Category: Hockey Happenings

Thank You and Farewell

Megan Horan on

To be honest with you guys, I am kind of devastated that this is my last blog post. I am also super upset that I am going to stop writing these before the Stanley Cup Playoffs even start! The Stanley Cup Playoffs are so fun and enjoyable to me, and in my opinion, they are the best playoffs out of all the major league sports. Nothing beats the bad blood and rivalry that brews out of an ice hockey seven game series. Sadly, however, the Philadelphia Flyers did not make the playoffs this year. They had a very rocky season riddled with injury. You guys are honestly lucky we didn’t have to do more passion blog posts, because I would definitely just be bitching about the Flyers in every single entry.

So, if you guys didn’t pick up on it yet, I’m very passionate about hockey. I have been for as long as I can remember. However, sadly again, hockey culture isn’t the most welcoming towards female fans. Female fans are often called “puck bunnies” and get made fun of by men for only watching the sport “because the players are good-looking”. Not only is this disrespectful to women, but it is also disrespectful towards the players. Women are perfectly capable of enjoying the sport out of a genuine love of the game. It is inherently sexist to assume that they only watch to catch glimpses of attractive players. This way of thinking also diminishes the skills and hard work of many hockey players, as it reduces them down to just their physical appearance. While I’m sure you can all tell right away that this type of prejudice towards female fans is wrong, I’ve dealt with it my whole life.

Reading the disgusting comments on hockey podcasts or Tweets about female fans often greatly upsets me. Talking with other male fans in real life can often upset me as well. While I recognize that not all male hockey fans are like this, there is definitely enough of them for the problem to need to be addressed. They often immediately assume I don’t actually know what I’m talking about and talk down to me. This even happened to me at Penn State just last semester. I approached the table for the ice hockey student section club, the Roar Zone, at the Involvement Fair, eagerly excited to get involved with Penn State ice hockey. However, I was quickly discouraged when the man at the table talked to me in a very condescending manner and began questioning my hockey intelligence. It was like the classic comments females receive when wearing band shirts. (“Oh, you like Led Zeppelin? Name three songs.”)

While I was initially disheartened about not being able to nurture my love of hockey at Penn State, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to write about it for my RCL passion blog. Through this blog, I was able to express and share my love and knowledge of the sport in a way that made me feel safe and respected. So, I would like to thank all of my readers and commenters for always seeming so interested and never talking down to me. I fear if not for this blog I would have let myself be silenced, but you guys encouraged me to continue to talk about the sport I love, and I am eternally grateful for that.

So, with all that said, thank you and farewell.

Accidental Doping?

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Dryden McKay, a goaltender for Minnesota State, was this year’s Hobey Baker Award recipient. The Hobey Baker Award is awarded each year to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player. It is basically the Heisman Trophy for hockey. The Hobey Baker was first awarded in 1981, and since then, only two goaltenders have won the award before Dryden McKay this season. For this reason, Dryden being named the Hobey Baker Award winner this season was a huge deal in the hockey community. Being named the third goaltender recipient ever clearly showed that this kid was the real deal. Everyone, myself included, was so excited to see the bright future he would have in the National Hockey League. However, things quickly took a confusing turn when the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced he was under investigation.

After a private investigation, the USADA announced on Monday that McKay has accepted a six-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation. McKay was announced as an alternate goalie for the United States men’s ice hockey Olympic team for this year’s winter Olympics, so as per International Olympic Committee rule, he was tested for performance enhancing drugs. The USADA performed this test and notified McKay in February that his urine samples contained Ostarine, a doping substance that is on the list of USADA’s banned substances. The hockey world was shocked, yet McKay insisted his innocence and said he never used Ostarine or any form of steroid, for that matter.

McKay immediately shipped all of the allowed supplements and vitamins he was taking to an independent lab to determine how he could have ingested the Ostarine. The lab discovered trace contamination of Ostarine in an all-natural vitamin D3 immune booster Dryden was encouraged to take to protect him from Covid-19 and its symptoms. According to a statement released by Dryden, the USADA told him the amount of Ostarine was measured at trillionths of a gram and equivalent to the size of a grain of sand in a swimming pool. Because the amount was determined to be so small that it had no performance enhancing benefit and was proven to be taken unknowingly, an independent sports arbitrator and the NCAA lifted Dryden’s suspension and allowed him to continue playing for the rest of the collegiate season.

