Told you I'd be back - Red Wings 3, Penguins 1

See? I said I'd be back for the Finals.

Having seen much more of the Penguins than the Red Wings this year, I honestly believe that Pittsburgh is a much better team than they were in last year's Finals. As much as it pains me to say it, they are the best team in the East (Boston had a great year, but Pittsburgh's a better overall team), and they certainly deserve to be where they are now.

That being said, last night's game was loads of fun to watch. Sure, Detroit got some lucky bounces and won it 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead for the Cup, but I was more interested in watching how the Pens reacted to a referee who apparently didn't get the memo about calling everything in favor of Crosby & Co. I do agree that it's a bit unfair for Detroit to play two games back to back so close after getting past Chicago, but whatever. You're professional athletes, suck it up.

In other NHL news - I'm not going to dig through the Internet and find every article that supports my opinion on why Gary Bettman should allow Jim Balsillie to purchase the Coyotes and move them to Canada, because that would take too long. I said earlier that moving at least one of the struggling Southern teams closer to the border would be a better long-term move than allowing them to bleed money where they are. A team in Hamilton, or Winnipeg, would pay for itself in terms of ticket revenue, merchandise sales, and overall fan interest. True, Phoenix fans who have followed the team since they arrived are the ones who will suffer the most. However, where was the league's sympathy to fans in Quebec or Hartford when their teams were relocated?

Now, to play devil's advocate, I can understand where the NHL is coming from. If the bankruptcy judge allows the sale to proceed, it sends the message to every owner in every sport that your franchise is yours to do what you wish. The different leagues have to have some control over where their teams are located, otherwise you may see an exodus of teams from small markets to larger, more lucrative ones. And while I don't have any direct proof of this (this is a blog, you know), I'm sure that there are teams in every league who are struggling in this economy. It'll be interesting to see the attendance figures for the NFL this season.

Finally, one of my favorite Flyers from the past passed away recently, as Peter Zezel died Tuesday from a rare blood disorder at the age of only 44. Zezel was a key player on perhaps the most popular Flyers team in the franchise's history. As a kid in the '80s, my Flyers heroes included guys like Tim Kerr, Dave Poulin, Zezel, Rick Tocchet, and of course Ron Hextall. The fact that they took the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the '87 Final was amazing in itself. 44 is way too young to go...so long, Pete. And thank you.

And from the ashes, he rises!!!

...seriously, there should be a creaking sound right now, the kind you hear when a vampire opens his coffin for the first time since January.

What's up? Obviously, this post won't be so much about the Flyers (more on them later) than it will be about me finally finding time to write. Apparently running your own business takes a lot of your personal time, but never fear. Once the Cup finals start, I'll be back posting on a maybe-I-should-blog-about-this basis. Alright? Alright.

Go Hawks.

I am sorry

I really have been slacking off lately. And it's not like I haven't been following the team or stopped watching hockey. Seriously, I get home from work, grab some dinner, and do my best to stay awake enough to watch the game, or at least catch the highlights on NHL On The Fly. This may turn into a weekly thing, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!!!

Here's hoping you got everything you wished for yesterday. Me, I got exactly what I wanted...a day to sleep in until 10:00 before my one-year old twin cousins dropped by for a visit. Actually, only one of them was able to come as the other one was sound asleep back home. Probably for the best.

Anyhoo...yes, it's been a while. And I did promise I would do a follow-up after every Flyers game this season. Two things here. One, things are ridiculously busy at the job. And two, with the way the Flyers have been playing, what else is there to say? We've got scoring, we've got defense, we've got special teams, and we've got two goalies who I assume will split time for the rest of the year. There's really nothing to gripe about or get all worried about. I can't believe I'm saying this about a Philadelphia sports team, but at the moment I am...content with my hockey team.

Flyers start their six-game, cross-continent road trip tonight in Chicago.

Flyers 2, Hurricanes 1 (OT)

(AP photo)

I wonder if we can petition the league to move down to the Southeast division.

The Flyers, who seem to be playing the Hurricanes every other day, got a nice 2-1 victory in overtime off of Jeff Carter's 19th goal of the season. Which means more fantasy points for yours truly and moves us two points behind Pittsburgh in the East. Carter got the game's first star, but really it should have gone to Antero Nittymaki, who stopped 35 shots and looked much more confident in goal than Biron has recently. And before you ask, no, there is no goalie controversy in Philly. If Nitty's playing better, start him. Mike Richards scored the opener in the first, getting his 11th of the year and netting another shorty for this team, which is remarkable seeing as how the special teams guru known as Terry Murray is out in LA. One negative that stood out for me last night was how the Canes were able to completely dictate the play after they tied the game. The Flyers couldn't clear the puck, couldn't keep Eric Staal in check and let Sergei friggin' Samsonov skate rings around them. Other than that, it was a good win on the road.

