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Meltzer's Musings: 2/4/11

February 4, 2011, 9:38 AM ET [ Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Last night's game against Nashville was not exactly a thrill-a-minute contest but the Flyers did a good job of grinding out a victory against a resilient opponent that received strong goaltending from Anders Lindback.

The Flyers had a bit of luck on their side in the second period, receiving a helping hand from the officials when a would-be goal was waved off due to a highly debatable crease violation ruling. The Predators were the better team in the majority of the second period, but the Flyers came in on the third to grab the two points in regulation.

Very often, the quality of a player's performance is judged by fans and the national media based almost solely on whether he scores a goal. Ville Leino's two-goal performance last night (the first of his career) was obviously critical to the Flyers win, but it was miles away from his best performance of the season. The always self-effacing player admitted as much after the game, but the two goals were obviously huge for the club one game after the team got blanked -- in ugly fashion -- in Tampa Bay.

Despite going down to defeat last night, the Preds showed their characteristic resilience in
battling back from a pair of deficits and shrugging off the disallowed goal to force the Flyers to sweat out the win. You could see why the offensively-unimpressive Predators are 27-18-7 and have held their own on the road this season. Today's Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at how Barry Trotz gets his team to overachieve.

*****

The Briere Bunch does amazing work and Danny Briere himself is actively involved in supporting the organization in addition to his own Daniel Briere Foundation charity. The Briere Bunch donates 100% of the proceeds from the sales of Briere-related apparel to the Flyers' Wives Carnival, Camp Good Days & Special Times(a camp for children with cancer) and to The Daniel Briere Foundation.

Currently, the Briere Bunch is raffling two tickets to the Flyers-Capitals game at the Wells Fargo Center on March 22. Raffle tickets are on sale until March 15. Anyone who buys a Briere Bunch ball cap -- which has been personally autographed by Danny -- is automatically entered into the raffle.

To date, the Briere Bunch has raised $100,000 for children with cancer through the sale of the autographed hats, with proceeds going to charities and children's hospitals in Pennsylvania, New York and Canada.

Click here to read the touching story of how the organization and Briere himself went the extra mile to lend their support to the family of two-year-old Duncan Mitcheltree, a child battling a form of kidney cancer.

I think I can safely speak on behalf of everyone at HockeyBuzz in saying keep up the good work to Danny and the Briere Bunch. Danny Briere is a tremendous hockey player but an even better human being.
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