Still, the USADA refused to let Dryden go without punishment. They stated that although Dryden did not knowingly take the Ostarine, he is still responsible for the substances he puts in his body. Personally, I do not agree with this decision. It is clear by the miniscule amount in his body that Dryden was not actively taking this drug to give him an advantage in his performance. I believe it is also unfair to punish him for the carless contamination practices of his vitamin company. According to his agent, McKay cooperated and accepted his six-month penalty to get the situation over with and be able to play for the start of the upcoming season. I understand not wanting to fight the sentence or drag it out, as he could potentially miss next season, but I still do not believe he deserves a suspension at all. It wasn’t his fault he was contaminated, and after thinking about this situation, it is quite scary to think of how many of our foods, vitamins, and protein supplements are contaminated with drugs or other substances that we aren’t even aware of.

Dryden McKay posing with his Hobey Baker Award trophy

Ban Brad Marchand?

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On Monday night, another player was subject to yet another brutal Brad Marchand hit. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke was hit up high by Marchand and laid still on the ice for a few minutes before finally being able to get back up. Hits are a part of the game of hockey; there’s no denying that. In fact, many fans think that they are the most fun part of the game (behind the fights of course). However, in a world with ever-evolving views on player safety issues and CTE research, I feel it is necessary that the hits must be clean, at the least.

Brad Marchand is a repeat offender within the NHL. He has been suspended a total of eight times by the Department of Player Safety, making him the player with the most suspensions in NHL history. His most recent suspension was on February 24th, as he was suspended six games for roughing and punching unsuspecting Pittsburgh goaltender, Tristan Jarry. At this point, Marchand’s actions are no longer defendable. He makes gutless, senseless plays that constantly injure other players. It is also concerning that after being suspended and fined so many times for his dangerous play, he continues to act this way. A suspension is supposed to teach players a lesson, but Marchand came back and hit Peeke less than a month after his last suspension.

Most hits in hockey are routine and classified as a “clean hit.” They happen when a player has possession of the puck or is positioned against the boards in a way that a defensive player can hit his body to try and knock him off the puck. However, a hit can quickly be deemed dirty if said player goes out of his way to injure the other player. For example, body on body contact is allowed, however a hit up high to a defenseless player’s head is penalty worthy. A player can also not leave his feet or jump up when making contact. He must skate into him. This measure is also to prevent unnecessary hits to the head. However, despite these rules, Brad Marchand did both of these things during his hit on Peeke, which can be seen in the linked video below.

Marchand was not penalized for the hit during the game. I am not sure if the referee wasn’t paying attention or if it was a blatant no-call, but it was definitely penalty worthy. In fact, “Brad Marchand” quickly became trending on Twitter immediately after the hit. Fans were furious that the hit wasn’t called as a penalty, and many were just voicing their general dislike of Marchand as a player. The following Tweet from Twitter user @_rantanen_ effectively summarizes how most NHL fans felt after seeing the hit.

After new, recent research highlighting the effects of CTE and the toll that head injuries from hockey take on a player’s body, it is more important than ever for the Department of Player Safety to ensure hits like these do not take place. Some are calling for Marchand’s complete ban from the league. This seems like a drastic measure, and it is definitely a controversial decision. However, I do believe for sure that the DoPS should look into this hit and have a hearing with Brad Marchand. While this will likely only result in another suspension, I do believe it is important for the league to put their foot down and let others know that these types of hits will not be tolerated anymore.

LTIR Loophole

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For those of you new here, my blog focuses on all things hockey. I mostly like to focus on the National Hockey League, and this week I will be doing just that. In particular, I am going to talk about a recent topic of controversy within the NHL. It is called the LTIR Loophole.

LTIR stands for Long-Term Injury Reserve. Long-Term Injury Reserve is a rule in the NHL that aims to help out teams that have an injured player who will be out for a substantial amount of time. If the player is injured and will be unable to play for the rest of the regular season, a team can place this player on LTIR, effectively removing his payment from the salary cap for this time period. For reference, the salary cap is the maximum amount of money a team can spend on its players’ salaries. Teams cannot go past the salary cap without facing serious penalty. However, the LTIR brings about a loophole in the rule.

