Flyers Notes: Team reacts to Boston Marathon bombings

Share

MONTREAL -- Like many people across the U.S. and Canada on Monday afternoon, the Flyers had their televisions tuned to the news, as they followed along with the latest on the Boston Marathon bombings.

But for Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, who is a native of Franklin, Mass., the events hit particularly close to home.

The Flyers snapped a four-game losing streak in Montreal, winning 7-3 (see story). But Laviolette was in a somber mood following the victory nonetheless.

“It’s terrible,” Laviolette said. “It really is. My family’s from there, my sister was there. It’s just devastating. You read the reports, and I’m sure it’s going to get worse and more gruesome as it unfolds. A real tragic event that happened today.”

Flyers scout Patrick Burke was in Boston as well, competing in the marathon on behalf of his You Can Play organization. He was unharmed, but made the events that occurred in Boston that much more chilling to the organization as a whole.

“When I woke up from my nap, I check Internet and check what’s going on,” Kurtis Foster said. “It was on TSN, CNN, so I took a look and see what’s happening. You do pay attention to it before the game, it was on the TV in the room and guys talking about it.

“It’s something’s awful and it’s something that you never want to see, but you’ve just got to put it in the back of your mind for the night and go to work.”

Ilya Bryzgalov, clearly affected by what he’d seen, declined to talk about the bombings, saying only he “can’t handle” circumstances like that which happened in Boston.

Voracek’s personal success
In a season full of disappointments, Jakub Voracek’s emergence has been one of very few silver linings.

Voracek, 23, scored his 18th goal of the season in Monday’s 7-3 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens, tying the career high he set last season.  

This time, though, he hit the mark in 36 fewer games.

That said, as much as he’s happy to have taken yet another step forward in his career, Voracek would trade his offensive success in a heartbeat for a better Flyers season.

“I would change all my points to be sitting in a playoff spot right now, there’s no doubt about it,” Voracek said. “It is what it is, I try to leave it all out on the ice like everybody else in this room, and try to get better as a player and a guy every day and get some experience.”

Hart-trick
Scott Hartnell registered his seventh career hat trick on Monday, his sixth as a Flyer. It was the first time he scored three goals in a game since Jan. 22, 2012, against the Boston Bruins.

And it was a big sigh of relief for the player who was the Flyers’ leading scorer last year, but for whom the goals haven’t come so easily this season. Hartnell has seven goals in 26 games this season.

“He got hurt, and obviously when you come back from an injury it’s not easy,” Claude Giroux said. “But he’s been great for us.”

Plenty of time
Luke Schenn played a whopping 33:15 Monday, thanks in great part to a stretch of time during which the Flyers had only four defensemen on their bench.

It’s the most time on ice by a Flyer since Braydon Coburn played 33:39 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 11, 2008, and the most a Flyer has played in a regulation game since Eric Desjardins played 33:14 vs. Montreal on Feb. 27, 2001.

Contact Us