Sweet...Flyers 4, Penguins 3

(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

All you heard going into this game was how much the Penguins would stink without Sidney Crosby. If I played for Pittsburgh, I'd be a little ticked off, to be honest. It's not like they don't have other players who can step up (you know, like Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal and, um...Colby Armstrong...and...), but that's what happens when you hitch your entire franchise to one player. Hey, we did it with Allen Iverson, so we're not without fault. Anyway, Philly made it 4-for-4 against the Yintzers with a 4-3 win. The highlight of the evening was Georges Laraque absolutely crushing Steve Downie into the boards headfirst, no doubt sending fans in Canada into fits of joy. Downie got up, went to the locker room, came back out, beat the snot out of some poor Penguin who happened to be the first person Steve saw, and was given a match penalty for not having his shirt tied down.
Let me repeat...he got a game misconduct for his jersey not being tied down. Slashing someone hard enough to break bones is a two minute minor, but not having your jersey tied down means ejection. Hmm. In other news, the NHL has announced its new TV contract with the Style Channel. Games will be shown in HD so long as the two teams are color-coordinated.

The Philadelphia Flyers, who ended last season with 22 wins and 56 points, now find themselves in second place in the East behind Ottawa (kudos to Daniel Alfredsson for his seven-point night) and tied for first in the Atlantic with New Jersey. The Flyers have the top ranked PP at 24.9% and a respectable 80.7% on the PK. In short, this organization has pulled a complete 180 from last season's disaster, and right now has to be in the conversation for Stanley Cup contenders. If the Flyers had ended this season in 8th or even 9th place, I would have been satisfied. I didn't put too much hope into this season given what we had to come back from. To be in the running for the playoffs, let alone the Cup, is nothing short of outstanding. Even if we lose in the playoffs (most likely at the hands of the Devils), this season will be seen as a success. And that's fine with me.