A Fan's Last Lament

It's getting to be that time kids. This guys has had it up to here (hand reaches as high up as I can get it) with these assholes and their posturing. As most of you most likely know, talks were going nowhere and fast. The league brought in mediators to try and do something that could be considered a step in the right direction...worked just as well as it did last time. Talks broke down, no new meetings scheduled...blah blah blah. Then Commish had a lightbulb go off in his head and suggested that himself and the used tampon known as Donald Fehr sit out the next round of negotiations. I personally didn't know how that would turn out but the talks seemed to be going extremely well for the last couple days. I even caught myself being....hopeful. Bettman was confirmed to have said that he wanted a deal in place by tomorrow, coaches were contacting their players abroad and telling them to start making arrangements to make it back to the states. Everything seemed to be going right

Then the atomic bomb was dropped on the negotiations. Donald Fehr was insisting that he be allowed in to the bargaining today. Seriously, if People Magazine had a Douche Bag of the Year Award, this guy would win this year by a landslide. It took him half a day and he drove away all of the owners and tabled a deal that the owners deemed "unacceptable and no need to stick around tonight or Friday." I got it, you're there to get the players the best deal possible dude, but think about what you're doing. The owners hate this guy, the fans hate this guy, I bet by now the players and possibly his wife hate this guy. Fehr needs to understand one very important, very simple fact. He might be haggling with money that won't be there if and when the league finally starts back up again. I can't imagine that many of the sponsors want to stick around a league that is going to end up in a dick measuring contest every 7 or 8 years, not very good for business. 

But the biggest thing that's gonna come back and give all these assholes a swift and stiff kick in the nuts is the fans. Yes, us, the fans. Let's start with me for example, I've been watching the Flyers now for almost 20 years. I have a sheet metal Flyers logo hanging up in my man cave, banners from the Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke nights given out a couple years ago, posters of Lavi and his angry pointer finger and of Groo just looking like a bad ass, a calendar from last season and tons of fan gear, including a customized pair of Nike shoes all orange and black with "Flyers" written on the tongue. Not to mention I played hockey for most of my adolescence, and loved every minute of it. And now I've come to terms with the fact that the sport I love has been hijacked with greedy egomaniacs who just see the game as $$$. The league arrogantly claims that the fans will return just like they did last time, don't count on it fellas. If you can drive a fan like myself away, it's certainly possible to drive other less hardcore fans away. 

A buddy of mine is a huge Wild fan, whenever I see him in civilian clothes...he's always wearing that damn Wild sweater. I was talking to him the other day about how well the negotiations were going and his response echoed so many other fans who have simply given up and are sick of the bullshit, "Whatever, I've lost faith in these faggots to reach an agreement to save the year." Disregard the faggots part, not meant to be hurtful towards our gay readers. But anyways, he like so many of us, has just simply had enough. And I'm sure anyone in the Flyers universe has seen Eric before. Orange and Black Mohawk, Flyers tattoos on both sides of his head, and always wearing a Flyers jersey. I'm almost positive you've all seen him before. Anyway, I asked him for his take on what happened tonight and in one word I got "PATHETIC". When asked if he would watch again when it finally was back he replied "yea I'll watch but I'm considering cancelling my season tickets." That has to hit home not only to us but to the NHL and PA. If they can drive a fan like Eric to the point to where he doesn't want to pay to see them anymore, they have a serious problem.

I'm not saying that I'll never watch again, or that I'm not secretly hoping that the owners and players wake up tomorrow and think "shit, I just wanna get back to hockey...lets get something done." But I will certainly never be the fan that I once was, I used to scrape together any money I could get just to get some shitty seats up in the nose bleeds and pay 8 dollars a beer just so I could get the pleasure of seeing some of the best players in the world. Now I wouldn't pay a cent to them, I probably won't even pay for NHL Center Ice so I can watch them out here in Kansas. Feel free to share your feelings on the matter, I'm sure most of you are feeling the same way I am.

