Oh yeah, I have a blog

As you might have noticed, I haven't been around recently. Mostly due to job interviews, general frustration over not being able to see all of the Flyers playoff games, and other such things. Since I've been gone, the Flyers pulled off the win over Washington with an overtime win in Game 7 and are currently up two games to one against Montreal. In fact, it's 1-0 in the second period.

I should be able to do a recap for tonight's game, but the rest of the week and next week may be hectic. I'll keep you updated...

That's my boys...Flyers 2, Capitals 0

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Flyers 2, Capitals 0

That's right, zero. A goose egg. Nada. The first Flyers shutout in the playoffs since Robert Esche in 2004.

There were stretches in Game 1 where the Flyers dominated the Caps. They clogged up the passing lanes, forced Washington into turnovers, and held them without a shot on net for long periods of time. Today, the Flyers did all that and more. R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter each scores in the first period, and Martin Biron absolutely stood on his head today as the O&B come home with a 2-0 win and a split in the series.

This game was fantastic from a Flyer point of view. The Caps, who got some ridiculous power play chances early on (and benefited from blown calls by the refs), couldn't find a way past Biron or sustain any pressure in the Flyers' zone. The defense, particularly Braydon Coburn and Randy Jones, kept the Caps away from the net, though Mike Green and Dan Steckel had some good chances. Any time the Caps wanted to break out, the Flyers stayed in the lanes and didn't allow any long passes through the center, which forced Washington to get all fancy-like and try to skate the puck in. The more the Flyers shut down the Caps, the more frustrated they got.

John Stevens, who I blamed partly for the loss on Friday, did a great job of matching up Richards and Coburn with the Caps' top line. Alexander Ovechkin had almost no support, since he couldn't get an open pass in anywhere. Green and Alexander Semin had some shots, but other than that, the Caps looked like a young team in the playoffs - dejected, outworked, and outplayed by a veteran team.

Game 3 at the Wach is going to be insane. If the NHL bigwigs think the Verizon Center is loud, wait until Tuesday night. I will say that one of the good things about this first round series is that the teams don't have to worry about travel since it's only a couple hours between the cities. It's not like playing two games in Florida, then flying back to Philly to play the next day.

Let's keep this up, gentlemen!!!!!

Unacceptable

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Unbelievable.

I had a feeling the Caps would jump out early on us tonight. Playing at home in front of a energetic crowd would get any team amped up. So when the Flyers fell early, I didn't worry. And sure enough, they tied it later in the period on a goal by Vaclav Prospal. Caps took the lead again, Flyers got it right back and scored two more for a 4-2 lead heading into the third.

Here's where I got nervous. I figured that we needed two more goals to end the game and take the lead in the series. All we had to do was control the neutral zone, limit the turnovers, and get shots on net since Cristobal Huet looked shaky. And guess what? None of that happened. Terrible turnovers, lousy play in the defensive zone, poor shot selection, and three straight Washington goals added up to a 5-4 defeat. To make matters worse, the media's new darling Alexander Ovechkin scored the game-winner. Prospal and Daniel Briere each scored two a piece, and Martin Biron didn't look too bad in his first playoff start, though he let in a softie on the short-side.

This loss is not sitting well with me for a number of reasons. The first, obvious reason is the simple fact that YOU DO NOT GIVE UP A TWO GOAL LEAD IN THE PLAYOFFS, ESPECIALLY ON THE ROAD!!!! Sorry for shouting. We're the veteran team, we have guys who have been in playoff situations before. The players knew they had to button up and didn't. Which leads me to the second reason I'm so frustrated. When you give up the lead, call a timeout. John Stevens needed to calm his team down and break up the momentum the Caps had built up, not to mention quiet the crowd down. He failed to do so. Third, Jaroslav Modry and Jason Smith were a combined -6 on the night, with Modry clocking up a -4 on his own. Why put them out on the ice with the game on the line? Unbelievable.

It's only Game 1, and there's still a lot of hockey left. No sense getting all worked up over this one. Besides, the Flyers have a history of losing the first game only to win the series, plus they still have two games coming up in Philadelphia. Still...unacceptable.

