Quick Hits: October 12, 2020
1) As of the end of Sunday night -- Day 3 -- of NHL free agency season, the Flyers have not yet made any offseason acquisitions apart from defenseman Derrick Pouliot. Later today, there will be a synopsis article on the comments that general manager Chuck Fletcher made on Saturday.
Today's edition of "Flyers Daily" on the Flyers Broadcast Network features Jason Myrtetus and I discussing the offseason to date. At the time we recorded it, it was being widely reported that prized unrestricted free agent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had signed with the Vegas Golden Knights and rumored that Vegas had reached an agreement to trade defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Florida Panthers to get much-needed cap space. The latter was subsequently amended to an unnamed team other than Florida. Former Flyers defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who played with Pietrangelo in St. Louis and remains a close friend, subsequently denied on Twitter that Pietrangelo had reached a final decision on where he'll sign.
While Pieterangelo may very well announce his destination today (and Vegas is still the odds-on favorite to land him), it was a good reminder to avoid jumping the gun and withholding commentary until a signing becomes official. Ditto the potential trade involving Schmidt (who had been most widely rumored to be heading to Winnipeg and then to Florida).
2) KHL: Flyers prospect Maksim Sushko has, for unspecified reasons, missed each of the last three games for KHL team Dinamo Riga. There have been reports from Russia that five players on his team recently tested positive for COVID-19; however, no players have been mentioned by name. It is possible that Sushko's situation is an injury rather than coronavirus, as the team has adopted a policy of not specifying the cause of lineup absences.
SHL: On a happier note, after surviving a scare when injuries suffered in a household accident turned out to be minor, Flyers goalie prospect Samuel Ersson has shined in four of his first five starts for Brynà¤s IF this season. Come Thursday, he will bring a .927 save percentage, 2.22 GAA and a 4-1-0 record into his next start.
3) Today in Flyers History: October 12
* 1974: A rare two-goal game from fourth-line checking center Terry Crisp highlighted a 6-1 rout of the Buffalo Sabres at the Spectrum. Early in the third period, newcomer Reggie Leach scored the first of his 45 goals during the fledgling 1974-75 season and 306 regulation tallies during his 606-game regular season career as a Flyer.
* 1985: Late third-period goals by Murray Craven and Dave Poulin snapped a 2-2 deadlock and lifted the Flyers to a 4-2 road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Igloo.
* 1993: Mikael Renberg's first career NHL goal got the Flyers off a quick start but Philly was later forced to rally back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods on the way to a 5-3 win at the Spectrum over the Buffalo Sabres. The Crazy Eights Line spearheaded the comeback, with all three members of the line scoring in the third period and second-year center Eric Lindros leading the way with the game-winning goal and two assists. Linemates Mark Recchi (one goal, one assist) and Brent Fedyk also tallied in the third period. The score went from a 3-2 Sabres lead with seven minutes left in the third period to 5-3 in Philly's favor by the time there was 3:57 remaining.
* 1999: Simon Gagne's first and second career NHL goals built an early 2-0 lead for the Flyers but Philadelphia would go on to lose, 5-4, to the visiting Washington Capitals. In a losing cause, Mark Recchi collected assists -- three primaries and one secondary -- on all four Flyers' goals.
* 2002: A Mark Recchi hat trick spearheaded a 5-4 Flyers road win over the Calgary Flames; tallying once apiece shorthanded, at even strength and on the power play. Later, Recchi set up and Eric Desjardins' power play goal to complete a four-point game.
* 2011: After holding Boston to one goal and besting Vezina/Conn Smythe Trophy winner Tim Thomas on opening night and shutting out the New Jersey Devils and earning the win over Martin Brodeur's team in his second start, newcomer Ilya Bryzalov outlasted Roberto Luongo to run his record to 3-0-0 as a Flyer. This one was a high-scoring affair, however, with the Flyers parlaying a third period goal by Andrej Meszaros into a 5-4 home win. Bryzalov made 36 saves on 40 shots.
* 2015: Making his Flyers starting debut, Michael Neuvirth made an early first period goal by Brayden Schenn stand up the rest of the way in a 1-0 home win over the Florida Panthers. Neuvirth stopped all 31 shots he faced, while Roberto Luongo turned back 32 of 33 Flyers' shots.
* 2019: Overcoming a slow start, the Flyers took the Vancouver Canucks to overtime after Oskar Lindblom converted a Travis Konecny feed with 5:02 left in regulation. In overtime, goaltender Carter Hart made five of his 22 saves on the night before the host Canucks won via shootout, 3-2. The other Flyers' regulation goal scorer was rookie Carsen Twarynski, who wired home a shot from the left side for his first (and, to date, only) NHL goal and point.
4) OCT 10 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Dave Brown (1962), J.J. Daigneault (1965), Randy Robitaille (1975).
In past years, on Brownie's birthday, we've posted videos of some of his most memorable fights. This year, here's a Youtube collection of his goals. Brown scored 39 of 'em in 559 games over two stints with the Flyers. Overall, he had 45 in 729 regular season games in the NHL. Inevitably, teammates were always more jubilant over the immensely well-liked and respected enforcer potting a goal than they were even for one of their own.