To Pittsburgh we go...

absolutely pathetic showing today. we had our rivals, on our home ice, all we had to do was get a point and 4th place was ours. we had the lead into the 3rd period and we just quit. nevermind the fact that Sean Fucking Avery scored the tying goal. both Avery’s goal and the go ahead goal were softies that Biron should have stopped.

the loss falls squarely on the shoulders of our star players/veteran leaders and ultimately John Stevens. A championship team gets into that situation and says “there is no way were losing this game”. we simply pissed it away. each and every player in that locker room needs to go home tonight knowing that they did not do enough to get the job done, they failed.

and then they need to wake up tomorrow morning and forget it ever happened. the optimist in me says that we used our last choke job of the season today and were now poised to make a run.

In all honesty home ice means less in the NHL than it does in any other sport. thats not to say it doesnt matter, but ultimately its how you play. The players, the coaches, and the game are all the same whether we play in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Mars. if we come out with focused intensity for a FULL 60 minutes night in and night out, we can beat the Penguins in 6 games. if we have stretches where we play lazy and uninspired (as we have been prone to do over the last two seasons) well be chanting lets go Phillies after less then a week of playoff hockey

… and it was horrible. Quite frankly, it gave me zero confidence going into the playoffs. Biron let in bad goals, our players were soft with their passes, and Claude Giroux seemed to be the only guy hitting anyone out there, save for Braydon Coburn on Sean Avery.

Teams that win the Cup have a consistently strong regular season. By the time the playoffs roll around, they know exactly what they have to do to win. Given our overall consistency – especially down the stretch – the Flyers do not fit this description. Much as I hate to say it, an early exit might be just what the doctor ordered for this team. They still have not gotten the idea that you cannot just flip a switch and start winning when you have to. Most teams learn by trial and error – to steal a line from Aerosmith, the Flyers may have to “lose to know how to win” later on.

Pittsburgh has gone 7-2-1 in their last 10, while the Flyers have gone 4-5-1. That does not bode well for us at all. Even so, I still think we can beat them if we play the way we did when we beat them a couple of weeks ago. Team defense, good support and responsibility, and opportunistic scoring – if we do these things consistently in the series then we’ll be fine. If not…

I’m thinking we need to hire someone from Detroit’s organization. Look how well they do year in and year out, and look at what Todd McLellan has done with the Sharks so far. I think it would be great if Stevens could lead this team to a Cup one day, but it ain’t gonna happen this year.

As a lifelong ‘Burger, now transplanted here in Tampa due to military moves and now retirement, i’ve been around the world and then some, and have some interesting thoughts i’ll throw to the Broad Street gang.

Growing up in the 70s i despised the Flyers. Goons this, goons that, and with all the Rocky fame, it must have been tough to not think that fighting is how you win not only hockey games, but life in general.

If any of you remember Syl Apps, Jean Pronovost and Lowell MacDonald, that was my line on my team. All i remember about the Flyers was fists and high sticks. I can’t tell you the number of times we’d play Montreal, Toronto and Qubec at The Igloo, and they’d all rave about the free skating, fast paced, and wide open games that MOST fans come to see. I’d hate to quote Rodney Dangerfield of all people, but you know the quote he’s famous for…which directly i think is attributable the Flyers and all the notoriety they gained in the 70s with their style of play. Thank you Fred Shero. Didn’t he get spurned to not coach an Olympic team back then as well, mmm.

Anywho, fast forward many years and some things haven’t changed. BUT one of the few Flyers i did respect and at the same time couldn’t stand was Rick Tocchet. Guess who the Lightning’s coach is now? Guess who lives in Tampa now? Guess who the Bolts (Dolts most of the year) had playing for them – former Pens Roberts and Malone, probably my two fav Pens. Roberts has hung it up and Malone will be a force next year now that the Lightning are going to stabalize for once. Probably end up with a 6,7,8 seed next year.

Long story short, i was cruising Yahoo sports, clicked on a link on how the Flyers choked on the last game and couldn’t even get a point against a team that didn’t have much to play for besides pride, as the Rangers were already locked in against the Caps.

That being said (long rant here, pls forgive but it’s my first here so my hockey DNA history is in order), i see our series being the best one of the bunch. Philly’s got some great players as we do, and i’ll admit the East Coast PA folks have more ‘grit’ than the West Coast PA folks, but our penalty killing and power play has greatly improved since January, and i believe the series will come down to special teams play and that’s where is see the Pens having the advantage PLUS the Big Mo…Pens in six.

Very disappointed with the Flyers’ collective effort (or lack thereof?) yesterday against the Rags. They were playing timid hockey—wasn’t a choke job as some have labeled—but rather playing for the tie and not the win. It’s like they were worried about injuries or something. Also, letting up their first SH goal the entire season yesterday is a bad omen, I feel.

The Pens are playing much better going into the playoffs than the Flyers, no doubt. But the Flyers do have the firepower and ability to beat Pitt. Pitt is not the same team they were last season. I just hope the Flyers rise to the occasion. I’m sick of reading about how they can “turn it on in big games”, Wasn’t yesterday a big game?

Haha, shorthanded goal! whooo!!! Lundqvist wins career high game #38 and Sean Avery basically made all flyers fans want to stab him and cut themselves. Whoo!!

In actual notes, Biron should’ve played better, plain and simple, however just like the game at MSG, the flyers up’d their game in the third, when they should’ve had more drive to win. I don’t know why flyers fans boo Avery, in fact, why do all teams besides New Jersey and Dallas boo him? He is a valuable asset to any team (didn’t work out for dallas, though) but once he’s under control, he’s great.

Oh, how about that blatent hit from behind at the end of the game? The league should look at that, as who ever hit Avery, was obviously pissed they lossed, and took out his anger on Avery- the pillow you scream in and punch when your angry. Haha, Avery rules.

Umm, Lundqvist played great once again, and the Rangers played a very controlled game. Deserved the win.

Flyers ousted in first round! Pens in 5 or 6!