Hartnell, who had three tallies in one period in a Jan. 22 shootout loss to Boston, flourished and finished with a career-high 37 goals.
Runner-up: The Invasion of the Rookies. Twelve rookies combined for an NHL-best 64 goals and 128 points, including Matt Read (24 goals), Sean Couturier (13), and Brayden Schenn (12). Read has a chance to be the first rookie-of-the-year winner in franchise history.
Zac Rinaldo, another rookie, was one of the team's most physical players, and Eric Wellwood may have been their fastest skater.
Biggest disappointment: Colorful goalie Ilya Bryzgalov struggled mightily in the season's first 41/2 months, looking like a $51 million bust.
Best comeback: Bryzgalov rebounded and put together a stunning March: a 10-2-1 record, a 1.43 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.
Best trade(s) (offseason): Dealing Mike Richards and Jeff Carter not only made the locker room a more cohesive place, it also netted Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Schenn, and Couturier. Entering Saturday night, Richards and Carter had combined for 38 goals and 77 points, compared with 71 goals and 143 points by the Flyers acquired in the deals for them.
Best trade (in-season): Acquiring 6-foot-4, 230-pound defenseman Nick Grossmann from Dallas for two draft picks. Grossmann added some much-needed physicality on the blue line, and it's no coincidence that Bryzgalov's play improved dramatically after his addition.
Best stat: The Flyers were 25-13-3 on the road, tying a franchise record for road victories. Powered by their road success, the Flyers finished 47-26-9. You have to go back to 1985-86 (53-23-4) for a season in which the Flyers had more wins.
Worst stat: The Flyers led just four times in the first 10 minutes in 51 of their last 55 games.
Best player: Take a bow, Claude Giroux, who finished with a career-best 93 points and blossomed into one of the team's best leaders. The last time a Flyer registered more points was in 1996-97, when John LeClair had 97.
Best breakthrough: Wayne Simmonds scored a career-high 28 goals, 12 more than his previous best with the Kings. Voracek, Hartnell, Giroux, and Max Talbot also set career highs in goals.
Biggest regression: Danny Briere, riddled with injuries, saw his goal production dip from a career-high 34 to 16.
Funniest development (though Flyers coaches would strongly disagree): One day before the Winter Classic against the Rangers, a struggling Bryzgalov excitedly told reporters: "I have great news and even better news. Great news: I'm not playing. And good news: We have a chance to win the game."
In deadpan delivery, he explained he would sit on the bench and drink some "nice tea," and later tweeted a photo of the thermos he planned to take to the game.
Saddest development: Chris Pronger played just 13 games - none after Nov. 19 - because of a concussion, one that may end his Hall of Fame career.
More than anything, here's hoping Pronger, who has battled depression effects related to the injury, can live a normal life.
Most entertaining/bizarre game: Winnipeg 9, Flyers 8.
"I'm lost in the woods," Bryzgalov said after allowing four goals on 10 shots in that Oct. 27 game at the Wells Fargo Center. "I have zero confidence."
It was the most goals ever scored by the Flyers in a loss, and it tied a franchise record for the most combined goals in a game.
Most impressive series: The Flyers were 4-2 - including a meaningless loss on Saturday - against the Penguins, a team many experts believe is the Stanley Cup favorite.
Least impressive series: The Flyers went 0-6 against the Rangers and were outscored, 24-11.
Best achievement: Bryzgalov, who became the star of HBO's 24/7 with his outlandish observations, had a franchise-record scoreless streak of 249:43, the second-longest in the NHL since expansion started in 1967-68.
Best Ian Laperriere impersonation: Simmonds was hit in the mouth with a puck in pregame warm-ups, received 25 stitches, and then scored two goals as the Flyers defeated Buffalo, 7-2, on Feb. 16. Late in the season, Simmonds scored a goal as a puck deflected off his face and into the net. The next day, he scored the game's pivotal goal and fought the Penguins' enforcer, Deryk Engelland, in a 6-4 Flyers win.
Somewhere, Lappy was smiling.
Best finish: Hartnell scored with 0.9 seconds left in overtime to cap a comeback in which the Flyers overcame a 2-0 deficit and stunned the Penguins, 3-2, on March 18. The comeback was typical. The Flyers had an NHL-best 20-22-4 record when allowing the game's first goal.
Runner-up: Simmonds tied the score with 9.7 seconds left in regulation and Jagr won it with 44 ticks remaining in OT as the Flyers jolted host Winnipeg, 5-4, on Feb. 21.
Worst finish: Tampa Bay, which used a 1-3-1 trap to limit the Flyers to 15 shots, scored in OT to hand the Flyers a 2-1 loss in a Nov. 9 game that Pronger said took hockey "into the stone ages."
There was no word on whether Pronger thought Fred Flintstone should be the Lightning's coach.
Tampa sat in its trap in the first period and did not pursue the puck as the Flyers had it in their defensive end. It was as exciting as watching water come to a boil.
Best analysis: Dr. Scott Hartnell predicted James van Riemsdyk probably broke his foot and would be out six to eight weeks. The next day, that's exactly what a real doctor said.
Worst analysis: The Flyers announced that Pronger was sidelined with a virus. It turned out to be a concussion.
Best addition to the locker room: Jagr not only made linemates Giroux and Hartnell better players with his puck-controlling ability, but he was a great example to all his teammates with his unmatched work ethic.
He may be 40, but he plays the game with the unbridled joy of a teenager.
If I'm general manager Paul Holmgren - who is a strong contender for the NHL's executive of the year - I make re-signing Jagr an offseason priority.
Inside the Flyers: All the Right Moves
On a crazy day last summer, the Flyers traded stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to Los Angeles and Columbus, respectively. As it turned out, the players they received in those deals - Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, and Sean Couturier (selected in the draft) - have been far more productive. Here are the numbers heading into Saturday night's Los Angeles game (Columbus traded Carter to the Kings):
TRADED PLAYERS G A PTS. +/-
Mike Richards 17 26 43 +3
Jeff Carter 21 13 34 -12
Totals 38 39 77 -9
FLYERS
Wayne Simmonds 28 21 49 -1
Brayden Schenn 12 6 18 -7
Jakub Voracek 18 31 49 +11
Sean Couturier 13 14 27 +18
Totals 71 72 143 +21
- Sam Carchidi
Contact Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com or on Twitter @BroadStBull.
