I'm trying to shake off the disappointment today after another 2nd round loss. My life was literally changed by the Broad street bullies, as I was one of many kids who spent much of their youth playing ice hockey entirely due to the explosion of interest in the sport, and the Rinks built and and leagues started after the Flyers won their two cups, some 37 years ago.

Having watched all but three Flyers games this season, I've truly come to love this batch of players, and marveled at the success of this rookie heavy group, even if it seemed improbable at times, and the team fought through more than their fair share of injuries. They were damn fun to watch.

I have not had much time for BSH posting this year, although I certainly read the site religiously and as always, appreciate the efforts of the editors and band of regulars to explore every aspect of the team.

What changed for me this year, is that I decided at that start of the season, I would for the first time, follow my hometown team as well as the Flyers. Although, I grew up in the Philly burbs, I have lived here in Los Angeles since moving to the city after college. My home is here, my professional career has been here, and I have two kids now. I've always followed the Kings through the years, but never as more than a bandwagon fan.

This year has been different. I saw every LA KIngs game this season, and let me tell you that is a lot of Hockey, but it also allowed me for the first time to feel like I had a first hand perspective on the best teams in the league, rather than one filtered through an Eastern conference bias.

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With the season ending tonight, this seems as good a time as any to write something that I've been meaning to for awhile.

First off, I should say I'm not from Philadelphia. My Dad is, while I was raised in Alabama. But way back in '67, my family decided to check out the new hockey team in town, the Flyers. They eventually wound up loving it so much that the next year they had season tickets right behind the penalty box, in those days you can imagine how ridiculous that got. They were all there when that legendary team won it all in '74. In fact, that's my family in a still that was used in the Broadstreet Bullies documentary a couple years ago.

via i1261.photobucket.com

And there's my Grandmother apparently threatening a Minnesota Northstars player (in the bottom right corner of the picture) as my Grandfather desperately pulls her away from this man. (This is truly, by far the greatest picture I'll ever see in my life).

via i1261.photobucket.com

Anyway, the point is- I grew up idolizing these guys. My grandfather would tell me bedtime stories about the team, line brawls, and cup wins. When we would visit their house, my brother and I would go downstairs in the basement and play with broken sticks that my grandparent's had acquired over the years from guys like Bob Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Baber, and Ed Van Impe. I remember my show and tell in grade school being brining my "Full Spectrum" book to class and telling my classmates about how the Flyers were the ONLY NHL team to beat the Soviet Union when they came to play in America in the 70s. I thought that was the coolest thing that had ever happened, my Alabama classmates however, mostly didn't.

So time went by and I grew up, gained interests in other things and mostly lost track of the Flyers. I would pay attention every now and then but they became a side note in my life.

It all changed during that Boston series in '10. I was suddenly right back into it and completely riveted. It was during that Cup run that I found this site and discovered this amazing world where people were as passionate about this team as I used to be. I've been a huge fan of this site ever since and can now no longer miss a game. I can't wait to tell my kids old stories about the Flyers and even the new ones that I can recount personally.

Tonight's loss hurts, and it was sad to see this team go out with a whimper instead of a bang, but it's nice to know that there's a community of people who will be here throughout the entire summer debating over if we should resign that @piece of shit@ Matt Carle, or if G can make a serious run at the Hart next year. It's silly and mostly superfluous because what we say and think has mostly no impact on the game we love. But it matters because that's what family is about and the Flyers will always be part of my family.

Thanks for a great season to the Flyers and Broadstreet Hockey.

-Greg

Now that we won't need to worry about missing Saturday flyers games, we should try to get some more roller games going. Is there any way someone can add a poll with a few Saturday/Sunday combo dates? I've been on a good roll of playing at least once a month since almost February and would love to keep it that way. I would advise a lot of water considering the rise in temperatures, hope we can all have some fun soon!

