The Hat, Part Deux

Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News today broke the story of the Flyers' ugly orange Player of the Game Hat. Oh wait, that's not right. Yours truly was all over this story weeks ago. And I don't even write about this stuff for a living...

In my continuing efforts to be the preeminent source for all things related to The Hat, I now present the updated gallery of all The Hat winners in 2009:

New Jersey 3/23/09 -- Jeff Carter (1 goal, his 40th of the season).

Pittsburgh 3/22/09 -- Ryan Parent (1 assist, held Malkin and Crosby to zero shots)

Buffalo 3/20/09 -- Danny Briere (2 goals)

NY Rangers 3/14/09 -- Arron Asham (2 goals)

Buffalo 3/10/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Nashville 3/7/09 -- Joffrey Lupul (2 goals).

Boston 3/3/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Los Angeles 2/25/09 -- Martin Biron (34 shots, 34 saves in the shoutout).

Washington 2/24/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Buffalo 2/19/09 -- Mike Richards (2 goals and 3 assists)


NY Rangers 2/15/09 -- Claude Giroux (1 goal and 2 assists)

NY Islanders 2/14/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Atlanta 2/8/09 -- Scott Hartnell (2 assists and ZERO(!) penalties)

Boston 2/7/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Tampa Bay 1/30/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (42 shots, 41 saves, and an assist).

Atlanta 1/21/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Florida 1/16/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (34 shots, 32 saves)

Toronto 1/10/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Minnesota 1/8/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Anaheim 1/2/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Game #72 Review: Devils 2 @ Flyers 4 3/23/09

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Beating Pittsburgh and New Jersey back to back? Doesn't get much better than that.

• That was about as good a night on the power play as you'll ever see. Flyers were perfect at 3-for-3 with the man-advantage, scoring three goals in only 3:15 of power play time. The penalty kill was pretty solid as well, holding the Devils to only one power play goal in eight chances, in 14:23 of 5-on-4.
• Remember when Daniel Briere was really terrible? Ever since he got his first goal in this comeback vs. Buffalo on Thursday, he has been phenomenal. His goal on the great feed from Kimmo Timonen was a beauty, and his feed on Mike Knuble's was just as nice. He's got his poaching feel back, and it's really a great thing to behold.
• Daniel Carcillo and Arron Asham can't trade lines soon enough. Carcillo has the penalty taking skills of Steve Downie with the grooming habits of Adam Morrison. It's a really horrible thing to watch.
• I accidentally initially put just "Martin Brodeur" as a reason why the Flyers would win this game. But was it wrong? He was not great at all, especially on Gagne's goal. Flyers are now 3-1 against Brodeur this season. Not bad.

For getting his fortieth goal of the season, The Hat goes to Jeff Carter.

Flyers are off until Thursday, with a couple of potential trap games coming up, vs. Florida on Thursday and at Nassau on Saturday.

Game #66 Review: Rangers 2 @ Flyers 4 3/14/09

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Fun game, fun win.

• Remember that goalie controversy? Me neither. In a day where all eyes are on the fatter Marty B., Martin Biron was spectacular, bailing out the Flyers in a game they might not have deserved to win. Hanging tough after the early Antropov goal is a great sign.
• Before the Caps game, I listed about seven players who wouldn't surprise me by scoring twice. And tonight an eighth player, Arron Asham, got two goals. The depth on this team is absolutely absurd.
• How's this for a stat: Asham scored two goals, and only had more ice time than two other players (Cote and Powe), registering only 9:43. That's better than a goal for every five minutes of ice time. He could very easily have a nice Umbergerian run come playoff time
• Scott Hartnell got his career high 25th goal of the season, a real sharp rebound goal very reminiscent of the one he scored in Game 4 vs. Montreal. And he got a write up on NHL.com to boot.
• He got two assists, but we're still waiting for Dan Carcillo to score a goal.
• Daniel Briere is playing on the fourth line and the power play, and still isn't doing anything special at all. Really makes you wonder how he could possibly still be a Flyer come next season...
• No surprise here, The Hat goes to Arron Asham today. His first time wearing the orange crown.

Beating the Rangers was fun. Let's do it again tomorrow.

