@zach

4mo

Flyers, Senators Set Penalty Minutes Record: Today in Sports History

On March 5th, 2004, the Flyers and Senators combined for 419 penalty minutes during a regular season matchup at the Wachovia Center. The events were precipitated by the previous meeting between the two teams, when Ottawa's Martin Havlat had swung his stick at Philadelphia’s Mark Recchi's head. The Flyers secured a 5-3 lead entering the final two minutes of the game. Then, enforcers Donald Brashear of the Flyers and Rob Ray of the Senators engaged in a fight. As they skated off to the penalty box, Brashear got into another fight, and the rest of the players on the ice for each team, including goaltenders Robert Esche and Patrick Lalime, began to fight. On both of the next two face-offs to restart the game, further fights occurred. On the third restart after the initial fight, the crowd booed when a fight did not immediately ensue, but in less than 30 seconds, two more fights had broken out. The final fight occurred directly after the fourth face-off, involving Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp. Spezza and Brashear were assessed for the most penalty minutes in the game, receiving 35 and 34, respectively. At the start of the 2005–06 season, the NHL introduced a rule that punished anyone instigating a fight in the final five minutes of a game with a one-game suspension, in order to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future. Here’s every player involved and their penalty time: Philadelphia Donald Brashear - 34 minutes Robert Esche - 27 minutes John LeClair - 27 minutes Branko Radivojevič - 25 minutes Patrick Sharp - 25 minutes Michal Handzuš - 25 minutes Danny Markov - 15 minutes Mark Recchi - 15 minutes Radovan Somík - 5 minutes Mattias Timander - 5 minutes Ottawa Jason Spezza - 35 minutes Zdeno Chára - 27 minutes Shaun Van Allen - 25 minutes Mike Fisher - 25 minutes Wade Redden - 25 minutes Patrick Lalime - 17 minutes Todd Simpson - 15 minutes Bryan Smolinski - 15 minutes Rob Ray - 5 minutes Chris Neil - 5 minutes (Source: Wikipedia)

Flyers

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Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 3: Next Level Playoff Demon

What if I told you there is a player in the 21st century that has more playoff points than Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Letang and Tyler Seguin despite playing less games than each of those players? Well, he exists and he finished his career with just 2 all-star game appearances to his name and less career points than each player I mentioned. His name is Daniel Brière. Yes, Philadelphia’s current GM was a playoff legend. Throughout his career, the diminutive 5’9” forward developed the reputation as a playoff riser. He averaged 0.71 points per game in the regular season and 0.94 points per game in the playoffs. Even though he started his career with the Coyotes, he is best known for his years with the Sabres and Flyers. His best year came in 2010. The 2010 Flyers are an insane story that deserves so much more than a single post (they deserve a video essay or a documentary). For now, I will tell you that they entered the playoffs as the 7th seed and went on a magical run to the Cup Final. Brière was great before the Cup Final, putting up 18 points in 17 games. However, he somehow found another gear in the Cup Final. The Flyers faced the Chicago Blackhawks, the earliest version of the Kane-Toews teams. Their D-core was LOADED. There was future Hall of Famer Duncan Keith, the beast known as Dustin Byfuglien, shut down D-man Niklas Hjalmarsson, great point producer Brian Campbell and the ever reliable Brent Seabrook. Virtually every single one of them were 26 or younger. The only exception was Campbell who was 30. They only gave up more than 3 goals in a game twice throughout their entire playoff run before the Final. This should’ve been the worst nightmare for an offense-first team like Philly. Especially for an undersized forward like Daniel Brière. Somehow, he thrived. In 6 games, Brière put up 3 goals and 9 assists for a total of 12 points. I’m not a big fan of plus/minus, but it’s also worth noting that Brière was a +5, only 2 players between both teams had a better +/-. All this leads into my favourite stat of all time: In the last 50 years, only 3 players have accumulated 12 or more points in a single Stanley Cup Final. They are: Wayne Gretzky Mario Lemieux Daniel Brière The 2 greatest players of all time… and Daniel Brière. There have been some close calls. McDavid nearly joined this club in 2024, but couldn’t get past 11 in 7 games. Brière got 12 in 6. Before any of you suggest or even think that Brière padded his stats, you need to read this next part. Each of his goals gave Philly the lead in a tied game. None of his assists came on an empty netter. His points were not just for show, he nearly willed this team to a Stanley Cup. All while the eventual Conn Smythe winner Toews was floundering, unable to produce anything (only had 3 points, none were goals) nor stop the Flyers (-5). Brière would’ve already gone down as a playoff legend, but his run in 2010 made him a Stanley Cup Hero.

@zach

It's Been 25 Years...

In tonight's game visiting the Winnipeg Jets, the Philadelphia Flyers scored 3 goals in the first period. It's the first time they've achieved that on the road since January 5th, 2001. The last team the Flyers did this against was the Atlanta Thrashers, who haven't existed in 15 years.

@nationalryanleague

Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!