Also, Stop hatin' on Richie and the Kings. The Flyers West are on a roll and people shouldn't be bitter

I like Matt Carle a lot and want him to stay a Flyer next year (at the right price, of course) but make no mistake about it, Matt Carle is no Ryan Suter. Here are their three-year stat lines:

Matt Carle	TOI	QoC	QoT	OZS%	Crel	ESG/60	A1/60	G+A	PPTOI	PPG/	A1/	G+A1	SHTOI
2012	17.55	.589(3)	.484(4)	49.4	3.2	0.04	0.42	0.46	2.64	0.83	1.11	1.94	1.71
2011	17.57	.585(4)	.827(4)	47.8	6.0	0.04	0.67	0.71	2.29	0.00	0.32	0.32	1.23
2010	17.82	.695(2)	2.031(1)	49.5	5.2	0.17	0.34	0.51	2.52	0.59	1.78	2.37	1.91
3-Year Avg	17.6			48.9	4.8	0.08	0.48	0.56	2.48	0.47	1.07	1.54	1.62

Ryan Suter	TOI	QoC	QoT	OZS%	Crel	ESG/60	A1/60	G+A	PPTOI	PPG/	A1/	G+A1	SHTOI
2012	19.62	1.262(2)	2.059(1)	45.7	7.3	0.12	0.19	0.31	3.6	0.42	2.32	2.74	2.26
2011	18.95	.971(1)	1.951(1)	44.7	8.9	0.14	0.36	0.5	3.27	0.00	1.57	1.57	1.98
2010	18.08	1.014(1)	1.824(1)	44.8	5.3	0.04	0.28	0.32	3.08	0.24	1.42	1.66	1.79
3-Year Avg	18.88			45.07	7.17	0.10	0.28	0.38	3.32	0.22	1.77	1.99	2.01

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Let me say, first of all, that I agree with the notion that Giroux's hit on Dainius Zubrus was suspension-worthy. Anybody who watched it would have a tough case to make otherwise.

The problem is that the way Shanahan has handled suspensions and fines thus far in the playoffs has been so confusing that it has lent an automatic sense of arbitrariness to every single punishment he's handed down. That's the real source of the anger over Giroux's suspension: Not that he was suspended, but that Shea Weber and Evgeni Malkin, for example, avoided suspensions for similarly questionable hits, and there's no obvious reason for the difference.

Luckily, Shanahan provides explanations for his rulings, complete with video highlights, online at NHL.com. Using those explanations, we can try to construct a framework for how Shanahan arrives at his decisions. The first part of this post is going to be pretty analytic. If you're interested in my methodology, keep reading. If you just want to hear me rant, skip down to the bottom.

I took a look at each explanation Shanahan provided and tried to determine which factors most commonly played a role in his judgment, then created a table showing which hits featured which of those factors, and what punishment was ultimately assessed.

I avoided judging suspensions and punishments for incidents where rules automatically dictate punishment, such as the Craig Adams suspension. I also, unfortunately, couldn't really include such incidents as Shea Weber's hit to the head of Henrik Zetterberg, since the play didn't result in a suspension and therefore didn't merit explanation from Shanahan. Nonetheless, the incidents, suspensions, and league-given reasons listed below ought to give us a good cross-section with which we can determine the basis for determining the severity of a given punishment.

You can view Shanahan's explanations for all of the following suspensions at NHL.com's player safety channel.

Byron Bitz, suspended two games for boarding Kings forward Kyle Clifford: Bitz was assessed a game misconduct. Shanhan notes that Clifford's position didn't change prior to the hit, placing the onus on Bitz to avoid dangerous contact, and also that Clifford suffered an injury on the play and left the game. Bitz has no disciplinary history with the league, and Shanahan noted that Clifford was still playing the puck.

Matt Carkner, suspended one game for fighting Rangers forward Brian Boyle: Carkner essentially jumped Boyle in retaliation for Carl Hagelin's hit on Carkner's teammate in the previous game. Shanahan noted that Carkner violated an NHL rule preventing players from fighting "an unwilling combatant," and that Carkner has a disciplinary history with the league. He also noted that Boyle was not injured on the play.

Carl Hagelin, suspended three games for elbowing Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson in the head: Shanahan noted that the position of Alfredsson's head did not significantly change prior to the hit, that Alfredsson suffered an injury on the play, and that the hit meets the NHL definition of "elbowing," which is illegal. Shanahan also noted that Alfredsson had already played the puck up the boards.

