Flyers 3, Senators 1

(AP Photo - Tom Mihalek)

Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators fired coach John Paddock, which comes as no real surprise given that team's run of sub-par performances. Former coach Bryan Murray took his place behind the bench. I mention this because any time a team fires their coach, they always seem to win the first few games under the new guy. And usually, one of those first wins comes at the expense of the Flyers (see: Boudreau, Bruce in Washington). Tonight, however, was the exception. The O&B got goals from Mike Knuble and Jim Dowd and defeated the Sens by a score of 3-1. The game got chippy, as do most meetings between these clubs. Steve Downie and Mike Fisher got into it and a bizarre sequence involving Marty Biron and Jason Spezza resulted in a game misconduct for Spezza. Biron didn't like the way Spezza was celebrating his goal, so in true Ron Hextall spirit, Marty shoved him in the back. Spezza took exception, Braydon Coburn came in to offer his views, and Spezza hit him with the butt end of his stick. All in all, no big deal.

The Flyers and the Buffalo Sabres are currently neck and neck for the final spot in the playoffs. Buffalo won last night 8-4, which put them in the 8th spot for all of a day. With this win, the Flyers have tied the Sabres on 71 points, but take the 8th position due to one more win overall. So...either the Flyers need to go on a ridiculous winning streak or the Sabres need to fall apart. If it stays like this until the end, I think our injuries will start to catch up to us. Vinnie Prospal didn't have a major impact tonight, but it's his first game, so give him time. I still think we needed to pick up a puck-handling defenseman like a Brad Stuart, but we should be OK so long as no one else gets hurt.

That's two wins in a row for all of you scoring at home...

Trade Deadline Update

There isn't enough time for me break down every single trade that happened today, so I'll just go with the biggies(If you want to track today's deals, go here). Apparently the Flyers were content to just stick with what we got after trading for Vinnie Prospal last night, which is fine with me. I'm all for holding on to our young guys and draft picks going into the off-season since GM Paul Holmgren has proven he knows how to find good talent. The biggest trade of the day was Marian Hossa going to Pittsburgh along with Pascal Dupuis in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, and Angelo Esposito. This makes Pittsburgh the most dangerous team on paper, though their goaltending is still suspect. Still, a powerplay line of Hossa, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin would be fun to watch so long as it's not against the Flyers. With Hossa wanting at least $7.5 million a year in a new contract, there is no way he remains a Penguin after this season. Crosby's already pulling in close to max or will be soon, and Malkin will probably want something along the lines of Alexander Ovechkin's contract in Washington. The Penguins better win the Cup or this deal will be a disaster. I'm really surprised Hossa didn't end up in Montreal or Ottawa, especially since those two clubs were talking about making big moves today. Montreal gave up Cristobal Huet to the Capitals, and Ottawa picked up Martin Lapointe. Yup, real big moves, guys.

Other than Brad Richards escaping Tampa Bay for Dallas and Brian Campbell heading to San Jose from Buffalo, nothing overly spectacular happened today. Toronto picked up some draft picks they'll need to rebuild that franchise, New Jersey and the Rangers moved some minor league players to the West, and just about everybody in the East except for Washington stayed put. Kinda boring, really. NHL Center Ice Online (which I have, and it is SWEET) broadcast the TSN feed, so I was able to follow along. It's easy to say that Canadians take this day way too seriously, but then you look at the absolute obsession Americans have with the NFL Draft Weekend and realize that yes, we both spend WAY too much time on this stuff.

Now that the deadline has come and gone, it's time to focus on the playoffs. It's starting to look like all roads in the East will go through New Jersey since Ottawa is slipping, Pittsburgh doesn't have the goaltending, Montreal will regret getting rid of Huet, and Carolina is barely hanging on to the Southeast. This doesn't bode well for the Flyers since we can't seem to beat the Devils lately, but as I said before, just to make the playoffs is a huge improvement for this team.

Senators in town tomorrow...