So About that Season...

Yea ok so the title sucks...sue me.

Obviously I haven't been on in quite some time, work sucks up all my time. And Borderlands 2, Battlefield 3 and alcohol suck up the rest of my time. But I've been following this lockout with some attentiveness, naturally, and I need to vent 'cause this is getting ridiculous.

When the NHLPA brought in Donald Fehr last year I knew that it would eventually come to this, Fehr is the poster child for lockouts and arguing with owners on the players behalf. When they brought him in, I figured things would probably get a little nasty between the two. But seriously guys, knock the shit off...I'm sick and tired of hearing who's fault it is and all that garbage.

Seeing the shift of hate go from mostly on the owners to the NHLPA has been quite a spectacle. In the beginning, everyone was on board on the hate train for the owners. We all saw them as greedy fucks who wanted to bleed the players of every dime they possibly could, and would do anything to get it; including locking the players out and depriving us of the sport we all love. Which we all know is horse shit, the league grossed over $3 billion last season (which, I might add, is an all time record for the league). The owners have raked in a ton of money off of us over the last few years, yet they act like they are on welfare and need every penny just to stay afloat. Then there was that giant used tampon of a commissioner Bettman who basically said "fuck the fans, we can lock out the players all season if we want....they'll be back when the doors open again." When I heard that I wanted to find out where the prick lives and burn his house down with him inside. What a dick slap right to our faces, that's one of the most heartless and arrogant things I've ever heard. I know it's been established that it's not all Bettman's fault, but having 3 lockouts under your belt in 20 years....fuck face needs to go!

 Now for the NHLPA. 

I was in lock step behind them in the beginning, especially after the first offer that the owners threw towards the players. It was absolutely ridiculous and nobody in their right mind thought that the NHLPA would accept. But since then, all I've heard is both sides not moving a muscle and refusing to give an inch. More recently, the NHLPA has just straight up pointed the finger owners and said "they're mean, and we're not gonna play with them until they apologize." Look guys, I don't wanna hear that the owners aren't playing nice. And I certainly don't wanna hear players crying and bitching about what they're gonna do and how they're gonna provide for their families and all that shit. While some people will blindly support you just because you are heroes to the fans, let's be real here for a minute. The league minimum is $500 thousand, the national average income for a family of 4 as of last month....$50,054. Your MINIMUM salary that you could possibly be paid is literally 10x what the average American family of 4 is expected to bring in over the year. If you're so fiscally irresponsible that you don't have any money saved up from your six figure salary...I don't have much sympathy. I head to P.T. in the morning at 0530 and get home at 5 in the afternoon at the earliest, I make somewhere around $38 thousand a year. So you can take your bitching and moaning about how you won't be able to afford private school for your kids and that 3rd car and 2nd house and shove it right up your ass, cause this dude isn't impressed. 

Now I'm just fed up with the whole thing. I just wanna see Groo undressing goalies left and right and Simmonds steamrolling people and taking pucks to the face like a fucking boss again. Split HRR 50/50 just like we know you'll eventually get to, and unlock the fucking doors so we can enjoy our favorite sport. Stop acting like a bunch of pussies, stop insulting our intelligence, and for the love of christ...stop having these 2 hour meetings and then just not talk for weeks. This is how children settle matters, do you think we could maybe act like adults? We'll see what happens, rumors are roaming about the NHLPA writing up a new proposal...I'm not getting my hopes up but at this point, I'll take any step in any direction

Knock Knocks

Let me first start out by saying.....what's up? I'm aware that it's been roughly a year since I wrote anything, going from civy to soldier sucks up a lot of time. Now I'm all settled in at my duty station I got a little more free time. Alright that's enough of that, let's get on with it....

