2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 44th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the second round of the 2011 playoffs to the Boston Bruins in a four-game sweep.

Off-season

Coming off a close loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers traded Simon Gagne to the Tampa Bay Lightning to clear up cap space, acquired Andrej Meszároš from Tampa Bay in a separate trade and signed free agent Sean O'Donnell to shore up the defense.

Regular season

The Flyers started the season with rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia, who recorded an opening-night win in his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins and had steady numbers throughout the season. Brian Boucher remained as the backup goaltender while Michael Leighton played one game in December after recovering from a back injury and was sent to Adirondack in the AHL. The Flyers led both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference for the majority of the season and challenged the Vancouver Canucks for the overall NHL lead. Kris Versteeg was brought in from the Toronto Maple Leafs to add additional offense for the stretch drive and playoffs. However, lackluster play throughout March and April, coupled with a broken hand suffered by Chris Pronger in late February that ended his regular season, cost the Flyers the top seed in the East during the last week of the regular season, although the Flyers hung on to win their first Atlantic Division title since 2003–04 and clinched the second seed in the East.

Season standings

bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Playoffs

The Flyers drew the Buffalo Sabres in the first round. Sergei Bobrovsky played well in a 1–0 Game 1 loss, but was replaced in Game 2 for Brian Boucher, who held on for a 5–4 Flyers win. Boucher played well in a Game 3 win and a Game 4 loss, but was replaced himself in a favor of Michael Leighton during a poor first period in Game 5, and Buffalo won in overtime. Pronger returned to the lineup and Leighton started Game 6 but was replaced by Boucher after a sub-par first period, but the Flyers went on to win in overtime and forced a Game 7, which Boucher started. The Flyers dominated Buffalo, winning 5–2, and became the first team to win a playoff series starting three different goaltenders since 1988.

The Flyers then drew a rematch with the Boston Bruins in the second round. Boston dominated the Flyers in Game 1, where Boucher was again replaced, this time by Bobrovsky. Pronger again left the lineup with an undisclosed injury, while Boston won Game 2 in overtime and again dominated the Flyers in Game 3 to take a 3–0 series lead. Bobrovsky started Game 4, but there would be no such comeback like their previous meeting as Boston completed the sweep of the Flyers. The Flyers tied an NHL record with seven playoff in-game goalie changes, and were the only NHL team not to record a shutout in either the regular season or playoffs.

Schedule and results

Preseason

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Among the team records set during the 2010–11 season was winning a franchise record 25 games on the road (subsequently tied in 2011–12) and tying the team record for fewest shutouts in a season (0).

Milestones

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2010, the day after the deciding game of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 15, 2011, the day of the deciding game of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2010 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 25–26, 2010. The Flyers traded their 2009 and 2010, 29th overall, first-round picks, Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and a conditional 2010 or 2011 third-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Ryan Dingle and Chris Pronger on June 26, 2009. They also traded their original second-round pick, 59th overall, and Denis Gauthier to the Los Angeles Kings for Patrik Hersley and Ned Lukacevic on July 1, 2008.