No seriously, that was going through my head during the first period last night. And by "Smalls" I mean, of course...Bob. Dude looked less like a goalie and more like Swiss cheese out there last night. I was hoping, and expecting a little more out of our commie kid after he put on that great performance against Dallas on Saturday. But that didn't happen.
Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way, Bob had a shit game. No two ways about it, when you have a .667 save percentage...you had a shitty night. The first goal was just awful, as was the third. The second one was kind of his fault but O'd should have picked up Knuble in his office so he's not totally at fault on that one, but he should still track the puck better than that. In essence, this was the kids first taste of playoff hockey, and he certainly was disappointing. I've seen some people yapping that he can't handle the pressure, we need to start Boosh, we need to recall Leighton and all that garbage. While I tend to agree that Boosh is a more qualified candidate for the starting playoff job, at least for the start of the playoffs, calling up Leighton is one step away from retarded. He would get snatched off the waiver wire in a heartbeat. And these are the same people that were screaming for his head last season in the finals, now all of a sudden, Bob has one bad game and they wanna go right back to our tandem from last year. He had a bad game people, pop a pill and relax. He's a 22 year old kid in his rookie season in the hardest hockey league on the planet, give him a break. But enough about Bob...can we talk about what a boss Groo and Noodle were?
Groo was an animal last night, that hit he put on Semin in the third....jumpin' jesus that was awesome. He had a goal, an assist, was a +2 and drew 2 penalties. This kid IS Flyers hockey, 'nuff said. He's got skill, grit, attitude, will drop the gloves when he needs to and is just a blast to watch. I said last year that he reminded me of watching Foppa back in the day, and apparently Gagne agrees with me. When you're getting compared to a great like Foppa, you're doin alright for yourself. Noodle was awesome too, he played a huge part in the first goal, assisted on the second with a sweet pass to Groo and assumed the Crosby position to score his goal...and by Crosby position, I mean he was on his knees. I didn't really notice him in Dallas, but then again, I was in a bar in D.C. surrounded by March Madness and I was stuck in the middle watching the game on 1 tv with no sound so I really have no idea how well he did. But judging by this game, being benched for 6 games really sent him a message. This is the guy that muscled Bill Guerin out of his roster spot during training camp, and about time he came back around.
The all around effort from last night's game was nothing short of brilliant. They were cycling, winning battles, awesome puck movement...basically they did everything right. They just had some crap goaltending, that's what lost us the game. But hey, we're Philly, we wouldn't be complete without having some kind of goalie issue right? But seriously, to all those people out there who were bitching and moaning...what game were you assholes watching? That was possibly their best game of the season, when you come back against Washington after they have a 3-0 lead and somehow force a shootout...that's pretty damn impressive. Sure, I would have liked the win but it wouldn't have mattered. Once we got into overtime, we were going to be 1 point up on Washington win or lose. Don't forget that we have 2 games in hand on them and we're still in the lead. If you guys can't be proud of the way your team played last night, then you know absolutely nothing about hockey and aren't worthy of being Flyers fans. The game isn't just about winning, it's how you play the game. They beat Edmonton with half assed, totally shitty play...but they still won. Didn't seem to matter to the coach or the players though, they all said they played like shit and didn't deserve to win. Yesterday was the opposite, they played with real heart but they got a bit of bad luck and ended up losing. The effort is what's important, especially at this time of year. Would have liked to see a win yesterday, but in the words of Mike Richards: "Shit Happens".
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Bleacher Report!
Anybody who is an avid fan of pretty much any sport or team, not just hockey or the Flyers, has probably read Bleacher Report at least once. Now I'm just a Flyers guy, I don't read any other sections of it, but from what I see on the Flyers site....jumpin' Jesus is it sad. I just read a piece about trades that will affect the Flyers, and after all the build up, it finally pushed me to vent my frustrations about that site on here.
First of all, there was this..."While we greatly appreciate your interest in being a contributor to our website, after careful consideration, we must deny your request to be a part of our team." That's an actual quote from an e-mail they sent me a few months ago, basically telling me that I wasn't good enough for their AMAZING website. It's a non-paid position dude, it's not like I was asking for a job. What exactly disqualifies me good sir? Is it that I've been an avid fan since...birth? Perhaps I'm too knowledgeable. Perhaps it's the Grizzly Adams playoff beard I have in my default picture over there. Or maybe it's just because I could debate all their writers at once and prove them all wrong. Look, I know I'm not the best writer around; never once have I said that cause it would be wrong. I just do this for fun and to entertain both myself and the few people that actually read this. But to say I'm not good enough to write for a website that constantly publishes completely fabricated nonsense, that's just bullshit.
Second of all, everybody...and I do mean everybody...knows that Bleacher Report sucks. Our dear friends over at Broad Street Hockey did a little piece on them last week and about how they're the source of some of the most ridiculous trade rumors. I can't tell you how many times I've seen, "Are the Flyers Interested In Acquiring Thomas Vokoun?" on there. While there is a tiny bit of truth in the fact that Florida does shop Vokoun around, especially this year with his contract being up at the end of the season, one only has to not have been born yesterday to realize that Vokoun is basically out of the question. He's a good goalie, everyone knows that. He's a good goalie with a massive contract, at $5.7 million a year, he makes almost $1.5 million more than his closest competitor...David Booth. The Flyers have less than $2 million in cap space. So we'd have to move over $3.5 million in salary just to accommodate him. Homer has made some stupid moves before, but to blow up your team for an aging, ridiculously expensive goalie that probably won't be around next year, yea I don't think so.
