Roman Cechmanek

The shots were coming at Roman Cechmanek fast and furious. Luc Robitaille fired from his left. Pad stop. Mathieu Schneider shot from up high. Glove save. Jozef Stumpel aimed from the low slot. Glove save. "The last period, I was sharp," Cechmanek said last night. "The more shots I get, the better. I like more shots. " In other words, chaos is not a problem? "No," the Flyers goalie said, smiling. And thus went another victory for Cechmanek, his fourth shutout of the season, as the Flyers whipped a very good Los Angeles Kings team, 3-0, at the First Union Center.

They might not be very good at counting ballots in Florida, but there has not been much counting involved when it comes to how many goals Roman Cechmanek has allowed in this state over the last two days. That would be one. Forget that the Flyers swept a three-game road trip that began Monday in St. Louis. Forget that they are unbeaten in six games (4-0-2) and won games on consecutive nights for the first time under coach Bill Barber. The operative number this morning as the Flyers return home for two days before hitting the road against the New York Rangers is that pertaining to Cechmanek's shutout streak.

Given his accomplishments last season, Roman Cechmanek deserved to retain his ranking as the Flyers' No. 1 goalie - and start the first two games of this season. As the Flyers have picked up a victory and a tie, Cechmanek has not looked anywhere near as sharp as he did in the spring, surrendering a few goals he would have prevented last season. He has yet to find his game. Tonight, with the Flyers in Columbus, Ohio, for a rematch against the Blue Jackets and the first of five consecutive road games, it will be Brian Boucher in goal.

Bill Barber said he did not know what Roman Cechmanek was up to when the goalie skated to the blue line and appeared to take a long look at the Flyers' bench after he gave up a soft third goal against Florida in Monday's 4-4 tie at the First Union Center. When the Flyers' coach was asked if Cechmanek wanted to come out of the game, he said: "I think he was stretching. I don't know. I've seen him come out before. Maybe to collect his thoughts? Probably frustrated. He's a competitive guy. "I never even asked.

There are good points earned on the road and bad points. This was the latter. The Flyers' 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night ought to bother them a bit. Sure, they got a point in the standings. But the Flyers, who had a two-goal lead early and a one-goal lead late, probably should have gotten two points. And the last two Rangers goals came via long-distance passes worthy of AT&T connection charges. "How can we not be pleased?" coach Bill Barber asked during an animated discussion with reporters.

They are among the most frightening words in hockey and they are causing alarm bells to ring in the Flyers' offices. Groin pull. Yesterday, a doctor told goalie Roman Cechmanek that he tweaked his right groin muscle in the second period of Monday's 4-2 win over New Jersey. It was tweaked enough to keep Cechmanek sidelined for tonight's game against Pittsburgh and Saturday's against the New York Rangers - at the very least. Goalies are required to make a series of leg movements in stopping many shots, any one of which can turn a tweak into a tear.

Often criticized in recent years for not having a goalie good enough to carry them to a Stanley Cup, the Flyers now find themselves with an entirely different problem - they have too many good goalies. General manager Bob Clarke said yesterday that 19-year-old Maxime Ouellet will remain in training camp instead of returning to junior hockey. Clarke suspects Ouellet's performance in camp thus far will make the decision on whether he ever returns to juniors very difficult. Clarke would not rule out the possibility that Ouellet could even beat out 29-year-old Czech star Roman Cechmanek for the backup job. Another junior, Justin Williams, who turns 19 in October, also is sticking around.

He makes it look easy. Too easy. Roman Cechmanek has a Slinky of a 6-foot-3 body that seems to cover every inch of the net on most nights for the Flyers. Last night, it covered the bottom of that net more than once. Cechmanek's 21 saves lifted the Flyers to a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Ice Palace. The Flyers are now unbeaten in their last five games (3-0-2). Mark Recchi had two assists, giving him nine points in four games, Keith Primeau tied Simon Gagne for the club lead in goal scoring with his 17th and Dan McGillis had two nice wristers - one for an assist and one for a goal - to highlight the victory.

The Flyers yesterday signed free agent Jeff Hackett to a two-year contract, thereby filling the goaltending vacancy they had created by trading away Roman Cechmanek. Hackett's deal is worth $3 million per year, $600,000 less than he made last season. The deal includes performance bonuses that could make up the difference. The 35-year-old Hackett compiled a 15-17-2 record and a 2.86 goals-against average last year with the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. In the playoffs, he was 1-2 with only five goals allowed in the Bruins' first-round series loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Roman Cechmanek made 36 saves to lead the Phantoms past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 2-1, in the American Hockey League season opener last night for both teams. Cechmanek, the sixth-round choice of the Flyers in the 2000 entry draft, was making his first professional start in the United States. Rob Murray and Derek Plante scored for the Phantoms. Jason MacDonald netted Wilkes-Barre's only goal, with 33 seconds remaining in the game.

