head coach: Wayne Cashman

roster: C - Eric Lindros, Chris Gratton, Dan LaCroix, Joel Otto, Mike Sillinger. LW - John LeClair, Rod Brind'Amour, Colin Forbes, Dan Kordic, Shjon Podein. RW - Alexandre Daigle, Trent Klatt, Dainius Zubrus, Brantt Myhres. D - Paul Coffey, Eric Desjardins, Chris Joseph, Janne Niinimaa, Luke Richardson, Kjell Samuelsson, Petr Svoboda, Chris Therien. G - Ron Hextall, Garth Snow.

injuries: Brantt Myhres, rw (separated right shoulder, played Saturday against Colorado, but re-injured his shoulder and did not return).

transactions: Feb 5 - Traded a conditional 6th-round pick in the 1998 NHL Draft to the Vancouver Canucks for center/right wing Mike Sillinger.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
New Jersey   56  34  16   6    74  158  110
Philadelphia 55  29  17   9    67  160  123
Washington   56  26  19  11    63  156  143
NY Rangers   57  17  24  16    50  140  154
NY Islanders 57  20  29   8    48  148  158
Florida      57  18  27  12    48  138  160
Tampa Bay    56  10  37   9    29  104  185

game results:

01/28 at NY Islanders   L 6-1
01/29 Montreal          L 3-2
01/31 Washington        L 3-2 OT
02/04 at Dallas         L 1-0
02/05 at Phoenix        W 6-2
02/07 at Colorado       L 3-2

team news:

by Eric Meyer, Philadelphia Correspondent

Caught Looking Ahead?

With seven players making the trip to Nagano, Japan, for the 1998 Winter Olympics, could it be that the Flyers were a bit distracted in their final eight games, going just 2-6-0. Among those seven players, left wing John LeClair, who will be playing for Team USA, slumped, scoring just two goals and two assists in the team's six losses. Eric Lindros, who is off to Nagano to captain the Canadian team, had just one goal and an assist in those six losses.

The news isn't all bad for those two, who when reunited on the top line with Alexandre Daigle for a recent win against Phoenix and a loss on Sunday against Colorado, combined for four goals and five assists.

Alexandre Daigle also came to life in those final two games before the nearly month-long break for the Olympics. Against the Coyotes and the Lanche (yeah, I'm buckin' the system - to me they're the Lanche, not the Avs), Ye of Hard Luck came up with four assists, while paired with Lindros and LeClair.

Losing streaks in the middle of the season can be mended. They aren't the biggest thing in the world. What has most Flyers fans worried right now is the subpar record the orange and black now boast against teams with a .500 record or better, 5-13-4. Worse yet, their record against the NHL's elite (Dallas, New Jersey, Detroit, Colorado) stands at 0-6-1.

So What About This Sillinger Guy?

No, they still haven't traded for Curtis Joseph, or any other top-flight goaltender. Yes, they now have Mike Sillinger. Before their game against the Yotes, the Flyers swapped a conditional sixth-round pick for Sillinger, a 5-10, 190-pounder who scored 10 goals and had nine assists in 48 games for Vancouver this season.

With the new success of Lindros, LeClair and Daigle on the top line, might we see Mr. Sillinger inserted on the second line with Rod Brind'Amour and Chris Gratton? Or maybe on the third line with Dainius Zubrus/Trent Klatt and Shjon Podein? Head Coach Wayne Cashman hasn't really hinted one way or another, but expect Trent Klatt and especially Dainius Zubrus to be on the giant hot seats.

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