The Flyers open up their season with back to back wins on back to back nights.  The new faces were shining bright, but some familiar faces picked up where they left off last year by carrying the load.

Simon Gagne (12), Mike Richards (18), and Matt Carle celebrate a goal against Carolina (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Last season for the Flyers was a tale of two seasons.  Not so much in the sense of first half results versus second half results, but more in the way the team was perceived by the league and fans (or at least by me).  They entered last season coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals - a shock to many considering their league-worst record the prior season - and had high expectations to improve on that accomplishment and become Stanley Cup contenders.  But by the time they blew a 3-0 lead in their sixth and final game of their opening round playoff series against the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins, it was clear that, perhaps, the young and promising Flyers had climbed too high too fast.

The Flyers were a young team with a young, first year captain in Mike Richards.  Richards, along with many of the other young players on the team, had a very good year - many of them setting career highs in goals and points.  And, yes, the NHL is a young man’s league, but it is still easy to forget how tough it is for a team to be led by a corps of players almost all below the age of 25.  I have absolute confidence that Richards will become a great captain in this league, but last year was clearly full of growing pains in terms of leadership.

This season will have two main storylines to follow.  The first is that of the young corps of players growing into  their leadership roles (or not).  The second is whether their new additions successfully fill the voids from last year.  That’s where Ray Emery and Chris Pronger come in.

Ray Emery is a talented goalie who has had some concentration and discipline issues throughout his career.  So much so, that he spent the last season essentially exiled in Siberia (He played in Russia since no NHL team wanted to deal with him).  Feeling that he’s been “rehabilitated,” and that a fresh start and second chance are what he needed, the Flyers decided to take a chance on him.  I initially criticized the move as purely financial, and felt the goalie position was too important to go bargain hunting.  While I still think the move was mostly financial and very risky, Emery has proved (so far) to be a good pickup.  He backstopped both wins for the Flyers, and came within ten minutes of opening with two straight shutouts.  Enough said.

Chris Pronger is a defender who was obtained via trade during the summer’s entry draft.  I loved the trade then, and I love it even more now.  While Pronger didn’t do anything amazing during the first two games of the season, he is a known commodity.  He brings a shutdown defensive ability to take some pressure off of Kimmo Timonen.  He brings some nastiness to keep some of the talented forwards in the Eastern Conference from having free reign in front of the Flyers’ net.  And he brings some leadership and Stanley Cup experience to help out the current group of young leaders on the team.  And, oh yeah.  He brings a rocket of a shot from the blue line.

In winning their first two games against two quality opponents - 2-0 over Carolina and 5-2 over New Jersey - the Flyers looked like a complete team ready to compete with the best teams in the conference.  They did everything you wanted to see them do.  They scored on the power play (two goals already); they killed penalties (just one goal given up in 13 chances); they got early leads and held onto them in both games; and they got balanced scoring throughout their lineup.  But most importantly, they played with a consistent effort and intensity throughout the games.

This year is really make or break for the young nucleus of this team.  They’ve been down (2006-2007), they’ve been up (2007-2008), and they’ve been in between (2008-2009).  Richards and company should now have the experience to match their skill level with a consistent intensity they have lacked up to this point.  And, thanks to some newcomers, they have some significant help to accomplish their ultimate goal.