12 Simon Gagne -- 13 Glen Metropolit -- 22 Mike Knuble
14 Andreas Nodl -- 18 Mike Richards -- 15 Joffrey Lupul
9 Scottie Upshall -- 17 Jeff Carter -- 19 Scott Hartnell
24 Josh Gratton -- 42 Jared Ross -- 45 Arron Asham
Defensemen:
44 Kimmo Timonen -- 47 Luca Sbisa
5 Braydon Coburn -- 25 Matt Carle
3 Lasse Kukkonen -- 41 Andrew Alberts
23 Ossi Vaananen (is not expected to play, injury)
Goalies:
30 Antero Nittymaki (probable starter)
43 Martin Biron
FLYERS' INJURIES:
2 Derian Hatcher (right knee damage) is on injured reserve.
6 Randy Jones (right hip surgery) could miss about two months from early October and is on injured reserve. UPDATE: Could return around December 6.
23 Ossi Vaananen (reported surgery on right index finger) returned to the lineup Thursday but re-injured the finger and is listed as day-to-day. He is not expected to play vs. Atlanta.
32 Riley Cote (oblique tear) UPDATE: has been placed on the LTIR and will be out until at least November 29 according to Philly.com.
36 Darroll Powe (mild concussion) is on injured reserve.
48 Danny Briere (slight left groin strain) is expected to be out for 5-7 days from November 12. He will not play vs. Atlanta.
77 Ryan Parent (shoulder surgery) could miss 12-14 weeks from early October and is on injured reserve. UPDATE: Could return in late December.
FLYERS vs. THRASHERS' SERIES' HISTORY: Current and Miscellaneous:
The Flyers own winning streaks of 11 overall, four at home and eight in Atlanta.
Atlanta's most recent victory came November 18, 2005, a 6-5 OT win in Philadelphia.
The Thrashers last home win was 4-1 December 21, 2003.
This is the 34th meeting. The Flyers are 26-3-3 (ties)-1 (OT loss) all-time, 12-1-2-1 at home and 14-2-1-0 in Atlanta.
The Flyers have at least one point in the last 15 games (14-0-1-0) and in 30 of 33 all-time meetings.
Antero Niittymaki is 10-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA in his career against the Thrashers.
1999-2004:
1999 -- October 15 -- Jody Hull was dealt by Atlanta to Philadelphia in return for cash.
1999 -- December 23 -- In the first regular season matchup between the teams, the Thrashers rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-4 draw in Philadelphia. The Flyers scored twice in the first 3:40 off Norm Maracle but Atlanta then switched to Scott Fankhouser who finished the game by making 36 saves on 38 shots.
2000 -- January 14 -- The teams met in Atlanta for the first time and the Thrashers' Norm Maracle responded with a 1-0 shutout. The game's lone goal came in the third period by Dean Sylvester. Eric Lindros was elbowed in the head and suffered a Grade 2 concussion which sidelined him for the next four games.
2000 -- April 4 -- The Flyers defeated the Thrashers 5-3 in Atlanta, the first time Philly won in this series in their third attempt. Valeri Zelepukin scored 1:50 into the game and the Flyers led the remainder of the game. Andy Delmore had a goal and an assist. Simon Gagne's breakaway goal with 1:35 to play sealed the win.
2000 -- April 6 -- The Flyers skated to a 3-1 win at home. They held Atlanta to two shots in the first period. Daymond Langkow picked up the GWG midway through period two.
2000 -- November 17 -- Dan McGillis netted the GWG 1:01 into OT in a 3-2 road win. Donald Audette tied the score with a goal exactly one minute left in regulation. Mark Recchi had three points.
2001 -- January 5 -- Philly skated to a 3-0 at the 2:19 mark, increased it to 5-0 in the second period but then almost saw the lead evaporate when the Thrashers scored the next four with about seven minutes left. However, Mark Recchi (1-3-4) ended the comeback bid with a goal and Philly won 6-4.
