Injuries

     In hockey, you get a whole bunch of injuries in a season.  Since the NHL has been playing a very compact season, this year has been even worse for the players.  Having little time to rest, they're more prone to injury.  Now I'm well aware that some injuries, like Tye McGinn's face, have more to do with fights than the stress of playing four games in a row, but playing so often with little time to rest has really taken a toll on NHL teams.  The Flyers being no exception.  Below is a list of players who have missed games due to injuries this season and how many games they have missed.

Pronger 24
Meszaros 20
Hartnell 16
Shelley 12
Leighton 10
Read 6
Briere 4
Rinaldo 4
Simmonds 3
McGinn 3
Couturier 2

     The Flyers need to be healthy if they want to have a chance to bounce back and pick up a playoff spot this season!

Positions

     Since the Flyers are taking some time off and haven't had much going on in the past week, let's talk about some super simple stuff.  Today we're going to touch on the positions in ice hockey.  Each team has 6 players on the ice at a time (unless they are short-handed for a penalty or if they are in overtime).  They are split into offensive positions and defensive positions.  On the offensive side of the house, there is one center and two wingers.  Back on defense are two defensemen and a goalie.  When players line up at the begining of a period or after someone scores a goal, this is how the team will line up:

     The roles of the positions are pretty self explanatory.  The offenseman's job is to get down in the offensive zone and put the puck in the net.  The defense are more worried about making sure they they keep the goals against down to a minimum.  One of the great things about hockey, however, is that even though someone may be a center, if the puck is in their own zone, they are playing in a defensive manner to make sure that the other team doesn't score.

     The Flyers are on a break from now until Sunday when they take on the Penguins.  This is a big game for the Philly team because the Pens are currently leading the Atlantic division (the one the Flyers are in).  It's also a big game because no one likes the Penguins or Sydney Crosby.  But I'm sure we'll talk more about him next week.

Fights

     This week I'm going to touch on a subject of ice hockey that is held in different lights by different people.  Some people see it as something that holds back the skills of the game while others see it as one of the most important parts of the game.  I'm talking about a good old fashion fight.

     Now some "outsiders" have the image of two players dropping the gloves and mauling each other with bare fists as soon as you mention the sport of ice hockey around them.  A lot of times, they'll toss in the old joke, "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out" making it sound like fighting is the main reason to watch hockey.  I will admit that sometimes things do tend to get a little our of hand when the benches clear and the goalies go at it.  Those kinds of fights, however, are the ones that are remembered for years.

     Let's break down the penalty of fighting in hockey for a second.  When two players square off and drop the gloves, they duke it out for a bit until the referees step in to break it up.  Sometimes refs decide to step in too soon though and pay for it.  Once the dust settles, each player goes to their respective penalty box for a five minute major penalty.

     The Gordie Howe hat trick is an unofficial term that has been used to describe when a player gets a goal, an assist, and drops the gloves in one game.  These are usually rare, but this season, Wayne Simmonds pulled off two Gordie Howe hat tricks... in one week!  Simmonds has been a huge gun for the Flyers this season proving that he can do just about anything from putting the puck in the net to putting another player on the ice.

     Tonight, the Flyers take on George's team, the Devils.  So far this season, the Devils are sitting ahead of the Flyers in the standings by 4 points.  These next two games are huge for the Flyers because they play the Devils at their home rink tonight and then drive back to Philly to take them on again Friday night.  If they Flyers win both of these games, they will catch up to the Devils in points.  This is big for both teams since they are in the same division.

Gagne is back!

     Gagne is back! Gagne is BACK! GAGNE IS BACK!!!  In case you couldn't tell, I'm excited about Simon Gagne returning to the Flyers.  He started his NHL career with the Flyers when he was drafted in 1998.  He was a crucial asset to the team as he eventually made his way to the position of assistant captain.  He played for the orange and black for over a decade when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then later to the LA Kings.  While out, he went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012.  Then last week he sat down with the Kings' General Manager and was told that he was being traded.  Usually that gets a player down in the dumps, but not in this case.  He says that he was instantly excited when he was told where he was going.  He was going home.  He was rejoining the Flyers.

     Luckily, I had already bought tickets for this game.  

     My first game of the season was going to be Simon Gagne's first game of the season in the Wells Fargo Center, too.  I went with a Marine buddy of mine, Wojo.  Needless to say, we were excited to see Simon back in orange and black.  We both knew that he was going to score.  He had to.  And he did.

     The Flyers went on to win that game 4-1.  It was the perfect welcome home for the former Flyer.  Since that game, they went on to beat the Ottawa Senators but then fell to the New York Rangers.  They are now prepping for a home game against the team up the turnpike, the Pittsburgh Penguins.