Philadelphia Flyers – The News Desk

No Hit League? The ‘lost art’ of body checking in the NHL

22Dec

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No Hit League? The ‘lost art’ of body checking in the NHL

Seventeen years and more than 1,200 games ago, Andrew Cogliano remembers how difficult it was to traverse the state of California.The Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks were three of the biggest, heaviest teams in the league. If you had to play all three in succession? Well, good luck. Not only were those teams willing to play a punishing brand of hockey, but they were all highly skilled and generally successful, too.After a few years in Edmonton where he broke into the league, Cogliano was dealt to the Ducks as a free agent in the summer of 2011 and was part of a team that qualified for the playoffs in six straight seasons from 2012-13 through 2017-18. Those California road trips became regular intrastate battles. And they were vicious.“My first couple years in Anaheim,...

At 51, Donald Brashear is still fighting, and we can’t look away

WENDAKE, Quebec — The line reaches across the lobby to the glass door entrance 15 minutes before warmups for a hockey game in a low-level pro league just north of Quebec City. We pay $12 a ticket at a table next to the Wendake Sports Complex pro shop, where a game-worn Black Jack No. 87 jersey carries the name of the league’s most famous player: BRASHEAR.He played in 1,025 NHL games and amassed 2,635 penalty minutes during his 17-year career. He earned more than $16 million as one of the league’s most feared enforcers for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.He is now almost 52 years old and we are here to see the famous fighter go another round.Donald Brashear is the marquee attraction. He is the Wendake Black Jack capta...

Why kinder, gentler Philly fans are done with snowballs and Santa Claus

The Athletic has live coverage of Phillies vs. Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the NLCS. By Andy McCullough, Chad Jennings and Stephen J. NesbittPHILADELPHIA — In the parking lots outside Citizens Bank Park, in the hours before the Phillies hosted the first game of the National League Championship Series, the people of the Delaware Valley communed. They tossed footballs as helicopters buzzed overhead. They chomped hoagies from Primo’s and Wawa. They sipped Bud Light and Miller Light, Coors Light and Coors Banquet, Yuengling and also Yuengling. The vibe felt more subdued than unhinged, a dynamic that would change as the first pitch drew closer.“As soon as you enter the building, it’s like a switch goes off,” said Chris Edge, a 42-year-old from Marlton, N.J. “You hear it. You feel it. Everybody k...