That's the old saying, and Cindy and friends learned the hard way why it's unlucky as their 12 game winning streak gets ended in style over on Broad Street. The only thing that would have made this night better is if Carcillo had ripped off Crosby's pathetic excuse for a mustache out by the roots and slapped him in the face with it. Everything else was pretty much clutch...including Boosh. Still haven't seen enough for me to jump on the Boosh bandwagon that seems to be sweeping the Phaithful like a disease, I know all too well that the guy gets hot and then he gets refused sex at home or something and he cools off...and quick. I'd love to believe that he's finally turned the proverbial corner but after being in the league for 11 years and still being a backup, I think it's safe to assume the collapse is coming at some point. But for now, he's kicking ass and I'm fucking loving it.
Actually what would have made the game better would have been Noodle and Hartnell not missing the open nets that were smiling at them, but other than that it was a pretty solid game. I had some bullshit finals today but I managed to get home about 5 minutes into the second period so I saw a little over half of the game. From what I saw the Flyers are finally bringing their A game, and they brought it against Shittsburgh which makes the win twice as sweet. Unfortunately they couldn't end that worthless pussy Crosby's point streak but as far as I'm concerned that's collateral damage. And how about my boy Zherdev....again. I swear this dude is gonna score like 30 goals and the last game of the season he's gonna go over to the bench and give Lavy the finger and tell him to go fuck himself. I'm not gonna go on another rant about how stupid it is to scratch a guy with his talent but when he's already put up 10 goals with his ice time, I'm left wondering what he would have to do to stay in the lineup permanently, let alone moving up from the 4th line.
My point to be made, besides the giant LOL at Shittsburgh for blowing a 12 game streak against their cross state rivals, is the difference between the 2 teams. It was a great chance to see how a team with 3 solid scoring lines and an energetic 4th line and a rock hard defense core stacked up against 2 superstars, a solid goaltender and basically nobody else.
I looked at the rosters for both teams, when you look at the Flyers side you see, Richards, Carter, Giroux, Briere, Zherdev, JVR, Pronger, Timonen, O'donnell, Meszaros, and Leino. All or at least most of these names are pretty well known around the league, Richards has been tormenting the other 29 teams with his perfectly executed open ice hits and is currently leading the league in active players with shorties since the lockout. Carter is a bum but he's a high scoring bum, Groo...'nuff said, Briere has been a force ever since entering the league and was the captain in Buffalo so they know him well. Zherdev was always near the top of the charts for Colombus and was the Rags' leading goal scorer before he bolted for Russia. JVR was a 2nd overall pick a couple years ago and is starting to turn into a pretty decent power forward. Pronger...well he's Pronger. Timonen is the best Fin defensemen in like forever, O'donnell is so old and has been in the league so long that everybody that follows hockey is guaranteed to have seen him play at least 50 times. Meszaros was a first rounder for Ottawa and put up pretty good numbers there, and him and O'donnell are near or at the top in +/- this season and Leino is just pure fucking sexyness on skates.
When you look at the roster for the flightless birds it's a little thinner to say the least. You've got the obvious Cindy, Malkin and Fleury but after that...you really have to be a Shittsburgh "fan" to know anything about the rest of the players. Us Philly fans are, of course, familiar with some of the names like Letang, Asham...but then again everyone else in the Atlantic Division is familiar with that pussy, Martin, Orpik and maybe Letestu considering he was born in Philly. But we really don't know too much about these guys, and it's not just because Cindy is on their team either as most people outside Shittsburgh would suggest. We don't know much about them because they're not worth the effort of bothering to learn. I was made familiar with a pretty interesting stat today, not one of the players besides Cindy and Malkin have over 10 goals...not a single one, and the only reason Malkin makes the double digit list is because of the 2 goals he got tonight. Also...Crosby has like 53 points or something this season, which is impressive, as much as it pains me to say and the next closest guy has 27 points. Are we noticing a pattern here?
When you look at the Flyers, they have 5 players that have 20 points or more and 5 players with 10 goals or more. The team is so much more balanced than the other team that dares to reside in Pennsylvania. We have crisp passers and gifted shooters, we also have probably one of the most exciting lines to watch in Briere, Hartnell and Leino. Sure it's interesting to see some of the moves that Crosby can do, and sure he's an elite player....but what happens if he gets hurt? Who will the Penguins turn to then? If he got some kind of injury that kept him out long term (we can only pray), Shittsburgh would be in some real trouble...like possibly missing the playoffs trouble. If Briere or Giroux got hurt...yea it would definitely hurt the team but we'd survive. We certianly wouldn't go into every game praying for a miracle for us to win. Putting so much pressure on one guy to perform is a pretty stupid strategy in my opinion. Eventually he's gonna burn out or he's gonna get hurt and then the team is gonna suffer like no other. But that's their problem and not ours, good solid win for the boys in black tonight. Hopefully they can keep it up against that piece of shit Subban and his butt buddy Price tomorrow night....for now:
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Our Bud Light Player of the Game is.......Boucher?
Yea I said it...Boucher. Anybody who either knows me or has read any of my previous posts knows that I like Boucher slightly more than Cindy, but I give respect when it's due and Boosh earned it tonight...wow what a game for no. 33. It's games like this that drive me up a fucking wall about this guy...he's capable of playing the way he did today but the next game he plays he'll probably fall back into the old Boosh we're so used to seeing. But enough of trashing him for tonight, let him bask in his glory for getting the W over that machine the B's got in between their pipes.
Tonight was pretty much as close to textbook Flyers hockey as you'll get. Superb puck movement, good solid checks, crisp passing, nice grinding in the corner, winning puck battles and just pure hustle...we also had the added bonus of supreme goaltending, all in all, it was an excellent day to be a fan of the boys in Orange and Black. Prongs made a pretty rookie mistake that led to the lone B's goal but Richie finally made an OT goal count (lol!) and the boys got their 2 points that they deserved. Even if they had lost, it really was one hell of a game to watch, great pace and awesome emotion in the whole game.
Moving on, Shelley made his case for him to be scratched when he gets back from his almost certain suspension he earned himself tonight. As much as I love our Flyers and hate all other teams, you don't push an opposing player from behind and send him face first into the boards...ever. One of my old coaches from my playing days told us if we ever hit someone in their numbers we would be doing nothing but sprints during practice and be sitting out for as many games as he saw fit, I believe Lavy should adopt this policy. This would solve some of the roster problems the Flyboyz have been having lately, at least for a little while.
Leighton is scheduled for a return tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, the CBA only allows for 1 extension on a conditioning assignment so he'll be making his return by the time Cindy and friends roll into town on Tuesday. Holmer, in all his infinite wisdom has gone on the record saying he wants to roll 3 goaltenders when Leights gets back. When we're already scratching a player every game because of roster issues, does it really make sense to add another bench warmer? No, not really. Unlike other bloggers I'm not gonna give my 2 cents on what I think they should do about the goalies, obviously I think Bobo should stay but as for the other 2...as much as I don't like Boosh, he's gettin shit done so far this season and Leighton hasn't played an actual game against NHLers since the preseason. It should be interesting to say the least over the next few weeks to see who goes where, but whatever Holmer decides, it better be the right call.
Zherdev was a healthy scratch again tonight, that pissed me off something fierce when I heard it...partly because he's in my fantasy league and I forgot to bench him before the game started so I had a useless player in my line up. But it mostly got under my skin because Zherdev seems to be paying a price for actually putting up some points while having to play with Betts and Shelley for most of his games. Yes, I understand he takes shifts off...yes, I understand that he's pretty irresponsible defensively...yes, he is a prick that doesn't talk to the media almost at all, or his mates for that matter...but as far as I know, we didn't bring him here to do any of those things. He was brought here to score goals, which he is doing. Holmer knew damn well when he signed him that he had attitude problems and could be lazy from time to time and wasn't really a 2 way player, but he still signed him and he did it for him to put the puck in the net. He's 5th on the team in goals scored with 9, a pretty impressive stat when you factor in he sees somewhere around 10-12 minutes a game. Seriously what else does the guy have to do? He's making the best with what he's got, he was given a brief opportunity early on to play with Groo and JVR but got banished to the 4th line pretty quickly and has either been there or the pressbox ever since. If I were him, I'd probably have an attitude problem too. He's no Ovechkin but he's definitely not 4th line material, hopefully he gets a chance to "redeem" himself and gets a permanent position on one of the higher lines with a gifted passer so he can start putting the puck in the net even more than he is now. Let's not forget that this guy is a rental, he's only here for 1 year. We're not gonna change his game, why would he change when he knows he's not gonna get a job next year unless he somehow nets 50 goals or something like that? It's not our job to try and shape him up, it's our job to take advantage of his over developed hockey skills so we can dominate the opposition. He's good but as far as I know, you can't score from the pressbox.
