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Meltzer's Musings: Happy Hockeydays!

December 25, 2011, 9:23 AM ET [ Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Merry Christmas to all HockeyBuzz readers who celebrate the holiday, and happy sixth night of Hannukah to readers of the Jewish faith. On this day, I thought it would be a good time to take stock of just how far the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team has come since a summer filled with uncertainty and question marks.

On Christmas Day, the Flyers are right in the thick of the chase for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. If someone told you before the start of the season that they'd be 21-9-4 right now, would you have said you'd been satisfied with it? I certainly would.

What about if someone told you in late summer that Chris Pronger would be lost for the season and playoffs by December after having played only 13 games AND prized rookie acquisition Brayden Schenn would be pointless in just six games AND the club would already have dressed 10 other rookies AND Ilya Bryzgalov would have a save percentage of .895 at this point of the season? Would you have believed that this team would have 46 points at this juncture?

I know I'd never have believed it to be possible.

This year's Philadelphia Flyers are an extremely resilient and deep team. The old-time worth ethic that for many years was the hallmark of the club is back. There have been few games where I've felt the Flyers lost because they got outworked.

Without Pronger, the rest of the defense corps has stepped up its game. For the first time in ages, there have even been two rookie defensemen -- Erik Gustafsson and Marc-Andre Bourdon -- who look like they belong in the NHL. The latter in particular is a surprise.

Offensively, the club has not felt the impact of the loss of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. The Flyers are the second highest-scoring team in the NHL and there are eight different players on pace to score 20 or more goals. Claude Giroux is playing at a Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy caliber level, Jaromir Jagr seems to have plenty of good hockey left in him, and Scott Hartnell has found a perfect niche on their line.

The supporting cast, from veterans such as Max Talbot to young player like Matt Read possesses a good combination of grit and speed. There is enough depth on the roster than when some players get cold (such as recent offensive slumps by James van Riemsdyk and Read) others (such as Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek) step up.

Of course the team has areas in which it can improve. Boston remains the favorite to come out of the East and the Flyers could stand greater special teams consistency and to add another proven veteran defenseman. They need a little more out of Bryzgalov on a consistent basis.

But there is still more than half a season of hockey to be played. For the team to be where it is at Christmas is a testament to its character and a job well done by Peter Laviolette.

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Until the 1970s, it was common for NHL teams to be active on Christmas Day. According to the wonderful Flyers History web site, the Flyers played on Christmas in four of their first five seasons of existence.

The team posted a 1-2-1 record in those games. The lone victory was a 3-1 triumph over the woeful Oakland Seals in 1969.

There have also been two players in club history with Christmas birthdays: the late Dmitri Tertyshni (born 1975) and former checking line center Jim Dowd (1969).

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Following is a little Christmas-related segment from Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask. As with many European players in their first season in North America, Lindbergh experienced some homesickness and culture shock at times during the early part of his rookie season with the AHL's Maine Mariners.

At Christmas, since he couldn't go home to Stockholm to be with his family and friends, he brought a Swedish-style Christmas to Portland.

Christmastime presents another challenge to Lindbergh. Pelle decides to celebrate a traditional Swedish Christmas in the United States – or as close to one as he can manage. This becomes an annual ritual throughout his career in the AHL and NHL. Swedes hold their primary Christmas celebration on December 24 (julafton), and Lindbergh follows the tradition he’s grown up with.

He has his gift exchange and Christmas dinner with as many Swedish Christmas foods as possible, such as a specially cured ham (julskinka), lye-soaked cod (lutfisk), and rice porridge (risgrynsgröt). Another custom Pelle brings from home is having everyone at the dinner table dip pieces of bread in broth left over after boiling the ham – a tradition known as “a dip in the kettle” (dopp i grytan).

Throughout the rest of the year, Pelle takes whatever little comforts from home he can manage. Kerstin, who is a year older than Pelle, is back home studying. The six-hour time difference also limits some of his opportunities to call. So he has to be content with some of the things he’s brought along from Stockholm, especially his cassettes of Swedish music and comedy.

“You become extremely patriotic when you’re living far from home,” explains Björn Neckman (a friend of Lindbergh's from Stockholm who lived with Pelle and Thomas Eriksson in Maine during Lindbergh's first two pro seasons).


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To enter simply send an email to [email protected] with "Winter Classic Ticket Contest" in the subject line. A random winner will be selected on Tuesday Dec 27 and announced on HockeyBuzz the following day. Tickets will sent via Federal Express next Wed.

Deadline for entry is 8 PM EST next Tuesday. Please do NOT send multiple emails from the same address, as they will be filtered out. It is OK for more than one person in a household to enter.

Special thanks to HockeyBuzz's own Steve Hindle, who made this happen. Best of luck, happy holidays and thank you to all of our wonderful readers for your support throughout the year!

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