In the battles of the Cinderellas, the Flyers opened with a dominating 6-0 victory. They had six different players score goals, and 5 players had a goal and an assist. Michael Leighton turned aside 28 shots and presumptive Conn Smythe favorite Jaroslav Halak was chased after a 3 goal explosion in the second period.

Both of these guys scored in the game one romp

The first period saw an early goal scored by the Flyers Braydon Cobrun, who steamed in from the point to bang a rebound past Halak. The play was created by Ville Leino, who basically deked the Montreal defense out of it’s collective jock before sending the puck to the net.

The Canadiens showed some spunk after the goal, however. They had several good chances and actually outshot the Flyers for the period. But Leighton was very sharp-twice he casually batted aside redirections with his blocker as if they were flies looking to alight into his banana split. Leighton downplayed his excellent work

“They had a couple good chances in the first period,” Leighton said. “I was seeing a lot of the pucks. They don’t have a big presence like Boston did in front of the net, so I was looking over some of their guys and getting to see the pucks, and we were blocking shots.

“I just had to make the saves I should make in the first, and we kind of took over from there.”

Danny Briere disagreed “I didn’t think we were very happy with our first period,” Briere said. “Michael Leighton played really well. We were able to come back from the first period with the lead mostly because of him.”

Leighton has been dominant for the Flyers. Tossing out the first period of game seven vs Boston, he's stopped 83 of 84 shots

“There was a letdown,” said coach Peter Laviolette, ever the perfectionist. “The scoreboard didn’t show it, but the first period was not good …. We’re certainly glad to get the win, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.” The coach was hardly the only one critical of the first period effort.

“I don’t think we played very well in the first period and the message was there from the coach when we came back in the room,”  Giroux said. “In the second period, I think we just kept it simple and started working the way we did against Boston. Any time we keep it simple and work hard, things happen for us.”

“I don’t think they were even close to being at their best,” Philadelphia’s Blair Betts said. “That being said, I don’t think we were at our best, either. We were pretty opportunistic with our chances.” So it’s telling that the Flyers realize that the first game is not indicative of what this series is likely to become. Halak has followed being pulled with strong performances twice, so to expect another rout could be an easy path to losing home ice in game two on Tuesday.

Mike Richards agreed with Betts’ statement on the Flyers being opportunistic. “I thought we had confidence,”  Richards said. “We just came out slow. As the game went on, I thought we got better. We were very opportunistic.”

No matter what happens, one thing is sure. The Flyers won’t have to repeat history to make it to the finals.

Although we have yet to see a single team hit the 10 game mark yet, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at which teams are already facing serious problems due to injuries.

With the likes of Markov and Franzen already sustaining near-season ending injuries, it seems that depth is going to a major factor in how a team will fare throughout the long haul.

Keeping that in mind, here is the current list of players Injured Players per team:

Anaheim Ducks

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

James Wisniewski | 10-11-09 | on IR | Sprained Right Shoulder

- no major injuries thus far to the Ducks and given how deep they are, I would not expect a major injury or two to phase this team. They will be contenders so long as they do not suffer more than one major injury to their core.

Atlanta Thrashers

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Kari Lehtonen | 10-01-09 | on IR | Back Surgery
Boris Valabik | 10-07-09 | on IR 4-6 weeks | Left Ankle Surgery
Nik Antropov | 10-16-09 | Probable | Knee

- The Thrashers are a much improved team, or at least Ilya Kovalchuk hopes so. Until Antropov and Lehtonen return though, Kovalchuk won’t truly know how much this team has improved.

Boston Bruins

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Dennis Wideman | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Friday’s game | Left Shoulder

- The Bruins are relatively healthy, although missing Wideman for a game or two isn’t great. Boston is in need of staying healthy all year long if they expect to recapture their division.

Buffalo Sabres

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Andrej Sekera | 10-11-09 | on IR at least 2 weeks | Ribs
Thomas Vanek | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Friday | Upper Body
Adam Mair | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Friday | Hip Surgery

- Injuries to Vanek, Connolly and Miller cost the Sabres a playoff spot last year. With Miller playing incredible hockey and Connolly trucking along, all Sabre fans can hope for is that Vanek can avoid missing any significant stretch of time this season.

