“If you live alone and you don’t make plans, here is what happens: you wake up, and it just gets darker.”
-Simon Amstell
Because I’m fancy and like pondering ponderously, I’m writing this recap near a window. Because of this window, I can report that it is dark out. Okay, it’s after 10 pm, so it should obviously be dark, but I can also tell you that it’s been dark for a while now. It gets dark really early this time of year, and that sucks, so much so that the diagnosis for people who are most bothered by this is just called “SAD.”
The Flyers have been especially sad lately, with bleak hopelessness arriving far ahead of schedule. It gets darker earlier up north, so let’s hope that this trip represented something of a solstice, and that skies will brighten as the team continues to move east toward the sunny horizon of dawn.
First evidence of this theory? Holy crap the Flyers won a game! Against another team! A decently good one, at that!
The Flyers won 3-0 over the Jets in Winnipeg tonight, ending a six-game losing streak that was hugely terrible.
- Bitchin’ (a.k.a. BSchenn, not to be confused with his brother LSchenn a.k.a. McCoy) opened up the scoring for the Flyers, which made everybody happy because it’s always fun when nice things happen to your little brother. So long as both Schenns on the team and Brayden remains sorta goofy, he will always be this team’s little brother. It’s a nice status to have when you do something nice.
- Joining in on the scoring later was Wayne Simmonds, who like his little brother, scored on a power play. This gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead and it became sorta clear that they were actually going to win a hockey game again this year. It felt good in that it felt normal like how it should always feel like when your foot wakes up after falling asleep. Now that the Flyers have sensation in their toes, I’m not sure they’ll ever lose again. JK, they’re definitely gonna lose lots and lots more games.
- Öptimism is an option regarding at least one Flyer: Michal Neuvirth, who is having a better season than anybody on this team by an absurd distance. Neuvirth had an entirely spectacular game once again, registering his third shutout of the year, which leads the league. Whether you want to call him a “starter” or a “back-up” isn’t important, but what is important is that this guy should be starting as many games as possible right now. Ride this Icelandic nymph-looking horse as far as it will take you.
- Reasons for Neuvirth’s success? Unclear, but I did run into him at Wimbledon earlier this year about 20 minutes after he signed with the Flyers. He seemed entirely baffled that anyone was recognizing him there, which is fair. Maybe more Flyers should attend tennis tournaments to achieve serenity and excellence. Once they get home they can charter a bus and go to the one in Knoxville this weekend, although Tennessee might not have that same Wimbledonly magic.
- Keeping tonight’s win in perspective is probably a wise thing to do. This is still a non-good hockey team, though at least they’ll be in happier moods when they get home than they would’ve been had they laid a complete egg on this road trip. Those awkward rides home from the airport will now at least be slightly less awkward, especially if the boys were nice enough to pick up some good souvenirs from the trip for their kids or whoever else they’ll see. The shopping selections at the Winnipeg airport aren’t overwhelming, but you could do worse./
So that’s it for me for now. It’s been a pleasure sherpaing you guys through Western Canada, and thanks as always to Travis for having me back. Hopefully now that I’m no longer on duty the team can stop being so angst-inducing and shit. Go Flyers.
P.S.: Because you asked, podcast enthusiast Vinny Lecavalier recommends BSH readers check out Hang Up and Listen (he’d love to be a guest some day though he’s not sure he’ll ever be relevant again) and 99 Percent Invisible, which he really likes because it makes him appreciate those little things he’s overlooked his whole life.