Tonight was pretty much as close to textbook Flyers hockey as you'll get. Superb puck movement, good solid checks, crisp passing, nice grinding in the corner, winning puck battles and just pure hustle...we also had the added bonus of supreme goaltending, all in all, it was an excellent day to be a fan of the boys in Orange and Black. Prongs made a pretty rookie mistake that led to the lone B's goal but Richie finally made an OT goal count (lol!) and the boys got their 2 points that they deserved. Even if they had lost, it really was one hell of a game to watch, great pace and awesome emotion in the whole game.
Moving on, Shelley made his case for him to be scratched when he gets back from his almost certain suspension he earned himself tonight. As much as I love our Flyers and hate all other teams, you don't push an opposing player from behind and send him face first into the boards...ever. One of my old coaches from my playing days told us if we ever hit someone in their numbers we would be doing nothing but sprints during practice and be sitting out for as many games as he saw fit, I believe Lavy should adopt this policy. This would solve some of the roster problems the Flyboyz have been having lately, at least for a little while.
Leighton is scheduled for a return tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, the CBA only allows for 1 extension on a conditioning assignment so he'll be making his return by the time Cindy and friends roll into town on Tuesday. Holmer, in all his infinite wisdom has gone on the record saying he wants to roll 3 goaltenders when Leights gets back. When we're already scratching a player every game because of roster issues, does it really make sense to add another bench warmer? No, not really. Unlike other bloggers I'm not gonna give my 2 cents on what I think they should do about the goalies, obviously I think Bobo should stay but as for the other 2...as much as I don't like Boosh, he's gettin shit done so far this season and Leighton hasn't played an actual game against NHLers since the preseason. It should be interesting to say the least over the next few weeks to see who goes where, but whatever Holmer decides, it better be the right call.
Zherdev was a healthy scratch again tonight, that pissed me off something fierce when I heard it...partly because he's in my fantasy league and I forgot to bench him before the game started so I had a useless player in my line up. But it mostly got under my skin because Zherdev seems to be paying a price for actually putting up some points while having to play with Betts and Shelley for most of his games. Yes, I understand he takes shifts off...yes, I understand that he's pretty irresponsible defensively...yes, he is a prick that doesn't talk to the media almost at all, or his mates for that matter...but as far as I know, we didn't bring him here to do any of those things. He was brought here to score goals, which he is doing. Holmer knew damn well when he signed him that he had attitude problems and could be lazy from time to time and wasn't really a 2 way player, but he still signed him and he did it for him to put the puck in the net. He's 5th on the team in goals scored with 9, a pretty impressive stat when you factor in he sees somewhere around 10-12 minutes a game. Seriously what else does the guy have to do? He's making the best with what he's got, he was given a brief opportunity early on to play with Groo and JVR but got banished to the 4th line pretty quickly and has either been there or the pressbox ever since. If I were him, I'd probably have an attitude problem too. He's no Ovechkin but he's definitely not 4th line material, hopefully he gets a chance to "redeem" himself and gets a permanent position on one of the higher lines with a gifted passer so he can start putting the puck in the net even more than he is now. Let's not forget that this guy is a rental, he's only here for 1 year. We're not gonna change his game, why would he change when he knows he's not gonna get a job next year unless he somehow nets 50 goals or something like that? It's not our job to try and shape him up, it's our job to take advantage of his over developed hockey skills so we can dominate the opposition. He's good but as far as I know, you can't score from the pressbox.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's Miller Time
But not for a good reason. Boy the Phaithful are really gonna need to drown their sorrows after tonight's debacle...wow was that painful to watch. I didn't get to see the first and walked in right as they were showing Leino's goal on the replay before the faceoff. Seriously boys...what happened?
They seemed to have a little jump after Leino's goal, and they really had some life after my boy Zherdev's goal. The last good thing to happen in that game was the sick drop pass from Vils to Carle and the almost lazy tip in by Sideshow Bob to take a 3 goal lead. If I had known what was coming next I would have went right to the liquor store and bought myself a nice big bottle of Jack or some Captain Private Stock (yumm) so I didnt' feel like throwing my brand new flat screen across the room. Now we have a bit of an idea of how the B's fans felt last season after their team choked on the biggest dick in recent NHL history. The Sharks scored 3 unanswered goals in what like 3 minutes or some shit like that? Granted 2 of them were on a powerplay if I remember correctly and one of them was like 4 seconds after one had ended but still, that's just unacceptable.
Now I know many of you are gonna turn and point at the more than questionable officiating, and you'd be right to a degree. The Sharks most definitely got away with a couple, especially in the overtime, and the Flyers had a couple...let's say soft calls go against them but seriously guys, you can't blame the complete lack of effort and total break down totally on the zebras. Even Bobrovsky looked a little shaky tonight in goal, wouldn't surprised if it was Doosh in net tomorrow. Me and a buddy of mine had a theory that Lavy had a giant dildo in the locker room that he used on players that played badly on any given night, well tonight everybody's gonna be getting a go. It's a shame that we have to be so hard on them, for the first...45 minutes or so it was a pretty decent game. That last 15 minutes was so bad that it just completely overshadows all the positives from earlier in the game.
When that not so buzzer beating goal went in in overtime I knew something was up, when they Flyers are playing that terribly they never get any kind of break and end up pulling the game out of their asses. And does anybody else think that Groo just completely gave up in the shootout?? Where was the dangles...drop your shoulder...head fake...deke at least for christ sakes, he just walked right in and winged it wide. That was probably the worst part of the game for me. If anything I thought if the Flyers could hold off until the shootout the had a decent shot, Nitty isn't really that good and our shootout guys could have made short work of him....but yet again, I was wrong.
Tonight's positive: tonight's almost over and they play Toronto tomorrow.
That should be an easy bounce back game for them but it's Philly, you just never know.
They seemed to have a little jump after Leino's goal, and they really had some life after my boy Zherdev's goal. The last good thing to happen in that game was the sick drop pass from Vils to Carle and the almost lazy tip in by Sideshow Bob to take a 3 goal lead. If I had known what was coming next I would have went right to the liquor store and bought myself a nice big bottle of Jack or some Captain Private Stock (yumm) so I didnt' feel like throwing my brand new flat screen across the room. Now we have a bit of an idea of how the B's fans felt last season after their team choked on the biggest dick in recent NHL history. The Sharks scored 3 unanswered goals in what like 3 minutes or some shit like that? Granted 2 of them were on a powerplay if I remember correctly and one of them was like 4 seconds after one had ended but still, that's just unacceptable.
Now I know many of you are gonna turn and point at the more than questionable officiating, and you'd be right to a degree. The Sharks most definitely got away with a couple, especially in the overtime, and the Flyers had a couple...let's say soft calls go against them but seriously guys, you can't blame the complete lack of effort and total break down totally on the zebras. Even Bobrovsky looked a little shaky tonight in goal, wouldn't surprised if it was Doosh in net tomorrow. Me and a buddy of mine had a theory that Lavy had a giant dildo in the locker room that he used on players that played badly on any given night, well tonight everybody's gonna be getting a go. It's a shame that we have to be so hard on them, for the first...45 minutes or so it was a pretty decent game. That last 15 minutes was so bad that it just completely overshadows all the positives from earlier in the game.
When that not so buzzer beating goal went in in overtime I knew something was up, when they Flyers are playing that terribly they never get any kind of break and end up pulling the game out of their asses. And does anybody else think that Groo just completely gave up in the shootout?? Where was the dangles...drop your shoulder...head fake...deke at least for christ sakes, he just walked right in and winged it wide. That was probably the worst part of the game for me. If anything I thought if the Flyers could hold off until the shootout the had a decent shot, Nitty isn't really that good and our shootout guys could have made short work of him....but yet again, I was wrong.
Tonight's positive: tonight's almost over and they play Toronto tomorrow.
That should be an easy bounce back game for them but it's Philly, you just never know.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Too Close For Comfort
I'll never ever understand how on earth the Flyers can dominate teams like...Minnesota, New Jersey, Ottawa, Carolina and so on, but come close to losing to the fucking Islanders. Like I said earlier, Philadelphia's biggest Achilles Heel is and always has been inconsistency.
