I tried to make some original hockey ones instead of just copy and pasting chuck norris jokes. Though i did some of that too

In case of a pending asteroid collision, the pentagons plan of attack is Chris Pronger's Elbows.
Chris Pronger is the reason why Waldo is hiding
Chris Pronger is the reason Cindy Crosby cant grow a beard
Chris Pronger is the real reason players are going to the KHL
Chris Pronger can divide by zero.
The owners heard that Chris Pronger was going to be made the head of the players union. They quickly signed a 20 year extension before selling their franchises

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I originally posted this in comments to the thread about starting Boucher on Tuesday, but then I realized that you east coasters are all asleep, and since I did all that work, I wanted someone to see it. (Though I notice the comments sections on fan posts are pretty slim -- do you guys look here?)

There have been a bunch of reasons floated for playing the backup, and I've looked into some stats on a couple.

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Gagne is hot and may be returning to his pre-injury form.  The dude has four goals in the last four games and seems to be looking really confident.  He holds onto the puck longer for one, and doesn't seem scared to get in the high traffic scoring areas (see the tap in against Tampa and the shot from in the slot earlier tonight).  I think it all came together for him after that game against Montreal a few weeks back where he skated around for a while and fired that dirty top shelf-er in ot.

So is our speedy sniper back?

Leighton's performance on Wednesday, a mere four and a half hours following the 1st Flyers inactive trade deadline in the last 15 years, did not instill us diehard Flyers fans with much confidence. Every goalie has bad games and despite not getting credited with the loss Leighton and his gapping five hole cost us the game. Prior to FLA Leighton has been stellar for the Flyers posting a 13-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and a 0.928 SV PCT. But it has been for what seems like forever in Philadelphia we will once again enter the playoffs with a question mark in net. 

Goaltending has been a huge topic of discussion on the BSH over the last week or so leading up to the deadline and it is hard to out right refute any of the points brought whether arguing for postseason success or failure. Here of some of the arguments that stuck out most from what I have been reading in no particular order. 

- The Flyers are not the only team with question marks in net in fact the vast majority of playoff teams can't feel too comfortable with their man between the pipes.

- Can't find another team that has won the Cup with less than 2 million spent on goaltending starter and backup.

- Cam Ward shocked the World under Laviolette in Carolina no reason why Leighton can't do the same.

- Leighton is a journeymen who was waved by Carolina and his play in the Flyers uniform is aberration and sooner rather than later the real Michael Leighton will return.

- Leighton's aforementioned statistics are better than any goal the Flyers could have gotten at the deadline including Tomas Vokoun. 

- Unexperienced in the NHL and zero playoff experience doesn't bold well for success. 

- Post lockout the one thing that all the Cup winners have in common is a good offense goaltending is no longer the be all end of all of playoff success. 

- Other than the last year of Roman Cechmanek goaltending performance has truly cost the Flyers a playoff series. 

The list of valid arguments goes on and on only time will tell, can Michael Leighton come out of nowhere and stand on his head carrying our beloved Flyers to the promised land or will he cave like a shack in Haiti under the spotlight and the pressure of the NHL playoffs?  

One final point that hasn't been mentioned is who exactly is this Leighton fellow besides a guy cut by arguable the worst team in the league. His career has certainly been interesting.

Leighton was drafted after only a single season in the OHL by the Chicago Blackhawks in the all important 6th round of the 1999 entry draft. His numbers that season certainly did not impress in 28 games Leighton posted a horrendous 4-17-2 record with an enormous 4.84 GAA and 0.867 SV PCT for the Windsor Spitfires. 

After two more seasons in the OHL Leighton signed a entry level contract with the Blackhawks after a more improved junior year 32-15-5, 2.73 GAA, and 0.912 SV PCT. He play two seasons in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals before making his NHL debut on January 8th 2003 where he recorded a shutout in a 0-0 tie against the Coyotes. 

He was traded to Buffalo in 2005 for Milan Bartovic never appearing in a game for the Sabers and after an unimpressive season for Buffalo's AHL affiliate the Roschester Americans 15-22-1, 3.21 GAA, 0.887 SV PCT, he was signed as Free Agent after training camp by a team that knows their goalies the Anaheim Ducks.

With both Bryzgalov and Giguere injured he was recalled to fill in however he was claimed by Nashville on re-entry waivers. He played only 20 minutes of hockey for the Predators giving up 2 goals before being waived again this time he was picked up by the Flyers on January 11th 2007 in the season that shall not be named making this his 5th NHL franchise. 

He was 2-2-0 for our horrendous Flyers posting a 3.69 GAA and 0.882 GAA for the Orange and Black but a much more impressive were his numbers for the Phantoms during his conditioning stint. 5 games played 2-0-2, 1.56 GAA, 0.948 SV PCT. He was waived again and this time he was picked up the Canadians where he did not play a game and was traded to Carolina for a 7th round draft pick at the 2007 Entry Draft, making Carolina his 7th Franchise in 8 years after being drafted.

He spent the 2007-2008 season playing for Carolina's AHL Affiliate the Albany River Rats where he was a machine not getting much goal support he carried Albany to the AHL playoffs with a 28-25-3 record, a 2.10 GAA, and 0.931 SV PCT. For those Phantoms fans out there he was amazing in the playoffs against the Phantoms that the River Rats would eventually lose in 7 games. In that 7 game series he posted 2 shutouts and an AHL record in the 98 saves in the longest AHL game ever a 5 OT thriller that the Phantoms eventually won on a Ryan Potunly goal. He made 62 of those 98 saves in over time and the Phantoms out shot Albany 98 to 67 in that game.

