bryanc

Really, really really, bad call. I have trouble seeing how it was even two minutes. If the ref wanted to send a message that should have been it -- 2 minutes. Tops.

Makes you feel kinda dirty, doesn't it?

On that note, how about Couturier getting under Malkin's skin? Combined with Schenn grating on Crosby, it is just funny to think that two guys who are basically college freshmen got so under the skin of the NHL's golden boy and his Tonto.

The more I think about it, the more I think the Flyers should do the exact opposite. Think about it -- how many times have we seen the flyers skate around, trying to extract a little payback, only to end up with the puck in their own net? Don't get me wrong -- if a guy sees a hit he should give it. But it would benefit the Flyers much more, especially if the series goes the distance, to avoid getting into a brawl.

Of course, another way of looking at this is, not only would they have to steal that away game, but they would also need to win all three at home, something that have had difficulty doing. I think we fans tend to overthink these things. In the playoffs, everyone's home and road record resets to 0-0.

SInce the game was in Pittsburgh, Bylsma gets the final line change. I'd love to know who he may have had out there originally and if he switched after he saw who the Flyers had out there. The league has fined coaches for such behavior in the past. They would never do it to Pittsburgh, but they should.

He had Vitale, Englland, and Asham on the ice with 1:15 to go -- Bylsma wanted that to happen and deserves to be fined by the league.

Well, yeah -- I'd trade just about any player for the "right deal."

I'm not quite sure how you can reach this type of conclusion on van Riemsdyk. JVR had a pretty good season last year, his second as a full-time pro with the Flyers. He upped his goal total to 21 from 15, but perhaps more importantly he went from a -1 in 78 games in 09-10 to +15 in 75 games in 10-11, which shows he's adapting to playing NHL level defense. Matt Read has three+ years of age on van Riemsdyk, and those three years are usually when a young player really develops (22-25). When Gagne was 21-22, he two great seasons, going from 27 to 33 goals. Then he had a season marred by injury where he only played half the season and scored 9 goals. I think the jury is still out on JVR, especially since the injuries have taken a toll on him this year. He's ahd a lower body injury, an upper body one, a concussion, and now the break. I think the jury is still out, but there is a lot of potential here. besides, you wouldn't get much in a trade for him right now (which is one of the reasons why so many teams were interested in him).

He only has one flaw I've seen, and that's his overall speed (foot speed, skating speed, even stickhandling speed). You can see he is just a step behind the pace of others on the ice but he plays so well positionally that it often makes up for it. He got beat on that breakaway last game, but that's gonna happen to every D-man here and there. Overall, a solid acquisition by Homer (again) and a perfect mid-roster D-man. Looking into next year, the Flyers might have: Kubina Grossman Coburn Meszaros Timonen Gustoffson Not counting Pronger, of course. If he returns it's like getting a big free agent signing.

The guy can flat out sled, no doubt. HE doesn't have the finish yet, but that may not even be that big of a deal. If I was on his line and I saw him speeding up the wing, I would have one destination in mind -- head to the net, there's gonna be a rebound.

He's a very classy player, no doubt. The NHL is full of guys like him, very few prima donnas in the league (especially compared to other pro leagues).

I've hated Burke ever since he pulled that **** move with Peter Zezel when he was GM in Vancouver. What a heartless puke.

You need to watch the replay in slow motion. The first body part touching Kronwall was Voracek's chin. It is a direct blow to the head, THEN the chest. Not the other wawy around.

Kronwall had a hit he put on Kessler reviewed this past december. Shanny didn't give him a fine or suspension on the review.

"48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted. However, in determining whether such a hit should have been permitted, the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was avoidable, can be considered." Contact with the head? Yep. Principal point of contact? Yep. Head targeted? Difficult to determine intent, but one thing for sure is that Voracek did not have a sudden movement to before contact. Old NHL, it's legal. New NHL? Nope.

I just watched the replay again, I don't think he left his feet.

Tocchet is slightly retarded.

As someone else mentioned, the head was the first thing that was hit. It was anything BUT clean, even if the player who was hit bears some responsibility for not keeping his head up. Kronwall makes that type of hit a lot. He had one a couple of months ago on Kessler that was much the same thing. He'll show like he's backing off at the line, then step up and whack the player. Most of the time it's a good hit, but this time, it's gotta cost him some games.

Clear shot to the head on a player in a defenseless position. If he doesn't get suspended, it's a travesty. I'm all for good hits and I like the way Kronwall plays. I know Voracek was looking down. But the hit was direct to the head, no doubt. How the hell was it not a penalty?

You don't see how? A lot of the Caps chances in the first period were extremely high quality. At the time of the time out, the shots were 19-9. He stopped breakaways, he stopped good chances in the slot. For a team missing it's top three defensemen, no less.

Indeed, I mean, how could Snider have possibly not known that pronger would take a stick to his head and have his career ended? Seriously, we all saw that coming. Sarcasm aside, in the eight years before last season, Pronger played in no fewer than 66 games per year and in all 82 two games for a majority of that time. COnsidering how he plays, and the relative frequency of which players of his position get injured blocking shots, that's significant -- Pronger was showing no signs of slowing down. //As soon as he sold the team, the new owners took the franchise in a different (i.e., positive) direciton and the team is enjoying its first winning season in a long time.// I don't know how much you watch the Sixers, but every piece of that current team was assembled before the team was sold, and their good play actually began last year. The new ownership has changed the atmosphere to get the fans back, but that's about it.

That still proves my point. If Nashville overpaid for a physical forward with a first round pick, it seems entirely reasonable that a team would overpay for a defenseman with an offensive upside with a firt and second round offer. that's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Really? Gaustad got a first round pick in return for Buffalo, and he is a forward who usually gets fewer points than Carle gets on D. And Dmen go for a premium at the trade deadline.

I slightly disagree. The Flyers just picked up 2 defensemen, so they are a little flush at that position. It could have also been a case of "musical chairs", with the pending free agent losing out. And regardless, this team has looked pretty disenchanted for 2 full months. Its not like we would notice a difference!