The first period was pretty close to textbook Flyers hockey. Crisp puck movement, getting to loose pucks, winning the battles in the corners...basically everything you're supposed to do in professional hockey. But jesus christ did things go south after the start of the second period. Some of the sloppiest plays ever, turnovers galore and just generally looking like they were confused as to what the object of hockey was. Then the 3rd period rolled around and things started out just as horrible. Finally Zherdev fucked up royally and didn't pick up the trailing guy, I think it was Parenteau, who shot a beautifully placed one-timer past Bobo. Then like 36 seconds later the freakin' Isles scored again, definitely looked like a weak goal but the damn whistle blew before the puck crossed the line so it shouldn't have counted.
Ok, if you're feeling like taking a game off and not showing up, it might as well be against the Jersey Shore on skates...but seriously don't make it look like they'll actually beat you. Apart from just being plain old bad, 2 of their only 3 decent players are injured so it's not even like they have a single line that's dangerous. Come on, when Jon Sim is on your first powerplay unit, your team is pretty fuckin bad. A team like that has no business almost topping a team that has Zherdev playing the 4th line. They meet the Isles 6 times this season, that's a guaranteed 12 points on the season...they need to take care of business a little better. We all remember what happened last season, they blew the easy games in the beginning of the season and had to fight tooth and nail just to make the playoffs last year...let's not pull the same shit this year.
Teams it's acceptable to lose to: Shittsburgh, Washington, Tampa, Detroit, San Jose, Vancouver and probably a couple others that I can't think of right now. Most of the rest of the league is either in rebuild mode, just straight up sucks, or they have 1 or 2 good players that basically carry the entire team..such as Lundqvist in NY or Cindy, Malkin and Fleury in Shittsburgh. And when you have to play Washington, Tampa, and Shittsburgh at least 4 times a year...you take advantage of all the give me games.
Let's not take away from the fact that they did win, and they did pick up the 4/4 points for the weekend regardless...they just didn't do it in the way that they are capable of. They better show up ready to play on Wednesday or it's gonna be a long long night
Now That's More Like It
Well it's about good goddamn time. Never thought I'd be saying anything after beating the D's besides "of course they won", but the way things were going...any win is a great win. They finally picked up their game, but there's still much more left to be desired from this team. Yes they won, but remember, it's only the Devils.
They still had mediocre to decent puck movement and, once again, their powerplay was god awful. I'm not too sure what happened to be honest with you, one week it's working like a well greased engine, the next week it's in some serious need of WD-40. It seems like all their hockey sense just goes completely out the window when they go a man up. As a former hockey player myself, I wish I had some kind of "hockey guru" wisdom for you guys but shit like this never happened to me so I'm just as confused and frustrated as anybody else.
Their 5 on 5 was pretty on their game, as much as I hate to say it, Jeff Carter was one of the biggest presences out on the ice today. It's no secret to anybody that knows me that I'm not happy with Carter getting such an extension but at least he can produce when he feels like it. The big story from the afternoon was definitely the play of Mike Richards. The dude was throwin his weight around and setting up plays all over the place today, but that is really to be expected out of him. I was definitely not one of the people saying that we should take away his C last season, and he shut up everyone in the playoffs last season and has continued to lead by example this season.
And thank everything holy that Claudie got on the board tonight, after him tearing shit up over the first 18 games or so he's seen a definite drop in his production. He seemed like a new animal today, he was hitting everything that moved and piledrived that loose puck home into the empty net with what looked like unnecessary force...but damn if it didn't feel good to see the old Groo back out there again. What really gets on my nerves and disappoints me is what's goin on with Zherdev.
It's not his play that's really bugging me, it's his ice time and lack of support that he always seems to get. Sticking him on the 4th line is kind of a slap in the face to the enigma. After his benching he came back with what looked like new life and has kept it going, for the most part, every game. He's being a lot more physical and his dangles are awesome as always, but he's still spending a majority of his time with Betts and Shelley. Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints with Betts or Shelley but they're nowhere even close to having the skills that Zherdev has. Yes, today he did spend some time with Groo and Carter but for the most part he's been banished to the 4th line. He's basically being set up to fail...fans and the management will get on him for him not producing, but really how much is he supposed to produce when he's getting around 10 minutes a game on average? When he does see some increased ice time, I've noticed that if he gets the puck it's usually him vs. 4 of the other team and he's either forced to try and dangle through all of them, which never happens, or he just puts the puck in deep and goes off on a change.
Personally I think that Powe should move back to his position and Zherdev can move up to the 3rd line. I absolutely love Powe, the guy has a heart of gold and is always taking the body and sacrificing himself to make plays but lets face it...he's not really putting up a lot of points. He doesn't have to move back forever, but I really think Zherdev needs to see some steadily increased ice time with more capable line mates for at least 2 weeks. I can almost guarantee his production will go up noticeably.
Tomorrow is the Isles and seriously, I can't even begin to fathom how they could lose so this weekend is looking like a good one.
They still had mediocre to decent puck movement and, once again, their powerplay was god awful. I'm not too sure what happened to be honest with you, one week it's working like a well greased engine, the next week it's in some serious need of WD-40. It seems like all their hockey sense just goes completely out the window when they go a man up. As a former hockey player myself, I wish I had some kind of "hockey guru" wisdom for you guys but shit like this never happened to me so I'm just as confused and frustrated as anybody else.
Their 5 on 5 was pretty on their game, as much as I hate to say it, Jeff Carter was one of the biggest presences out on the ice today. It's no secret to anybody that knows me that I'm not happy with Carter getting such an extension but at least he can produce when he feels like it. The big story from the afternoon was definitely the play of Mike Richards. The dude was throwin his weight around and setting up plays all over the place today, but that is really to be expected out of him. I was definitely not one of the people saying that we should take away his C last season, and he shut up everyone in the playoffs last season and has continued to lead by example this season.
And thank everything holy that Claudie got on the board tonight, after him tearing shit up over the first 18 games or so he's seen a definite drop in his production. He seemed like a new animal today, he was hitting everything that moved and piledrived that loose puck home into the empty net with what looked like unnecessary force...but damn if it didn't feel good to see the old Groo back out there again. What really gets on my nerves and disappoints me is what's goin on with Zherdev.
It's not his play that's really bugging me, it's his ice time and lack of support that he always seems to get. Sticking him on the 4th line is kind of a slap in the face to the enigma. After his benching he came back with what looked like new life and has kept it going, for the most part, every game. He's being a lot more physical and his dangles are awesome as always, but he's still spending a majority of his time with Betts and Shelley. Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints with Betts or Shelley but they're nowhere even close to having the skills that Zherdev has. Yes, today he did spend some time with Groo and Carter but for the most part he's been banished to the 4th line. He's basically being set up to fail...fans and the management will get on him for him not producing, but really how much is he supposed to produce when he's getting around 10 minutes a game on average? When he does see some increased ice time, I've noticed that if he gets the puck it's usually him vs. 4 of the other team and he's either forced to try and dangle through all of them, which never happens, or he just puts the puck in deep and goes off on a change.
Personally I think that Powe should move back to his position and Zherdev can move up to the 3rd line. I absolutely love Powe, the guy has a heart of gold and is always taking the body and sacrificing himself to make plays but lets face it...he's not really putting up a lot of points. He doesn't have to move back forever, but I really think Zherdev needs to see some steadily increased ice time with more capable line mates for at least 2 weeks. I can almost guarantee his production will go up noticeably.
Tomorrow is the Isles and seriously, I can't even begin to fathom how they could lose so this weekend is looking like a good one.
Friday, December 3, 2010
You've Been Thomas(d)
Good thing this isn't baseball...3 strikes and you're out in that sport. The boys in black dropped their 3rd game straight on Wednesday, and the douchebags up in Bean Town couldn't be happier. After the ultimate shitting of the bed by the B's in the playoffs last season, you better believe there was some bad blood...at least on the Boston side of things (there definitely is with their fans, my cousin lives in Boston and he hasn't spoken to me since that happened). For most of the Philly fans, at least this one, Boston has been little more than a pain in the ass for quite a while now.
Whether this attitude extends to the players isn't clear but by the 3-0 score...it's possible. I actually got into a little disagreement with a guy at my gym today, he was talkin' a little shit on the flyboyz and I said Thomas was an absolute wall, but he was quick to say it was all the Flyers' fault. I think it's probably a good idea to point out that I only saw the last period, had a damn class last night, but from what I saw...wouldn't have cared much if I missed the whole thing. The gym dick had a good point...from what I saw the Flyers didn't really bring out all the stops like they should have to rub the Bruins faces in the dirt again. But I had a better point, and my point is simply...Tim Thomas.