In following 2008-2009 season he played backup to Cam Ward in 19 games has backup he posted a decent 2.92 GAA and a 0.901 SV PCT. Carolina advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals Leighton did not make a playoff appearance but he was there with the pads on for a nice run. Carolina got off to a horrible start this year Leighton played in 7 games posting a 4.28 GAA and 0.825 SV PCT including 6 - 1 loss to the Flyers on Halloween. He was waived and claimed again by the Flyers on December 15th.

That is the Michael Leighton story and it is pretty amazing. I will leave you with one last note and hopefully this will inspire some confidence. Leighton has been a monster in the AHL playoffs especially that last season in Albany when he put up a 87' Hextall like performance playing out of his mind despite losing the series. In the 7 games against the Phantoms Leighton's numbers were 3-4 with a 1.18 GAA 0.980 SV PCT with 2 shutouts. How the hell you lose a series with numbers like that is beyond me. Hopefully Leighton's AHL playoff success will translate to some NHL playoff success. For his AHL career in 19 playoff games Leighton posted a 1.25 GAA with a 0.980 SV PCT with 5 shutouts. With the deadline passed all we can do is hope, because like or not Leighton will in net come playoff time.

I was very interested in seeing how Backlund performed pre-season, and he looked a little shaky.  Understanding that this is his first year goaltending in a North American hockey system, I was fine with it.  I don't know the Phantoms record, but I've heard that a large part of whatever success they've had is due to the goaltending of Backlund.  My question to people on this site is, what are the chances that Backlund could make his way into our goaltending next year?  I know that goaltending going into next season is a big question mark, so I was wondering what people thought.

Editor's Note: Jason took in the game in South Florida last night. This is a chronicle of his experience at the game.

Well I'm officially 0 and 3.

In my 3rd Flyer game of the season the Flyers dropped a blowout 7-4 to the Panthers in Sunrise, you can read a recap of my first two games here and here and unfortunately the results of this game were no different. Blame goaltending lack of offense intensity or whatever you want, but this Flyer team has proven that it is wildly inconsistent at best and will not be a serious force in the playoffs, no matter what management tells us. 

I’m not going to try to rehash the play by play of the game, after all, you probably watched it yourself, but I’ll try to give you my fan experience after the jump… I’ve always wanted to type after the jump… 

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I have no faith that they were even aware they were doing this, since Holmgren didn't mention it today.  But it happened.

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Writer's Note:  MikeFive and I discussed something about this a few weeks ago, and I said I was going to look into it and write about it in a few days.  Then I never finished it, but Geoff's post about 2004 reminded me of it.   I had left off at the 2007 draft, and frankly it's too soon to say anything about 2008, 2009, so I'm just publishing it as I left it.

This is totally and completely appropos of nothing whatsoever.  It merely came up in conversation a few weeks ago and I started to look it up and realized I should just do it the right way.

Continue reading this post »

I want USA to win gold. I have been wanting this for 30 years and 1 day. Unfortunately I have been wanting the Flyers to win the Cup for 35, but I digress.....

Not only do I want this but I need this I need USA to win Gold I need Russia to win silver and I need Canada to get be very disappointed.

WHY?

Bettman will not have a pot to piss in  His hopes of using the Olympic participation as a bargaining chip in the next CBA will go out the window

For a short period of time All of america will pretend that hockey is really important.
Bettman could not survive the opposition he would face if he tried to deny the defending gold medal USA team from going to Russia. Its a story the american media would actually pick up on and non Hockey fans would embrace it. He would be obliterated if he tried and he knows it.

However supposes he did end NHL participation in the Olympics.   Suppose he act on behalf of the owners and did demand that the NHL is not a sport, but a business and the bottom dollar comes first.

What happens next?

All the Russian Players will give him the finger and play anyway. (THis we already know)

The US press and country pride would support the Defending Gold Metal team. Massive public outcry, would support the US players in defying Bettman. (MAJOR EMPHASIS ON "THE DEFENDING GOLD MEDAL" PART)

That leaves pretty poster boy Sid and the Canadian players. Cindy gets his milk money by being Bettmins "face of the NHL" and doing what the Man says However, Canadian countryman would demand that canadian hockey goes to Russia equipped with NHL players. Especially if USA is doing it. Crosby will have no choice but to defy the NHL He will be forced to be vocal about it as well

This scenario is way too risky for Bettman to play around with and the Players union knows this. That is exactly why he would not use it against the players in the next CBA
Bettman is a Business first, integrity of the sport second kind of Commissioner, but he is not stupid He hold the advantage now but it will continue to slip away with every goal that USA scores.

If Canada wins Gold, Bettman keeps his advantage.

He could keep players from the 2014 games and the Owners will be happy (and just a tiny bit richer).
People (players/fans alike) would be disappointed but they will find no support and things will go on.

Canadian fans would confront their pride by saying if Russia wins gold in 2014, it is only b/c they didnt go, and that would be enough to pacify them.

US media would never report it and no one but the fans will be disappointed.

If some Russians superstars did defy the league and got suspended by the NHL for participating in the 2014 games and fat, bald, ugly ass suit commentators who hate russians anyway will be smiling.

The suspended Russians would go play in the KHL, get paid a lot, become national heros, and would live happily ever after

The NHL would still have better hockey than the KHL and pretend that Crosby is the best player in the world
The fans and the players lose but the game goes on Bettman faces some backlash but nothing he hasn't faced before.
He knows this and the players union knows this and thats why this scenario is his advantage in the CBA Lets take it away from him

GO USA SAVE HOCKEY WIN THE GOLD!