::shakes fist at suits::

I want back my team from 2 years ago. I don’t care if our D was crap. At least we had heart. You could tell the guys were in it to win it for each other.

Fail, Homer, fail.

What is going on???

Pardon me while I dust off this hockey blog. Real life should be getting much less chaotic soon enough, so posts might be a bit more frequent (for the whole two people that read this lol).

Anyway, my optimism is beginning to wane. We started out the season pretty strong, giving me immense hope that we would be Stanley Cup contenders and now…FAIL.

What the heck is going on?

Tons of people are calling out Richards. I am not one of them. I’m a big fan of the Cap’n, if you don’t know this by now…shame on you. Is he too young? Perhaps. Does he need to grow into the role? Definitely. Should they take away his C? I think not. Look – Mike Richards is THE Flyer. The organization knows this, look at his shiny, long contract (and C!). People forget this kid is still young. Still a KID. He’s not going to be as natural a Captain as Pronger. Not yet. But he’s central to this team. He plays with heart. He’s a damn fine player. And he’s learning. So haters need to stfu.

I try not to give hockey gossip too much attention. It’s the sport I like, not the dirty laundry, but I do think something might be going on in the locker room. A division of older players vs younger? I dunno if I’d say that. We’ve had our share of veteran players over the last few seaons, ie Kimmo, Noobs, Gator, Hatch, etc. and we’ve never had this problem (if there is such a problem) before.

So I’ve been going over it in my head. What are the major changes the Flyers have undergone since last season? No Scottie Upshall. There goes a piece of your heart and a piece to the bff puzzle the team had going on. Lupes is sent a packing – another bff club member there. We gain Carcillo, he’s okay. Not a great player, but an okay one. I like him, he tries, even if he does take stupid penalties every once in a while. We gain Lappy, who again seems like a character guy, I can’t imagine a beef with him. And we gain Pronger.

Here’s where it gets dicey.

Perhaps Prongs isn’t meshing with our young core? Sure, he’s a good player, a leader, vocal – these are the reasons why Homer brought him to Philly in the first place. Said he would beef up the blue line. Said he would help Mike Richards lead the team.

Could there be a beef between these two guys?

Both have denied it. Richards fervently so. After “calling out” Richie’s leadership a few weeks ago, Prongs was defending the Captain to Montreal media. I try not to pay too much attention to these type of stories. I feel like the media likes to stir the pot and sell stories on gossip. Who knows if journalists are taking quotes out of context or something? So what’s really going on?

Here’s my answer – who cares?

I don’t care what’s going on in the locker room. I don’t care if the young players go out and party. I don’t care if Pronger likes to run his mouth. What I care about is the Flyers getting it together and bringing some points home to Philly. This team can be awesome, we’ve seen that.

They’ve had a shakey few weeks, no doubt. John Stevens is old news (sad!). Our offense is banged up (I can has Simon, Powe, and Betts??). But what team doesn’t have to suffer through some type of adversity?

Point is – the Flyers are better than this. They have the skill. They just need to use it and use it consistently. Can they turn this thing around? I think so. Will they? I hope so.

P.S. Sort of digging Peter Laviolette. I like that he’s a disciplinarian. Not saying I don’t want to see the physical play and occasional fights, but I’ve had enough stupid, lazy penalties. Hopefully Lav can whip the boys into shape!

Richie is relentless during the home opener

I’ve missed this blog. And oh how I’ve missed hockey. Let’s get right to it.

I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the Wach last night. What a game. Absolutely the best I’ve ever been to, hands down.

Some highlights:

• *Rather than a “sucks!” cheer, Noobs received an ovation from the Philly fans. A very much deserved one.
• *Razor was digging the Philly vibe. During one “Let’s go Flyers!” chant, I spied him banging his stick along with the crowd’s screams. I call that a win.
• *Mike Richards’ hat trick. If ever there was a Captainy performance during a home opener, that was it.

Now for the fail:

• *Turnovers. Quite a few of our key peeps were guilty of these – Kimmo, Prongs, Coby, etc. Not cool. D, play every game like you played game 1 kthxbai.
• *Coby – uh, dude, wtf was up with you last night? It was like one bad play after another. Every time I was watching you, man, I was hiding my face and/or groaning in outrage. Beef up the awesome or I shall smite you.
• *Ovechkin aka Oven Chicken. Just because.

It’s funny how you can be at a game, totally absorbed, and have certain reactions and then look at the stats post game and see that things totally didn’t match up. For example, I was seriously pissed at Carle last night. I didn’t think he had a good game at all. Granted, I wasn’t watching him like a hawk, but the times I was concentrating on him, he was letting pucks skip out of the offensive zone during a PP, etc. So he was on my shit list. Until I got online this morning and read the following from the Flyers official website:

Matt Carle set a Flyers record among defensemen for most assists in a period with four in the second.

Alexander Semin scored twice for the Capitals.