Since a player’s salary will not count towards the salary cap if he is on LTIR, teams can sign additional players to play for them under this newfound cap space. This was meant to allow them to bring in additional players since they are essentially down a man for an entire season, however teams quickly began taking advantage of this. This is because the player on LTIR is then able to come back during the playoffs, and teams can keep both the returned player and newly signed players with no penalty for violating the salary cap.

For example, the Tampa Bay Lighting used this loophole to their advantage during their 2021 Stanley Cup playoff run and ultimate Cup win. Their star player, Nikita Kucherov, suffered a major injury during the regular season. The Lightning then placed him on LTIR, as they were unsure when he would be able to return and needed extra players in his absence. This would be fine if Kucherov returned when he was healthy, but this was not the case. Although fully recovered before the start of the playoffs, the Tampa Bay front office kept Kucherov on LTIR until the beginning of the postseason, so they were able to keep Kucherov and all of the newly signed players without any penalty. Because of this loophole, the team was able to play a roster that was $18 million over the allotted NHL salary cap. Naturally, many other teams and fans were outraged by this. It is unfair that the Lighting were able to play extra players without having to adhere to the strict budget that the other NHL teams had to follow.

Recently, the Las Vegas Golden Knights have pulled a similar move. After a botched trade deal that led to a breach of the salary cap, the Golden Knights suspiciously placed a few players on LTIR, removing their salary payments and putting them back under the salary cap. While this seems wrong and unfair, there is technically no current rule against this. However, the NHL general managers are collectively meeting next week, and rumor has it that a discussion involving the LTIR Loophole is on the agenda. I really hope this loophole is fixed soon so no more teams can circumvent the salary cap, as it is not fair to the rest of the teams abiding by the rules.

O Captain, My Captain

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Today is a sad day for Philadelphia Flyers fans. Today (Saturday, March 19th) is the day Claude Giroux got traded from the franchise. Being the avid Flyers fan that I am, I apologize in advance, because this blog post might get a little sentimental. Claude Giroux was the captain of the Flyers since 2013, making him the longest tenured captain in Flyers history. When I think of the Philadelphia Flyers, I think of Claude Giroux.

Some people grew up with Tom Brady, some with Kobe Bryant. However, I grew up with Claude. Giroux’s first game was in 2008, so I grew up while he simultaneously grew as a player. I was there, watching and supporting, while he accomplished all his milestones. I remember seeing him get appointed captain and being so happy for him as if he were my best friend. I remember how emotional I got when he was named this year’s NHL All Star Game MVP, knowing it was likely his last ever all star game as a Flyer. While this may seem a little bias so far, I promise it is not. His career statistics don’t lie.

Claude Giroux, previous captain of the Philadelphia Flyers

Claude Giroux played exactly 1,000 games with the Philadelphia Flyers, making him the 368th player to play at least 1,000 games. This may seem like a large number at first, but it is only a small fraction of the 7,623 players who have played since the birth of the NHL in 1917. He is one of only two Philadelphia Flyers who played 1,000 games under the organization, sharing this milestone with other Flyers great Bobby Clarke. Speaking of Bobby Clarke, Claude Giroux is the most awarded player of the Bobby Clarke Trophy, which is awarded to the most valuable Philadelphia Flyer each year. Giroux also sits behind only Bobby Clarke in many franchise records, as he is ranked second in number of assists and points earned throughout his career. Giroux’s success is not only seen in the Flyers franchise. He has been a dominant player in the league as a whole over the past decade.

Claude Giroux has scored the fourth most points (which are the number of combined goals and assists in hockey) in the NHL since 2010. He trails only NHL skill superstars Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Ovechkin. In fact, he leads all current NHL players in number of assists since 2010. This is an impressive statistic, considering the skill of many NHL players of that decade. He has also played in seven NHL All Star Games over the course of his career.

Claude Giroux embodies everything a good captain should be. He has the skill, determination, and leadership that any team would desire. While I will certainly miss him here in Philly, I wish him the best of luck with the Florida Panthers. I would have loved to see him win the Stanley Cup as a Philadelphia Flyer, but that was sadly not the case. Nonetheless, it would be a shame if a player as talented and good-hearted as Giroux never won the league’s highest accolade. Giroux is getting older and his career may be coming to a close, so I really hope he is able to lift the cup with the Panthers at the end of this playoff season, even if he isn’t doing it in the orange and black.

