An almost-daily column that takes a look back at how the Philadelphia Flyers have fared on this day, recalling some of the more memorable moments, achievements, and events that shaped the organization throughout the club’s storied history
Heading into tonight’s contest with the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center, the Flyers are 10-10-6-1 in 27 all-time April 1 contests. This will be the seventh meeting between the clubs on this date — with six being played in Pittsburgh — with Philly holding a 2-3-1-0 mark having won the last two outings (2000 and 2012).
Some of the more memorable moments and brief recaps in Flyers history that took place on April 1;
1972 — Retiring goaltender Bruce Gamble was honored before a 4-4 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Spectrum. The goalkeeper had unknowingly suffered a heart attack during the first period of a February game before posting a 3-1 victory over the Canucks in Vancouver, and the heart attack was diagnosed after the contest.
1973 — Rick MacLeish recorded both goal number 50 and point 100 of the season and tough guy Dave Schultz scored two goals, but Philly dropped a 5-4 decision to the Penguins at the Igloo in Pittsburgh.
The Flyers carried a 4-3 lead into the third period, but the Pens beat Philadelphia netminder Bobby Taylor twice, including Jean Pronovost’s game-winner with 1:13 remaining in regulation.
MacLeish became the first-ever Flyer to record 50 goals in a single season, and was only the eighth player in NHL history to hit the plateau. He became the second Flyer to hit the 100-point mark, reaching the milestone just three days after Bobby Clarke had done the same.
1976 — The LCB Line ran rampant as Bill Barber (hat trick, assist), Bobby Clarke (five assists), and Reggie Leach (two goals, three assists) combine for 14 points in an 11-2 rout of the Washington Capitals at the Spectrum.
Leach’s two goals gave him 60 for the season, becoming just the second NHL player to hit the plateau (Boston’s Phil Esposito was the other).
The Flyers outshot Washington by a whopping 44-11 through two periods — firing 25 shots on net in the second period alone — and ended the night with a club-record 62 shots on Caps’ netminder Ron Low when all was said and done.
1992 — The NHL Players Association went on strike for the first time in the league’s 75-year history. The walkout lasted all of 10 days, and all games lost during the period were able to be rescheduled and played prior to the postseason. The players gained a bigger share of playoff bonuses and licensing controls, and the strike resulted in the owners replacing commissioner John Ziegler with Gil Stein on an interim basis, before ultimately ending up with current commish Gary Bettman in February of 1993.
1993 — Mark Recchi scored his 50th goal of the season in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at the Spectrum, becoming the fifth player in team history to hit the 50-goal mark in a single season.
2003 — The Flyers received goals from Kim Johnsson, Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, and Radovan Somik, and Roman Cechmanek needed to only turn aside 10 shots to post his 20th career regular season shutout in a 4-0 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Wachovia Center.
2004 — Simon Gagne and Michal Handzus provided goals and Sean Burke stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout of the Canadiens in Montreal.
2012 — The Flyers spotted the Penguins a 2-0 lead just 4:58 into the game, then roared back with a four-goal third period in a 6-4 victory at CONSOL Energy Center. Jakub Voracek scored two of the third period markers to give him 17 goals, setting a new single season career-high.
Pittsburgh outshot the Flyers by a 47-26 margin, but goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 43 saves to continue his mastery of the Pens at CONSOL, improving his record to 4-0-0 against the Penguins at their new home.
2014 — Ray Emery (28 saves) and Ryan Miller (31 saves) locked a in goaltender’s battle that saw both the Flyers and St. Louis Blues each held scoreless through overtime, before T.J. Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk were able to score during the shootout to give the Blues a 1-0 victory at Scottrade Center.
The shutout was the fifth during his time in Philadelphia for Emery, who got zero goal support the entire night, including unsuccessful attempts from Vincent Lecavalier and Claude Giroux against Miller in the shootout.
