The 22,712 fans, the largest crowd in the history of the United Center, were loud and into it. And why not? They have young stars in Patrick Kane (16 goals, 25 assists), Jonathan Toews (9, 19), and, of course, former Flyer Patrick Sharp, who has 19 goals and 11 assists, and, at 26, is a veteran in the group.
"Things are going well," Sharp said. "It's nice to have success here. We're sold out every game and it's a great place to play. I'm 26 and I'm one of the older guys on the team. It's a fun group to be around."
But not for the Flyers. Not only did they get pounded, 5-1, they limped out of the building with three guys injured from blocking shots.
The biggest injury was to
Kimmo Timonen, who suffered a chip fracture in his right ankle and could be out a week or more. The top defenseman could play again before the trip ends in Washington on Jan. 6.
"It will all depend on how Kimmo feels," said general manager Paul Holmgren.
Also injured was Scott Hartnell, with a broken big toe on his right foot, and Matt Carle, who bruised an ankle bone. Hartnell played in the 3-0 loss in Columbus Saturday night, but it was clear he was feeling the injury.
The worst thing
The other side of this road trip is the way the Flyers are playing. It will be worth watching to see what happens here tomorrow night because the Flyers look limp.
The lack of practice, the hard travel days, and playing teams that are rested and waiting for them is part of it, but they were shut out, outshot and outplayed in Columbus.
The play of their top line of Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble was nonexistent and for much of the second part of the game, Knuble played on the third and fourth lines while rookie Claude Giroux took his place.
