*Happy Boxing Day, Canadian (and British) fam! But more importantly, it’s World Juniors day! But first, the Flyers. Who lost, again. In a shootout, again. Let’s look back at Saturday’s game with 10 things. [BSH]
*And just like in the Sabres game before the Columbus game, a fantastic effort by BAMFBrian Elliott was wasted by the team in front of him. Can’t believe has hasn’t gone full-Chechmanek on these guys, to be honest. [NBC Sports Philly]
*In fact, you’d be hard pressed to call someone besides Elliott the MVP of this team. [NBC Sports Philly]
*Is a playoff push really even a thing worth talking about with this team? [Philly.com]
*After that big fat losing streak, the team took to some old-fashioned solutions to their problems on and off the ice. And it seemed to work. Sort of. Still makes for a nice story. [SB Nation]
*Looks like Zac Rinaldo is back on his bullshit, and given what Radko Gudas received as punishment for his last transgression, one assumes our old pal Zac is in for a bit of a vacation. [ProHockeyTalk]
*So, the NFL plays football games on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Do you think the NHL should book games on holidays too? [ESPN]
*The year end best-of lists have begun; first up is PHT’s best hockey moments of the past year. [ProHockeyTalk]
*But now the big stuff! The World Junior Championship kicks off this morning! Will Carter Hart become a national hero?? Will you yell at children on your television for playing sports badly?? Will you join our pal Bill and root for Team Belarus??? God it’s so much fun. Canadians, you guys can’t miss it. Americans, here’s where we can watch. [NHL Network]
*Let’s take a look at the kids that make up the big three teams in the tourney. First, the Swedes, featuring future Flyer Linus Högberg. [Habs Eyes On The Prize]
*Next up: the Americans. We’re the reigning champs and the pressure to repeat will be on with the tournament being held in Buffalo. They’ve got a strong team, so they’ll make a push for sure. [HEOTP]
*And finally, Team Canada. Our lord and savior Carter Hart. And a bunch of other kids, I guess. This is one of the first years that Team Canada doesn’t really feature any big name elite prospects, so it’ll be fun to see how they do. [HEOTP]
