hartnell (left foot fracture) and Meszaros (left shoulder surgery) were all on injured reserve as the Flyers went 1-3 out of the gate. It seemed every time an injured player came back, another left. Meanwhile, Laviolette had to juggle lines and his defense to find chemistry without key players in the lineup. Ironically, he had a complete healthy defense this season, but the lack of cohesion among them on the ice didn’t present itself.

The biggest fear -- a lack of scoring since Jaromir Jagr had left in free agency -- became a reality that carried on the entire way, and their five-on-five play was atrocious until the very end of the season. Special teams began the season buried in the bottom third but eventually rose to the top third only to be thwarted by across-the-board scoring production five-on-five. The scoring drought was one reason why the team, even when it played well, never won more than two games in succession until April, when it rattled off four in a row. Sophomore players such as Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read took steps backwards while only one young player blossomed -- Jakub Voracek. It’s entirely likely management blames the lack of development on Laviolette, but to do so again dismisses the entirety of outside influences, such as injury and personnel. The one tangible thing Laviolette could be blamed for was his resistance to adjust his offensive attack to make up for holes on the blue line, often leading to continual odd-man rushes and alarming defensive gaffes that continually resulted in goals against. Although Laviolette had scaled back his attack system a bit, it wasn’t nearly enough given the problems on the blue line that only worsened as last season progressed. To make things worse, Laviolette was forced to run goalie Ilya Bryzgalov into the ground because Holmgren opted to re-sign Michael Leighton in offseason, and Leighton soon proved incapable of giving the Flyers any chance to win as a backup. Laviolette had his supporters and detractors in the dressing room, but none disliked him more than Bryzgalov, the goalie for whom club chairman Ed Snider pushed hard in free agency a few summers ago. On the bench, the club had what seemed to be a disproportionate number of penalties, both last year and even this fall. In Montreal this past weekend, the club committed 13 penalties. Ironically, if you look at the Flyers' history, most of their long-term coaches lasted no more than three-plus seasons. Ken Hitchcock coached 254 games; Pat Quinn 262; John Stevens 263; and Holmgren 264. Laviolette outlasted them all at 272. 14. CSNPhilly.com- Flyers fire head coach Peter Laviolette

Sarah Baicker

On Sept. 13, Flyers chairman Ed Snider insisted Peter Laviolette's job was secure. What a difference three weeks makes.

On Monday, less than a week after the 2013-14 NHL season began -- and after the Flyers had played only three games -- Laviolette was fired. Longtime assistant coach Craig Berube was announced as his replacement. It took all of three losses. Call them three strikes, perhaps. “This is just a gut feeling on my part," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "Right now, we’re just not playing the way we have to play – we’re not playing the way we have to play to win in the National Hockey League, and that’s got to change. Whether it’s fresh ideas or a new voice, I’m not going to sit here and try to pinpoint that. That’s up to Craig, that’s his job. But I didn’t like the direction the team was heading and felt we needed a change." Laviolette was under pressure at the end of last season, too, of course, leading a Flyers team that underachieved and missed the postseason for just the second time in 18 seasons. But Laviolette was kept around, Holmgren said, because the team chalked up last year's results as a fluke of the lockout-shortened season. After making the high-profile offseason additions of Vinny Lecavalier, Mark Streit and Ray Emery, Holmgren felt Laviolette would be in a better position to succeed. That's why he remained as coach for the start of the 2013-14 campaign, although just barely. "I liked Peter, I thought he deserved another opportunity," Holmgren said. "We made some changes in the summer that got us all excited. It was a fleeting thought. But at the end of the day, I just think, going back, I think [keeping Laviolette] the right thing to do at the time. We started training camp, we started the year with Peter, and I just didn’t like what I was seeing." Again, he emphasized, "It was a gut decision." The 2013-14 season has gotten off to a very similar start to the lockout-shortened year that preceded it. For a second consecutive year, the Flyers got off to an 0-3 start, only the fourth time in franchise history. They struggled in breakouts, they struggled in all elements of even-strength play, they struggled to score. Their defense, just like last season, looked constantly out of sync. They scored just three goals through their first three games. Key players like Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Scott Hartnell all remain without any points. And it wasn't just these first three games that alerted the Flyers' brass to the team's issues. Ignoring last season, even, both Snider and Holmgren were concerned about what they saw on the ice in preseason and in training camp last month. "From my own point of view, I’m very disappointed with the start that we’ve had, and quite frankly, I was very disappointed with the preseason that we had," Snider said. "I’m hoping for better, we always try to make the team as good as we possibly can, sometimes we’re not right, but hopefully this time it will work out on our behalf." The Flyers elected to fire assistant coach Kevin McCarthy along with Laviolette, as well. Joining Berube on the bench will be John Paddock and Ian Laperriere. Yes, all three are "from the

inside," but no, Snider insisted emphatically at Monday's press conference, the Flyers don't need a culture change. Much does need to change, of course. And that goes for the players, too. While Laviolette suffered his fate because of the Flyers' struggles, there's only so much one coach can do with the men on the ice aren't executing. "I think Peter worked his hardest to try to get things turned around," Holmgren said. "He’s as frustrated as all of us right now. When I met with him this morning, he expressed his frustration about trying everything. He gave it all he could to get things turned aroud." As outrageous as it seems, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is now the longest-tenured coach among the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers.

15. Delco Daily Times- Frustrated Flyers lose third straight

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — After squandering a third-period lead in a season-opening loss to Detroit, the Carolina Hurricanes were happy to be in a similar position against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. This time, they got the result they wanted. Radek Dvorak scored the winner in the second period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Flyers. Jay Harrison also scored, Jeff Skinner added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves in his Hurricanes’ debut. “It definitely had the very same feel as the last game,” Carolina’s Jordan Staal said. “It was nice to get a different result with the tough ending to last time. It was nice to have a solid third period and do all the right things to get the win.” Luke Schenn had the goal for the Flyers, who have opened the season 0-3-0 for the second year in a row. Before last year, Philadelphia had lost its first three games only one other time in franchise history. Steve Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia has scored only three goals in its three losses. “I don’t know if anything’s missing — we’re just having a tough time scoring goals,” Schenn said. “No one’s got that confidence or that swagger right now to score some goals. When you put

the puck in the net, it makes everyone feel good around you. For whatever reason, we’ve had a hard time doing that.” The Hurricanes dominated large stretches of the opening period, taking advantage of a Philadelphia team that lost 4-1 at Montreal on Saturday night before traveling to Raleigh. For the period, Carolina outshot the Flyers 17-5. Harrison opened the scoring with one of the Hurricanes’ more benign opportunities, sneaking the puck through Mason’s legs on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Philadelphia got that goal back 3:01 into the second period when Schenn skated around Carolina’s Drayson Bowman and snapped the puck above Khudobin’s left shoulder. It was the Flyers’ first even-strength goal of the season. “I would think that the guys are probably pretty frustrated,” Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. The first game, we had a lot of attempts; the second game, not a lot of attempts. We’re in there, we’re looking, but we’re not coming up with anything.” Dvorak gave the Hurricanes the lead for good when he scored a little more than 5 minutes later. After Skinner deflected Schenn’s clearing attempt, Dvorak collected the loose puck in the high slot. With Carolina’s Riley Nash providing a screen, Dvorak’s wrist shot beat Mason on the glove side. “When the forecheck’s going well, everything falls into place,” Skinner said. “I think the forecheck was going well.” Dvorak, who signed a free agent contract with the Hurricanes on Oct. 2 after coming to training camp on a tryout basis, also scored in the Hurricanes’ season-opening loss to Detroit on Friday. The 18-year veteran had four goals in nine games for Anaheim last season. “Given the opportunity, he can score,” Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. “He’s got great skill. He’s obviously been a great addition over the first two games that we’ve added to our group of young forwards.” The final period was a tight-checking affair with neither team having many opportunities — Philadelphia managed only three shots. NOTES: Elias Lindholm, Carolina’s first-round draft pick, went to the Hurricanes’ dressing room in the third period with an apparent injury to his right arm. He did not return to the game, although he was on the bench at the end of the game. ... Philadelphia’s Vincent Lecavalier came into the game having recorded 27 points in his last 27 games against the Hurricanes. . Mason had been undefeated in five career outings against Carolina.

16. Delco Daily Times- Flyers GM Holmgren says after last season, Laviolette had one last

chance

Rob Parent

PHILADELPHIA — Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren was said to be close to firing Peter Laviolette last season, but thought better of it over the offseason. “Paul thought Peter deserved another chance,” said one organizational source. That chance lasted three regular season games. Laviolette was dismissed as head coach this morning and will be replaced by his top assistant coach, organizational veteran Craig Berube. Holdover John Paddock and front-office face Ian Laperriere will be his assistant coaches. Holmgren made the call after the Flyers’ 2-1 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday, a game in which they were outshot 34-18. That came on the heels of a 4-1 defeat in Montreal Saturday. It is the second-fastest firing in NHL history, dating to Detroit’s Bill Gadsby after two games in 1969. More recently, the Chicago Blackhawks replaced Denis Savard after a 1-2-1 start to the 2008-09 season. “On making this change at such an early part of the season, I can go back a little bit to last year and my concerns on how the team played,” Holmgren said. “Looking back, it was a lockout, shortened year, we had a lot of injuries ... I thought it was important that Peter had another shot with a training camp. And some of the additions we made this summer were good additions in Ray Emery, Vinny Lecavalier and Mark Streit. I thought there was some excitement about our team going into training camp. And right from Day 1 at training camp I was concerned about it, about how the team looked. “Oh-and-3 is 0-3 and we still have a long way to go in terms of the season. But it was more about how the team played. It was unacceptable. We didn’t look like a team at all.” Berube, 48, started as a young enforcer with the club in the late 1980s. He went on to excel as a defensive forward, playing 17 NHL seasons with five different teams, including two stints with the Flyers. Afterward, Berube signed as a player for the Flyers’ top minor league team, the Phantoms, and after a short stint was elevated to player-coach in January 2004. He went on to become a Flyers assistant coach, then the Phantoms head coach for the 2007-08 seasons before again taking an assistant’s role with the Flyers. “Craig is one of the smartest hockey guys I’ve ever been around,” Holmgren said. “He demands respect. He holds people accountable. He’s a no BS kind of a guy. He has some work to do. He understands that. “Things have to get better and they will.”

Berube called the promotion “a great honor. ... I’ve always been a Flyer in my mind.” Laviolette replaced the fired John Stevens early on in the 2009-10 season and wound up leading the club to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. He had led them back to the playoffs the next two seasons, but missed the playoffs after a league lockout last season. “We expect to make the playoffs and we expect to win,” Holmgren said. “Sometimes that’s the way the business goes. I’d be remiss to not thank Peter Laviolette for what he brought to the organization over the last three-plus seasons. I think Peter did a good job. He’s a good coach ... but things weren’t going well.” Laviolette first was a head coach in the league with the New York Islanders, taking over a moribund franchise and leading it back to the playoffs. He would move on to Carolina and took the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup title in 2006. He was not immediately available for comment Monday. But club chairman Ed Snider was. Asked about his club’s 38 years since their last Stanley Cup championship under Fred Shero, and its prolific history of needing to hire 15 head coaches since then, Snider said, “The bottom line is we work our (butt) off to win and we have won more than our fair share, but we haven’t won Cups. But we have been in the finals for the Cup many times. “If you really want me to get into details, I think we got screwed several times,” Snider added. “But it wasn’t that long ago that we were in the finals against Chicago, and everybody saw ‘the goal.’ “These things happen to us. Sometimes I say, ‘Somebody is home sticking pins in a doll somewhere.’” Add Peter Laviolette to that sticky list.

17. Bucks County Courier Times- Flyers start 0-3 for second straight season

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — After squandering a third-period lead in a season-opening loss to Detroit, the Carolina Hurricanes were happy to be in a similar position against the Flyers on Sunday. This time, they got the result they wanted. Radek Dvorak scored the winner in the second period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Flyers. Jay Harrison also scored, Jeff Skinner added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves in his Hurricanes’ debut.