12:30 at MSG on NBC. Niitty and Valiquette get the starts. Go Flyers.

Game #65 Review: Sabres 2 @ Flyers 5 3/10/09

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Bam.

What a great time to be a Flyers fan.

• Jeff Carter breaks a five-game goal-less streak for the second time in a month. He's been cold lately, but he was real good tonight. Being out of the goal race seems to have hurt his urgency somewhat, hopefully it returns as the games mean more.
• Scott Hartnell scored twice, neither with his stick--one off the leg, one off the nipple. Maybe on March 26th he'll score one off his wig.
• Second real good, multi-point game in a row for Joffrey Lupul. Definitely glad to see him still in the orange and black.
• The first goal was a total fluke, but for the next fifty-something minutes, Martin Biron was real solid, if unspectacular. The late second Buffalo goal was weak, and since it was so late may leave a lasting impression. Biron should still get the start vs. Washington, but it was an annoying blemish on what was otherwise a pretty nice night.
• Claude Giroux is pretty good at this sport, ain't he?
• In case you haven't noticed, the Flyers depth is absolutely absurd. There are easily eight guys who wouldn't surprise anybody with a multi-goal night.
• Arron Asham had a nice scrap, his first in a while. Word that Riley Cote left the game injured really can't worry anyone too much. Flyers have plenty of tough guys that are far more useful with the puck.
• Bunch of penalties from Daniel Carcillo, but they were all matching. Flyers are good four-on-four, so that's fine. But when they stop being matching it's gonna be a big problems.
• No hat in today's post game videos, which means it didn't go to Hartnell, Carter, or Biron. Maybe Giroux? Lupul? Or maybe whoever won it just didn't wear it on camera (Carter never has that I've seen).

Washington, Pittsburgh, New Jersey AND Montreal all came from behind to win tonight. Pittsburgh was sloppy enough to hand Florida a point in the process. While it's frustrating for the Flyers to not gain much ground tonight, it has to be absolutely killer for Buffalo. They're done.

Capitals roll in to town to wrap up their series on Thursday. Flyers lead the series with them 2-0-1 so far, so expect big things.

The Hat

"This is the first time I've had the hat...and I make it look pretty good."
--Joffrey Lupul (at 2:45)

So said yesterday's two time goal scorer Joffrey Lupul in a post game interview, setting yours truly on an odyssey through the Flyers TV video archives of unprecedented ambition. I had noticed the ugly orange Flyers trucker hat before, but had never thought too much of it. It looks like it was probably made in the 80s, and found in some old supply closet at the Spectrum. My dad has a bunch just like it in his closet at home, though mostly in black, not that beautifully Flyersy orange.

The hat clearly serves as a sort of player of the game award, likely bestowed by John Stevens after each win. I had never heard the hat directly referenced before Lupul's comments, so hadn't picked up on any patterns previously. So I went digging.

And now, I present to you, the results of my research into every Flyers win in 2009, in order to forever immortalize the men whose triumphs earned them each The Hat.

Nashville 3/7/09 -- Joffrey Lupul (2 goals).

Boston 3/3/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Los Angeles 2/25/09 -- Martin Biron (34 shots, 34 saves in the shoutout).

Washington 2/24/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Buffalo 2/19/09 -- Mike Richards (2 goals and 3 assists)

NY Rangers 2/15/09 -- Claude Giroux (1 goal and 2 assists)

NY Islanders 2/14/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Atlanta 2/8/09 -- Scott Hartnell (2 assists and ZERO(!) penalties)

Boston 2/7/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Tampa Bay 1/30/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (42 shots, 41 saves, and an assist).

Atlanta 1/21/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Florida 1/16/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (34 shots, 32 saves)
Niitty appears to be the only two-time hat winner

Toronto 1/10/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Minnesota 1/8/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Anaheim 1/2/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

I skimmed a few 2008 videos, but The Hat doesn't seem to make any appearances. before that Florida game in January.

As should go without saying, The Flyer Frequent is THE place for any further updates on any The Hat related developments, as well as stats, charts, graphs, projections, and polls on future The Hat winners. Stay tuned.