UPDATE - Sorry, got my dates wrong. The Senators are in town on Thursday, then the Flyers have back-to-back games on the weekend against the Islanders and Rangers in New York.

THANK YOU!!!!...Flyers 4, Sabres 3 (SO)

(AP Photo, Don Heupel)

Finally, finally, finally!!!

Not only did the Flyers get a much-needed win against a Buffalo team that has been impossible to beat, but they won on the road 4-3 IN A SHOOTOUT!!! Normally, we here at Cafe Noire do not recognize the shootout, but we're waiving the rule tonight. The Flyers were down 3-0 at one point, with the Sabres scoring twice in 11 seconds. Once John Stevens called a timeout and settled the boys down, the Flyers began to take over. Jeff Carter scored on a sweet breakaway, Scott Hartnell ripped one past Ryan Miller toward the end of the first period, and R.J. Umberger tied the score on a powerplay goal. (Note: My apologies to all of my English teachers for that last run-on sentence) After Ales Kotalik and Carter got tallies in the shootout, Daniel Briere won it on a sick deke past Miller. As you can tell, I am happy. And sober. I said earlier that Jesse Boulerice probably wouldn't see too much ice time. Well, nine seconds into his first shift, he got into a fight with Andrew Peters. Wasn't really much of a fight, just two guys skating around holding each other's sweater while trying to connect a few roundhouses. The Class 2 felony on skates better known as Steve Downie made the trip despite a concussion (apparently in order to become a true Flyer you need a concussion or four), and mixed it up a bit. Marty Biron was fine once he let in his requisite three goals, shutting down the Sabres until Kotalik's goal in the newly recognized shootout.

This win means that Philly jumps ahead of Buffalo in the conference standings, putting them in eighth place on 69 points, one behind seventh-placed Boston. Ottawa is up next and they looked terrible tonight against the Maple Leafs, losing 5-0 in a game they must have forgot was on the schedule. It's like I said before, the Eastern conference is so packed that a few key wins could put the Flyers right back into fifth or even fourth within a week. It would help if they didn't give loser points to their opponents like they did tonight, but we'll take them as we get them.

In trade news, the Flyers picked up Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay in exchange for defenseman Alexander Picard and a draft pick next year. This move wouldn't have made too much sense before Simon Gagne and Mike Richards went down with injuries. Now, it sends a message that the team wants to better position themselves for the playoffs. Prospal was here before, so he knows about the culture of the organization. Plus, he has some decent playoff experience and a Stanley Cup to his name. I like the move.

The next three games for the O&B feature a home game with Ottawa before heading up I-95 to play the New York teams. The Senators are slipping, the Islanders can be soft at home, but there's always the Rangers to ruin a good weekend. Hopefully, this win gives us some momentum, and the addition of Prospal can only help providing he can adjust quick enough.

Oh dear...

(AP Photo, Tom Mihalek)

Seriously, can it get any worse for this team? We lose 2-1 in overtime to Florida in a game we were winning for 59:56, until Jay Bouwmeester put a shot past Antero Nittymaki. Then, Olli Jokinen scored the game-winner. Then we find out that Mike Richards is gone for three weeks with a torn hamstring. And today, Peter Forsberg announced that he will be playing for Colorado for the rest of the season. To top it all off, we've now dropped ten straight games, are stuck in a tie for ninth in the East with the New York Islanders, and face a huge road game against Buffalo tonight.

Did I leave anything out? No, I think that pretty much covers it.

Someone, anyone, on this team has got to step up and take the leadership role. Jason Smith was appointed captain during preseason, but it looks like he doesn't want it anymore. I subscribe to the theory that the best team leaders come from within, but so far none of the vets want any part of it. Simon Gagne (who's done for the year), Jeff Carter (who may be traded tomorrow), Richards, Sami Kapanen (who shouldn't even be on the ice)...no one is willing to put this team on their back. Maybe it's the pressure of playing in Philadelphia, which can't be any worse than the pressure of playing for one of the Canadian teams. Maybe no one wants to take the blame. Who knows. All I know is that this team, amazingly enough, is still good enough to make the playoffs. They just need to break this slump.

