Catch-up time

Once again, I apologize for missing a few games. Been kinda lazy recently...

In Flyerland, the O&B have successfully broken their streak of win-lose-win by losing their last four in a row to Montreal, Carolina, New Jersey, and Phoenix. Against the Hurricanes, the Coyotes, and the Canadiens, the Flyers lost by one goal, with the Carolina loss coming in a shootout (which we here at Cafe Noire do not officially recognize). The New Jersey loss was...just awful.

Ben Eager, who you may remember from his elbow introduction to Big Georges Laraque during the Pittsburgh game, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for former Flyer Jim Vandermeer. Eager had been a healthy scratch the past four games, wasn't really a factor on the team, and probably wasn't going to contribute much this season, so a change of scenery to Chicago may be good for him. Vandermeer was with the organization until 2004, when he was sent to Chicago for Alexei Zhamnov.

In other Philly hockey news, the Philadelphia Phantoms continue to kick butt and take names this season, so far posting a record of 19-8-1. They lost their last game against Wilkes-Barre by a score of 3-2, but are still three points ahead of the Albany River Rats in the standings. I really should get to a Phantoms game this season, seeing as how Flyers tickets are once again hard to come by. The last Phantoms game I attended was the Eastern Conference final when they beat Providence and went on to win the Calder Cup. Current Flyers' head coach John Stevens was in charge of that team, so at least he knows what it's like to win in this town. And with the way things are going, it looks like either the Flyers or even the Phillies will win a championship within the next five years or so. I hope.

Next up for the Flyers is a home-and-home against the Buffalo Sabres starting on Friday, with the first game at the HSBC Arena. It's the first game back in Buffalo for Daniel Briere and Martin Biron, so no doubt the thirty or so Sabres fans left will be in full throat. The Flyers have had a few days off to practice and hit the malls for some Christmas shopping, so they should be ready for the game. And this time, I PROMISE to do my recap right afterwards.