 on the memento. Snider's banner was sandwiched between the one celebrating the 1975 Stanley Cup championship and one for Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke. Clarke - widely considered the greatest Flyer. Members of Snider's family walked a black carpet and helped raise the banner that joined the same row that included ones for two Stanley Cup championships and five retired numbers. Snider was arguably the most influential executive in Philadelphia sports history. He was chairman of the 76ers basketball team, was once a part-owner of the Eagles football team, and had a hand in founding Comcast's local sports channel and the city's largest sports-talk radio station.'' Ed Snider will forever be a part of the Philadelphia Flyers,'' announcer Lou Nolan told the crowd. Snider received the loudest ovation during a memorial tribute to some of the franchise's greatest names. Pelle Lindbergh, Barry Ashbee, Roger Neilson, and ''God Bless America'' singer Kate Smith all were included. The video included a clip of the late voice of the Flyers Gene Hart saying his Philly famous phrase, ''Good night and good hockey.'' Nolan had scolded fans during last season's playoffs when they hurled promotional bracelets on the ice during a lopsided loss. He had urged fans to ''show some class'' during the first wave of band tossing. The Flyers issued a similar warning before the opener when they tried another bracelet giveaway as the attraction of a glitzy pregame show. The fans heeded the warning this time and keep the bracelets on their wrists instead of on the ice. On opening night, it still didn't take much to anger Flyers fans. Wagner scored the only goal of the first and the Flyers failed to convert on late power plays that let them get booed off the ice headed into intermission. Simmonds scored his third goal of the season and Read followed with his surprising fourth in the second to lift the Flyers to a 2-1 lead. Simmonds' goal came on the power play but the Flyers missed on six other attempts through two periods.'' They blocked shots. They cleared pucks,'' Perry said. ''They did everything they were asked to do. When you're killing penalties that's what you have to do.'' Perry did his part, too. He tied the game 2-all with 3:18 left in the second to match anemic Anaheim's highest goal total for a game this season. NOTES: The Ducks averaged 1.75 goals through the first four games. ... Flyers F Brayden Schenn returned from a three-game suspension. He served a suspension for a charging incident in last season's playoffs. UP NEXTDUCKS: The Ducks return from a season-opening five-game road trip on Sunday and host Vancouver in their home opener. FLYERS: Host Carolina on Saturday.)
Time: 07:00 P.M. EST Venue: Wells Fargo Center PHILADELPHIA -- A banner will be raised and a video tribute played Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, where the Philadelphia Flyers will play their first-ever season opener -- a scheduled 7 p.m. start against the Anaheim Ducks -- without their late founder, Ed Snider, who died in April after a long battle with bladder cancer. The Flyers dedicated their playoff series last year to Snider and fought valiantly in a six-game series defeat. They paid tribute to Snider in their home playoff opener and will do so again Thursday." He was the heart and soul of this organization," said suspended defenseman Radko Gudas on Wednesday, according to Calkins Media. "We appreciate everything he did for this team. The whole city wants to get another chance to thank him." I think this is a great opportunity to pay our respects to him." Snider's name will live on in the memories of many, and he'll have a special place alongside other Flyers banners hanging from the Wells Fargo Center ceiling." It's going to be a big night and I'm excited about it," said general manager Ron Hextall, per Calkins Media. "He certainly deserves it. Hopefully things go off well. I would like to win a game for him." The Flyers (1-1-1), coming off a 7-4 loss in Chicago, welcome back Brayden Schenn, who was suspended the first three games of the season for a hit he made in the playoffs last season. Schenn's return was supposed to help balance out Philadelphia's top three lines. But the Flyers learned Wednesday that first-line winger Michael Raffl would 10-14 days with what the team is calling an "upper-body injury." It was likely Schenn would take over for Raffl on the top line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds anyway, but now coach Dave Hakstol doesn't have to shake up much else with Raffl out. Philadelphia hosts a Ducks (0-3-1) team playing their fifth consecutive road game to start the year. They're still trying to find their first win after Tuesday's 2-1 loss in New Jersey. And Tuesday's loss was aided by a familiar theme in Anaheim: self-infliction. The Ducks, who have been outscored 12-7 to start the year, committed seven penalties, including five in the second period to drop their fourth straight game." We talked about it from the start of the season, that discipline was going to have to be a focal point for our group," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said, according to the Orange County Register. "And if we weren't going to be more disciplined -- and our history has been that we've been one of the most penalized or a majority of this group has been one of the most penalized teams minor-wise in the league -- you're not going to be a quality team, a playoff team if you're going to continue to do that." Per the Register, Carlyle put his team through a rough practice Wednesday." I really don't think you can be silent," Carlyle said. "You have to be matter of the fact and you have to be about why. What you're presenting. Why? ... The video doesn't lie in what we're doing." As we stated this morning, there's some areas that we designated that we want to improve on. Because obviously our offense hasn't been there. To carry our offense, we have to get stingier on the defensive side of it."
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