Calgary Flames

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

John Armstrong | 09-17-09 | on IR | Undisclosed
David Moss | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Friday | Upper Body

- Calgary is deep on D, but not on offense. If the Flames expect to do better than their opening round ousting at the hands of the Blackhawks this season, they can ill afford any injuries to Jarome Iginla or Olli Jokinen.

Carolina Hurricanes

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Casey Borer | 09-14-09 | on IR | Broken Neck
Michael Ryan | 09-22-09 | on IR | Concussion
Erik Cole | 10-04-09 | expected miss 4-6 weeks | Broken Left Leg
Joni Pitkanen | 10-15-09 | Questionable for Saturday | Knee

- Losing Cole hurts, but with the expected return of Pitkanen within the next 10 days, the Hurricanes should be ok. Cole is injury prone so this does not come as a great shock to Cane fans, and considering how durable Eric Staal and Cam Ward have been, Carolina should have a consistent season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Marian Hossa | 09-14-09 | on IR indefinitely | Right Shoulder Surgery
Adam Burish | 09-22-09 | on IR indefinitely | Knee Surgery
Ben Eager | 10-08-09 | on IR | Concussion

- Chicago may be one of the deepest teams in the league. Despite starting the year without Marian Hossa and losing Burish for nearly the entire season, the Hawks are rolling along. Missing Burish will hurt, but when Hossa and Eager return to the lineup, this team will only continue to get stronger.

Colorado Avalanche

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Tom Preissing | 09-14-09 | on IR expected to miss 4-6 weeks | Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Brandon Yip | 10-01-09 | on IR | Undisclosed
Ruslan Salei | 10-09-09 | on IR | Back
John-Michael Liles | 10-14-09 | expected to miss 1-2 weeks | Bruised Right Shoulder

- The Avs do not have much in the way of expectations this season, but having kicked the year off with such a hot start, they may just turn out better than expected. Missing regulars like Preissing, Salei and Liles certainly hurts Colorado’s blue line, but having handled both the Leafs and Canadiens so easily while on the road, these Avs may surprise us yet.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Mike Commodore | 09-19-09 | on IR | Groin
Frederik Modin | 09-29-09 | on IR | Knee
Jan Hejda | 10-14-09 | expected to miss 4-6 weeks | Sprained Left Knee

- The Jackets are now considered a playoff team and have a surplus of youthful depth on their roster, but in order for them to find success during the regular season they are going to need to keep their superstars(Nash and Mason) healthy and insulated. Losing Modin is somewhat normal in Columbus, but missing Commodore and Hejda pose problems, albeit temporary. If Columbus does not suffer any serious injuries to either Nash or Mason, this team will turn a lot of heads.

Dallas Stars

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Warren Peters | 09-25-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Broken Orbital Bone
Luke Gazdic | 10-02-09 | on IR | Shoulder
Steve Ott | 10-14-09 | out 1 week | Oblique
Mike Modano | 10-16-09 | expected to miss Friday’s game | Ribs

- The Stars no longer rely on Modano as their backbone, but missing out on the veteran leader’s services and that of pest/grinder Steve Ott certainly leaves a void in Dallas’ lineup. The playoffs are already considered a challenge for the Stars this year, if they suffer any serious injuries to key players like Morrow, Ribiero or Turco, those hopes will get even slimmer.

Detroit Red Wings

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Andreas Lilja | 09-14-09 | on IR | Post-Concussion symptoms
Cory Emmerton | 09-28-09 | on IR | Upper Body
Johan Franzen | 10-09-09 | on IR expected to miss 4-6 months | Torn Left ACL
Pavel Datsyuk | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Saturday’s game | Upper Body

- Having already lost nearly 100 goals with the departures of Hossa, Hudler and Samuelsson, Detroit must now suffer through the loss of the “Mule” for almost the entire year. It was already going to be tougher in Motown than in season’s past, but with such heavy losses to the offense, it’s plain to see that this Red Wings team just is not as deep as they used to be. Losing Datsyuk, Zetterberg or Lidstrom could be the final piece that could cause these Wings to fall from grace.