Islanders up next.

Flyers 4, Bolts 3 (OT)

(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Well, that was...interesting. I missed a good part of the third period because I was holding my hands in front of my eyes, but here are some key observations I had from last night:

- Scott Hartnell owes Marty Biron a steak dinner. For the rest of the year. My goodness, could you imagine if Ryan Malone had scored on that penalty shot?
- Jeff Carter may be a sleeper pick for the Richard Trophy if he keeps this up.
- Get rid of the black sweaters. Keep the orange.
- I am starting to notice a slight decrease in attendance at the Wac lately. I know that no one really gets jazzed up for the Lightning around here, but you have to wonder if ticket prices are becoming out of reach for more and more people. Just a thought...
- Putting Luca Sbisa on the ice against Vinnie Lecavalier may have seemed like a good idea, but there were a couple of times where the young boy got schooled. All part of the learning process, I guess.
- Finally, you knew that third Tampa goal was coming the minute Biron failed to control the rebound. I swear, failure to control rebounds has been the downfall of every Flyers goalie in my lifetime. Unbelievable.

New Jersey up next.

Weekly musings again...

Seeing as how this blog is turning into a weekly thing every time work gets busy and I can't watch the Flyers, and since this week was Thanksgiving here in the States, I'd though I would take the time to look back and go over all of the things I'm thankful for. So here goes...

I'm thankful for...
1. Jeff Carter finally playing up to his potential
2. Simon Gagne recovering from his concussion to become one of the leading scorers in the NHL
3. Whoever thought it was a good idea to reintroduce the orange jerseys. Love it.
4. The person in the NHL Marketing office who brought up the idea of the retro 3rd jersey. In no particular order, my top five are Philly, Buffalo, Edmonton, Toronto, and Pittsburgh.
5. Having enough of a passion for this game and this team to be motivated to share my feelings about them in public. I really feel bad for those who go through life without experiencing the highs and lows of a deep Stanley Cup run, even if it ends in heartbreak. Show me someone who doesn't get a rush watching a Game 7 and I'll show you someone who needs medical attention.
6. Speaking of heartbreak, thanks to the Phillies.
7. Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, Mike Richards, Rick Nash, Roberto Luongo, Jason Spezza, Gagne, and all of the other players I love watching night after night.
8. Hockey Night in Canada. And NHL On The Fly. And After Hours. And the Hot Stove. And Coach's Corner.
9. CNN...for giving me the double dose of Robin Meade and Kiran Chetry in the morning. Plus, Kiran Chetry's a Maryland grad, so I got that going for me.
10. Finally, thanks to all the little things that make hockey awesome. A breakaway goal. A well-timed fight. Faceoff strategies. Playoff beards. That last gasp rush up the ice with the goalie racing to the bench. Guys sacrificing their health to block a 95-mph shot. The Whale. The Spectrum. The vintage games on NHL Network. Hearing Gene Hart's call "Ladies and gentlemen, the Flyers...are going to win...THE STANLEY CUP!!!" over and over.

Despite losing last night to the Toronto Maple Burkes 4-2, the Flyers are still on a pretty decent run. We're finally ahead of New Jersey in the standings, and are starting to play more consistently. The aforementioned Carter and Gagne are leading the team offensively, and even more encouraging, the Flyers are one of the best special-teams clubs in the league. Next up, former Flyer Rick Tocchet and the Lightning come to town on Tuesday, followed by home match with New Jersey and a weekend trip to Carolina (again!). If the Flyers can put together a strong December, it should set them up in good position in the East.

Sweet

The Flyers officially unveiled their new 3rd jerseys this week during a Meet-And-Greet with season ticket holders. We got an early look at what they might look like during the summer, but this was the real deal. And I have to say, I like it. A lot. It's good to see actual color returning to the ice (too many black jerseys), plus the white nameplate on the back? Awesome. Here's the slide show from the Flyers' website. The jerseys won't go on sale until the 28th at the Wachovia Center Fan Zone, and the team will wear them against Carolina on the same day.

My Christmas list is now complete.

