As the Flyers welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the Xfinity Mobile Arena for an early-season clash between the clubs, it’s the right time to reflect on the first ever meeting between the teams back on October 27, 2011.
These were the new Jets, of course, as the franchise had just begun its second life after shedding the Atlanta Trashers label at the end of the previous season. The original Jets were the most successful club in the history of the World Hockey Association, winning three titles in the 1970s, joining the NHL at the time of the NHL/WHA merger in 1979. They didn’t find much success thereafter, moving to Phoenix and becoming the Coyotes in 1996.
In 2011, however, the Winnipeg Jets were back, and they met the Flyers for the first time during that season’s first month. The Flyers started Sergei Bobrovsky in net that night against Ondrej Pavelec for the visitors. Scott Hartnell opened the scoring and things seemed normal for about half the first period until the Jets rattled off a trio of goals (including what turned out to be the final NHL goal of former Flyer Randy Jones) to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.
The first ever meeting between the Flyers and Jets went in all kinds of crazy directions
Winnipeg continued the onslaught with two more goals in the second period to go up 5-1, and Flyers coach Peter Laviolette gave Bob the hook, inserting Ilya Bryzgalov. This move seemed to spark the Flyers, and they clawed back to make it a 6-4 game by the second intermission. The third period arrived, and things went off the rails. For both sides.
The Flyers exploded for three goals in the span of 1:53, taking a 7-6 lead. Pavelec was pulled after the sixth goal, and the Flyers rudely greeted his backup Chris Mason. The Flyers’ lead lasted all of 28 seconds, and Winnipeg tied the game at 7-7. The Jets then took the lead back 1:01 later, and it was 8-7. A few minutes after that, Mason pulled his groin, leading to Pavelec having to re-enter the game after having been previously shelled. It was chaos.
The Jets would miraculously hold that 8-7 lead for almost 12 minutes until the Flyers managed to tie it again on James van Riemsdyk’s second goal of the game with 3:39 to go. But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Flyers allowed Jets captain Andrew Ladd to cruise into the slot and tap home what proved to be the game winner with 1:06 remaining in the third.
As wacky as the game was, some of the locker room quotes were even better, with Ladd comparing that night’s action to the NES game ‘Blades of Steel’. But the true star was of course Bryzgalov, who offered up his first real glimpses of being – let’s just say ‘slightly off’ – after this one, saying “I’m lost in the woods right now” and apologizing for being so terrible. Yikes. Not exactly what you want to hear from your starting goalie in the first MONTH of a 9-year, $51 million contract. (PS after buying him out in 2013, the Flyers are still paying him until next year.)
At 17 combined goals (which you can see all of here), this was the highest scoring NHL game of the 21st century at the time, and it has been tied three times since. It’s also tied for the highest scoring game in which the Flyers have ever played, as well as being the only time in franchise history that they’ve scored eight goals and still lost.
It goes to show you that anything can happen any night in the NHL. Could the Flyers and Jets have something historic in store for us this time? That’s why they play the games. Just don’t expect to see 17 goals unless Bryz makes a surprise appearance.