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.

ECQF Game 1 Preview: Flyers @ Penguins 4/15/09

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Holy crap, we're here. As of writing this, there's about nine hours until the Flyers begin their run in the playoffs. It's been three hundred and thirty-two days since the Flyers last played a playoff game. That's a long time. A LONG time.

(This is mostly general stuff for the whole series, but it's mostly for tonight).

Why the Flyers Will Win:

• Because they've got something to prove. About 97% of pundits are picking Pittsburgh to win this series, which is pretty ridiculous for a 4 vs 5 match-up. Plenty of bulletin board material.
• Because the Penguins' record against the Flyers this year is really deceptive. They won four of the six, sure, but one of those was in a shootout (in a game the Flyers were leading with three minutes left), and the other was because of this shit.
  
• Because the Penguins' record against the Flyers this year is really irrelevant. The Flyers had a winning record against the Penguins in the regular season last year, and we all know how much that meant. The Flyers also did not have winning records last regular season against either Washington or Montreal, and we all know how much that meant too.
  
• Braydon Coburn. Kimmo Timonen. Simon Gagne. Claude Giroux. None of them were around last year. Those additions plus the subtractions of Ryan Malone, Marian Hossa, and Derian Hatcher should mean good things.
• Last time the Flyers and Penguins played, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combined for zero points. And more importantly, zero shots. This is a team with it's current lineup that knows how to shut them down.

Why the Penguins Will Win:

• Goaltending. I definitely don't dump on Martin Biron as much as the rest of the world does, but I don't think he matches up well against Marc-Andre Fleury. Mostly because Fleury is the key to the Penguins success, and doesn't get anywhere near the credit he should for it. Ever since Fleury got rid of those yellow pads, he's been real good. The Flyers scored a combined eight goals on him in five games last year (plus an empty netter). That's a GAA of 1.60. Which is real good.
• The Penguins ended the season in the right way, winning their last few games pretty convincingly, finishing a run that saw them move up all the way from tenth to fourth. The Flyers, on the other hand, finished the season by blowing three different leads against the Rangers to squander home ice.
  

Prediction: Penguins take Game 1, by a score of 4-1. Shaky night for Biron. He'll have a big Game 2, though.

Game #59 Review: Kings 0 @ Flyers 2 2/25/08

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Honestly I thought this game was pretty dull. Not a lot of goals, big saves, or big hitting. The one goal that was scored (not Gagne's empty netter) was about as ugly as a goal can get. Both teams looked hung over from last night's games, and it showed.

But it was a big win for the Flyers over a hot team that had beaten them previously this season. And it was a win in what amounts to one of those "games in hand" that get talked so much about. Flyers are still totally isolated in the standings, but they're moving closer to third than fifth, which is certainly a good thing.

Some more thoughts:

• Martin Biron's shutout was without any real highlight reel stuff, but a shutout is a shutout. It's great that he recovered from that horrible goal vs. Pittsburgh, but it's not so great that this sort of remains a distraction. Unless these two wind up thriving from the competition, in which case let them have dueling shutouts the rest of the season. Watch this vid, and you can see the moments where Biron decides to lie. And if I'm trying to figure out how the Flyers skaters align on which goalie they like more, I put Gagne in the Biron camp, while Hartnell seemed fairly firmly with Niitty yesterday
• Ugly goal from Jeff Carter. A much prettier empty netter from Simon Gagne, though way too fancypants, even for him.
• Those Kings white jerseys are hideous.
• Rangers lost in overtime, yay.
• Penguins won late, boo. A loss to the Islanders is just what they needed least at this point, so I was holding out a lot of hope for it.

I don't have much else to say. It was a hell of a snoozefest.

Couldn't be a better team to be playing next than Montreal, in my book. It's not a team the Flyers are likely to have a let down against, and it is a team that's struggling a lot.

Game #45 Review: Flyers 3 (SO) @ Panthers 2 1/16/09

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Antero and Kimmo perform traditional Finnish victory dance.

Flyers halt their losing streak at two and get a shootout win over a very hot Panthers team, to go 1-1 on their first of two Florida swings this month. Wasn't pretty, but it's two points.

• A win is a win. But jeez, what a crappy win. Florida dominated the second and third periods, took fewer penalties, got way more shots. The Flyers have sort of made this their way (stealing wins), but it can't possibly be the right plan for the long run. Improvements have to be made, and sooner rather than later, before this rut gets too deep.
• God those penalties were awful. Three delay of game penalties? And one in the last minutes of the game from Lupul? That's just totally unacceptable.
• Definitely Simon Gagne's best game in a long time. That shootout move was real pretty.
• The shootout, never a strongsuit, has looked much better lately. And if and when Briere returns, it will be even more betterer.
• Niittymaki looked much more solid than Biron did yesterday, and especially looked improved in the shootout. This pair of games will undoubtedly get people thinking about whether or not there should be any sort of goalie controversy. Nowhere near time for that, I say. Biron still tends to play huge in the real huge games, and that's what matters most.
• Jeff Carter back in the league lead with 30 goals in 45 games. He's on pace for over fifty, which would be pretty awesome. Don't think I would've had him as one of the three most likely players to do that this season.
• Devils, Rangers and Penguins all won last night, too. Boo.

