Flyers: Andrej Meszaros the giant

1. First Impressions

The Flyers jumped out with power-play goals in the first 12 minutes from Claude Giroux and Chris Pronger, then proceeded to break down defensively. They struggled clearing the puck leading to two Vancouver power-play goals and weren’t nearly as sharp on the blue line as in their two opening road wins. Despite that the Flyers still managed to claim their third straight home opener with a 5-4 victory.

2. Counter Attack

The key to the Flyers’ victory was their ability to quickly reverse the momentum once the Canucks got on the board. Three times after Vancouver scored the Flyers struck right back — including Andrej Meszaros’ goal just 61 seconds after Daniel Sedin’s power-play goal briefly tied it. Earlier, James van Riemsdyk banged home a rebound just 1:13 after Mikael Samuelsson made it 2-1, then Jakub Voracek converted rookie Sean Couturier’s pass just 1:51 after Henrik Sedin’s power-play goal.

3. Mario Junior?

New Flyer Jaromir Jagr says in some ways Claude Giroux reminds him of longtime former teammate Mario Lemieux, particularly his uncanny passing skills. Giroux did nothing to dispel that in the home opener, scoring his third goal in three games and intercepting a clearing pass to set up van Riemsdyk’s goal. Jagr added an assist but it still waiting for his first NHL goal in four years.