Flyers-Jets Preview

The last time the Winnipeg Jets graced the City of Philadelphia, they failed to score a goal.

If that wasn't enough, Bob Clarke pulled off a trade with the St. Louis Blues which netted the Flyers one Dale Hawerchuk -- then the Jets' all-time leading scorer.

The deal was necessary to replace the offense lost when "Legion of Doom"er Mikael Renberg went down with a stomach-muscle pull which cost him much of the final one-third of the season.

That was March 16, 1996.

The game was played at the now-demolished Spectrum. Ron Hextall closed the doors with 17 saves, while John LeClair, Shjon Podein and Pat Falloon provided the offense in a 3-0 victory.

Six days later, the Jets topped the Flyers by a 4-1 count in the now-demolished Winnipeg Arena. Craig Janney scored a pair of goals, and none other than discarded former backup Dominic Roussel earned the win with 25 stops.

It put the capper on the all-time series, won by Philadelphia 29-16-2, including an 18-6-0 mark on South Broad Street.

Enter the Winnipeg Jets version 2.0, formerly the Atlanta Thrashers.

Once the Orange and Black's (and Antero Niittymaki's) personal whipping boys, the new Jets have beaten Philly in seven of the last eight meetings over the last two seasons.

It's a stunning turnaround for the initerant franchise, which prevously lost 14 straight games to the Flyers and 17 of 18 from February of 2004 until February of 2009.

Included in the new run of success is a four-game winning streak in the Quaker City, a streak which will be likely to continue if the home team plays in a similar manner as their recent run of three losses in five games has indicated. Atlanta's Winnipeg comes in with a 6-13-2-1 record here since arriving in the NHL in 1999.

Additional notes on Saturday's collapse

Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT).

Ville Leino's hat first career trick was erased by the Thrashers scoring five of the final six goals of the contest.

In the history between the two clubs, it's the second time in 5 1/2 years that Atlanta has stunned the Orange and Black with a late comeback.

On November 18, 2005, the Flyers led 5-3 with under two minutes left in regulation, only to see Peter Bondra and Patrik Stefan score 1:43 apart to send the game to overtime. Greg DeVries eventually won it at the 3:05 mark of OT for the Thrashers.

According to the Associated Press, Saturday's late-game meltdown maked the first time since November 21, 1987 that the Flyers suffered such a fate. In that game, against the New York Islanders at the Spectrum, Philly led 4-1 after two but gave up five in the third. Randy Wood and Mikko Makela each tallied twice in that burst.

Wendell Young was left in for five of the six, with an empty-netter sealing that part of history.

Leino's hat trick not enough as Thrashers get by Flyers in OT

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 

Ville Leino recorded his first career hat trick, but Ron Hainsey's tip-in at 1:17 of overtime capped a late rally and sent Atlanta to a 5-4 victory over Philadelphia.

Evander Kane carried the puck down the left wing side and laid out a perfect pass to Hainsey, who flipped his shot high and inside the right post.

Kane and Andrew Ladd posted a goal and one assist each for the Thrashers, who entered the third period down 3-0 but scored five times in the final 21-plus minutes to take their third win in four games.

Chris Mason was credited with the victory after stopping 11-of-12 shots. Starter Ondrej Pavelec allowed three goals on 12 shots through two periods before being pulled.

Leino, who hadn't scored since February 22, continued to add to his career high in goals with his trifecta, bringing this season's total to 17 for the Flyers.

Kimmo Timonen also tallied and Mike Richards added three assists in the loss, Philly's fifth in seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky was tagged in defeat for five goals on 41 shots.

The home team took the lead with 5:49 left in the first period, when Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell set up Leino for an easy shot from the right side of the crease.

It was 2-0 for the Flyers while shorthanded at 4:21 of the second period, when Richards faked a shot, managed to pull Pavelec out of his crease, then slid the puck in front for an easy tap-in from Timonen.

Leino jumped on a loose puck in the crease to make it a three-goal Philadelphia lead on a power play at 14:22. Richards set up the score when his rising shot from the left circle eluded Pavelec.

Kane fought off a defender and slipped a shot through Bobrovsky's pads 1:09 into the third period for a 3-1 game and Zach Bogosian brought the Thrashers within a goal with 7:45 to play when his blast from the point got through Bobrovsky's arm and body.

Leino provided a two-goal cushion for the Flyers when he one-timed a Timonen feed from the right point on a power play with 6:28 remaining, but Tobias Enstrom roofed a shot from the right circle to make it 4-3 on an Atlanta power play just inside of three minutes to play.

Mason was called to the bench with over a minute to go, then Ladd capitalized on a miscommunication between Bobrovsky and a defenseman by scoring at the right post to tie the game with 45 seconds left.

Notes: Atlanta has won five of the last six meetings with Philadelphia...The Thrashers have won an NHL-best 10 games in overtime...Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger sat out his second straight game with the remnants of a hand injury suffered two weeks ago. Prior to the game, he was listed as day-to-day by Flyers GM Paul Holmgren...John LeClair is the last Flyer to score four goals, on October 15, 2002 in a 6-2 win at Montreal...Atlanta defenseman Dustin Byfuglien left the game early in the third period and did not return...Richards' last three-assist game came in a four-point performance on March 2, 2010 at Tampa Bay.

Byfuglien on the move in multi-player deal

by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine

Stanley Cup playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien has changed teams as the hulking forward was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Atlanta Thrashers as part of a seven-player deal approved by the NHL on Thursday.

The Thrashers also acquired forwards Ben Eager and Akim Aliu, along with defenseman Brent Sopel for forwards Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb and Jeremy Morin, as well as a first-round choice (24th overall) and a second-round choice (54th overall) in tomorrow's NHL draft.

Byfuglien, who was a presence in front of the net and had memorable battles with Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, tied for the team lead in goals for the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks with 11.

The Thrashers also traded defenseman Mike Vernace, forward Brett Sterling and a seventh-round selection (188th overall) in this year's draft to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations. Atlanta made that move for roster flexibility with regards to the deal with the Blackhawks.

The 25-year-old Byfuglien recorded 16 points in 22 postseason games. He also posted 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) while appearing in all 82 regular- season tilts with Chicago.

Eager, a former Philadelphia Flyers winger, appeared in 60 games with Chicago last season, picking up seven goals and nine assists along with a team-leading 120 penalty minutes. The 33-year-old Sopel had a goal and seven assists in 73 games for the Blackhawks last season.

Aliu, 21, tallied 11 goals and six assists in 48 AHL games last season with the Rockford IceHogs. He was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2007 draft.

Reasoner, an 11-year veteran out of Boston College, appeared in 80 games for the Thrashers last season, notching four goals and 13 assists. His arrival presumably means the end of John Madden's tenure with the 'Hawks as Reasoner's contract is lighter than any deal the three-time Cup champion and unrestricted free agent could ask for.

Crabb had 24 goals and 29 assists in 79 games last season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, while Morin registered 47 goals and 36 assists in 58 games with the Kitchener Rangers last season, his first in the OHL.