World Penguin Day

World Penguin Day is an annual "holiday," celebrated every year on April 25th. Yes, this April 25th. The day the Flyers fight for their playoff lives against the Penguins. Not real penguins, though. Just hockey players with pictures of penguins on their chests.

Playing real penguins would be kinda fun. They're good on ice, and would probably try to hatch the puck or something. And they're all about Daniel Briere's height, which would be fun for him.

It could be the last day of the Flyers' season, and this is the mind-blowing stuff I come up with. It's impressive, I know.

ECQF Game 5: Flyers 3 @ Penguins 0 - Penguins Lead Series 3-2

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That's more like it.

• It was an odd, unfamiliar feeling having bounces go the Flyers' way.
  
• As those of you who read The FF frequently should know, I have ALWAYS been an ardent defender of Daniel Carcillo, who has proved me right by being one of the Flyers' best these past two games. He got assists on the first two goals to finish a game best +2. Added to his goal in Game 4, he's picked it up nicely after that suspension.
• One person I actually have been advocating for is Arron Asham, who again showed off some offensive chops with a laser of a shot to open the scoring, a goal that stood up to be the game winner.
• That first goal held up because Martin Biron did what he needed to do. He didn't really even look his best, but nothing got past him (except Evgeni Malkin's kick-in). Tough to complain too much about a shut out.
  
• Every Flyer forward except for two have scored. Those two? Joffrey Lupul and Danny Briere. Not to say their not earning they're pay (they aren't), I'm just thinking a little pride should kick in when Jared Ross is out-tallying you...
• I realize he scored tonight, but Mike Knuble hasn't been much better than his two aforementioned goalless teammates. Hopefully that late goal gets him back on track.
• I guess it makes sense to keep trying, so good on 'em, but anyone else think it was a little odd that Bylsma pulled Marc-Andre Fleury with just over a minute left, down by three? Can't say I've seen that before.
• The Pittsburgh fans were quiet the whole game, and deserted their team halfway through the third. The Igloo didn't look more than half full with five minutes left, which is pretty disgraceful for a playoff game, no matter the score.

The action now shifts back to The Wach for Game 6, on Saturday at 3 PM on NBC and CBC. The Penguins haven't outplayed the Flyers since Game 1. That was more than a week ago.

Good things can and will happen.

Let's go Flyers.

ECQF Game 3: Penguins 3 @ Flyers 6 - Penguins Lead Series 2-1

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And we have a series.

• All that orange is a beautiful thing. From the T-shirts (which the Penguins were too cheap to give out this year) to the Kate Smith, it's easily the best playoff atmosphere in any sport. And I say that as a completely impartial observer.
  
• It definitely got pretty scary there in the early second, with the Penguins erasing a two-goal cushion in like twenty-five seconds of playing time. Sure the Flyers had the lead for 53 minutes of this game and never trailed, but those seven minutes weren't fun. The Frenchies got together and decided that not having the lead was no good, and decided that they (Martin Biron, Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne, and Daniel Briere) should start playing really well. And it was a beautiful thing to see.
  
• Claude Giroux is such a great human being. Not only did he get a real pretty goal, a prettier assist, and the prettiest fight (that he only got roughing for), he also has managed to grow a playoff beard that is almost as orange as his jersey. It's a great look.
• The main thing to take home from tonight's game is that I really know what I'm talking about. I've been saying all series long that the key is whether or not Marc-Andre Fleury plays well, and tonight was another shining example of that. Fleury stunk up the joint wire to wire, with a save percentage around 82%. And the Flyers won. Game 4 will largely balance on how he bounces back.
• As much as dumping on Daniel Carcillo is the pasttime here, I gotta say he had a pretty decent game today. He was one of only four Flyer forwards who didn't spend any time in the box, and didn't do anything too boneheaded. I still think Luca Sbisa contributes more, but it worked out alright today.
• The only thing I noticed Sidney Crosby do all game was get face washed by Darroll Powe, who by the way is having one hell of a series.
• Congrats to Jared Ross on choosing a pretty good occasion to score his first NHL goal.

Tuesday is now the hugest night of everyone's life. Git 'er tied, boys.

