Vanflyer

I liked your post, but not so much regarding the ice. Both teams have to play on the same ice. In my entire life, I have never used the quality or lack there of the ice as an excuse to either winning or losing.

Hey OZ- we are fairly close in time zones. Are you on for the games ever??

I don't want to split hairs too much, but I will in regards to Timo. His ice time was only elevated 2 minutes a game (3-4 shifts more) in Prongers absence. Whereas Coburn played monster minutes against the Rangers (nearly half the game) and played very well I might add.

4 points in 3 games. He is almost a 2 ppg. 7 games: 6g 6a 12 points. He wont stay there long at that rate~~!

I never want a player to get injured, but I hope he is out for a spell. The problem is his cap hit is so slight that it will not be of any significance (850K or thereabouts).

I am not sure what happened to him. I always saw him as a nice third line guy with borderline 2nd line skills. His situation reminds me more of a Zubrus than a Sharp (and I really liked Zubrus- especially his size and skating).

Well stated. I would agree with everything you said. However- you put Pronger back in there on the back line and Jagr on the top line and JVR on whatever line, everything is different. I saw what you seen too in regards to break out and transition. I wont blaim Boudon or Marshall as they did their best. I guess in the end, I am not going to be chicken little like the OP- particularly in hanging the coach (again).. P.S. Hitchcock has those Blues singing great notes, eh!

Yo Jammer! So, if the Flyers win the game- would you have posted the same message? How could he be outcoached this game other than the Rangers having a shutdown plan for Girou. You put Jagr, Pronger AND JVR in the lineup and what is the gameplan then? The Flyers win that game with those three players. Also 4 games in 6 days to 2 games in 5 days. Not apologizing for the loss, but don't put it on the coaches head- especially regarding lines and line changes. Peace brother! VF

I think he is playing great. He has never been a finisher (ironic that CBJ always needed play maker). JV will do fine here. Jagr is going to teach him well and he already loves the organization. Look for big second line wing from him.

Yes and no. For some reason Toronto had been, for quite a while, the biggest infiltration on the board. A couple of the Toronto trolls were amusing in a literate way of trolling. Then came the Pittsburgh trolls. Again, only about 4, but a couple of which were avid hockey fans and as objective as one could be despite a rivalry (one was from Oregon and the other from Pittsburgh- I enjoyed both of there posts and ability to argue / discuss all things hockey without getting overly heated, despite Black and Yellow glasses). But prior to these there were a couple of other trollers from Buffalo and NJD. Maybe the rare Ranger fan. I remember the playoffs when Campbell laid out RJ Umberger. HUGE wars back then. To me it kind of goes in cycles. It is kind of hard for me to fully want to exempt someone from freedom of expression. But when it is in a complete destructive intention, I have no problem with ridding / eliminating such a problem. That was part of the problem at P.com. They did not do that and so it is one flew over the kukoos nest as the inmates run the asylum (yet without a witty Jack Nicohlson or chief indian). I do miss those that were honest about their intent to poke fun at Flyers and / or fans in a lighthearted fashion while also having the ability to look semi-objectively and / or have the desire to just talk good hockey.

I liked what Phlyer1 had to say. Truthfully, I thought that the first period was mostly pretty even and had decent energy. It was clear that the Rangers game planned well for Giroux and for whatever reason the Flyers could not adjust. The second period was obviously Rangers period. I also thought the first half of the third was the Rangers. Flyers tried to get stuff going halfway through the third. The thing is that there was no sustained pressure. No rebonds. Many blocked shots by the Rangers. To me what it really looked like was that the Rangers defended us very well. The other things to consider (not to make excuses), was that the Flyers played 4 games in 6 nights. The Phlyer1 point, if you take Jagr, Pronger and I dare even say JVR (because it screws up the line mix) out of the line-up, it has a significant impact. There were some bright spots for me: 1) Bobs- he had no chance on either of those goals. Also, because of his very strong protest, the first goal was reviewed and overturned. Heads up play by him. 2) Voracek- Though he was unable to finish chances, I thought he had one of his best games of the year. He played first line minutes and was very aggressive. 3) Simmonds- I liked his tenacity. He was not a liability. Two bad he doesn't have just a tad more offensive skill. 4) Couterier- Once again a seamless game. 5) Coburn- He played monster minutes (nearly half the game) and had some good rushes. His defense positioning was good and he had that hitting snarl. Goats: 1) Carle- he reminds me of all three characters in the wizard of oz. Needs courage, a heart and a brain. 2) Briere- Its a game like this that Briere needs to step up and deliver. Also, watch where the **** you are skating. Nodl is not high on my list, but he did not deserve to get injured by his own teammate when HE was making a hockey play.

Actually, Kwak has been pretty even handed in her articles. This last one is the FIRST that she has put Crosby in article title (rightfully so). If you look at her column list, you'll see that she writes about Pittsburgh during SCF. Aside from that there is hardly a blip. Here is her column archive. Maybe you don't like her style of writing or that she is a woman writing about mens sport, but it would seem difficult to me based on her column archive to dislike her because of a assumed love affair with Crosby. She has covered a wide array of topics (much more than the Philly beat hockey writers): http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/sarah_kwak/archive/ - Olympics (hockey, speed skating and skiing) - NCAA Final Frozen Four - Suspensions in NHL - NHL draft blogs - Womens Hockey - Stanley Cup Final(S) - College Hockey MVP (Hobey Baker) Truthfully, if there was any lament with her, it would be that perhaps she does not cover any Junior Canadian Hockey (CHL). Otherwise, the breadth of her body of work over two and half years is pretty impressive. Just trying to be a voice of reason.

