The Philadelphia Flyers look to end their two-game losing streak and five-game road trip with a win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers have struggled with injuries and inconsistent goaltending all season. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has been up and down, and his poor performance in their last game has coach Peter Laviolette considering other options in net, including starting Sergei Bobrovsky against the Penguins. A divisional win on the road against their Pennsylvania rival is important for the Flyers as they head into the new year trying to compete for the Stanley Cup.

1. THE FLYERS LOOK TO END THE ROAD TRIP WITH A WIN.
By: George Remaily
The big story going into Thursday Nights game against cross state rival
Pittsburgh Penguins is not only the return to Pittsburgh by former star of the
Penguins Jaromir Jagr but also the Flyers entering into the game with a two
game losing streak. The Flyers are coming off two straight loses to the New
York Rangers and Tuesday night to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flyers
end their current five game road trip in Pittsburgh before returning home
Monday afternoon agains the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park in
the annual Winter Classic game.
Jaromir Jagr returns to Pittsburgh with the Philadelphia Flyers this time.
To all Pittsburgh Penguins fan he will not get the heroes welcome. He is
now part of the cross state rival Philadelphia Flyers and of course this will
not make Pittsburgh Penguins fans happy. Jagr did help the Penguins win
two Stanley Cups in his time with the Penguins. Jagr has in 31 games with the
Flyers this year 30 points with 11 goals and 19 assists which puts him third on
the team in scoring.
The Penguins come int the game tonight (21-11-4) and the Flyers are
(21-10-4) going into Thursday Night’s important divisional game. This game
right now is more important for the Flyers. They have been fighting injuries
all seaso long. They also need to end this road trip on a winning note. They
come into the game with a two game losing streak. This is the first time all
year the Flyers have lost two consecutive road games. The Flyers on this
current trip are 1-3 and are coming off a lose in Tampa Bay against the
Lightning, a 5-1 lose which was ugly.
Head Coach Peter Laviolette could be facing a problem that he is very
familiar with and that is the goalie situation with the Philadelphia Flyers.
This has been a constant problem for Laviolette in his three years with the
team. No doubt he wants to end this current losing streak that the team is
on but he also would like to figure out what the problem is with his goaltending.
This rollercoaster ride has got to stop and needs to be figured out.
Ilya Bryzgalov was signed during the off season to be the answer to the teams
goaltending problems. He has had a up and down season. He has looked good
in a series of games and than has looked bad. In Tuesday nights game against
the Lightning he looked very bad and that has got to concern Laviolette. Does
Laviolette sit Bryzgalov for a few games and go with Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Flyers are the top scoring team in the league and that is good. For this
team to be successful in the second season they are going to need to play good
defense and also have a consistent goalie between the pipes..
As the Flyers approach the New Year they want to be continue to play good
hockey and they have. The power play has been good for the team. The team
is scoring goals. They have over come the injuries and they have gotten leader-
ship from different players each and every night. The thing that has got concern
head coach Peter Laviolette is the defense and the goalie situation. These are
very two important areas that have to be fixed and repaired and done quickly.
The team is playing without Chris Pronger and they will the rest of this entire season.
That can be overcome but what can not is if the team is not getting the good
goaltending that they will need if they want to compete for the Stanley Cup with
teams like the Rangers,Bruins, and the Penguins.
Thursday night is why it is very important that the Flyers win. It looks like they

2. will be playing Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky just might be the best choice right now. Let
him play for a few games and see how the team reacts. Let the goalie controversy
begin. The team needs to figure out who is the better goalie to go with. Could
Bryzgalov be a bust. Well we will find out soon.
The Flyers need to end this losing streak and head home after Pittsburgh with
a win and build from it. This game Thursday Night is so huge for the team. It is
also a very important division game as well. Rest assure the Penguins feel the same
way. This game will not be easy and the Penguins would love nothing better to
see the Flyers continue their losing ways. There is no love lost between these two
teams. This is going to be a good game. Let the battle of Pennsylvania continue.
East vs West.
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