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Quick Hits: Lindblom Update, Vigneault, Ghost, Cup 1, TIFH

April 29, 2020, 8:10 AM ET [35 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: April 29, 2020

1) Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday that left winger Oskar Lindblom is doing very well in his battle with Ewing Sarcoma and will shortly undergo his final round of chemotherapy treatments. There is no timetable at present or a return to playing hockey.

"He has to build up strength and stamina, make sure he's healthy. With the pandemic going on, he's got to be extra cautious because his [immune] system is shot. But I'm grateful there's a possibly he can play again. He's a young guy that's going to be a tremendous player if he can come back for us," Flahr said to beat writer Sam Carchidi.

Once Lindblom completes his treatments -- assuming all goes well medically -- he may be able to resume physical training.

Said Flahr, "He'll be checked out and he'll be able to start training and building back up again. It's amazing; he's a warrior, this kid. Don't think he's lost much weight at all. He's trying to work out as soon as treatments are over. It's been tough on him but he's a young guy, he wants to play as soon as possible. I have no idea what that means or what's realistic, but the treatments, according to our medical staff, have gone as well or better than we could have expected."

2) The National Hockey League announced on Tuesday that is has extended its transfer agreements with the CHL and various European hockey federations including Svenska Ishockey Förbundet (the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation). Assuming the widespread published rumors are true, this step opens the door for the Flyers to be able to officially sign HV71 right winger Linus Sandin to an NHL contract.

3) Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault will speak to the media by conference call on Wednesday morning. An article will follow on the Flyers' official website later in the day. I will be doing a 1-on-1 exclusive follow up interview after he speaks to the beat writers. A separate article will cover my Q&A session.

4) Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, in conjunction with the Delaware Valley chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, recorded a special video message for 65 local Wish children whose special wish fulfillments have to be postponed due to Covid-19 quarantines.


5) Last night on NBC Sports Network, there was a full-game rebroadcast of the Flyers Cup-clinching win in Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. Bernie Parent, interviewed by Kathryn Tappen, provided retrospective commentary.

For many younger Flyers viewers, the broadcast marked the first time they have ever seen the game in its entirety. Among those watching the rebroadcast at home were the grandchildren of the late Rick MacLeish (who scored the game's only goal; a deflection power play tally in the first period) and the late Ross Lonsberry.

NHL hockey was a different game 46 years ago than it is today. It was not just because the Broad Street Bullies era Flyers (the final all-Canadian roster to win the Stanley Cup) and Big Bad Bruins era Boston teams played a rough-and-tumble brand of hockey.

The pace of play was a full notch slower than it is today, although there were players like MacLeish who could easily have played to a latter-day tempo if the conditioning norms of that era were like today's. There were more whistles when the puck was tied up along the boards. Goalies played a stand-up style -- no one did it better than Bernie -- and their gear was primitive in comparison to today's. Officials were trained differently than today, as well.

Although commonplace today, Fred Shero's Flyers were one of the first teams in the NHL to play a well-defined system; which Shero actually codified in writing. Philly was also the first NHL team to have a full-time assistant coach (Mike Nykoluk) and the first to hold morning skates. Shero was also among the first NHL coaches to make at least rudimentary use of video as a game study and teaching tool; others, especially Roger Neilson, took video to the next level in the years that followed.

I was three years old when the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup. I have a vivid memory of the afternoon of Game 6, watching the game on a black-and-white television at my elderly aunt's home and then of celebrating people pounding on the hoods of cars as we drove back to our home in Northeast Philadelphia. I did not see the game in color -- except in highlight clips -- until the Flyers released their Greatest Games DVD set in the 2000s.



6) Today in Flyers History: April 29, 1976

On this evening in 1976, the Flyer tied the Stanley Cup semifinal against the Boston Bruins at one game apiece with a 2-1 overtime win at the Spectrum. Don Saleski scored his sixth goal of the playoffs in the opening period. The lead held until John Bucyk tied the game with a third-period power play goal before Reggie Leach nabbed his eighth goal of the playoffs at 13:38 of overtime. Wayne Stephenson stopped 32 of 33 shots to earn the win.

7) April 29 Flyers Alumni birthdays:

* The Flyers' first-ever amateur selection in what today is called the NHL Entry Draft, center Serge Bernier was born on April 29, 1947 in Padoue, Quebec and raised in Matane, Quebec.

* Depth defenseman Dave Fenyves was born April 29, 1960 in Dunnville, Ontario.

* The late Jean Gauthier, a defenseman, was born April 29, 1937 in Montreal.
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