Philadelphia Flyers (NHL 12)

[Legend.]

Philadelphia Flyers Franchise: 2011-2012

Settings:
Game: NHL 12
Sliders: Custom
Minutes: 12 minute periods
Difficulty: All-Star

Team Info:
Home Arena: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
General Manager: Paul Holmgren
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Captain: Chris Pronger, Defensemen

Stanley Cups: 2 (1973-74, 1974-75)
Conference Championships: 8
Division Championships: 16

[Legend.]

Flyers Season Preview

2010-2011 Record: 47-23-12, 106 points, 1st in Atlantic, 2nd in East

Playoffs: Defeated Buffalo 4-3 in Eastern Quarterfinals, lost to Boston 4-0 in Eastern Semifinals

After a disappointing showing in the playoffs, the Flyers cleaned house in the offseason. GM Paul Holmgren sent out captain Mike Richards and goal-hound Jeff Carter and in came Ilya Bryzgalov, Jaromir Jagr, Maxime Talbot, and Brayden Schenn. Is it the culture change this Stanley Cup challenger needed? One way or another, it's going to be entertaining to see it play out.

Offense

So how do you replace the consistent offense of Richards and Carter? You get a future NHL Hall of Famer back from the KHL in Jagr and bank on the emergence of James van Riemsdyk to be a premeire power forward as well as the continued improvement of Claude Giroux to make it work. Sound risky? It might be. Van Riemsdyk played like he finally figured it all out in the playoffs and now he's got a six-year contract to fulfill those hopes. Daniel Briere is also still very capable to chip in on offense.

The Flyers will also be banking big on Schenn to eventually step in as a rookie on the third line at center. Having Talbot and Wayne Simmonds joining him there will help out. The Flyers' fourth line will mix up defensive skill and toughness with Blair Betts, Sean Courtier, Zac Rinaldo and possibly Andreas Nodl at times.

Defense

As Chris Pronger goes, so go the Flyers on defense. He's the new team captain, he's the snark, snarling, sarcastic guy in the locker room and he's their best defenseman. Period. Having Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros and Braydon Coburn to balance things out along with Matt Carle keeps the defensive corps intact from last season. Adding Andreas Lilja gives the Flyers an experienced guy back there to fill out the top six, but Lilja is not exactly a world-beater there. They'll play hard and tough, but Pronger has to be out there for the Flyers to be Cup contenders. Nagging injuries for Pronger could be a huge disruption.

Goalies

Ilya Bryzgalov is the star No. 1 goalie the Flyers have been waiting years to have. With him in locked for the next nine years, Bryzgalov will have to be awesome to help keep the fans at bay. At the first sign of trouble, the fans will get restless because the expectations for him are sky high. Should the boo birds take hold, last season's top goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, is there to step in. After last season's cycle of Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher, having a true No. 1 will feel like a luxury for coach Peter Laviolette.

Season Prediction

Things could go really right for Philly or take a horrible turn, leading to them fighting just to get in the playoffs. The players are there for Philly to have a huge season and be one of the top teams. There's a ton of offensive talent and enough guys around to play the typical snarling kind of Flyers' hockey that makes everyone get angry. Bryzgalov will get tested outside of the typical defensive-first system he payed behind in Phoenix. If he adapts well, he can keep the Flyers rolling, even if they struggle.

If Jagr doesn't pan out and van Riemsdyk doesn't play how he did in the playoffs and teams get to gang up on Giroux and Briere all season, the Flyers will struggle. The margin for error is slim for all teams in the Atlantic Division and Philly needs to hope their bets on the future pan out.

[Legend.]

Flyers' Line Combinations

http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">

Philadelphia Flyers Depth Chart - 2011-12
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LW	S. Hartnell	D. Briere	J. vans Riemsdyk	M. Talbot
C	C. Giroux	B. Betts	B. Schenn	S. Courtier
RW	J. Jagr	W. Simmonds	J. Voracek	Z. Rinaldo
D #1	C. Pronger	M. Carle	A. Lilja
D #2	B. Coburn	K. Timonen	A. Meszaros
G	I. Bryzgalov	S. Bobrovsky

[Legend.]

