Here's a challenge for you, constant reader - find me the last time the Devils blew 2-0 leads in back to back games. Now find the last time it happened in back-to-back games against the same team.

I won't hold my breath.

This, friends, was a very good win for the Flyers. They were pretty sluggish. They mustered all of 15 shots on goal and just one in the third period, but they found a way. They found a way to down the Devils.

Simon Gagne was a demon on his last shift in overtime. He nearly scored twice before he actually got the game-winner. It's shifts like those that will help the Flyers get out of their offensive doldrums.

Don't be fooled by these two wins. The offense is still a bit in disarray, but while they are working out the kinks, the defense and goaltending has been very good and is carrying the team.

A few things of note:

- Gagne scored for the first time in 13 games and for only the second time since registering a hat trick in New York Dec. 30.

- Blair Betts won a crucial faceoff in the third period with the FLyers facing a two-man disadvantage. It allowed for them to clear the puck the length of the ice and kill off most of the penalty time.

- Braydon Coburn later made a nice diving clearing effort to clear the puck to kill off the end of the 5-on-4. That penalty kill seemed to rejuvenate the Flyers heading into overtime.

- The Flyers are now 4-1-0 this season against New Jersey. It feels strange to type it that way instead of the other way around.

- Michael Leighton won his 10th game of the season. He never won 10 games in a season in the NHL before.

- Speaking of Leighton, although it is a much smaller sample of games, he has a better goals against average and a better save percentage this season than Marty Brodeur. Leighton doesn't have enough starts to qualify, but if he did, his goals against average would be fourth in the NHL and his saver percentage seventh-best. Pretty solid work from a guy who was a Carolina throw-away.

- No news on Ray Emery yet - although he did practice this morning. No results from the MRI which is still the most difficult to interpret image in modern day medical history.

- Oh yeah, it snowed here too. A lot. Only 5,580 people showed up, which is a lot more than I thought would be there.

................................................

Now onto Jeff Carter, who admitted he took the call from Canadian Olympic G.M. Steve Yzerman today to get to Vancouver and be prepared to play for his country in the Olympics.

Carter is the first alternate for the Canadian team and might be thrust into duty if Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf doesn't recover from an ankle injury.

Here's Jeff:

"It was exciting to get the call," Carter said. "I wanted to make the team the first go-around, but just to get the call and know I have an opportunity to play is pretty exciting.
"He explained the situation to me. They're giving Getzlaf some time to see what happens. I'm just going to go out there and see what happens."