With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN. Andrew Benintendi Jersey .ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the Philadelphia Flyers, hoping they have enough to at least maintain last years playoff position. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Ron Hextall Head Coach: Craig Berube 2013-14: 42-30-10 (3rd in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Lost in conference quarter-finals Goals For: 233 (8th) Goals Against: 227 (20th) Powerplay: 19.7% (8th) Penalty Kill: 84.8% (7th) That Was Then: Losing seven of your first eight games is never a desirable way to begin a season, but thata€?s the reality the Flyers made for themselves in 2013-14. The losing streak, which extended to nine of the teama€?s first 12 games, set off a trend that unfolded for the entirety of the campaign. The start cost Peter Laviolette his coaching job (after just three games!), with Philly handing Craig Berube the reins on an interim basis on Oct. 7. The former grinder was eventually able to turn the team around, but the shift was not instantaneous. It took until after Christmas for the Flyers to get their first handle on playoff position and that turnaround was largely thanks to two factors. The first was that the Metropolitan Division was not very competitive in the early-going, with the third spot in the division taking fewer points to get hold of than the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The second was Claude Giroux playing out of his mind in December and continuing his hot play throughout the second half. The Flyers captaina€?s nine-game point streak began in Chicago and wasna€?t snapped until New Yeara€?s Eve, including six multi-point games over the span. The Olympic break provided an opportunity for a lot of the Flyersa€? top talent to get a breather with its Canadian core a€“ including Giroux a€“ left out of the nationa€?s Sochi plans. Philly finished strong, securing points in 16 of its final 22 that amazingly includes a stretch that saw them lose six of seven. Finishing third in the Metropolitan, the Flyers earned a first-round date with the team theya€?d battled in the standings for much of the spring: the New York Rangers. The team suffered an untimely injury, though, in their final meeting of the season with their intrastate rivals from Pittsburgh as netminder Steve Mason sustained an upper body injury on Apr. 12. The injury a€“ which Mason later revealed was a concussion a€“ kept him off the ice for the first three games of the first round. He came back with the team in a 1-2 hole but despite holding the Rangers to two goals or less in three of the four games he played, the Flyers were sent packing in seven. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 2.00 2.45 6.1% .940 49.3% .450 21-41 3.00 2.90 8.3% .915 50.0% .619 42-62 3.24 3.10 9.3% .909 47.0% .619 63-82 3.10 2.60 8.2% .927 51.6% .600 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Couldnt score early, with Giroux starting slow, and great goaltending wasnt enough. Games 21-41: Goaltending regressed, but shooting was on the mark, improving record. Games 42-62: Poor possession and goaltending were both offset by high-percentage shooting, . Games 63-82: Best goaltending and possession stretch of the year. Key 2014 Additions: D Michael del Zotto, F Andrew Gordon, C Blair Jones, D Nick Schultz, F Zack Stortini, F R.J. Umberger, F Ryan White Key 2014 Subtractions: F Scott Hartnell, F Steve Downie, F Tyle McGinn This Is Now: The Flyers brought in a familiar face to take charge of the roster, bringing in their last great netminder and one of the gamea€?s most sought-after executives in Ron Hextall as general manager. Luckily for Hextall, there was not a lot of heavy lifting to be done in terms of shaping the roster. The forwards were a balanced group, with seven scoring 20 or more in 2013-14, including first-timer Brayden Schenn and nearly-old-timer Vincent Lecavalier. Hextall moved one of those seven out in his biggest off-season move, trading popular vet and one of the gamea€?s best combinations of grit and skill in Scott Hartnell to Columbus to reacquire R.J. Umberger, who broke into the NHL with Philly in 2005. The Flyers now have a couple years to work with the existing roster, since the majority of the current club has at least two years contract remaining, highlighted by the eight-year extension Giroux signed in the middle of last season. Six years may have been a long term to give Andrew MacDonald, but the team got an up-close look at him down the stretch and seems to have liked what it saw. With Kimmo Timonen out indefinitely, there will be some pressure on MacDonald, along with veterans Braydon Coburn and Mark Streit, to handle big minutes on the Flyers blue line. Hextall also rolled the dice on a low-risk addition, signing Michael del Zotto to a $1.3 million free agent deal in hopes that the 24-year-old can regain the form that had many projecting him as an elite offensive blue liner earlier in his career. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Brayden Schenn Claude Giroux Jakub Voracek Matt Read Sean Couturier Wayne Simmonds Michael Raffl Vincent Lecavalier R.J. Umberger Jason Akeson Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Zac Rinaldo Jay Rosehill Blair Jones Petr Straka Taylor Leier Scott Laughton Ryan White Defence Left Right Andrew MacDonald Braydon Coburn Mark Streit Nicklas Grossman Michael Del Zotto Luke Schenn Nick Schultz Samuel Morin Kimmo Timonen Shayne Gostisbehere Goaltenders Steve Mason Ray Emery Anthony Stolarz Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Scott Laughton If there is a prototypical Flyer center, surely Scott would meet all the criteria. Flyer great Bob Clarke to current star Claude Giroux, embody requisite qualities of skill, fire and an indomitable will to win. Scott has no less of these qualities. Hes an excellent playmaker and his vision and anticipation allows him to be dangerous with the puck. He plays in the guts of the action, is not deterred in any way and he will do whatever is necessary to help the team win regardless if it may stretch the boundaries of the rules. A player Flyers fans will come to love. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Vincent Lecavalier This may qualify as wishful thinking, considering that Lecavalier is a 34-year-old coming off a season that was his least productive, on a points-per-game basis, since he was an 18-year-old rookie. Its not typical to get bounce-back years in a players mid-thirties, and Lecavaliers underlying numbers have been headed in the wrong direction for a while, but there is room in the Philadelphia lineup for Lecavalier to play a supporting offensive role. Given his contract, that may not be the ideal, but better to find a way to get 20-plus goals out of Lecavalier while using him in favourable matchups, in the hopes of trying to recapture some value. Craig Kimbrel Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Bill Lee Jersey . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. http://www.cheapredsoxjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-blake-swihart-jersey . 42 sitting next to the bench. The 57-year-old with greying hair couldnt box out or grab a rebound, but owner Ted Leonsis waved his red towel and egged on a cheering crowd that chanted "Free Nene!" The Wizards did just fine without the suspended Brazilian forward.SAN DIEGO - Cody Kessler had three touchdown passes and Javorius Allen ran for two scores as 24th-ranked Southern California held off No. 25 Nebraska, 45-42, in a wild Holiday Bowl. Kessler finished 23-of-39 for 321 yards with an interception. Allen carried the ball 26 times for 152 yards for the Trojans (9-4), who won their sixth bowl game in the last seven tries. Adoree Jackson scored on a 98-yard kickoff return and caught a 71-yard TD pass. We make it entertaining for everybody, USC coach Steve Sarkisian said. I think it sends a pretty good message of the type of program that we have. That were an exciting brand of football. The Cornhuskers (9-4), guided by interim coach Barney Cotton, nearly rallied from an 18-point, second-half deficit in a game the teams combined for 1,040 yards. Instead of attempting the tying field goal, Nebraska ran the ball on 4th-and-3 from the USC 31 with 2:35 left. DeMornay Pierson-El rushed to the left, but Leon McQuay III came from across the field to make the tackle for a 1- yard gain. Nebraska was down to one timeout, which allowed USC to run out most of the remaining time. The Cornhuskers got the ball at their 32 following a punt and a 15-yard USC penalty with 17 seconds left. Kenny Bell was able to get out of bounds at the Nebraska 44 with one second left. USC players had already flooded the field before a video review showed Bell fell out of bounds. Tommy Armstrong Jr.s final pass went short of the end zone and was knocked out of bounds by USC receiver Nelson Agholor. I think they were everything we thought they would be, they were physical and skilled, Cotton said of the Trojans. I thought it was a good battle out there. It was a heck of a football game. Armstrong completed 32-of-51 for 381 yards with three TDs and an interception. Ameer Abdullah rushed 27 times for 88 yards and a score, while Pierson-El had eight receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Cotton, who has been on the staff as an associate head coach for the past seven seasons, replaced the fired Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers let Pelini go on Nov. 30 despite winning at least nine games in each of his seven seasons at the school. Mike Riley, who spent 14 seasons at Oregon State, was named the new Cornhuskers coach earlier this month and watched the game from a skybox. Poor pass coverage led to Jordan Westerkamps 65-yard TD reception with 24 seconds left in the third quarter that brought Nebraska within 45-34. Nebraska came up just short on a 4th down pass from Armstrong to Bell with 11:39 left, but the Cornhuskers got the ball back after a punt and their sophomore QB made a sparkling play to get his team closer. Armstrong hit Abdullah for 33 yards, and later on 4th-and-2 from the USC 15, faked a pitch during an option run and rumbled 15 yards to the end zone. Armstrongs pass to Belll for the 2-point conversion had Nebraska within 45-52 with 6:52 remaining. Joe Kelly Jersey. USC went 3-and-out on its next possession, but instead of going for the tie, McQuay made the big stop. Drew Brown kicked a 34-yard field goal to get the scoring started, but Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards. Jackson found a seam up the middle and cut to the right, and made a celebratory flip just as he reached the end zone with 4:06 elapsed. Nebraska went back in front less than three minutes later. The Cornhuskers were flagged for an ineligible man downfield on what looked like a lateral that wound up going for a touchdown. Offensive lineman Alex Lewis was alone on the left side and appeared to be behind the line of scrimmage when he caught the ball and rumbled to the end zone on a third-down play. After a false start pushed the ball back to the 13, Bell made a diving catch on the right side of the end zone to give Nebraska a 10-7 edge. Andre Heidari split the uprights from 42 yards away to tie the game, but Nebraska soared ahead again with 1:25 left in the opening quarter on Armstrongs 9-yard TD connection to Pierson-El. The Trojans had eight penalties in the first quarter, but they managed to go ahead 24-17 with 6:39 left in the half on Allens 2-yard TD run. Before that, Agholor caught a 17-yard TD pass. Armstrong then moved his team deep into USC territory, but his pass across the field was picked off by a diving Sua Cravens at the 12. Replays appeared to show the ball hit the ground as Cravens was making the grab, although the call was confirmed after a video replay. USC widened the gap to two TDs when Jackson caught a short pass on the right side of the field, then outraced defenders for a 71-yard scoring play three minutes into the third quarter. Abdullah cut the deficit to 31-24 just over two minutes later on a 20-yard TD run to the right, but a 44-yard run up the middle by Allen with 8:06 left in the third restored the two-score margin. USCs Kris Albarado had a punt blocked later in the third quarter, but the Cornhuskers only turned it into three points. Nebraska faced a fourth down at the 2 and decided to go for a TD, but the snap from center went off Armstrongs facemask and Abdullah was tackled in the backfield. The Cornhuskers got a reprieve thanks to a false start penalty, which led to Browns 24-yard field goal. The Trojans needed just two plays to expand their lead to 45-27. Kessler hit freshman JuJu Smith with a 45-yard bomb, and Bryce Dixon was left alone over the middle for a 20-yard scoring reception with 2:03 remaining. Game Notes Agholor had seven catches for 90 yards ... Armstrong had 41 yards on 12 caries ... Bell caught seven balls for 71 yards ... USC holds a 4-0-1 edge in its series with Nebraska ... The Cornhuskers had 525 yards of offense. 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