Luke Schenn scored for the Flyers, who have opened the season 0-3-0 for the second year in a row. Before last year, Philadelphia had lost its first three games only one other time in franchise history. Steve Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia has scored only three goals in its three losses. “I don’t know if anything’s missing — we’re just having a tough time scoring goals,” Schenn said. “No one’s got that confidence or that swagger right now to score some goals. When you put the puck in the net, it makes everyone feel good around you. For whatever reason, we’ve had a hard time doing that.” The Hurricanes dominated large stretches of the opening period, taking advantage of a Philadelphia team that lost 4-1 at Montreal on Saturday night before traveling to Raleigh. For the period, Carolina outshot the Flyers 17-5. Harrison opened the scoring with one of the Hurricanes’ more benign opportunities, sneaking the puck through Mason’s legs on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Philadelphia got that goal back 3:01 into the second period when Schenn skated around Carolina’s Drayson Bowman and snapped the puck above Khudobin’s left shoulder. It was the Flyers’ first even-strength goal of the season. “I would think that the guys are probably pretty frustrated,” Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. The first game, we had a lot of attempts; the second game, not a lot of attempts. We’re in there, we’re looking, but we’re not coming up with anything.” Dvorak gave the Hurricanes the lead for good when he scored a little more than 5 minutes later. After Skinner deflected Schenn’s clearing attempt, Dvorak collected the loose puck in the high slot. With Carolina’s Riley Nash providing a screen, Dvorak’s wrist shot beat Mason on the glove side.

18. Bucks County Courier Times- Berube new head coach after Laviolette firing

Wayne Fish

PHILADELPHIA -- Former Flyer player Craig Berube was named the 18th head coach in team history Monday morning after Peter Laviolette was fired.

Berube, 48, was in his seventh season as an assistant coach of the team when the promotion was made.

The Flyers also fired assistant coach Kevin McCarthy. The team added John Paddock and Ian Laperriere as new assistant coaches. Joey Mullen and goaltending coach Jeff Reese remain on the staff.

The Flyers were 0-3 at the time of the change. It's the fastest coaching change in the NHL since 1969.

"I definitely feel like I can turn it around,'' Berube said at a morning press conference at the Wells Fargo Center. "Put some new systems in place. . .I have one hundred percent belief in every player on this team.''

Berube and his family (wife, Rebecca; sons Jake, Nashota, Charlotte) reside in New Hope.

19. Courier- Post- FLYERS: Gustafsson waiting to play

Dave Isaac

RALEIGH, N.C. — Skating circles on the ice for the first time this season, No. 26 fired pucks hard in the pregame skate. However, after the 16-minute skate was over, that was it, Erik Gustafsson’s day was done. Through three games, the 24-year-old Flyers defenseman hasn’t played despite being one of the most mobile defensemen on the Flyers’ roster. “It’s still really early,” Gustafsson said. “Obviously I want to play.” It’s not like the Flyers’ aging defensive corps is playing so well that he can’t sneak into the lineup. On the active roster, the average age of the Flyers’ eight healthydefensemen is over 30. Gustafsson is the youngest at 24, but it’s not like he’s that inexperienced. He has logged 60 NHL games. One thing that didn’t work in his favor was his preseason. In four games, Gustafsson had one assist and was a minus-2. He was mostly paired with Hal Gill, who was in camp on a tryout at the time. “In camp, it’s hard,” Gustafsson said. “You’ve been off all summer. The more games you get, the easier it is to get into it. Definitely not where I wanted to be, but I’m pretty sure I can get to where I was at the end of last year as soon as I get a chance.” When that will be still remains a mystery. He looked like he was going to be a top-six defenseman in the offseason when he signed a one-year, one-way, $1 million contract. The Flyers were especially impressed with Gustafsson in the World Championships when he had a goal and an assist in 10 games for Sweden.

For now, the only opportunity Gustafsson has to impress coaches comes in practice. “I’m just trying to play my game and get better in every aspect of the game,” Gustafsson said. “I’m trying really hard to work in my own end and work hard against our forward and play the body, play simple, try to take the puck and make some simple plays in practice.” • Mason feeling good: The Flyers’ best player Sunday was goalie Steve Mason. He made 32 saves on 34 shots, none bigger than when he stoned Carolina captain Eric Staal on a power play with a left toe save. “Yeah, I was comfortable with the way I played tonight,” Mason said. “You always want to be perfect, but just happy with the way my game is progressing right now.” Through two games, Mason has a .915 save percentage. The Flyers are getting solid defense in front of Mason, even though they allowed the Hurricanes to take 34 shots on net. It’s just their offensive game that’s struggling. “We’ve had pretty good goaltending,” defenseman Luke Schenn said. “Our defensive play has been OK. We’re just not having much forechecking and cycling game. It’s tough to come by.” • Top of the charts: Zac Rinaldo’s 10 hits against the Hurricanes led the Flyers and put him into the league lead in hits with 19. Coincidently, Laviolette promoted Rinaldo into a role on the third line. Could the physical play be something Laviolette wants to see out of his other players? “You’ve got to love the way Zac plays and what he brings to the table,” the coach said. “There’s no question we could use more of that jam in there.” 20. Courier-Post- Flyers falter, drop to 0-3

Dave Isaac

RALEIGH, N.C. — When the puck dropped in the Flyers’ third game of the season, the urgency the team spoke of the night before was nowhere to be found. Much like the first two games, the Flyers were outplayed especially in their own end. The result was also like the first two games, a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

In the first period the Hurricanes came out on the attack, outshooting the Flyers 17-5. Constantly the play was in the Flyers’ end and although goalie Steve Mason was very good, eventually the Hurricanes beat him. At 8:11 of the first stanza, Jay Harrison took a seemingly harmless shot from the left point that squeezed through Mason’s 5-hole. After that goal, things seemed to get worse for the Flyers. They made blind passes that didn’t connect. They were sloppy in their own zone, causing four turnovers in the first period alone. At the other end of the ice they were not strong on the puck. Mason bailed them out until the team found life in the second period. Defenseman Luke Schenn rang a shot off the right post and behind Carolina goalie Anton Khudobin at 3:01 of the second period for the Flyers’ first even-strength goal of the year. It took them 143:01 into the season to do it. Just as the Flyers looked like they had woken from their slump, they allowed Carolina to get in front again. The Flyers were up in shots 7-5 in the second period before Schenn turned the puck over – his pass attempt went off Jeff Skinner’s skate – and Radek Dvorak picked his corner, going top shelf glove side on Mason. The third period brought a tighter-checking brand of hockey for both teams. The Flyers had a key power play at 11:57 of the final stanza when Zac Rinaldo was high sticked, but they gave it right back when Andrej Meszaros went off for boarding Brett Sutter. The loss breaks a four-game winning streak for the Flyers over the Hurricanes. They were 12-1-1 in the last 14 road games against Carolina. The one positive of the game was the play of Mason, who made 32 saves and kept the Flyers in it despite being massively outshot 34-18 in the contest. Other than that, the Flyers’ third game looked a lot like the first two – only one goal scored and big gaps in the team’s game. Through three games, only the Buffalo Sabres have scored fewer goals (2) than the Flyers (3). 21. Courier- Post- Winless Flyers fire Laviolette; Berube takes over

Dan Gelston

PHILADELPHIA — Despite a preseason vote of confidence from ownership, the Philadelphia Flyers fired coach Peter Laviolette Monday after an 0-3 start. The Flyers made the announcement at a morning news conference, less than a day after Philadelphia dropped a 2-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes. Assistant Craig Berube, in his seventh season with the organization, will take over as coach. He is the Flyers’ 18th coach in team history.

Laviolette dealt with rumors of his firing last season, a year in which the Flyers missed the playoffs after the lockout shortened the campaign. It was the only season in which he failed to make the postseason in Philadelphia. He was hired early in the 2009 season after John Stevens was fired, and led the Flyers on an improbable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Laviolette won the Stanley Cup coaching the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and previously coached the New York Islanders. He received a vote of confidence from Flyers chairman Ed Snider shortly before the season started. “As far as Peter is concerned, last year was an anomaly,” he said. “He’s been a very good coach for us, he’s been a good coach in this league.” Laviolette signed a two-year extension last season that was set to take him through 2014-15. He’s just the second coach in Flyers history to coach parts of five seasons. He’s set to serve as an assistant coach under Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma for the United States in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, and has coaching experience with USA Hockey. Laviolette led the Flyers to three straight playoff appearances before they stumbled last season. The Flyers went 23-22-3 and were 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points last year, and couldn’t recover from a slow start. There was no apparent improvement the first three games of this season. The Flyers lost their opener at home last week to Toronto, then lost games on consecutive days over the weekend to Montreal and Carolina. They were outscored 9-3. “I would think guys are probably pretty frustrated,” Laviolette said Sunday night. “Offensively, if you’re not scoring, everything’s got to be perfect on the defensive side of things.” In a bleak time in city sports, Laviolette’s firing means all four Philadelphia teams have changed coaches in the last year. Eagles coach Chip Kelly, hired in January, is now the dean of Philadelphia coaches.

22. Courier-Post- Berube takes reins after Laviolette firing

Dave Isaac

The mood on Sunday's charter flight back to Philadelphia after the Flyers’ third loss to start the season was quiet and somber. Coach Peter Laviolette and his assistant Craig Berube took their seats on the plane as general manager Paul Holmgren made a callto his boss, chairman Ed Snider. The wheels were in motion for a coaching change.

Holmgren wanted approval to relieve Laviolette of his duties after 272 regular-season games. Laviolette, 48, took over for John Stevens as coach on Dec. 4, 2009. He took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final that year against the Chicago Blackhawks. He was selected to be an assistant coach for Team USA for the Olympics in Sochi, Russia next February. "I thought about it, asked him a lot of questions and approved," Snider said. "To me, it was the training camp, plus these three games in my mind. But, it wasn’t me who made the decision." The Flyers announced Monday that Laviolette, who had a 145-98-29 record across five seasons with the team, was gone and Berube, an assistant with the team since 2008, was the new coach and didn't have the tag of interim next to his name. John Paddock and Ian Laperriere have been added as assistant coaches, replacing Kevin McCarthy and Laviolette. "I know (Berube’s) ideas are different than Peter’s," Holmgren said. "He likes to build his attack coming off good defense. We need to cut down on our scoring chances against. Somehow. Our goalies are under attack, and I think they’ve played well in the three games, but they’re under siege here and we’ve got to do a better job in our end." "They need to understand that they don’t want to let their teammates down," Berube said. "Don’t leave your goalie out to dry. Play a team game. All the time. Not some time. All the time." Flyers management certainly wasn't happy with the team's record through three games, but was more upset with the way the team had been playing in those losses to Toronot, Montreal and Carolina. "When you lose games like we’ve been doing…can you work harder? Yeah," Holmgren said. "I don’t think it’s like they’re not trying. Can you work harder? Can you work smarter? … It can be better." The decision to fire Laviolette, the quickest firing in NHL history, is just as much an indictment on the players as it is on the coach. "I thought our training camp, quite frankly, was one of the worst training camps I’ve ever seen," Snider said. "I’m not talking about wins or losses. There was nothing exciting. Nobody shined. Nobody looked good. I couldn’t point to one thing that I thought was a positive thing coming out of training camp." Firing the coach was the next move because Snider said firing the players isn't an option. "Show me a way to do that and we’ll be glad to do that instead," Snider said. "I have great respect for Peter Laviolette. I’m sorry this has happened to him. He’s a class act, has done a great job for us, got us to the Stanley Cup Final and within a game of winning the damn thing. That’s why I love our culture, incidentally."

The culture he speaks of is going all-in to try to win the Stanley Cup year after year, which has proven to be a difficult task It’s been 38 years since the Flyers held a parade down Broad St. and management says there will need to be changes made before that can happen again. That starts with the offense. The team has only scored three goals in three games. "You want score more goals? Do your job without the puck," Berube said. "Put yourself in a position to defend and you’ll get turnovers and more opportunities the other way."

23. HockeyBuzz.com- Meltzer's Musings: Laviolette Fired; Loss in Carolina; Laughton

Bill Meltzer

UPDATE 9:30 AM EDT

The Flyers announced this morning that Peter Laviolette has been fired as the Flyers' head coach.

Craig Berube has been named the new head coach. It is NOT an interim title. The Flyers have

agreed to a multi-year deal with Berube.

Berube has no previous head coaching experience, apart from a six-game interim stint with the

Phantoms in 2006-07. That season, he was moved up to the NHL to serve as newly appointed

head coach John Stevens' assistant, while Kjell Samuelsson was appointed Phantoms head coach.

Berube has been a Flyers' assistant coach from that point until now.

Am I surprised by the decision to lower the ax on Laviolette? Not at all. What I do question is

why this move was not made at the end of last season when there was a plethora of desirable

candidates available.

All coaches have a shelf life. Peter Laviolette is a good coach and his overall career record in

Philly was a good one. He got the team to a Stanley Cup Final in 2010, followed by a pair of

100-plus point seasons and an upset playoff victory over Pittsburgh in 2012.

