I agree that this was the best win of the season, and it capped off a huge weekend given how much the Sabres had to play for on Friday night. To me, these were really the first games where we had Briere back in the lineup given how slowly he was integrated back into the mix (which I think was a very intelligent approach by the coaching staff), and I like what I see. I think that a game like Friday night demonstrated that the Flyers have arguably the deepest group of forwards in the nhl, if not in the east. If Briere and Giroux played the full year, I think there’s a legitimate chance we’d have 8 20+ goal scorers which is amazing.

As for Marty, I think we all tend to lose sight of the fact that it’s a LONG season. I believe that Marty is a good goalie, not a great goalie. Over the course of a long year, good goalies will go through bad streaks (whereas the Brodeurs’ of the world tend to avoid those given their superstar status). The bottom line is that a) Biron showed what he’s capable of in the playoffs last year and b) he’s stepping up at the most important time of the regular season this year. While it would be great to have a star #1 goalie for a long time (again, like Brodeur), the reality is that plenty of teams have won the cup with a good to above average goalie who got hot at the right time. So, I believe that if the Flyers forwards and d-men play to their capabilities, this team has as good a chance as any of getting out of the east. And, once a team is in the finals, anything can happen (even though the Flyers would be underdogs against most of the top teams in the west). I’m not ready to officially pick the Flyers just yet as we still have a few weeks of hockey and the matchups will obviously play a big role, but the bottom line is that I like how this team is coming together at the right time of the season.

so far the line-up changes have worked excellently. its hard to say whether its new found chemistry between guys playing together for the first time or just the fact that the shake-up gave the team a jolt, either way we’ve played two strait good games.

I really do like the Briere-Hartnell-Carter move. Carter attracts all the attention while Hartnell does the dirty work. Briere is free to manuever in open ice where he can make things happen. he made a great pass through two defenders to set up that Hartnell goal, we can only hope he keeps it up.

driving back from AC. still, i got to experience chris therrien on 610’s telecast, which was surprisingly awesome.

i agree with the crosby/malkin statement; at one point in the second period, my buddy turned to me and said he hadn’t heard crosby’s name in about 8 minutes, which is remarkable.

i like the new lines. richards new line, while having less talent, is an incredible energy unit. giroux up front with gags and knuble should be fun to watch tonight.

anyone have a video of the richards hit from the first period (on talbot i believe)? sounded like a real haymaker. also, did carcillo really dive on that unsportsmanlike call?

otherwise, i think the only thing the flyers need to work on now is their faceoffs.

This game is being replayed right now on the NHL Network in case anyone missed it last night.