The Hat, Part Deux

Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News today broke the story of the Flyers' ugly orange Player of the Game Hat. Oh wait, that's not right. Yours truly was all over this story weeks ago. And I don't even write about this stuff for a living...

In my continuing efforts to be the preeminent source for all things related to The Hat, I now present the updated gallery of all The Hat winners in 2009:

New Jersey 3/23/09 -- Jeff Carter (1 goal, his 40th of the season).

Pittsburgh 3/22/09 -- Ryan Parent (1 assist, held Malkin and Crosby to zero shots)

Buffalo 3/20/09 -- Danny Briere (2 goals)

NY Rangers 3/14/09 -- Arron Asham (2 goals)

Buffalo 3/10/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Nashville 3/7/09 -- Joffrey Lupul (2 goals).

Boston 3/3/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Los Angeles 2/25/09 -- Martin Biron (34 shots, 34 saves in the shoutout).

Washington 2/24/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Buffalo 2/19/09 -- Mike Richards (2 goals and 3 assists)


NY Rangers 2/15/09 -- Claude Giroux (1 goal and 2 assists)

NY Islanders 2/14/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Atlanta 2/8/09 -- Scott Hartnell (2 assists and ZERO(!) penalties)

Boston 2/7/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.


Tampa Bay 1/30/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (42 shots, 41 saves, and an assist).

Atlanta 1/21/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Florida 1/16/09 -- Antero Niittymaki (34 shots, 32 saves)

Toronto 1/10/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Minnesota 1/8/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Anaheim 1/2/09 -- The Hat not seen in interviews.

Game #72 Review: Devils 2 @ Flyers 4 3/23/09

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Beating Pittsburgh and New Jersey back to back? Doesn't get much better than that.

• That was about as good a night on the power play as you'll ever see. Flyers were perfect at 3-for-3 with the man-advantage, scoring three goals in only 3:15 of power play time. The penalty kill was pretty solid as well, holding the Devils to only one power play goal in eight chances, in 14:23 of 5-on-4.
• Remember when Daniel Briere was really terrible? Ever since he got his first goal in this comeback vs. Buffalo on Thursday, he has been phenomenal. His goal on the great feed from Kimmo Timonen was a beauty, and his feed on Mike Knuble's was just as nice. He's got his poaching feel back, and it's really a great thing to behold.
• Daniel Carcillo and Arron Asham can't trade lines soon enough. Carcillo has the penalty taking skills of Steve Downie with the grooming habits of Adam Morrison. It's a really horrible thing to watch.
• I accidentally initially put just "Martin Brodeur" as a reason why the Flyers would win this game. But was it wrong? He was not great at all, especially on Gagne's goal. Flyers are now 3-1 against Brodeur this season. Not bad.

For getting his fortieth goal of the season, The Hat goes to Jeff Carter.

Flyers are off until Thursday, with a couple of potential trap games coming up, vs. Florida on Thursday and at Nassau on Saturday.

Game #72 Preview: Devils @ Flyers 3/23/09

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Back to back games against the two biggest divisional rivals on national television? What's not to love?

Why the Flyers Will Win:

• Momentum. The Flyers and Devils both played good teams whose colors are black-and-gold yesterday afternoon. The Flyers won, largely because their black-and-gold team showed up in blue. The Devils, on the other hand, looked pretty bad against Boston, Brodeur especially.
• The Devils have pretty little to play for these days. They'll finish in second. The Flyers are also locked into fourth, but since the Flyboys have something to prove against the Devils and the Devils don't have much to prove against the Flyers,
• Daniel Briere is playing real well right now. Hell, everybody except Daniel Carcillo is playing real well right now.
• Martin Brodeur will probably still be blinded by tears from the alimony beating he took recently.

Why the Devils Will Win:

• The Devils haven't back to back games since Obama has been president. Yeesh.
• Back in December, the Flyers played the Penguins and Devils back to back. They had a big win over Pittsburgh, then seemed absurdly content to get an OT loss vs. the Devils. If they're that complacent again, there could be issues.

Prediction: Flyers 3-1. Do it to it.

Puck drops at 7 on Versus.

Game #70 Review: Flyers 6 @ Sabres 4 3/20/09

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Honk for Sweep.

