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I think it was Bourdon who was said to need to work on his skating. He still does but his decision making with the puck is better than Marshall's. Marshall's skating isn't so bad but he's slow and doesn't know what to do with the puck.

Homer seems to agree. He sent Marshall down today and kept Bourdon around. Even so, I wasn't impressed with either and would be surprised if either became an NHL regular.

I think this is a pretty harsh assessment and one that might overlook the bigger picture. Pronger and Timo are older players but they are still very good PP quarterbacks. Each is a cut above what many teams have and I'm hard pressed to think of another team that has two or more defenseman with as much ability on the PP. Carle and Mezsaros are certainly competent enough to contribute on the PP though Mezsaros in particular needs to play better in general. I can understand wanting Shea Webber. Who doesn't? But IMO we don't go out and get him because our defensemen aren't any good on the PP. Also, with the talent they have up front, the Flyers don't need Shea Webber in order to be successful on the PP. The players they have are talented and they need to execute. I think the Flyers have a good chance of gelling into a very good team by the end of the regular season. They have been reasonably successful even though they haven't really played all that well. I tend to think this is a symptom of still developing chemistry. For the moment, they seldom have everyone playing well every night (with the exception of Matt Read). I think once things become a little more second nature we'll see more out of them as a team and when (if) that happens, they could be very, very good. For the same reasons, I think the PP will end up being very good too.

Did your dad notice Harry Z's play as well? He didn't get a lot of minutes but I liked how he decked Raffi Torres in the deep slot and then took it all the way back to the other end for a scoring chance. I thought Rinaldo was good too. The Flyers have several rookies who are playing very well.

I was shocked by these comments. To my knowledge, even Sean Avery's former teammates have never ripped him this way and I think the comments reflect poorly on Morris and Aucoin. I don't believe Bryzgalov was a bad enough teammate to deserve those comments and even if he wasn't always a good teammate, it is never a good idea to climb down into the gutter like Morris and Aucoin did.

The kid is clutch. I think that was his second game winner that was either late or in OT. He scored on the penalty shot as well. He's got that special whatever it is.

It's better that way...fewer witnesses when the inevitable happens.

One that I remember particularly well isn't memorable so much for the importance of the game but as a reminder of what may be one of the favorite "what ifs" in Flyers history. The Flyers were playing the Avs at home, I'll guess it was '96 or '97. Forsberg was in the line up but Sakic and Lindros were both out with injuries. Foppa put on a show. It seemed like he was dancing around in the corners and behind the net all afternoon and the Flyers just couldn't get the puck away from him. I think he had a goal and an assist on the afternoon but the score sheet in no way shape or form reflected the way Forsberg took over and completely dominated that game. Ordinarily, I would have gotten pissed watching a display like that and at first, I was in fact pissed. But as the game wore on, I couldn't help but admire Forsberg. I actually spent the afternoon looking forward to seeing him get the puck again and so that he could make the Flyers look inept. It was a quintessential Forsberg performance. The Avs won 4-1 or something and I left the arena feeling like I had gotten my money's worth out of Forsberg that afternoon...but that the Flyers had not.

The Flyers wanted Recchi back more than they wanted Zubrus, so I can kind of understand the trade. At the same time, it's mildly surprising that given the type of game he plays and the fact that they drafted him, the Flyers never seemed to have much interest in signing him as a FA. Interesting fact: the 2nd rounder the Flyers sent with Zubrus to Montreal turned into Matt Carkner.

Very unique situation, no? An almost 40 yo legend, future HOF player seemingly with a lot left in the tank who is helping Claude Giroux to super stardom. If this keeps up into the spring, I think Homer has to roll the dice and hope he can get another good season out of him. Not now though; before July 1.

Getting to this discussion awfully late. One can make the barely plausible case that it wasn't deliberate but we all know it was. He appeared to look up and to brace himself prior to the hit. Then he went to the disciplinary hearing and lied to Shanahan's face. I used to like Lucic as a player but I soured on him a while ago because of crap like this. This is Sean Avery type stuff. I hope the Sabres send their goons after him next game and that Miller goes Ron Hextall on him with his goal stick.

Nice to hear from you. Fine new digs we have here courtesy of Digity.

We can start taking bets on when the resigning talk will start. The guy is ageless (so far). I liked Max Talbot's assessment: "He's still the strongest guy on the puck in the league...by far." Whoa.

Definitely seems like Tim P believes he's not doing his job unless he creates some muck raking aspect to it.

I agree with Mojo1917 that Carle has looked shaky in some situations he's handled with ease before this season. Not sure why but he's such a level headed guy that I think he'll work his way out of it. Unless the Flyers cook up something out of left field, Carle is perhaps the biggest loose end on the roster right now. I have a really hard time imagining the Flyers: a. unloading Timonen b. taking on another mega contract c. trading Carle at the deadline without having secured a solid top 4 to replace him d. extending Carle for the money they are paying Coburn I have a feeling the Flyers FO is as perplexed about this one as we are. Carle is a fine player but ideally they would like someone better rounded in his spot. They like his puck handling but would like to add some more muscle and more consistent offense. The question becomes can they afford an upgrade? If they can, that player probably comes in the form of a cheaper and less experienced player who, with the change of scenery, can quickly develop into an upgrade. Not sure who that player might be.

The big surprise to me was how overwhelmingly pro-Flyers the response was (it does take a lot to get people to applaud anything the Flyers do, so this is news). I would have thought the typical response would be more along the lines of "oh well, its boring but nothing can be done...". But no. People are outraged by the Bolts and supportive of the Flyers. I sense the issue will have legs at the governor's meeting if the Bolts don't voluntarily agree not to run the 1-3-1. Also, maybe the 1-3-1 explains how a team can have half its payroll tied up in 3-4 guys and go to the conference finals. OT: packed my bags and left the old forum this morning. Turned off my notifications and mothballed my screen name. I imagine Rick is still over there ranting by himself.