Gostisbehere’s first goal would become the game-winner when Bodie got his second goal of the game with 1:59 left.
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The organization is light on blueline prospects, thanks partly to the fact six of its last seven first-round picks were used on forwards – the only d-man selected, Duncan Siemens (11th overall in 2011), has yet to make his National Hockey League debut.
– Evgeny Medvedev also played strong, again, and showed why he was such an effective defenseman in the KHL. Hopefully, Provorov and Konecny get at least one more game for us to see. Their regular-season home opener is 7:05 p.m. October 10 against Syracuse. “The more games I get, the better I’ll get. That is who you are speaking to, a couple bumps in the road but it doesn’t destroy his game – he is a mentally strong young man”.
“…I like his confidence level, ” Hakstol said. “He’s a good player, and it was fun to play with him”. With an exclamation point. Ray Emery was solid and even provided some memorable, fiery moments during his two-year tenure as Mason’s second fiddle, but his play had tailed off significantly as this past season wore on.
Defensemen Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, along with forward Travis Konecny, were returned to their junior teams, reducing the roster to 55 players. Each has something to prove, and maybe collectively as a group, they will be able to work together and prove they still belong as viable National Hockey League contributors.
“He was turning one way, turning the other way”, Vinny Lecavalier remarked. It probably won’t be this season, but it could be much sooner than expected.
While it may surprise some, I am not shocked at all by the moves.
Couturier – the defensively-gifted shutdown centerman who turned just 22 years old during the year – unfairly took a great deal of the brunt of fan’s criticism for the Flyers’ offensive struggles. He grabbed a helper on Ghost’s goal, so that leaves him with two points in both games for the preseason.
Perhaps the familiarity helped Medvedev feel comfortable in his first preseason game at Wells Fargo Center as he opened the scoring of last night’s Flyers win, 5-3, over the New York Rangers. It will be interesting to see Thursday morning, when the Flyers resume practice, where the remaining pieces fit. If so, it would stand to reason that each member of the line could very well be in store for topping their career-high marks.
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On Monday night, the Flyers and New York Islanders went all spring training and split their teams up for games in both Allentown and Brooklyn (which is technically still on the island!). Cucumber cool under pressure and possessing the savvy wiles of a well-seasoned veteran, he skated the puck out of harm’s way a few times with Isles attackers swarming all around him.