2001 -- January 6 -- Keith Primeau scored his 200th N.H.L. goal with 7:36 left in the third period to give Philadelphia a tie with Atlanta. The Thrashers had two first period shots but led 1-0. The Flyers trailed 2-0 in the second period.
2001 -- February 17 -- The Flyers had four third period goals in a 5-1 home win. Simon Gagne had two goals and an assist in the win.
2001 -- October 16 -- The teams alternated goals in a 3-3 tie, John LeClair scoring Philly's last two. Atlanta led 1-0 after two periods.
2001 -- December 10 -- Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau scored in the third period of a 3-1 road win. Philly outshot Atlanta 29-15.
2002 -- January 8 -- Jiri Dopita scored four goals on four shots and added an assist in a 7-4 win. Included in the feat was a natural hat trick.
2002 -- January 17 -- Down 3-2 after two, the Flyers erupted for four third period goals in a 6-3 victory in Philly. Justin Williams picked up two points on the two key goals and was one of five players with a 2-point game.
2002 -- December 18 -- Philly won 3-1 as Robert Esche stopped 23 of 24 shots including a perfect 15-for-15 in the third period. In the first period, the Flyers held a 13-3 shot advantage but the score was tied 1-1. In the third, Atlanta held a 15-2 shot advantage but the Flyers got the only goal. Eric Desjardins became the 185th NHL player to appear in 1,000 regular season games.
2003 -- January 5 -- The Flyers extended their unbeaten streak against Atlanta to 12 games (10-0-2) with a 5-4 road win. Mark Recchi netted the GWG with 5:31 to play. His goal 3+ minutes earlier gave the Flyers a 4-3 lead.
2003 -- January 13 -- Atlanta defeated Philadelphia to snap a 12-game winless skid as Dany Heatley registered a hat trick in a 7-4 win in Philadelphia.
2003 -- March 24 -- Michal Handzus had two goals in Philly's 6-2 home win. In the third period, Philly dominated -- 3-0 in goals and 16-5 in shots.
2003 -- November 15 -- Jeff Hackett stopped all 24 shots in a 4-0 home win. The game was scoreless until Sami Kapanen scored early in the third period.
2003 -- December 21 -- Ronald Petrovicky scored twice in Atlanta's 4-1 home win.
2004 -- February 5 -- Down 1-0 after one, the Flyers recorded the next five goals in a 5-1 road win. Antero Niittymaki had 20 saves in the second start of his NHL career. The Flyers had four second period goals. Francis Lessard-Todd Fedoruk fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cXT...33&Fight=23205
2004 -- February 21 -- In a thriller, Simon Gagne scored on a penalty shot with 1:01 left in the third period to snap a 4-4 tie. Gagne was awarded a penalty shot after Andy Sutton shot a loose stick on the ice toward him; Gagne beat goaltender Pasi Nurminen for his 17th goal. Alexei Zhamnov, playing his first game with the Flyers, waited for the officials to review the play thinking he could take the shot; however, Gagne was required to take it because the loose stick came at him. The Flyers led 3-0 in the first period, all PPGs in a span of 2:42. Two of the PPGs were by Joni Pitkanen who assisted on the third. The Flyers PP went 4-for-5 in the game. Atlanta tied the game by scoring the first three goals of the second period but then the Flyers took a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes; Atlanta tied the game 4-4 in the third period. Ilya Kovalchuk, Serge Aubin and Marc Savard recorded eight points for the Thrashers.
2005-2009:
2005 -- November 5 -- Simon Gagne had his second career hat trick (first since March 2002 against the Rangers) and an assist in a 4-3 home win. The Flyers' reached the 25,000,000 mark for home attendance. Gagne, Peter Forsberg (three points) and Mike Knuble (two points) totalled nine points in the game. Forsberg had 12 points in his last four games. Robert Esche made 28 saves.