James Neal, suspended one game for a hit to the head of Flyers forward Claude Giroux: Shanahan notes that Giroux had just made a play with the puck, that Neal's hit fit the league's definition of "charging" and drew a penalty, that Neal launched himself into Giroux's head, that no injury resulted from the play, and that Neal has been suspended once, fined once, and warned twice by the league for similar actions. Though Neal's hit on Sean Couturier earlier in the shift didn't result in any disciplinary action, Shanahan did review the hit with Neal.

Nicklas Backstrom, suspended one game for a crosscheck to the head of Bruins forward Rich Peverley: Shanahan notes that Backstrom is the aggressor on the play, and that Backstrom's reaction is "excessive and reckless," as well as the fact that Peverley suffered no injury and that Backstrom has no prior disciplinary history with the league. Shanahan also notes that Backstrom received a match penalty on the play.

Andrew Shaw, suspended three games for charging Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith: Shanahan notes that Shaw was charged with a game misconduct for charging on the play, and that Shaw made more than incidental contact with Smith and did not make a reasonable effort to avoid the hit, despite the onus being on him to avoid contact. Shanahan also notes that Smith was not injured on the play, and that Shaw has no disciplinary history with the league.

Arron Asham, suspended four games for a crosscheck to the head of Flyers forward Brayden Schenn: Shanahan notes that Asham received a match penalty on the play and intentionally crosschecked Schenn, then punched him in the back of the head. Shanahan also notes that Schenn was not injured on the play, and that Asham has no disciplinary history with the league.

Raffi Torres suspended 25 games for a hit to the head of Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa: Shanahan notes that Hossa no longer had possession of the puck, and that Torres launched himself into the air to deliver what he knew to be a late hit. While Shanahan notes that the hit violates three NHL rules, Torres did not receive a penalty on the play. Shanahan also notes that the position of Hossa's head does not change immediately prior to the hit, that Hossa was severely injured on the play, and that Torres has an extensive history of discipline for similar hits.

Rostislav Klesla suspended one game for boarding Predators forward Matt Halischuk: Shanahan notes that Klesla received a minor penalty for boarding on the play, that Halischuk doesn't make himself vulnerable, and that Klesla renders Halischuk defenseless by grabbing his jersey and tugging him backwards. Shanahan also notes that Halischuk was not injured on the play, and that Klesla's only prior suspension was for a different type of infraction and occurred five years ago.

Claude Giroux suspended one game for a hit to the head of Devils forward Dainius Zubrus: Shanahan notes that Zubrus had already chipped the puck away into the corner, and that Giroux received a minor penalty on the play. He also notes that Giroux had previously expressed frustration with the referee on the same shift, that Zubrus' head does not change position immediately before the hit, that Zubrus did not suffer an injury on the play, and that Giroux has no disciplinary history with the league.

Using these rulings as a basis, it's clear that a couple of factors repeatedly pop up. The two major ones are whether the play resulted in an injury, and whether the offending player has any disciplinary history. Other common factors are whether the victimized player still has the puck, whether the victimized player's head changed positions immediately prior to the hit (if not, the onus is on the offending player to avoid the head), and whether the incident violated an NHL rule and/or resulted in a penalty on the play.

You can see how each play fits the framework here. Column headers are injury (I), disciplinary history (DH), whether the victim has already given up possession of the puck (PP), lack of prior head movement by the victim (HM), rule violation (RV), and whether the hit drew a penalty (P). The last column lists the length of the imposed suspension.

Offender	I	DH	PP	HM	RV	P	Length
Bitz	X			X		X	2
Carkner		X	X		X	X	1
Hagelin	X		X	X	X	X	3
Neal		X			X	X	1
Backstrom			X			X	1
Shaw			X	X	X	X	3
Asham			X			X	4
Torres	X	X	X	X	X		25
Klesla		X			X	X	1
Giroux			X	X	X	X	1

Forgive the rough formatting, but the BSH FanPost editing portal wouldn't let me embed an HTML. Regardless, the inconsistency is clear. Of the four players with disciplinary histories, three were suspended for just one game. Of incidents that earned multi-game suspensions, three resulted in injury while two did not. The only hit not to merit a penalty during the game received the longest suspension.

Shanahan gave extremely similar reasons to penalize the hits from Giroux and Shaw, yet Giroux received only one game while Shaw earned three. Ditto the hits from Backstrom and Asham, which were basically identical in nature except for Asham's post-hit punch to the back of Schenn's head, and yet Backstrom was suspended for only one game while Asham was suspended for a whopping four contests.