For tonight's game, Gagne, Richards, Derian Hatcher, and Joffrey Lupul are definitely out with injuries. Jesse Boulerice was called up from the Phantoms to help fill in the roster, though I doubt he'll see much ice time. I'm assuming that Martin Biron will be in net against his old club, seeing as how Nitty needs a break. This game doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be an exhibition of skilled passing and top-shelf shooting. JUST FRIGGIN' WIN!!!!!

Dear Flyers...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????

Seriously, I turn away from this team for just a little while to focus on other things like finding a new job and taking care of the family, and this is what happens? NINE STRAIGHT GAMES?!?!?! You do realize the situation we're in, right? You do know what will happen in this town should you fail to at least attempt to make the playoffs, don't you? Last season, yeah, we were pretty much done by this point and looking ahead to better times. But, and correct me if I'm wrong here, weren't you in 2nd place in the East a couple of weeks ago? We were having serious conversations about a possible Cup run, going from worst-to-first, maybe even a Jack Adams for John Stevens. Now the only Jack I see is the stuff I have to drink to make this all go away.

Honestly, no one is expecting you to go and win them all. And goodness knows I would gladly take this team over last year's abomination. All I'm saying is that you better start righting the ship, 'cause my sanity and liver can't take much more. That's all for this rant...

In all seriousness, the Flyers have hit pretty much rock bottom after last night's 3-1 loss to the San Jose Filet O' Fish. They are now 1-8-1 in their last ten games, placing them in 10th overall in the Eatern Conference. Daniel Briere is getting booed every time he touches the puck, the defense is getting beat like a rental car, Simon Gagne is done for the season after suffering another concussion (I think it's the same injury as before), Peter Forsberg finally said he wasn't returning to the NHL after all, and seemingly every other Eastern team can't stop winning. Heck, even the Islanders are starting to pull wins together. Now, to be fair, the conference and division are still tightly packed, so a few positive results can bring the Flyers back into contention. But it has to come soon, or else we could fall too far behind the pack.

The O&B are home to Florida on Saturday before heading to Buffalo on Monday. It's now or never for this team...

Back from the dead!!!!

Sorry. Been away for a LONG time, but now that I'm back to a more regular routine, the posts should be coming as usual. Including a polite and frank discussion on what in God's name is happening to this club formerly known as the Philadelphia Flyers...

Happy Ron Hextall Day!!!!

(photo courtesy of sportsencyclopedia.com)

Last night's game against Atlanta is really nothing to get excited about. The Flyers continued to dominate the Thrashers (BTW, what is a thrasher? A bird? Some sort of rodent?), winning 3-2 with the game-winner coming from Steve Downie. This gives the O&B 24 wins out of 30 against Atlanta, who for some reason can't seem to beat Antero Nittymaki at home. As of today, the Flyers are sitting in first place in the Atlantic with 65 points, although with the way this season is going, don't expect it to stay that way. This may be like 2006, when the Devils, Flyers, and Rangers all finished within a point of each other in the standings (NJ won the division on a better win total). I think the same scenario is shaping up this year, just with Pittsburgh in the mix as well.

Anyway, enough about that. Tonight the Flyers honor perhaps one of the best goaltenders in the history of the franchise (I say one of since the best goalie to wear orange and black is Bernie Parent) when #27 Ron Hextall is inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame. Now, I don't remember Parent since I wasn't born when the Flyers won back-to-back Cups in the 1970's. I barely remember Pelle Lindbergh, who was Parent's heir apparent before he died in a car crash. So for me, Ron Hextall was the first goalie I can actually recall seeing live. And to be honest, Ron Hextall is the reason I'm a Flyers fan today. He was fearless, he was the ultimate team leader, he may have been psychotic. For me and many other kids growing up around here in the 80s, Hexy was the player we all imitated, even down to the ritualistic clanging of the goalposts with our sticks before the game, just like Ron did. Hextall wasn't like your typical goalie who just stayed in the crease and kept his head down. He would handle the puck and start the rush with a well-placed pass. He would challenge anyone who came near his net. And, getting back to the possible psychotic episodes, he wouldn't hesitate to kill someone who pissed him off. Just ask Chris Chelios, who still curls into the fetal position when he hears the name Hextall.