2005 -- November 18 -- Greg de Vries scored 3:05 into OT on a breakaway, after Atlanta erased a two-goal deficit with PPGs in the final two minutes of regulation, and the Thrashers won 6-5. After Peter Bondra cut the deficit to one with 1:50 remaining, Patrick Stefan tied it 5-5 with only 7 seconds left. The Flyers had all four second period goals to go up 5-3. Simon Gagne had 10 shots including seven in the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk had six first period shots and nine in the game. Atlanta had four PPGs (4-for-10) including Kovalchuk's two first period goals.
2005 -- December 28 -- Sami Kapanen scored 13 seconds into OT to give the Flyers a 4-3 win in Atlanta. Thrashers' goalie Michael Garnett entered the game with consecutive shutouts but Simon Gagne ended the streeak early in this game.
2006 -- March 18 -- Joni Pitkanen had three assists in Philly's 4-2 win in Atlanta.
2006 -- October 26 -- John Stevens recorded his first win as an NHL head coach as Philly out-scored Atlanta 2-1 in the SO for a 3-2 home victory. Antero Niittymaki made 28 of 30 stops and 2 of 3 SO attempts including the final attempt by Ilya Kovalchuk. Peter Forsberg scored in regulation and the SO.
2007 -- January 28 -- Jeff Carter scored twice and Antero Niittymaki's personal 15-game winless streak (0-13-2) came to an end as he stopped 37 of 38 shots in Philadelphia's 2-1 afternoon win at Atlanta. Carter's GWG goal came with 1:02 on the clock. The Flyers ended a nine-game losing streak. Gary Bettman was in attendance. The game was a sellout, Atlanta's fifth of the season. While the Flyers went 1-for-2 on the PP, Atlanta was 0-for-6 including a 5-on-3 for nearly two minutes.
2007 -- February 3 -- Antero Niittymaki made 32 saves on 33 shots in Philly's 5-2 road win. The Flyers scored four third period goals including the eventual game-winner by Mike York after a lengthy review determined his stick was not above the crossbar. Jeff Carter's insurance tally came via a short-handed breakaway. Robert Esche left before the seven minute mark due to a neck injury and was replaced by Niittymaki who improved to 6-0 against the Thrashers.
2007 -- March 15 -- Stefan Ruzicka (1-2-3) had three points and Martin Biron made 37 saves in Philly's 3-2 home win. Derian Hatcher scored a goal to end a drought of 125 games without a goal.
2007 -- October 16 -- Martin Biron stopped all 31 Atlanta shots, many extraordinary including one off Eric Perrin, in a 4-0 win. With the Flyers up 1-0, Jeff Carter and Sami Kapanen scored 34 seconds apart late in the middle period.
2008 -- January 8 -- Jeff Carter scored twice in a 13-second span, the second-fastest two goals by one player in franchise history (Ron Flockhart scored a pair of goals in eight seconds against St. Louis December 6, 1981), and Philly claimed a 4-1 victory at Atlanta. Scott Hartnell added three points in the four-goal flurry including a SHG at 19:59+. Antero Niittymaki made 27 saves and the Flyers beat Atlanta for the eighth straight meeting. Game highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5DvTaNmr0o
2008 -- February 5 -- Steve Downie scored with 4:39 to play in Philly's 3-2 road win. Antero Niittymaki had 23 saves and upped his record to 8-0 with 13 goals against in his career against the Thrashers. Game highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci8TaeBH3GU
2008 -- March 18 -- Antero Niittymaki's sparkling save off Ilya Kovalchuk's shot in the final seconds proved to be one of the most important moments in the season as the Flyers, winless in their last four, beat Atlanta 3-2 and finished the season with a 7-1-1 streak to lift them into the playoffs. Up 3-1 in the last minute, the Flyers' lead was cut to 3-2 when Kovalchuk scored his 50th at 19:30. He then nearly evened the game with about three seconds to play on a bullet but Niittymaki made the ideal save -- a save which floored the talented Atlanta forward in disbelief. Niittymaki improved to 9-0 (15 GA) in his career against Atlanta. Philly held a 47-19 shots advantage. Game highlights: http://thrashers.nhl.tv/team/console...0072008,2,1097
2008 -- October 28 -- Mike Knuble, Simon Gagne and Joffrey Lupul had two goals apiece to lead Philadelphia to a 7-0 rout in Atlanta. Antero Niittymaki made 24 saves for his fourth career shutout. He improved to 10-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average in his career against the Thrashers.
