The 2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 39th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Buffalo Sabres in six games. Off-season The Flyers were one of the more active teams once the lockout came to an end. Replacing the high-profile names of Tony Amonte, John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick were superstar Peter Forsberg, along with defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje, as well as several players from the Calder Cup-winning Philadelphia Phantoms. When all was said and done, the team had experienced a turnover of nearly two-thirds of the roster. Regular season The Flyers began the season with lofty expectations. Despite being hampered by injuries prior to and during 2005–06, the Flyers lived up to those expectations in the first half of the season, reaching the top of the league standings in early January while simultaneously holding a nine-point lead in the Atlantic Division. The Deuces Wild line of Forsberg, Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble recorded 75, 79 and 65 points respectively, while Gagne scored a career high 47 goals. However, the injuries began to accumulate and take their toll. Keith Primeau suffered a concussion on October 25 in Montreal and missed the rest of the season and the playoffs. In late January, Hatcher was named team captain for the duration of Primeau's absence. All told, the Flyers were third in the NHL with 388-man-games lost to injury, tops amongst playoff teams. The second half of the regular season was defined by a record hovering around .500, sending the Flyers on a steady slide in the standings. The Flyers fell short of an Atlantic Division title finishing second by tie-breaker to the New Jersey Devils and drawing the 5th seed and a first round match-up with the Buffalo Sabres. Season standings Playoffs The Flyers lost to Buffalo in six games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Schedule and results Preseason |-style="background:#cfc;" | 1 || September 17 || Atlanta Thrashers || 8–6 || 1–0–0 || |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 || September 21 || New York Islanders || 2–1 || 2–0–0 || |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 || September 24 || Washington Capitals || 5–2 || 3–0–0 || |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 || September 27 || New York Islanders || 5–3 || 4–0–0 || |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 || September 29 || New Jersey Devils || 3–2 || 5–0–0 || |-