Dude has been an absolute brick wall the entire season, I think getting kicked out of his starting job by the wonder-finn last season lit a fire under his ass or something 'cause he's come out of the gate swinging. After 17 starts and you have a 1.44 GAA, a .956 SV% and 5 shutouts...well damn, I can't even think of a comparison or analogy to describe that godlyness. Maybe he's on a hot streak, maybe he's the real deal..who knows. He won the Veznia 2 years ago so he's definitely an elite goalie, I've just never seen such insane numbers this far into the season. It warms the soul to know that he's an American also, the sport is dominated by all those damn Canadians and Europeans, it's nice to see an American taking the rest of the league to school for a change. The Boston fans must be feeling pretty good right now but let's not forget my friends...they may have won the battle...but we won the war, they're the ones going down in history as choke artists. Ok enough about Boston...
Positive from the game...Bobo was kickin a little ass as usual...that's about it.
With yesterday and today off, the Flyers have a little bit of work to do. Powerplay is probably the biggest one but almost equally as big...finding their game again. I said it last time, when they're on...they're definitely one of the most dangerous teams in league history, but lately we've been seeing the other end of the spectrum (no pun intended). Luckily there is a bit of good news, they have a very easy weekend. I know we didn't exactly do well against Jersey last week but hopefully that was the kick in the ass they needed so they won't take it easy on the D's again. Then Sunday it's the Isles...don't really think I have to say much about them besides, charity points. There's absolutely no reason to get 4/4 points this weekend. But let us not forget...this is Philly, we're experts at blowing give-me games. I told my uncle Tom if they don't get all 4 points this weekend, I would drink myself into a coma...he told me I better head to the liquor store.
Apart from my 16 year old uncle telling me I better start drinking being really funny, it also kind of pissed me off. Not at him but at the attitude we Philly fans have come to have. When your team is so good, there really isn't any reason for you to even bat an eyelash at the likes of the Devils or the Isles...but I find myself wondering whether or not I actually should head to the liquor store. As Philly fans, we've gotten used to the nerves that come up, even before the easy games. Maybe that's why we have such a passionate following, because you really do never know what's gonna happen over on Broad Street.
Predictions for the games this weekend: Saturday-Flyers: 5 Devils: 1...Sunday-Flyers: 6 Isles: 2
And for any Boston fan that for some reason is reading this, don't get too cocky...remember this?
Whether this attitude extends to the players isn't clear but by the 3-0 score...it's possible. I actually got into a little disagreement with a guy at my gym today, he was talkin' a little shit on the flyboyz and I said Thomas was an absolute wall, but he was quick to say it was all the Flyers' fault. I think it's probably a good idea to point out that I only saw the last period, had a damn class last night, but from what I saw...wouldn't have cared much if I missed the whole thing. The gym dick had a good point...from what I saw the Flyers didn't really bring out all the stops like they should have to rub the Bruins faces in the dirt again. But I had a better point, and my point is simply...Tim Thomas.
Dude has been an absolute brick wall the entire season, I think getting kicked out of his starting job by the wonder-finn last season lit a fire under his ass or something 'cause he's come out of the gate swinging. After 17 starts and you have a 1.44 GAA, a .956 SV% and 5 shutouts...well damn, I can't even think of a comparison or analogy to describe that godlyness. Maybe he's on a hot streak, maybe he's the real deal..who knows. He won the Veznia 2 years ago so he's definitely an elite goalie, I've just never seen such insane numbers this far into the season. It warms the soul to know that he's an American also, the sport is dominated by all those damn Canadians and Europeans, it's nice to see an American taking the rest of the league to school for a change. The Boston fans must be feeling pretty good right now but let's not forget my friends...they may have won the battle...but we won the war, they're the ones going down in history as choke artists. Ok enough about Boston...
Positive from the game...Bobo was kickin a little ass as usual...that's about it.
With yesterday and today off, the Flyers have a little bit of work to do. Powerplay is probably the biggest one but almost equally as big...finding their game again. I said it last time, when they're on...they're definitely one of the most dangerous teams in league history, but lately we've been seeing the other end of the spectrum (no pun intended). Luckily there is a bit of good news, they have a very easy weekend. I know we didn't exactly do well against Jersey last week but hopefully that was the kick in the ass they needed so they won't take it easy on the D's again. Then Sunday it's the Isles...don't really think I have to say much about them besides, charity points. There's absolutely no reason to get 4/4 points this weekend. But let us not forget...this is Philly, we're experts at blowing give-me games. I told my uncle Tom if they don't get all 4 points this weekend, I would drink myself into a coma...he told me I better head to the liquor store.
Apart from my 16 year old uncle telling me I better start drinking being really funny, it also kind of pissed me off. Not at him but at the attitude we Philly fans have come to have. When your team is so good, there really isn't any reason for you to even bat an eyelash at the likes of the Devils or the Isles...but I find myself wondering whether or not I actually should head to the liquor store. As Philly fans, we've gotten used to the nerves that come up, even before the easy games. Maybe that's why we have such a passionate following, because you really do never know what's gonna happen over on Broad Street.
Predictions for the games this weekend: Saturday-Flyers: 5 Devils: 1...Sunday-Flyers: 6 Isles: 2
And for any Boston fan that for some reason is reading this, don't get too cocky...remember this?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Bit of Bullshit from the Weekend
It's been a couple days since the last post...my new golden retriever demands a shit load of attention so coming up with articles has become a bit tricky. Since he's asleep right now I can finally put in a few words about the last game.
Hate to say "I told you so" but....I told you so. They came up to The Rock and lost, to the Devils....THE DEVILS! It seemed to me that they didn't learn too much from the terrible game they played on Friday, they showed up with some of the same lackluster effort and sloppy play. They were simply outworked in the 1st period, resulting in Boosh letting in yet another soft goal on a bad angle shot by Adam Mair. This guy kills me, he really does...Boosh is capable of making great saves (for example: he robbed Kovalfuck twice that game and slammed the door after Mair scored to keep the Flyers in the game), but then he lets in goals that a damn pee wee goalie would save. But enough about him, for all intents and purposes, he played a pretty good game.
The offense showed some signs of life during a good portion of the game but was unable to generate any really sustained pressure. Once again I would have rather started punching myself in the sack than watch the powerplay unit. They did finally tally in the 3rd but I think that was more of a lucky bounce than anything. Game goes to overtime...goes to a shootout...Flyers lose...ok enough with the news part.
Seriously...what the fuck is going on with the Flyers lately? The name of the game is inconsistency, inconsistent effort...inconsistent powerplay...inconsistent everything pretty much. When this team is clicking, it's one of the most dangerous teams...probably in NHL history. They're so deep, so quick and so skilled, when they're on their game it's like watching the levy's in New Orleans try to hold back the flood. When they're off their game...it's like being strapped to a chair with your eyes taped open and being forced to watch Kazaam over and over again. For real, I don't recall ever seeing a team with such bi-polar play before...they're either fantastic...or they suck more than Cindy does every night, there's really no middle ground. For example, they beat Shittsburgh and the Washington Bandwagons...but they lose to New Jersey. If you have the talent to beat the first two, the Devils should be a walk in the park.
Here in might lie the problem...they're good...they know it...they might not have to show up every night, especially with the weak teams in the league. This is exactly the type of attitude that can kill a season. Weak team or not, they're still a professional hockey team and need to be treated as such. They need to come out every game with the same kind of intensity they show regularly when they play the Rags, Shittsburgh...any of their big rival teams. When they play to the level that they're capable of, and sustain it, it's almost a guaranteed victory.
The Flyers have the right tools to win this year...all the need to do is find the motivation to do so. With the amazing line of Briere-Hartnell-Leino and with the Richie-Noodle-JVR line showing good chemistry lately and Groo-Carter-Zherdev...there's no reason that this team can't comfortably break 100 pts. for the season and get an easy 1st seed in the East and probably the entire league. Philly has always had a problem with consistency, but in a year where they really do have a legitimate shot at repeating an appearance in the Finals...they can ill afford to let the problems of the past take hold in the present. You know when the season's over, and all we Phaithful say "Well...there's always next year.." well, this year is next year.
Hate to say "I told you so" but....I told you so. They came up to The Rock and lost, to the Devils....THE DEVILS! It seemed to me that they didn't learn too much from the terrible game they played on Friday, they showed up with some of the same lackluster effort and sloppy play. They were simply outworked in the 1st period, resulting in Boosh letting in yet another soft goal on a bad angle shot by Adam Mair. This guy kills me, he really does...Boosh is capable of making great saves (for example: he robbed Kovalfuck twice that game and slammed the door after Mair scored to keep the Flyers in the game), but then he lets in goals that a damn pee wee goalie would save. But enough about him, for all intents and purposes, he played a pretty good game.
