Could you imagine an NHL coach telling his team not to be TOO physical? Well, Philadelphia Flyers coach John Stevens has had to just that after the fifth Flyers player was banned in Monday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
All Flyers fans will try to forget last season when Philadelphia had their worst season in franchise history, but that will be a hard feat to accomplish. You could never get over the gruesome beat downs- score wise as well as in the physical aspect. Now, all of a sudden the Flyers are off on a great note this year and are playing with some real internal fire and they are told to STOP! Granted being overally physical isn't always the way to bring life to your team but it has obviously been working thusfar for Philly.
My words of advice.....keep playing the way you have since the beginning of the season. It is true that the league has issued a warning to the team but what can they do? Expel the team from the league - I don't think so. So, the best that the Flyers can do right now is keep winning like they have been doing and try to bring down the excessive hits to a minimum but not totally obsolete.
| Player | Ban (in games) | Reason |
| Riley Cote | 3 | Shot to Head |
| Scott Hartnell | 2 | Check to Head |
| Randy Jones | 2 | Face-first Shot into boards |
| Jesse Boulerice | 25 | Hit to the Face |
| Steve Downie | 20 | High Hit to the Head |