Edmonton Oilers

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Fernando Pisani | 09-30-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Back
Marc Pouliot |09-30-09 | on IR | Pubic Bone
Sheldon Souray | 10-09-09 | on IR | Concussion
Steve Staios | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Friday’s game | Concussion

- The Oilers are missing two hulking blue-liners in Souray and Staios, without them patrol Edmonton’s zone, the Oilers must be considered a vulnerable team. They are not all that big up front and will rely on their size on defense to get them through a tough Western Conference. The playoffs may be a bit out of reach this season, especially if their depth on defense is tested.

Florida Panthers

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Steven Reinprecht | 10-16-09 | Probable for Friday | Lower Body
Radek Dvorak | 10-16-09 | Probable for Friday | Flu
Nathan Horton | 10-16-09 | Probable for Friday | Lower Body

- The Panthers have no major injuries at the moment and would like to keep it that way. Not exactly one of the strongest teams in the East, Florida is going to need to stay healthy and use all of their depth players in an effort to break into the post-season.

Minnesota Wild

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

P-M Bouchard | 10-04-09 | out Indefinitely | Concussion/Headaches
Cal Clutterbuck | 10-13-09 | on IR | Sprained Left Ankle
Pety Sykora | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Friday | Groin
Martin Havlat | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Friday | Groin

- Having replaced their former duo of Demitra and Gaborik with the new tandem of Havlat and Sykora, the Wild better hope that their bad luck as a team with groin injuries disappears. Unfortunately, as the list suggests, that is not the case as both Sykora and Havlat are already suffering with groin issues. One has to wonder what’s in the ice at the Xcel Center that leads to all these groin issues.

Montreal Canadiens

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Andrei Markov | 10-02-09 | on IR expected to miss 4 months | Left Ankle Tendon
Ryan O’Byrne | 10-04-09 | on IR expected to miss 6-8 weeks | Knee
Glen Metropolit | 10-06-09 | on IR | Ribs

- With the greatest science experiment ever attempted in the NHL underway, this year’s edition of the Habs has already run into big issues. Losing their best player and the rock on their blue line in Andrei Markov for almost the entire season has immediately thrown the Canadiens hopes for making the playoffs into jeopardy. Of course there is no replacement for a player of Markov’s talents, so it should be very, very interesting to see what the Canadiens do beyond the recent signing of Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Habs are a one-line team at the moment and are but one more major injury away from an already disastrous season.

Nashville Predators

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Jordin Tootoo | 10-03-09 | on IR | Hip Flexor/Quads

- Nashville, like many of the bubble teams, can ill-afford injuries to their major players. Having dealt with the loss of Steve Sullivan over the last couple of seasons, the Predators are finally hoping for full strong seasons from Dumont, Arnott and Sullivan to help edge Nashville back into the playoffs.

New Jersey Devils

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Mark Fraser | 09-29-09 | on IR | Upper Body
Patrik Elias | 09-29-09 | on IR expected to miss 3-6 weeks | Groin Surgery

- The Devils had to deal with the season-long loss of Martin Brodeur last year and are in no mood to repeat that fate. Although Elias is currently injured, he is recovering from off-season repairs, New Jersey is pretty much healthy and looking to get back into the good ‘ol days of team winning systems. With Jacques Lemaire back behind the bench in the Swamp, the Devils will rely more on their systems and less on individuals, but if they lose Marty again or if Parise or Elias miss serious time, things could get tricky in Jersey.

NY Islanders

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Frans Nielsen | 09-22-09 | on IR | Arthroscopic Surgery
Jeremy Reich | 09-30-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Broken Left Wrist
Mark Flood | 09-30-09 | on IR | Lower Body
Rick Dipietro | 10-01-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Knee Surgery
Trent Hunter | 10-10-09 | on IR expected to miss 4-6 weeks | Torn Pec
Pascal Morency | 10-16-09 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed

- The Isles are in the midst of a full rebuild and do not have wild and crazy expectations, but if they can manage to get some of these players back off of the IR they could find themselves as a fairly competitive squad. If, and when, Rick Dipietro returns, the Isles may very well be able to pursue some more depth by trading away either Dwayne Roloson or Marty Biron.

