AJgoal

I believe he was the only American on the team last year, however. Corvo wasn't with the team and the guy Sestito ran over was a call-up. Thomas' beef is with the size and scope of government, at least according to his statement. I still think that boycotting a traditioinal, non-political event meant to honor your team is the wrong way to make a point, but he did make it.

None are suspension worthy. The hit on Horton was late, and should have been a penalty for interference, but wasn't high or otherwise malicious.

Meh. I think Read lost the puck before he got to where the wet patch would have been. I'm not sure the water would have frozen by then, it can take a few minutes for the water the zam lays down to freeze, which would slow the freezing process for the new water. But I don't think Thomas sprayed it out that far, and he certainly wouldn't have made a big patch of water. Read would have had to almost aim for it to hit it when he stickhandled.

Well, considering I agree with Thomas' political views, I stand by my statement. The fact of the matter is that this was not a political presentation, it was a traditional honor that's been bestowed on the team winning the Cup (and every other major sports championship) since I can remember. It's not like Obama suddenly decided he was going to create a photo op for himself with the Bruins. If that was the case, then yeah, go for it. But he let his team down, pure and simple. Not that I necessarily think this was a bad thing. If it causes a bit of angst in the Bruins' locker room, well, them's the breaks.

Gah. I usually hear these rumors secondhand, as in, Eklund says...Just his grammar makes me want to vomit. But none of this isn't anything we haven't heard already.

@ Brelic: I dunno. If it was a campaign speech or a fundraising event, then yeah. But this was meant to honor his team and teammates, and you don't duck out on your teammates like that. From the comments from the guys on the team, it seems they felt a bit let down by him.

I hope that a full transcript goes up somewhere. I'd listen, except that means I'd have to spend time listening to Cataldi talk.

Just click on view next to the result in question.

He can't take a paycut. The CBA doesn't allow the reworking of contracts the way they do in the NFL. So Nash's 7.8 million cap hit is a 7.8 million cap hit for most of the rest of the decade.

Couturier is also sitting at a 15.4 shooting percentage, about 5 percentage points higher than Carter. Carter's running about 5% better in the faceoff circle, though.

I don't think I'd sell, the only pieces that would be "sale" pieces being Briere and Jagr. If Jagr is healthy and back to producing with Giroux and Hartnell, moving him doesn't make too much sense. Nor does moving Briere who has raised his performance when the playoffs roll around. Since I disagree with the sentiment that there is no chance the Flyers win the cup, I don't move two guys who could be big pieces of a run. As far as buying, I don't buy a rental. If we can bring in a solid top-4 dman who's 28-32 and under contract for a reasonable number for a couple years, ok. If Weber is available and it can be made to work with the cap, and they can lock him up for a 4-5 year contract, I do that. I don't go all in for an older UFA.

I take it you want them to be buyers? (Check your options again )

We actually traded Ryan Parent for Hamhuis' rights and a conditional draft pick. When they were unable to sign him, they traded him to Pittsburgh for a 3rd round pick. Essentially, the Flyers traded Parent for a 3rd and a 7th, with the added bonus of taking that 3rd round pick from the Pens without them getting anything in return.

According to capgeek, he is on LTIR. He's not been listed as a scratch, which would seem to back up the idea that he is LTIR'ed, as neither Pronger or Laperriere are scratches, either.

It was borderline, but I think the elbow came up on the follow through, not as the point of impact. It's a tough call as to whether they'll suspend him or not, but I think no.

He did sit in favor of Vorace for the last third or so of the 3rd period, so maybe Laviolette will sit him for a few games. I do imagine it's hard to tell a HOFer that he needs to sit, but that's one thing the coach has to be able to do.

As constructed, no. The problems on defense are only going to get worse as the season wears on and the minutes pile up, especially on Timonen. However, if the Flyers bring in a top-tier defenseman without gutting the team to do it, then yes, they could be. Laviolette won't ride Bryzgalov in the playoffs if he isn't getting the job done. Certain members of this team have shown they can really rise to the occasion when the playoffs roll around. Heck, the team's backed off on Pronger being done for the playoffs. Do I expect him back? No, but if he does come back, healthy, then what? Add to it that the Flyers likely won't play the Bruins or the Rags in the first round, injuries (and suspensions) can happen to anyone at any time, slumps and hot streaks can happen to any team, there are too many unknowns to write off this team right now. Since that's the case, you definitely don't sell. Now, I would only buy if the price is right, but the right pieces, if they can fit both short term and long term, would be worth a look.

