ECF Game 1: One down as Leighton shuts out Habs, Flyers win 6-0 rout

So the Habs defense block and stopped more shots than Halak

P.K. Subban, the young goalie pylon the Montreal hype machine is drooling over: minus-3, looked terrible.

First period had me a little worried but the explosion in the second made it sound like from there on they had complete control. The third looked pretty darn impressive but unfortunately it might as well be a 1-0 win come Tuesday. I look forward to watching the Flyers come out with even more determination in game 2!

the record is 12.

Masterful game. Everything went well tonight. Wow, was pronger pissed off or what? He was looking to kill someone. I am sure the Canadians will get their game ontrack again but they just haven’t played a team like the flyers yet. And when jvr and coburn are scoring who do you try to shut down.

Well I did my part while I had the chance…. Birthday luck: Check; darkside3744 wishing that Gagne would score a goal for me on my birthday: Check; random Flyers earrings I got as a birthday present: Good luck so far.

So, is anybody’s birthday on Tuesday?

Huge win and hanging on for the shutout was even more important. MTL has little to cling to. They might not be doubting Halak after the way he has bounced back vs WSH and PIT, but they should be doubting their offense. Boston was able to cling to the last minute Lucic goal in game 6 and we didn’t let that happen this time. MTL offensive had a lot to do with getting them to this far in the playoffs. They scored 4 or more goals in 3 of their 8 wins. The way the Flyers Defense and Leighton played tonight and the last 4 games of the Boston series I doubt that is going to happen against the Flyers. Hopefully they start clutching thier sticks and over playing trying to light the lamp. That is a receipe for disaster for the Habs.

I love it but this is what I’m going to keep doing for the rest of the series, taking it one shift, one period, and one game at a time. Game 2 will be a dogfight, no doubt.

Fun game to be at, for sure. It was nice to be at a laugher for a change.

I turned to my brother after the first period and said, "I expect the whole series to play out like this, except the flow of play will be more even. This whole series will feature lots of neutral-zone clogging, the Habs collapsing down low in their own end to block shots, and the Flyers forcing the Habs to the perimeter in the defensive zone. It will feature low shot totals and low scoring from both sides. Each team will have to be opportunistic and capitalize on turnovers and power play opportunities if it wants to be successful.

Well, tonight I was wrong again, but I was glad of it. The Habs impressed the hell out of me until JVR’s goal. Then they fell apart. I mean really. They looked completely disorganized. And to their credit, the Flyers were a big reason why. They kept their sticks on the ice, blocked the passing lanes and took the body. If they can keep doing that, I like their chances.

I still expect this to be a tight and hard-fought low-scoring series as I outlined above. We watch and wait.

Side note: I got a kick out of the “Ole” chants but I always get pissed off when people start chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” This is not a battle for national pride. This is not the Olympics. It is not the United States vs. Canada. It is Philadelphia’s team vs. Montreal’s, and Philadelphia’s team is comprised of Canadians and Finns for the most part. Off the top of my head, the only exceptions are Boosh, JVR, Carle, Bartulis and Krajicek.

That is all. Go Flyers.

and let me tell you, the place was rocking. The USA USA chants and Ole Ole Ole were great. Me and my friends even politely escorted some Canadien fans out by asking why they had period blood on their Flyers jerseys. Even met Bernie, Dorny and the Hound at the block party. Overall, best 105 bucks I’ve ever spent.

not to get cocky. Caps got cocky = GONE. We have to keep things surreal.

Fantastic game, though. We are flowing so well lately. Great to watch. Great for us fans after how tough the last few weeks of the season were.

Row couch Cushion one these were great seats. I had easy access to the bathroom and the drinks and snacks were pretty cheap.

I thought the Flyers carried the play for a majority of the first period. They got outshot, but half of the Habs chances were just putting the puck on net from where ever they could, and they seemed to block everything the Flyers threw at the net. I honestly left the first think, if we could start getting to puck on the net, we could run away with it…maybe it was just my power of positive thinking coloring my orange glasses, but I honestly thought the Flyers dictated a majority of the play in the first, especially possession wise.

Sign guy is so clutch.

Very nice game, Leighton must have a miniscule GAA.

Back to the Bruins series for a moment, I was kind of disappointed by the “History will be made” collection afterwards.

I don’t see why we can’t put him at wing to start. He’ll be out of shape; wings have less defensive responsibility and less skating than centers. We wouldn’t screw up Briere, and Carter certainly hasn’t lost his release due to his foot injuries. He’d still be available for faceoffs if someone is thrown out (or even if they aren’t).

montreal just looked scared and/or intimidated.