Flyers Notes: Flyers' power play is tops in the NHL

Balanced scoring and the addition of hard-shooting defenseman Chris Pronger have bolstered the Flyers' power play and made it the NHL's most successful unit.

The Flyers have clicked on 19 of 68 power plays, a 27.9 percent rate.

Mike Richards (four goals, four assists) leads the Flyers with eight power-play points, followed by Scott Hartnell (seven points), Jeff Carter (seven), and Pronger (seven).

Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen have five power-play points apiece, and Matt Carle has four.

"We have a luxury this year in that we have two really strong guys up top - Pronger on one unit and Timonen on the other - and we didn't have that before," coach John Stevens said before the power play went 2 for 4 to fuel last night's 5-1 win over Ottawa.

The power play has been successful even though two of the key players from last season's units, Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul, are no longer with the Flyers. Rookie James van Riemsdyk and second-year player Giroux have helped picked up the slack.

"Now we have two units that we think are equally effective, which makes it hard for other teams to game-plan against you," Stevens said. "We're one of the few teams whose power play has been over 20 percent the last two years, and it's early, so who knows where those numbers will end up."

The Flyers aren't a team that sets up power-play goals with pretty passes; they are muckers who get a player in front - usually Hartnell, who is tied for third in the league with five power-play goals, or van Riemsdyk - and score by disrupting the goalie.

"We just ask that one guy commits himself to getting [to the net] when he's away from the puck, and the other guys support the puck," Stevens said.

The Flyers were sixth in the NHL last season with a 22.5 percent success rate on the power play - 27 percent at home and 17.8 percent on the road.

This year, they have been more balanced - 29.4 percent at home and 26.6 percent on the road.

The Flyers have had the league's best power play in two seasons: 1972-73 (37-30-11 record) and 1988-89 (36-36-8). They reached the NHL's final four in both.

The Flyers and WMGK-FM (102.9) are encouraging fans to bring a frozen turkey or coupon for a free turkey to the Wachovia Center tomorrow for the game against Buffalo. Donation bins will be placed at the 11th and Broad Street entrances beginning at 5:30 p.m.

All fans who donate a turkey, which will be used for CityTeam Ministries, will receive passes for a free ice-skating session at any of the four Flyers Skate Zones, plus discounts for merchandise, December home games, and the Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival.

Defenseman Oskars Bartulis made his NHL debut last night. . . . Stevens is considering giving backup goalie Brian Boucher his second start of the season tomorrow.

- Sam Carchidi