Can We Buy A Break Please?

-A phantom penalty 14 seconds into the game that leads to a PPG.
-Coburn scoring on his own team
-Bounces that always seem to find the baby pens sticks

Why does this only happen when we play the Penguins?

Also- what b.s. is this? Kunitz goes in with gloves off after Hartnell who's already fighting with Letang... and nothing is called on him? This is ridiculous. It's gonna take an act of god for us to ever beat the baby pens.

Also- Ray Emery, you can't give up 10 goals in two games against playoff teams. You better get your head out of your ass.

Ahh the BS Begins

A phantom hooking call 14 seconds into the first? How much are you paying those refs pitt? Jeeze.

I Love D & E

Apparently when Comcast told me last year that the NHL blacked out Flyers games in State College, they meant that it was THEIR deal with the NHL to black out games in the State College area. Now that I have D & E this year, lo and behold, the Flyers game isn't blacked out! Suck it Comcast. You guys are terrible. Thank you D & E for bringing my Flyers back to me.

Most Exciting Game of the Year (So Far)

Wow that Flyers/Caps game was awesome.

I was able to watch the game today because I found a stream online, and wow I wasn't disappointed in what I saw. That was by far the most exciting game I've seen in a long time, and the nice added bonus was Danny Briere grabbing the game winner with less than a minute to go in OT.

Mike Richards had a hat trick and Matt Carle added four assists in the second period which was encouraging to see. Richards now has 5 goals on the season, which is the best he's ever started off. Jeff Carter was held scoreless, but he started the play in OT that led to the winning goal.

The Flyers also got three more powerplay goals today, including the game tying goal from Scott Hartnell with less than five minutes to go in the 3rd.

It was a great to see the Flyers win this, last year I wouldn't have believed that they would come back after falling behind twice, but they dug deep and erased the leads both times.

One of the more interesting facts of the night is that the Flyers haven't started 3-0 since 1998. That astounds me because the Flyers have only missed the playoffs once in that time span.

Anyways that leaves us at 3-0-0 going into the first matchup with Cindy and her baby pens on Thursday.

Should be a good game.

2-0

Looks like the Flyers are finally getting off to a fast start! This is good because the last couple of seasons we've gone on major slides during February/March, so we need to rack up wins now in case that happens a third time.

Today we spoiled Martin Brodeur's 1,000th game and made him look pretty ordinary. Emery had his second straight great game, and was about a half a period away from having two shutouts to start the season. Carter and Richards scored again, and so did Carle, Laperriere and Powe.

It's nice to get two road wins early to help build momentum because the Flyers have three tough home games next week, as Washington, Pittsburgh and Anaheim come to town. The Flyers have a chance to make a big statement this week, hopefully they can take advantage of it.

The Flyers penalty killing came up huge again today. They did give up a goal, but they've killed 12 of 13 penalties this season, and they killed off a full two minutes of a 5-3 powerplay in the first period.

There are a lot of positives for the Flyers right now, and I'm excited to see how long they can keep it up. But it's too soon to get too excited...

Cautious Optimism

Well the Flyers opener was tonight. It resulted in a 2-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The two goals came on consecutive powerplays at the beginning of the second period and were only 14 seconds apart. The biggest story tonight though was Ray Emery. He made 28 saves and played really well in his Flyers debut. He was the first goalie to register a shutout in his debut since Jeff Hackett did it back in the opener in 2003 (who else forgot that Hackett used to play for us?). Other positive signs from tonight was our defense, which allowed few good scoring chances and our penalty kill which killed off 8 Carolina powerplays. It's a little troubling that we took 8 penalties tonight, but our penalty killers did a good job of collapsing on the puck and driving it down the ice whenever they could, we also had a few nice shorthanded chances. Our powerplay looked really nice tonight, as we scored on back to back power plays in the first minute of the second period. Anyways, this is one of the best games we've played to open the season in a long time. I know one game doesn't make a season, but it is nice to see all the important pieces clicking so early. We will be tested next week with games against the Devils, Capitals and Penguins, but if we play as well as we did tonight, we could see a quick start to the season.


Happy rosh-a-hockey everyone!

NHL Preview/Predictions

So I figured I should throw together a preview for the NHL this year.

Here are my thoughts:
Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

Pittsburgh Penguins - With Crosby and Malkin, you can never count this team out. I'd say they're the pre-season favorites to win the division.

Philadelphia Flyers - Chris Pronger will bring some much needed balance to the defense and made Randy Jones expendable. Great move. Ray Emery could be Stanley Cup Finals good, or the player that played in Russia last year. The Flyers' success largely depends on him.

