Six things we learned from Episode 3 of HBO 24/7 Flyers-Rangers

Episode 3 of HBO 24/7 Flyers-Rangers aired last night, and it was yet again an eye-opening experience for all of us.

Wait, Philadelphians actually climb the Art Museum steps like Rocky? And we danced on said steps to show we were over the loss to the Rangers?

No, no we don't. And no we didn't. I've never even been to the Art Museum, let alone on the steps. But that's how HBO tried to paint the first scene after the Rangers loss -- morning in Philadelphia, people jumping around on the steps like Rocky. We had been down a dark road, but it was a new day. We were over it.

Puck Daddy called this the worst scene in "the entire run of 24/7," and we'd have to agree. You want to know how I spent my morning after that game? I woke up, went out to breakfast, did some work, took a nap and went along with my Saturday like any other. It was a regular season game, against the Rangers or not. Jumping around on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art never came to mind.

It just seemed like a cop-out -- an easy, disingenuous trap of a segue that HBO typically doesn't fall into. You know, since none of these people likely knew the Rangers and Flyers had a game the night before

Peter Laviolette is a man you want to play hockey for.

Whether you agree with Laviolette on the Steve Ott thing or not, the takeaway for me from that whole incident is that Lavi is a really freakin' intense guy during hockey games, and I'm not sure how that's a bad thing at all. From the first moment in the first episode of this series, he's come off as an absolutely awesome hockey coach. A guy who you want to put your ass on the line for.

He was encouraging yet not too pushy with Claude Giroux just prior to his return from a concussion in Dallas, he knew when to kick the team in the ass in Colorado, and he's apparently a soothsayer, saying something akin to "I don't like this" moments before the Rangers scored a goal on Friday night.

When the skates and sticks and pucks aren't on the ice, he doesn't have the same demeanor, which means it doesn't get overwhelming. We've seen him talking to the team on an off-day, relaxed and calm, talking about rest and the need for it. We've seen him talking to them pre-game, discussing game plans and what not, and he comes off like a really good college professor in those talks.

He just seems like an awesome hockey coach, and a perfect fit for the team the Flyers have put together in just about every regard. (For that matter, so does John Tortorella, and so did Dan Bylsma last year... basically every coach profiled on 24/7 thus far not named Bruce Boudreau.)

Tom Sestito is awful at trash talking.

Like, awful to the point that it might have been the reason he was sent down after the New York game. Okay, not really, but it was hilariously bad. He didn't even make any sense when yelling at the Rangers bench at the close of the first period, and Brad Richards shut him down with an absolutely perfect line.

SESTITO: Shut the fuck up, look at you, you fuck. I'm gonna knock every fuckin' one of you out.

RICHARDS: One day in the NHL for you. Fantasy camp for you.

SESTITO: I'll take another suspension on you, you fuck. Wait til you see your face after I fuckin' stick you.

It's just embarrassing, really.

Jaromir Jagr has a total man crush on Claude Giroux. And rightfully so.

When Giroux was contemplating his return last week before the Dallas game, he got off the ice Tuesday morning and was still unsure about his status for Wednesday night. In the locker room, Jaromir Jagr talked to him about his return.

JAGR: Are you playing tomorrow?

[Giroux shrugs]

JAGR: You better play tomorrow.

GIROUX: *smile* You decide, Jags.

And man, that crush is so totally warranted. Giroux basically is everything we've ever expected him to be. He's humble -- "I don't want to hurt the team" was his worry when coming back from concussion, to which Lavi responded "Are you kidding me?"

He seems genuine, down to earth and even his comments on the ice don't make him out to be a cocky, arrogant jerk. Talking to the linesman about how much it "fucking sucks" that they allowed a goal against on the first shift of the Dallas game was pretty funny.

If I were the NHL's leading scorer, I'm not sure if I'd have the same demeanor. You're probably not sure if you would either.

Scott Hartnell really is a leader on the Flyers.

I think we have the tendancy to view Scott Hartnell as nothing but a depth player up front for the Flyers -- or, at least we did before he was on this line with Jaromir Jagr and Claude Giroux. He's just secondary scoring, he's not in the fore front of anything for this club. He's just somewhere in the middle.

Putting his play on the ice aside, it's obviously evident from watching 24/7 just how big a part of the team he is. Whether it's inviting rookies (and Giroux) over for Christmas dinner in Philly or Peter Laviolette pointing him out in his speech in Colorado or whatever else, I certainly view Scott Hartnell in a different light than I did before this series began airing.

It's the little things, really. Like this line before the Ranger game:

World's Most Famous Arena, you fuckin' ready boys?

It's short, it's simple. And it's revealing.

(Oh, and we'd be remiss without mentioning Jagr's response to Hartnell's comment, mostly targeted toward Giroux: "It's tough to score four points here. I did it." *laugh*)

Jody Shelley really is irrelevant.

We've talked about this a million times on this site, the whole "enforcers are useless" thing. Many have argued with us, and many have raised solid points to the contrary.

But for those of us who believe the Flyers are paying Jody Shelley to do a job that no longer has a purpose in the NHL, Shelley's interaction with Mike Rupp of the Rangers from last week's game was all the evidence we'll ever need to prove our point.

Rupp is a tough guy in his own right, although he does get a little more ice time than a straight enforcer like Shelley. Rupp was running around a little bit in the game that night, and as a result, Shelley tried challenging him to a fight. But Rupp didn't want to go, citing the lack of need and the silliness of fighting a guy that has "no outcome on the game."

SHELLEY: You lookin' for a fight? You lookin' for a fight?

RUPP: What are you gonna do, Jody?

SHELLEY: Are you lookin' for one?

RUPP: You're fuckin' irrelevant out here. You're fuckin' irrelevant out here. If you had any outcome on the game I'd fuckin' go with you. You don't. You don't.

SHELLEY: Goin after the 22 year old, Rupper?

RUPP: He's acting like a fuckin' idiot.

This is what we're talking about when we say enforcers are useless these days. Shelley gets paid to fight, but literally nobody -- not even a relative heavyweight in Mike Rupp -- will fight him. Shelley is trying to get Rupp away from the 22-year-old (not sure who he's referring to, maybe Sestito?), but Rupp denies him and just continues going on about his business. $1.1 million a year well spent, it seems.