Even so, other teams adjusted to playing the Flyers and the counter-adjustments were simply

lacking. The Flyers were unceremoniously swept by Boston in the second round of the 2011

playoffs, and then tried to add size to the back line to better cope with big opposing forwards.

The next year, they got knocked out in five by New Jersey in the second round, because they

couldn't handle the Devils' forechecking, defensive discipline and transitional play. Last year,in a

48-game season, the Flyers missed the playoffs entirely.

Was the personnel ill-suited to execute Laviolette's system or was the coach himself too

inflexible to make sufficient tweaks to win with the roster he had? It is probably some of both.

Entering the preseason, despite a public vote of confidence in Laviolette from upper

management, it was clear that the team needed to get off to a decent start for the coach to last the

season. When the team went 1-5-1 in the preseason, followed by 0-3-0 to start the regular season,

it was only a matter of when (not if) Laviolette would be fired.

Ironically enough, Laviolette coached his final game behind the Flyers' bench in Carolina.

Laviolette led the Hurricanes to their only Stanley Cup in franchise history but then was steadily

tuned out by his team.

When Laviolette was fired by the Hurricanes on Dec. 4, 2008, general manager Jim Rutherford

intimated that Laviolette's players stopped buying in to his hard-driving style of coaching.

Rutherford's words sound rather prophetic to where the Flyers are right now, but also reflect the

inevitable way the pendulum swings for all head coaches.

"It's really not about the last four or five games," Rutherford said. "It's about changing to get the

chemistry back on our team, to get the confidence back on our team and make what I would say

minor adjustments in a system that really worked in the Stanley Cup year. But teams have

adjusted to it, and our team hasn't adjusted over the last couple of years."

Throughout the preseason and the first three games of the 2013-14 regular season, the Flyers had

the look of a lost team. They looked like a team that was not competing properly for its coach or

for one another.

Are there flaws in the Flyers roster? Probably. It should also be said that teams with less on-

paper talent have made the postseason. However, I think there are still roster adjustments needed

to add a little more mobility to the blueline, and both a little more speed and a little more grit up

front.

One thing I know for sure about Berube is this: He hates to lose every bit as much as Laviolette

does and is just as intense. The "Chief" is not going to be afraid to make players with whom he's

unhappy quite aware of that fact.

I don't know yet what kind of style of play Berube will prefer. However, he's been in charge of

the penalty kill for a few years, and it has been a team strength (even in the early going of this

season). He played in 1,000 NHL games as an enforcer and checker, so he understands the

concept of paying the price to succeed.

Whether that will help translate to more wins or not, we shall see. A coaching change alone isn't

a panacea but this move was probably overdue. That's not a knock on Laviolette. It's just the

nature of the business.

GAME-IN-REVIEW: HURRICANES 2 - FLYERS 1 It is bad enough that the Philadelphia Flyers have started out the 2013-14 regular season with an 0-3-0 record after losing, 2-1, to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Three-game stumbles can happen to any team, but is the WAY these Flyers lose games that is most disturbing. Coupled with the club's 1-5-1 preseason record and missing the playoffs last year, there is reason to be concerned. Last night's game in Raleigh saw the Flyers, who have scored just one goal in each of the first three games, struggle to generate back-to-back productive shifts. Players weren't moving their feet, and Carolina dictated the play for far too much of the night. The Flyers could not cope with the speedier Hurricanes players, especially Jeff Skinner. Despite being credited with a whopping 46 hits and preventing odd-man rushes, Philly could not generate nearly enough offensive zone possession time.

On some nights, shot totals are deceptive. Not last night. The Flyers got outshot by a 34-18 margin, with a 60-40 differential in attempted shots. Much of that differential was reflective of a lopsided first period, in which the ice was tilted. In terms of positives that can be taken from the game, I can think of only a few. 1) Goaltender Steve Mason, despite allowing a soft goal in the first period, kept his team in the game and shrugged off the adversity of the bad one that sneaked between his pads. 2) The Flyers second line of Vincent Lecavalier, Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds continues to be the club's most effective line at five-on-five. Lecavalier was especially impressive and has easily been the club's top forward in the first three games. Lecavalier's unit had two shifts in particular where they hemmed the Canes in deep for an extended period of time. There was one late in the first period in which Philly eventually completed a full line change and continued to forecheck. The Flyers need a lot more of that from all of their lines. 3) As the game progressed, the Flyers started to show some snarl and aggression. They may not have always done it in the most disciplined way -- three of the four penalties the team took were of the frustration variety -- but at least the team also started to make an effort to make an opponent pay a physical price for real estate. In the second period and isolated moments in the third period, the Flyers started to go hard to the net. Scott Hartnell had a couple shifts where he tried to create havoc in front of Anton Khudobin, and Max Talbot was lurking near the net when Luke Schenn scored the Flyers' lone goal of the game. There was a shift where Matt Read made a strong inside cut toward the net as he circled out with the puck from the corner. Apart from Lecavalier, it was "energy" players such as Zac Rinaldo (10 hits, three blocked shots, drew a penalty on Carolina and stayed out of the box himself) and Kris Newbury (four hits and an assist off a faceoff win in 10 shifts and 6:52 of ice time) who made the biggest positive impact among Flyers forwards last night. If the Flyers are to start scoring goals, especially at five-on-five, they are going to need those sorts of plays with greater consistency. There hasn't been nearly enough of it, especially in that Montreal game. Perhaps the most memorable moment of last night's game came at 5:08 of the third period. Nicklas Grossmann obliterated Patrick Dwyer (and nearly Mason as well) with a heavy cross check into the net as Dwyer set up shop on the doorstep. Was it a blatant penalty? Of course. Was a very bad one to take down by a goal in the third period? No question.

On the other hand, coming off a game in Montreal where small Habs forwards buzzed the net with impunity and given the way the same thing happened in the earlier stages of last night's game, I didn't mind that a Flyers' player showed that he was getting sick and tired of it, too. Dwyer seemed OK afterward, and the Flyers were able to kill off the minor. Frustration penalties are counterproductive. However, so is getting outnumbered around your own net. As far as the negatives from last night go, there are a slew of those. The Flyers continually have problems moving the puck up the ice. On the whole, neither the defense nor the forwards show much speed or creativity (with a few exceptions). No one moves their feet. For the most part, I think the Flyers have defended their own zone reasonably well from a positional standpoint, but exiting the zone is a problem that often leads to transitional chances off forced and unforced turnovers. Additionally, there are many instances where opponents -- all three the Flyers have faced to date as well as others they played during the preseason -- have had a lot of success on their forecheck. Blame the defensemen all you want, but where is the safety valve forward on many of these plays? If the stretch pass isn't there, string a couple of shorter passes together. If you can't carry the puck over the blueline, wrap it around or flip it in softy and get your feet moving. Don't let opponents generate speed through the neutral zone, which forces the defensemen (who get blamed for it) to back into the zone. That is all fundamental hockey. The Flyers struggle to do that, and it's NOT a new problem. Additionally, I cannot help but wonder if Voracek's back and Claude Giroux's hand are fully healthy yet. Both players seem off their games thus far. Giroux's legs are fine but his shooting still seems weak compared to his norm. Voracek's extra skating gear isn't there thus far. STARTING LINEUPS: ACTUAL VS. PROJECTED The Flyers juggled three of their four starting line from the first two games. Voracek moved back to his accustomed spot on Giroux's right wing, and Brayden Schenn rotated down to the third line. This switch had been made in the latter portions of each of the first two games but not for the majority of shifts in the Toronto and Montreal games. Enforcer Jay Rosehill was a healthy scratch last night, after dressing in the first two games of the season. Newbury started for the first time. Meanwhile, Talbot dropped from the third line left wing spot to the fourth line. Rinaldo moved up to the third line right wing spot, with Brayden Schenn on the left wing. The Flyers skated seven defensemen in the warmup, with Erik Gustafsson participating. However, the starting defense pairings ultimately remained the same as the first two games.

There was some juggling of pairings as the game went along, partially due to penalties and partially due to Peter Laviolette trying to make some adjustments. FLYERS 19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek 24 Matt Read- 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds 10 Brayden Schenn - 14 Sean Couturier - 36 Zac Rinaldo 25 Max Talbot - 45 Kris Newbury - 18 Adam Hall 44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn 32 Mark Streit - 22 Luke Schenn 8 Nicklas Grossmann - 41 Andrej Meszaros 35 Steve Mason [29 Ray Emery] Hurricanes 19 Jiri Tlusty - 12 Eric Staal - 28 Alexander Semin 14 Nathan Gerbe - 11 Jordan Staal - 39 Pat Dwyer 53 Jeff Skinner - 20 Riley Nash - 18 Radek Dvorak 42 Brett Sutter - 16 Elias Lindholm - 21 Drayson Bowman 27 Justin Faulk - 4 Andrej Sekera 73 Brett Bellemore - 65 Ron Hainsey 44 Jay Harrison - 7 Ryan Murphy 31 Anton Khudobin [30 Cam Ward] FIRST PERIOD: Key moments Much like Saturday night's game in Montreal, the Flyers had trouble coping with the speedy and skilled players on Carolina's forward corps. Skinner in particular turned the Flyers' defensemen and forwards inside out on several occasions. Despite the entire period being played at even strength, the Flyers got outshot by a 17-5 margin. Physical play was NOT the issue. The Flyers were finishing their checks and got credited with a whopping 20 hits in this period alone, but it had zero effect on puck possession. Mason came up big several times for the Flyers in this period, but also gifted Carolina a weak goal on the only tally for either side in this stanza. At the 8:11 mark, Jay Harrison's routine point

shot squeezed between Mason's pads and dribbled into the net. There was light traffic in front but Mason saw the shot and had the angle. Ryan Murphy and Skinner drew the assists. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the opening period was the fact that Carolina's team defense didn't seem to be doing anything special. There were seams. The Flyers just couldn't find them. After getting dominated for about the first 15 minutes of the period, the Flyers showed a forechecking pulse. The Lecavalier line generated arguably the best shift of the season to date, although they didn't score. The Flyers drew a bit of momentum from it and closed out the period solidly. Just as the first period was about to end, the Flyers had an odd man rush. Hartnell got the puck from Giroux and, realizing he had to get the puck off immediately, fired a shot on net. Khudobin knocked it aside as the buzzer sounded. 1st period stats ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 12 - Carolina 28 SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 5 - Carolina 17 BLOCKS: Flyers 4 - Carolina 2 MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 5 - Carolina 7 POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-0, Carolina 0-for-0 FACEOFFS: Flyers won 7 of 17, 41% CREDITED HITS: Flyers 20 (six for Rinaldo, three for Grossmann) - Carolina 10 CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 4 - Carolina 2 CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 4 - Carolina 5 2nd PERIOD: KEY MOMENTS This was the Flyers' best period of the game, especially over the first eight minutes. Building on what they began to establish late in the opening stanza, Philly generated its best sustained forechecking pressure of the game during this segment. Forwards tried to jam the net and, in general, the team moved the puck and their feet. At 3:01, the Flyers got rewarded. Newbury won a left circle faceoff back to Luke Schenn. With Talbot going to the net and the Carolina defense giving him plenty of room, the big defenseman skated to the bottom of the circle and snapped off a shot that found the net for his first goal of the season. It was also the team's first even-strength goal of the young season and the first tally by a defenseman. After a brief replay delay to ensure the puck entered the net legally on the Luke Schenn goal, play resumed. Philly carried the majority of the play until disaster struck. This time, Luke Schenn was the goat.

From a stationary position behind the Flyers' net, Schenn tried to go up the middle on a breakout pass intended for Sean Couturier. The pass deflected off Skinner's skate and right into the medium slot, where an alert Radek Dvorak picked it off and picked a spot. He roofed an unstoppable shot over Mason at the 8:20 mark. Skinner was credited with an assist and Schenn was NOT charged with a giveaway by the official scorers, but that one was on the Flyers' defenseman. On the next shift after the Dvorak goal, Voracek took a hooking penalty. The Flyers killed off the minor but could not regain control of the flow of play once even-strength play resumed. Neither side could sustain much momentum for the remainder of the period, but the Canes looked like the better team on the whole over the latter 10 minutes. Philly had its first power play of the game late in the period on a Jordan Staal roughing penalty at 17:52. They were unable to capitalize. 2nd period stats - Period (40-min totals) ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 16 (28) - Carolina 21 (51) SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 10 (15) - Carolina 10 (27) BLOCKS: Flyers 8 (12) - Carolina 4 (6) MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 2 (7) - Carolina 8 (12) POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-1 (0-for-1), Carolina 0-for-1 (0-for-1) FACEOFFS: Flyers won 13 of 25 CREDITED HITS: Flyers 10 (30) - Carolina 10 (20) CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 1 (5) - Carolina 3 (5) CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 0 (4) - Carolina 2 (7) 3rd PERIOD: KEY MOMENTS The Flyers were plenty physical in the third period, just as they were in the first 40 minutes of the game. Alas, it produced little in the way of offensive zone pressure or scoring opportunities. Down by a goal, the Flyers had to kill off a pair of penalties on the aforementioned Grossmann crosscheck and a questionable boarding penalty called against Andrej Meszaros, which canceled out the remaining 38 seconds of Philly's second power play of the game. Rinaldo created that man advantage opportunity, drawing a retaliatory high stick by Alexander Semin as Rinaldo followed through on a hit. Carolina, which blew a lead in the third period of its opening night game against Detroit, had little trouble slamming the door on the Flyers. Philly pulled Mason for an extra attacker but did not even come close to scoring. The Hurricanes skated off with a 2-1 win, and the Flyers fell to 0-3-0 on the season.