Bottom line: Winning is good, but shitty wins aren't as good. Shape up, boys. And don't even dream about losing to Atlanta at home.

Nine Best of 2008 -- #7

The only game on the countdown from the 2008-2009 season comes in at #7. Odd scheduling made it so that all four regular season games vs. the Carolina Hurricanes were to be played across only a sixteen day span. The match-up was a good one for the Flyers, and saw the team come away with seven of the eight available points.

No points came in more dramatic fashion than the final two. Flyers dug themselves into a 5-1 hole after two with generally crappy play, especially from Antero Niittymaki. But things started to turn around in the third, with the Wachovia Center remarkably not empty.



Scott Hartnell's first of what would be two hat tricks in a week got the Flyers to 5-3, and goals by Scottie Upshall and Simon Gagne tied the score, helped by way more solid play from Niittymaki.

Flyers won the shootout easily, 2-0, on goals from Gagne and Mike Richards, meaning that the Flyers put six unanswered pucks in the net.

With the Flyers currently in third and the 'Canes in seventh, a first round playoff meeting between the two teams is not totally out of the question. And based on this game, it's safe to say there's no one I'd be happier facing.

Game #41 Review: Wild 1 @ Flyers 3 1/8/09

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Home is where the win is.

The Flyers got plenty of fan support during their road trip (six games, six sellouts), but nothing compares to playing at home in a building full of the best hockey fans in the country.

A slow start and a buttload of penalties weren't enough to stop the Flyers at home, where the Flyers have now won seven straight.

• I remembered during this game why I never watch the Wild. They play the most boring post-lockout hockey imagineable. It's like New Jersey during their cup years, but without as much physicality.
• The Flyers played as well on special teams as any team possibly could. 1-for-1 on the power play, and 8-for-8 on the penalty kill. That's 9-for-9 as a team, and conversely 0-for-9 for the Wild. Nice stuff. But of course, giving up eight power plays is totally unacceptable, especially on so many dumb penalties. Especially the too many men penalty during a penalty kill.
• Nice to see Scottie Upshall get on the score sheet for the first time in way too long. It was only his sixth goal of the season, but it sure was a pretty one. First star, too.
• How awesome was the straight out of the penalty box fight between Arron Asham and Erik Reitz? Don't know that I've ever seen players go straight from the penalty box to each other before. Well, at least not in a game from this decade.
• Nicklas Backstrom set a Wild record for longest shutout streak at just short of 150 minutes. He was solid in the first half of the game, though once the streak was broken, he was decidedly less than tremendous.
• Martin Biron, on the other hand, was very solid, for the second straight game. This is the kinda play we need from him down the stretch and into the playoffs.
• Luca Sbisa was not missed. And as long as the team stays reasonably healthy, he really shouldn't be needed the rest of the year. Let him bulk up and develop with the Phantoms.
• I know it's not as important with a two-goal lead, but that was a really pathetic effort to get the puck in the empty net. Especially by Simon Gagne. Be a little more eager to pad your stats, dude.

That Gagne nonchalance spoiled my prediction of a three-goal win. But I'm still pretty happy with my clairvoyance.

Toronto, who got crushed tonight, are up next on Saturday, for a little Hockey Night in Canada action.

Carter Lone Flyer To Make All-Star Game

Jeff Carter, the NHL goals co-leader, was the lone Flyer put on the Eastern Conference roster for the 2009 All-Star Game. Carter wasn't even on the ballot, but led the league in write-in votes.

So did the other Flyers, the ones who were actually on the ballot, get screwed? It's not what I should be thinking, but my reaction is no. Daniel Briere has missed way tooKimmo Timonen is a phenomenal pure defensemen, but doesn't have the offensive stats that voters look for when getting people in the offense-happy all-star game. Simon Gagne missed a bunch of games with injury, and has cooled off since his hot start. Mike Richards may have the strongest beef, with his character play, and only two fewer points than Carter, but he may not have been flashy enough to elbow his way in to this crowded group.

The crowding was made even worse this year by out of control fan voting. The two teams whose fanbases did the best job were Montréal fans and Pittsburgh fans. Pittsburgh fans had the most help getting their two All-Star game starters, Crosby and Malkin in, since those are actual deserving players who would have gotten votes from non-Pittsburgh fans. But Montréal got a whopping four players in the starting lineup: Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek, and Carey Price. Markov getting in is understandable, and outside of his absolutely shitteous play against the Flyers last year (for which I am forever grateful), Carey Price has a case. But Alex Kovalev and Mike Komisarek getting in is absolute garbage. Kovalev especially, getting a starting spot in place of the league's undisputed MVP, Alex Ovechkin.

