Flyers-Blue Jackets Gameday

The Philadelphia Flyers open a crucial 6-game homestand tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Wachovia Center.  It’s the only meeting of the year between these two disappointing teams that were supposed to be battling for the top in their respective conferences. 

The Flyers struggles have been well-documented, but they do seem to have a decent chance to get themselves back into the top 8 of the Eastern Conference.  And there is no time like the present to begin. 

After tonight, Philly’s next five contests are against Eastern Conference foes.  Two teams are red hot (NY Islanders and NY Rangers), but two teams are struggling (Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers) and the Carolina Hurricanes are last overall in the NHL.  So this should be looked upon as a good chance to make up some ground in the East.

Ray Emery will get his second straight start in net for the Flyers tonight.  Although he didn’t look too bad in the loss against Washington on Sunday, he seemed to have some trouble controlling rebounds.  After such a long layoff after surgery, it’s understandable that Emery would show some rust.  Not sure coach Peter Laviolette made the right choice in playing Emery in his first game back against the top offensive team in the NHL, but if the Flyers could have pulled the game out it would have been a huge confidence boost for the goalie.  The consensus seems to be that if the Flyers have any chance whatsoever of making the postseason and thriving in it as well, it will be with Emery between the pipes.

Even with the losses in the past two games, the Flyers still have a few players that have decent scoring streaks.  Mike Richards has 13 points in the last 12 games, Simon Gagne has 11 points in his last 9, Jeff Carter has 11 points in his last 10, defenseman Chris Pronger has 8 points in his last 6, James van Riemsdyk has 8 in his last 7, and Danny Briere has 7 in his last 6.

The Blue Jackets have had a nightmare of a season so far, and there is much talk that head coach Ken Hitchcock’s job is in jeopardy.  Even with a home win last night against the St. Louis Blues that broke a 3-game losing streak, Columbus sits next to last in the Western Conference standings.  Their 8-15-4 road record is in the bottom third of the NHL, and problems abound.  Goaltender Steve Mason, last seasons Calder Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie, has struggled mightily this year.  Mason is in the throes of a sophomore slump with a record of 11-16-6, a GAA of 3.33 and a save percentage of just .889.  Mathieu Garon has taken over the starting job and has posted much better numbers (8-7-3, 2.66, .908) than Mason. 

In addition to Hitcock’s return, it is also the return of RJ Umberger to Philly for the first time since he was traded to Columbus for a 1st round pick (ended up being defenseman Luca Sbisa, since dealt to Anaheim in the Pronger deal) in the 2008 entry draft.  He has three points in his last two games and along with Raffi Torres (3 goals in last 6) and captain Rick Nash (5 points in last 3), is among the hottest scoring Jacket players.

Two teams in desperate need of two points.  That’s what it’s all about in todays NHL.

Taking a Flyer:  Former coach and current Flyer scout John Stevens was hired as an in-studio hockey analyst with the Versus Network.  His first day on the broadcast is reported to be January 25th, Pittsburgh at the NY Rangers…Defenseman Ryan Parent has a setback in his rehab for back spasms and will not be back as soon as was hoped…With Parent’s setback, GM Paul Holmgren said he would keep all three goaltenders (Emery, Michael Leighton, Brian Boucher) with the team and not make a decision on the three until such time that Parent returns…today is forward Ian Laperriere’s 36th birthday.

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