2008 -- November 18 -- Antero Niittymaki stopped 29 shots, Simon Gagne (1-2-3) had three points and Joffrey Lupul scored the go-ahead goal with 6:17 to play in regulation and Philly ended the Thrashers' five-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory. The Flyers improved to 13-0-1 in the last three seasons against the Thrashers. Niittymaki improved to 11-0 in his career against Atlanta. Thrashers' coach John Anderson said of the Flyers' goalie "He played decent tonight. I don't think he was the difference. I don't take any stock in that." Atlanta outshot Philly 21-4 in the final period and Niittymaki made 19 stops. In the game, each team had 32 shots and the Flyers held an 18-4 advantage after one period (a 2-0 lead). The Flyers led 3-1 after two periods but the Thrashers rallied to even the game.
FLYERS' 7-0 SCORES:
October 21, 1971 -- Los Angeles 7 at Philadelphia 0
February 25, 1973 -- Philadelphia 7 at California 0
November 4, 1973 -- Pittsburgh 0 at Philadelphia 7
October 16, 1977 -- St. Louis 0 at Philadelphia 7
May 1, 1980 -- Minnesota North Stars 0 at Philadelphia 7 (playoffs)
February 5, 1984 -- Toronto 0 at Philadelphia 7
March 19, 1988 -- Philadelphia 0 at Pittsburgh 7
December 8, 1990 -- Philadelphia 0 at Minnesota North Stars 7
February 25, 1995 -- Philadelphia 7 at Montreal 0
October 28, 2008 -- Philadelphia 7 at Atlanta Thrashers 0
Guessing Nitty gets the start...don't fix what ain't broken
I've been thinking maybe we shouldn't count on Nitty every single time because if he's not available one of these days, we could have a lack of confidence going with Marty.
But yeah, definitely start Nitty as much as possible against atl. These points are enormous come march.
If Nitty doesn't play tomorrow, I'm out all my goalie stats for the week in one of my fh leagues. I know some people could give a **** about fantasy, but if anyone hears anything new in the next 50 minutes, I sure would appreciate the post.
If Nitty doesn't play tomorrow, I'm out all my goalie stats for the week in one of my fh leagues. I know some people could give a **** about fantasy, but if anyone hears anything new in the next 50 minutes, I sure would appreciate the post.
Honestly I don't think there's anyway that Nitty doesn't start against the Thrashers...it's just what he does.
I have a bad feeling. This will be a bigger test than the game against MON. ATL will prolly wanna avenge the embarrassment they were on national TV against us. Flyers better keep their play up.
I have a bad feeling. This will be a bigger test than the game against MON. ATL will prolly wanna avenge the embarrassment they were on national TV against us. Flyers better keep their play up.
I just do not see it. ATL better then MON? How is it a bigger test?
Flyers tend to play good against atlanta, especially nitty. But trashers have been playing good lately also. Hopefully last nights win gives them a confidence boost and they build on that. It was the best game they've played this season so far.
* The Flyers own winning streaks of 11 overall, four at home and eight in Atlanta.
* Atlanta's most recent victory came November 18, 2005, a 6-5 OT win in Philadelphia.
* The Thrashers last home win was 4-1 December 21, 2003.
* This is the 34th meeting. The Flyers are 26-3-3 (ties)-1 (OT loss) all-time, 12-1-2-1 at home and 14-2-1-0 in Atlanta.
* The Flyers have at least one point in the last 15 games (14-0-1-0) and in 30 of 33 all-time meetings.
* Antero Niittymaki is 10-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA in his career against the Thrashers.
Everytime we play them I am always amazed by these numbers. And they keep getting better. Let's add to it tonight!!
Goddammit, those first few **** games killed us.
