How Do the Flyers Classic?

It's the second intermission of the Winter Classic now, Detroit up 4-3 on the 'Hawks at Wrigley (setting the stage for a big hometeam comeback, I betcha). The game has been pretty awesome, the setting is awesome, and the hype is beyond awesome.

So how do the Flyers get a piece of the action? Here are what I think would be the Flyers' best three chances to get into a Winter Classic game. (Warning: None of these would take place in Philly, sorry)

1. Philadelphia Flyers @ Washington Capitals. If the NHL gives DC a bid (likely because of Ovechkin), the Flyers would be the obvious choice of opponent. We're the Caps' closest opponent, a long time rival, and Pittsburgh has already had a shot at a Winter Classic. The game could be at some specially created rink down by the monuments, in the shadow of the Capitol or something. It'd be pretty sweet. Alternatively, the game could be held at a more neutral site in Baltimore (maybe Camden Yards), which is as major an in-between city as exists between two NHL rivals.

2. Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @ Penn State. This scenario has been getting the most hype. It has a lot of pluses, such as a neutral location, Battle of Pennsylvania themes, enormous Happy Valley capacity (100k+ would easily be biggest ever), and two teams with no love lost between them. The reason I think it's less likely than Flyers-Caps is because of Pittsburgh's previous Winter Classic participation. I have to think the NHL is going to let a few more years pass before they start recycling teams.

3. Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Rangers. The Rangers are more likely to be slated against the Islanders, Devils, and even Bruins, but this scenario isn't impossible. Division rivals who play exciting, nasty hockey, from two big nearby cities. The venues would be cool, too. Yankee Stadium or Central park would be the front-runners.

I don't see any of these scenarios happening next season (Montreal-Boston at Fenway seems like the odds on bet), but I would be surprised NOT to see the Flyers in a Winter Classic by 2012 at the latest.

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

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Not much to say about this one. The Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL right now. No shame in losing to an Original Six team that is setting all-time franchise records. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Travel problems and scheduling made this game pretty unwinnable. And the injuries may make the next one unwinnable too.

Meh.

Running Thoughts: Flyers @ Blackhawks 12/26/08

First Period

• Why is Biron starting? This is a horrible team for him to come back against.
• Flyers plane circling for hours and no morning skate? Swell.
• And just over a minute in, a big, juicy Biron rebound makes it a quick 1-0 for the 'Hawks.
• Just over a minute after that, a Sharp shot top-shelf makes it 2-0. This could be a real long night. And a real short night for Biron.
• Metropolit misses a breakaway, frustrated Flyers take a penalty. Boo.
• Penalty killed and the Richards scores from a nice defensive breakdown from Chicago. 2-1 Chicago.
• Real nice steal from Knuble followed by a real dumb turnover.
• Real nice long possession by the third-first line. Doesn't lead to anything, but still nice.
• Penalty against the 'Hawks with 0.8 seconds left in the period. Not sure why they made Toews sit in
• Flyers seem to have shook off the rust, are playing pretty well now. To escape with only a one-goal deficit after that shittalicious start isn't too bad.

Second Period

• Garbage penalty on Knuble seventy seconds in stops what had been a nice power play.
• Asham-Giroux-Metropolit line is having a real nice night.
• Gratton wins a fight. He seems to win more than Cote, though he may be in a different weight class.
• Real nice glove save by Biron on what coulda been a real unlucky goal.
• No shots on goal for the Flyers in the first eight minutes of the second. Seven for the Blackhawks.
• This game has really slowed down. All the goals in the first nine minutes.
• Fifteen minutes in the second, still no Flyers shots. 26-9 total shot count. Bleh.
• Flyers get their first shot of the period with 1:48 remaining.
• Nice save by Biron on a minibreak by Patrick Kane.
• Dumb slashing penalty by Lupul with a minute left.
• And another penalty at the buzzer, this one on Gagne. This one wasn't as dumb, though. But the 'Hawks start the third with a minute of 5-on-3.

Third Period

• 'Hawks score on a five on three. 3-1 Chicago. It expires, and the Flyers immediately take two more penalties, the second an especially dumb over-the-glass by Powe, giving the Hawks another whopping 1:55 of 5-on-3.
• And another goal on a 5-on-3. This one from Versteeg and his ENORMOUS front teeth. 4-1 Chicago.
• Luca Sbisa has had a pretty awful.
• For good measure the Hawks quickly add an even strength goal. 5-1 Chicago. Let's see if they leave Biron in for this last fifteen minutes.
• Flyers can do the comeback from 5-1 down thing again, right? Right?
• Richie fights are always good to see. That's what Flyers captaincy is all about.
• Time runs out. Flyers lose. The scheduling and the flight delays are what I blame for entirely expected loss, they should have everything together by tomorrow night in Ohio.

