John Tortorella Hasn’t Yet Recognized Pittsburgh Penguins Rivalry
The wildest playoff series in NHL history fell in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers long before John Tortorella took the bench. They defeated the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs amidst chaos all over the ice.
The thought of owning space rent-free in a rival’s head thrilled the Philadelphia fan base. The Flyers were riding high on the back of Claude Giroux. It all ended there. They fell flat in the second round against the New Jersey Devils, and the next 11 seasons led to pure misery for the Orange and Black.
Penguins Dominate Flyers
The Flyers have slipped into the worst era in franchise history. The Ron Hextall era from 2013-2019 consisted mostly of mediocrity. The Chuck Fletcher era from 2019-2023 was an absolute disaster.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins to Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Crosby has joined the ranks as one of the NHL’s all-time greats, and he’s scored more points against the Flyers than any other opponent in their franchise history.
The Flyers have announced the “New Era of Orange” under the leadership of Dan Hilferty, Keith Jones, Danny Briere, and John Tortorella. Could a newly-formed leadership group flip the rivalry script?
Their record against the Penguins is spotless so far.
The upstart Flyers took down their cross-state rivals at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh with a 3-2 shootout win on Saturday. They doubled down with a 2-1 overtime victory at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday.
John Tortorella Not Focused On Penguins
Have the Flyers finally neutralized the rivalry edge? The era of Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Leang is fading. The Penguins have depleted their farm system with an aggressive strategy to keep their window of contention open. However, they’re seventh in the Metropolitan Division in point percentage.
John Tortorella isn’t ready to flex his muscles in the faces of the Penguins. He tempered the victory by pointing out how little the Flyers have accomplished in their rebuild. He isn’t even ready to declare a rivalry.
“I don’t know about a rivalry. I guess it is. It’s the same state and all that. At least my tenure here (hasn’t been competitive with Pittsburgh). I think you need to get in the playoffs and play a series against them, and then it starts becoming a rivalry.” -John Tortorella
Travis Sanheim wants to pump the brakes. He doesn’t think the Flyers have caught up just yet.
“It’s hard to look at that way. Obviously, they’ve got the Cup wins. We’ve got a ton of respect for those guys and what they’ve accomplished, and we just play them hard every time we play them.” -Travis Sanheim
The home-and-home sweep was excellent for fans to enjoy. Any victory against a Metropolitan Division rival is. However, it’s one step of many in regaining traction in a rivalry that hasn’t been very competitive for the past decade.
Give the Flyers some credit, but don’t lose sight of the patience the organization has preached as part of the rebuild.
The Wells Fargo Center goes wild as Sean Couturier walks it off to sweep the home-and-home against the Penguins #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/nVYk6ZDpQW
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) December 5, 2023
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6 Philadelphia Flyers Retired Numbers & 1 More That Deserves It
Bernie Parent #1
“Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent.”
Countless drivers in Philadelphia during the 1970s read the iconic bumper sticker about the future Hall of Fame goaltender. Parent accumulated Hall of Fame numbers over 13 NHL seasons, 10 of which included stints with the Flyers.
The real mark of his legacy came in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. He won the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL after both regular seasons. His 47 wins in 1973-74 stood as a league record until 2007.
Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP for each of the only two Stanley Cups in franchise history after both of his Venzina seasons. The famed Broad Street Bullies built their reputation on intimidation and grit, but they never would’ve sniffed a Stanley Cup without Bernie Parent between the pipes.
Mark Howe #2
Mark Howe played six seasons in the WHA to begin his professional career and didn’t make his debut with the Flyers until age 27. However, he established himself as the indisputable best defenseman in franchise history.
He still holds franchise records for goals, assists, points, shorthanded goals, and plus/minus rating among defensemen. Most of the blueliners behind him in the major statistical categories played more games with the Flyers. Howe published a book cleverly named Gordie Howe’s Son in 2013.
Eric Lindros #88
The Flyers made arguably the biggest splash in NHL history when they acquired the rights to Eric Lindros in 1992 after some lengthy drama. He was supposed to be the next Wayne Gretzky, and his dynamic skill and intimidating power didn’t disappoint when he was on the ice. He won the Hart Trophy after the shortened 1994-95 season and helped the Flyers to an appearance in the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.
Concussions derailed the career of arguably the most talented hockey player ever to lace up the skates. He struggled to stay healthy in a stretch that infamously ended with a devastating hit from Scott Stevens in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final.
He ranks sixth in franchise history in scoring, but his 1.36 points per game average blows every other Flyers skater out of the water. The organization has properly moved on from disagreements with one of their all-time greats whose number has hung in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center since 2018.
Claude Giroux #28
The Flyers were in Stanley Cup contention when Claude Giroux broke into the NHL. The crafty forward developed into the organizational centerpiece, but the team dragged through a forgettable era in franchise history during his captaincy.
Giroux is second in Flyers history in points, games played, and assists trailing only the legendary Bobby Clarke. He played on teams that won six total playoff series and recorded 73 postseason points, including an overtime goal in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2010. He has finished fourth or higher in Hart Trophy voting three times during his tenure in Philadelphia.
The Flyers will someday retire the number of one of their all-time greats who unfortunately never broke through with a Stanley Cup.