If there's a pattern here, or even any particular method to the madness, it's impossible to see. On the one hand, it's pretty clear that if a player's hit fits in several of the categories listed above, he's likely going to be facing a suspension. What's unfortunately very unclear is exactly what combination of factors results in a suspension, and how Shanahan determines the length of each suspension.

It would be even more valuable, and presumably even more confusing, if we could examine Shanahan's reasons for not doling out suspensions for certain other questionable hits. Why, for example, did Evgeni Malkin's elbow to the head of Nicklas Grossmann, which did not draw a penalty but violated a rule and caused an injury to Grossmann, not result in a disciplinary hearing? After all, Grossmann's head didn't move right before the hit. That's three X's on that chart up there. How about Shea Weber's assault on Henrik Zetterberg, which drew a penalty and was perpetrated on a player without puck possession and who didn't move his head? That's another three X's. That hit drew a fine, but no suspension. Why?

It's a shame that in the NHL's first huge national showcase since before the lockout, the inconsistency with which Shanahan has doled out punishments has become not only a leading story, but a running joke.

Shanahan and the NHL have done themselves and the players a great disservice in the way that they've handled these suspensions so far. I understand and support the NHL's effort to eliminate head shots from the game. But not only have they failed to provide any kind of deterrence at all, they've significantly muddied the waters in terms of defining what hits, exactly, are suspension-worthy, and how much of a role intent plays in determining the severity of the punishment.

Instead, long-time hockey fans are mostly outraged at the way suspensions have been handed out. Would-be new fans have tuned into NBC's networks only to find that hockey is as violent and uncontrolled as they feared all along. Judging by the number of suspensions in the playoffs so far, the number head shots in the game is hardly falling, and the NHL has squandered its opportunity to create a solid precedent that would act as a real deterrent for players in the future.

So yes, it's true that Giroux probably deserved a suspension for targeting Zubrus' head out of frustration, and he does deserve to get ripped for selfishly costing his team his services for an elimination game because he failed to keep his emotions in check (perhaps we shouldn't pin the "C" on his chest just yet).

But that doesn't make the disciplinary framework that resulted in Giroux's suspension any more palatable. If anything, the Giroux incident is just another arrow in the quiver of those who want to skewer the way Shanahan has handled suspensions this playoff season. He's certainly earned it.

Not going to give my opinion just want to gauge what most of the fans want.

Should we keep Bryzgalov as our number 1 goalie going forward in future seasons?

Should we make a big move in the off season (trade JVR, acquire Suter, ect.)?

Please leave an explanation of why you made your choice in the form of a comment if you want.

I will still have faith in the Flyers until the end of our elimination game (Or Stanley cup winning game) but it doesn't look good now so just trying to get a glimpse of what people want in the offseason.

3 months into the season the overall consensus was to get rid of Bryz. Has that changed?

Do you still think JVR will develop into a premier power forward or do you think he is a one trick horse?

Do you think we need a Suter or just bring along Gus and MAB?

The poll is below.

Poll

Should the Flyers keep Bryzgalov as the number 1 goalie going forward at least the next 2 years? Should the Flyers make a serious move in the offseason (Trade JVR, acquire Suter, ect.)?

42%

Yes and Yes

43 votes

37%

Yes and No

38 votes

13%

No and Yes

14 votes

6%

No and No

7 votes

102 votes | Poll has closed

Both the San Jose Sharks and the Tampa Bay Lightning found the guy expendible, so what do the Flyers see in this guy that makes them keep Matt Carle around for as long as they have---that`s what I would dearly like to know? In my opinion the guy is caught totally out of position more times than not, he gets caught up ice more often than not, he allows the opposing player to go free in the defensive zone more often than not and in the final analysis, the Flyers most definitely have to let this guy go in the offseason. In game three of the current series against the Devils, he wasn't able to cover Zach Parise on the go-ahead goal by New Jersey in the third period and this evening in an all-important game four, he allowed the Devils Petr Sekora to get away and tie the contest 2-2 in the opening period. In game two in Philadelphia won by New Jersey 4-1, Carle was a -2 on the plus/minus chart. The guy is a definite liability on the back end for the Flyers and here's hoping Holmgrem has the intelligence to see what the Sharks, Lightning and myself see and send this guy packing once and for all. Amen!