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.

Road Trip!

The Flyers are 10-0-2 in their last twelve home games. What better time to go on a six-game road trip? What prospect could be more exciting than thirteen of the next eighteen games away from home?

Because of their location right in the center of it all in Philadelphia, the Flyers do less traveling than most any other team. No team in the NHL has a less distant most distant divisional opponent (you may have to read that more than once to get it).

The Flyers have won less than half their road games, stacking up a decidedly unimpressive 7-4-4 record away from home this year, and are winless outside the Eastern Time Zone. The Flyers have only won one game on the road this year that followed another road game. And so on and so on...

Now that all the doom and gloom is out of the way, here's a quick blow-by-blow of the Flyers' next two weeks of nomadism:

1. @ Chicago, 12/26. There may be no worse team to be facing right now than the Blackhawks. The combination of Patrick Kane (#1 in Western Conference forward All-Star voting), Jonathan Toews (#2 in Western Conference forward All-Star voting), and the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field have made hockey suddenly relevant in this once deadest of Original Six cities, with the Blackhawks now easily selling out every home game. The 'Hawks have won seven in a row, including a couple huge blowouts, as well as a sweep of the Flames, Oilers, and Canucks on a swing through Western Canada. This isn't the team you want to start a long road campaign against.


2. @ Columbus, 12/27. You gotta feel for Blue Jackets fans, who are still waiting on their first playoff appearance in this their ninth season. They do have some nice goaltending coming up in Steve Mason, and they did have that one fluke nice win over San Jose. The Flyers have never lost to the Blue Jackets in their seven previous meetings. The real concern here is that the Flyers have to play in front of thousands of Ohioans on an "All You Can Eat Night." Even with plexiglass separating the Flyers from the hoards of masticating Buckeyes, it has to be a troubling scene.



3. @ Vancouver 12/30. The last Flyers game of 2008 is in Vancouver, home of the 2010 Olympics and one of the most unpredictable teams in the NHL. The Canucks have been minus-Luongo, but are now plus-Sundin, a change to the equation that might not make a ton of difference early on given Mats' absence from the game. The Flyers are secretly phenomenal in Vancouver, stacking up a 30-10-12 (W-L-T, no OTLs) all-time record in British Columbia.


4. @ Anaheim 1/2. After ringing in 2009 at Disneyland (presumably), the Flyers face the Anaheim Ducks, who seem to have now fully recovered from falling flat on their faces in the 2008 playoffs during their attempt to defend their 2007 Stanley Cup. The Ducks have recovered from their early losing skids, and have racked up plenty of wins lately. It is easily noted, however, that most all of these wins have come against pretty crappy teams. And the Flyers are not a crappy team.


5. @ Los Angeles 1/3. The second-to-last regular season game for the Flyers outside of the Eastern Time Zone is at the Staples Center, versus the always disappointing Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are so bad that FS-W interviews the cast of Chuck during play rather than show the game. The Flyers should be happy to get the Kings past regulation, where they are a decidedly less-than-kingly 2-6.


6. @ Washington 1/6. The Flyers end their epic six-game trek close to home, at the friendly confines of the Verizon Center, where they play an otherwise hot Capitals team that pooed all over themselves upon stepping onto the ice in Philadelphia last Saturday in a blowout 7-1 loss at the Wachovia Center. This marks the Flyers' first return to D.C. since their Game 7 OT win in the first round of the 2008 playoffs, their first return since getting garbage thrown at them during post-game interviews. Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau vowed revenge or something after the Caps aforementioned self-pooing in Philadelphia last Saturday, so we'll have to wait and see if that leads to anything. Previous talk by Caps players about wanting revenge against the Flyers for their playoff loss to them only led to self-pooing the first time, and it's likely the result will be the same again. With that in mind, it's still worth noting that Alex Ovechkin is still frighteningly good.

Then it's back home to brotherly love and WaWa. The Flyers are only two points behind the Rangers for first in the Atlantic, with a whopping three games in-hand, so they have a huge opportunity on this tough part of the schedule. Let's just hope they can make the most of it.