Was it just me or was that the weirdest series any of you have ever seen? Unless I'm mistaken I think there was 56 goals scored in that series. 56 goals in 6 games is absolutely ridiculous. I admit I was happy when it was us scoring 8 goals in games 2 and 3 but still....that many goals in a playoff game is just insane. Goaltending was terrible for both teams this whole series, especially the first 3 games. I know we won 8-4 and 8-5 but if Fleury is on his game for 2 and 3 we probably don't win. You can't let in 5 goals in a playoff game and expect to win very often. All this season Bryz has been a point of concern for me. He is a good goalie, don't get me wrong; and I was certainly was not one of the ones bashing him in the middle of the season because he was in a slump. But this guy needs to get his rebounds under control, big time. This is the big show, playoff hockey is won in the corners and by the gritty guys right in front of the net that are gonna pound away until it goes it. If he can just keep those shots in his glove or angle his pads so the rebound goes into the corners he will be able to steal some for us. 

On to our rookies...

Coots totally made Malkin his bitch this series. When a 19 year old can make the league's top scoring forward in the regular series look like a non-issue that says something. He was passed up by a few teams cause he had mono, boy was that a mistake. This kid is gritty, smart, fast and can shoot the puck when he gets the chance. He's a perfect fit for this team and I personally love his attitude. Read has been a steady penalty killer and all around hard worker for us. He's faster than a gazelle on coke and he's got a good head on his shoulders, another good pick up by Homer. Schenn is probably my favorite rookie. He yapps at the opponent constantly, he digs in the corners, he can hit like a freight train and he works his ass off every shift. Not to mention he was the highest ranked Canadian Jr. last year before he was drafted. I love this kid, he's got talent and he's got the attitude that has been become associated with Flyer hockey.

How about the performance from our top line? Groo sets records for points in a series and in a single playoff game. Jags and Hartnell have also been dominant pretty much all season, when they were all healthy anyway. But Groo man...holy shit is this guy scary good or what? He's got amazing hockey sense, great vision, soft hands, a wicked shot (when he doesn't pass) and the best attitude you could have for a leader. He brings energy and confidence to the team. Idk about any of you but when I see him on the ice I almost expect him to make an amazing play, that's just in his character. 

Finally, to the flightless birds. This team showed it's true colors this series. Malkin, Neal, Cindy, Asham and Adams all showed that they are fine with playing filthy. There are even penguin fans that are disgraced to be associated with their own team, who woulda thought right? I definitely saw a switch of attitudes towards both teams. Before this series everyone was gargling the penguins nuts but after that disgraceful showing in game 3 everyone was calling them cheap, dirty, crybabies that whine and bitch like pregnant women. Never would I think I would see Milbury and Roenick publicly bash the whole organization but they did. They have a lot of soul searching to do in the offseason, which starts today : ) cya next year homos.

All in all I think that was an insane series. As long as our D and Bryz can keep it together, we have a legit chance at beating whatever teams are left after the first round. We have the talent and the heart to hoist up Lord Stanley in June, just have to keep our focus. Good hard fought series by both teams, best of luck to the pens players as they descend on the golf courses next week (snow storm heading into Shitsburgh today so no golf for a while). And for our boys, take a couple days to savor yet another victory in the Pennsylvania Civil War, but keep your focus and come out swinging against whoever we end up playing next series.

Good night and good hockey Flyers Phaithful

2-1-1

Sorry for the long lull in between posts people, been busy and honestly forgot about this for a few weeks. And in a completely unrelated subject, if you guys haven't seen Insidious you should get on that. Creepy as all balls, but I digress.

