VOORHEES, N.J. — Talk about an encore after Monday’s season home opener for the Flyers. Wednesday offers a double-whammy.
Not only will the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks visit for “Wednesday Night Rivalry,” but the Flyers will also honor retired defenseman Kimmo Timonen prior to the game for his 16-year career, seven of which were spent as a Flyer.
There’s little question the Flyers sorely missed his leadership last season, on and off the ice, and have had to find new leadership in the form of Mark Streit and Nick Schultz.
Timonen seldom missed a game here, playing 397 of his first 410 games as a Flyer through five years. He missed most of last season with blood clots. He was a constant source of stability on the ice, much like Eric Desjardins was in the 1990s.
“It’s going to be nice to see him get his due,” said Wayne Simmonds. “Kimmo was great for our team and a lot of us look up to him as a leader.”
Simmonds admitted the only reason he watched the Cup Final between Chicago and Tampa was because Timonen was playing in it.
Nearly every Flyer was rooting for him to get a Cup he richly deserved, even though his best friend and former Flyers partner, Braydon Coburn, was playing for Tampa.
“I wanted to see him raise the Cup and when he did, it was pretty awesome,” Simmonds said.
Matt Read had three full seasons on the club with Timonen.
“He [was] gone last year, he was kinda around, but not really, the words of wisdom, the guy had played over 1,000 games,” Read said.
“It’s hard to replace a guy like that. Guys in the locker room this year have done a good job of saying the right things at the right time.”
This is coach Dave Hakstol’s first look at the 'Hawks.
“They’re a mature team and they play the game that way,” Hakstol said. “That’s brought them a lot of success.”
Other than the 2010 Cup Final, the last time the Flyers lost to Chicago at home during the regular season was 1996, when the building first opened as the CoreStates Center.
The Flyers are 11-0 since then during regular-season games here.
“They come in on top and it’s another good test,” Simmonds said. “We had a chance to play the Tampa Bay Lightning and I thought we put a good effort. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the two points.
“Now we’ve got a team that beat Tampa Bay in the Final. We've got a lot to prove here, a lot to show. We know we’ll get better as the season goes along.”
For the first time at the NHL level, Hakstol gets to greet one of his former players from North Dakota — Jonathan Toews.
“If we run into each other, we’ll have a chance to say hello,” Hakstol said. “This is his game day tomorrow. That’s what our focus is.”
Loose pucks
Tuesday’s Flyers practice was optional. Even so, 13 skaters and goalies Michal Neuvirth and Jason LaBarbera were on the ice. ... Flyers captain Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek were among those who did not skate. Same goes for Steve Mason, who is tending to a personal family matter at home. Mason is expected to skate on Wednesday but may not play against Chicago. ... Also missing was R.J. Umberger (upper-body injury). ... Given Neuvirth pitched a shutout, it’s almost a certainty he’ll start, regardless. He’s earned it. ... The Flyers have just four goals through three games and have given up 10.