A few things overshadowed by the momentary idiocy of Jesse Boulerice:
-
Mike Richards. A career-high 4-point night (2g-2a). His smooth backhand pass to RJ Umberger put the first nail (second goal 13 seconds after the first) in Vancouver's coffin, and he slammed it shut with a goal 2 men short. This could be the game that establishes Richards as a go-to guy.
-
Continued production by the big line. A goal apiece for Briere, Gagne, and Knuble. If this early success is an omen of things to come, this could be a line of "Legion"-dary proportions.
-
Secondary scoring. Goals scored by each member of Richards' line (Richards' 2, Lupul, Umberger), and Jeff Carter scoring for the second game in a row.
-
Joffrey Lupul. Not only scored his first goal as a Flyer (nice to get that out of the way before the home opener), he looked strong on the puck, and stayed involved in the play throughout the game.
-
Randy Jones. Quietly put together a solid game at both ends of the ice.
-
Marty Biron. He didn't have to carry the team to a victory, but remained sharp with little work.
pretty much dead on 23 good job
23 ! Great analysis and dead on. Nice work! SYF
You could really see Richards start to develop after the All Star Game last year. Carter has looked good in the early going to me too.
Best part of this game was the secondary scoring, IMHO. I think we live or die by it this season. Carter needs this, I believe his future in Philly is based on this season. Where was Hartnel last night?