And did I mention...HE SCORED A GOAL. TWICE!!! The best part about that is that Hexy called into 610 WIP, our sports radio station in Philly, and predicted that he would do it. The guy called his shot. That's like Babe Ruth calling his homer in the All-Star game at Wrigley. How many hockey players, let alone goalies, have the stones to do that today? None, I tells ya.

Here's the goal:


And here's why Chelios can't look at the color orange anymore:


Welcome home, Ron.

Yes, I'm still here

Has it really been a week since I last posted? Wow.

Anyway, a lot has happened since the Pittsburgh game, namely the All-Star break, the Flyers looking like garbage against New York and like champs against Anaheim, and a lot of of talk about some Swedish guy named Forsberg. So, first things first...

The Flyers came back from the All-Star weekend looking to expand on a pretty decent record since Christmas (11-3 to be exact), and with Los Angeles in town, it was shaping up to be an easy road back into the season. And in true Philly form, the Flyers left it late by winning in OT 3-2 with a fairly controversial goal by Scott Hartnell, who appeared to kick the puck in. He didn't, so no worries there. The Flyers followed that game by giving one of their worst home performances of the year against the Rangers. Stephan Valiquette, the backup to the backup for New York, posted his first shutout of his career, and that's really all I'm saying about that. (BTW: Yes, the Giants won the Super Bowl. No, I don't respect them. Nothing is worse than obnoxious New York sports fans. NOTHING.) The Flyers were able to get in gear for the Anaheim Ducks, who came into the game with the most fighting majors in the league. Aside from a couple of scraps in the beginning of the game, it was pretty much all Philly in this one, putting a three-spot past Ducks G Jonas Hiller for the win.

Now, on to the Forsberg news - According to Bill Meltzer at hockeybuzz.com, the Flyers are probably in the driver's seat to sign Peter Forsberg, edging out other offer from Detroit, Ottawa, Toronto, and Dallas. Paul Holmgren spent most of the weekend over in Sweden talking to Forsberg as well as take in a youth tournament along with several other NHL GMs. Now, it still remains to be seen as to whether or not Forsberg is healthy enough to return to the NHL. I can't imagine that the Swedish Elite League is as physically demanding as hockey in North America. But, even if he returns at less than 100%, he would still be an asset to the team. First, it's not like we desperately need him back. The Flyers have shown this season that they are deep enough to ice two or even three scoring lines a night and are not dependent on one line to provide all of the offense, which takes some of the playmaking pressure off of Forsberg. Secondly, we already have an established leadership with Jason Smith, Simon Gagne, and Mike Richards. I think one of the problems Forsberg had during his first stint here was that Ken Hitchcock made him captain, a role I don't believe suited Peter. When he was lighting up the scoreboard in Colorado, he did so while deferring the on-ice leadership to Joe Sakic. If he were to return to Philly, I think he would be more content knowing that there are others on the team willing to step into the captain's role while allowing him to do what he does best. Finally, our PP unit has been outstanding to say the least (24.9%, good enough for second in the league behind Montreal at 25%), but our PP with Forsberg would be sick. Imagine this line:

Gagne-Forsberg-Briere
Timonen-Richards

Not only would that be ridiculously fun to watch, it would also make teams think twice about putting the Flyers on the man advantage. Just Forsberg's presence alone would be intimidating with that lineup.

