"It was always tough to play in this building," said winger Jaromir Jagr, recalling what it was like when he played here as a visiting player. "For whatever reason, we just don't have a good record."
Told opponents used to fear playing in Philadelphia, Jagr said, "You have to understand, we play different hockey than the Flyers played 10 years ago. I think hockey 10 years ago was more physical than we play right now. I don't think we have the players to play that physical style. I think we are probably more skilled, but it doesn't matter. We should have a good start and take control of the game from the first minute.
"When teams are hanging in the game," he added after Wednesday's practice in Voorhees, "you never know what's going to happen in the third period."
It seems almost sacrilegious to think of the Flyers as a skating team, but, with star defenseman Chris Pronger sidelined for the rest of the season with post-concussion syndrome, the Flyers have rarely played with an edge at home.
"Maybe we should have bench-clearing brawls again," general manager Paul Holmgren kidded.
There have been some exceptions - the 6-5 shootout loss to Boston recently, for instance - but for the most part the Flyers haven't displayed the energy and focus that they have on road, where they lead the NHL with an 18-7-2 record.
"Sometimes it's a little easier to play on the road, because you don't have to please the home fans. If you don't score on the first power play, you don't necessarily feel pressure to score on the second one," Holmgren said. "But obviously it's something we've got to get better at."
One of the Flyers' home problems has been their penalty kill. They entered Wednesday 25th out of 30 teams with a 78.8 percent success rate on the penalty kill at home. On the road, they are 11th at 85.3 percent.
