I know; I'm cheating.

Not on my favorite player -- three years away (three years?!) and he's still my favorite player. I just didn't post on much hockey last year, but as I'm rebooting this season, I ought to have some kind of Mike Knuble recap for last year. Just to be fast, here's an edited summary from the Philadelphia Flyers' site:

2006-07 Regular Season: Was second on the team in goals (24), assists (30), points (54) and power play goals (10) . . . Was first on the team in shooting percentage at 15.0% (24 goals on 160 shots) . . . Was named First Star vs. Buffalo on April 8 after recording a goal and two assists . . . Missed 12 games from Feb. 19 through March 13 after sustaining a fractured right cheekbone and orbital bone at NY Rangers on Feb. 17 . . . Underwent surgery on Feb. 21 . . . Posted an assist at Atlanta on Feb. 3, his 100th point as a Flyer . . . His assist on Potulny's game-winning goal at NY Islanders on Jan. 2 was his 300th career NHL point . . . Missed six games from Oct. 30 through Nov. 11 due to a broken middle finger on his left hand sustained vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 28 . . . Signed a two-year contract extension on Nov. 29 . . . Has scored at least 20 goals in a season for the fourth time in his NHL career . . . Won the Yanick Dupre Class Guy Memorial Award for his contributions on and off the ice . . . Was Flyers' nominee for King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Flyers Career Regular Season Totals: 146 GP, 58-61-119, 136 PIM.

Single Game Regular Season Highs: Goals - 2 (three times); Assists - 2 (four times); Points - 3 (four times); Shots - 7 (twice); Plus/Minus - +3 (vs. CAR, 3/28/07); TOI - 23:26 (@ FLA, 12/27/06).

A decade later, Dupre's death still hurts, by John McGourty.

But they're in the playoffs!

Unlike my Bruins, the Flyers are going to the playoffs. But their recent performance is questionable. Two articles, both with quotes from Mike:

Flyers look less than playoff-ready in loss, by Ray Parrillo, 04.14.06.

"They showed us where we need to get at," Flyers winger Mike Knuble said after New Jersey won its ninth consecutive game and pulled into a fifth-place tie with the Flyers in the Eastern Conference. "They're priming for the playoffs, and we might be waiting to throw the switch a little bit, and we're running out of time.

"All is not lost," Knuble added. "We still have a game in hand, but, in my opinion, it's getting kind of urgent. It's not about the wins and losses, but about how we've been playing.

"This is a challenging time of the season, and it's frustrating as a player when you don't play your best when it's getting near crunch time," Knuble said. "And we're running out of time for the playoffs. We're extremely frustrated."

As playoffs near, are Flyers doing or dying? By Ashley Fox, 04.14.06.

"We all understand what's going on here and where we are in the standings," Mike Knuble said. "We all watch the standings. There aren't any excuses. I don't have one. I don't know why . . . In my opinion it's getting kind of urgent . . . We all want to be better.

"If this was midseason, well, you'd move on," Knuble said. "But it's frustrating as a player . . . We're running out of time."

Next game: Thursday.

Derian Hatcher is the new/temporary captain of the Flyers, pending Keith Primeau's return. That's all I have to say at the moment, other than that I still miss Mike in Boston!

P.S. Guess whose picture is at the Boston Herald?

Flyers @ NYR, 01.30.06.

Mike Knuble had an assist on the game-winning goal as Philadelphia beat the Rangers tonight, 3-2, in overtime. Two shots, even on the night.

Mike Knuble, blogger.

Catch up on Mike's player journal entries with the Philadelphia Flyers:

- Today (January 27th)
- January 24th
- January 16th
- January 10th
- January 4th
- January 1st
- December 27th

Flyers vs. Canadiens, 01.25.06.

Montreal ended its losing streak against the Flyers on Wednesday night, winning 5-3. Mike was kept off the scoresheet, but he didn't have any penalties, either.

Hey, hey!

Mike had the game-winning goal, an assist, and no penalties in tonight's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins! The goal was a nice backward shot from in front of the net, and Mr. Knuble was also the number one star of the game.

I can't ever do enough catch-up.

So you might be looking at some random entries coming up -- and mostly old news, at that!

Mike Knuble was named to the Olympic team, and Michigan posted the news, too. Mike will be the first pro player from Michigan to compete in the Olympics; he's the fifth Wolverine ever.

USA Hockey has a great photo of Mike, as well as some of the other players (see bottom of page).

Wow.

I haven't posted up the press from the Boston game or the links from the Islanders game yet, but for now let's just celebrate the Flyers beating the Panthers with 3.2 seconds left thanks to Mike's second goal of the game!

Quote, unquote.

From Home Ice Kind to Flyers So Far, 11.09.05:

“Our goal was to win all five [home games], and we’re kind of cruising through the schedule here,” said Mike Knuble. “It’s all about establishing the home presence and letting teams know that this is a tough place to win, and if they do they should feel pretty good about their game.”

A couple of the Flyers’ home wins this season have gone down to the wire, ending in a thrilling victory. All three of the teams’ overtime victories have come on home ice, including two games in which Philadelphia tied the game with less than a minute left in regulation.

“I think that’s the way the league is now,” said Knuble. “Teams are two or three goals down now going into the last period or various times in the game. Almost every team has probably been through it themselves where they have been able to come back and tie the game, if not pull it out. It’s just another step in building confidence in our team.”