Claude Giroux and son Gavin waving goodbye to Philadelphia Flyer fans in his last game on Saturday

 

Image links: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbaps-mOzm5/

https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-captain-claude-giroux-motivated-by-early-snubs/c-304642166

Women’s History Month Hockey Highlight

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I typically write my hockey blog on NHL news; however, we are going to switch things up this week in honor of Women’s History Month. Women’s ice hockey is a very fun, fast-paced game, yet it receives little recognition from the male-dominated hockey fanbase as a whole. Ice hockey has long since had a history of misogyny within the sport, but it is still sad to see how prevalent it is today. Professional women’s ice hockey players still receive very little recognition and attention within the hockey community. I would also argue that they receive no recognition in mainstream media, excluding a few Hillary Knight and Chipotle collaborations. While the Olympics have started to draw in some more fans over the years, these hardworking, talented players deserve more than just attention once every four years.

In this year’s 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the United States faced off against Canada in the gold medal game. This matchup was very much expected, as the United States and Canada have played in five of the six gold medal games in women’s ice hockey Olympic history. A history such as this was bound to create a bitter rivalry, and it did. The women’s teams have created a very competitive relationship, causing their matchups to be very entertaining to watch. Everyone loves a classic sports rivalry! However, many are still missing out on the greatness of these teams.

While the rivalry between the United States and Canada is known about, not many fans are exposed to it. The International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships are rarely aired on Canadian television, let alone in the United States. It is not that people don’t want to watch the games; it’s just there is little opportunity or accessibility to view them. In fact, when presented with the opportunity, millions of fans tune in.

This year’s previously mentioned gold medal game averaged 3.54 million viewers on its NBC broadcast. This surpassed the number of viewers of any NHL game televised in the United States this season. It was also the second most-watched hockey game in the United States since the 2019 Stanley Cup Final! Fans clearly want to watch the games, so networks have to start providing them with the chance. These women play hockey year-round, yet we only get to see them, and they only get attention, every four years. In my opinion, the game of women’s hockey has the potential for massive growth, it just needs companies to support it.

Luckily, the NHL has been taking steps to grow the women’s game. In 2019, the NHL invited Kendall Coyne Schofield to participate in the fastest skater competition at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition. She finished with a time of 14.346 seconds (which is remarkably fast, for reference) and only finished less than a second behind three-time champion and NHL superstar Connor McDavid. Kendall blew the minds of not only the NHL players competing with her, but also hockey fans around the world. This exposure allowed millions of fans to see just how truly talented women’s hockey players are.

         Kendall Coyne Schofield’s historic Fastest Skater Competition time at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game.

Women’s ice hockey has the potential to become something huge, and with a little support and investment from television networks and corporations, they can accomplish this feat. They also deserve more attention from hockey fans across the globe, including me. I should be talking about women’s ice hockey consistently, not just during Women’s History Month. Hopefully, someday soon, everyone else will be too.

Jack Eichel Surgery Success

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When Jack Eichel first entered the league in 2015 as the second overall draft pick, everyone expected him to be a superstar. While many worried his talent would be wasted away on a poor Buffalo team, others believed Jack’s skill set alone could bring the team out of their slump. However, it seems that neither of these predictions were exactly right. In fact, Jack soon wasn’t even playing at all.

Jack and Buffalo management often fought, most likely due to the fact that Jack was frustrated with being on such a bad team. He never got along with upper-level executives, but things really took a turn for the worst this past year when Jack became injured. Jack faced a bad neck injury and was found to have a herniated disc. This usually wouldn’t be the end of a player’s career, but for a time, it seemed like it could have been.

Jack wanted to undergo a new, innovative surgery that would replace the herniated disc. However, Buffalo management wouldn’t allow him to. Yes, your heard that right. These people, who should have had no control over Jack’s body, told him he was not ALLOWED to undergo the surgery. They deemed it too risky and said he could not get it because it would have been in violation of his contract. They would rather let Jack suffer in pain than allow him to undergo this experimental surgery and continue to pay him if he couldn’t play again. While this did technically align with the agreements in his contract, it had never really been done before. Organizations don’t just deny their star players from injury-saving surgery.

