![]() ![]() There is a lot of positivity in this locker room. We can go down two or three goals, but we will be very positive in the locker room and know we can come back. ‘I think since then, everybody has had great confidence. ‘We had a break earlier, late in October, early November, and we really worked on a lot of things in practice and we skated really hard,’ Voracek said. Without taking it too far, they clearly feel that something is right, and at just about the right time. And there was relief at the trade deadline.Īll of which means whatever the Flyers have had going for months is no longer a quaint story, a curiosity, a fluke. Their lines and defensive pairings are becoming comfortable. And they have seven double-figure goal-scorers, with the potential to finish the season with nine. In Steve Mason, the Flyers are at least responsible in goal. Don’t let it get around, but reliable goaltending and scoring depth can be of some assistance, too. That’s why you don’t want to mess up the chemistry with the team and just keep it the same way.’Īttitude helps. For the playoffs, you never know, but that is a good thing to have. ![]() That is very important, especially for that stretch coming up. And it has been like that the whole year. ‘We have a great atmosphere in the locker room,’ Mark Streit said. With that, they believe they can win, and not just during a telling upcoming schedule spike. Suddenly – or, not so suddenly, given that they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2012 – there is a certain spirit that can best be explained like this: It’s the opposite of what is happening in the pro basketball bunker, just down the Wells Fargo Center corridor. Days later, the Flyers were flattered if not motivated by Paul Holmgren’s decision to effectively keep them whole at the trading deadline, his only move being to move Andrej Meszaros, acquire Andrew MacDonald and add some salary flexibility. After the lengthy break for the Olympics, Kimmo Timonen brandished his bronze medal, suggesting that it proves that any success is possible. Somewhere in there – and particularly recently – talk of success, championships even, has bounced freely around their room. Since their 3-9 start, they have won 30 and lost 15 in regulation. But the trickier in-season stretches that always seem to befuddle the less confident teams no longer have to validate, expose or define the Flyers, who have added standings points in eight of their last nine. They are likely headed to the playoffs, and that will be a fresh test. The Flyers are no longer a wait-and-see curiosity. ‘I think that has been shown over the last two or three months, because I think we have played very good hockey.’ It’s called opening the eyes.’I don’t think the next couple of games will show our potential,’ the right wing said Monday, after practice in the Skate Zone. Then there is the other, the one Jake Voracek prefers. That will be one way to judge them, and how far they have come, and how they have done so after a horrible start. – The Flyers will play the Devils Tuesday, then have a home-and-home with Pittsburgh, then entertain the Chicago Blackhawks, the Stanley Cup champions. He made the tournament All-Star Team at the ’06 tournament.VOORHEES, N.J. He helped Peterborough win the OHL playoff title and advance to the Memorial Cup in 2005-06.ĭownie won back-to-back gold medals with Canada the World Junior Championships in 2006 and ’07. He split his junior career between Windsor, Peterborough and Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Downie has added 15 points (2G-13A) in 23 playoff games.ĭownie was originally drafted by the Flyers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft. In 336 career NHL regular-season games with Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Colorado, Downie has 59 goals, 103 assists, 162 points and 766 penalty minutes. The following year, Downie helped the Lightning advance to the Eastern Conference Finals by contributing 14 points (2G-12A) and a plus-7 in 17 postseason contests. He also had two goals in seven games with Canada at the World Championship that spring. That year the Newmarket, Ontario native established career highs in goals (22), assists (24), points (46) and penalty minutes (208) in 79 games. The 5-foot-11, 191-pound forward had his best NHL season with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009-10 when current Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet was his head coach. The deal has an average annual value of $1 million.ĭownie, 27, split the 2013-14 regular season with the Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers, registering 24 points (4G-20A) and 106 penalty minutes in 62 games.
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