Over the course of the Philadelphia Flyers’ history, there have been many odd and all but unbreakable records set. Some of them, like Dave “The Hammer” Schultz’s 472 penalty minutes are essentially unbreakable, yet pretty well known. But which records are the craziest?
Shortest Flyers’ Tenure: 1 Minute
Since ice time did not become a measured statistic until the 1997-98 NHL season, information is a bit limited on the subject. However, forward Brian Wesenberg had such a short NHL career that it would be pretty hard to beat. In his lone game in the NHL, he managed a total of 1:08 of on-ice time. Somehow, he managed to be on the ice for a goal as well as record a fighting major. In the April 10, 1999, match against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers won 2-1.
Wesenberg spent 167 games with the Flyers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate which is now known as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In those games, he scored 43 goals and 47 assists for 90 points while piling on 306 penalty minutes. His NHL career might have been as short as it can get, but he was still a useful player for the franchise.
Most Single-Season Shorthanded Goals From a Defenseman: 7
A relic from 1980s hockey is the incredible rate at which goals were being scored. The players of today could not dream of putting up the offensive numbers that were around in that time period due to a variety of factors, including the evolution of goaltending. A record that will probably never be broken is defenseman Mark Howe’s seven shorthanded goals in the 1985-86 season.
In the 21st century, the most shorthanded goals by a defender in a season stands at just four, which was set by Mark Giordano in 2018-19. Not only is this record obscure, but it is nearly impossible to beat. The Flyers may never challenge this record again, and it’s easy to see why. Howe is in a league of his own on this one.
Most Starting Goaltenders in a Season: 8
In what was a much more recent event, the Flyers set the NHL record for the most starting goaltenders in an NHL season with a total of eight in 2018-19. A combination of injuries and unwillingness to give 20-year-old Carter Hart a chance at the NHL level attributed to this.
In what was a dreadful season to start, the Flyers had rolled with countless netminders before they turned to Hart. A lower-body injury of his own made way for this, as well as a one-for-one trade of Anthony Stolarz to the Edmonton Oilers for Cam Talbot.
In the end, netminders Brian Elliott, Alex Lyon, Calvin Pickard, Mike McKenna, and Michal Neuvirth, as well as the aforementioned Hart, Stolarz, and Talbot all started at least one game for the Flyers that season. Results were pretty mixed, with five of them having a save percentage (SV%) under .900. The 20-year-old was actually the best of the bunch, finishing with a .917 SV% and 2.83 goals-against average (GAA).
Most Single-Game Shots Without a Goal: 14
On March 19, 1996, Flyers’ phenom Eric Lindros must have had the urge to fire as many shots on net as he possibly could. Not only did he set the current team record for the most shots on goal in a single game, but he also did it without burying a puck on his own.
Against a struggling New York Islanders team with an overall record of 20-40-8, Lindros registered 34 percent of the game’s shots, yet zero percent of the game’s goals. That’s not to say he had a bad performance, finishing the game with two assists.
Related: Islanders’ 10 Worst Moments in 50-Year Franchise History
In the 2020s thus far, the most shots an individual Flyer has recorded in a game is just nine. They would have to add quite a bit to this total and try their hardest to not have an opportunity that is too high quality in order to best Lindros here.
Worst Career GAA: 27.27
Martin Houle spent only two minutes on the ice in his NHL career, and they came with the Flyers during the team’s unbearable 2006-07 season. Only being given the chance to face three shots, he let one of those get by him, setting up a very inflated GAA.
After starter Antero Niittymaki gave up seven goals, he was pulled to give Houle a shot to close out the game. The lone goal he gave up occurred with just seven seconds left on the clock. Since it is extremely rare for a goaltender to have just two minutes of NHL fame, it is likely that this record stands forever.
Highest Single-Game Shooting Percentage: 200 Percent
Unfortunately, game footage from over 45 years ago is not readily available. All we have to go off of from the Flyers’ Nov. 5, 1977, clash against the Washington Capitals is that center Bobby Clarke scored two goals despite only finishing the game with a single shot. One of the ways that this can possibly happen is if a player draws a penalty when they have a clear path to an empty net, like in Eric Staal’s case where he was also able to achieve this feat.
While we will probably never know how he achieved this unless there are some first-hand witnesses that remember the game, the record is still fairly impressive, and also hilarious at the same time. Clarke’s record could theoretically be broken but is nearing the five-decade mark.
Most Single-Game Goals Against With a Win: 8
Typically, if a goaltender gives up eight goals in a single game, a loss comes with it as well. Luckily enough for Pete Peeters, his efforts were just good enough to get him rewarded with a win. On Feb. 13, 1982, the Flyers and Calgary Flames were in a goal fest that saw the teams concede a combined 17 goals on the night. With how wild the 1980s were in terms of goal scoring, it comes as no surprise that the record belongs to that timeframe. It can definitely be broken, as we saw the Flyers on the losing end of this exact situation not too long ago.
Wacky records are always a fun thing to hunt down, and the Flyers have been no stranger to them. For those listed above, they may never actually be broken.
