For the first time in his 26 years, Brandon Manning won't be spending his Christmas break in Prince George.
Professional hockey players don't get much time off for the holidays and with just three days away from the rink he's not venturing too far from Philadelphia, home of the Flyers, the hottest team in the NHL.
The Flyers (18-10-3) extended a winning streak to nine games Sunday in Detroit with a 1-0 overtime victory over the Red Wings. Brayden Schenn scored the only goal, 2:44 into overtime.
The Flyers are on their longest stretch of consecutive wins since 1985, when they won a team-record 13 straight. Now in his second full season as a regular on the Flyers blueline, Manning says the streak is the product of a total team effort.
"That's kind of been the story of the last couple weeks here, there's been guys in and out of the lineup and we've been scoring goals by committee," said Manning. "We've had good goaltending and our top guys have obviously been putting the puck in the net.
"At the start of the streak (a 5-3 win over Calgary Nov. 27) we had a rookie goaltender in (Anthony Stolarz) and it's been a bit of everything here. I think we have three of the top 10 scorers in the league (Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds). Obviously our confidence is pretty high right now. We're winning games in different ways and we're feeling pretty good about it."
Last Thursday in Philadelphia, Manning became the subject of league-wide scrutiny when he and Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid got into a heated verbal exchange on the ice in what ended as a 6-5 Flyers' victory.
McDavid, who taunted Manning after he scored the Oilers second goal, said Manning told him he intentionally tried to hurt him in a game in early November last season when they collided on the ice and both slid into the end boards. McDavid broke his collarbone and missed 37 games of his rookie season.
"Obviously there was still a little bad blood there from last year and things kind of escalated and got out of control," Manning said. "He kept coming after me two or three times after the whistle and he could have let it go early and put it to rest.
"I was a little disappointed in his comments after the game but like I said, I think anybody who knows me knows the way I play; I'm not out to hurt anybody. I think he's probably regretting changing his story there. For us, it's about moving forward and winning games. (The Flyers play in Edmonton Feb. 16) and we'll deal with it then, but we're not concerned about it now."
The Flyers play in Colorado tonight and in Dallas on Saturday, then have three games next week leading into the Christmas break. Manning plans to spend two of his three holiday days in New York City with his girlfriend from Prince George, SheaMarie Glass.
Manning lives in downtown Philadelphia and says he loves the lifestyle that comes with being a Flyer. All 18 games this season at Wells Fargo Center have been sold out and those 19,533 fans aren't shy about showing their love for their team.
"It's awesome - it doesn't matter if it's a Tuesday or a Sunday afternoon, they come out and support us," said Manning. "Even when you're on the road you see a lot of Flyers jerseys, a lot of Flyer fans around."
Some of them live in Prince George. Manning's mom, Paula, his aunt and two grandmothers came out to watch him in Philadelphia when the Flyers started their streak against Calgary but didn't get to see him play. He suffered a concussion in a game against the New York Rangers and missed three games.
Manning's dad, Leroy, spent 10 days with him on the Flyers' fathers trip and watched him play five games. The dads got to live the life of an NHL player, attending team meetings and video sessions. They watched the Chicago game Dec. 3 from the Flyers private suite then flew with them to Nashville to watch them play the Predators the following night.
Collectively, Flyers defencemen have more points than any other NHL team and Manning is reaping the rewards of more ice time and is drawing some power-play duty. He now has three goals and six assists for nine points in 27 games and has a minus-1 rating with 20 penalty minutes. In the first six games of the season Manning picked up four assists and he scored a game-winning goal against Carolina.
"Obviously being able to start the season and put up some points was nice and I just fed off that," he said. "I got some confidence playing down the stretch and in playoffs last year. I know it's only my second year in the NHL but I feel I've been around a long time and I'm really happy with the way it's gone and I'm trying to build on that.
"My skating the last few years has come a long way. When I had a few call-ups three or four years ago you realize how fast the game is, especially the way it is now with four really good lines. It's just understanding the way the game's played in the NHL, and once you get comfortable with that and more confident, things come a little easier as you get older."
Manning began his junior career as a 16-year-old with the Prince George Spruce Kings and went on to play four seasons in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins. He spent four years with the Flyers' AHL farm team before he became an NHL regular. Now he's living a dream of every hockey player, getting more confident with each game.
"You grow up watching it on TV, playing on outdoor rinks in Prince George, and everyone's hockey fans whether it's my parents or grandparents or my sisters or friends," Manning said. "It's pretty cool traveling to 29 different cities every year and having 20,000 people come to watch you perform every night. There's not many days it feels like an actual job. Your summers are off and you definitely can't beat the lifestyle."