3rd PERIOD STATS: Period (Final Totals) ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 12 (41) - Carolina 9 (59) SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 10 (32) - Carolina 7 (34) BLOCKS: Flyers 2 (14) - Carolina 5 (11) MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 4 (11) - Carolina 0 (12) POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-1 (0-for-2), Carolina 0-for-2 (0-for-3) FACEOFFS: Flyers won 4 of 18 (overall 24 for 56, 43 percent; Hall led with 3-for-5) CREDITED HITS: Flyers 16 (46, Rinaldo led with 10) - Carolina 9 (29) CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 0 (5) - Carolina 1 (6) CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 3 (7) - Carolina 2 (9) ************** OFFICIAL THREE STAR SELECTION (Fox Sports South) 1. Jeff Skinner - Carolina 2. Radek Dvorak - Carolina 3. Ryan Murphy - Carolina My THREE- STAR SELECTION 1. Jeff Skinner - Carolina 2. Steve Mason - Flyers 3. Ron Hainsey - Carolina ******** NEXT GAME: Flyers host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. With the team off to an 0-3-0 start and playing for the third time in three cities in four nights, Philadelphia will not practice on Monday. ******** ANOTHER BIG GAME FOR LAUGHTON Looking for a bright side to what has thus far been a horrendous start to the season? Scott Laughton has played like he's possessed ever since the Flyers made the decision to return him to the OHL's Oshawa Generals for further seasoning. Last night, the Flyers' first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft struck for a power play goal, a power play assist and an even strength assist in Oshawa's 4-1 win over the Guelph Storm. He also provided strong defense, especially in the third period. In the process, Laughton more than acquitted himself for taking a pair of bad penalties in the first period; the first of which led to a Guelph power play goal that opened the scoring.

In his three games since returning to the Ontario Hockey League, Laughton has nine points on three goals and six assists. 24. HockeyBuzz.com- Flyers Gameday: 10/6/13 @ Carolina; Loss in Montreal; Phantoms

Win Opener

Bill Meltzer

FLYERS VS. HURRICANES: GAME PREVIEW (3:30 AM EDT) Looking for their first one in three tries during the 2013-14 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers (0-2-0) travel to Raleigh, NC, to take on the Carolina Hurricanes (0-0-1). Game time is at 5 p.m. eastern. The game will be televised locally on CSN Philly and nationally in Canada on NHL Network Canada. This is the first of four meetings this season between the new Metropolitan Division clubs. They will play again in Raleigh on Nov. 5, followed by games in Philadelphia on Jan. 21 and April 13. The Hartford/Carolina franchise is one that the Flyers have traditionally dominated. Philly has won 15 of their last 17 games against the Canes, including a sweep of the three-game season series last season. All-time, the Flyers are 74-26-14-4 against the Whalers and Hurricanes. FLYERS OUTLOOK The Flyers are coming off a desultory 4-1 loss in Montreal on Saturday night. Last night's game suggested once again that the team is still plagued by the same major flaws that doomed them to missing the playoffs last season. The Flyers struggle offensively and defensively against teams that play with discipline and attack with speed. At five-on-five, they spend far too much time in their own end of the ice. The puck support is often lacking, and the Flyers lose too many battles along the walls even against smaller players. Philadelphia also takes too many minor penalties, sometimes out of desperation to prevent scoring chances but just often are lazy infractions. Managing energy is a challenge whenever a team plays the second match of back-to-back games, especially when the opponent did not play the previous night. The task becomes that much tougher when the club is coming off a game in which it found itself shorthanded nine times, as the Flyers were last night. The Flyers have yet to score an even strength goal in their two games to date. At least against Toronto, the Flyers generated their share of good scoring chances. That was not the case last night in Montreal. Philly spent most of the game either killing penalties, hemmed in deep in their own end of the ice and/or unable to work the puck much past the red line. They got outshot by a 34-23 margin.

Steve Mason is expected to get the start in goal tonight. Ray Emery played better last night than his statistical line would suggest. HURRICANES OUTLOOK The Hurricanes were unable to nail down a one-goal lead in Friday's opening night game against the Detroit Red Wings, yielding a tying goal in the final 20 seconds and then losing in overtime. The final score was 3-2. Radek Dvorak and Nathan Gerbe scored goals for the Canes in the opener. Cam Ward stopped 35 of 38 shots in a losing cause. Entering the season, the biggest question mark for the Hurricanes is the team's defense corps. Up front, there is solid talent, especially through the middle with centers Eric Staal, Jordan Staal and highly regarded rookie Elias Lindholm. Last season, Alexander Semin led the team's wingers with 44 points in 44 games. PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change) FLYERS 19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 10 Brayden Schenn or 93 Jakub Voracek 24 Matt Read- 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds 25 Max Talbot - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek or 10 Brayden Schenn 37 Jay Rosehill or 45 Kris Newbury - 18 Adam Hall - 36 Zac Rinaldo 44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn 32 Mark Streit - 22 Luke Schenn 8 Nicklas Grossmann - 41 Andrej Meszaros 35 Steve Mason [29 Ray Emery] Scratches: Kris Newbury or Jay Rosehill (healthy), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome). Hurricanes 19 Jiri Tlusty - 12 Eric Staal - 28 Alexander Semin 14 Nathan Gerbe - 11 Jordan Staal - 39 Pat Dwyer 53 Jeff Skinner - 20 Riley Nash - 18 Radek Dvorak 42 Brett Sutter - 16 Elias Lindholm - 21 Drayson Bowman

27 Justin Faulk - 4 Andrej Sekera 73 Brett Bellemore - 65 Ron Hainsey 44 Jay Harrison - 7 Ryan Murphy 30 Cam Ward [31 Anton Khudobin] Scratches: Mike Komisarek (healthy), Kevin Westgarth (healthy), Tim Gleason (concussion), Tuomo Ruutu (IR, lower body), Joni Pitkänen (IR, left heel surgery). ************ FLYERS STUMBLE IN MONTREAL Saturday night in Montreal, the Flyers got thoroughly outplayed in a 4-1 loss to the Canadiens. It looked like a clone of many Flyers games from last season. Philadelphia trailed, 1-0, after two periods, as Ray Emery and a slew of shot blocking kept them close in the game despite being outplayed. Brian Gionta scored a first period goal from in close for the only goal either team scored through 40 minutes. The Flyers had trouble all night in coping with Montreal's speed and transitional game. Equally disturbing was the fact that the mostly undersized Habs won the majority of the battles on the walls. For much of the game, there seemed to be two red jerseys to every white one around the puck. In the opening seconds of the third period, the Flyers turned a puck over and yielded a goal to Lars Eller. From there, they yielded a 5-on-3 power play tap-in goal by Brendan Gallagher, and fell into a nearly insurmountable 3-0 deficit. Vincent Lecavalier finally got the Flyers on the board on a power play rebound but that's as close as they got. Rene Bourque added Montreal's second power play goal of the period in the final minute to restore the three-goal margin of victory. Both teams lost a would-be goal last night to ill-timed whistles in what was a rather poorly officiated game in general. In the first period, Montreal goaltender Carey Price was unable to control a rebound and never had the puck covered at all but the official was on the other side and lost sight of the puck. Play was blown dead just as Matt Read stashed the loose disc in the net. In the third period, Montreal seeming scored a jam-in goal just ahead of the whistle, but the official had already decided Ray Emery had covered the puck (it was wedged under his skate blade). Moments before Montreal scored its 5-on-3 power play goal, the officials momentarily and incorrectly awarded them a goal on a one-timed puck that hit the outside of the mesh and disappeared from view.

************ PHANTOMS OPEN SEASON WITH OVERTIME WIN The Adirondack Phantoms opened the 2013-14 regular season with a comeback 4-3 road victory in overtime against the Hershey Bears. Defenseman Brandon Manning capped the game with the winning tally in overtime after Ben Holmstrom, Tye McGinn and Brandon Alderson (power play) scored in regulation. Yann Danis stopped 25 of 28 shots for the win. The Phantoms rushed out to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening 3:48 of regulation. At the 1:13 mark, Michael Raffl ripped a shot on net from the right circle. Hershey goaltender Phillipp Grubauer made the initial save but Holmstrom quickly potted the rebound. Alderson earned the secondary assist. A little more than two minutes later, Phantoms rookie Nick Cousins stickhandled around a Bears defender and snapped the puck on net. Grubauer again made the first save but could not prevent a rebound. This time, McGinn did the honors of stashing the loose puck in the net. Jason Akeson was credited with the secondary helper. The Phantoms took their 2-0 lead to the first intermission only to see the Bears roar back for three unanswered goals in the second period. In the opening minute of the middle stanza, Hershey rookie Nate Schmidt beat Danis up high with a 20-foot shot. Midway through the period, the Bears tied the game on a shorthanded breakaway goal. Michael Latta poked the puck away from Akeson in the neutral zone and then went in alone to beat Danis. Six minutes later, the Bears took a 3-2 lead on another shorthanded goal. This time, Latta intercepted a giveaway and then fed the puck to Derek Whitmore for a one-time blast that overpowered Danis. In the third period, Alderson re-tied the game at 3-3 with a power play goal at the 8:25 mark. Defenseman Matt Konan received a pass from defense partner Mark Alt and wheeled the puck up the ice from his own end of the ice. Konan then carried it over the red line, over the blue line and all the way to the slot. With three Hershey players going toward him, Konan fed the puck to Alderson in the lower right circle. The forward roofed the puck. The game remained tied through the remainder of regulation, and moved to overtime. At the 3:22 mark of four-on-four sudden death play, the game came to an end. Akeson intercepted a puck in the defensive zone, and sped off on a two-on-one rush along with rookie forward Petr Straka. Straka received the puck and tried a backhanded shot. Grubauer stopped the shot but a pinching Manning claimed the loose puck and put it in the net to win the game.

The Phantoms return to action on Friday. They will start a weekend home-and-home set with a visit to play the Hartford Wolf Pack. The teams will rematch in Glens Falls the next night in the Phantoms' home opener. ************ EUROPEAN/JUNIOR PROSPECT WEEKEND ROUNDUP * SHL: Robert Hägg was minus-one with no points in Modo's 3-2 overtime win against Örebro on Saturday. On Tuesday, Modo hosts defending champion Skellefteå AIK. * KHL: Valeri Vasiliev was even with no points and a two minute interference penalty in the third period of Spartak's 2-1 loss to Dynamo Moscow. He skated 14:56 over 20 shifts. On Tuesday, Spartak hosts Donbass Donetsk, featuring former Flyers Ruslan Fedotenko and Michael Leighton. * OHL: Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 28 shots in the London Knights' 7-2 win over the Guelph Storm. London returns to action on Thursday, visiting Sarnia. * OHL: Scott Laughton, who has six points (two goals, four assists) in his first two games since being returned by the Flyers to the Oshawa Generals, was idle last night. The team has a home game tonight against Guelph. * QMJHL: Samuel Morin remains out of action for Rimouski with a hand injury. On Saturday, Rimouski lost to Drummondville, 5-4. The Flyers' first round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft should return to practice this upcoming week and could be available to play when Rimouski hosts Moncton next Saturday. * WHL: Taylor Leier had a goal and an assist for the Portland Winterhawks in a 6-3 loss to the Kelowna Rockets. The Hawks host Kamloops next Saturday. * WHL: Tyrell Goulbourne had no points or penalty minutes for Kelowna in their 6-3 win over Portland. The Rockets are in Spokane on Tuesday. * USHL: Fredric Larsson had his first point (an assist) and his first fight (vs. Alec McCrea) in the USHL in the Youngstown Phantoms 6-3 loss to Waterloo on Saturday. He was even in plus-minus in the match. His team hosts Chicago on Friday. * USHL: Terrance Amorosa did not record a point and was minus-one in Sioux City's 2-1 loss to Sioux Falls on Saturday. His team visits Tri-City on Friday. * USHL: David Drake was even with one shot on goal in Des Moines' 1-0 loss to Tri -City on Saturday. His team visits Fargo on Friday.

