Atlantic Cruise Control

For the third consecutive season, the Atlantic Division will send four teams to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Flyers, Penguins, Devils, and Rangers are the same foursome as last year, with the Islanders making it over the Flyers in 2007. The Atlantic Division made history in 2008 by being the first Eastern Conference division to send four teams in back to back years, and makes even more history this season by being the first team in either conference to do it three seasons in a row.

The Atlantic Division also is the only division never to have sent fewer than three teams to the playoffs in any season. This compares pretty favorably to the Southeast, who has never sent more than two teams to the playoffs in any season.

The Atlantic Division carried their tradition of regular season domination into the playoffs last season, with none of the four Atlantic Division squads losing a series to a non-Atlantic team in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the playoffs, the Atlantic teams went a combined 12-4, with Pittsburgh sweeping Ottawa and the Flyers ousting the champions of both the Northeast and Southeast in five and seven games, respectively.

Congratulations, Atlantic Division. You're pretty damn good at this sport. And to the Islanders, well...at least you'll get a decent draft pick?

Game #80 Review: Flyers 1 @ Rangers 2 4/9/09

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Eh, we'll get em on Sunday.

• What a horrible way to start a hockey game. Biron gets shoved into the net, and there's no whistle, and the Rangers take the lead in the first minute. The Flyers played pretty well (though they're not finishing their chances well), and deserved better than to have the game marred by that crap.
• This is the second time that I've blamed the officials for a loss, which is pretty low. The only other time I blamed the refs? The last game at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. Hmm...
• Daniel Carcillo is certainly persona non grata in these parts, but he was alright tonight. Scoring just one goal will cure a lot. Not that I'll stop dumping on him, but at least this unimpressive stat will go away: Carcillo has scored zero goals in eighteen games as a Flyer. But in his one game against the Flyers this year as a Coyote, he managed to score a goal. Not cool. Oh, and Scottie Upshall managed to score again tonight...
• Martin Biron looked good--neither goal was his fault, and he didn't get rattled from that BS first goal.
• Hurricanes lost for the first time in forever, which keeps the Flyers tenuous hold on fourth in tact. Pittsburgh won, though, so there are now three teams tied at 96 points. The Flyers have two games left to Carolina and Pittsburgh's one apiece, but as of now have the fewest wins of the three, which is the tiebreaker.
  

Only two more games left in the entire regular season, at Islanders on Saturday and vs. the Rangers on Sunday. Saturday is a potential trap game, and would be incredibly easy to overlook, with the Rangers and a little thing called the playoffs on the horizon.

Game #80 Preview: Flyers @ Rangers 4/9/09

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The Flyers are in, but still can finish anywhere between third and sixth, with home ice or without it, against Carolina, Pittsburgh, or even New Jersey. So these last three games against the New York teams are big.

Why the Flyers Will Win:

• The Flyers are much better than the Rangers. That oughta count for something.
• Next to the Penguins, it's pretty safe to say that the Rangers are this team's least liked opponent. The Flyers would undoubtedly love to keep the Rangerss out.

Why the Rangers Will Win:

• David Sloane, who has never before played a game at ANY professional level, will be starting tonight for the Flyers in place of the injured Ryan Parent. I'm not sure why it's not Luca Sbisa making his triumphant return, but it's probably a cap issue. Work it out, Holmgren. Jared Ross, John Kalinski, and Luca Sbisa are all much better than Danny Syvret, Andreas Nodl, and whoever this Sloane clown is.
• This could be the Rangers' last home game 'til October, potentially. That could be some motivation for them.

Prediction: Rangers win 3-1. No idea why.

The First Round Opponent

The Flyers, as has been clear for weeks now, are going to be the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference come playoff time. What has been decidedly less clear is who will be their opponent in Games 1 and 2 at the Wachovia Center. It looked like it would be Montreal for a while, or maybe Florida, but both have hit the skids hard recently, falling to eighth and ninth respectively.

Bold Prediction: The Flyers will face a Staal brother in the first round.

Barring an unlikely huge surge by either of those two, the Flyers' first round opponent will be either Pittsburgh, Carolina, or the Rangers, who have 86, 85, and 84 points respectively as they sit in fifth, sixth, and seventh.