“We don’t want to get involved in a track meet with the Pittsburghs and the Washingtons of the world,” Flyers coach John Stevens said. “I think we’re built just a little bit differently, but we do have an exciting offensive team and I think you saw that.”

Ovechkin and Richards turned the second period into a rapid-fire game of 1-on-1 that gave a sold-out crowd at the Flyers’ home opener its money’s worth.

After a scoreless first, Richards took a fantastic pass from Carle and shot high from the red line 1:37 into the period for the power-play goal to make it 1-0.

Needless to say, he is no longer on my shit list.

I’d also like to point out that I think, overall, Razor had a good game. I’m sad that his stats are now shot to hell, and even though he let in 5 goals, I feel like a majority of them were not his fault, but rather breakdowns in D. Plus, that man can move. And his glove hand, we’re talking Kryptonian super speed there. Win.

I’ll be going to tomorrow night’s game against my #1 arch nemesis, Crybaby (also known to some, mainly those who live in the northern part of the state, as Sidney Crosby). I’ve never been to a game against the Pens. I can hardly wait.

LET’S GO FLYERS!

Are you happy for Lappy? What about Booosh?

The Flyers have made it out of the July 1 bum rush. We’ve added right winger Ian Laperriere (Lappy from now on kthx) and goalie Brian Boucher. We’ve also lost Noobs, Marty B and Niitty.

I’m sad we couldn’t agree to terms with Noobs. I really like him and I think he’s such a great character guy. He’s such a beast around the offensive goal and I hope we don’t miss that. Now that we’ve shipped off him and Lupes, that’s 50 plus goals that we need to make up. Hopefully Pronger can help there. Same with Giroux.

I’m even more sad to see Marty B go. I heart him so. He was just never consistent enough for us. Same with Niitty, though I won’t shed any tears over him.

So Lappy should make a pretty good third line guy. He’s a fighter (just what we needed lol) and he can help out on special teams. And I never had a problem with Boucher, though I’m more curious to see Emery in action. And I just hope and pray for the day when Pronger crushes the life out of Crybaby bwahaha.

You can find more info on Lappy and Booosh here.

Also, Team Canada has unveiled it’s 2010 Olympic roster. Richie, Carts, Simon and Pronger have been invited to Canada’s National Men’s Team orientation camp. This reinforces the good vibes re: Pronger. You can find the rest of the Team Canada roster here

Chris Pronger is bringing the bullying back to Broad Street

Leave it to Paul Holmgren to shake things up on draft weekend.

Okay, I can go back and forth with this move. I think I equal parts like it and despise it.

First, why I despise it:

- I’m really bummed that we gave up Luca Sbisa. I think this kid has so much potential. Maybe his numbers weren’t amazing, but he was fun to watch. And I think he’ll mature into a great 2 way player.
- Sending Joffrey Lupul packing makes me sad. I hate that we keep stripping down our young core and messing with the chemistry. The team sort of fell apart after Scottie Upshall was traded. I think these kind of moves hit the young guys more than we think.
- Two first round picks are a missin’ – argh.

Now, why this makes me rub my hands in anticipation:
- We got effin Chris Pronger. Sure, he’s 34 years old but dude, HE’S A BEAST. This was the defensive element that we were sorely missing last year. A bruising d-man who can not only score goals and clear the porch, but can knock Cindy Crybaby into next week. I, for one, cannot wait to see this happen.

I’m interested to see what happens come July 1. Sadly, I doubt Marty Biron will be sticking around. Think Danny Briere will get moved? What about Simon? Noobs? I’m anxious to find out.

Flyers vs Bruins in the 2010 Winter Classic

Deets taken from Sanfilippo’s blog:

The Flyers will square off with the Bruins on January 1, 2010 at Fenway Park.

It’s an interesting story how it came to be that the Flyers were picked for this event.

The NHL was pushing the Washington Capitals. They wanted to market Alex Ovechkin.

NBC, the network broadcasting the game, said no dice.

They were concerned with the poor ratings the Caps’ produced in the playoffs in an opening round series against the New York Rangers – the No. 1 U.S. market for the NHL.

So, they told the NHL to skip Washington and give them the Flyers… a more certain brand to market.

The NHL was stubborn for a while… mostly because the Flyers were more interested in a Jan. 1 date with Pittsburgh than Boston.

However, the NHL assured the Flyers that a future Flyers-Penguins outdoor game could still happen in a couple years.

The Flyers were satisfied and agreed to play.

The NHL then confirmed for NBC that the Flyers would in fact play.

No official announcement has come from the league or the Flyers, but sources have confirmed to me that this is the case.

Bwahaha, take that, Oven Chicken! That’s right, Richie > OV.

Oh man I am SO stoked for this game. I’d srsly consider going but I wouldn’t be able to drag anyone up there with me on New Year’s day. Guh, how awesome will this be? Against Timmy Thomas and Z and Sav!!!

SO EXCITED.

Ray Emery is moving to Philly

The Flyers have agreed to a 1 year, $1.5 mil contract with goalie Ray Emery, though they can’t officially sign him until July 1.