* EJHL: Merrick Madsen got his second start of the season and was the losing goaltender in the Minot Minotauros' 3-2 loss to Wenatchee. Madsen stopped 29 of 32 shots. Minot hosts Aberdeen on Friday. 25. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- FIVE THINGS: Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes

1. WELCOME TO THE METRO The Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes are now in the same division, the Metropolitan Division, after the most recent NHL re-alignment this past summer… It’s the first time since Nov. 26, 1993 (3-0 W vs. TBL) that the Flyers are playing an opponent as a new divisional rival for the first time ever… In that 1993-94 season, the expansion Florida Panthers and the second-year Tampa Bay Lightning joined the Flyers along with four of their five former Patrick Division foes in the new Atlantic Division. 2. TONIGHT'S OPPONENT The Flyers and Hurricanes will meet four times this season with the first two meetings coming in Raleigh… The Flyers went a perfect 3-0-0 against Carolina last season with the Flyers recording a total of 14 goals in the three meetings - 11 of which came in the first two periods… The Flyers have lost just one game in regulation at Carolina in the last seven seasons, going 11-1-1 in that span… Since the 2000-01 season, the Flyers own a 33-6-4-4 record against the Hurricanes… They have won or at least tied in the season series against the Hurricanes over the last 20 seasons, dating back to 1991-92 when they were the Hartford Whalers… Since that season, the Flyers own a 53-11-9-4 record against the Whalers/Hurricanes. 3. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER BOTH Ray Emery and Steve Mason own perfect 5-0-0 records against the Hurricanes in their career… Emery has a 0.73 GAA and two shutouts, while Mason has a 1.80 GAA… Matt Read is a Hurricane killer - he averaged two points-per-game last season with six points (2g-4a) in three games, while over the course of his career, he has nine points (4g-5a) in seven games… The teams have played past regulation in 16 of their last 38 meetings (42.1%)… The Hurricanes ranked 2nd in the NHL preseason in penalty killing, going 26-for-28, and killed off all three penalties in their only game so far this season… Former Flyer defenseman Joni Pitkanen is out for the entire season for Carolina with a broken heel... The Flyers will be looking to avoid dropping their first three games of the season for the second straight year. 4. Player to watch FLYERS: Vincent Lecavalier - (C) #40 Lecavalier has been a factor in both Flyers goals this season, recording an assist in the season opener and posting his first goal as a Flyer last night at Montreal… Lecavalier has also performed well against the Hurricanes - He has the most points against Carolina in his career than any other team - 78 points (31-47a) in 80 games. 5. Player to watch HURRICANES: Eric Staal - (C) #12 Staal led the Hurricanes last season against the Flyers with a pair of goals and four points in the three-game season series… Staal failed to record a point in the Canes first game - dating back to last season, only one time throughout the year he went two straight games without recording a

point - it was the first two games of that season as well (Jan. 19 & 22)… Overall in his career, Staal has 12 goals and 25 points in 35 career games against the Flyers. QUOTABLE "We're not very happy with our game and it's got to change." - Claude Giroux

26. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Craig Berube Named Flyers Head Coach

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Monday morning that Craig Berube has been named the 18th head coach in Flyers history, replacing Peter Laviolette, who was relieved of his duties. Berube, 48 (12/17/65), had started his seventh season as a Flyers assistant coach and is in his 17th overall season with the club. Berube was most recently named a Flyers assistant coach on August 7, 2008, and also served as an assistant coach for most of the 2006-07 season. He has been a coach in the organization since 2004, when he was named the assistant coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate. He served in that capacity for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, and was the head coach of the Phantoms for the first six games of the 2006-07 season and all of the 2007-08 season. During the 2007-08 season, Berube posted a 49-29-5-3 record as head coach of the Phantoms and led the team to a second-place finish in the East Division and a trip to the AHL’s East Division Finals. He was originally named to that position on June 14, 2006. He was first named a Flyers assistant coach on October 23, 2006, and was re-appointed as the Phantoms head coach on June 4, 2007. Berube’s history with the Flyers dates back to March 19, 1986, when he was signed as a free agent after completing his junior year in the Western Hockey League. Over parts of seven seasons with the Flyers (1986-91, 1998-2000), Berube recorded 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 points and 1,138 penalty minutes in 323 regular season games. His 1,138 PIM ranks ninth on the Flyers’ All-Time List. Berube returned to the Flyers organization for a third time on November 18, 2003 when he signed with the Phantoms as a player. He was named a player/assistant coach on January 29, 2004 and moved to full-time coaching the following year. He recorded six assists and 134 penalty minutes in 33 regular season games for the Phantoms during the 2003-04 season, his 18th and final professional season, before moving into a full-time coaching role the following year. Over parts of 17 NHL seasons (1986-87 through 2002-03), Berube registered 61 goals and 98 assists for 159 points and 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 career regular season games for the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. His 3,149 career penalty minutes ranks seventh in NHL history.

Berube and his wife, Rebecca, have three children – sons Jake and Nashota and daughter Charlotte.

27. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Laviolette Fired; Berube The New Coach

Anthony SanFilippo

PHILADELPHIA -- Unsatisfied with the team's start to the season, which has seen them score just three goals in three games, all losses, the organization has decided to change its leadership voice. As such, head coach Peter Laviolette has been relieved of his duties after nearly four years as coach. He has been replaced by assistant coach Craig Berube, who becomes the 18th man to coach the team in franchise history on a full-time basis. Berube will not have an interim tag on his job title. This is his team for the forseeable future. Also let go was assistant coach Kevin McCarthy. The new assistant coaches will be John Paddock and Ian Laperriere. Joe Mullen remains as an assistant coach who watches games from the press box and communicates with the bench. He will also continue to work with the power play. Jeff Reese remains as the goaltending coach. Berube served as an assistant coach for the Flyers for parts of seven seasons under both John Stevens and Laviolette. His coaching career began as a player/coach with the Philadelphia Phantoms in the 2003-04 season and then became a full-time assistant for the Phantoms the following season. He remained in that position until the start of the 2007-08 season when he was named head coach of the Phantoms. He compiled a 49-29-5-3 record as head coach of the Phantoms before being named an assistant with the Flyers. It was paramount to get off to a fast start for Laviolette to keep his job, but when the Flyers struggled to generate offense and got off to this 0-3-0 start, the team felt a new direction was needed. In parts of five different seasons with the Flyers, Laviolette did have a good bit of success. He posted a 145-97-29 record in 271 regular season games. His 145 wins as a head coach ranks as the third-most in franchise history behind only Fred Shero and Mike Keenan.

Laviolette also guided the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals as well as two other second round playoff appearances before missing the playoffs in 2012-13, a season shortened by a work stoppage. Berube, 47, is well-liked and respected in the Flyers locker room and as such should have an immediate impact on the players on the roster. Stay tuned for more after the press conference.

28. The 700- Level- Danny Briere on Montreal’s win over Flyers: ‘I got them tonight’

Andrew Kulp

Not the start to the 2013-14 season the Flyers were hoping for. There weren’t many positives to draw on from the club’s 4-1 loss in Montreal on Saturday night. They didn’t get a lot of great scoring chances, not to mention had trouble generating much in the way of a sustained attack at all or even moving the puck cleanly for that matter. Basically, this was a continuation of the opener last Wednesday. The Bullies have been taking it on the chin ever since their dominant first period in game one against Toronto. Philadelphia is in the hole quickly—already 0-2 on the season—and now faces a long trip down the coast to Carolina for the second half of a back-to-back. But getting back to the loss to the Canadiens, it was a marquee matchup of sorts with Danny Briere getting his first crack at the franchise that bought out his contract back in June. Briere spent six seasons with the Flyers, authoring numerous clutch performances in Orange & Black, but this time he was on the opposite bench wearing red and blue. As you might imagine, Danny was pretty pumped up about the victory. Mr. ‘I got them tonight’ failed to register a shot on goal and won 3-of-10 faceoffs in slightly less than 14 minutes of ice time. In fact, Briere’s biggest contributions to the contest were probably his two minor penalties—not that the Flyers were able to convert on either of them. Briere’s team won the game though, so to victor goes the spoils I suppose. As for the Flyers, Vincent Lecavalier scored his first goal in Orange & Black, and Ray Emery got the start in net, doing an admirable job in a hostile environment until the game began to unravel in the third period. It wasn’t enough to keep the Flyers from being serenaded off the ice by feisty Montreal fans though, much less get Philly in the win column for the first time this season. Notes: Jakub Voracek rejoined Claude Giroux on the top line. Earlier, head coach Peter Laviolette explained the decision to mix it up in the opener on Wednesday.

29. The 700-Level- Flyers Chairman Ed Snider: ‘We don’t need a fresh perspective’

Nick Menta

“We don’t need a fresh perspective” — Ed Snider And that line — more than any other from Monday morning’s press conference, maybe more than any line at any time — sums up the last 38 years of Philadelphia Flyers hockey. Craig Berube was officially introduced as the 18th coach in Flyers history on Monday, and the 11th coach since Paul Holmgren’s own tenure behind the bench ended in 1991. Peter Laviolette was fired after just three games. That’s the quickest any coach has ever been fired in league history. Right from the top, things went south. In fact, it very quickly gave way to an irritated Ed Snider arguing with an equally irritated Howard Eskin. That tells you a lot of what you need to know in case you missed it. Although this end to proceedings paints the clearest picture: As for specifics, Holmgren said he made the decision to fire Peter Laviolette while on the plane coming back from Carolina last evening. He met with Laviolette this morning, who apparently expressed as much frustration about the state of his team anyone else. Holmgren, who made a point to say it was decision to fire Laviolette, twice mentioned the excitement surrounding his free-agent acquisitions of Vinny Lecavalier, Mark Streit and Ray Emery over the summer, and how the team had not lived up to that excitement. “We made some changes over the summer that got us excited,” Holmgren said. “It was a fleeting thought.” Then he got into the damning quotes: “Right from Day 1 at training camp, I was concerned about how the team looked.” And in assessing his team’s play over three games: “It was unacceptable. We don’t look like a team at all.” Holmgren did at one point attempt to slightly remove Laviolette from under the bus, stating: “I’d be remiss not to thank Peter. … He did a good job. … He’s a good coach. “I like Peter. I thought he deserved another opportunity [after last year]. “Peter Laviolette worked his ass off for the Flyers.” This conversation — as it should, as it often does when any coach gets canned — will quickly work it’s way right back to general manager and soon focus on what Holmgren’s future should be with the Flyers. The coach is responsible for marking all the pieces fit, but Holmgren is the one who put together the team he was concerned about “right from Day 1.” Still, the major takeaway from this morning’s presser is that the Flyers are prepared to soldier on as they have since they last won a Stanley Cup. Ed Snider was highly combative throughout the press conference and capped things off in a style that should surprise no one.