2-1-1 is our record so far in the playoffs. The last 1 referring of course to that sorry excuse for officiating we had to endure last night so the refs won that one. Everyone in Flyers Country knows that we aren't exactly the refs or the league's favorite team. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, and I'm always looking for another excuse as to why the team loses, and there usually is one. Bad goaltending, a non-existent powerplay, stupid blunders, or just pure unadulterated lazyassness. None of which I saw last night, with the obvious exception of the powerplay but it was a shutout so what do you expect? The team played pretty decent hockey in the first 40, and just flat out phenomenal in the last 15/10 minutes. You could make an argument that Miller stole the game for them, and you'd be partially right. But the refs last night were the real reason we lost last night. I have 3 examples, but I'm sure there was a bunch more. These 3 are the ones that stood out the most though. Number 1:

 

Admittedly I didn't see this one right away, I saw it on the replay. But it is so damn obvious, blatant and dangerous that it is beyond me why the league isn't handing out supplemental discipline to Kaleta. Now this might not have been the refs fault per say, there's only 4 of them and they have to keep their eye on everything. But if I were in the NHL front office and saw this, Kaleta would be getting a 1 game suspension; a fine at the very least, this shows a clear intent to injure Zherdev.

Number 2 is Carcillo getting a roughing call after being punched in the face by Miller and then choke slammed by one of the Sabers defensemen. Can't find a video for this one but if you watched the game you know exactly what I'm talking about. Carcillo didn't even retaliate, which is so not in his character. I mean yea, he did get up and try to go after Miller but he never actually made any contact. That one was WAY beyond my understanding. I've never liked Carcillo at all, but dude played one hell of a game last night and definitely didn't deserve that penalty. It was the crest on the front and the name on the back of his sweater that got him that trip to the box.

And number 3...the biggest bullshit call of the game, and you probably know what I'm talking about...Richie getting 5 minutes for defending himself. Here's the vid:

 

Now, just to set the record straight...What he did WAS a penalty. He threw up his elbow and that's a big no no. But listen to that video again, JJ, Coatsey and Bill are all completely amazed that Richie was banished to the box for 5 minutes. Anyone that's listen to these guys over the years knows that, while they are our color commentators and analysts; they are really fair about blaming the Flyers if they do something wrong. In fact, hardly ever do you hear them just flat out disagree with the refs. They usually try to be impartial, no matter how much they have to strain rationality. So for them to just flat out say it's ridiculous...that's saying something. 

Game 5 is tomorrow night in Philly and you can bet your orange and black asses that the Fly boys will be out for nothing less than Patrick Kaleta's head with a side helping of Ryan Miller's balls. I had tremendous respect for Miller after the Olympics last year...yea that's all gone. He's managed to make me go from liking him to hating his guys in just 4 short games...bravo sir. And Kaleta has moved into 1st place on my most hated players list. He was floating around number 5/6 or so but this series has propelled him straight past Cooke, Avery, Gillies and their ilk. And here's an interesting quote from Lindy Ruff, or as I affectionately call him "Hush puppy" about us whining about last night's game:

"I just feel they're doing a lot of whining. They're really doing a lot of whining. I didn't hear any whining when they had 10 powerplays in Philly and I didn't hear any whining when the powerplays in the first game were lopsided. But all of a sudden there's all this whining about we're getting away with murder. That's a bunch of crap. That's for the media, that's for the officials to read. Here, let's get the next call. That's a bunch of crap. Let's just play.
We're just playing. There hasn't been one word about the officiating out of us. But if they want to cry about the officiating and whine about different calls, go ahead. Go ahead."

 So there's some brain food for you guys to digest...and just to lighten the mood:

You're Killin' Me Smalls

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".

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...

 

Homer's Been A Busy Bee

The title is pretty self-explanatory, the last week or so has seen a trade, putting people on waivers, claiming people off waivers and some shitty play (see last night's game). I only got to see bits and pieces of first and second period and none of the third so I can't really say anything about it. I did see Zherdev being a boss though, that was nice.