I missed the first few minutes, got home shortly after Bernie was pulled, but I was listening on the radio, then watched the entire rest of the game. I came into hockey during the LOD years, but seeing some of the old guys was a thrill. Some things that stood out for me: -Bernie's reception before and after. When he went off the ice and then got his curtain call, Tim Saunders said that the eye injury wasn't how he wanted to go out, and this was a perfect "final" sendoff by the fans. -Lindros and Leclair back together on the ice. Brought back some memories. They still looked like they could play today. Still amazed by how huge Eric is. And he wasn't even wearing shoulder pads... -The guys getting eachother's autographs. Made you realize just how special this game was to them. The tears at the end, too. I think I might have even seen Clarke wipe his eye at the end of the game. -Mark Howe talking about losing Brad McCrimmon over the summer. You could tell he missed him. -Along that line, someone came with a sign that had Barry Ashbee, Dmitri Tertyshny, Pelle Lindbergh, and a couple other names on it that said "We miss you." Flashed a little too quick for me to catch them all. -Clarke and Lindros standing together after the game. It was staged for an interview, and I don't know if they chatted afterward, but it was still pretty cool. -Also kinda funny, is that they used retired officials, as well.

Personally, the homesick comment doesn't bother me all that much. First, he's probably referring to Russia, where I imagine most of his family other than his wife and kids live. Having spent several holiday seasons overseas, away from my home and family for long stretches, I'd be more worried if he wasn't a bit homesick. Second, from listening to him speak over the past few months, it's entirely possible that "homesick," while close to what he meant, isn't the exact word he was looking for.

I wouldn't base the decision on W/L, but I'd go with Bob. I don't know if Bryzgalov is distracted by the cameras and shiny things with HBO hanging around, or if he's really horrible (I don't believe so, but he's playing sub par hockey right now), but Bob's last couple of starts tell me he plays. It may be a slap in the face to the upper ups in the organization, but they'll forget it pretty quick if the team wins in front of Bob.

Less than 10 minutes TOI last night. It's becoming painfully obvious that if JVR is hurt, playing through it is not something that's going to work. Get him surgery now, give him a good three months to get healthy. If you're hoping to use him as trade bait, you're not helping your cause at this point anyway.

What's really telling to me is that while he's not playing as much as Timonen, Carle, Coburn, or Meszaros, he had over 3 minutes more TOI than Lilja. His decision making seems to improve game to game, and he doesn't seem to be out of position too much.

@ brelic: I'm with you, I would keep Bourdon up, he's been more than serviceable in the 5/6 slot. I just looked at the box score, I was surprised to see he only played 15:37. I would move Walker back down when Gus comes back, and use Lilja as number 7. I'm still not sure I'm comfortable going Gus/Bourdon as 5/6 in the playoffs though. The fewer games that Timonen needs to play big minutes, the better, and that means another vet on the blueline.

Canoli, I think the thread was started after the TB game. But last night he looked the best I've seen him. He looked sound positionally, took the body well, and had some heads up plays. It was good to see, given his luck with injuries so far this year.

Your statement implies that it should have been more obvious that he should have played Ward. in the 2005/2006 regular season, Gerber had a .906 save percentage, while Ward had a .882. Neither goalie was particularly hot going into the playoffs, but without doing the math, I'd hazard to say that Gerber's numbers were probably slightly better. Gerber let up 6 goals on 21 shots in Game 1 against Montreal, then was pulled after giving up 3 in the first in Game 2. Ward was pulled after giving up four in the first 20:44 in Game 5 against NJ, but Laviolette went back to him for Game 5, which they won. Ward was again pulled in game 3 vs. Buffalo after looking shaky in the first two games of the series, and was reinserted in the middle of game 4. I'm not arguing that Laviolette is a great coach, I think he's a good coach, but going with Gerber to start the playoffs was what he should have done. And while Ward posted a .920 save percentage overall in the playoffs, he also posted individual game marks of .870, .765, .889, .842 (a game the 'Canes won, btw), .846, .862, .882, and .895 (also a W). That's a sub-.900 save percentage in over a third of his games played. He won some games for them, but he also lost a few. And there were a few the team won in spite of him.