When asked if he was worried about the perception Berube’s hire might bolster — specifically, that the Flyers are too insulated by their own history and culture — Snider doubled down, and did so with some anger in his voice. “Thirty teams are trying to win the Cup and we’re doing our damnedest to do it. That’s our culture. That’s our culture,” he said. “We don’t need a fresh perspective.” Thirty teams are trying to win a Cup, but the Flyers’ attempt to do it every single year has led them into one knee-jerk reaction after another. This is a team operating with a goal in mind, but without any specific road map to get there. The Flyers are trying desperately to win a Stanley Cup every year, and that’s maybe the biggest part of what’s holding them back from actually doing it. 30. TSN.com- Dvorak, Harrison Lead Hurricanes to Win Over Flyers

The Canadian Press

RALEIGH, N.C. -- After squandering a third-period lead in a season-opening loss to Detroit, the Carolina Hurricanes were happy to be in a similar position against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. This time, they got the result they wanted. Radek Dvorak scored the winner in the second period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Flyers. Jay Harrison also scored, Jeff Skinner added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves in his Hurricanes' debut. "It definitely had the very same feel as the last game," Carolina's Jordan Staal said. "It was nice to get a different result with the tough ending to last time. It was nice to have a solid third period and do all the right things to get the win." Luke Schenn had the goal for the Flyers, who have opened the season 0-3-0 for the second year in a row. Before last year, Philadelphia had lost its first three games only one other time in franchise history. Steve Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia has scored only three goals in its three losses. "I don't know if anything's missing -- we're just having a tough time scoring goals," Schenn said. "No one's got that confidence or that swagger right now to score some goals. When you put the

puck in the net, it makes everyone feel good around you. For whatever reason, we've had a hard time doing that." The Hurricanes dominated large stretches of the opening period, taking advantage of a Philadelphia team that lost 4-1 at Montreal on Saturday night before travelling to Raleigh. For the period, Carolina outshot the Flyers 17-5. Harrison opened the scoring with one of the Hurricanes' more benign opportunities, sneaking the puck through Mason's legs on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Philadelphia got that goal back 3:01 into the second period when Schenn skated around Carolina's Drayson Bowman and snapped the puck above Khudobin's left shoulder. It was the Flyers' first even-strength goal of the season. "I would think that the guys are probably pretty frustrated," Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said. "There's not a lot of room out there. The first game, we had a lot of attempts; the second game, not a lot of attempts. We're in there, we're looking, but we're not coming up with anything." Dvorak gave the Hurricanes the lead for good when he scored a little more than 5 minutes later. After Skinner deflected Schenn's clearing attempt, Dvorak collected the loose puck in the high slot. With Carolina's Riley Nash providing a screen, Dvorak's wrist shot beat Mason on the glove side. "When the forecheck's going well, everything falls into place," Skinner said. "I think the forecheck was going well." Dvorak, who signed a free agent contract with the Hurricanes on Oct. 2 after coming to training camp on a tryout basis, also scored in the Hurricanes' season-opening loss to Detroit on Friday. The 18-year veteran had four goals in nine games for Anaheim last season. "Given the opportunity, he can score," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "He's got great skill. He's obviously been a great addition over the first two games that we've added to our group of young forwards." The final period was a tight-checking affair with neither team having many opportunities -- Philadelphia managed only three shots. NOTES: Elias Lindholm, Carolina's first-round draft pick, went to the Hurricanes' dressing room in the third period with an apparent injury to his right arm. He did not return to the game, although he was on the bench at the end of the game. ... Philadelphia's Vincent Lecavalier came into the game having recorded 27 points in his last 27 games against the Hurricanes. . Mason had been undefeated in five career outings against Carolina.

31. TSN.com- At 0-3, Flyers Replace Head Coach Laviolette with Berube

The Canadian Press

PHILADELPHIA -- Despite a preseason vote of confidence from ownership, the Philadelphia Flyers fired coach Peter Laviolette Monday after an 0-3 start. The Flyers made the announcement at a morning news conference, less than a day after Philadelphia dropped a 2-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes. Assistant Craig Berube, in his seventh season with the organization, will take over as coach. He is the Flyers' 18th coach in team history. Laviolette dealt with rumours of his firing last season, a year in which the Flyers missed the playoffs after the lockout shortened the campaign. It was the only season in which he failed to make the post-season in Philadelphia. He was hired early in the 2009 season after John Stevens was fired, and led the Flyers on an improbable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Laviolette won the Stanley Cup coaching the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and previously coached the New York Islanders. He received a vote of confidence from Flyers chairman Ed Snider shortly before the season started. "As far as Peter is concerned, last year was an anomaly," he said. "He's been a very good coach for us, he's been a good coach in this league." Laviolette signed a two-year extension last season that was set to take him through 2014-15. He's just the second coach in Flyers history to coach parts of five seasons. He's set to serve as an assistant coach under Pittsburgh's Dan Bylsma for the United States in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, and has coaching experience with USA Hockey. Laviolette led the Flyers to three straight playoff appearances before they stumbled last season. The Flyers went 23-22-3 and were 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points last year, and couldn't recover from a slow start. There was no apparent improvement the first three games of this season. The Flyers lost their opener at home last week to Toronto, then lost games on consecutive days over the weekend to Montreal and Carolina. They were outscored 9-3. "I would think guys are probably pretty frustrated," Laviolette said Sunday night. "Offensively, if you're not scoring, everything's got to be perfect on the defensive side of things." In a bleak time in city sports, Laviolette's firing means all four Philadelphia teams have changed coaches in the last year. Eagles coach Chip Kelly, hired in January, is now the dean of Philadelphia coaches.

32. ESPN.com- Radek Dvorak, Hurricanes edge Flyers to earn first win

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. -- After squandering a third-period lead in a season-opening loss to Detroit, the Carolina Hurricanes were happy to be in a similar position against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. This time, they got the result they wanted. Radek Dvorak scored the winner in the second period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Flyers. Jay Harrison also scored, Jeff Skinner added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves in his Hurricanes' debut. "It definitely had the very same feel as the last game," Carolina's Jordan Staal said. "It was nice to get a different result with the tough ending to last time. It was nice to have a solid third period and do all the right things to get the win." Luke Schenn had the goal for the Flyers, who have opened the season 0-3-0 for the second year in a row. Before last year, Philadelphia had lost its first three games only one other time in franchise history. Steve Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia has scored only three goals in its three losses. "I don't know if anything's missing -- we're just having a tough time scoring goals," Schenn said. "No one's got that confidence or that swagger right now to score some goals. When you put the puck in the net, it makes everyone feel good around you. For whatever reason, we've had a hard time doing that." The Hurricanes dominated large stretches of the opening period, taking advantage of a Philadelphia team that lost 4-1 at Montreal on Saturday night before traveling to Raleigh. For the period, Carolina outshot the Flyers 17-5. Harrison opened the scoring with one of the Hurricanes' more benign opportunities, sneaking the puck through Mason's legs on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Philadelphia got that goal back 3:01 into the second period when Schenn skated around Carolina's Drayson Bowman and snapped the puck above Khudobin's left shoulder. It was the Flyers' first even-strength goal of the season.

"I would think that the guys are probably pretty frustrated," Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said. "There's not a lot of room out there. The first game, we had a lot of attempts; the second game, not a lot of attempts. We're in there, we're looking, but we're not coming up with anything." Dvorak gave the Hurricanes the lead for good when he scored a little more than 5 minutes later. After Skinner deflected Schenn's clearing attempt, Dvorak collected the loose puck in the high slot. With Carolina's Riley Nash providing a screen, Dvorak's wrist shot beat Mason on the glove side. "When the forecheck's going well, everything falls into place," Skinner said. "I think the forecheck was going well." Dvorak, who signed a free agent contract with the Hurricanes on Oct. 2 after coming to training camp on a tryout basis, also scored in the Hurricanes' season-opening loss to Detroit on Friday. The 18-year veteran had four goals in nine games for Anaheim last season. "Given the opportunity, he can score," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "He's got great skill. He's obviously been a great addition over the first two games that we've added to our group of young forwards." The final period was a tight-checking affair with neither team having many opportunities -- Philadelphia managed only three shots. Game notes Elias Lindholm, Carolina's first-round draft pick, went to the Hurricanes' dressing room in the third period with an apparent injury to his right arm. He did not return to the game, although he was on the bench at the end of the game. ... Philadelphia's Vincent Lecavalier came into the game having recorded 27 points in his last 27 games against the Hurricanes. ... Mason had been undefeated in five career outings against Carolina. 33. ESPN.com- Peter Laviolette fired after 0-3 start

PHILADELPHIA -- Despite a preseason vote of confidence from ownership, the Philadelphia Flyers fired coach Peter Laviolette on Monday after an 0-3 start. The Flyers made the announcement at a morning news conference less than a day after Philadelphia dropped a 2-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes. "This is just a gut feeling on my part," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. " Right now, we're not playing the way we have to play ... that's got to change." Assistant Craig Berube, in his seventh season with the organization, will take over as coach. He is the 18th coach in team history. Ian Laperriere and John Paddock will serve as assistants.

"Craig is one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever been around," Holmgren said. "He demands respect, he holds people accountable. he's a no-B.S. kind of guy." Laviolette's firing is the earliest to start an NHL season since the 1971-72 campaign, when Fred Glover was fired after three games with the California Golden Seals, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Chicago's Denis Savard (2008), Pittsburgh's Ivan Hlinka (2000) and Montreal's Jacques Demers (1995) all were four games into their respective seasons when they were fired. Laviolette dealt with rumors of his firing last season, a year in which the Flyers missed the playoffs after the lockout shortened the campaign. It was the only season in which he failed to make the postseason in Philadelphia. He was hired early in the 2009 season after John Stevens was fired and led the Flyers on an improbable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. The Flyers fired coach Peter Laviolette just three games into the season Monday. Laviolette won the Stanley Cup coaching the Hurricanes in 2006 and previously coached the New York Islanders. Flyers chairman Ed Snider, who had given Laviolette a vote of confidence shortly before the season started, acknowledged Monday that he was "disappointed" in the team's combined poor effort in the preseason and regular season. "Quite frankly, I was disappointed in the preseason we had," Snider said. "I'm hoping for better. We always try to make the team as good as we possibly can. Sometimes we're not right." Laviolette signed a two-year extension last season that was set to take him through 2014-15. He's just the second coach in team history to coach parts of five seasons. He's set to serve as an assistant under the Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma for the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and has coaching experience with USA Hockey. Laviolette led the Flyers to three straight playoff appearances before they stumbled last season. The Flyers went 23-22-3 and were 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points last year, having failed to recover from a slow start. There was no apparent improvement the first three games of this season. The Flyers lost their opener at home last week to Toronto, then lost games on consecutive days over the weekend to Montreal and Carolina. They were outscored 9-3. "I would think guys are probably pretty frustrated," Laviolette said Sunday night. "Offensively, if you're not scoring, everything's got to be perfect on the defensive side of things."

In a bleak time in city sports, Laviolette's firing means all four of Philadelphia's major sports teams have changed coaches in the past year. Eagles coach Chip Kelly, hired in January, is now the dean of Philadelphia coaches.

34. NHL.com- Dvorak and Harrison score to lead Hurricanes to 1st win of season, 2-1 over

Flyers

The Canadian Press

RALEIGH, N.C. - Radek Dvorak scored the winner in the second period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Jay Harrison also scored, Jeff Skinner added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves in his Hurricanes' debut. Luke Schenn had the goal for the Flyers, who have opened the season 0-3-0 for the second year in a row. Before last year, Philadelphia had lost its first three games only one other time in franchise history. Steve Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers. The Hurricanes dominated large stretches of the opening period, taking advantage of a Philadelphia team that lost 4-1 at Montreal on Saturday night before travelling to Raleigh. For the period, Carolina outshot the Flyers 17-5. Harrison opened the scoring with one of the Hurricanes' more benign opportunities, sneaking the puck through Mason's legs on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Philadelphia got that goal back 3:01 into the second period when Schenn skated around Carolina's Drayson Bowman and snapped the puck above Khudobin's left shoulder. It was the Flyers' first even-strength goal of the season. Dvorak gave the Hurricanes the lead for good when he scored a little more than 5 minutes later. After Skinner deflected Schenn's clearing attempt, Dvorak collected the loose puck in the high slot. With Carolina's Riley Nash providing a screen, Dvorak's wrist shot beat Mason on the glove side. Dvorak, who signed a free agent contract with the Hurricanes on Oct. 2 after coming to training camp on a tryout basis, also scored in the Hurricanes' season-opening loss to Detroit on Friday. The 18-year veteran had four goals in nine games for Anaheim last season. The final period was a tight-checking affair with neither having many opportunities — Philadelphia managed only three shots.

NOTES: Elias Lindholm, Carolina's first-round draft pick, went to the Hurricanes' dressing room in the third period with an apparent injury to his right arm and did not return. . Philadelphia's Vincent Lecavalier came into the game having recorded 27 points in his last 27 games against the Hurricanes. . Mason had been undefeated in five career outings against Carolina.

35. NHL.com- Flyers' coaching change, Monday action on NHL Live

Steve Mears

The Philadelphia Flyers have fired coach Peter Laviolette and we'll have this covered Monday on NHL Live, at 5 p.m. ET on NHL Network. NHL Network insider Bob McKenzie will break down the firing and our very own head coach Barry Melrose will give insights on how the Flyers will move on with Craig Berube behind the bench. Also, we have two games to preview Monday night with a pair of star players returning to their respective teams. In Edmonton, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, will make his season debut for the Oilers following offseason shoulder surgery. He'll face Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils at 9:30 p.m. ET at Rexall Place. Nugent-Hopkins was originally expected to be out until November, but is ready to go and will likely skate on a line with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. The new combination also allows Hall to move back to his natural left wing position after struggling at center in the Oilers' first two games. Meanwhile, New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan will also play in his first game of the season as the Blueshirts face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Callahan is expected to start in a third-line role with Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt as the Rangers begin a stretch of four games in six nights.