The offense showed some signs of life during a good portion of the game but was unable to generate any really sustained pressure. Once again I would have rather started punching myself in the sack than watch the powerplay unit. They did finally tally in the 3rd but I think that was more of a lucky bounce than anything. Game goes to overtime...goes to a shootout...Flyers lose...ok enough with the news part.
Seriously...what the fuck is going on with the Flyers lately? The name of the game is inconsistency, inconsistent effort...inconsistent powerplay...inconsistent everything pretty much. When this team is clicking, it's one of the most dangerous teams...probably in NHL history. They're so deep, so quick and so skilled, when they're on their game it's like watching the levy's in New Orleans try to hold back the flood. When they're off their game...it's like being strapped to a chair with your eyes taped open and being forced to watch Kazaam over and over again. For real, I don't recall ever seeing a team with such bi-polar play before...they're either fantastic...or they suck more than Cindy does every night, there's really no middle ground. For example, they beat Shittsburgh and the Washington Bandwagons...but they lose to New Jersey. If you have the talent to beat the first two, the Devils should be a walk in the park.
Here in might lie the problem...they're good...they know it...they might not have to show up every night, especially with the weak teams in the league. This is exactly the type of attitude that can kill a season. Weak team or not, they're still a professional hockey team and need to be treated as such. They need to come out every game with the same kind of intensity they show regularly when they play the Rags, Shittsburgh...any of their big rival teams. When they play to the level that they're capable of, and sustain it, it's almost a guaranteed victory.
The Flyers have the right tools to win this year...all the need to do is find the motivation to do so. With the amazing line of Briere-Hartnell-Leino and with the Richie-Noodle-JVR line showing good chemistry lately and Groo-Carter-Zherdev...there's no reason that this team can't comfortably break 100 pts. for the season and get an easy 1st seed in the East and probably the entire league. Philly has always had a problem with consistency, but in a year where they really do have a legitimate shot at repeating an appearance in the Finals...they can ill afford to let the problems of the past take hold in the present. You know when the season's over, and all we Phaithful say "Well...there's always next year.." well, this year is next year.
Friday, November 26, 2010
I'm not getting into a "he said/she said"...I'm the he...
These were the words of the king of elbows Chris Pronger after today's terrible and controversial loss against an extremely inferior Calgary team. As all of you who watched the game know, the Flyers did indeed get screwed out of their first powerplay goal in like a year...which also would have given the Orange and Black the overtime win and the 2 points instead of 1. As an avid and lifelong Flyers fan, I'm all too used to calls like this...but seriously an unsportsmanlike penalty for pointing to the corner? In the words of Prongs after the goal was waived off "FUCK YOU!" (anybody that can read lips a bit can see it on the replay).
But enough about the zebras being on Gary Bettman's personal payroll...I for one happen to agree wholeheartedly with what Lavy, Richie and Prongs all said in their post-game interviews...They didn't deserve a win tonight, and are extremely lucky they played such a bad team, any playoff team would have wiped the floor with the Flyers and they would have walked away with nothing. Their powerplay was absolutely horrible, as it has been for quite a while now...Ponach said it was frozen, which seems to be the appropriate adjective. Being 1 for your last...33 or something is pretty terrible after operating at over 30% during that 10 game point streak they went on earlier in the season, actually, it's pretty terrible period (admittedly if the ref wasn't a complete asshole, the game winner would have been a powerplay goal...but we all know how that went) . What adds insult to injury regarding the powerplay is giving up a shortie to Calgary.
Their puck movement was pretty bad and their faceoffs were terrible. As were they in the Wild game but a 6-1 victory will make anyone not care about gettin slapped around in the faceoff circle. Groo seems to have gone into a walk-in freezer lately, he did have the lone Flyers shootout goal but Forsberg Jr. has definitely seen a slip in his production over the last few days...still love the guy and he's a beast but sometimes the truth hurts.
All that said there were a few glimpses of light tonight...the JVR, Richie, Noodle line looked pretty solid and JVR's goal was the product of a beautiful steal by Noodle and an even prettier backhand pass by Richie. Zherdev was lookin pretty sweet tonight, his dangles are as good as ever and that toe drag to wrister goal was a thing of beauty. Bob did excellent again under the circumstances, his D did leave him out to dry and he did a little break dancing in the blue paint to steal the charity point. But what I've been sayin since Bob started playin still holds true, dude isn't too good with breakaways. They should have put Boosh in there for the shootout, I hate Boosh but he beat the Rags last year and Washington this year so shootouts seem to be his strong point.
They play the D's tomorrow and this should be a nice bounce back game. I don't put anything past the Flyers and they could very well end up losing to a completely terrible team but I have faith...of all the things the Flyers do wrong, they usually correct them against the Devils. Tomorrow's another day and hopefully the Flyers that played so well last month will dispose of their evil twins and show up tomorrow afternoon at The Rock.
But enough about the zebras being on Gary Bettman's personal payroll...I for one happen to agree wholeheartedly with what Lavy, Richie and Prongs all said in their post-game interviews...They didn't deserve a win tonight, and are extremely lucky they played such a bad team, any playoff team would have wiped the floor with the Flyers and they would have walked away with nothing. Their powerplay was absolutely horrible, as it has been for quite a while now...Ponach said it was frozen, which seems to be the appropriate adjective. Being 1 for your last...33 or something is pretty terrible after operating at over 30% during that 10 game point streak they went on earlier in the season, actually, it's pretty terrible period (admittedly if the ref wasn't a complete asshole, the game winner would have been a powerplay goal...but we all know how that went) . What adds insult to injury regarding the powerplay is giving up a shortie to Calgary.
Their puck movement was pretty bad and their faceoffs were terrible. As were they in the Wild game but a 6-1 victory will make anyone not care about gettin slapped around in the faceoff circle. Groo seems to have gone into a walk-in freezer lately, he did have the lone Flyers shootout goal but Forsberg Jr. has definitely seen a slip in his production over the last few days...still love the guy and he's a beast but sometimes the truth hurts.
All that said there were a few glimpses of light tonight...the JVR, Richie, Noodle line looked pretty solid and JVR's goal was the product of a beautiful steal by Noodle and an even prettier backhand pass by Richie. Zherdev was lookin pretty sweet tonight, his dangles are as good as ever and that toe drag to wrister goal was a thing of beauty. Bob did excellent again under the circumstances, his D did leave him out to dry and he did a little break dancing in the blue paint to steal the charity point. But what I've been sayin since Bob started playin still holds true, dude isn't too good with breakaways. They should have put Boosh in there for the shootout, I hate Boosh but he beat the Rags last year and Washington this year so shootouts seem to be his strong point.
They play the D's tomorrow and this should be a nice bounce back game. I don't put anything past the Flyers and they could very well end up losing to a completely terrible team but I have faith...of all the things the Flyers do wrong, they usually correct them against the Devils. Tomorrow's another day and hopefully the Flyers that played so well last month will dispose of their evil twins and show up tomorrow afternoon at The Rock.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
That Figures
As everybody knows the boys in black had one of the most interesting and horrible games I've ever seen. There is so much to be said about that game it's not even funny. Goaltending was completely absent on both sides of the ice, more so when Boosh came in to relieve Bobo at the start of the second. Offense on both teams was buzzing, with Stamkos and St. Louis both registering 5 pts and my boy Zherdev getting 2 goals and an assist in just 8:26 of ice time...say what you will about the enigma, that's pretty damn impressive. The D on both teams pretty much sucked, that definitely contributed to some of the goals scored by both teams. But what really sunk the Flyguyz was taking way too many penalties once again. They took 7 to the Bolt's 5 and one of them was that beyond questionable call on Meszaros at the end of the 3rd...I did a bit of digging after that hit, by the description of "clipping" the zebra made the right call but as far as unsportsmanlike conduct...that part was bullshit.
Ok...enough about the the basketball game on skates from the other night. In a little less than 7 hours the Orange and Black takes on their conference rivals the Washington Bandwagons...I mean Capitals. I always get a bit nervous when we have to play them but today it's more of a feeling of resigning to a loss. Boosh is getting his first start since his Oct. 25 loss to Columbus and Bobo is getting a well deserved day off. While the offense was superb last game, (any time you net 7 goals and all but 3 players make it on the score sheet, the offense was kicking ass...loss or not) the defense left a ton to be desired and goaltending will once again be absent. What I don't understand is why Lavy decided to sit Bob now. Out of the recent teams we played I would have picked the Habs game to sit Bobo. Yes, it was still a loss but they have a lot less potent offense than the Bolts or the Caps. Bobo carried us for 11 games and change, and while I agree he needs rest...this is not the game to sit out. Behind Ovechkin and Semin they have Backstrom, who, in my opinion, rivals Groo in vision and play making abilities. Their goalies have also been playing pretty solid so far this season so goals most likely won't be bountiful today. This leaves us winning up to our very skilled and deep, yet terribly inconsistent D and Boosh to take care of the rest.
