2000/01
With
Eric Lindros sitting out the entire season due to lingering effects of
his many concussions, while seeking to be traded as it became clear his
Flyers career was over. However, the Flyers continue to play solid
hockey as Bill Barber took over the coaching reigns in the middle of the
season leading the Flyers to a solid 43-25-11-3 record, as Roman
Cechmanek established himself as the new goalie being named as a 2nd
team All-Star while getting 10 shutouts. However, in the playoffs the
Flyers would experience a let down as they are beaten by the Buffalo
Sabres in 6 games. Following the season Eric Lindros would finally be
traded to the New York Rangers for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel
Brendl and a draft pick.
2001/02
During the preseason the First Union
Center is the scene of one of the most poignant moments following the
September 11th terrorist attacks when a September 20trh exhibition game
against the New York Rangers is stopped tied at 2 so fans attending the
game can watch a speech by President George W. Bush in front of
Congress. With Eric Lindros gone the Flyers signed free agent Jeremy
Roenick, who would have an immediate impact on the team leading the
Flyers in scoring as they won the Atlantic Division with a solid record
of 42-27-10-3, as Roman Cechmanek had another solid season with a 2.05
GAA. Checkmanek would come up big as the playoffs started getting a
shutout in Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators as the Flyers won in
overtime on a goal by Ruslan Fedotenko. However, the Flyers would find
themselves in a goal scoring-drought as they were held off the
scoreboard in the next 3 games as the Senators grabbed a 3-1 series
lead. Dan McGillis would break the scoring drought in Game 5 but the
Senators would end up eliminating the Flyers 2-1 with a goal by Martin
Havlat in overtime. Following the playoffs the Flyers would fire Coach
Bill Barber, replacing him with Ken Hitchcock.
2002/03
Under new Coach Ken
Hitchcock, the Flyers continued to play strong hockey battling the New
Jersey Devils all season for first place in the Atlantic Division. With
goalie Roman Chechmanek having another solid season with an impressive
1.83 GAA, the Flyers would make several big trades, including the
acquisition of Tony Amonte to avoid another playoff scoring drought. The
Flyers would end up falling 1-point short of first place as they entered
the playoffs with a record of 45-20-13-4. In the playoffs the Flyers
would find themselves in a tough first round battle against the Toronto
Maple Leafs as both teams battle back and forth without giving an inch.
The series would end up going 7 games as all 3 games played in Toronto
went into multiple overtimes. However, Game 7 would not be close as the
Flyers erupted for a 6-1 win to set up a rematch with the Ottawa
Senators. Through the first 4 games the Flyers battled the Senator
evenly as Roman Chechmanek earned 2 shutouts. However, Chechmanek would
unravel allowing 10 goals in the last 2 games as the Flyers fell in 6.
General Manager Bobby Clarke would criticize his Chechmanek openly
trading him to the Los Angeles Kings for a draft pick less then a month
after being eliminated.
2003/04
The Flyers came out of the gate
flying as they held a 14-2-5-1 record after the first two months including an unbeaten November.
Over the next few months the
Flyers would come back to the pack and would find themselves in a
season-long battle with the New Jersey Devils for first place in the
Atlantic Division. Despite losing Jeremy Roenick for a month in February
to a broken jaw, the Flyers would end up getting the edge by 1 point with
a 40-21-15-6 record.
In the playoffs the Flyers would meet the same
Devils and would take advantage of the home ice advantage they earned by winning the
division by taking each of the first two games with 3-2 scores. After
losing Game 3 in the Meadowlands 4-2, the Flyers took a commanding 3-1
series lead as Robert Esche stopped 35 shots in a 3-0 shutout win. The
Flyers would return home in Game 5 to close the series with a 3-1 win.