36. NHL.com- Flyers fire Laviolette, replace with Berube

Adam Kimelman

The Philadelphia Flyers on Monday fired coach Peter Laviolette and replaced him with assistant coach Craig Berube. In addition, assistant coach Kevin McCarthy, who had also worked with Laviolette with the Carolina Hurricanes, was let go. Added to the coaching staff were director of player personnel John Paddock and director of player development Ian Laperriere. Holmgren called the move a "gut feeling" he had on the plane ride home from Carolina on Sunday after the Flyers' 2-1 loss, their third straight to start the season. "Right from the first day of training camp I was worried about how the team looked," Holmgren said. "We have a long way to go this season, but it's about how we played and it was unacceptable. It was a gut feeling that I had to make a change."

Holmgren said he was going to meet with the players later Monday, and said they would be held accountable as well. Earliest coaching changes in history Paul Thompson (1 game, Chicago, 1944-45) Conn Smythe (2 games, Toronto, 1930-31) Bill Gadsby (2 games, Detroit, 1969-70) Fred Glover (3 games, California, 1971-72 Peter Laviolette (3 games, Philadelphia, 2013-14) Denis Savard (4 games, Chicago, 2008-09) Ivan Hlinka (4 games, Pittsburgh, 2000-01) Jacques Demers (4 games, Montreal, 1995-96) "I'm not going to let the players off the hook," he said. "Things have to get better and they will." Berube was in his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Flyers, including the last six on the staffs of John Stevens and Laviolette. "I'm excited about the opportunity to have Craig coach the Philadelphia Flyers," Holmgren said. "Craig is one of the smartest guys I've ever been around. He demands respect, he holds people accountable and he's a no-B.S. kind of guy. I'm looking forward to Craig taking over the team." Berube's first game will be Tuesday, when the Flyers host the Florida Panthers. This is Berube's first chance as an NHL head coach. His only other experience as a head coach came in parts of two seasons with the Flyers' American Hockey League team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in 2006-07 and 2007-08, in which he went a combined 52-30-8. Berube said his first task would be improving the team's defense. In the first three games, the Flyers allowed nine goals. "I don't think we're playing well enough without the puck," Berube said. "We need to play better without the puck and we need to compete a lot better." The roster Berube inherits hasn't played well with or without the puck. The team has three goals in three games, but only one at even-strength. Top-six forwards Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds have zero points this season. "We're just not playing well enough right now to win the in the National Hockey League," Holmgren said. "Whether it's fresh ideas or a new voice, that's up to Craig. That's his job. I didn't like the direction the team was heading and felt we needed a change." It's the second straight season the Flyers have opened 0-3-0, and the fourth time in club history. It was less than a month ago that team chairman Ed Snider had given Laviolette a vote of confidence.

"As far as Peter is concerned, last year was an anomaly," Snider told reporters on Sept. 13. "He's been a very good coach for us, he's been a good coach in this League, and we're just thrilled to have him." However, Snider said he had his issues with the team's 1-5-1 preseason, as well as the start to the regular season. "From my point of view I'm disappointed in the start we had and I was disappointed in the preseason we had," he said. "I'm hoping for better. We always try to make the team as good as we possibly can. Sometimes we're not right. Hopefully this time it'll work on our behalf." Laviolette's firing three games into a season is the earliest a coaching change has been made since Bill Gadsby was let go by the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 19, 1969, two games into the 1969-70 season. Holmgren said any thought to firing Laviolette last season in the wake of the club's 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference were "fleeting." He said he hoped the offseason additions of center Vincent Lecavalier, defenseman Mark Streit and goalie Ray Emery would advance the strong finish the club had to last season, when it went 6-1-0 in the final seven games. "I like Peter [and] I thought he deserved another opportunity," Holmgren said. "I think it was the right thing to do at the time, starting training camp, start the year with Peter, [but] I didn't like what I was seeing. It was a gut decision." Laviolette was hired Dec. 4, 2009, and in parts of five seasons went 145-98-29. When he opened this season as coach, he joined Fred Shero as the only men in club history to coach the Flyers for a fifth season. Shero lasted seven seasons and won the only Stanley Cups in Flyers history, in 1974 and 1975. Laviolette went 23-22 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, topped by the team's trip to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. However, they missed the playoffs last season, the first time that had happened since 2007. In 12 seasons as an NHL coach with the New York Islanders, Hurricanes and Flyers, Laviolette is 389-282-88. He guided the Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup. He also will serve as an assistant coach for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Berube started his NHL career with the Flyers in 1986-87 season and was a rookie on the team that lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. In six seasons in two different stints as a player with the Flyers, he had 58 points and 1,138 penalty minutes in 323 games. He played 17 seasons in all, with the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, totaling 159 points in 1,054 games. He ranks seventh in League history with 3,149 penalty minutes.

Paddock has been with the Flyers in various roles since 2008, when he was hired as coach of the team's AHL club. He had been an assistant general manager and worked on Laviolette's staff last season; he was shifted into his current role after Ron Hextall was hired as an assistant GM in July. Paddock previously served as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets (1991-95) and Ottawa Senators (2007-08), and has been an assistant coach at the NHL level with the Senators (2005-07) Laperriere had been in his second season as the club's director of player development after announcing his retirement as a player in the summer of 2012 due to concussion issues. This will be the first time he has coached at any professional level.

Carolina Hurricanes Articles (FLYERS Last Opponent)

1. Raleigh News and Observer- Canes get first win of season, 2-1 over Flyers

Chip Alexander

RALEIGH — With the final minutes ticking down Sunday and the Carolina Hurricanes trying to hold onto a one-goal lead in the third period, Jeff Skinner said not much was said on the home team’s bench. “I don’t think anyone had to say it,” Skinner said. Many in PNC Arena had to be thinking back to Carolina's season-opener Friday at PNC Arena, when Canes played well against Detroit but couldn't protect a lead in the third period. The Red Wings tied the score in the final seconds of regulation and then won in overtime. The Hurricanes seemed determined Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers would be different, and it was. This time, the Canes made the plays and won 2-1, getting goals from forward Radek Dvorak and defenseman Jay Harrison while picking up their first victory of the season and making goalie Anton Khudobin a winner in his first appearance for Carolina. “You just need to bear down,” Skinner said. “The league is the best league in the world for a reason. There are a lot of one-goal games and you’ve got to able to finish them out.” In Friday’s game, the Wings pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker and banged in the tying goal as things grew frantic on the ice. But the Flyers, now 0-3-0, couldn’t match Detroit. Goaltender Steve Mason left the net with 90 seconds remaining in regulation. Again it was six-on-five, often a test of wills as much as talent, and this time the Canes held. The Flyers’ Vincent Lecavalier had a shot blocked by defenseman Andrej Sekera with a little more than a minute to play, but Philadelphia could generate little else.

“It had the very same feel as the last game, so it was nice to get a different result,” said Canes center Jordan Staal, who was on the ice in the final minute. “After a tough ending to last time, it was nice to just have a solid third period and do all the right things.” Strong forechecking was a constant for the Canes in the bruising game – the Flyers were credited with 46 hits, 10 by forward Zac Rinaldo. It helped set up both goals for the Canes, who had a 34-18 shooting edge. Harrison barely got a shot past Mason about eight minutes into the first. Harrison took Ryan Murphy’s pass off the boards, then fired a shot from the left point, the puck trickling through Mason’s pads. Murphy’s assist was his first career NHL point. Dvorak got the winner on a shot from the slot at eight minutes, 20 seconds of the second. Skinner first pressured Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn into a poor pass from behind the Philadelphia net. The puck nicked Skinner’s skate and skidded out toward an open Dvorak. Schenn scored early in the second period, grabbing the puck after a faceoff win and walking in to beat Khudobin with a quick, high-shelf shot. But the Canes soon were boosted by a long, strong shift from their fourth line of Drayson Bowman, Brett Sutter and rookie Elias Lindholm, who was injured in the third period after a hit along the boards but later returned to the bench. Skinner, named the game’s first star, finished with two assists, but it was his solid all-around play with linemates Riley Nash and Dvorak that pleased Canes coach Kirk Muller. “He was more tenacious on the puck,” Muller said. “He created more. And he worked hard without the puck.” But the hardest work came at the end from everyone in red. With the crowd of 16,088 on its feet, including a lot of Flyers fans, the Canes were gritty and won. “It takes a little bit of smarts on the defensive side, from trying not to run around, and stay calm and make the right plays,” Jordan Staal said. “When the crowd’s going nuts it’s hard sometimes. It made for a fun finish.”

Florida Panthers Articles (FLYERS Next Opponent)

1. Florida Panthers take in NFL game, try to regroup after blowout

George Richards

ST. LOUIS -- The Panthers took an NFL field trip to the St. Louis Rams-Jacksonville Jaguars game on Sunday afternoon. At first glance it would appear to be a punishment for Saturday’s lopsided loss. No, coach Kevin Dineen planned the outing soon after the schedule came out — long before Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues and before he probably realized how bad Jacksonville would be. “They’re a Florida team, so we’re going to cheer for them,” Dineen said on Saturday morning. “It didn’t set up well for us to see the Cardinals on Friday because of [practice].” Sunday’s off day in St. Louis was planned as a way for the Panthers to hang out with each other in more of a social setting, a team-building effort for a group that opens its season with four games away from home. Dineen said the team could have flown home after Saturday’s game and then traveled to Philadelphia on Monday, but he decided to keep the road trip on the road. “I felt going to a football game would be a nice way to just spend some time together,” Dineen said. “We talked about spending some time away before the season started, but with nine days to start the season, we thought we should find something on the road trip.” For Dineen and his Panthers, Sunday also served as a day to kind of forget about Saturday’s ugliness. The Panthers probably won’t be able to put the loss to the Blues behind them so quickly — and might look back at last year as a warning not to let things get away so early in the season. Florida was feeling good about itself after winning its opener, as it did last season. Like last year, that opening-night win was followed up by a road rout. What the Panthers do now is up to them. Last year’s team lost five in a row after beating Carolina in the opener. Florida tries to end its losing ways Tuesday against the host Flyers. The team will practice Monday afternoon in Philadelphia. “We can’t let this happen again,” Jonathan Huberdeau said. “We have to recharge our batteries. We’re only two games in, so we can forget this and be ready when the puck drops on the next one.” Dineen also said he wouldn’t dispose of the video from Saturday’s loss, one in which the Panthers went 0 for 7 on the power play and were outshot 34-19 and throughly outplayed. “We all have to take ownership in this one,” Dineen said. “It was a butt kicking. We have to move on, get ready for the next one. We have a lot of games left on this trip. We have to be better. I’m not fooling myself or these guys. They are smart guys. They know what the difference in the game was.”

For some players, Sunday’s trip to the Edward Jones Dome was their first live NFL experience. Huberdeau and others took in their first game last month at the Dolphins’ season opener. “I know the rules because I’ve played football on video games,” said rookie Aleksander Barkov, who grew up in Finland before moving to Florida. “It’s a little different than European football. We don’t see this kind of football much. I think it will be fun.” MEMORIES Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the Panthers’ first game, one that ended with a 4-4 tie at Chicago Stadium against the Blackhawks. Scott Mellanby, who scored the first goal in franchise history on Oct. 6, 1993, watched Saturday’s game from the press box, as did former Panthers coach Duane Sutter. Others with ties to that first game who were in St. Louis included TV analyst Billy Lindsay and assistant coach Craig Ramsay. The Panthers will honor some of their top players with commemorative bobble heads. Mellanby, Florida’s captain from 1997 to 2001, will be among them. Mellanby killed the rat in the Miami Arena locker room that started the rubber rat craze in Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. “It’s nice to be honored, but it sure makes you feel old. I can’t believe it has been 20 years,” Mellanby, now the director of player personnel with the Montreal Canadiens, said last month. “This was a big part of my career, a big part of my life. I got married just before I came here, I had children born here. “I would like to see the team be back in the playoffs on a regular basis. We were proud of what we did here. I’ll always have a soft spot for the Panthers. I think I was a big part of the franchise at one time.” • Scott Clemmensen played in his first game since last April on Saturday and made 24 saves in leading San Antonio of the AHL to a 3-1 victory over the Rockford (Ill.) Icehogs. Clemmensen had knee surgery last month and is technically in San Antonio on a rehab assignment. Because he passed through waivers without being claimed, the Panthers could keep him there longer if they so wished. “I’m here to play some games and get my game in order,” Clemmensen told the San Antonio Express-News. “For me, this is my training camp. My goal is to prepare myself and get my body healthy. After that, who knows?”

