Fourth Time's the Charm

Whether or not they win the series, the Flyers have had phenomenal success in Game 4s over the past five seasons. The Flyers have won eight of their past nine Game 4s, including their past five in a row. That's crazy good.

Some highlights (the ones I could find):

2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4 vs. New Jersey



2004 Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 vs. Tampa Bay



2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4 vs. Buffalo



2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4 vs. Washington



2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 vs. Montreal



2008 Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 vs. Pittsburgh



Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has lost their last three Game 4s. Unimpressive.

Recap: Flyers are good, Penguins are bad.

Do it to it, boys.

Game #44 Review: Flyers 1 @ Lightning 4 1/15/09

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Worst game of the season? Quite possibly. And it's the second loss to Tampa of the season. Ew.

Don't feel like talking about it.

Oh, and we play Florida tonight. Don't feel like talking about that, either.

Winning will cure this. And bring back some verbosity.

Game #44 Preview: Flyers @ Lightning 1/15/09

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Flyers play in Tampa tonight, hoping to wipe away the memories of their poor effort against the Penguins.

Why the Flyers Will Win:

• They're playing the Lightning

How the Lightning Could Ever Win:

• The Flyers might miss their plane or something.

Puck drops at 7. Morale rises at around 9:30.

Bullies in the Sunshine

Flyers play their next five games against the Southeast Division (hooray!), including four of them in Florida. It's a great time of year to be in Florida, that's for sure. And there's never a bad time to play against the Southeast.

That's all there is for this post. I mostly just wanted to show off my Microsoft Paint chops.

Game #43 Preview: Penguins @ Flyers 1/13/09

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When it comes to Penguins-Flyers games, there's always a lot at stake. But for the Penguins, this game is even bigger. The Penguins are currently rocking out with their suck out, losing seven of their last eight and thirteen of their last eighteen (none of these were OT losses). And it wasn't just against good opponents, either. The Senators, Maple Leafs, Lightning, and Predators all got to feel good about themselves by beating the flightless birds.

Therrien's firing seems overdue, and therefore his job security may hinge on this one game. A win, and Therrien will surely be given many a public vote of confidence. A close loss, and he probably gets another stay of execution. A blowout loss, and the team bus will drop him off in North Philly and speed away.

As much as they need to delude themselves into thinking so before the game, there is nowhere near as much at stake for the boys in orange in this game.

With that in mind, let's break it down...

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• The Penguins couldn't beat a drum at this point.
• The Flyers always play up against the Penguins, who are clearly the team they like least. Playing up against a team that's playing so down pretty much guarantees victory.
• The Flyers are currently ELEVEN points ahead of Pittsburgh in the standings.
• Desperate teams play desperate hockey, so it's really unlikely that the Penguins will have the composure this rivalry mandates. Look for lots of penalties, especially to Malkin and Crosby. Wouldn't be surprised to see a real nasty cheapshot from somebody, too.
• Flyers have won 14 straight at home. Penguins haven't won on the road since last year.

I could go on, really, but I have to stop myself.

Why The Penguins Will Win:

• They have to stop sucking eventually, right?

7:00 start at the Wach. If you don't get the game on TV for whatever reason, you can pick up a free feed over at atdhe.net .

Prediction: Flyers score five in the win. Crystal ball is foggy as to whether or not Scott Hartnell scores one or two, but it's definitely not zero.

And just for fun, a reminder of the last time the Penguins waddled into Philadelphia.

The Road To February is Paved With Crap

Crappy teams, that is. The Flyers have seven games remaining in January, against Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Florida, Tampa, and St. Louis. For those of you keeping track at home, zero of those teams would make the playoffs if they started today (though I realize Florida has been pretty good of late).

Some day-off interviews from Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards, and Marty Biron, in preparation for the tenth-in-the-east(!) Pittsburgh Penguins. Watch them blow sunshine up the press's collective ass as they are forced to say nice things about Sidney Crosby.



In other news, the Devils lost last night, which is always good for the Flyers. They are getting Brendan Shanahan, though, which would be bad news if he wasn't turning FORTY this month.