Here's how the remaining schedules look for the three:

Pittsburgh has the toughest next three, against two division leaders and the Rangers, whereas the Rangers and Hurricanes both have two against teams pretty much out of the playoff race, followed by. Don't be surprised to see Pittsburgh fall out of fifth this week, though they should be able to make it up in their remaining five games, which are all against weaker teams. Pittsburgh should finish in fifth, but they're as streaky a team as any, so here's hoping they don't.

Carolina, everyone should agree, is the least scary of the three, and therefore the most desireable first round opponent. They play five of their games at home, which hopefully should cancel out the two at New Jersey which they shouldn't have a shot in. Hopefully Brodeur is resting for the last one.

Lastly, the Rangers, who are a mess. Sean Avery & Co. are the only of the three who the Flyers will face in the regular season. They meet in the final two games of the season, at which point the picture will be much clearer. The Flyers may have the chance to tank to get the Rangers in the first round, or the Rangers the chance to tank to avoid the Flyers. Both could tank, which would be a mess. Playing a home and home to end a season is pretty unusual, and could potentially lead to the two teams playing nine straight games against each other, which I have to think is pretty unprecedented. It should stay unprecedented, though, as I don't see the Rangers passing both Pittsburgh and Carolina, especially as their meeting with each team is away from Manhattan.

It will probably be another Battle of Pennsylvania, but there is still a chance it won't be. Let the Capitals have Pittsburgh, I say. They deserve each other.

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 #66 Preview: Rangers @ Flyers 3/14/09

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The two games this weekend vs. the Rangers obviously count the same in the standings, but I get the sense that Sunday's means more. It a nationally televised, network game at Madison Square Garden. But before tomorrow comes today, and today looks pretty good.

Why the Flyers Will Win:

• The Rangers, who were way out in first place to start the season at 10-2-1, had fallen out of playoff position to ninth before just recently getting back up to seventh. The Flyers have been much steadier throughout, and that counts for a lot.
• The last time these two teams met it was an absolute ass kicking.
• Martin Biron has been very solid of late, and he gets the start today, with Antero Niittymaki getting the nod for tomorrow.
• I really refuse to believe they're in any danger, but the Flyers technically are only five points ahead of ninth place. They're mentioning how tight it is in press conferences, which has boded well in the past.
• Sean Avery.

Why the Rangers Will Win:

• I'm betting Daniel Carcillo is going to do something real stupid with Avery. Stevens foreshadowed it pretty explicitly in his presser, and Carcillo is certainly still looking to make a name for himself.
• The last time the Rangers visited the Wach was a long time ago. When she was still relevant.Sarah's spirit still haunts the building, and the presence of two Alaskans (Matt Carle and Scott Gomez) is certain to awaken it. Maybe Ed Snider can pipe in some more deafening applause and patriotic music as an offering. Comcast-Spectacor will need to do something to keep the Ghost of Palin Past at bay, because she can't be happy about her daughter being dumped by her son-of-a-meth-dealer baby daddy.

Prediction: Rangers 3-2. Not feeling this one.

Oh, and if anyone can count the number of times Jeff Carter shrugs in the below clip, please post your estimate in the comments. I appreciate the help, because I just can't count that high.

A Little Room to Breathe

Not a ton of breathing room, but some. This Flyers win last night was enhanced by losses from New Jersey and Pittsburgh (both to crappy teams in Atlanta and Nashville, respectively), as well as a Rangers loss last night. The New Jersey loss was especially key, as it takes away the ability they'd had for a long time to catch up based solely on games in hand.

In the conference, the Flyers are still in third, behind second place Washington by four points, and first place Boston by an obscene eleven points.

If the playoffs started today, it would be #3 Flyers vs #6 Devils. And you should remember what happened the last time we saw that scenario...



Raise your hand if you'd like to see that again come April.

In Case You Haven't Heard...

First place, baby.

I'm going to the Rangers-Capitals game tonight, and guess I have to pull for the Caps. Better to shore up first in the division and a top three spot than to worry too much about seeding home ice in the second round, I guess. My main concern is that it doesn't go into overtime. Do not need three points getting spread around.

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.