PHANTOMS Articles

1. Glens Falls Post-Star- Phantoms open with road win

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Adirondack Phantoms needed an overtime to do it but started their final season off with a 4-3 win on the road against Hershey. Brandon Manning scored at 3:22 of the overtime. Manning said earlier in the week that he would like to have an impact on the offense. The Phantoms took a 2-0 lead in the first period, courtesy of Ben Holmstrom and Tye McGinn, but then allowed Hershey two short-handed goals and one at even strength to end up on the short end of a 3-2 game. Brandon Alderson scored his first professional goal to tie the game up 3-3 with a power-play goal with 11:35 to play. Alderson also assisted Holmstrom’s goal to tie his point total in nine games with the Phantoms last season. Jason Akeson assisted both McGinn and Manning’s goals. Petr Straka had the primary assist on Manning’s goal for his first professional point. Holmstrom, who was playing his first regular-season game since undergoing surgery to reconstruct his ACL in December, said earlier in the week that getting a good start to the season would be the key for the Phantoms. Last year, Adirondack improved greatly in the latter half of the season, but still finished at the bottom of the conference. Head coach Terry Murray said earlier in the week that he wanted to see his team pick up where they left off. It’s only one game, but the Phantoms started on the right note. The Phantoms travel to Hartford on Friday before opening the 25th non-consecutive season of AHL hockey in Glens Falls against the Wolf Pack on Saturday. The Phantoms have fewer than 1,000 tickets available for the home opener, according to media relations director Bob Rotruck. The Phantoms have sold more tickets than they had at this point last year for a game that ended up a sellout. Adirondack 2 0 1 1 — 4 Hershey 0 3 0 0 — 3 First Period—1, Adirondack, Holmstrom 1 (Raffl, Alderson), 1:13. 2, Adirondack, McGinn 1 (Cousins, Akeson), 3:48. Penalties—FitzGerald, Adk (fighting), 3:10; Rechlicz, Her (fighting), 3:10; Lauridsen, Adk (hooking), 5:05; FitzGerald, Adk (roughing), 11:00; Mathers, Adk (interference, fighting), 14:27; Rechlicz, Her (fighting), 14:27.

Second Period—3, Hershey, Schmidt 1 (LeBlanc), 0:49. 4, Hershey, Latta 1 9:44 (sh). 5, Hershey, Whitmore 1 (Latta), 14:39 (sh). Penalties—Lauridsen, Adk (boarding), 1:32; Cousins, Adk (tripping), 5:02; Taffe, Her (holding the stick), 9:11; Walker, Her (holding), 14:22. Third Period—6, Adirondack, Alderson 1 (Konan, Alt), 8:25 (pp). Penalties—Grubauer, Her (interference), 7:16. Overtime—7, Adirondack, Manning 1 (Straka, Akeson), 3:22. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Adirondack 13-8-6-3-30. Hershey 7-14-5-2-28. Power Play Opportunities—Adirondack 1 / 3; Hershey 0 / 5. Goalies—Adirondack, Danis 1-0-0 (28 shots-25 saves). Hershey, Grubauer 0-1-0 (30 shots-26 saves). A—8,753; Referee—Ryan Fraser. 2. NHL.com- OHL Roundup: Laughton with three points as Generals down Storm

The Canadian Press

OSHAWA, Ont. - No one is happier to see Scott Laughton back in junior than the city of Oshawa. The 19-year-old centre scored once and set up two more on Sunday as the Generals downed the visiting Guelph Storm 4-1 in Ontario Hockey League play. Since being reassigned to Oshawa by the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, Laughton has produced three goals and nine points in three outings, all victories for the club. Michael Dal Colle had a goal and an assist for the Generals (5-2-0) while Jimi Kuronen and Bradley Latour scored the others. Zack Mitchell scored the lone goal for the Storm (4-2-0), who have dropped back-to-back contests after starting the season with four straight wins. Daniel Altshuller made 24 saves for the win and Matthew Mancina took the loss after allowing three goals on 17 shots. Justin Nichols replaced Mancina and stopped 17-of-18 shots in 29 minutes of relief. Oshawa went 2-for-8 on the power play while Guelph scored once on five chances with the man advantage. --- Frontenacs 3 Greyhounds 2

KINGSTON, Ont., — Henri Ikonen scored twice as the Frontenacs held on to defeat Sault Ste. Marie. Jean Dupuy also scored for Kingston (6-0-1) while Ryan Kujawinski chipped in with two assists. Jorgen Karterud and Darnell Nurse scored for the Greyhounds (4-1-1), who nearly tied up the game in the final minute of the third period after trailing by two goals. Matt Mahalak made 31 saves for the win. Matt Murray turned away 33-of-36 shots in defeat. --- Battalion 4 Steelheads 1 MISSISSAUGA, Ont., — Brandon Robinson had a pair of goals for North Bay as it beat the Steelheads. Jamie Lewis and Brenden Miller added goals for the Battalion (5-4-0) and Nick Paul had two assists. Trevor Carrick supplied the scoring for Mississauga (4-2-0). Jake Smith made 22 saves for the win as Spencer Martin stopped 35 shots in a losing cause. --- 67's 3 Petes 2 (OT) OTTAWA, — Philippe Trudeau stopped 53 shots and Brendan Bell had the shootout winner as the 67's defeated Peterborough. Jacob Middleton and Taylor Fielding also scored for Ottawa (3-4-0), who were outshot 24-9 in the third period and overtime before winning in the shootout. Clark Seymour and Stephen Nosad scored for the Petes (3-3-1). Michael Giugovaz made 34 saves in defeat. --- Spitfires 7 IceDogs 4 WINDSOR, Ont., — Josh Ho-Sang had two goals and an assist and Kerby Rychel scored once and set up three more as the Spitfires downed Niagara.

Brady Vail, Remy Giftopoulos, Slater Koekkoek and Eric Diodati added a goal apiece for Windsor (3-3-0). The IceDogs (2-4-1) got goals from Mack Lemmon, Carter Verhaeghe, Mitchell Fitzmorris and Blake Siebenaler. Dalen Kuchmey made 23 saves for the victory. Brent Moran picked up the loss after giving up seven goals on 29 shots.

Junior FLYERS Headlines

1. PhiladelphiaFlyers.com- Crowning Achievement

Alexis Wolfer

VOORHEES, N.J. - The mood was set for a highly anticipated home opener, as a standing-room-only crowd filled the stands in support of the Philadelphia Flyers Junior Hockey team. The Flyers and South Shore Kings took the ice to warm-up and two Philadelphia icons kicked off a special pre-game ceremony. Lauren Hart, the No. One NHL Anthemist, performed the U.S. National Anthem, and Bernie Parent, NHL Hall-of-Famer and two-time Stanley Cup winner, dropped the puck. Once the pomp and circumstance was complete, there was a USHL game to play and the Flyers were relentless. Ryan Ferrill had a hat trick while Brandon Bistodeau had a pair of tallies as the Flyers made a strong statement with a 9-2 win on their home stage. The Flyers opened the floodgates early scoring two goals in the first period. Ryan Badger and Bistodeau each put one past the Kings goalie. The team continued to physically dominate and possessed the puck for most of the game, as well. In the second period, the Flyers would score four more goals: Bistodeau tallied again, Ryan Ferrill notched his first two goals and Taylor Gooch also got on the scoreboard. It was clear the Flyers had a mission to win. In the third period, Ferrill turned the trick, while Nick Cyr and Alec Weinberg each got in on the fun with a goal. The fans were buzzing with excitement and support for their new team. “It was a great experience playing in front of all those fans,” said Bistodeau. “My linemates were just great; everything was going our way tonight.” Bistodeau’s goals would be his first on the Flyers’ home ice. “It was a great feeling. We played really well as a team,” added Ferrill. Joe Young, the Flyers’ goaltender, also spoke of how well his team played. “We came out flying and my team was really supportive in front of me,” he said, “We had a lot of energy and really fed off the crowd.” The Flyers take on the Kings for a second game, today at 1:20 PM at the Voorhees Flyers Skate Zone.

2. Pointstreaksites.com- Royal Flush

Ryan Schwepfinger

Coming off of a resounding 9-2 victory over the South Shore Kings the day before, USPHL Flyers coach Jared Beach was determined to make sure his team did not take the visitors from Foxboro, Massachusetts lightly in the second leg of the doubleheader. While South Shore was a bit tighter defensively, Beach's message was heard loud and clear by his team, as the Flyers, fueled by two goals from Brandon Bistodeau, fended off a late Kings surge to complete the weekend sweep, winning by a 5-2 final on Sunday. "When you give it to a team like that (yesterday), you know they're going to respond. They're going to want to come out early to try to set the message. They finished that way yesterday, and they continued that into today," said Beach. "We responded well, we went hard, we tried to set the tempo early, and I think we did a good job of that." Setting the tempo early was indeed achieved by the Flyers, who largely controlled the puck in the early stage of the game, and they were rewarded with the first goal at 3:31. Bistodeau made a nice individual play to get around a Kings defender in left circle, and he beat goaltender Connor Maher with a low shot to the far post. The Kings equalized at 14:26 of the period through Colin Clapton, who stuck with the play after Flyers goaltender Joe Young made a save on a point shot. It was a bit of an unexpected goal, as the Flyers had allowed few chances to that point. The Kings had a bit more jump after the goal, but the Flyers were able to kill off a late period penalty, and the teams went into the dressing room tied 1-1 after the first period. The second period began much as the first had ended, with the Kings doing their best to control play early. As he was all day, Young was equal to the task, most notably with an excellent glove save on center Beau Starrett. With just over 7:00 to play in the second, the Flyers' first line struck again. A two-on-one break was created after good board play by Christian Meike, who headmanned for Gianni Evangelisti. On the odd man rush, the Dublin, Ohio native slotted a nice pass across to Bistodeau, who tapped the puck five-hole past a sliding Maher for the 2-1 advantage. It was Bistodeau's second goal of the evening, and his fourth of the weekend. The Flyers quickly made it 3-1 less than a minute later. Ron Greco threw the puck towards the net, and after Maher made the initial save, Trevor Gooch was able to tap in the rebound. Center Ryan Badger drew the secondary assist on the goal, which led to frustration for the Kings, who immediately took a slashing penalty and a hitting from behind penalty (plus a ten minute misconduct) in the moments after the tally. However, the Flyers could not capitalize on the power play chances, and the game headed to the third with Philadelphia maintaining their two-goal advantage. South Shore showed resiliency, getting the next goal just under nine minutes into the third to make it a 3-2 game. On a delayed penalty, Anton Lindstrom centered for Craig Skudalski from behind the net, and the 6'6" winger from Wyoming, PA did not miss. It was part of a third period

that saw the Kings come relentlessly at the Flyers in the early going, but Philadelphia held strong. "Our guys had a couple of shifts where they were sitting back there, almost playing prevent defense, which I don't like, but we had to make a couple of adjustments to tie up some guys and slow them down. Once we did that, I think we started to shut them down a little better," said Beach. Young, especially, was pivotal for the Flyers in the final period, as he made key save after key save to preserve the slim one-goal advantage. With the team in need of an offensive spark, the Flyers received one from—who else?—Brandon Bistodeau, who chipped the puck up the boards to Evangelisti, springing another two-on-one. Evangelisti drove the net and made a deke to his forehand to tuck the puck past a stretched Maher, putting the Flyers up 4-2 before Alec Weinberg's empty netter sealed the game shortly after. "My linemates were just really on fire. I was happy to be on the receiving end of a couple of goals," said Bistodeau. "(Ryan) Ferrill in the middle, he's a big help—he's a big guy, he bangs in the corners. Gianni (Evangelisti) is just a good puck mover. We've just been clicking, and we clicked better and better as the weekend went on." Beach, too, was impressed with the trio's efforts over the weekend. "I can't say enough good things about the three of them…I think they combined for five yesterday, and another three today. I can't say enough good things about them. They're setting the tone for our team right now, and hopefully we can take the momentum into next weekend." The Flyers will next take the ice in one week's time, when they travel to Wayne, NJ to battle the Jersey Hitmen. Still, the importance of this weekend's sweep will not be forgotten. "(The sweep) means a lot, especially after last weekend," said Bistodeau. "It's a good turnaround for us. We really needed that one, and it should bring a lot of energy into next weekend." My Three Stars 1. Brandon Bistodeau, RW – His line came through the neutral zone with speed all evening. Displayed great individual skill on his first goal. 2. Joe Young, G – Held firm all game long, making several key saves, including a few in traffic. Was enormous in the early stages of the third period. 3. Gianni Evangelisti, LW – Made a nice pass on the two-on-one for Bistodeau's second goal. Like his linemate, fantastic skill on his goal, which effectively sealed the game.

-FLYERS-