than it was 45 years ago http://www.officialoilers.com/authentic-adidas-connor-mcdavid-jersey , when the Broad Street Bullies ruled the ice with their fists.In the 1970s, the Philadelphia Flyers had guys like Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Bob “The Hound” Kelly and Andre “Moose” Dupont to not just beat opponents but beat them up, too.The current Flyers may still carry the “Bullies” nickname but they are hardly bullying anyone: They are one of only two teams in the NHL that has not been assessed a fighting major a quarter of the way through the season.The old Bullies can hardly believe it.“They’re two different animals, the way the game is today,” Kelly said. “With the rules today, you can’t hit anybody, you can’t verbally intimidate anybody, so that takes a lot out of it. You don’t have to fight anybody. The biggest thing you’re given is a face wash.”It’s no secret that fighting has been weeded out of the game over the years, but nobody expected the Flyers to be on the leading edge of the anti-pugilistic trend. With tough players like Wayne Simmonds, Radko Gudas and Dale Weise, Philadelphia isn’t exactly a group of shrinking violets. Even general manager Ron Hextall fought five times during his playing career and he was a goaltender.This is the latest in a season the Flyers have ever gone without an official NHL fighting penalty, eclipsing the previous record from 1967. That was the first year of existence for the franchise and it was before the players were beaten up in a brawl against the St. Louis Blues, an incident that prompted founder Ed Snider to demand a tough-as-nails approach.“We have a new mascot called Gritty now, and I think the Flyers’ fans expect that from then players to play like Gritty because of the name he has,” said Bullies-era defenseman Joe Watson, who believes the current team is more about finesse. “Fighting is a form of intimidation. … Players think twice of going in the corner with this guy or that guy because they might get a punch in the face or hit severely or so on and so forth, and it just doesn’t seem to happen right now. We do have guys that can handle themselves. I don’t know why it has happened this way. It’s hard to believe.”Philadelphia has no fighting majors and a 9-9-2 record through 20 games. While the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers lead the league with seven fights apiece, the Flyers and Arizona Coyotes are the only ones stuck on zero.“I think we’re team tough Milan Lucic Jersey Kids ,” Weise said. “I don’t think anyone takes advantage of us. I think if the situation arose, we’ve got a lot of guys that can handle themselves. But I just think the way hockey is going, you can’t take a stupid penalty (if you) go and get an instigator or something like that or get a roughing and put (another) team on the power play.”Philadelphia isn’t a small team, with players averaging 6-1 and 198 pounds, but Jakub Voracek said: “I really cannot say that we are big and tough if we don’t have a fight yet.”Maybe the answer lies in some of that size and toughness.“When you have a Wayne Simmonds on your team, I don’t think people want to fight him and it’s always good to have a guy like that who can play,” said Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, who holds the Flyers’ all-time penalty minutes record with 1,815 and 171 fights during his career. “If there had to be a fight, he’s a pretty good deterrent guy to have. I just don’t think anybody wants to fight Wayne Simmonds. That’s probably why there’s no fights.”Simmonds and his teammates have tried to goad opponents into fights and a handful of times have dropped their gloves only to find no willing dance partner. According to HockeyFights.com, less than 16 percent of games leaguewide this season have had a fight, down from 41 percent as recently as 2009-10.The NHL years ago sought to curb staged fights between enforcers, and even a lot of the fighting following big hits has decreased.In 2009-10, 171 games included more than one fight. Last season, only 41 games had more than one.“I don’t feel there’s any hate in the league anymore,” said Kelly, who dropped the gloves 97 times in the NHL. “The rules have definitely changed the whole game, the whole approach and it’s holding back a lot of the physicality that players used to play with. It’s not worth the fight, and unfortunately you have to watch your teammate skate off hurt or something because somebody gotcheap shot or did something and you just can’t afford to want to jump in and help out.”Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said people can debate whether the sport is better with less fighting Oscar Klefbom Jersey , but most agree there is still a purpose for it. Commissioner Gary Bettman has suggested an occasional fight keeps tensions from boiling over, something Tocchet agreed with.“The league’s trying to take control of the head injuries, the hitting from behind, the cheap stuff, sticking a guy behind his knee,” Tocchet said. “The NHL’s trying to clean that up, so you don’t need that deterrent of a guy going in there and policing (the game) himself. I still think that there’s still a need for fighting in certain places … The odd time a guy needs to be reminded that he can’t do the stuff he’s doing on the ice if things aren’t being called.” SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) James Reimer found a great way to celebrate his 30th birthday: He tied a season high with 46 saves to lead the Florida Panthers over the Boston Bruins 3-0 on Thursday night.”If that’s what happens on my birthday, I’ll take it every day,” Reimer said.Making his first start in six games, Reimer earned his third shutout of the season. Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist, and Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad also scored. Evgenii Dadonov added two assists.Florida moved within three points of idle New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers, who have won 11 of 13 at home, have two games in hand on the Devils.”It’s nice to get in a groove, get in a rhythm, when you haven’t played in a long time,” Reimer said. ”It’s big. We’re trying to catch some teams. We’ve got games in hand, which is nice, but those games are useless if you don’t win them.”Anton Khudobin stopped 25 shots for the Bruins http://www.officialoilers.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-nugent-hopkins-jersey , shut out for the first time since their second game of the season, a 4-0 loss to Colorado on Oct. 9. The Bruins are four points behind Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay, with one game in hand on the Lightning.”Give them credit, their goaltender credit, but sometimes it bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.The Panthers stretched their lead to 3-0 on a power-play goal by Trocheck with 5:53 left in the second period. Trocheck’s shot from the right circle went top shelf shot over Khudobin. Trocheck leads the team with 27 goals.”We’ve been in this situation before and you’re expecting that we’re going to be back in the game,” Khudobin said. ”But, unfortunately this wasn’t that day.”Aleksander Barkov’s assist gave him 70 points, making him the first Panthers player since Olli Jokinen (71) in 2007-08 with 70 points in a season.”I’ve got to thank my teammates for setting me up and playing really well with me,” Barkov said. ”I wouldn’t be there without them, but we still have 14 games left and all I think about is getting wins and getting to the playoffs.”The division foes will play three more times this season, and the game had the feel of a must-win for the Panthers.”With the race we’re in and the time left in the season, we couldn’t afford to lose two in a row, and we’re going on the road,” coach Bob Boughner said. ”It was important to get back in the win column and get some points on the board.”Ekblad made it 1-0 at 6:25 of the first when he swatted in a rebound out of midair past Khudobin. Dadonov made a cross-ice pass to Bjugstad in front and he pushed in the puck to make it 2-0 at 9:06.Bruins forward David Backes was assessed a match penalty for a first-period hit from behind on Trocheck. Backes didn’t agree with the call.”But it’s one of those things I can’t do anything about,” he said. ”I watched the rest of the game when I wished I could help my teammates win a game against a good team.”NOTES: Bruins D Zdeno Chara and LW Jake DeBrusk both missed the game with upper-body injuries sustained in Tuesday’s 6-4 win at Carolina. Boston recalled forward Anton Blidh and defenseman Paul Postma from Providence of the AHL. … Panthers D Alexander Petrovic was scratched with a lower-body injury. … C Frank Vatrano faced his former team for the first time since being traded from the Bruins to the Panthers on Feb. 22.UP NEXTBruins: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.Panthers: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.—