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Quick Hits: Couturier, TIFH and More |
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Quick Hits: December 7, 2020
1) Selke Trophy winning Flyers center Sean Couturier celebrates his 28th birthday today. Earlier this week, NHL Network ranked Couturier 41st on its "Top NHL Players Right Now" list. I tend to agree with Ivan Provorov's succinct response when he was asked about his omission from their Top 20 Defensemen list. He memorably said, "I don't play to get on some list."
It's all subjective, anyway, based on the opinions of Jamison Coyle, E.J. Hradek and Mike Rupp. For what it's worth, Hradek's opinion was that Couturier was ranked too low on the combined list.
He said, “I might have Sean Couturier a little higher on my list just because for me the first criteria is: how do you impact winning? And Sean Couturier plays a vital position – center – he plays against the toughest centers and the most offensively talented centers in hockey and he is able to not only stop them defensively, but he’s able to provide offense too. You see the numbers, 22 goals, 37 assists. So for me, Sean Couturier is someone you can really build your group around and you can play him in all situations and that helps you win.”
Here was their list from Nos. 41 to 50.
41. Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia Flyers
42. Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders
43. Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
44. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
45. Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
46. Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks
47. Patrik Laine, W, Winnipeg Jets
48. Max Pacioretty, W, Vegas Golden Knights
49. Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
50. Johnny Gaudreau, W, Calgary Flames
2. NCAA: In a game featuring two Flyers-drafted prospects, North Dakota hammered Western Michigan, 8-2, on Sunday. Junior left winger Gavin Hain scored his first goal of the season for the Fighting Hawks while sophomore defenseman Ronnie Attard chipped in an assist for Western Michigan.
Also on Sunday, Minnesota Duluth downed Miami, 5-3. Centering the top line, junior forward Noah Cates assisted on a Kobe Roth goal and was plus-two for the game.
3) Today in Flyers History: December 7
1972: A four-point effort from Bobby Clarke spurs the Flyers to a 6-2 home win over the Minnesota North Stars. Clarke erased an early deficit with an unassisted goal, and later set up a pair of tallies by "Cowboy" Bill Flett as well as a power play goal by defenseman Tom Bladon. Rick MacLeish scored a second period power play goal for his 17th goal of the season en route to the first 50-goal season in Flyers' history.
1985: Bob Froese records a 23-save shutout as the Flyers blank the New York Rangers, 4-0, at the Spectrum. Two goals apiece by Murray Craven and Brian Propp were more than enough. In the meantime, Bo Berglund (two assists, plus-two, one shot on goal, ice time on the second line) had the best game of his brief seven-game tenure as a Flyer after being recently acquired in the trade that sent Todd Bergen to the Minnesota North Stars.
1986: In a preview of the epic 1987 Stanley Cup Final that saw the underdog Flyers push the dynastic Edmonton Oilers to seven hard-fought games, the Flyers captured a 5-2 win over the Oilers at the Spectrum. Goals by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier (shorthanded) were not enough for the Oilers, as rookie goaltender Ron Hextall (24 saves) came up big repeatedly. The Flyers chased Edmonton starter Andy Moog after the first period as goals by Dave Poulin, Brian Propp, Ed Hospodar's first goal of the season and Peter Zezel's 14th opened a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes. Scott Mellanby added a third period insurance goal against Grant Fuhr to seal the victory. He also assisted on Zezel's goal. Mellanby earned first-star honors, followed by Hextall and Messier.
1989: The Flyers were unable to protect a two-goal lead in the third period against the Buffalo Sabres but an overtime goal by Ron Sutter enabled the Flyers to skate off with a 4-3 home win. Rookie defenseman Jiri Latal and power forwards Scott Mellanby and Rick Tocchet scored in regulation for Philly.
1995: The Legion of Doom tore apart the Buffalo Sabres early and then the second line centered by Rod Brind'Amour dominated in the third period of a 7-3 rout at the Spectrum that was perhaps even more lopsided than the final score. The Flyers chased Dominik Hasek after the first period as the Legion of Doom accounted for three goals -- two by John LeClair and one by Eric Lindros. The Flyers got sloppy in the second period, getting into penalty trouble and giving up three goals to tie the game at 3-3. After a timeout by coach Terry Murray the Flyers pulled away again. Lindros scored his second goal of the game and recorded his third point, Mikael Renberg had two assists in the game for the Flyers. Anatoli Semenov also scored for the Flyers in the second period as they took a 5-3 lead to intermission. The game turned into a blowout in the third period as Pat Falloon scored a pair of goals set up by Brind'Amour. The Flyers went 3-for-6 on the power play in the game.
2000: The Flyers trade veteran enforcer Gino Odjick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for agitator P.J. Stock and the 2001 sixth-round draft pick that Philly later used on the selection of German defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
2011: In a seesaw of a game, the Flyers fall behind the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 in the first period only to score the next four goals and take a 4-3 lead to the second intermission. Claude Giroux spurred the comeback with second-period assists on goals by Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr and Matt Read after Max Talbot scored late in the first period to get Philly on the board. After Drew Stafford forced overtime by scoring with just 1:45 left in regulation, Giroux scored the winning goal in overtime to cap both a 5-4 road win for the Flyers and a four-point night for himself.
2013: A natural hat trick by Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin and a goal by Stars rookie Valeri Nichushkin chases starter Steve Mason from the net - the first time in his Flyers career he allowed more than three goals or got pulled early from a start - in a 5-1 Flyers loss at the American Airlines Center. An ice storm across the Dallas-Forth Worth metropolis limited attendance to 8,565 fans; a large contingent of whom came to root for the Flyers.
2017: The Flyers earned a 4-1 road win over the Vancouver Canucks to sweep a three-games-in-four nights road trip through western Canada. Shayne Gostisbehere (power play), Michael Raffl, Claude Giroux (power play), and Wayne Simmonds (empty net) supplied the goals, while Brian Elliott made 36 saves for the 200th win of his NHL career.
2019: Wrapping up a three-game homestand, the Flyers downed the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, in a chippy game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers held four separate one-goal leads, giving three of them back to the feisty Senators. The powder keg in this game was a Mark Borowiecki open ice hit on Travis Konecny in the late stages of the first period, which Philly felt was both high and late. Konecny left the game and did not return. Before the injury, Konecny (11th goal of the season) and Shayne Gostisbehere (6-on-5 delayed penalty) scored first period goals for the Flyers, establishing 1-0 and 2-1 leads. Brady Tkachuk and Anthony Duclair (shorthanded) responded for Ottawa as the game went to the third period tied at 2-2. Ivan Provorov restored the lead at 3-2 early in the 3rd period. Duclair scored again to very briefly tie the score at 3-3 but then Scott Laughton untied it 11 seconds later to put the Flyers ahead to stay. The game featured several fights and frequent chirping.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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