Because Jack was injured and couldn’t heal, he sat out for about eight months. This developed into a petty feud between Jack and the organization, with neither party winning. Jack soon requested a trade, hoping to be traded to a team that would allow him to get the surgery and begin the recovery process. However, Buffalo did not appease his wishes. It took months for Buffalo to do anything, all the while wasting away the career of a potential superstar.

Jack was finally traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights on November 7th, and they had already said previously and publicly that they would support Jack in undergoing his disc replacement surgery. The Knights then reported that Jack successfully underwent surgery on November 12th, only five days after joining the organization. Jack and the Knights believe he will be back in no time, and I am very happy to see him on the road to recovery.

It was a shame to see this situation drag out for so long and in such a petty, immature manner. Buffalo should have allowed Jack to undergo this procedure, or at least traded him away as quickly as possible if they knew they wouldn’t. At the end of the day, a player’s health should be more important than a few million dollars, especially to such a rich organization. It is going to be interesting to see what this means for the future of player-organization relations in sports. Did Buffalo set the precedent for sports teams having full control over the health procedures of their players? Should a player have to sign away their body autonomy when they sign on with a new team? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Chicago Blackhawks Update

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In this week’s blog post I plan on updating you on the topic discussed in my previous blog post. It has been a little while, so I’ll give you a refresher. Over the summer, a lawsuit from an anonymous victim was filed against the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. The former player alleged that he was sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldrich, and when he notified the Blackhawks organization, they ignored him and swept it under the rug. The situation had blown up in October after an independent investigation found that many executives were aware of the abuse but did nothing about it. The findings of this investigation have taken the hockey world by storm, and much has happened since then.

Kyle Beach has since come forward as the anonymous player. Kyle was only 21 years old at the time of the assault, so he felt like he had no power within the organization. He wasn’t a superstar or veteran, so it seemed like nobody cared what happened to him. This is a horrible, horrible thing to occur and should never have been handled like this in the first place.

Since the exposure, many questions have been directed toward previous executives, coaches, and players of the Chicago Blackhawks. Their responses have been, for the most part, absolutely disheartening. Former coach Joel Quenneville denied knowing that the assault occurred despite multiple sources saying he did. Allegedly, when Coach Q was made aware of the situation, he told them to keep it under wraps as not to “ruin team chemistry.” Joel Quenneville was the coach of the Florida Panthers at the time the results of the investigation were released, and thankfully Florida did the right thing. They fired Quenneville as their head coach, showing that there is no place in hockey for people like him.

To add even more disappointment to the situation, it has now been revealed that most, if not all, fellow players knew what was taking place. Many players were asked questions about the situation in post-game interviews after the investigation was made public, and their answers were disheartening. Captain Jonathan Toews was insistent on the fact that he didn’t know at was happening at the time, but only found out at the start training camp next year. I found this answer lazy and inexcusable. Even if he had only found out in the next year, this still means he did not speak up about the wrongdoing. He had 12 years to say something and remained silent. A captain should be a leader who sticks up for their teammates, not someone who enables their harm. At this point, I have lost all respect for who I once admired as a hardworking player.

The NHL has also made steps to reconcile the situation including fining the Blackhawks organization for the mishandling of the situation, and they also had Brad Aldrich’s name removed from the Stanley Cup. While these are steps in the right direction, it is still upsetting to see that hockey can foster this type of abuse culture. At the end of the day, I hope Kyle Beach is doing much better now, and I hope his strength and courage provides courage to others who have been through the same situation.

Chicago Blackhawks Sexual Assault Allegations

Megan Horan on

I hate how every time I post about a news update in the hockey world, it always seems to be negative. I’ve written about deaths in the hockey community, and the racism, classicism, and drug/mental health neglect that is sadly still present in the NHL. While it breaks my heart to write about these topics and deep dive into all the negative aspects of the NHL, I know it must be done. It is important to shine a light on these injustices so that we can eradicate them from the game for good. This is exactly why I chose today’s blog post topic.

Over the summer, two anonymous players made sexual assault accusations against former Chicago Blackhawks video coach, Brad Aldrich. The former Chicago players alleged that Aldrich sexually assaulted them and threatened to end their careers if they did not comply. The anonymous victims filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks organization, claiming that they reported the abuse when it first happened, but no action was ever taken. They also alleged that many coaches and executives knew the abuse was occurring.