In the second round the Flyers found another familiar foe in the Toronto
Maple Leafs. Once again the Flyers got the early edge by winning the
first two games at home. However they would struggle in Toronto losing
both games setting up a key 5th game in Philadelphia. The Flyers would
jump out fast in game five scoring 3 goals in the first 7 minutes on the way to
a 7-2 win. Looking to close out the series in Toronto the
Flyers took an early 2-0 lead only to see the Leafs rally to force
overtime. In OT Jeremy Roenick, still recovering from a broken jaw, would
score the winning goal to send the Flyers on to the Conference Finals.
In the Eastern Finals the Flyers were matched up against the Tampa Bay
Lightning. After dropping Game 1 the Flyers recovered with a 6-goal
outburst to even the series, however they were unable to carry the
momentum and dropped Game 3 at home 4-1. After recovering to win Game 4 the
Flyers were beaten again in Game 5 as the series continued to yo-yo back
and forth. Needing a win in Game 6, they rallied to tie the game at 4
with less then 2 minutes left on a goal by Keith Primeau forcing
overtime where Simon Gagne forced Game 7 with a goal in the final 2
minutes of the 1st OT. In Game 7 the Flyers fell behind 2-0 but were
able to get one back with a goal midway
through the 2nd period. They would be unable to tie the game and the
game 7 loss sent
the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Finals.
2004/05:
Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out
2005/06: Coming out of the
Lock Out the Flyers were a popular pick to win the Stanley Cup as the
team that fell one game short of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004. They
added Free Agent Peter Forsberg who, once upon a time, had been Flyer
property but was dealt in the Eric Lindros trade before coming to the
NHL from Sweden and becoming one of the top players in the league.
However, Forsberg spent most of the season battling a groin injury. The
Flyers spent the entire season dealing with players on the sidelines
including captain Keith Primeau who played in just nine games after
sustaining a serious concussion that would eventually force him to
retire. With players like Kim Johnsson and Eric Desjardins each missing
almost half the season, the Flyers ended up leading the league in man
power lost to injury at 388 games. Despite the injuries, the Flyers
still managed to battle all season for the division title finishing a
close second with a solid 45-26-11 record.
In the playoffs the Flyers would face the Sabres and found themselves in
a quick hole losing the first two games on the road. After rebounding to
win the next two games at the Wachovia Center, the Flyers once again
slipped up on the road losing 3-0. With a chance to force a seventh game
at home, the Flyers quickly unraveled allowing three goals in the first
period as they were beaten 7-1 and were eliminated in six games.
Following the season the Flyers would see the Salary Cap catch up to
them as they were unable to resign Johnsson, while Eric Desjardins
retired.
2006/07: The Flyers
stumbled out of the gate as they won just one of their first eight
games, including an embarrassing 9-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The
slow start lead to the sudden resignation of GM Bobby Clarke, who was
replaced by Paul Holmgren and the firing of Coach Ken Hitchcock, who was
replaced by John Stevens. The changes would have little effect on
improving the Flyers fortunes as they continued to play awful hockey.
The season consisted of several multiple game losing streaks including a
franchise worst ten game streak that was part of a 12-game home losing
streak.
With the playoffs far out of reach the Flyers focused on the future,
trading Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall,
Ryan Parent and 2007 first and third-round draft picks. They then
focused on their needs in goal and were able to land Martin Biron from
the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers would go on to finish the season with a
franchise worst record of 22-60-12.
Following the season the Flyers would continue to work hard to improve,
trading the Predators back their 1st Round draft for the rights to
negotiate with impending unrestricted free agents Kimmo Timonen and
Scott Hartnell. Both were signed to six-year contracts. After the draft
the Flyers were even busier signing Free Agent Daniel Briere to an eight
year, $52 million contract, while trading Joni Pitkanen and Geoff
Sanderson to the Edmonton Oilers for Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul.
2007/08: Coming off one of
the worst seasons in Flyers history the team decided to return to its
roots of physical defensive hockey. This led to some ugly incidents as
several players served multiple game suspensions including Steve Downie
who was suspended 25 games for hitting a vulnerable Dean McAmmond of the
Ottawa Senators from behind during a pre-season game on September 25th.