Anyways, back to Homer. The Versteeg trade with the Leafs was a pretty damn good one the way I see it. He is a proven stud when he needs to be, he wreaked havoc on us last year during the finals and has a reputation of not letting pressure get to him in the big games. He also comes semi-cheap, at just a tad over $3 million per season, he is probably worth anywhere from 3.5-4 million so we got top notch talent at a bargain price. Now just to be clear, I'm not saying that he's gonna be this huge stud, I'm not saying that he's the piece that was missing and he's gonna deliver Lord Stanley to us. He's a gritty bulldog that works his ass off in the corners and has a pretty nice wrist shot. He's a great compliment to Richie's play making ability and has the attitude that both the Flyers staff and fans want and enjoy. And what did we have to give up for this guy? A first and third round draft pick, which is a kin to robbing the Leafs blind. 

I understand why they did it, they know they suck....they know that unless they can get some studs via draft, they will always suck. They're not making the playoffs this year so they give up one of their top scorers in exchange for a few future hopeful studs. Looking at it that way, it sounds pretty reasonable...but there's a catch. They gave up a proven goal scorer and a pretty cheery personality in the locker room for some unknowns. Next year's draft class isn't a particularly impressive one, there's no future Ovechkins or Stamkos's or anything like that the pick they got in the first round is most likely going to be in the last five of the round. So I'd have to say when you look at it that way, we really got a deal and they kind of got screwed. Now their first round pick might end up being the next Gretzky, in which case I will have to shove my foot down my throat, but it's not likely.

Then there was the whole Zherdev being put on waivers thingy, honestly I knew it was coming, but I thought it would have been a trade. I never expected him to be waived. Anybody who's read anything I've written before knows that I always defended Zherdev, shortcomings and all, I've even said they needed to trade him so the poor guy could get some playing time somewhere. I thought maybe Lavy just hated Russians or something but it turns out that what really sunk him was his attitude. In my playing days I ran across a few guys like him, they think their shit doesn't stink and that they're the best thing to ever step on the ice. Yea, they're good and they can deliver when they want to, but you hate being around them cause they're so damn cocky, they never pass and they feel like they don't need to try that hard cause they're so good. Remembering how much I disliked those guys, it wasn't that hard to see why he was scratched so often. So he bitched to his agent, who bitched to Homer, who bitched to other GM's to take him, they bitched back at him because he was a selfish bitch, and he bitched that no other teams wanted him...yea, there was a lot of bitching going on during this. Let's not even discuss the fans bitching, I can't handle it. So after the bitching, they decided to just put him on waivers and see if he would get claimed...he didn't. And to a guy with an ego the size of a blue whale's erect penis, that's like getting told that santa isn't real again. He had a few talks with Lavs and Homer, productive talks I hear, and they explained why they did what they did and what he needed to do to get out of the dog house. I know, he's only been back one game, but the way he played last night...it definitely looks like he got the message. Dude was everywhere, even in the defensive zone...and no, you read that right, DEFENSIVE ZONE. Only time will tell but he definitely made a case for him to play at least the next game, hopefully we're gonna get to see the highlight reel Z from now on.

Finally, getting Boynton off of waivers. In my opinion, another solid move by Homes. He's going to be scratched unless there's an injury of course, but he's a hell of a lot better than Barts is. Barts only has about 65 NHL games to his name and owns a very depressing -16 +/- rating, and no points in his NHL career. Boynton on the other hand, has almost 600 NHL games on his record, a Stanley Cup ring, respectable +22 rating and 144 NHL points. He also has over 850 penalty minutes, so he'll be a great fit with our club. He's been around the league for a while so there's more of that oft-mentioned "veteran presence" in the locker room...oh yea I forgot, he's actually cheaper than Barts is. He makes 500k while Barts makes 600k, so we got a better player than we have now, for cheaper. I'm definitely not gonna miss Barts but Bob probably will...that's one less person for him to talk to in the locker room. Only got Z, who doesn't talk to anybody and Andrej the Giant left now. He better kick it in the ass with his English lessons.