New York Rangers

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Donald Brashear | 10-15-09 | Questionable for Saturday | Body Soreness

- Healthy, but dreading any mention of a groin injury, the Rangers are relying on the incomparable Marian Gaborik to lead them to success. Unfortunately for New York, they do not possess all that much depth beyond Gaborik and if they lose him, the Rangers could be in big trouble. If he can avoid his annual sojourns to the Injured List though and these Rangers will be dangerous.

Ottawa Senators

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Filip Kuba | 10-16-09 | Doubtful for Saturday | Lower Body
Peter Regin | 10-16-09 | Probable for Saturday | Upper Body
Jesse Winchester | on IR, probable for Saturday | Knee

- The Sens are a much deeper team thanks to the trade of Dany Heatley and are likely going to enjoyed renewed success thanks to it. Combine the acquisition of Michalek and Cheechoo with the signing of Alex Kovalev and the Sens are once again deep offensively. Injuries won’t necessarily slow this team down, unless it is to their new starter Pascal Leclaire.

Philadelphia Flyers

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Mike Rathje | 10-01-09 | On IR for the season | Hip/Back
Blair Betts | 10-07-09 | on IR | Dislocated Right Shoulder
James van Riemsdyk | 10-16-09 | Probable for Friday | Concussion symptoms

- The Flyers are extremely deep, even though they ponied up a King’s Ransom to the Ducks for Chris Pronger. It will take a lot of injuries to a lot of major players to slow this team down. The major questions will remain in nets and if Emery gets injured, Philly better hope that Boucher is up to the task. That said, Philly looks to be one of the deeper, more dangerous teams in the NHL this season.

Phoenix Coyotes

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Kurt Sauer | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Friday | Headaches

- There are a lot of questions surrounding this edition of the Coyotes, but with an impressive collection of talent up front, the only thing to worry about in Phoenix will be if Ilya Bryzgalov can stay healthy. He has been conisistent and strong over the last few seasons, but if the ‘Yotes were to lose him for an extended stretch they will be in big trouble.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Maxime Talbot | 09-14-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Left Shoulder Surgery
Mark Letestu | 09-17-09 | on IR | Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Ben Lovejoy | 09-29-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Shoulder

- They are the defending champs and should not be questioned. They suffered through injuries and brutal stretches at times last season, but given that they have started the season with Sergei Gonchar this time around, Pittsburgh likely won’t find themselves out of a playoff spot at any time this year. With perhaps the most elite depth in the NHL, the Pens will have no problem hanging around to defend their Cup title.

San Jose Sharks

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Torrey Mitchell | 09-30-09 | on IR | Left Knee Tendonitis
Joe Pavelski | 10-05-09 | on IR | Foot
Douglas Murray | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Saturday | Flu

- The Sharks, much like the Penguins, boast perhaps the most elite depth in the Western Conference(although you could argue Chicago). If they can stay healthy in nets, they should have no problems.

Saint Louis Blues

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

DJ King | 09-27-09 | On IR | Thumb
Barret Jackman | 10-09-09 | On IR | Sprained Left Ankle

- Although I thought that Eric Brewer was still on the IR, the Blues must be very happy to have started the season with both him and Eric Johnson in their lineup. St.Louis is an up and coming team in the West and are loaded with youthful depth. This team will be able to handle a lot of adversity, yet like most other teams, they will be relying heavily on Chris Mason.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

David Hale | 10-16-09 | Probable for Saturday | Flu

- Tampa’s hopes rely on netminder Mike Smith. Having missed most of the last season with Concussion like symptoms, Marty Turco’s former backup will be the determining factor in the Lightning’s pursuit of a playoff spot. They have insulated themselves by signing Antero Nittymaki and blueliners Mathias Ohlund and Kurtis Foster(as well as 2nd overall pick Victor Hedman), but if Smith, who was the team’s best player last season, is injured for any extended period of time, TBay could falter.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Phil Kessel | 09-19-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Shoulder Surgery
Mike Van Ryn | 09-30-09 | on IR out for the year | Knee Surgery
Wayne Primeau | 10-04-09 | on IR | Shoulder
Jonas Gustavsson | 10-08-09 | on IR | Strained Groin
Vesa Toskala | out 1-2 weeks | Knee

- Having endured serious struggles already, the Leafs will now be without the services of Mike Van Ryn for the remainder of the year. Van Ryn will have the same kind of knee surgery as Steve Yzerman and will not be expected back until next season, if at all. The Leafs are currently without both of their starting goaltenders and their best forward so it’s not that hard to see that this season may very well be another struggle in Toronto. Management will have to stay on top of things, especially if injuries continue to decimate this newly rebuilt lineup.

