Captain Lando

Gabriel Landeskog giving an interview is true class. Talks about the 3 goals in the 1st period, but also gives props to Vasilevskiy on how his play has made it difficult for them and how he is one of the best goaltenders or the best goaltender in the game.

Heading into this series everyone was talking about the speed of the Avalanche and how that was going to pose a problem for the Lightning. I really didn't realize how much it is causing problems until I have seen it with my own to eyes in this 1st period. The Lightning might be playing a physical game and that is something that players can withstand to a point, but speed cannot be something that can be better by the team who doesn't have it as well as the other team. It just can't happen. The speed is opening up shots on Vasilevskiy that in other series that the Lightning would be blocking. If this keeps up it is going to be tough for Tampa.

The Power Play in action. Back to a 2 goal lead with Lehkonen with a tip in. 3-1 Avs.

Nice botched up goal by Nick Paul, but it counts. 2-1 Avs.

Valeri Nichushkin makes it 2-0. The speed of the Avs is causing trouble for the Lightning.

Mikko Rantanen!!!

Damn I'm excited.

To add to that the longer this goes on the shorter the suck list gets. I imagine with it looking like Torts is being hired by the Flyers and Trotz could be off to Winnipeg that leaves just a few spots left for these guys. That leaves Dallas and Detroit along with the Interim Head Coaches including Chicago, Edmonton and Florida. I don't see for sure that Chicago and Edmonton's coach is coming back and the Florida Panthers are dragging their a##es on Brunette for some odd reason that doesn't make much sense to me. Since they have not named him the head coach yet, I am thinking they are looking elsewhere. So I guess what I am saying is the Bruins better get on the ball and hire what is the best to be available soon or it is really going to look bleak.

Well Fonzie sure did help the Mud Dogs(Even if he wasn't Fonzie at the time) to win the Bourbon Bowl with the help of Bobby Boucher. Sure that was Football, but still if he is that good he certainly can transition to Hockey.

There are going to be NO EXCUSES. This is the team we wanted in the finals. Why not want the champs to attempt to take them down off the top. I have already heard that the Avs have rolled into this final because they have not had great competition in the previous rounds and I call B.S. on all of that. In the first round before it started many were saying that Nashville would give them a test because of their defense. That didn't happen and then what we heard, it was because they didn't have Saros. Then when St. Louis came around they were the team going to challenge us because they had experience and we took them down. Then we heard it was because Binnington was hurt. Then the Oilers rolled in and all the McDavid talk and Draisaitl. Then they got swept and it was all the Draisaitl was hurt. I don't want to hear any of this from this series. The Tampa Bay series is definitely going to go down as the toughest series for both of the teams by far and I want both of the teams at 100%. Will they be at 100%, I don't know but I want Point to come back for Tampa Bay because if the Avs raise that cup , I want it to come against the best team the Lightning can put on the ice. This is going to be loads of fun and at this moment I am feeling the excitement already building.

There are reasons to really like this move and reasons to be concerned about this. Torts has a reputation of taking a team that is retooling and doing a lot with it. Meeting much better expectations than what is thought at a nice rate. On the other hand torts can also burn some bridges really fast. Whether that be with some players, the fan base, media, and even the front office. This is why he doesn't seem to stick around very long. If all things go well and the players mesh to his style and the ones that don't get flushed out of the system then everything will seem gel this will look like a masterpiece of a hiring. If he comes in and starts sitting players that the front office doesn't like and that starts strife and the team isn't still winning at least a little better than last season and he and the media are at each others throats after each game. He will wear thin quickly and fans will quickly look at the hiring as a disaster.

Right there with what you just posted will be very interesting to see how that unfolds. Will management tell Torts to suck it up and deal with Risto and will Torts bench him or will Torts force the hand of management to unload Risto and his crazy deal he has? That right there will be entertainment to see.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but history has shown that in the playoffs a successful team that advances is the team that usually rides the hot goaltender. It happened in St. Louis with Binnington, it happened with Pittsburgh with Matt Murray. It happens often. Maybe the Oilers had Markstrom number, but surely the Lightning did not have the Panthers number in the regular season as the split the two game series with them, but they allowed 13 goals in 2 games losing 9 to 3 and winning 8-4. So it definitely was Vasilevskiy standing on his head in the playoffs as they swept the Panthers allowing just 3 goals in 4 games against the high powered offense of the Panthers. Now I am not saying it was just him as the rest of the Lightning shut them down as well, but Vasi was the back end of it.