• I've stopped short of saying Daniel Briere was becoming a cancer on the team, but it was getting near that. John Stevens switched up the lines just for him, and clearly not everyone was thrilled about it. Briere producing has to make people happier, if a little resentful maybe.
• Not a pretty game, really, but the Flyers needed a lot of goals, and goals they got. Richards, Carter, Gagne, Briere all tallied. No big stretch to say they're going to need those four to be the big four come playoff time.
• Daniel Carcillo has no business being on the top three lines. He has no business being anywhere but the Phantoms, really. Waive the jackass already.
• The buzzer goal = not cool, Sabres, not cool.

No big surprise here, Briere gets The Hat this time. And he giggled like a schoolgirl about it to boot.

Two nationally-televised games in the next couple days. Penguins Sunday on NBC, then Devils Monday on Versus. Should be a hoot.

Game #69 Review: Flyers 2 @ Red Wings 3 3/17/09

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As far as heartbreaking, two-goal lead blowing, regulation losses go, this one wasn't so bad.

• It feels like a game the Flyers should have won because they had a two goal lead. But really, Detroit is just better than the Flyers, and if you had told me that the Flyers would only lose by one, I would have been a little surprised.
• That being said, the Flyers really could have won this game if they had gotten more decent shots on Chris Osgood. He's terrible, and will be Detroit's downfall come playoff time.
• Martin Biron is really good. It took thirty something shots for the top team in the league tofinally get one past him. But there is an issue with Biron that has been there forever, and that is his propensity for giving up quick back to back goals. The team has got to be aware of this, and just try their damnedest to keep
• Before the deadline, it looked like there might be zero Daniels on the team. But instead we have two. And both Daniels, Briere and Carcillo, really should be fed to the lions. Carcillo was awful and completely at fault on the first Detroit goal, and Briere was not good. His problems are probably all mental at this point, and until he starts scoring he's a big hinderance. But, of course, he has to keep getting ice time if he's gonna score. Quite the catch-48.

Big three games in the next four days. Sabres, Penguins, and Devils. Three points would be nice.

Game #69 Preview: Flyers @ Red Wings 3/17/09

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For the first time in three years, it's time to play at the JLA. And it's on Versus, the second in a stretch of four out of five Flyers games that will be on national TV. Amen to that.


Why The Flyers Will Win:

• Sure the Flyers haven't won in their last seventeen trips to Detroit. But the eighteenth time's the charm, right?
• Martin Biron has been real solid in March, and is playing with a lot of confidence having finally locked up the starting gig. Look for him to be big tonight.
• The Red Wings have a lot of question marks in goal, and a propensity for getting blown out of the water. In their last three losses, they've given up eight, eight, and six goals. If the Flyers can get a first cut in, the Red Wings have proven to be a pretty hemophiliac team, completely unable to stop the bleeding.
• The Flyers are 4-0-1 this year in games on Versus, including wins in the last four.
• The Flyers are one of the few teams that can match Detroit's offensive depth. Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, Mike Knuble, Claude Giroux, Daniel Briere and even Arron Asham make for quite the stacked front lines.
• Pretzels are only $1 all night long at the Joe. While this will boost morale, it will mean the locals will be too busy chewing to loudly support their boys in red.
• It's Ryan Parent's birthday, and he doesn't like losing on his birthday.

Why the Red Wings Will Win:

• The Flyers haven't won in their last seventeen trips to Detroit. No reason the eighteenth would be any different.
• Daniel Briere has been a mess in this latest incarnation. He's been slow and not even coming close to making goals happen. Until something changes he's going to keep being a huge hindrance to the team.
• Randy Jones is out for a week, and though he has his haters, he is clearly way better than Danny Syvret, who has been called up to take his place (no Guenin?).
• In case you haven't heard, the Red Wings are really, really good. They lead the league in points, and were the first team to clinch a playoff berth.

Prediction: Red Wings win 4-1. They're good.

Game #67 Review: Flyers @ Rangers 3/15/09

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Et tu, Justin St. Pierre?