And then there was what I read today. 2 things really got on my nerves...
1. Mike Richards is an overrated player, and is not a star in this league and 2. Versteeg wasn't worth the draft picks and is a -13 for the Flyers in 7 games.
There's several things wrong with that...the first one being, Richards is probably one of the most UNDERRATED players in the league. Being good for around 30 goals a season and having 335 points in 433 career games and having a +40 rating in his career is pretty damn impressive. The guy has it all, soft hands, rough fists, grit, class, leadership, not to mention he leads all active players in shorties since the lockout, and just radiates pure testosterone...for example:
I would love for that writer to go strolling up to Richie and tell him he's overrated after seeing that. Yes, he's not on the level of cindy, Ovy, Stamkos, the Sedin twins or Rick Nash. He's not just a pure goal scorer, he's a leader that is happier setting up his teammates for goals than shooting constantly. He works every shift and is all around a guy that everybody would want on their team.
Now for the Versteeg comment, it took me all of 15 seconds to disprove this guy. Versteeg indeed has played 7 games, and has posted a +2 in the Orange & Black, not a -13. He was totally worth the draft picks also, he's a gritty scorer with a completely non-consequential Stanley Cup ring who is a stud in the playoffs and the big games. I would take a guy like that over 2 unproven draft picks in a weak draft class any day of the week. Oh, he also said Hartnell is better than him....statistically yes, he's technically correct. But at least Steeger can stay on his feet. That's just my opinion that Steeger is better, but still...that guy is a fucking moron.
In conclusion, Bleacher Report isn't good enough to lick my dogs crap off my boot heel. Constantly wild trade rumors and just wrong statistics have made it my least favorite website, and it will remain as such probably for eternity. Here's to you Bleacher Report, from everybody here in Flyers Country...
First of all, there was this..."While we greatly appreciate your interest in being a contributor to our website, after careful consideration, we must deny your request to be a part of our team." That's an actual quote from an e-mail they sent me a few months ago, basically telling me that I wasn't good enough for their AMAZING website. It's a non-paid position dude, it's not like I was asking for a job. What exactly disqualifies me good sir? Is it that I've been an avid fan since...birth? Perhaps I'm too knowledgeable. Perhaps it's the Grizzly Adams playoff beard I have in my default picture over there. Or maybe it's just because I could debate all their writers at once and prove them all wrong. Look, I know I'm not the best writer around; never once have I said that cause it would be wrong. I just do this for fun and to entertain both myself and the few people that actually read this. But to say I'm not good enough to write for a website that constantly publishes completely fabricated nonsense, that's just bullshit.
Second of all, everybody...and I do mean everybody...knows that Bleacher Report sucks. Our dear friends over at Broad Street Hockey did a little piece on them last week and about how they're the source of some of the most ridiculous trade rumors. I can't tell you how many times I've seen, "Are the Flyers Interested In Acquiring Thomas Vokoun?" on there. While there is a tiny bit of truth in the fact that Florida does shop Vokoun around, especially this year with his contract being up at the end of the season, one only has to not have been born yesterday to realize that Vokoun is basically out of the question. He's a good goalie, everyone knows that. He's a good goalie with a massive contract, at $5.7 million a year, he makes almost $1.5 million more than his closest competitor...David Booth. The Flyers have less than $2 million in cap space. So we'd have to move over $3.5 million in salary just to accommodate him. Homer has made some stupid moves before, but to blow up your team for an aging, ridiculously expensive goalie that probably won't be around next year, yea I don't think so.
And then there was what I read today. 2 things really got on my nerves...
1. Mike Richards is an overrated player, and is not a star in this league and 2. Versteeg wasn't worth the draft picks and is a -13 for the Flyers in 7 games.
There's several things wrong with that...the first one being, Richards is probably one of the most UNDERRATED players in the league. Being good for around 30 goals a season and having 335 points in 433 career games and having a +40 rating in his career is pretty damn impressive. The guy has it all, soft hands, rough fists, grit, class, leadership, not to mention he leads all active players in shorties since the lockout, and just radiates pure testosterone...for example:
I would love for that writer to go strolling up to Richie and tell him he's overrated after seeing that. Yes, he's not on the level of cindy, Ovy, Stamkos, the Sedin twins or Rick Nash. He's not just a pure goal scorer, he's a leader that is happier setting up his teammates for goals than shooting constantly. He works every shift and is all around a guy that everybody would want on their team.
Now for the Versteeg comment, it took me all of 15 seconds to disprove this guy. Versteeg indeed has played 7 games, and has posted a +2 in the Orange & Black, not a -13. He was totally worth the draft picks also, he's a gritty scorer with a completely non-consequential Stanley Cup ring who is a stud in the playoffs and the big games. I would take a guy like that over 2 unproven draft picks in a weak draft class any day of the week. Oh, he also said Hartnell is better than him....statistically yes, he's technically correct. But at least Steeger can stay on his feet. That's just my opinion that Steeger is better, but still...that guy is a fucking moron.
In conclusion, Bleacher Report isn't good enough to lick my dogs crap off my boot heel. Constantly wild trade rumors and just wrong statistics have made it my least favorite website, and it will remain as such probably for eternity. Here's to you Bleacher Report, from everybody here in Flyers Country...
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