Lindbergh31

I'd rather had the cup win in 2010, not that I don't like this current team. We might have still have Leighton but on the brighter side the Flyers wouldn't have went out and signed Bryzgalov to the 9 year deal. And maybe Ed Snider would have retired into the sunset with the cup win. As for Richards and Carter, Holmgren would have probably traded Carter anyways.

I guess we might find out how the Bruins fans felt 2 years ago and if history repeats its self then that means the Flyers will win the cup in 2013 I think the majority of Flyers fans have zero faith in Bryzgalov not to mention some of his teammates. Sunday will be Brzygalov's defining moment as a Flyer, does he have what it takes to steal a game [seeing how that's what he was brought to Philly to do]. Unfortunately, Lavoilette can't go into game 6 solely relying on Carle, Timonen and Coburn playing big minutes while the other 3 hardly play at all. If he does then Bryzgalov definitely has to steal the game. It's time for the veterans on this team to setup and lead by example, fear of becoming the 4th team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 lead should be motivation enough to go all balls out and finish this series in 6.

It might end up being the turning point of the series considering Laviolette had no confidence in 3 of the defensemen and relied on Timonen, Carle and Coburn to play a lot of minutes. On a happier note, the Red Wings are down, so hopefully Vancouver and the Pens are next. Hopefully the Flyers finish off the Pens sunday afternoon.

They have to stop scoring first, it's screws up Laviolette's game plan of calling a time out I don't know why someone just doesn't take out Malkin's knee and be done with it, this guy is getting away with too much ****. Bryzgalov played a lot better but you can tell the Flyers missed Grossmann's minutes on defense. These guys have use game 6 as their game 7 because they don't want to go back to Pittsburgh for game 7.

Getting revenge on Neal can wait, I'd rather see Crosby and the rest of the Pens have to shake hands after a game 5 loss. A partial revenge is Neal having to watch the Flyers celebrate after beating the Pens in game 5.

"Lastly, Zac Rinaldo should not touch the ice again this series. I'm not saying that he deserved all of his penalties but he is a marked man. He can't play his game (or any game) at this point. Bring up Harry Z and put him on the line with Wellwood. Play dump and chance against this team and use the speed advantage against them. The Pens have shown no answer to Wellwoods speed. Adding Harry Z to the lineup will double that problem for the Pens and at the same time, reduce the number of penalties against the Flyers." That might not be a bad idea, adding a little more speed to go against a very shaky Pens defense. The Flyers have to be more disciplined in game 5 and get back to playing a hard, forechecking game and hope for half-decent goaltending.

The another thing to keep in mind is the veterans on this team don't want to be linked in history as one of the four teams to blow a 3-0 lead in a playoff series. The announcer on tsn quoted what Briere had told the rookies that momentum isn't carried over from game to game in the playoffs. They got their asses whipped, now are they going to pout or are they going to play the way they're capable of playing. The big question mark AS ALWAYS with this organization at playoff time is goaltending, which Bryzagolov are we going to see, the one that played great down the stretch or the one who looks like a deer in headlights. It's time for the Flyers to play desperate hockey with fear of blowing a 3-0 lead in the series.

The thing is there is no one who expected the Flyers to be up 3 games to 1 against the Pens, so as far as I'm concerned the pressure is still on the Pens not the Flyers. The Pens are the favourites in this series not to mention they're favoured to go to the cup final so anything short of that is a disaster for the Pens. As for the Flyers there are enough veterans in that dressing room to let the young guys know to forget about this game and get ready for the next one. The Pens will get on their players case if the Flyers get up by a couple of goals in game 5. I'm hoping this series will make Snider realize how big of a mistake it was signing Bryzgalov because even if we get past the Pens there is no way we'll get past however we face in the next round with goaltending like that. As Flyercanuck mentioned in another thread, this series has had the worst goaltending by both teams in recent memory. And like Aziz pointed out, they still have 3 chances to get 1 win.

I'm glad the Pens are running up the score, I want to see how Bryzgalov and the rest of the Flyers respond the next game. Whether you lose by one or a dozen it's still only one loss. There is enough players in the Flyers dressing room that were part of the 2010 team that came back against the Bruins so they know what they have to do so it doesn't happen to them.

I guess we'll see if Ed Snider comes out in the media to say how disappointed he was in the team's performance tonight. It's nice to see the investment Snider made in Bryzgalov is blowing up in his face. I guess we'll see how the Flyers responding to this beating when they play game 5. Maybe on the plus side is that fact the Flyers were in the Pens position two years ago against the Bruins so they know what they have to do to make the same thing doesn't happen to them.

