Game #35 Preview: Flyers @ Blackhawks 12/26/08

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Still drunk off egg nog and peppermint Schnapps, the Flyers head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks in a battle of the Eastern #4 seed vs. the Western Conference #4 seed.

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• The Flyers have won seven of their last nine, and fourteen of their last seventeen. None too shabby.
• The Blackhawks have won seven straight. Their luck has to run out soon, right? Right?
• The Blackhawks gotta be distracted by the upcoming Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day. Less than a week away, and with media attention galore, it would be easy for them to overlook this game.
• Cristobal Huet might start, and he is definitely not the reason for Chicago's success, winning "only" half his games. Plus he may still be traumatized by this. Or this. Or this.

Why The Flyers Will Lose:

• The Blackhawks have won seven straight. And in some style, scoring an average of over four goals in those seven games, including putting up seven on Phoenix and nine(!) on Edmonton.
• The Flyers are 1-3 against Original Six teams this year.
• Holiday travel sucks.
• This will likely be Marty Biron's first game back from a long absence from the flu, against a very fast and potent offense. If he's at all rusty, the Blackhawks will light him up early and often. Here's hoping Marty saves his return for Columbus tomorrow.
• The Blackhawks have two players in Patrick Sharp and Ben Eager that now suck significantly less than they did when they were with the Flyers. The Flyers seeing them not suck may very well be jarring.

Puck drops at 8:30 EST. Stupid Central time.