Keep on talkin'

According to every major sporting publication and TV network in the industrialized world, the Flyers have zero chance against Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who have suddenly become this year's Cinderella team. Every analyst on TSN, with the exception of Maggie the Monkey, picked the Flyers to lose. Scott Burnside of ESPN, who's an idiot, jumped on the Caps bandwagon something fierce in his "expert analysis", going so far as to claim that the Verizon Center is one of the most intimidating places to play. Which is news for those of us accustomed to watching games in Philadelphia...or Montreal, Calgary, Minnesota, Carolina, New York, etc...

Look, you all know I think Ovechkin is the best player in the league, far better than Sidney what's-his-name out there in Pittsburgh. He's got raw talent, he absolutely loves playing the game, and he can score at will. The boy did put up 114 points this season, which is no small feat. However, the Caps do have the advantage of playing in the Southeast division, the weakest division in the NHL. "But, but, they have two Stanley Cup winners!!!" Yeah, they do, but a lot of things had to fall into place for both Carolina and Tampa to win championships. Plus, there's no way you can convince me that the Hurricanes and Lightning are the same teams they were when they won their Cups. They're not. Tampa Bay is a shell of its former self, and the Hurricanes just seemed to give up after leading most of the season.

There is nothing we like more in Philadelphia than to be labeled the underdog. As far as I see it, the Flyers can enter this postseason with little to no pressure on them. It's basically a win-win situation for us. We lose, everyone's prediction comes true, the new media darlings move on, and we go from worst in the league to a first-round playoff exit. Not bad. We win, defeat mighty Ovechkin, go from worst to conference semi-finalist, and suddenly we become the team no one wants to face. Just ask Pittsburgh, who threw that final game just to avoid us and play Ottawa. Let the media fawn over the Caps, let them fill the heads of those young players with over-confidence, and let them believe the series is already over.

I'll be back Thursday to break this series down by position.

2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinal: Philadelphia vs. Washington

OK, now that the regular season is over (I still feel like it went by too fast), the Flyers have locked up the 6th seed in the East and will face the Southeast champion Washington Capitals in the first round. The 3-6 matchup was supposed to be, according to the "experts" on TSN and ESPN, the most favorable of the playoffs, since the 3rd seed in the East was usually the weakest of the division winners. And normally, that's the case. However, the Capitals have been on a roll recently, going 9-1 in their last ten games and riding a huge emotional wave since winning the division. I really think Alexander Ovechkin should win the Hart trophy this season, especially since Washington wouldn't even have a fan base, let alone a franchise, if he wasn't there. He's already got the Art Ross wrapped up, so go ahead and give him the double.

The Flyers kinda won the season series against the Caps, going 2-1-1 if you include one of those shootout thingies. Of course, we haven't seen the Caps since February, so a lot has changed. There is no doubt that the Flyers will have major problems with both Ovechkin and Sergei Federov, who's been playing well recently. Other than that, we have a deeper line-up, more players with playoff experience, and won't have to worry about coming down from an emotional high like Washington. This will be Marty Biron's first playoff game in his career, but the last two shutouts should help his confidence. Add in the fact that we're getting healthy at the right time (there's even talk of Derian Hatcher coming back for the postseason) should equal a first-round series win.

The Caps certainly earned their division championship, but I think the Flyers will prevail.

Flyers win the series 4-2

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Suffer through the worst season in franchise history?
Check.
Clear out the old guard (Clarke, Hitchcock) and bring in new management?
Check.
Sign and trade for new players (Briere, Smith, Biron, Lupul, Prospal, etc.)?
Check.
Have everyone think you'll be mediocre for years?
Check.

Make the playoffs anyway? Check.

What's up, son.

Flyers 3, Devils 0.

Oh, for the love of...

So, remember all that stuff I said earlier about the Flyers' playoff picture, and how all we had to do was beat Pittsburgh and hope the Carolina Hurricanes drop an unlikely two points to Tampa? It's all in my last post, so if you forgot, go ahead and read it now. I'll wait...

...

You done? Good.

Apparently the Flyers didn't get the message, as Pittsburgh won the Atlantic (for which they'll probably have a parade and sell T-shirts) with a 4-2 win on Wednesday. Sidney what's-his-name scored two goals. The Flyers simply couldn't keep pace with the Pens, although they did get juiced up when Riley Cote threw down with Big George Laraque. I will admit, when Laraque popped Cote's helmet off with a punch, I was impressed. Reminded me of the old rock 'em sock 'em robot game back in the day.

