Danny Briere wins Game 1 in OT

After a slow first period, the Flyers picked up their play and took out the Devils in overtime in Game 1, 4-3.  Mr. Playoffs, Danny Briere, was the hero in this one, putting the puck into the back of the net twice in overtime, though the first was called off due to Briere kicking it in.  Here's Briere's game winner:

The Flyers have to be happy with how they played after the first period.  Should that carry over into the next few games, they should make short of the Devils.

Mike Richards, Kings hand Flyers first loss

Things couldn't have gone better for Mike Richards in his return to Philadelphia.  Fans did mostly boo him after an initial standing ovation but Richards notched the game-winning assist in overtime as the Kings handed the Flyers their first loss of the season, 3-2.  Here are a few thoughts on the game:

-It didn't really set in that Mike Richards wasn't a Flyer until I actually watched him in another uniform play against Philly.  I don't really understand why anyone would boo him since he did give a lot to this organization and it wasn't his call to leave town.  I guess it's just the Philly way.

-Former Flyer Justin Williams had the bigger impact on the outcome, picking up two goals.  Oh, and Simon Gagne also had an assist.  And Terry Murray coached the Kings to victory.  Flyers West indeed.

-It was nice to see Danny Briere pick up his first goal of the season.  Of course, Jaromir Jagr really made the play with a beautiful pass but it was nice to see Briere get on the board.  As for Jagr, he really looks like he turned back the clock about 10 years.

-While they lost, the Flyers did well to send the game into overtime and get a point.  Through their first four games, the Flyers have picked up 7 of a possible 8 points, a solid feat considering the quality of opponents (Bruins, Canucks, Kings) they have played so far.

-Still too many penalties for the Flyers, though the Kings had even more.  Perhaps I should stop blaming the Flyers and start looking at the officials, who have had a quick whistle so far this year.

-No goal by Claude Giroux tonight?  Guess he will have to pick up two next time to stay on pace for 82.

Chris Pronger named Flyers captain

In a move that has been expected ever since the Mike Richards trade, the Flyers have officially named Chris Pronger team captain.  The team also named Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen the alternate captains.

For Pronger, this is the third team he has captained as he previously held the role with the Blues and Ducks.  Hopefully he will be healthy enough to play at the start of the season.

Giroux the only Flyer to make the All-Star team

I guess the NHL is trying to tell us that having the best team in the Eastern Conference doesn't necessarily mean you have the best players.

The NHL announced the rosters for the 2011 All-Star game and, surprisingly, only one Flyer made the team: Claude Giroux. While Giroux is having a great season, the Flyers had at least two other players who are equally deserving in Danny Briere and Mike Richards. Given that Briere is 7th in the league in goals, it's fair to call him a snub and the only likely explanation as to why he wasn't named to the team was that he asked the league not to pick him.

Of course, before we get too angry about who was left off, it's important to give Giroux his due. The 28 year old is averaging nearly a point per game and has developed into the player we all thought he could be, already hitting career highs in goals, assists and points this season.

Still, only one All-Star from the best team in the East? Come on, NHL!

Flyers use balanced attack to scorch Sabres

Some things never seem to change with the Flyers. They are built on toughness, they never have good enough goaltending and they can be maddeningly inconsistent. Just 9 games into the current NHL season and the Flyers seem to have already run the gamut of highs and lows, from beating the Penguins to losing three straight games to a 5-2 beatdown of the Maple Leafs to looking inept against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night, when they lost 2-1.

Of course, after such a maddening loss, the Flyers did just what you would expect an inconsistent team would do as they rocked the Sabres on Tuesday night, 6-3. It was a total team effort for the Flyers, as 6 players had goals, including the red-hot Danny Briere, and 11 players had at least one point. Essentially everyone got in on the scoring act, even checkers Darroll Powe and Andreas Nodl, who scored his second career goal when he potted an empty netter late in the third period. Even more impressive for the Flyers was that this goal outburst came against U.S. Olympic hero Ryan Miller, who gave up 5 goals in 33 shots.

To prove just how on the Flyers where, even the power play, which has been a real sore spot this season, got into the act, as the Flyers scored three times with the man advantage to double their season total of power play goals. Just about the only thing that wasn't on for the Flyers in the game was their penalty kill, which allowed the Sabres to score on 2 of their 3 power play chances.

That's the effort we all expected from this Flyers team that is loaded with scoring threats on every line. While it's not realistic to expect them to score 6 goals a night, it would be nice if they played with this kind of intensity and not skate around aimlessly like they did against Columbus on Monday night. With a game against Pittsburgh up next, now is the perfect time for this team to find their identity and string together a nice, long winning streak.
(AP PHOTO)