Click image to enlarge.

My tribute to all the rookies who are making this season so much fun. I really like the way this one came out. Many of my panels tend to be just 2-3 kids standing around, which gets boring to draw, so the third panel was a lot of fun to make. None of the younger kids are supposed to represent specific players (except Zac Rinaldo) because that would've taken too much effort. Maybe the running one is Eric Wellwood.

Enjoy.

via www.lilflyers.com

The nominees for the Hart Trophy have been announced and Claude Giroux is not among them. Evgeni Malkin,Steven Stamkos, and Henrik Lundqvist are the chosen three. Giroux,surely the team's MVP was third in league scoring this year and left off the ballot. I think our boy should have been mentioned ahead of Stamkos as last time i checked, Tampa would still have missed the playoffs without him. Malkin, okay, he led the league with 109 points and Lundqvist carried the stinkin' Rangers to the number one seed. Giroux, who led the league in powerplay assists (32) and points (38), was an integral part of the Flyers' playoff push. When told of being left off the nominees list, Giroux responded in jest, "Which one is that? and "I'm kidding" He also went on to say that the Hart is not the trophy he wants I think we can all agree with that one

By @austrowley

Fans thought that wait from the final regular season game to the first postseason game seem like an eternity, but at least we all had something too look forward to and we knew our opponent. Who can't get amped for the Battle of Pennsylvania?

Since the Flyers closed out their first round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, it has been a matter of waiting to see whom they may see in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. There was even a possibility on Sunday that the potential next opponent would be slightly more predictable with the Capitals having the capability of closing out the widely hated Boston Bruins.

But no.

Here we all are, sitting, waiting to find out who in the world the Flyers might play, and more importantly, when they'll play again.

The opportunity presented itself to the Panthers last night, having their chance to close out the New Jersey Devils in Game 6. Since it would be likely at this point that all of the higher seeds were going to win, the Flyers would more than likely faceoff against the New York Rangers, right?

No.

Still five days later, there are no answers. And there will not be any answers until the final horn sounds in the ECQF on Thursday night, where there are two Game 7's to be played.

Naturally, as Flyers fans, we have been struggling to find ways to kill time until our boys finally get to play another game. And as Philadelphians, we have been forced upon our will to watch the bumblin', stumblin' Phillies. Not even the Phillies fans in Phoenix, Arizona could even handle watching that piss poor excuse of a team, for there was a "Let's Go, Flyers" chant, completely audible.

For you Twitter fiends, you all know your fellow Flyers fans are nearly going mad.

Your peers who normally tweet about nothing besides the Orange and Black are basically spitting out nonsense, and you're not even sure if these are the people your originally intended to follow.

Just hang in there kids. In this time off and in this week of anticipation, don't do anything crazy. More than likely, the ECSF will be up and running by the weekend.

Just relax and call a timeout.

Make sure you watch all of the Game 7's in the next two days; root passionately against some of our most hated rivals (i.e. Rags, Bruins). The path to the Stanley Cup does have the possibility of being smoothly paved, like it was in 2010. Who are we kidding, that team wasn't the best. But it doesn't matter. Teams tell themselves "just get in" for a reason. Anything can happen.

That being said, take no opponent for granted. Buffalo pushed us to the brink of elimination last year. If that Buffalo team went up against this Flyer squad, it would be a sweep. Landslide win, TKO.

This team is primed for a Cup; you have four lines that have been pumping out points at will, a nearly unstappable powerplay, and defense/goaltender that is progressively getting healthier and more confident. None of these components even existed last year in the postseason. Bravo Homer.

Feel good about this upcoming series; it was reported by Dave Isaac that the team is loose, and could shoot into the next round looking rested rather than rusty.

Poll

Who would you wish the Flyers to matchup with in the Eastern Conference Semifinals?

9%

Rangers

6 votes

1%

Bruins

1 votes

46%

Panthers

29 votes

19%

Devils

12 votes

17%

Capitals

11 votes

6%

Senators

4 votes

63 votes | Poll has closed