Anyway, tonight the Devils are in town. If there was ANYTIME to get a regulation win against New Jersey, now would be a good time. Washington took over the eighth spot by beating Tampa Bay last night, and the Rangers clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Islanders. This means that only four spots remain in the Eastern conference. I'm still holding to my prediction that Washington will win the Southeast, but sixth place may be a stretch for Philly. Ottawa needs a point tonight against Boston to clinch up a place, Buffalo was eliminated by Montreal, and Carolina needs a win and help.

I'm not asking for the world, guys. Just hockey in April.

Preview - Flyers vs. Penguins

Well, this is it. Last three games of the year for the Flyers, and I think it goes without saying that this is the wrong week for the boys to let up. The O&B have gone 5-0-1 in the past two weeks, with their only blemish being the URSO loss to New Jersey. It looks like R.J. Umberger will be back in the lineup this week after being out with a sprained knee. I don't think he'll see a lot of ice time, but it's nice to get him back.

After last night's games, here are the latest standings for the Eastern conference:
1. Pittsburgh* 100 pts.
2. Montreal* 100 pts.
3. Carolina 90 pts.
4. New Jersey* 95 pts.
5. NY Rangers 93 pts.
6. Ottawa 92 pts.
7. Boston 91 pts.
8. FLYERS 91 pts.
9. Washington 90 pts.
10. Buffalo 88 pts.

I'm thinking that Washington is going to end up winning the Southeast division, which will knock the Hurricanes back into either the 7th or 8th spot. The Flyers, assuming all goes well, should end up at no. 6, with Boston and whoever finishes second in the Southeast getting the last two spots. I tell ya what, it wouldn't surprise me to see Ottawa crash out of the playoffs. This was a team that people had penciled in to head back to the Cup finals, and now they're setting up for the biggest choke job since the '07 Mets.

The Flyers have to come out with some jump tonight. Pittsburgh would love nothing more than to make life difficult for us, so if we can get a quick lead, push some people around, and make the Penguins worry more about keeping their players healthy than winning the game, I think we got it.

UPDATE - According to the always trustworthy news scroll on ESPN (I shouldn't be watching TV, but the Arsenal-Liverpool Champions League match is on), if the Flyers can beat Pittsburgh and Carolina loses to Tampa Bay tonight, we clinch a playoff spot. I'm not too certain about Carolina losing to the Lightning, but the Flyers should beat the Penguins on the road. If we can get in tonight, it'll make the rest of the week much better.

Down the stretch

(photo courtesy of Getty Images)


By now, it's obvious that the Flyers need to win out the season. We're in a position where one bad game could allow someone like Washington or even Buffalo to take our spot in the playoffs. So naturally, I was more than a little nervous going into this weekend's back-to-back games against New Jersey and the Islanders. Fortunately, the boys got the job done, for the most part. The Flyers took 3 out of a possible 4 points, with both games going to the shootout. On Friday, the Flyers had to come back with a late goal by Mike Knuble to tie the score at 4-4, only to have Marty Biron fall apart in the unrecognized shootout, allowing the Devils to win the game 5-4. Seriously Marty, you let all three in? Against a team that historically cannot score? Yeesh.

Luckily, Long Island isn't too far from North Jersey (only about five hours with traffic), so travel wasn't an issue for last night's game. And, seeing as how the Flyers have mastered the art of the come-from-behind strategy lately, Mike Richards scored the tying goal with about five minutes left in the third to make it 3-3, and Antero Nittymaki stopped all three shots (see Biron, it CAN be done!), leaving Daniel Briere to score the game-winner on the final shot of the newly recognized shootout, giving the O&B the 4-3 win.

With Boston blanking the Senators and Washington beating Florida, the Flyers entered Sunday tied for sixth in the East. Pittsburgh beat New York earlier today, so the Flyers still have an outside shot of...brace yourselves...FOURTH PLACE in the Eastern conference providing everyone else takes the week off. Fourth friggin' place. Whodathunkit?? There's only three games left in the season, so I figure if we can get at least four points from them, we should be good. I think Washington will be the team on the outside looking in, which means no Ovechkin in the playoffs or the possibility of Cristobal Huet sticking it to his old team in the first round. If it all stands put, I do like our chances against Pittsburgh. Still, fourth place and home ice would be sweet.

