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Commentary: Flyers' season worthy of a screen saga

In tribute to Sunday night's Oscars, here is a look at the Flyers' late-starting season to date -- in movie titles.

Flight: Winger Jake Voracek's season took off after he was placed alongside center Claude Giroux on the top line as he had a career-best four assists against the Islanders, then notched his first career hat trick in the next game, against the Penguins. The coming-of-age Voracek has 12 points in his last five games

Zero Dark Thirty: After a superb start to the season, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov -- No. 30 in your program -- allowed nine goals over 41/2 periods in consecutive games against the Penguins and Panthers last week. In frustration, he threw his stick twice in the latter game.

Amour: Fans passionately chanted "We want hockey!" in a benefit game in Atlantic City during the torturous lockout.

The Vow: Giroux, the Flyers' first-year captain, chewed out the team for its listless play after a 4-1 loss in Montreal and promised a revival. The Flyers won their next two games, started by a 7-0 rout of the Islanders, as Giroux scored 26 seconds after the opening faceoff.

Haywire: The Flyers started the year 2-8 on the road, getting outscored by 12-3 in the third period of the eight losses. (They have since won their last two road games.)

The Hunger Games: After scoring a career-high 19 goals last season, Max Talbot is goalless after 20 games.

The Impossible: Call it the Curse of the Top-Line Wingers. At different times while they played on the No. 1 line, Scott Hartnell (broken foot), Wayne Simmonds (concussion), and Matt Read (torn rib-cage muscle) were sidelined with injuries.

The Divide: After a 7-1 win over Florida last month, the Flyers dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Panthers on Feb. 7, giving them an NHL-worst 23-42 career record in shootouts.

Act of Valor: On Thursday, general manager Paul Holmgren said Hartnell would return in five to seven days. That was before a 5-2 loss to lowly Florida made the winger's foot miraculously heal. Hartnell returned to the lineup Saturday and aided a 5-3 win over Winnipeg -- a day and a half after Dr. Holmgren's medical update.

Joyful Noise: For the fifth time in the last two seasons, the Flyers overcame a two-goal deficit and defeated the hated Penguins.

Fury: Zac Rinaldo had 12 hits Saturday against Winnipeg; he has 70 for the season -- one more than teammate Luke Schenn -- and is third in the NHL.

Skyfall: With a 9-10-1 record, the Flyers are in danger of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for just the second time in the last 18 seasons.

Mirror Mirror: The Flyers have taken 128 overall penalties this season, tops in the NHL. Yes, more discipline is needed if the Flyers are going to be a playoff team.

One for the Money: Giroux entered Saturday having taken 471 face-offs, which was 40.1 percent of the Flyers' total. Both numbers led the NHL.

The Watch: Bryzgalov has played more minutes than any NHL goalie and has started 18 of 20 games. Keep an eye on his fatigue factor as this abbreviated season progresses. He is on pace to start 43 of 48 games.

(c)2013 The Philadelphia Inquirer

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Distributed by MCT Information Services


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