When the lawsuits became public in the summer, former head coach Joel Quenneville denied having any awareness about the abuse when it occurred in 2010. However, official investigation findings released yesterday stated that Joel, along with many other coaches, did in fact know about the abuse but chose not to act on it in fear of “ruining team chemistry” during their 2010 Stanley Cup run. I find it absolutely disgusting for a coach and organization as a whole to value a chance at a Stanley Cup more than the safety of a player. While Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has since stepped down, I believe it is necessary for Joel Quenneville to do so as well. Quenneville is the current head coach of the Florida Panthers, but there is no place in the game of hockey for someone like that.

Since the release of the initial investigation findings, the National Hockey League has fined the Chicago Blackhawks organization 2 million dollars for their mishandling and neglect of the situation. While $2 million seems like a lot to us, it is nothing to a franchise worth $1.09 billion. I believe the league needs to hand out a harder punishment, and I believe the Blackhawks need to clean house of everyone who worked with the team during the 2010 Cup run. The amount of time for any type of action to be taken was too long, and the eventual action taken was even more appalling.

Roughly three weeks after the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, Aldrich decided he was going to move on from Chicago. You heard that right; he was never fired. In fact, horribly enough, he took a coaching position with a youth hockey team after receiving a glowing recommendation from the Chicago Blackhawks. Here, Aldrich sexually assaulted two underage boys. It is absolutely heartbreaking to know this could have been prevented if the Chicago Blackhawks would have just done the right thing. There is no undoing this terrible, terrible situation. I believe all parties involved should be tried in court, and the Blackhawks organization as a whole should be placed on suspension until they completely clean house. Hockey cannot be a community that fosters and protects sexual offenders. We must protect and believe victims.

Flyers Season Debut

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Since last week’s blog post, the Philadelphia Flyers have played their first two regular season games of the 2021-2022 NHL season. The two games contrasted one another in almost every way possible, but the second game was definitely the better of the two, which gives many fans hope for upcoming games.

The first game was against the Vancouver Canucks. After playing a great first period, the Flyers were up 1-0. We came out strong on the puck, fast, and had some great opportunities in the offensive zone. However, things quickly turned south in the second period.

The Canucks were up 4-2 at the end of the second. It really seemed like the hockey gods weren’t on our side, as every goal they scored was some type of fluke or weird bounce. The first goal bounced off of the glass behind the goal, off of goaltender Carter Hart’s left skate, off his right pad, and then in. The next two goals were also strange. One bounced slightly squeezed between Hart’s skate and the goalpost, leading to another disheartening goal.

Shortly after, the Canucks scored again off of an accidental redirect. Travis Sanheim, a fairly young Flyers defensemen, tried to quickly clear the puck out of the goal crease to prevent yet another goal. However, Sanheim’s clear attempt was quickly met by an opposing player’s skate. Hart had no time to react to the unfortunate and unlucky ricochet, and let in another goal. By the end of the second period, the Vancouver Canucks were up 4-2, and the Philadelphia Flyers looked like they had no energy or determination left.

To much surprise, they came out and scored two unanswered goals in the third period to tie the score up 4-4, however this wasn’t enough to get the job done. Neither team scored in the 15 minute 3-on-3 overtime, forcing a shootout to occur. Not a single Flyer scored in the shootout, so we ended up losing 5-4. While the end score doesn’t look bad on paper, the way the Flyers played made man fans worried we had reverted to our horrible ways of last season. Many fans online were especially worried about Carter Hart having a terrible season again. The Flyers themselves though weren’t worried at all.

On Monday, the Flyers played their second game versus the Seattle Kraken. This game was a complete juxtaposition to the first. The Flyers ended up winning 6-1, with all six goals coming from different players. This is a great sign that the Flyers are back on track and have depth to their offense. Carter Hart also faced twenty-four shots on goal and only allowed one in. He had a phenomenal game and quickly silenced all of the Twitter haters who had been badmouthing him since their loss to Seattle. While I was doubtful on his return after his performance against Vancouver, I always believe he can come back better and hope the best for him. This season is already looking like a major improvement from last season, so I am excited to see what the 2021-2022 season brings us.