Flyers 2, Canadiens 1

(AP photo)

Now that's a bit more like it.

This is what can happen when the Flyers decide to play the full sixty minutes. I never expected them to shut out the Habs in Montreal (who, incidentally, got away with some cheap hits tonight), but to hold the Canadiens to one goal in their barn deserves a special mention. Everyone on the defense played well, even though Braydon Coburn looked out of sorts in the first period. Matt Carle and Andrew Alberts came up with some key blocks towards the end of the game when Montreal started to pick it up, Scottie Upshall and Jeff Carter (fantasy points!!) got the two goals necessary for the win, and Martin Biron made 24 stops to secure the win. I have to say, Biron does get his fair share of abuse in Montreal, doesn't he? I understand that French-Canadian players are supposed to be the eternal property of the Montreal Canadiens, but good luck to any who don't wear the colors. Lord knows Daniel Briere gets hammered when he goes to Quebec.

Anyway, the important thing is tht the Flyers got the two points. The Rangers won in a shootout, the Devils won after Alex Ovechkin tied it with a second left (that was sick, by the way), the Penguins were winning last I looked, so this win was important in the standings. The Flyers play again tomorrow aginst the Thrashers, who have been playing well as of late, but it's the Thrashers, so I'm not worried.

Wow, that was quick

Apparently Barry "The Mullet" Melrose is out as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. I guess now he can head on back to ESPN for some more hard-hitting hockey analysis, provided ESPN can fit it in between the World Series of Poker broadcasts. I can't see how firing a coach this early in the season can do any good for a team. I know that Bruce Boudreau came in and basically lifted the Washington Capitals into the playoffs, but how often does that happen? Tampa is currently 5-7-4 and sitting fourth in the Southeast, a division that, to be fair, ins't all that difficult to make up ground in. Why not keep him for the year and see what happens? Hey, whatever, it's not my team (although good luck to former Flyer Rick Tocchet, who gets to take over that circus), so I can't get too worried. I guess this also means one less Carrie Milbank commercial on the NHL Network. See, now THERE'S your tragedy.

Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (SO)

(AP photo)
Due to the ongoing conflict between DirecTV, Comcast, and my laziness in not heading to the bar tonight to watch this game, I listened online. And after the Pens went up 3-0 in the second and John Stevens called a timeout, I figured it would be a good time to do something more constructive with my time...like staring at the walls and re-reading the Sports Illustrated Phillies World Series Commemorative Edition for the 59th time. And then wouldn't ya know it, it's 4-3. And I'm thinking, you know, it's time to put the baseball season to an end. Clearly the Flyers know that I'm back and are doing everything they can to ease my re-entry into hockey by beating the little cousins from Pittsburgh. They deserve my attention again. Heck, the only thing that could spoil this reunion party would be a shootou...

...figures.

Seriously, at least they're showing some fight. Unfortunately, it's not showing up on the scoreboard or the win column. It won't get any easier Saturday night in Montreal, even if they just got destroyed by Boston 6-1 tonight. Hate to say it, but I really think this team is missing both Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher. Maybe if things get worse for Ottawa they'll be willing to trade him back.

Jeez, it's been over a week...

since I last posted. Let's see what's happened since then:

Oh, those Flyers. I swear, if this team ever got consistent, they'd be among the elite. If it wasn't for the gift that keeps on giving in the New York Islanders, this team would be the bottom of the East. Inconsistent goaltending, a leaky defense, and uneven scoring are the most glaring issues, not to mention the on-and-off injuries to Daniel Briere (I think the latest injury is a groin pull. I had one of those in high school and let me tell you, it's the worst. I could be playing soccer in the Premier League or pitching for the Red Sox if it wasn't for that groin pull. Ah well...), and let's not forget the news that Brendan Shanahan may be coming to town. Right now the O&B are down 1-0 to Pittsburgh at the end of the 1st. At least they're not getting outshot.

I have to be honest with you. Ever since the Phillies won the World Series, coupled with Barack Obama winning the presidency, my angst and frustration level has gone to...well, nil. Heck, normally I would be screaming from the rooftop after watching a mediocre hockey team and the Eagles get thoroughly stomped on Sunday, but now...not so much. I guess this all comes when your team finally pulls it out. If the Flyers ever win the Cup, you could hit me with a dumptruck and I wouldn't feel it.

Lastly, I do apologize for not being around. This new job's got me working pretty hard, so hopefully after this week I should be back to the usual routine.