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.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
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?
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?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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?
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?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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:
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:
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Our Bud Light Player of the Game is.......Boucher?
Yea I said it...Boucher. Anybody who either knows me or has read any of my previous posts knows that I like Boucher slightly more than Cindy, but I give respect when it's due and Boosh earned it tonight...wow what a game for no. 33. It's games like this that drive me up a fucking wall about this guy...he's capable of playing the way he did today but the next game he plays he'll probably fall back into the old Boosh we're so used to seeing. But enough of trashing him for tonight, let him bask in his glory for getting the W over that machine the B's got in between their pipes.
Tonight was pretty much as close to textbook Flyers hockey as you'll get. Superb puck movement, good solid checks, crisp passing, nice grinding in the corner, winning puck battles and just pure hustle...we also had the added bonus of supreme goaltending, all in all, it was an excellent day to be a fan of the boys in Orange and Black. Prongs made a pretty rookie mistake that led to the lone B's goal but Richie finally made an OT goal count (lol!) and the boys got their 2 points that they deserved. Even if they had lost, it really was one hell of a game to watch, great pace and awesome emotion in the whole game.
Moving on, Shelley made his case for him to be scratched when he gets back from his almost certain suspension he earned himself tonight. As much as I love our Flyers and hate all other teams, you don't push an opposing player from behind and send him face first into the boards...ever. One of my old coaches from my playing days told us if we ever hit someone in their numbers we would be doing nothing but sprints during practice and be sitting out for as many games as he saw fit, I believe Lavy should adopt this policy. This would solve some of the roster problems the Flyboyz have been having lately, at least for a little while.
Leighton is scheduled for a return tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, the CBA only allows for 1 extension on a conditioning assignment so he'll be making his return by the time Cindy and friends roll into town on Tuesday. Holmer, in all his infinite wisdom has gone on the record saying he wants to roll 3 goaltenders when Leights gets back. When we're already scratching a player every game because of roster issues, does it really make sense to add another bench warmer? No, not really. Unlike other bloggers I'm not gonna give my 2 cents on what I think they should do about the goalies, obviously I think Bobo should stay but as for the other 2...as much as I don't like Boosh, he's gettin shit done so far this season and Leighton hasn't played an actual game against NHLers since the preseason. It should be interesting to say the least over the next few weeks to see who goes where, but whatever Holmer decides, it better be the right call.
Zherdev was a healthy scratch again tonight, that pissed me off something fierce when I heard it...partly because he's in my fantasy league and I forgot to bench him before the game started so I had a useless player in my line up. But it mostly got under my skin because Zherdev seems to be paying a price for actually putting up some points while having to play with Betts and Shelley for most of his games. Yes, I understand he takes shifts off...yes, I understand that he's pretty irresponsible defensively...yes, he is a prick that doesn't talk to the media almost at all, or his mates for that matter...but as far as I know, we didn't bring him here to do any of those things. He was brought here to score goals, which he is doing. Holmer knew damn well when he signed him that he had attitude problems and could be lazy from time to time and wasn't really a 2 way player, but he still signed him and he did it for him to put the puck in the net. He's 5th on the team in goals scored with 9, a pretty impressive stat when you factor in he sees somewhere around 10-12 minutes a game. Seriously what else does the guy have to do? He's making the best with what he's got, he was given a brief opportunity early on to play with Groo and JVR but got banished to the 4th line pretty quickly and has either been there or the pressbox ever since. If I were him, I'd probably have an attitude problem too. He's no Ovechkin but he's definitely not 4th line material, hopefully he gets a chance to "redeem" himself and gets a permanent position on one of the higher lines with a gifted passer so he can start putting the puck in the net even more than he is now. Let's not forget that this guy is a rental, he's only here for 1 year. We're not gonna change his game, why would he change when he knows he's not gonna get a job next year unless he somehow nets 50 goals or something like that? It's not our job to try and shape him up, it's our job to take advantage of his over developed hockey skills so we can dominate the opposition. He's good but as far as I know, you can't score from the pressbox.
Tonight was pretty much as close to textbook Flyers hockey as you'll get. Superb puck movement, good solid checks, crisp passing, nice grinding in the corner, winning puck battles and just pure hustle...we also had the added bonus of supreme goaltending, all in all, it was an excellent day to be a fan of the boys in Orange and Black. Prongs made a pretty rookie mistake that led to the lone B's goal but Richie finally made an OT goal count (lol!) and the boys got their 2 points that they deserved. Even if they had lost, it really was one hell of a game to watch, great pace and awesome emotion in the whole game.
Moving on, Shelley made his case for him to be scratched when he gets back from his almost certain suspension he earned himself tonight. As much as I love our Flyers and hate all other teams, you don't push an opposing player from behind and send him face first into the boards...ever. One of my old coaches from my playing days told us if we ever hit someone in their numbers we would be doing nothing but sprints during practice and be sitting out for as many games as he saw fit, I believe Lavy should adopt this policy. This would solve some of the roster problems the Flyboyz have been having lately, at least for a little while.
Leighton is scheduled for a return tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, the CBA only allows for 1 extension on a conditioning assignment so he'll be making his return by the time Cindy and friends roll into town on Tuesday. Holmer, in all his infinite wisdom has gone on the record saying he wants to roll 3 goaltenders when Leights gets back. When we're already scratching a player every game because of roster issues, does it really make sense to add another bench warmer? No, not really. Unlike other bloggers I'm not gonna give my 2 cents on what I think they should do about the goalies, obviously I think Bobo should stay but as for the other 2...as much as I don't like Boosh, he's gettin shit done so far this season and Leighton hasn't played an actual game against NHLers since the preseason. It should be interesting to say the least over the next few weeks to see who goes where, but whatever Holmer decides, it better be the right call.
Zherdev was a healthy scratch again tonight, that pissed me off something fierce when I heard it...partly because he's in my fantasy league and I forgot to bench him before the game started so I had a useless player in my line up. But it mostly got under my skin because Zherdev seems to be paying a price for actually putting up some points while having to play with Betts and Shelley for most of his games. Yes, I understand he takes shifts off...yes, I understand that he's pretty irresponsible defensively...yes, he is a prick that doesn't talk to the media almost at all, or his mates for that matter...but as far as I know, we didn't bring him here to do any of those things. He was brought here to score goals, which he is doing. Holmer knew damn well when he signed him that he had attitude problems and could be lazy from time to time and wasn't really a 2 way player, but he still signed him and he did it for him to put the puck in the net. He's 5th on the team in goals scored with 9, a pretty impressive stat when you factor in he sees somewhere around 10-12 minutes a game. Seriously what else does the guy have to do? He's making the best with what he's got, he was given a brief opportunity early on to play with Groo and JVR but got banished to the 4th line pretty quickly and has either been there or the pressbox ever since. If I were him, I'd probably have an attitude problem too. He's no Ovechkin but he's definitely not 4th line material, hopefully he gets a chance to "redeem" himself and gets a permanent position on one of the higher lines with a gifted passer so he can start putting the puck in the net even more than he is now. Let's not forget that this guy is a rental, he's only here for 1 year. We're not gonna change his game, why would he change when he knows he's not gonna get a job next year unless he somehow nets 50 goals or something like that? It's not our job to try and shape him up, it's our job to take advantage of his over developed hockey skills so we can dominate the opposition. He's good but as far as I know, you can't score from the pressbox.
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