All in all, I give Homer a solid A for the moves he's made in the last year. The Gagne trade hurt a bit, but it all turned out for the best. With the deadline tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if anything changes. Rumors are circulating about possibly getting Marty Reasoner but I have no idea where it came from so don't be surprised if the rumor is just that. The way the team is set up, I really think that he could either make a move or not make one and we'd be okay. A stud goalie would be nice but Bobs and Boosh are doing a fantastic job, so it's not really necessary.

Down Kitty

Shout out to my boy Eric Superfan on facebook for the title. But that's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of what the players and coaches were thinking in that third period. Our first period was absolutely spectacular, when you hold a team to 5 shots you know you're doing a good job. And how about Versteeg getting his first point as a Flyer? As much as I resent the guy for winning the cup last year, he really is a good player. Nice soft hands, good hockey smarts, and the type of grit that all of us Flyers fans love. Carle and Coburn had silently good nights, and Noodle finally got that elusive 10th goal of the season. And I'm nominating him for the Veznia Trophy for that series of saves he made behind Bob. 

Speaking of Bob, jumpin Jesus was he spectacular last night. He looks more and more like the Bob of the beginning of the season every start he makes. It does help that in his rookie season, he has one of the best if not the best defense corps in the league but this kid definitely has what it takes to be a difference maker in this league. In other news, The Redemption Line wasn't complete today, with Villie being out with some sort of mysterious lower body injury. Which brings me to what's really getting on my nerves...

Dan Carcillo and Jody Shelley both got the call today while, once again, Nik Zherdev was banished to the press box. I could understand if it was a real physical team, like Boston/Shittsburgh/NY or something like that. But as far as I know (and I really don't pay attention to the Panthers so I could easily be mistaken) they aren't a real physical team and don't have a bonified enforcer, so really neither Carcillo or Shelley was necessary let alone both of them. What I do know about Florida though is that they have what it takes to beat almost any team in the league, including shutting us out right before the Christmas break. They have a great goalie and a few potent scorers, so I would personally think we would need more offense, not someone who's gonna log 4 minutes of ice time and possibly take a stupid penalty. Yes, we know Z doesn't play D, yes, we know he can get lazy. But with the defense and other players on his line, is it really THAT necessary that he's a back checking genius? I don't think so. If you look at Z's stats from back when he was on the Jackets and the Rags, you'll see that this year is actually the first year in his career that he's been a + player. He has definitely changed up his game a little bit and it seems to have gone unnoticed. I like the kind of game he plays and I feel sorry for him that his come back year is getting cut short. This is essentially his try out for a contract for another team next year, and he doesn't even get to play. Hopefully they either knock this shit off and they sit someone that deserves to be sat *cough* Carcillo *cough* or they just trade him so he can actually play somewhere else. With his skill set and his measly $2 million cap hit, many a team that needs a creative winger would be interested in him, he would fetch a draft pick or 2. It's painfully clear that he will not be back next year, and it's equally clear that they don't want him to play so I see Zherdev out of Philly before the deadline. 

What are your thoughts? Should they keep him, trade him? What will he fetch?

Bittersweet

That's kind of how I felt when I got wind last night that we had acquired Kris Versteeg from Toronto for the 1st and 3rd round draft picks. Bitter for obvious reasons, Versteeg was part of that asshole Chicago team that snatched our cup dreams away from us on our own ice. And he was pretty stellar against the Flyers in particular, posting I believe 5 points in 6 games against us in the finals. Dude even has a tattoo on his arm of the date he won the cup on his arm. But now by a strange turn of events, he calls Philly home now and presumably will until the end of next season, so we might as well get used to him. There is an up side to having a former Hawk on our team though...

Versteeg already has 35 points this year, 14 goals 21 assists. And he got them on one of the worst teams in the league. He doesn't have the supporting cast that he did in Chicago, Dave Bolland in particular, and he still manages to put up the points. He's not the biggest guy, and he's not the fastest guy, but he is pretty adept at being a pest. Picture Carcillo with JVR's talent and not as much temper and you got a pretty good idea of what Versteeg can do. And as for giving up the picks to get him, relatively speaking this next draft class is pretty weak and we would be in the bottom 10 to bottom 5 in the first round anyway so really this was a pretty good move to make. He's a very talented player and when he's surrounded by other talented players he can really flourish. He's a great compliment to the style that Richie likes to play, my prediction...Versteeg gets 7-12 goals at least before the playoffs start if he can buy into Lavy's system in time. 

