Can you get better and do Worse?

With six forwards scoring 25 or more goals and a revamped defense that got a whole lot quicker with Matt Carle and Ryan Parent than with Derian Hatcher and Jason Smith, it can be argued that the Flyers who were eliminated in six games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 conference quarterfinals are better than the Flyers who were eliminated in five games by the Penguins in the 2008 conference finals.

“The Flyers want to win the Stanley Cup and we have to put our heads together and figure out what we have to do next,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. “We’re a good team that just got eliminated.”
The first order of business for the Flyers is getting a goaltender under contract. With starter Marty Biron and backup Antero Niittymaki scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, the Flyers have no goalies with NHL experience in the organization.

Biron, who ranked in the middle of the pack among NHL starters in wins (29), goals-against (2.76) and save percentage (.915), could return for a third full season in Philadelphia, but only if the Flyers convince him to take a pay cut on his current $3.5 million salary.

Biron wants a long-term deal and the Flyers do not, and that could open the door to a free agent goalie—such as Craig Anderson, Scott Clemmensen, Manny Fernandez or Nikolai Khabibulin—signing with the Flyers on July 1. There is also talk the Flyers are interested in Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen.

The Flyers will spend the month of May trying to re-sign Biron, but if they are unable to come to terms they will break ties and look into making a deal at the NHL draft or on July 1.

The Flyers’ greatest need might be on the blue line, where after Kimmo Timonen they have three solid defensemen in Carle, Parent and Braydon Coburn, but no true No. 2 to play alongside Timonen.

The Flyers might make a play for unrestricted free agent Jay Bouwmeester and might acquire his rights by trading Joffrey Lupul to the Florida Panthers before the NHL draft.

Season Highlight: In the greatest home comeback in the history of the franchise, the Flyers rallied from a 5-1 deficit after two periods on Dec. 11 to defeat visiting Carolina 6-5 in overtime.

Scott Hartnell completed a hat trick with two goals in the third period and Scottie Upshall and Simon Gagne also scored in the final period, setting the stage for Gagne’s game-winner in overtime.

Flyers fans in attendance were witnesses to history: It was the first time in Flyers history that the team trailed by four or more goals in a game at home and ended up winning the contest.

The only other time in club history that the team trailed by four or more goals in a game and won was Feb. 23, 1988 at Detroit, when the Flyers trailed 5-1 and wound up winning the game 11-6.

Scott Hartnell kicked off the comeback for Philadelphia with his second goal of the night less than two minutes into the third period and followed that up five minutes later for his third goal of the game to close the gap to 5-3.

“We came in (after the second period), and (coach John Stevens) basically said you’re playing like a bunch of pansies,” Hartnell said. “We turned it on for 20 minutes—you get one quick, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Turning Point: The Flyers held the fourth seed in the conference from Feb. 6 until the final weekend of the regular season, when a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers in the season finale dropped them from the fourth seed to the fifth, giving the Penguins home ice against them in the first round.

In the two losses the Flyers suffered in their final three games, they were forced to dress a defenseman with no prior pro experience because they were at the salary cap threshold.