For the record, I don't forget what Boosh did last year...and I'm not denying that he is capable of making an amazing save or 2 from time to time. That being said, he's an average backup at best and probably one of the worst puck handling goalies I've ever seen. Last season I was never on the Boosh bandwagon like so many others, but he was on the team so naturally I did root for him. This season, I'm sick of seeing him on the bench. I know I'll probably get a lot of shit from fellow faithful but I don't think I'm alone in saying that Boosh's time in the NHL is drawing to a close. He's getting older, slower and letting in softer and softer goals. Leighton isn't much better but at least he's younger and proved last season that he is capable of stealing a game or 2 when needed. With Bobo emerging as the Russian version of Marty Brodeur, I really don't see the need for Boosh anymore. Seriously, it should only take cutting a guy twice for management to realize that he's useless. While Boosh is here he gets my full support but I'm counting the days till Leights comes back and hopefully Boosh is sent packing.
Prediction for tonight's game: Caps 4 Flyers 3
I hope to God I'm wrong but after taking a good look at what tonight has in store for us, I'll be shocked if we manage a win.
Ok...enough about the the basketball game on skates from the other night. In a little less than 7 hours the Orange and Black takes on their conference rivals the Washington Bandwagons...I mean Capitals. I always get a bit nervous when we have to play them but today it's more of a feeling of resigning to a loss. Boosh is getting his first start since his Oct. 25 loss to Columbus and Bobo is getting a well deserved day off. While the offense was superb last game, (any time you net 7 goals and all but 3 players make it on the score sheet, the offense was kicking ass...loss or not) the defense left a ton to be desired and goaltending will once again be absent. What I don't understand is why Lavy decided to sit Bob now. Out of the recent teams we played I would have picked the Habs game to sit Bobo. Yes, it was still a loss but they have a lot less potent offense than the Bolts or the Caps. Bobo carried us for 11 games and change, and while I agree he needs rest...this is not the game to sit out. Behind Ovechkin and Semin they have Backstrom, who, in my opinion, rivals Groo in vision and play making abilities. Their goalies have also been playing pretty solid so far this season so goals most likely won't be bountiful today. This leaves us winning up to our very skilled and deep, yet terribly inconsistent D and Boosh to take care of the rest.
For the record, I don't forget what Boosh did last year...and I'm not denying that he is capable of making an amazing save or 2 from time to time. That being said, he's an average backup at best and probably one of the worst puck handling goalies I've ever seen. Last season I was never on the Boosh bandwagon like so many others, but he was on the team so naturally I did root for him. This season, I'm sick of seeing him on the bench. I know I'll probably get a lot of shit from fellow faithful but I don't think I'm alone in saying that Boosh's time in the NHL is drawing to a close. He's getting older, slower and letting in softer and softer goals. Leighton isn't much better but at least he's younger and proved last season that he is capable of stealing a game or 2 when needed. With Bobo emerging as the Russian version of Marty Brodeur, I really don't see the need for Boosh anymore. Seriously, it should only take cutting a guy twice for management to realize that he's useless. While Boosh is here he gets my full support but I'm counting the days till Leights comes back and hopefully Boosh is sent packing.
Prediction for tonight's game: Caps 4 Flyers 3
I hope to God I'm wrong but after taking a good look at what tonight has in store for us, I'll be shocked if we manage a win.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Fuck this shit
This game was complete bullshit. The goaltenders didn't show up at all, the refs sucked and just the overall shitty play by both teams but mostly on the Flyers' end just makes me beyond pissed. I can't write anything tonight about this basketball game on skates, I'll catch you guys tomorrow.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Breaking News: 23 kittens drown in a Well in Philadelphia
Ok so it's a lame title but it's the best the Bud Light will let me come up with at the moment.
The Flyers made short work of the Kittens tonight, keeping at least a 3 goal lead almost constantly. Noodle (it's what I call Nodl) had a strong game until he got hurt blocking that shot, registering an assist on a dirty goal by Richie. And while I'm writing this article the post-game crew just said he's got swelling in his foot but X-Rays were negative for a break...50/50 chance he'll be on the ice on Monday.
Richie finally tallied against his arch nemesis tonight, not once, but twice. I'm sure I wasn't the only one silently wishing that goal where Richie was literally sitting in the net was given to him so he could get a hatty, but that bastard Giroux showed how amazing he is again but getting the tally.
Groo, there's just not enough good things I can say about this kid. One of the greatest sets of hands I've ever seen...ever, completely selfless and just a great all around player. I'm sure I'm not the only Phaithful to want Groo signed to a good long deal as well.
The new Legion of Doom was just as amazing as ever. The Hartnell-Briere-Leino line was clicking as always tonight. Villie Leino rivals Groo in vision on the ice in my opinion, he can dangle and he's a fucking machine. I used to call him "goofy" by the way he skates but as of late I've been calling him "dangles", and for good reason. If this line continues their extraordinary production, I'm afraid the LCB line or the Legion of Doom will take a back seat. In an era of lower scoring, it's incredible to see a line generate 2..3..4..5 points a game easily.
Bobo again had a solid game. Showing off his great vision, focus and pipe to pipe quickness. He did let in one weak wrist shot, but his reaction after seeing it went in was punishment enough...I'll say no more about it.
In their last 9 games our boys have squeezed out 17 of 18 possible points. They finally are showing the talent and hustle that was advertised to us in the off-season. In the past week alone they have outscored their opponents 15-4 and are 24-6 for the month. And with the emergence of Bobo as a legitimate candidate for the starting job, this team is far more dangerous than they were last year and have a legit goalie to back them up when they falter a bit. If they keep up this effort the entire season don't be surprised to see them back in the Cup Finals this year, with Richie hoisting Lord Stanley...playoff beard and all.
This has got to be my all time favorite clip of Groo:
The Flyers made short work of the Kittens tonight, keeping at least a 3 goal lead almost constantly. Noodle (it's what I call Nodl) had a strong game until he got hurt blocking that shot, registering an assist on a dirty goal by Richie. And while I'm writing this article the post-game crew just said he's got swelling in his foot but X-Rays were negative for a break...50/50 chance he'll be on the ice on Monday.
Richie finally tallied against his arch nemesis tonight, not once, but twice. I'm sure I wasn't the only one silently wishing that goal where Richie was literally sitting in the net was given to him so he could get a hatty, but that bastard Giroux showed how amazing he is again but getting the tally.
Groo, there's just not enough good things I can say about this kid. One of the greatest sets of hands I've ever seen...ever, completely selfless and just a great all around player. I'm sure I'm not the only Phaithful to want Groo signed to a good long deal as well.
The new Legion of Doom was just as amazing as ever. The Hartnell-Briere-Leino line was clicking as always tonight. Villie Leino rivals Groo in vision on the ice in my opinion, he can dangle and he's a fucking machine. I used to call him "goofy" by the way he skates but as of late I've been calling him "dangles", and for good reason. If this line continues their extraordinary production, I'm afraid the LCB line or the Legion of Doom will take a back seat. In an era of lower scoring, it's incredible to see a line generate 2..3..4..5 points a game easily.
Bobo again had a solid game. Showing off his great vision, focus and pipe to pipe quickness. He did let in one weak wrist shot, but his reaction after seeing it went in was punishment enough...I'll say no more about it.
In their last 9 games our boys have squeezed out 17 of 18 possible points. They finally are showing the talent and hustle that was advertised to us in the off-season. In the past week alone they have outscored their opponents 15-4 and are 24-6 for the month. And with the emergence of Bobo as a legitimate candidate for the starting job, this team is far more dangerous than they were last year and have a legit goalie to back them up when they falter a bit. If they keep up this effort the entire season don't be surprised to see them back in the Cup Finals this year, with Richie hoisting Lord Stanley...playoff beard and all.
This has got to be my all time favorite clip of Groo:
Out with the old, in with the new
I'm aware that I'm like 3 days late but apparently Michael Leighton is skating with the team again. The Flyer's website reported that Leights finally skated with the team and actually saw some shots on Nov. 10th.