Anyway, it's all wishful thinking for now. Apparently Holmgren came back without any definitive answer as to when Forsberg would be available. I will say, it is nice knowing that we are his first choice for returning to the NHL. And with our luck, he'll twist an ankle stepping off the plane. Oh well.

Flyers in Atlanta tomorrow...

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.

Devils 7, Flyers 3

(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)


This photo pretty much says it all. We got owned, plain and simple. I thought this might be our most difficult game this week and I nailed it. Johnny Oduya, who was non-existent on the power play until last night, had a four point evening as the Flyers got run out of the rink last night by a score of 7-3. That's all I got.

Pittsburgh tomorrow and then the All-Star break. I'll do a first-half recap this weekend, providing I can find the time...

Game on

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

I was all set to recap Saturday's game against the Islanders, but who cares about the Islanders? Honestly. This week is perhaps the biggest week of the season for the Flyers, and it kicked off last night with a 6-1 beatdown of the Ottawa Senators. This game had been hyped for months after Steve Downie laid out Ottawa's Dean McAmmond during the preseason. Sens fans even went so far as to call for swift retribution against young Downie, with some knuckleheads actually wanting to see his career end (I will never understand that level of stupidity among sports fans, Philly included). And wouldn't you know it, less than five minutes into the game, Riley Cote and Brian McGrattan dropped the gloves at center ice. McGrattan hurt his shoulder, both got five for fighting, and Ottawa pretty much gave up after that. True, the Senators were without their top two scorers, with both Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson out due to injuries. That's why you need more than one scoring line, kids.

Sunday's win moved us into a temporary tie for first place in the Atlantic division with Pittsburgh and New Jersey (temporary because the Penguins picked up a loser point tonight against Washington). The reason why this week is so important is because both the Devils and Penguins are up next for the Flyers, with the Devils in town tomorrow and the Pens on Thursday. I'm not too worried about Pittsburgh; we seem to be in their heads and Sidney Crosby is out for a month with an ankle injury. It's the Devils I'm worried about. Win against New Jersey and we set the tone. Lose and the Devils keep a firm psychological hold on us going into the second half.

Notes from the farm...

Now, usually I would do my own, in-depth hard-hitting analysis when it comes to our prospects. This time, however, I'll let someone else handle it. This article by Flyers beat writer Bill Meltzer is posted up on hockeybuzz.com, and it's a pretty good look at what we can look forward to. It is comforting to know that we have so many talented young players in the system, unlike some other teams who just rely on big name free agents and aging veterans (cough**TORONTO**cough). Whether or not players like James vanRiemsdyk or Mario Kempe will ever make it to the Wachovia Center is still up in the air, but at least they're getting good playing time...

The Phantoms are still on top of the East division with a record of 27-12-1. They got blasted by the Manchester Monarchs 6-2 in their last game, with goals from Alexandre Picard and Triston Grant, but still look to be in good position to make the Calder Cup playoffs. The biggest story surrounding the Phantoms, however, is that their current home may soon be demolished. Yes, the Spectrum, the original home of the Flyers and Sixers, the arena that housed the Broad Street Bullies and saw the Flyers defeat the Bruins in '74 and the Soviet Red Army two years later, will be knocked down by Comcast. In its place, Comcast-Spectacor will build cheesy retail stores, restaurants, and sports bars. Now, I'm all for progress. But the Spectrum? Expect some serious protests from a lot of people on this one...

(I still remember my first Flyers game. Flyers vs. Vancouver, December, 1984. The Flyers won 7-4. I went with my dad and my best friend from school. We sat in the upper level of the Spectrum and I remember complaining because I couldn't see over the two fat guys in front of us. The lighting at the Spectrum was entirely focused on the playing surface, whether it was ice or hardwood for basketball. All you would see was this gleaming sheet of ice, but since there was no light shining on the seats, it looked like the ice was suspended in mid-air, surrounded by 16,000 voices in the dark. And they were LOUD voices. Loud, drunk, psychotic voices. And I loved it. And now they're going to knock it down for a Ruby Tuesday's. Sigh...)