(0-0-0) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (0-0-0) Boston Bruins
TD Garden; Boston, Massachusetts
Thursday; October 6th, 2011

JVR scores twice and Bryzgalov pitches shutouts in the 2nd and 3rd periods; Flyers ruin Bruins' Stanley Cup celebration 4-2


James van Riemsdyk scored twice on Opening Night against the Bruins, starting his potential breakout season well with 2 points and a First Star

Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins
Oct 6, 2011 1 2 3 F PHI (1-0-0) 1 2 1 4 BOS (0-1-0) 2 0 0 2 Three Stars James van Riemsdyk, PHI 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, 4 shots Ilya Bryzgalov, PHI 2.00 GAA, .938 SV%, 32 SA Rich Peverley, BOS	Team Stats Comparison PHI BOS Shots on Goal 19 32 Hits 12 12 Faceoffs Won-Lost 19-38 19-38 Penalty Minutes 4:00 2:00 Power Plays Converted 1 1 Power Play Opportunities 1 2 Time on Attack 4:45 6:14
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD BOS 0:42 -- N. Horton (1) (M. Lucic, R. Peverley) BOS 3:54 -- B. Pouliot (1) (R. Peverley, J. Corvo) PHI 12:24 -- J. van Riemsdyk (1) (K. Timonen, D. Briere) SECOND PERIOD PHI 4:21 -- J. van Riemsdyk (2) (K. Timonen, B. Schenn) PHI 12:40 -- Z. Rinaldo (1) (A. Meszaros, S. Courtier) THIRD PERIOD PHI 3:29 -- J. Jagr (1) (D. Briere)
Philadelphia Flyers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA I. Bryzgalov 30 32 107% 2.00
Boston Bruins - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA T. Thomas 19 15 79% 4.04

Record: 1-0-0

Next Game: @ New Jersey Devils (0-0-0)

[Legend.]

(1-0-0) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (0-0-0) New Jerseys Devils
Saturday; October 8th, 2011
Prudential Center; Newark, New Jersey

Flyers use huge late 2nd period spurt; carry momentum into 3rd and explode for 8 goals on the Devils, winning 8-5


Brayden Schenn scored his first career NHL goal against the Devils and added another along with an assist, helping the Flyers win and start the season 2-0-0

Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils
Oct 8, 2011 1 2 3 F PHI (2-0-0) 2 3 3 8 NJD (0-1-0) 2 1 2 5 Three Stars Brayden Schenn, PHI 2 goals, 1 assists, 3 points, 4 shots Daniel Briere, PHI 2 goals, 1 assists, 3 points, 4 shots Travis Zajac, NJ 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, 7 shots	Team Stats Comparison PHI NJD Shots on Goal 36 47 Hits 12 9 Faceoffs Won-Lost 19-26 26-19 Penalty Minutes 6:00 0:00 Power Plays Converted 0 1 Power Play Opportunities 0 3 Time on Attack 6:23 5:26
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD NJD 1:42 -- T. Zajac (1) (I. Kovalchuk, Z. Parise) PHI 12:26 -- B/ Betts (1) (W. Simmonds, C. Pronger) NJD 16:21 -- R. Carter (1) (A. Volchenkov, A. Greene) PHI 18:30 -- D. Briere (1) (Unassisted) SECOND PERIOD NJD 15:11 -- S. Bernier (1) -- (A. Larsson). PHI 15:48 -- B. Schenn (1) -- (J. vans Riemsdyk, C. Pronger) PHI 18:17 -- M. Talbot (1) -- (B. Schenn, M. Carle) PHI 19:22 -- A. Meszaros (1) -- (S. Hartnell, M. Carle) THIRD PERIOD PHI 10:21 -- B. Schenn (2) -- (J. Voracek, D. Briere) NJD 15:58 -- T. Zajac (2) -- (Z. Parise, H. Tallinder) -- PP NJD 18:01 -- I. Kovalchuk (1) -- (A. Volchenkov, Z. Parise) PHI 19:12 -- S. Hartnell (1) -- (K. Timonen, M. Carle) PHI 19:38 -- D. Briere (2) -- (B. Betts, W. Simmonds) -- EN
Philadelphia Flyers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA I. Bryzgalov 47 42 89% 5.00
New Jersey Devils - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA M. Brodeur 35 28 80% 7.03

Record: 2-0-0

Next Game:

vs. Vancouver Canucks (1-1-0)

[seb170455]

Good luck with your dynasty, Legend.

[bthomp05]

8 to 5, wow. Not a goalies game. Great work so far.