It wouldn't be a complete Flyers season without a little bit of goalie controversy, would it? For now, the tandem of Bouch and Bobo are doing pretty well, and as of that news article there's no timetable for Leighton to return to work. But when "G-Day" finally does roll around Lavy will be faced with a bit of a difficult decision...go with the Leights/Boosh combo that took us to the Cup Finals last year? Or, go with Bobo and dump one of your seasoned vets.
Personally I like the sound of a Bobo/Leighton tandem with Boosh getting put on waivers or traded. While I don't forget that Boosh actually got us into the playoffs last year and disposed of the D's in 5 games in the first round, he's just proved time and time again that he's an O.K. backup...nothing more. Leighton is pretty much the same story.
In his 7 year NHL career he's played for a whopping 4 teams and has never played more than 35 games in a single season. He's also been put on waivers 4 times (including the Flyers, who he played 4 games with before getting picked up by the Canes). All things considered though I like Leighton for 2 reasons, his contract and Jeff Reese.
Nobody in their right mind is going to take Michael Leighton off our hands with his cap hit, not given his track record. Antti Niemi, who actually won the Stanley Cup last year had a hard time finding a job this off-season...so needless to say, Leighton will most likely end up staying here till his contract expires. The second reason I would pick Leights over Boosh is Jeff Reese.
Jeff Reese, the Flyers' goaltending coach, is one of the best in the business. After Philly picked up Leights from the Canes last year Reese instantly started work with Leighs and turned our season around real quick. After posting a 4.29 GAA and a .848 Sv Pct in Carolina, he came here and by seasons end had a spectacular 16-5-3 record with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 Sv Pct. He is easily the reason we even contended for a playoff spot on the last game of the season. After finally making a return in the all-important Bruins series, he backstopped the Flyers into making history and then slapping around the Habs who just beat out the President's Trophy winners and the defending champions respectively.
Yes, ultimately he did fall apart in the Finals and we obviously didn't win but it's my feeling that if the situation was flipped, and we had to contend with Boosh replacing Emery all season...that historic cup run would never have been possible, Carter would have been getting blasted in Olde City and Sea Isle in April instead of June. While both Leights and Boosh are career backups, I gotta go with Leights this time around. But this is just my opinion, I'm curious to hear whether you guys agree...disagree and why. Nobody is wrong here
It wouldn't be a complete Flyers season without a little bit of goalie controversy, would it? For now, the tandem of Bouch and Bobo are doing pretty well, and as of that news article there's no timetable for Leighton to return to work. But when "G-Day" finally does roll around Lavy will be faced with a bit of a difficult decision...go with the Leights/Boosh combo that took us to the Cup Finals last year? Or, go with Bobo and dump one of your seasoned vets.
Personally I like the sound of a Bobo/Leighton tandem with Boosh getting put on waivers or traded. While I don't forget that Boosh actually got us into the playoffs last year and disposed of the D's in 5 games in the first round, he's just proved time and time again that he's an O.K. backup...nothing more. Leighton is pretty much the same story.
In his 7 year NHL career he's played for a whopping 4 teams and has never played more than 35 games in a single season. He's also been put on waivers 4 times (including the Flyers, who he played 4 games with before getting picked up by the Canes). All things considered though I like Leighton for 2 reasons, his contract and Jeff Reese.
Nobody in their right mind is going to take Michael Leighton off our hands with his cap hit, not given his track record. Antti Niemi, who actually won the Stanley Cup last year had a hard time finding a job this off-season...so needless to say, Leighton will most likely end up staying here till his contract expires. The second reason I would pick Leights over Boosh is Jeff Reese.
Jeff Reese, the Flyers' goaltending coach, is one of the best in the business. After Philly picked up Leights from the Canes last year Reese instantly started work with Leighs and turned our season around real quick. After posting a 4.29 GAA and a .848 Sv Pct in Carolina, he came here and by seasons end had a spectacular 16-5-3 record with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 Sv Pct. He is easily the reason we even contended for a playoff spot on the last game of the season. After finally making a return in the all-important Bruins series, he backstopped the Flyers into making history and then slapping around the Habs who just beat out the President's Trophy winners and the defending champions respectively.
Yes, ultimately he did fall apart in the Finals and we obviously didn't win but it's my feeling that if the situation was flipped, and we had to contend with Boosh replacing Emery all season...that historic cup run would never have been possible, Carter would have been getting blasted in Olde City and Sea Isle in April instead of June. While both Leights and Boosh are career backups, I gotta go with Leights this time around. But this is just my opinion, I'm curious to hear whether you guys agree...disagree and why. Nobody is wrong here
Friday, November 12, 2010
Philadelphia Flyers: The red-headed step child of the NHL
In case you were scratching your head at the title, I'm not sure if this is an actual saying but a buddy of mine used to use the "red-headed step child" when talking about abuse or neglect. As in, "you better stop fuckin' with me or I'm gonna beat you like a red-headed step child." Shit like that.
Anyways, in my daily perusing of various hockey websites I noticed something...yet again. The Flyers had a spectacular game last night, with just 5 players not making it on the score sheet, on their way to an 8-1 mushroom stamping of the Canes. But for some reason, the papa network of them all NHL.com, decided it wasn't really news worthy. No, instead they decided to put up an article on how Ovechkin and Semin were scoreless going into their 3rd period last night. In fact, only one of the websites that I regularly look at (prohockeytalk.com) had anything about the game last night...and it was about carty's natty hat trick.
Needless to say this pissed me off a bit. As a Flyers fan I'm used to getting shit on by the league and having virtually everyone else in the hockey world hate me but that's what makes us so great...everyone, including the NHL hates us and we just don't give a shit. But still, it made me wonder...what do we have to do to get a little recognition? Just a little.
As it stands right now, the Flyers are in 2nd place in the East and in 3rd in the entire league. They're currently on an 8 game point streak and have a rookie, Russian goaltender that doesn't speak English. But still, no news about the orange&black. It seems like the league only ever gives us a glance is when they want to suspend our players or they disallow goals. I'm willing to bet if the Flyers actually go back to they finals and win this time, the league will engrave the Capitals name on the trophy just like they did last year with the Prince of Whales Trophy
http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/520750/ept_sports_nhl_experts-30382148-1281564736.jpg
Update: it's Wales not Whales
Anyways, in my daily perusing of various hockey websites I noticed something...yet again. The Flyers had a spectacular game last night, with just 5 players not making it on the score sheet, on their way to an 8-1 mushroom stamping of the Canes. But for some reason, the papa network of them all NHL.com, decided it wasn't really news worthy. No, instead they decided to put up an article on how Ovechkin and Semin were scoreless going into their 3rd period last night. In fact, only one of the websites that I regularly look at (prohockeytalk.com) had anything about the game last night...and it was about carty's natty hat trick.
Needless to say this pissed me off a bit. As a Flyers fan I'm used to getting shit on by the league and having virtually everyone else in the hockey world hate me but that's what makes us so great...everyone, including the NHL hates us and we just don't give a shit. But still, it made me wonder...what do we have to do to get a little recognition? Just a little.
As it stands right now, the Flyers are in 2nd place in the East and in 3rd in the entire league. They're currently on an 8 game point streak and have a rookie, Russian goaltender that doesn't speak English. But still, no news about the orange&black. It seems like the league only ever gives us a glance is when they want to suspend our players or they disallow goals. I'm willing to bet if the Flyers actually go back to they finals and win this time, the league will engrave the Capitals name on the trophy just like they did last year with the Prince of Whales Trophy
http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/520750/ept_sports_nhl_experts-30382148-1281564736.jpg
Update: it's Wales not Whales
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Maybe tomorrow
There's just so much I could say about the Flyer's absolute ass raping of the Canes today I can't find a way to get my thoughts straight. I'll have to get some sleep, go to work and bounce my ideas around a little bit and get back to you guys tomorrow.
But before I call it a night, a Canes fan decided to try and talk some shit to me and the other faithful...pointing out that the Canes have a cup this decade, and that we got a "ass-whooping" in the Finals last year. I'd like to see the set of balls on this guy, 'cause they gotta be HUGE. First of all, the decade started this year so no they don't have a cup this decade (that's just me being a dick, I know what he meant but still...I'm right). Second of all, how on Claude Giroux's ass can he talk shit after our boys made his boys asses bleed from severe rapage? And finally, last time I checked the Hawks won the cup in a bullshit overtime goal in Game 6...if we had gotten swept that would be a different story but losing in the 6th game of a 7 game series isn't exactly an ass whooping there bro.
I guess all those rumors of inbreeding producing mentally challenged children is a fact, this guy's mother is obviously also his sister.