• I'm really not big on blaming the officiating. I don't know that I ever have on here before. But holy crap, there were some absolutely terrible calls in this game. A blood drawing high stick on Braydon Coburn gets ignored, then he hits the guy behind the play and gets a game misconduct. The fourth, backbreaking goal, was a result of the Flyers letting up thinking a call was imminent on the hook against Matt Carle.
• The Flyers gave up four power play goals to the team ranked 28th in the league on the power play. Horrendous.
• This weekend made the goalie situation even clearer. Martin Biron played well yesterday, then today Antero Niittymaki was mediocre at best. Lundqvist started both games this weekend--should Biron have as well?
• Jeff Carter and Ryan Parent were both on the ice for three Rangers goals. Shame.
• Daniel Briere makes his linemates on the fourth line look real good. Not because he's a great playmaker, but because he makes them look good by comparison. He's been absolutely awful and out of shape, and needs to be a healthy scratch until he can skate faster than a sled hockey player. The only thing he contributed was a penalty.
• There were some real odd combinations out there late in the game. Every single Flyer, including Darroll Powe and Riley Cote, played on the penalty kill. Bizarre.
• Speaking of Riley Cote, he saw less than three minutes of ice time today. There has to be a better use of a roster spot.
• Having Sean Avery score four goals on his team is something no hockey fan should ever have to experience.

Real big week ahead. At Detroit, At Buffalo, At Pittsburgh. Need at least three points there.

Game #65 Review: Capitals 2 @ Flyers 1 3/12/09

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And so the Flyers win the season series 2-1-1 instead of 3-0-1.

My feed crapped out and was spotty all through the first, so I don't have any great insights into anything except what I've read and what. But when has that ever stopped me?

• Not a bad game. Like I said in the preview, the Caps were the more determined team, especially Theodore, and it paid off. Though not by a whole lot. Real close game. A lot more of these to come the rest of the way.

• Alex Ovechkin scored. That happens. But who was on the ice for the Flyers when he scored? Arron Asham, Darroll Powe, and Riley Fucking Cote. That's completely inexcusable.

• Only one goal for the good guys tonight (from Mike Knuble), but it was a real nice one. Flyers did a lot of things right in terms of setting up shots, just that the actual shots weren't enough.

• Jose Theodore had a good night, which we all know he can do. Though that "spectacular" save in the second that's shown like three times in the highlights above was really just him having to make up for being in terrible position and getting across way too slow.

• Daniel Briere didn't get hurt today. Mixed emotions on that. I liked him a lot in the playoffs last year, but that groin is just a distracting time bomb these days.

• Not happy to see the Penguins salvage a point after being down 3-0 in the third. Not happy to see the Devils or Rangers win. Nice that the Islanders held the Canadiens to one point. And nice to see the Panthers lose.

Big home-and-home, back-to-back matinees with the Rangers coming up this weekend. Beating Sean Avery and Co. twice in two days should be a lot of fun.

Game #65 Preview: Capitals @ Flyers 3/12/09

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With a win tonight, the Flyers will have taken seven of the possible eight points in the season series vs. the Caps. That's as close to perfect as you can get without, you know, being perfect. But we'll take it.

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• Last time the Caps were in town, the Flyers won by six, so that's a reasonable spread for tonight. The memories of that wonderful Saturday in December are a lot of fun, please enjoy below

• The Caps still have an enormous mental block when it comes to the Caps. The Flyers have proved to be their kryptonite, and it clearly bugs the crap out of them from the top down, starting with Bruce Boudreau.
• The Flyers are scoring at will lately, which comes in handy against a team with less than spectacular goaltending. Lupul, Richards, Carter, Knuble, Gagne, Hartnell, even Giroux or Briere. None of them would be a shock to score more than once tonight.
• Martin Biron has been great of late and was quite the Cap-killer in the playoffs. Should be good tonight as well.
• They won last night, but the Caps absolute got the crap beat out of them last night. Twice.

Why the Caps Will Win:

• This game also certainly means more to the Caps. They've been struggling mightily of late, and the Flyers are their biggest rival.
• Daniel Briere comes back tonight. Which almost certainly means he'll re-break himself. Which could hurt morale.

Prediction: Flyers win 5-3. Should be a good time.

Damaged Goods

Remember that one part of the Flyers trade deadline day that seemed okay? The swap that restored some faith in the team's prospects? That couldn't possibly last.