The Flyers have to come out on fire tonight and take it to the Pens, if they get up by a couple of goals just keep piling it on. They have to make sure not give the Pens any hope and just end their season tonight.

Bottomline is the NHL is trading players' safety for higher ratings on tv. Somewhere down the road the former players will launch a class-action lawsuit against the NHL the same way the former NFL players are doing to the NFL. If the players have enough balls then they've got to speak up regarding the safety of the players. It must make for some interesting players union meeting when you can have one player sitting near another player who he took out and finished his season because of a questionable or illegal hit/action. Shanahan has to stop being a puppet to the higher ups and grow some balls. The league should have a standard guideline for suspensions based on the intent of the action and not the result of an injury or not to determine how long an offender should be suspended.

Or maybe Neal isn't going to get suspended at all and Shanahan is waiting for the last possible moment to announce that. Nothing will surprise me when it comes to suspension and the Pens.

After Neal hit Giroux he couldn't get into the Pens bench fast enough. If he doesn't get suspended for what he did then he better man enough to take what's coming to him in game 4.

Neal knew Giroux and Couturier's concussion history so Crosby and Letang's heads are fair game. I don't think Shanahan has the guts to suspend Neal but Asham should get suspended.

If the score gets lopsided then the Flyers just concentrate on hitting Crosby and Letang as hard and often as they can. Whether it's the head or legs, hammer them every chance they get. It was a ******** call and non-call but what do you expect. The Flyers have got to stop getting behind the 8 ball right off the start of the game. What a save by Bryzgalov on Letang!

I think that's the point Lavi has to stress to the team today is the Flyers can't come out flat like they did in the first period last night and expect to win. If they play the way they did in the 3rd period and overtime from the start of the game then they have a better chance of winning.

I miss the good old days where the Flyers would have a good old fashion bench brawl. Bettman (like Brian Burke in Toronto) has a hard time admitting when he screwed up with regards to expansion in the southern States. If the rumours are true then Phoenix will finally be relocated to a hockey city, Quebec City, which would bring back some old rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens. As for the seeding in the playoffs, hopefully the GMs sit down this summer and revamp it so a division winner is guaranteed a playoff spot but not one of the top 3 seeds if they don't have more points than the 4th or 5th or 6th seed. Regarding the Pens/Flyers series, all I want to see is the games called fair which means if they're letting one team get away with stuff then they have to allow the other team the same thing. If it is called fair and the Pens beat the Flyers then so be it, but it will be ******** if it's one-sided on the calls and powerplays. As always when it comes to the Flyers and playoffs it comes down to goaltending, which Bryzgalov are we going to see, the one from earlier in the year or the one who has played really well in the last month and a half -- let's hope it's the latter. He will end up being the difference in the series one way or another.

Probably due to the fact that Vitale turned down an invitation to fight with Rinaldo before agreeing to fight Harry Z.

I just find it funny how Rangers fans and Habs fans who can't stand the Flyers want them to beat the Pens. Make you wonder how much the Pens are disliked by other fanbases.

Happy Easter, Well it looks like Don Cherry is also getting on the act of telling Crosby to cut out the diving and whining. The facts are the rest of the league and fans see Crosby and the Pens as Bettman's pet project because he put in so much effort in keeping the team in Pittsburgh. Cherry basically said if Crosby wants to be the best player and he keeps playing the way he does then he can't expect a free pass from opposing players. Then he showed the Tortorella interview. But as for calling Torts spiceless because he brought in Crosby into the rant, I disagree due to the fact he was making a point that if it was Crosby who received the knee on knee from a Rangers player then that player would have gotten suspended. Bring on the playoffs, we both know that if the Pens win then every Flyers fans will be hoping they don't win the cup. If the Flyers win then every Pens fans will be hoping the Flyers don't win the cup. What would Pens fans do if it goes to game 7 and into overtime and the winning goal is scored by Max Talbot or Jagr, how pissed would they be.