That is 4 selections right there that you mentioned plus Savoie. The Flyers sit at #5 to draft. Then there is Shane Wright, Slavkovsky, and Cooley who will gone at that point. Do you really think the Flyers GM could really F### it up with all those talented possibilities available? Wait... maybe I don't want to hear the answer to that question.

The bottom line is the regular season is a totally different mindset for the players than that of these short 7 game series. The regular season is a long marathon while these short series are more like a sprint to the finish. So in these playoff series you better have your "A" game on or you are going to be sent home packing and that was the case for Markstrom. He was not at his best. If he was at his best he would have out played Mike Smith and they probably would have won that series. As for the Panthers they could have collapsed as they only scored 3 goals the entire series or the Tampa Bay defense and Vasilevskiy shut them down. We shall see if they have that same formula against the high powered offense of the Avs and I imagine the Avalanche coaches looked long and hard at that series and have their own plan as to how to make things work as well.

Being an Avs fan, I love this stat. I do however, have to analyze it further as for one these are stats coming from the regular season and the playoffs are an entire different ballgame and now we are talking about the Stanley Cup Finals. The guy has also proven again and again that he can shut it down in games that the Lightning are about to clinch. Finally and this is what scares me the most about this Tampa Bay team and Vasilevskiy. The Avs are a team that has a huge offense. Some say they have an offense that is similar to the Florida Panthers. We all know what the Lightning did to the Panthers earlier in the playoffs. Still, there is more to this game than just the goalie and I think the Avs will still take this series in 7 games. Fun times ahead.

Looks like Trotz could be trotting up to Winnipeg at anytime now.

I sure hope Vegas keeps him for more than just a few years like they seem to have done with the first two head coaches.

With the Colorado Avalanche not selecting til the 3rd round, I will give my short and sweet opinion on who I think the Flyers should draft at the #5 position in this year's draft. That would be Matthew Savoie. The team needs someone who is a scorer and this guy seems to fit that mold. He also seems to have that smart hockey head on his shoulders. I think he is the right player for the Flyers.

I agree that Trotz is going somewhere else. My question though was would as a fan of the Flyers would you like to see Cassidy interviewed and what do you think he could bring to the team that may be a Torts could not?

I agree with you, but those who say they are done with the team and hop right back on really do believe they are true fans of the team. You might know otherwise, but they sure don't. I also understand that being unhappy with the team and how they are play or how they are being run is a totally different thing. In the end there is only one team that can go home winning. I can bet you if my team, the Colorado Avalanche lose in this Stanley Cup final there will be many fans that gripe and b#### and moan about how the team lost their chance and they will never get over that hump of winning it all with this group of players so why not break up the team. Now as ridiculous as that seems, it will happen. You also bring up another good point and that is about ticket prices. Most regular people cannot afford these season tickets and especially me and my husband who are only approaching 30. We don't have that sort of money to spare. So most of the people that have these season tickets are older people who can afford it. Many of these older people in these cities with teams like the Flyers have seen the glory teams and now are seeing teams that are failures and have had it with paying for these high priced season tickets. That is why you see the huge drop off in season ticket sales. I suppose it is happening to all teams that are struggling. Put a high quality team on the ice and like the movie 'Field of Dreams' said, " They will come."

You're correct in saying that not every fan base is the same, but every fan should go with the flow of the team and the organization through the thick and the thin. Sure gripe through those horrible times when the team is being F'd up and hope that the owner hears enough of the b####ing that they do something about it. The problem with some organizations is the owners are the problem and there really isn't much that can be done about that because they are the ones that fund the team. The problem that I have though and it seems what you are saying in the Philly area is most fans are the stick to their guns types and if they say they are done with the team they are done. I guess all we can do is sit and wait until the team starts winning consistently and the seats in the arena start to be packed again. Mark my work it will happen again and in Philadelphia and many of those fans that gave up on them in the deepest tough times will be sitting in those seats with a beer in hand rooting them on.

One name I am not seeing mentioned here is Bruce Cassidy. Maybe that is because the organization has yet to interview him or they aren't going to do so which I wouldn't understand. He certainly has been successful and I am wondering what the Philly fan base would think about him becoming the next coach of the Flyers. Would this be a better hiring than either Torts or Trotz? From what I have heard about Tortz is he wants more involvement with an organization than just being a head coach and Torts well we all know what kind of personality he brings onboard. So Bruce Cassidy and the resume he has does seem really tempting not only for the Flyers, but really for any team looking for a new head coach.