Vancouver Canucks

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Pavol Demitra | 09-14-09 | on IR out indefinitely | Shoulder Surgery
Mathieu Schneider | 09-29-09 | on IR | Shoulder Surgery
Jannik Hansen | 09-30-09 on IR expected to miss 6-8 weeks | Broken Right Hand
Daniel Sedin | 10-11-09 | expected to miss 4-6 weeks | Broken Foot
Sami Salo | 10-12-09 | expected to miss 3-5 weeks | Sprained Right MCL

- The Canucks are considered Cup contenders by many, yet are currently plagued by injuries to serious contributors. That said, Vancouver should have no problem rolling along once these players return to their lineup. In terms of depth, the Canucks would sorely miss Roberto Luongo, but with Andrew Raycroft as backup and an elite goaltender of the future in Corey Schneider sitting in Manitoba just aching for a shot, this team is set to have a spectacular year.

Washington Capitals

Player | Date | Status | Injury Description

Tomas Fleischmann | 09-14-09 | on IR | Blood Clot in Left Leg
John Erskine | 10-15-09 | on IR | Hand
Jose Theodore | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Saturday | Back Spasms
Boyd Gordon | 10-16-09 | Questionable for Saturday | Back

- The Caps are fairly deep as they have Michael Nylander as a healthy scratch, yet it’s the depth of the team’s defense which has fans questioning how far this club will really go. There are elite prospects waiting to take spots on the blueline, but until the team can clear out some of their current defenders, and some cap space, there will continue to be questions about how far this team will be able to go in the playoffs.

- information obtained from TSN.ca

Although this NHL season has only just begun, it’s plain to see that certain teams are already stuck in the middle of some serious injury troubles.

Injuries will severely affect trade values as the season continues on, so it should be interesting to see how the deeper teams handle all of the trade enquiries from GM’s seeking to salvage seasons being crushed by injuries to major players.

Steven.hindle@hockeybuzz.com
capitalshockeybuzz@live.ca
Go Caps!!!!!

Flyers Coach John Stevens has taken an unusual approach in his line-ups so far

The Flyers have looked discombobulated, for lack of a better word, this preseason. Part of that was the short amount of time before they started playing games, and part of it is the integration of the new faces.

I am a bit surprised at the process the coaching staff has used to do the latter, thus far.

Head Coach John Stevens had few scrimmages in the early part of the camp, noting that they team had a 3 game swing out to the midwest.

The problem is, that limits the time in practice where the team’s offensive lines can gel. One would suspect that would lead Stevens to get those lines work during the pre-season tune-ups. That hasn’t been the case.

I am loathe to say that Stevens used a dartborad when determining the line combos for tonight’s game in London, Ontario against the Maple Leafs, but how to explain slick second year scorer Claude Giroux playing between enforcer Riley Cote and agitator Dan Carcillo?

Some very odd line-up choices by the Flyers coach tonight.

STUFF I NOTICED
-Ole-Kristian Tollefsen had a really rough night. He was on for at least the first two Leafs goals(as I write this) and negated a 2 on 1 chance by stupidly engaging in a fight with Ben Ondrus.

-Johan Backlund is either having a rough time adjusting to the smaller North American ice, or the first guy that new Flyers goalie guru Neil Little endorsed is a dud.

-2007 number two overall pick James van Riemsdyk has thus far made a strong case to make this team’s opening night roster. Among the try-out/bubble guys, Blair Betts has been solid overall, but made a costly mistake in tonight’s game against Toronto. Mark Bell seems as serious about making this roster as Mel Brooks was in his telling of Dracula.