Flyers 2, Rangers 1 (OT)

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

I think I woke up half of Southeast PA when Mike Richards scored that goal. I apologize.

I know I'm not alone in believing that the Flyers were going to blow the game tonight after Daniel Briere tied it up in the third. The Rangers must have controlled the puck in our end for a good five to six minutes, somehow keeping the defense from even touching the puck enough to clear the zone and get a full line change on the ice. Don't act like I was the only one screaming "Clear it, YA MORONS!!!!" at my TV. Luckily, thanks to some bad MSG ice and even worse Ranger shooting, the game went to OT and Richards won it with a tricky bankhander past Henrik Lundqvist who really should have made the save. Ah, well...

Would've been nice if Toronto had put some more distance between us and Boston by winning tonight. Thanks a bunch. At least Ottawa knocked Buffalo further back in the standings. I have to say, the line pairing of Briere and Vinnie Prospal seems to be working well recently. Given that Simon Gagne isn't even skating these days, someone had to step in and fill the role of playmaker on the first line, and Prospal's done it so far. I would make the case for signing him for a few more years, especially now since Gagne's one good hit away from retirement.

Next up for the Flyers is a date with New Jersey on Friday. Needless to say, we cannot drop anymore points this season. Even an overtime loss is OK provided we don't give up too much ground.

Flyers 4, Islanders 1

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

For the 55% of you who said on TSN that the Flyers would miss the playoffs this season, I have three words for you:

WHAT'S. UP. NOW?!?!!?

Bit premature, I suppose, but I'll take it. The Flyers dominated the Isles on Sunday, winning 4-1 and never looked like losing control. Daniel Briere chipped in with a PP goal and two assists, Vinnie Prospal connected from a sweet pass from Briere, and Braydon Coburn continues to be a lethal offensive D-man with his ninth goal of the campaign. Martin Biron played extremely well, including a sick glove save in the first period, and apparently is the third NHL goalie in history to defeat the Islanders six times in the same year. So, he's got that going for him.

It's funny. We dominate the Islanders, yet they dominate the Devils. I'd trade one of those Islander win for a win later this week against New Jersey. With Boston seemingly unable to score recently, we've moved up to seventh in the East with the opportunity to tie the Rangers with a win tomorrow in New York, which is easier said than done. Expect Biron back in net, with the Rangers putting Stephan Valiquette in goal since we can't score on him.

Flyers 4, Rangers 3 (URSO)

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

I can't really comment on this game, seeing as how I didn't watch it. Serves me right, I suppose. The one time we beat the New York Rangers in a shootout (by the way, URSO = UnRecognized ShootOut. Pretty clever, right? Right? Oh, shut up...) and I didn't see it. I can tell you that it does not surprise me in the least to know that we gave up a late third-period goal to NY which tied the game at 3-3. The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story about how the Flyers are now practicing 6-on-5 situations to put an end to the madness. And I'm happy to report that we still have work to do. Oh well, two points are two points, especially when they move us ahead of Boston in the standings. If it all stays like this, we'll end up playing New Jersey in the first round instead of Montreal, which isn't ideal, but I'll take it.

I did get a chance to see the Toronto/Ottawa game last night. Now that was fun. I know I give the Leafs a lot of grief (who doesn't?), but I tip my hat to them for at least trying to make something out of this season. My only grievance is that for some unknown reason, NHL Center Ice Online cuts the audio right when the HNIC theme music starts playing. For those who are unfamiliar with Hockey Night In Canada, the theme music is considered to be the unofficial Canadian national anthem, and is right up there with the theme music for Monday Night Football as the best sports music ever. Hell, some people wait for the theme to end, go get dinner, come back for Coach's Corner with Don Cherry, and go to bed. All I'm saying is, play the music. It's awesome. It's hockey. It makes me happy.

Islanders are in town tonight at the Center. Have a happy Easter and stay away from the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny is evil, mostly because it reminds me of Donnie Darko. And one mall Bunny scared me as a child. I've said too much...