New Jersey Devils - It's bad when your biggest weapon is your goalie.

New York Rangers - I like the Gaborik acquisition, but I don't think he can make up for the offensive deficiencies that the Rangers have.

New York Islanders - Good luck Marty Biron. The fans won't expect much from you there, but you're probably playing for the worst team in the conference now. Tavares should be fun to watch though.

Northeast Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

Boston Bruins - Despite losing Kessel, I think that they have a great shot at winning the division again. Tim Thomas needs to continue last year's form for this to happen though.

Montreal Canadiens - If there had been another week in the season last year they would have missed the playoffs, as they were limping towards the finish line. There are a lot of new faces and question marks on this team, but I like the changes they've made, and a third straight playoff appearance is likely on its way.

Toronto Maple Leafs - The Leafs have went from rebuilders to playoff contenders really quickly. I'm not sure they will make the playoffs, but they will be in the mix until late in the season.

Buffalo Sabres - They have some solid talent, but I don't think they have what it takes to make the playoffs.

Ottawa Senators - They got a great deal for Dany Heatly, but this team has too many issues to be much of a threat this year.

Southeast Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

Washington Capitals - The Capitals have Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green to give them a ton of offense. They'll need it too because you're not going to see their defense hold opponents in check very well. If they have any thoughts of winning a Stanley Cup they really need to beef up their defense.

Carolina Hurricanes - The 'Canes made a great run in the playoffs last year, I see them giving the Caps a serious run for their money for the division title.

Florida Panthers - The Panthers hung in the playoff race until the last couple of weeks last season. I really like the look of their roster, and think they could make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. However, only 18 or so fans will watch them do it.

Tampa Bay Lightning - Tampa has become a who's who of former Flyers, as they have Antero Nittymaki, Todd Fedoruk and Steve Downie on the team. They also picked up Alex Tanguay this year and still have Lecavlier and St. Louis... they will challenge for a playoff spot.

Atlanta Thrashers - Kovalchuk is still a highlight reel player, and one of my favorite players to watch in the game, but one man can't do everything for this team.

Playoff Bound Teams:
1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Boston Bruins
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Carolina Hurricanes
6. Montreal Canadiens
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
8. Florida Panthers

Western Conference

Central Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

Detroit Red Wings- The Red Wings are aging, and they lost Marian Hossa to free agency, but it's really hard to pick against the Red Wings. I can't remember the last time someone else finished in front of them in the division (Ok I just checked, it was the 99-00 season when they last finished somewhere other than first in the division).

Chicago Blackhawks - If anyone can wrest the division away from Detroit, it's the Hawks. They lost Havlat this year, but they did manage to lock Hossa down for the rest of his career, and he should be a big help when he comes back from injury.

St. Louis Blues - The Blues broke a long playoff drought last season, and they're only going to get better this year.

Columbus Blue Jackets - The Jackets made the playoffs for the first time ever last season, and they were quickly disposed of. Still, it was nice to see them show that they are more than just the team Rick Nash plays for.

Nashville Predators - Seriously, relocate this team now.

Northwest Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

Calgary Flames - The Flames added Jay Bouwmeester and have Rene Bourque back from injury. Along with the addition Olli Joikenen, I think they have a great shot at taking the division.

Vancouver Canucks - The Canucks managed to keep the Sedin twins and still have Luongo. This team is set for awhile.

Minnesota Wild - They missed the playoffs this past season, but they added Martin Havlat and they still have a pretty good defense. They will definitely return to the playoffs this year.

Colorado Avalanche - The Avalanche are rebuilding, and lost long time captain Joe Sakic to retirement. However, there is a wealth of young talent on the team and they won't be kept down for long.

Edmonton Oilers - The addition of Khabibulin was nice, but I don't think they have enough on their roster to really make a playoff push this season.

Pacific Division (Predicted Order of Finish)

San Jose Sharks - The Sharks have one of the best rosters in the league, but they continually underachieve in the playoffs. They should run away with the division again this year, but I'm not holding my breath for them in the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks - No more Chris Pronger, but this team is always dangerous.

Dallas Stars - Brenden Morrow is back from an injury that kept him out most of last season. They'll need a big year from him if they hope to get back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 2002 last year.

Los Angeles Kings - The Kings have some nice additions this season, but it's hard to see them competing for a play off spot.

Phoenix Coyotes - See Nashville.

Playoff Teams:
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Detroit Red Wings
3. Calgary Flames
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Anaheim Ducks
8. Minnesota Wild