Oh and a little side note...this is apparently how Tampa Bay's stadium decides to try and pump up their fans, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would probably walk out of the Wells Fargo Center if they every tried to pull shit shit on us.

 

0-10-1

Wow man, Kari Lehtonen must absolutely hate when he sees the little Flyers logo on the game schedule. Not posting a single win against Philly in his entire career is a pretty shitty stat. He has the longest standing winless streak against a team out of any goaltender...that's not a record anybody wants to have. But that's good for us, as we post yet another loss in his stat book. I was expecting a bit more scoring in this game, but you can't always get what you want right? 

The overall effort of the O&B tonight wasn't that bad. There was a few times, particularly in the 2nd period, where they were chasing the puck a bit and looked like they were a little lost. The Dallas goal was a perfect example of that, but aside from those tense moments, it was a pretty decent game. Seriously though, what the hell got into Boosh and Carter? Bob gets pulled against Tampa and Boosh only lets in 1 in 2 periods and then slammed the door big time tonight, particularly in Ott's face. I have no idea who this new Boosh is, but I like him. And Carter, it might be his juicy contract extension, it might not...but whatever it is, it's lit a fire under his ass. He has 14 points in the last 11 games I believe and 25 goals on the season, he also seems to be hustling a lot more this season. Whatever has gotten into those two, I hope it stays. And just a side note, I personally believe Burish intentionally got his ass handed to him up in Boston so he wouldn't have to play against Pronger and get a super elbow. Stupid pussy. That's all I really have to say about the game tonight, nothing really remarkable about it except for....POWE right in the kissa! Beautiful short-handed goal, and first of his career so kuddos to him.


Some notes around the league: Crosby and Malkin will get to cry eachother to sleep every night now, which is awesome. So far the flightless birds haven't followed the trend I predicted if they lost Cindy and Sloth/Geno. But I don't think this winning will last long, and definitely won't survive the playoffs if Cindy isn't back in by then.


Foopa is skating with the Avs again. Seriously, I love the guy to death, he's an extremely nice person and one hell of a hockey player, but enough is enough man. One Brett Farve in the world is enough (hopefully Foopa has enough sense not to take pictures of his dick and send them to chicks too). 


And how about Nabby telling Garth Snow to go fuck himself and not reporting to Long Island after getting picked up on waivers? That definitely made me chuckle a little bit. I think the Isles handled it right though, he wanted them to either trade him or place him back on waivers but they decided to play hardball and suspend him so they still own his rights going into next season. For an aging goalie, who thinks he's worth more than he is and has a horrible playoff pedigree...I think he went and fucked up a little bit.


The trade deadline is coming up, and coming fast. There's some buzz going around the Shittsburgh sphere about possibly getting Rick Nash. Not exactly sure what the rumored trade was supposed to be but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Malkin. Funny how fast the Shittsburgh "fans" jump off their player's dicks isn't it? Ray Emery is trying to get back into the league, and apparently Holmer has shown some interest in him. We already have 3 NHL goalies, we really don't need another one. Detroit and the Ducks are supposed to be the other 2 teams showing interest, and in all honesty, with the goalie problems they both are having, don't be surprised if either of those 2 teams get him. It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks pan out and see which players get dealt to which teams. I have a feeling that some kind of big trade is coming somewhere in the league. There usually is one, hopefully not one that cripples a team for the next 15 years like what happened to NJ last year. Not only is he a Devil...he's in both of my fantasy leagues, dude is getting on my last nerve. 


