It wasn’t the most dominating of wins, but the Philadelphia Flyers got two points in Craig Berube’s first game as the team’s head coach.
Peter Laviolette was fired after just three games, albeit following a disappointing 2013 campaign and troubling training camp. With plenty to prove, Philadelphia opened its match against the Florida Panthers with two quick goals against Tim Thomas before the 39-year-old goaltender was pulled due to a lower-body injury.
From there it was mostly Flyers goaltender Steve Mason that kept his team in the game. He turned aside 33 of 34 shots to give himself a 2.02 GAA and .936 save percentage this season.
Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who they need to step up in order to have any long-term success, remains scoreless and was on the ice for Florida’s lone goal. Forwards Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds, and Matt Read are also still pointless through four games, although Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek each picked up their first assist of the season tonight.
Philadelphia still has some major concerns, but at least they avoided what would have been their first 0-4-0 in franchise history, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. That will keep things more upbeat as Berube begins to make changes to how this team plays.
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