But before I call it a night, a Canes fan decided to try and talk some shit to me and the other faithful...pointing out that the Canes have a cup this decade, and that we got a "ass-whooping" in the Finals last year. I'd like to see the set of balls on this guy, 'cause they gotta be HUGE. First of all, the decade started this year so no they don't have a cup this decade (that's just me being a dick, I know what he meant but still...I'm right). Second of all, how on Claude Giroux's ass can he talk shit after our boys made his boys asses bleed from severe rapage? And finally, last time I checked the Hawks won the cup in a bullshit overtime goal in Game 6...if we had gotten swept that would be a different story but losing in the 6th game of a 7 game series isn't exactly an ass whooping there bro.
I guess all those rumors of inbreeding producing mentally challenged children is a fact, this guy's mother is obviously also his sister.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
100 Million Reasons for Big Lou to kill himself
Unless you were in a deep....deep coma this summer, I'm sure you heard about the Kovalchuk ordeal with the Devils....many, many times.
When all was said and done he signed a $102 million 17 year contract with the Devils...oh wait no he didn't. He signed a $101 million 15 year pretty much identically front-loaded contract with 2 years cut off the back end to appease the tyrant Gary Bettman. Ironically the new poster boy of the Devils has an annual cap hit of $6.66 million...interesting.
Anyway, with all the mess of the off-season behind them, the Devils were ready to take the ice again. Little did they know....they suck this year. So far they've played 16 games while accumulating a miserable 10 points, good for dead last in the entire league. There are a ton of things wrong with this team, from Brodeur proving finally that he is indeed a human and not some Canadian cyborg, to injuries ravaging the lineup. But what most people (including myself) would point to as a major pain in the ass for the D's was that completely fucked contract handed to the wanna-be Ovechkin.
Papa Lamarillo isn't known for being the most conservative GM, just look at the contracts handed to Zubrus and Rolston, but he really shit the bed this time. He's basically crippled the team until the really big names on the team either demand to be traded, retire or their contracts run out and they move on. But hey, you pay $100 million for a stud, at least he's gonna perform for you right?? Wrong. So far the $100 million dollar man has amassed a whopping...8 points. Only 3 of which are goals...you know, the thing he's paid so much to do. Interesting other side note, Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch for one of the games earlier in the year...shit if he's not performing, might as well let him sit on his ass in the press box and collect his check anyway right?
Considering the fact that Kovalfuck (as my Uncle Tom lovingly calls him) has only netted over 40 goals 5 times and over 50 only twice, I'm calling bullshit on his contract, which by the way comes with a no movement clause that turns into a no trade clause, so even if they wanted to dump his ass they couldn't. For someone who has proven time and time again that he's not a clutch player and blows the big games...Lou done went and fucked up. Take tonight's game for example: Buffalo nets a goal in the shootout, Kovalchuk needs to score to keep it going and....
When all was said and done he signed a $102 million 17 year contract with the Devils...oh wait no he didn't. He signed a $101 million 15 year pretty much identically front-loaded contract with 2 years cut off the back end to appease the tyrant Gary Bettman. Ironically the new poster boy of the Devils has an annual cap hit of $6.66 million...interesting.
Anyway, with all the mess of the off-season behind them, the Devils were ready to take the ice again. Little did they know....they suck this year. So far they've played 16 games while accumulating a miserable 10 points, good for dead last in the entire league. There are a ton of things wrong with this team, from Brodeur proving finally that he is indeed a human and not some Canadian cyborg, to injuries ravaging the lineup. But what most people (including myself) would point to as a major pain in the ass for the D's was that completely fucked contract handed to the wanna-be Ovechkin.
Papa Lamarillo isn't known for being the most conservative GM, just look at the contracts handed to Zubrus and Rolston, but he really shit the bed this time. He's basically crippled the team until the really big names on the team either demand to be traded, retire or their contracts run out and they move on. But hey, you pay $100 million for a stud, at least he's gonna perform for you right?? Wrong. So far the $100 million dollar man has amassed a whopping...8 points. Only 3 of which are goals...you know, the thing he's paid so much to do. Interesting other side note, Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch for one of the games earlier in the year...shit if he's not performing, might as well let him sit on his ass in the press box and collect his check anyway right?
Considering the fact that Kovalfuck (as my Uncle Tom lovingly calls him) has only netted over 40 goals 5 times and over 50 only twice, I'm calling bullshit on his contract, which by the way comes with a no movement clause that turns into a no trade clause, so even if they wanted to dump his ass they couldn't. For someone who has proven time and time again that he's not a clutch player and blows the big games...Lou done went and fucked up. Take tonight's game for example: Buffalo nets a goal in the shootout, Kovalchuk needs to score to keep it going and....
All-Star Game 2.0
The new and improved version of the glorified exhibition game in the middle of the season has seen a few changes this year courtesy of Gary Bettman's new puppet Brendan Shannahan.
Back in the old days...like 2 years ago...the East and West put together the top money makers, I mean "stars" from their conference for a fun filled weekend of making Crosby and Ovy look good. This year however, the powers that be decided to make an overhaul or 2. From what I saw on the NHL Network the fans still get to pick 6 players by casting votes and the NHL front office gets to pick the other 36 or however many players are left. But this year comes with a big twist...no more East and West.
This year the two captains (I wonder who those will be) get to pick the teams they want...pond hockey style. Personally I'd love to see the multimillionaires throw their sticks at center ice and have a ref throw them to each side but Hockey Operations decided that the captains get to conduct a "live draft" right there on the ice. I think it'll be great to see who gets picked first and who gets picked last...just to bring back that old crappy feeling people like me got when they got picked last for pickup football or hockey, which I'm assuming none of the leagues top snipers had to deal with as a kid.
I say for shits and gigs they pick 2 enforcers from the East and West and have them beat the living shit out of eachother during the second period or something like that. I don't know about you guys but I got tired of seeing the goalies getting raped by letting in like 20 goals a game. Some rough stuff from the league's premiere enforcers would definitely make the game a ton more interesting, but that's probably the Broad Street Bully in me talking.
Back in the old days...like 2 years ago...the East and West put together the top money makers, I mean "stars" from their conference for a fun filled weekend of making Crosby and Ovy look good. This year however, the powers that be decided to make an overhaul or 2. From what I saw on the NHL Network the fans still get to pick 6 players by casting votes and the NHL front office gets to pick the other 36 or however many players are left. But this year comes with a big twist...no more East and West.
This year the two captains (I wonder who those will be) get to pick the teams they want...pond hockey style. Personally I'd love to see the multimillionaires throw their sticks at center ice and have a ref throw them to each side but Hockey Operations decided that the captains get to conduct a "live draft" right there on the ice. I think it'll be great to see who gets picked first and who gets picked last...just to bring back that old crappy feeling people like me got when they got picked last for pickup football or hockey, which I'm assuming none of the leagues top snipers had to deal with as a kid.
I say for shits and gigs they pick 2 enforcers from the East and West and have them beat the living shit out of eachother during the second period or something like that. I don't know about you guys but I got tired of seeing the goalies getting raped by letting in like 20 goals a game. Some rough stuff from the league's premiere enforcers would definitely make the game a ton more interesting, but that's probably the Broad Street Bully in me talking.
A Fond Farewell
Built waaaay back in the 1960's it looks like the Spectrum has finally sung its last tune (literally, seeing as Pearl Jam was the last act to perform there). It's scheduled for demolition on Nov. 23 at noon which is just shy of 2 weeks away from today. Like most Flyers and Sixers fans I went and saw my very first Flyers game in that building when I was just a wee lad and I instantly loved the place...with the exception of my seat being right behind a pillar so I would barely see the game.
There is a block party open to the public opening I believe 1 hour before demolition starts, dollar dogs and soft drinks (but I'd prefer beer for such an occasion). Former Flyers Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent will be there along with some Sixer I don't give a rats ass about. If you're like me and will always remember your first game at the Spectrum, I suggest you go say fare-the-well that Tuesday
There is a block party open to the public opening I believe 1 hour before demolition starts, dollar dogs and soft drinks (but I'd prefer beer for such an occasion). Former Flyers Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent will be there along with some Sixer I don't give a rats ass about. If you're like me and will always remember your first game at the Spectrum, I suggest you go say fare-the-well that Tuesday
Blog Kick-off
I've finally gotten around to actually making this god forsaken thing. This is a Flyers blog for sure but I'll be getting around to the different teams with news I find interesting, and of course, voicing my own...usually very brash opinion.
For now it's time for a cup of coffee and some fucking french toast. I'll probably be back on at some point voicing my opinion on something so stay tuned.
For now it's time for a cup of coffee and some fucking french toast. I'll probably be back on at some point voicing my opinion on something so stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)