Kyle McLaren failed a physical and was sent back to the Sharks, undoing the trade. Because of the two transactions that went down on Wednesday, THIS was the one that needed to be reversed...

San Jose's attempt to con the Flyers worked only temporarily, which now gives the team doctors more time to force Daniel Briere into action, even though he's probably on the verge of having his leg amputated.

The Flyers med staff is always good for that. I fully expect a statement sometime today saying something along the lines of:

Daniel Briere has been cleared to return to play tonight vs. Nashville. While Daniel was initially alarmed by the internal bleeding near his groin, team doctors have assured him that said bleeding is merely the result of menstruation.

Nodl is getting the nod tonight to take Briere's place. Completely forgot he existed, but he never bugged me too much, which is all I can really ask for at this point.

Three Reactions to Brodeur's 100th Shutout

Lupul, Briere, Richards,



John Stevens...

And lastly, Brodeur himself...

"Are you fucking joking? I'm Martehhnnn Fucking Brodurrr! Goddamnit, I need a bigger fucking cake!"

Game #61 Preview: Flyers @ Devils 3/1/09

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As trade winds swirl and blow most every Flyer's name around, a "big" game in Jersey looms. Truth be told, the Flyers are pretty much a lock to finish in fourth, so no games in the regular season matter. Fourth is good, and would mean home ice for the first time since the lockout. Kind of a pathetic thought...

Still gonna watch the game though, so might as well talk about it.

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• Daniel Briere makes his triumphant return!
• Briere's BFF Marty Biron has a big opening here, a chance to clinch the starting spot on the heel's of Niittymaki's disaster vs. Montreal. He does well when the games matter.
• Scott Clemmensen's ghost has got to be haunting the Devils. He got screwed faster than a girl scout who came to sell cookies at R. Kelly's house.
• If Martin Brodeur plays, he'll be tired AND obese. If Kevin Weekes plays, he'll be not very good, because he's Kevin Weekes. Advantage Flyers.

Why the Devils Will Win:

• Daniel Briere makes his triumphant return! Odds are he gets reinjured and KO'ed for the season by the end of the first period. Morale killer.
• Claude Giroux went to the Phantoms while Jared Ross stays? Huh? Put Giroux on defense for all I care, he's gotta stay in the lineup. And Guenin? Seriously? Keep Kukkonen up, even if he sucks and can't get picked up on waivers to save his life.

Odds are this is somebody's last game in a Flyers jersey. Whether it is Randy Jones, Joffrey Lupul, Braydon Coburn, or Scottie Upshall is yet to be determined. Hell, it might even be Briere's. Can't say I hate any of them or love Keri Lehtonen or Jay Bouwmeester, so I'm not too pumped for the rest of this week.

Prediction: 3-2 Devils. In OT if we're lucky. This pre-deadline stretch is a big ol' pile of fuck it.

Dream Waivers

I slept in absurdly late, and woke up realizing that the Flyers had probably already gotten rid of people to get ready for Daniel Briere's return Friday. As I staggered toward my computer, I decided that the two players I could most do without were Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen.

Well hot damn, I was sure excited to see my dreams come true. Metropolit is by far the least productive offensively of anyone on offense, and he's probably too classy to be a Flyer. Never seemed to fit in at all.

Vaananen I kinda liked, but he was clearly seventh on the Flyers depth chart of defensemen. He's a phenomenal guy to have in case of injury or this damned flu, but he's pricy for that role.

The thing that most worries me about Vaananen's exit is my Finnish readership here. My little tracker thing shows that I have loyal readers in southwestern Finland, and I'm hoping that they're not just Vaananen fans, but either Niittymaki or Timonen fans (or even Kapanen or Sinisalo relics).

The other buzz is around Jay Bouwmeester coming to the Flyers from Florida in exchange for Lupul and Coburn. Hell no is clearly the answer to that scenario. Lupul is kinda overpaid for his production, but he's a glue guy in the locker room, and Braydon Coburn is the result of the best deal the Flyers ever made, so it would be absurdly negligent for them to deal him away so soon. Plus he's pretty awesome.



Bouwmeester also has got to be the dullest player in the league. And "Bouwmeester" is a bitch to spell.