Is this true?? How did we make it work for him to skate before with the big club?? We are at the cap ceiling now. http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=24 I just forget how it works with IR and LTIR.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=603334

Some say he was a total asshole though.

I don't mind the crosschecks either, you have to protect your goalie regardless or how it occurred (to me it looked liked Foligno skated backwards and caught Fleurys stick which was on the ice at the time and went tea kettle backwards over fleury). Regardless Foligno can't touch the goalie (as we know the rules), even if it was an accident (which some may want to debate). So, I would give him two for goalie interference and Crosby 2 for elbowing and 2 two for unsportsmanlike.

In 1981 with the Flyers, he made the All-Star team. Had 63 points and 237 PIMS. Dude could play AND fight!

@FC Not what I saw. Need more of the clip. Looks like crosby got one crosscheck in that knocked Foligno down inside the paint (not into Fleury). Foligno gets up and gets too more whacks from Crosby. Foligno response is a small two hand push to Crosby shoulder (not with the stick), then Crosby takes the elbow. Truthfully, I don't mind letting it go (except the elbowing). The whacks used to be normal (think Tim Kerr and JLC). The problem is that its Crosby doing it (great that he is playing defense like that). Those types of plays used to end up in some pretty good post whistle scrums: is crosby sure he wants to get involved in those, especially after throwing a nasty elbow? To control the players, I could have seen two minutes to Foligno (not sure for what) and 4 to crosby. That message is they both were going at it, but one player was more excessive.

What about the two cross-checks he also laid out?? I didn't see what the other guy did before hand, but Crosby should have gotten a double-minor (one for the crosschecks and one for the elbow).

I would bank on the General Manager (Paul Holmgren) being dialed into a players injury more so than a beat writer (especially TP). Although, it would not be the first time a GM bullshit about an injury.

Interesting to see the posts regarding this. Most think Kessel is MVP. http://www.nhl.com/i...vid=DL|NHL|home First quarter has Flyers' Giroux atop MVP race Thursday, 11.24.2011 / 9:00 AM / Trophy Tracker By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer TROPHY TRACKER ARCHIVE ›Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers -- He has been Mr. Everything for the Flyers, which is why Giroux is getting this nod. His overall game has been as impressive as his 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points, which ties him for second in the League behind Phil Kessel. He's been centering Philadelphia's most productive line and his wings, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Hartnell, each have 17 points. Giroux is being used by coach Peter Laviolette in all situations, averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game, a number that is on the rise during the past month. His presence on the penalty kill is just as important as his production on the power play. Laviolette does not hesitate to use Giroux in the final minutes of tight games. And, oh by the way, a lot of the time he gets the call to play against the opposition's best forward line. Finalists Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs -- There hasn't been a more productive player in the NHL than Kessel, who leads the League with 16 goals and 30 points. He's been on the ice for 36 of the Maple Leafs' 68 goals for and just 17 of their 69 goals against. Kessel has been economical, too, scoring on more than 20 percent of his 77 shots on goal. He isn't doing it only on the power play either, as just four of his goals and five of his 14 assists have come with the man advantage. About the only thing Kessel isn't doing is killing penalties, but he's still averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game and he's helped linemate Joffrey Lupul move into the League's scoring race as well. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings – While people may see his minus-1 rating and wonder, Kopitar is playing more minutes than any other forward in the NHL this season so he's bound to be on the ice for some goals against. The fact is that the Kings have scored only 51 goals this season and he's been involved in almost half of them. Kopitar has scored 10 goals and dished out 14 assists to pace an offense that would likely be a black hole without him. He's been on the ice for 28 of the Kings' goals. Los Angeles would also not be among the top teams in the Western Conference without Kopitar's all-around game. Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl

I know I posted this on another thread regarding Lindros, but I saw this article and wanted to post this again. Say what you want about him (love him / hate etc.), but Eric was always very active with his time and money with helping sick children- particularly Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Even after he left the Flyers, he remained active in his time and money for the kids. "Johnny (LeClair) and Mikael (Renberg) and I are trying to put something together for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and we're probably going to announce something in the next little bit. Try to raise some money for them and try to incorporate that to the event." -- Eric Lindros on trying to tie in a charity to the Legion of Doom's reunion for the 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=597529#&navid=nhl-search

I love it!!! I know its against the rules, but I thought the Lucic hit on miller was fine. To me it was a hockey play. So, to add salt to injury, Lucic destroyed Gustauf!! Buffalo Ricks head must be imploding!!! ha ha ha

So, as I predicted, tonights St Louis-Pittsburgh game was much better than the Pitts-Islanders game. I am not taking anything away from Crosbys return as that was stunning. But as a hockey fan, I would rather see a good game.

I posted on that thread. Two words for Briere: Playoffs - Clutch. He is still on pace to score 30 goals. As I said on the other thread, as long as he is not costing us games, I could care less about his dry spells during the regular season.