The last time the Flyers won a Stanley Cup, it came at the expense of the Buffalo Sabres. That was 1975. The teams have met seven times in the postseason since, with the next meeting set to begin Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center. Here is a rundown of the postseason history between the two teams: 1975: Stanley Cup finals, Flyers win, 4-2 The Flyers won their second consecutive Cup, finishing off the Sabres, 2-0, in Game 6 in Buffalo. Game 3 was the legendary Fog Game.

Glistening under the spotlight at center ice, Bernie Parent called it one last chance to wave and thank Flyers fans for their support. Last night, the Flyers presented Parent - their all-time leading goaltender in nearly every statistical category - with his banner that swayed in the rafters at the recently departed Spectrum since 1979. "It's with a little mixed feelings," Parent said. "It's a reward but at the same time, it's almost like you're moving on to the next phase.

Flyers Notes Goalie Michael Leighton continues to make progress as he rehabilitates from Oct. 11 surgery to repair a herniated disk. That development, coupled with Sergei Bobrovsky 's strong play, could give the Flyers some tough decisions in a few weeks. Such as: Who will be the No. 1 goalie? And which of the three goalies - Brian Boucher is the other man behind the mask - will be the odd man out? Coach Peter Laviolette and general manager Paul Holmgren downplayed the situation earlier this week, saying, in effect, why worry about something until decisions have to be made?

A little more than 12 months ago, after the Flyers opened their 2009-10 season with a methodical shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes, a relative unknown with big question marks left fans wondering if general manager Paul Holmgren found a diamond in the rough in Ray Emery. Many thought Emery, who was blacklisted from the NHL and sent to play in Russia after being run out of Ottawa because of boorish off-ice behavior, was the solution to the Flyers' goaltending conundrum. Emery was quick, acrobatic and effective.

It is one of the burdens of being a Flyers fan. The team you follow, that thrills you and sometimes drives you crazy, can't seem to get it right when it comes to the single most important position on the ice. There was Bernie Parent, who won two Stanley Cups. There was Pelle Lindbergh, who died on the cusp of greatness. There was Ron Hextall, who played brilliantly in almost winning a couple of Cups. And then there is the rest. Pete Peeters and Bob Froese. Ken Wregget and Chico Resch.

THE FIRST TIME I covered a Flyers playoff game, I was backing up Les Bowen, or more to the point, I was like the fourth wheel in a five-spoke set. About halfway through the game, the other four spokes would get together and divide up the stories or columns they wanted to write. After the game story, someone got "the other team," then the big goal scorer, the oddball moment, bad call, injury, whatever came up, and whatever needed to be written. At least two would debate who gets "the goalie.

The NHL trade deadline is next week and Flyers fans are shaking the team like a snow globe and wondering if there is enough inside to make a decent blizzard once the postseason arrives. Does the team need to add a big defenseman to help evict the rebound and deflection snipers from the crease? Is there a goaltender on the team suitable for the long haul of the playoffs? As for the latter question, Marty Biron did nothing to end the discussion Saturday when he made a poor decision at the end of the game against Pittsburgh and the Flyers took a 5-4 loss in front of the largest regular-season home crowd in team history.

It's been a long time since a Flyers goaltender ranked among the top 10 in goals-against average and save percentage. That's the difference Marty Biron makes. A major reason for the Flyers' success through five games has been Biron's composure in goal. "He plays very calm, very cool and very collected out there," teammate Derian Hatcher said. Unlike some previous Flyers goalies - Roman Cechmanek, for instance - Biron never seems to get flustered - even when chaos rages around him. "He's been a composed guy since the day we got him," Flyers coach John Stevens said.

At 30 years old and with few other options available, goalie Brian Boucher nonetheless looks forward to trying to resurrect a career that seemed filled with so much promise when he helped lead the Flyers to the Eastern Conference finals with several acrobatic saves during the 2000 playoffs. "I wanted to take a step backward to take two steps forward," Boucher said yesterday as he addressed the media for the first time since he signed a contract last week with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Phantoms.

Two minutes, 24 seconds into the second period yesterday at Continental Airlines Arena, Scott Gomez's wrister beat Robert Esche, giving the New Jersey Devils a 3-0 start on a 5-1 rout of the Flyers. Coach Ken Hitchcock, having seen enough on 12 shots, motioned for Antero Niittymaki. As Esche approached the Flyers' bench, he exchanged words with Donald Brashear, then ripped his mask off, yelling from his seat at the other end. Flash back to Game 5 of the 2003 playoffs in Ottawa: Roman Cechmanek gives up a goal to make it 3-0, comes off the ice screaming at his teammates, and Esche enters the game.