I watched this morning’s press conference with Emery and I don’t hate him yet. But I don’t like him either. Below are some of his stats from the Flyers’ official site:

…Emery, 26, appeared in 36 regular season games with Atlant Mytischi of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008-09, where he posted a 22-8-0 record with a 2.12 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. He also registered a 3-3 record with a 1.86 GAA and .941 save percentage in seven postseason appearances.

Over parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League with the Ottawa Senators (2002-03 to 2007-08), Emery compiled a 71-40-14 record, 2.71 GAA, .907 save percentage and eight shutouts over 134 career regular season games. He has also posted an 18-12 record and a 2.46 GAA in 30 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including going 13-7 with a 2.26 GAA and three shutouts to help lead the Senators to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.

So his numbers are sort of impressive; I can admit the guy has talent. But he also has an attitude problem, at least he did. Emery assured the press that he’s over his issues and he’s grateful for this opportunity, blah, blah, blah. I’ll believe it when I see it. If he’s awesome, I’ll be the first to admit it. I just hope that he isn’t locker room poison.

During the press conference, Homer also mentioned that the organization is still in talks with Marty and Niitty for next season. As much as I love Marty B, I fear that now that he has a taste of what it’s like to be a starting goalie, that’s what he’s gunning for. Rumor is he also wants a nice, long contract, and I can’t blame him. Sure, this is a business, but no one wants to be packing their bags every season or two. I hear Niitty is fine with being a back-up, but I like him less than Marty lol.

Also some rumblings that the orange and the black are thinking of sending Danny B and Simon a-packin’ to open up some more cap space. I like Danny but I wouldn’t be heartbroken if he left. He’s a huge chunk of the salary cap, and sure, he’s good…when he’s healthy. I’m not sure if we NEED him now. We have a lot of firepower up front, especially with a blooming Claude Giroux being a fixture this season.

My wish list:
- Keep Simon
- Upgrade Luca Sbisa to a full-time D-man
- Keep Noobs
- Kidnap Jay Bo
- Nab a mini goalie at this year’s draft and shape him into the next Bernie Parent kthxbai

Out with Marty B, in with Ray E?

According to Sportsnet, it looks like the Flyers are getting ready to sign Ray Emery as their #1 for new season.

Uh ew.

We can keep Marty B? Please oh please?

Sure, Emery’s numbers are okay, but he fails as a person. He was chased to Russia last year, for God’s sake. COME ON, HOMER. OPEN YOUR EYES. I’m not sure this is the best move here.  This guy is a hotheaded jerk. It’s like the suits are trying to mess up the locker room chem on purpose.

So not impressed.

NHL rescinds Malkin suspension

National Hockey League Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell issued the following statement regarding the instigator penalty assessed to Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin at 19:41 of the third period of tonight’s Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final:

Rule 47.22 states: “A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five minutes or at any time in overtime shall be suspended for one game, pending a review of the incident.  The director of hockey operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not be limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc…” 

Following that review, Campbell said: “None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation. Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight.  A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident.  Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded.”

…oh. Okay.

Isn’t this why DC got suspended during our short playoff run?

Blatant favortism. Gotta love it. NOT.

P.S. Sorry for lack of updates. Our disappointing playoff fail + my entrance into grad school + work + life = lack of updates.

Source

Has anyone seen the Flyers? I mean the REAL Flyers??

Honestly boys, what’s the use of showing up if you’re going to play like that. Argh. I can’t stand the fail switch. Flip it off. Flip it on. Flip it off…why?

The boys admit they didn’t match the Pens’ intensity and they need to play more disciplined. Duh. Of course with the officiating the way it is these days, especially against us and especially especially when you vs Crybaby, well, staying out of the sin bin would take a miracle. And as much as I adore you, Harts, smarten up, buddy!

I like that we were able to show some fire here and there. The 2nd period wasn’t too bad. And I definitely liked our character at the end of the game. With 6 seconds left we had 3 men in the sin bin, Harts thrown out, and Coby dropping the gloves with Bill Guerin. That at least salvaged the night for me; if you’re not going to play well, then at least slap ‘em around a bit haha.

Wins:
- I do not blame the game on Marty B whatsoever. I actually think he was pretty solid in net.
- With 3 shots off of the post, one has to think Mike Richards is getting ready for a break out performance.
- Claude Giroux continues to impress me.
- Welcome back to the playoffs, Simon.

Fails:
- Defense was pretty failtastic. And Matty C, why the point fail on the pp, bb?
- Crybaby and Malkin scored. Gross.
- Kimmo’s injury. He better be okay.
- The sin bin parade.
- Carcillo – keep it together, meathead (I say that with affection). You almost blew a power play for us. At least Riles and Ash know when to keep their mouths shut and their fists to themselves.
- Refs. Could you stop ruining the game for me, please? Huh? Huh? Could ya? Wtf @ that call on Ash for hooking. Are you kidding me? And some of the non-calls. If you’re going to be like this for the entire series, you might as well ship the Pens off to Round 2 now.