What's Downie got to do with the Flyers, he doesn't play for them anymore, Kunitz didn't get suspended the year before when he elbowed Timonen in the head during the playoffs, did you convenently forget that. You're not going to convince Flyers fans that the league don't show favortiism to the Pens, so just leave it at that. As much as I have no problem saying that Crosby is a very good player, I'm not going to feel sorry for him if someone hits him knee on knee or he ends up with another concussion as a result of the way he plays. No Pens fans ever felt sorry for Lindros when he was with the Flyers when he got those concussions. Crosby plays with edge which most fans don't have a problem with, but he can't turn around and start whining and complaining if other players do the same thing to him as he does to them that's what Milbury was trying to point out. If Crosby got hit with a knee on knee like Orpik made or takes a shot to the head like Kunitz did to Timonen, Pens fans would be up in arms complaining, yet if other teams fans make comments about if Pens players doing samething then they're considered whiners and complainers according to Pens fans.He's got to stop trying to protray himself as the victim all the time, he's going to be hated by opposing teams fans just the same as Gretzky, Yzerman and other stars were. It's part of being a great player, except those players were more respected by opposing fans because they didn't whine and complain as much as he does. He's got to learn to shut up and just play hockey then maybe opposing teams fans wouldn't hate him so much.

Great signing by Homer, as for Carle the UFA defensemen market is slim picking. Which means that some team will give Carle a $5 million per year contract which should knock the Flyers out of the running for his services. I'd be fine with Kubina as a 3rd pairing defenseman who would play with Bourdon as long as it is a reasonable cap hit, if he gets higher offers elsewhere then so be it. Could JVR be trade bait for a top 4 defenseman especially if Carle signs elsewhere.

<<Very fair point and I agree 100%. But Boston has Lucic and Marchand...so that means they cannot complain about the hit on Savard?>> Fair point, but Shero doesn't need to get on his soap box everytime someone brings up Crosby concussions history, Milbury's comments were an ill attempt of humour in trying to bring the fact of if Crosby is going to keep playing with edge he could end up with another concussion and he'll have nobody to blame but himself. << See post 82 above. So if the league goes out of the way to protect them why wasn't Downie suspended for a very cheap and dirty slew on Crosby? Explain that one.>> You'll have to ask Colin Campbell why Downie didn't get suspended since he was a repeat offender like Matt Cooke so he should have. Most Flyers fans never claimed Downie was an angel, just the same that Pens fans should not claim that Crosby is an angel either. <<Again...just like Downie was suspended? Or Steckel? How many slew foots did OV get away with before he finally got suspended? Orpik got 5, 10 and game. Fair.>> Fair if other players who made the same type of hit got the same treatment, I forget the player who got suspended 4 games for the knee on knee hit similar to Orpik, so explain why Orpik wouldn't get the same punishment? <<I agree. The refs really did screw the Pens when not once but twice they missed a Red Wings player covering the puck in the crease with their hand. That's two penalty shots not awarded...and we know how good the Pens are on penalty shots. Of course all I hear about is how Malkin didn't get an instigator.>> The reason why all you hear is how Malkin didn't get an instigator is the fact it was a rule in place that was cut and dry and Campbell overturned it without real explanation as to why he did. As for the covering the puck in the crease, ask the refs as to why they didn't call that. Heck, if you're going to go that route, explain why the refs made the phantom hooking call on Staal by Jeff Carter when the Pens were down by one in the series against the Flyers. Refs in the NHL as everyone knows, half the time can't get the calls right and there is two of them on the ice. Your Pens fan and I'm a Flyer fans and there is no disputing that we can't stand each other's team. Let's hope that it's a heck of a series, the refs let the players decide the games and the winning team deserves to the win the series by their own merits and not anyone else's. Chances are the team that survives this series won't have much left in the tank for the next team they meet in the second round.

As long as Lemieux and the Pens employ Matt Cooke on their team, no other team in the league will take them seriously when it comes to the discussion of concussions. Second, if Orpik did indeed plan to stick out his knee on Stephan then he should be out as long as Stephan. You'll never convince opposing fans that the Pens don't get special treatment from the refs or the league because they have Crosby on their team, it's no different than Gretzky and the Oilers in the 80's. Tort's point about what would have happened to a Ranger player if he would have hit Crosby or Malkin the way Orpik did on Stepan, he would have been suspended at least 5 games. How come the league hasn't said anything regarding the Orpik hit yet they already suspended the Minnesota player who headed butted Mayers from Chicago the next day, what's the league waiting for. I've never had a problem that I can't stand winning a championship as long as they win it fairly without special help from the refs. The series between the Flyers and Pens should be a dandy, hopefully the refs will let them decide the outcome, if they're letting one team get away with stuff then they better let the other side get away with the same. If so then the stronger one will survive and as a fan that's all you can ask.