Changes have to come to the voting system, but I think it's safe to say that other teams should have bigger beefs than should the Flyers.

Here are Carter's subdued thoughts on the selection:

Game #41 Preview: Wild @ Flyers 1/8/09

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Home sweet home. And halfway home. Whichever aspect of this homecoming you think is more important for the Flyers, there's one thing that's for certain: this is a big game.

After going 2-2-2 on an absurdly injurious road trip, the Flyers return home to the Wachovia Center to face a hot team in ugly jerseys, the Minnesota Wild.

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• The Flyers played extremely solid hockey, especially defensively, in their last game against the Washington Capitals. A lot of that momentum should carry over.
• In their four losses during the road trip, the Flyers scored a combined three goals. That has to come to an end soon, right?
• Fans who haven't seen the team since last year are sure to be loud, and pumped up by the newly close division standings.
• Mike Richards, Kimmo Timonen, and Simon Gagne are sure to play well to show the All-Star roster makers how much they got wrong. Jeff Carter, conversely, should play well to validate his roster spot.
• Flyers are 4-1-0 all-time against the Wild in Philadelphia.
• Marion Gaborik, one of about three Wild players I could name,

Why The Wild Will Win

• Nicklas Backstrom (the Capital) scored the lone goal for Washington on Tuesday, and the other Nicklas Backstrom (the Minnesota goalie) has two consecutive shutouts. Any deja vu would be bad.
• Flyers haven't seen each other in anything but white for a while--there could be some confused turnovers because of that

Predicition: Flyers win by at least three.

Fly-By: 12/31/08

The last Flyers news of 2008...

Gagne out 7-10 Days (TSN) Which is infinitely better than indefinitely.

Lupul Road Trip Blog (philadelphiaflyers.com) "An update at least once a day." Which, to Joffrey, means once about every three days, apparently. You get to hear about his thoughts on the regional quality of salmon, a subject close to my heart. And he admits to eating with the enemy (a Canuck), a decidedly Gordon Bombay circa D2 move.

Game #37 Review: Flyers @ Canucks 12/30/08

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This was big. Getting off to a quick start in the first by getting two goals in the first period (double what the Flyers had scored in the first six periods of this road trip) was big. Martin Biron finally letting in fewer than three goals was big. Winning a game this isolated on the schedule was big.

But the biggest thing clearly is Simon Gagne getting knocked out of the game in the first minute. Obviously concussion worries are first and foremost any time Gagne goes down for the rest of his career, but this one didn't look too bad. He got up fairly quickly, and seemed to be clutching his shoulder more than he was dizzy or disoriented. I doubt he'll play in California, but I really don't think this wasn't the career ender it could have been.

Some thoughts:

• Don't care that he lost the fight badly--how sweet is it to have a captain stick up for his teammates like Mike Richards does.
• Been hearing his name forever as a prospect, and glad to see Claude Giroux getting out there and playing well. He is super quick and has incredible hustle on every play, and is just a little pinball type that is fun to watch.
• Biron played real well, especially in the third. And those goals weren't stoppable shots. Nice effort for him, easily his best game of December.
• Jeff Carter widens his lead for most goals in the NHL. Playing for the name on the back can be a good motivator even if playing for the crest on front is most important. Carter's clearly pretty excited to be leading the league, and it's the kind of quest that can really electrify a locker room.
• Ossi Vaananen as third string goalie? That was some pretty sweet post-to-post.
• If Carter has the best shot on the team, Scott Hartnell has the best slap shot. He beats goalies glove-side on shots better than anyone I can think of.
• Garbagey goal to be sure, but nice for Jonathon Kalinski to get his first career tally, and a game winner no less.
• Odd to see only one Flyer in minus territory in a one-goal game. That somewhat dubious distinction goes to Darroll Powe.
• The orange and black tie on John Stevens was pretty sweet. Not that it's gonna reach any Guy Carbonneau levels, but it's a good look.
• I don't think Bieksa's hit was that dirty, but it's total crap for Canucks TV to name him the #2 star of the game when all he did the whole game was knock out Gagne and then get in a retalliation fight with Richards. Give it to Kalinski for getting his first ever goal and the game winner, or give it to Ryan Kesler for that nice deflection on Vancouver's second.
• The hell is going on with Vancouver's goaltending? They're without their franchise player Roberto Luongo, so they trade for a not great backup in Jason La Barbera and pull Curtis Sanford after a not-that-bad two-goal first period? I don't get it. But I'm embarrassed if I'm La Barbera. He's practically the Kings' #1 guy these days, and he got traded for a seventh round draft pick. That's unimpressive.

On to California. Worse places to spend New Year's than Los Angeles. Maybe they can find Rose Bowl tickets and go see Penn State beat up on USC?