Simon Gagne spoke to the media following the Flyers practice today.

Admin’s note: I apologize for the delay. I had some technical difficulties. Thanks for understanding.

Following their hard-fought shootout win against the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers aimed to continue on the winning side of things as they headed off to Tampa on Monday. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to do so. The Lightning seemed to be always a step ahead, gaining lead twice in the first period. At 6:38 when Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa it was Maxime Talbot for the Flyers at 13:55. At 17:03 the Lightning regained their one goal lead with a goal from Pyatt. The Flyers were able to tie the game once more when Claude Giroux scored an unassisted goal at 15:21 of the second period but that was all from them that night. The Lightning though had Teddy Purcell to deflect the puck behind Bryzgalov to make it 3-2 and as the time flew by Steven Stamkos scored his 200th career goal as the Flyers were trying to tie the game with an empty net. The Flyers fell to the Lightning 4-2. They don’t play until Sunday when they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins.

While the overall impression of the Flyers performance wasn’t too good, Simon didn’t have that bad of a game. He was fast, creating offense, also getting some chances himself. He had one shot on net, one attempt blocked and was even in +/- rating. He played mostly on a line with Matt Read and Max Talbot.

Full game recap and video links after the jump!

After suffering a 5-2 loss in an atrocious game in New Jersey (which I apologize for not recaping, things and responsibilities got in the way) the Flyers returned home to Philadelphia to get a rematch against the Devils. They didn’t start off much better than in the last game, getting outshot and outplayed early on. They also got themselves into trouble when towards the end of their own power play Voracek and Simmonds were penalized for hooking and roughing respectively at 10:34 which gave the Devils a 4 on 3 power play, quickly turning into a lengthy 5 on 3. Fortunately the Flyers were able to kill it off. At 15:21 they also got a bit lucky when Read passed the puck to Gagne who skated with it into the Devils zone and as the two NJ defensmen collided in front of him he got plenty of time to pass the puck to Talbot who put it in the net from a side of the goal, 1-0 Flyers. The Devils managed to tie the game though at 06:09 in the second period when Clarkson deflected the puck behind Bryzgalov‘s back. No other scoring followed in the regulation, though both teams had their chances and good looking moments. The game went into overtime which didn’t see any scoring either. The game had to be decided in the shootout, which historically doesn’t bound well with the Flyers. They were able to win that one though when Read and Giroux scored, while it was only Kovalchuk for the Devils who got the puck behind Bryzgalov. The Flyers won 2-1 in the shootout.

Simon played a good game which seems to be happening more often than not since his return to Philadelphia. Despite not being credited with any shots on goal he made a great play assisting on the Talbot’s goal which put the Flyers in the lead. He blocked one shot, had 15:05 minutes of ice time, 3:20 of which were on a power play and was plus-1. Here’s what Simon said about the goal situation:

“I was able to walk in and go one-on-one against their goalie, who likes to challenge a lot. I could have taken the shot, but I saw Max by himself on the side of the net so I decided to make a pass to him. I knew he was good enough to put that in. It was a good feeling to get that first goal for us.”

Full game recap and video links after the jump!

Simon spoke to the media following his first game back in Philadelphia which the Flyers won 4-1.

Last night was a special night. If not for everybody then for Gagne fans in Philadelphia and Simon himself for sure. Last night’s game against the Washington Capitals was his first in the Flyers uniform since 2010. Getting traded from LA on Tuesday he still made it to Philadelphia on time to take part in the game against the Caps. The Flyers started off really well scoring only 23 seconds into the game from a stick of Giroux. They made it 2-0 when Wayne Simmonds found the back of the net at 4:04 of the first. The Flyers showed a great effort, which showed especially in the 2nd period when they outshot the Capitals 12-3. The Wells Fargo Center exploded in great cheers when none other than Simon Gagne scored on a power play to make it 3-0 Flyers at 3:54 of the second period. The Flyers then added another goal when Max Talbot scored his first of the season. The Caps only managed to prevent Bryzgalov from getting a shutout when they made it 4-1 at 17:51 of the third, which was also the final score.

Simon played like he never left Philadelphia. He was fast and great on both ends of the ice. He played on a line alongside Sean Couturier and Max Talbot. He also saw some power play time on the 2nd PP unit and he used it as a chance to score his first goal of the season. The crowd in Philadelphia gave him a great welcome – cheers during warm-ups and also short tribute video of him that sparkled a standing ovation for Gagne. And Simon gave back by providing one of his best performances of the season. He had 4 shots on goal, 2 hits, he was even in +/- rating and scored on a power play.

Full game recaps and video links after the jump!

Simon Gagne spoke to the media following his trade to the Philadelphia Flyers.