Jesse Boulerice would also receive a 25-game ban when he landed a cross
check to Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks on October 10th with the
Flyers leading 7-2. The psychical approach worked from the start as the
Flyers won seven of their first ten games. After playing mediocre hockey
in November and December, the Flyers again had a solid month posting a
9-3-1 record putting them in contention for the top spot in the Eastern
Conference. However, a ten game losing streak in February almost sank
their entire season and they ended up on the playoff bubble. Thanks to a
strong finish, that bubble would not burst as the Flyers won seven of
their last nine games to qualify for the playoffs as the sixth seed with
a record of 42-29-11.
In the playoffs against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers got off to a
rocky start blowing a 4-2 lead in the third period of Game 1 as the Caps
scored three unanswered goals to win 5-4. However the Flyers would
bounce back to win Game 2, as Martin Biron stopped all 24 shots in a 2-0
win. As the series shifted to Philadelphia the Flyers goal scoring took
over winning the next two games with a combined ten goals to take a 3-1
series lead. The Caps would rebound to win the next two games to force a
seventh game in Washington. Game 7 went back and forth as the game went
into overtime tied 2-2. There Joffrey Lupul would win it for the Flyers
with a power play goal to send the Flyers to the second round.
In the second round the Flyers faced the number one seeded Montreal
Canadiens and again lost the opener in heartbreaking fashion. The Habs
tied the game with 29 seconds left before winning 4-3 in overtime on a
Tom Kostopoulos goal just 48 seconds into the extra session. Led by
strong goaltending from Martin Biron who stopped 34 of 36 shots in Game
2, the Flyers again quickly rebounded to even the series with a 4-2 win.
Biron was just as strong as the series shifted to Philly, stopping 32
shots, as the Flyers were out shot 34-14, but won 3-2 in Game 3. Biron,
again took control in Game 4 stopping 36 of 38 shots as the Flyers won
4-2 to take a 3-1 series lead. Even as the series returned to Montreal,
Biron was the story withstanding a barrage in Game 5, as the Flyers won
the series with a 6-4 win.
In the Eastern Conference Finals the Flyers, would face their rivals
from western Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before the series
even started the Flyers suffered a setback as Kimmo Timonen was lost
with a blood clot in his ankle. The Flyers would suffer another key
injury as Braydon Coburn suffered a gruesome facial injury in Game 2, as
the Penguins won the first three games. The Flyers would take Game 4
where Martin Biron stopped 36 of 38 shots in a 4-2 win. However, it only
delayed the inevitable as the Penguins closed out the series with a 6-0
win in Game 5.
2008/09: After reaching the
Eastern Conference Finals the prior season, the Flyers got off to a
shaky start losing their first six games. They would recover to win
their final four games in October. After a slow start in November, the
Flyers began to finally play the type of hockey that had them in the
conference finals a year earlier by winning seven of eight games and
rolled into the New Year with a solid record of 20-10-7. Following a
mediocre January, management felt it was necessary to add toughness for
the stretch drive and acquired Daniel Carcillo from the Phoenix Coyotes
for Scottie Upshall at the trade deadline. The Flyers would go on to
make the playoffs as the fifth seed with a record of 44-27-11.
In the
playoffs the Flyers found themselves in a tough battle right away as
they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. After losing the
first two games on the road, the Flyers turned to Simon Gagne to keep
their playoff hopes alive by winning 6-3 in Game 3. The Flyers would
suffer a setback in Game 4, and went to Pittsburgh down three games to
one after losing 3-1 in a game in which the Flyers were 0-for-8 on the powerplay. The Flyers would get a strong effort from goalie Martin Biron
who stopped all 28 shots in a 3-0 road win in Game 5. However, the
Penguins would prove too strong as they closed the Flyers out with 5-3
win in Game 6.
Source: www.sportsecyclopedia.com