Superbowl Sunday, with a winter classic rematch at 12:30 on NBC so tomorrow promises to be jam packed with good sports and a few beverages. Any predictions about either the pens/caps game or the superbowl? Or both?

Open Season on Zebras

Ok first and foremost, I'm aware I haven't written in just about a month and for that I apologize. Been a little bit busy/lazy and admittedly kinda forgot about the blog for a while but I'm back. I hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Years (I know I did) and I assure you I have been watching the Orange and Black. Honorable mention from last week...our boys won their first game in Detroit since before I was born, so kuddos to them. Now on to tonight's game.

That was a bit of a fluky game, lots of goals allowed by each team. One of which I'll get to in a minute. Boosh looked relatively decent in goal, there were a few goals he let in that were a bit questionable but for Boosh that's to be expected. There were a few times, especially in the second period, where Boosh completely bailed the Flyers out and kept the game close. As much as I've ripped him in the past, Boosh has been pretty solid in the net. Bob has been having some difficulties but it's to be expected from a 22 year old rookie from Russia that's getting acclimated to the North American style of gameplay. What really chaps my ass is that Zherdev continues to get scratched for sub-par players, with the obvious exception of tonight. He had a slight knee injury and got better just in time to be scratched. Seriously the guy has 14 goals in...36 games I believe, and may I point out he's been on the 4th line for some of those games. Now, I know I'm not in the locker room, I can't say what kind of teammate he is, I can't say that he's the nicest person to be around but as a hockey player myself I can say that what you do on the ice is 1000000x more important. He's tied for 5th on the team in goals with 15 after tonight's game, and as a fan I can tell you that's what is important to me. He knows how to put the puck in the net and at the end of the day, that's what matters.

And on to the goal that really wasn't a goal...yea if the zebras could actually do their jobs and notice that the mesh actually fluttered when the puck hit it, I'm not saying the Flyers would have definitely won but without the momentum the tying goal gave the Bruins, they had a good chance to at least getting to overtime. As Phaithful we should be used to beyond questionable calls going against the Flyers but today stung pretty badly. When the refs literally give the other team the tying goal...it cuts pretty deep. Luckily the Bud Light was flowing pretty well tonight so I'm not as violent and pissed off as I would usually be but I can still recognize a screwing when I see it. 

There's not too much more to say about tonight's game, with the way it was played it was really anybody's game. There was like 4 or 5 different lead changes and both goalies stood on their heads and let in soft goals. Despite the fact that we lost it really was a good game, definitely had a playoff feel to it. Hopefully we'll meet the B's in the playoffs again (but not with the cardiac arrest inducing ending) and come out with the W again. Tomorrow night we square off against Chicago East, with some Thrashers mixed in. Atlanta had their way with us last year in the words of Jim Jackson but we're a different team this year so if we stick to Flyer's hockey we should pull out a W. 

Again I know it's been a while and I promise I'll keep up with the Flyers better from now on. On a side note, I joined the army and I'll be leaving for boot camp in May, so in the likely event that we're still in the playoffs I'll leave the rooting for the Orange and Black to Eric Superfan and the rest of the Phaithful. Like I said before I hope everybody had a great holiday season...Let's Go Flyers! 

Unlucky 13

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:






 

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.

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.

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.

I gotta be honest, after that I seriously considered turning the game off. They were pissing me off so much, and what adds insult to injury is they were blowing a game to the fucking Islanders...a team the Phantoms (who are in last place in the AHL right now) could beat. But Lavy called a time-out so I figured I'd give them a few more minutes before I gave up on them for the day. Not too much later Noodle had a nice little tip to slide one past the old ass goaltender for the Isles. A few minutes later the H-B-L line did a nice bit of touch passing and second chance puck movement so Leino could make a beautiful pass to Danny B who buried it behind old fuck. They took a 3-2 lead and that's how it was stayin for the rest of the day, but seriously...it should have been so much better.

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. 

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?

 

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. 

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.

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.