Clarke2Leach

The Flyers have shown everyone how together and disciplined they are. They've been down bigtime two (welll more actually) times and kept their cool. And won. The Pens go down and resort to antics that the Flyers have been unfairly associated with for years. By that, I don't recall the Flyers going after anyone else's tiny veteran Finnish pacifist d-man in my 35 years as a fan. And the Pens did it twice. Complete bush league cowardly ********. If the Flyers get up 2 goals in game 4, the Pens will wilt completely. I think that was all the fight they had left in them and they were horrible at it.

Considering that these are 2 of the most potent offenses in the league and the Flyers are down 2 of their top 3 blueliners and still up 3-0, I'm giving Bryz an emphatic pass. There's been very few weak ones, but considering who's taking some of those shots and the eyes that the Pens pucks seem to have, I can forgive him. 1 more game.

Funny thing about the playoffs - all you have to do is win. Doesn't matter if you give up 5, as long as you score 6. I'd rather be the Flyers than the Penguins, Bruins, Canucks or the Rangers right now. All I know is this series is the most entertaining hockey I have seen in years. It's like the Olympic Finals with hitting. I'm not going to worry about the Rangers or the Bruins until we meet them - if we meet them. The Flyers still have to close this out - that's my main concern.

Fair enough.

Weeelllllll, that was a badly blown call, but the Flyers got f'd on every other call for the rest of the game. I wouldn't even call it an even up call because the scales were tipped horribly in the Pens favour. There were 2 boarding calls (at least) that were far worse than Giroux's that weren't called against the pens. The icing calls in the 1st were consistently brutal. The refs will one day get wise to the Penguins diving team like they did to the Canucks.

Joe Vitale Hit in the Head With Shot In his first game since taking out two Flyers—Nick Grossmann and Danny Briere—Joe Vitale of the Pittsburgh Penguins was himself on the receiving end of an injurious blow. It wasn't a check, but Vitale might rather it was. During the third period of the Pens' eventual win over the Bruins, a Zdeno Chara wrist shot (but a very hard one) hit Vitale in the head, sending him to the ice writhing in pain. http://www.the700level.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/news/Video-Joe-Vitale-Hit-in-the-Head-With-Sh?blockID=682514&feedID=8976

Squirrel!

Hey Podein! Still flat but almost snowless which is something I never thought I'd say on March 14th. Might go up to PLUS 24 Celcius this weekend! The Jets fans are getting a little anxious, but the warm weather will get them thinking about golf - just like their favorite players...

To be fair, you should be using the "qualified" (at least 25 GP) goalie stats. It's misleading to compare his GAA to someone who's started a few games (likely against the dregs of the league) with Bryzgalov or any of the other starters. That would be like comparing his wins with Matt Hackett's and arguing that Bryz has played much better based on those numbers alone. He's now 23rd among "qualified" goalies in GAA and 33rd in Save %. Still kinda sucks in a 30 team league, but I'm as glad as anyone that he's turned it around for this long.

If Bryz is thinking about the distance between the puck and his glove he's clearly thinking too much. A goalie with confidence just doesn't need to make those calculations. I do believe his confidence is shot and he's doing his best to hide it or slough it off in his interviews. The reality is there is a difference between being a bad goalie and a good goalie who is playing bad. I'm firmly convinced that Bryz is the latter. I have no idea how to fix it and if I did, I'm pretty sure no one would listen anyway. Maybe he needs a thousand shots at him a day until he starts saving on reflex rather than "thinking". I heard Don Maloney (his former GM) on the radio a couple of weeks ago and he is sure that Bryz can turn it around. He also mentioned that what you saw on 24/7 is the real Bryzgalov. He's "different".

Funny tweet from a Winnipeg reporter today: Bartley Kives @bkives Food for thought for #flyers fans: Ilya = Elijah, in Russian. In Judaeo-Christian theology, Elijah's appearance marks beginning of the end.

I think the Bryz baiting has more to do with him bad mouthing Winnipeg when Phoenix was about to move. Winnipeggers do enjoy picking their targets and giving them "the business". Wachovia should have so much atmosphere. Having said that, go Flyers!

Schenn doesn't have a bad line for a "stay at home defenseman" Leads the league for hits from a blueliner. I'm still not convinced the Flyers need to hit a home run for a d-man. Schenn could be a good complimentary guy (3-4) for a long time. An ideal partner for a player like Carle, for instance. His hitting has to be reasonably consistent to get those numbers. RK PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM HITS BS 1 Luke Schenn, TOR 50 1 13 14 6 37 167 75 2 Brooks Orpik PIT 43 2 8 10 3 28 153 67 3 Matt Greene LA 51 3 4 7 -1 22 153 76 4 Dan Girardi NYR 49 4 13 17 9 12 140 124 5 Mark Fistric DAL 36 0 0 0 -1 29 140 55 6 Jared Cowen OTT 53 4 10 14 0 27 137 59 7 Alexei Emelin MTL 38 1 1 2 -3 16 137 59 8 Ryan O'Byrne COL 52 1 5 6 -1 39 129 94 9 Travis Hamonic NYI 49 1 11 12 3 57 128 110 10 Mark Stuart WPG 49 3 4 7 -6 76 123 126

Oddly enough, the player Carter may have benefitted most from on the Jackets was Voracek, but we all know how that worked out. The guy just needs a really good playmaker at wing, a bruiser on the other side and his numbers will come back. Don't know where that could be at his price tag, though. He might be a proper fit in Washington or Detroit with all them talented Europeens and all - price tag aside.

The Jets are far from big. With Kane and Byfuglien out, they're really short on muscle. There is no reason the Flyers shouldn't lay down a beating tonight - at least on the scoreboard. Antropov, Wheeler, Fehr may all have size, but they don't use it so much.

If Subban and Bryz end up in the same lockerroom, HBO will have to change the name of their series to 24/7/365.

Suter is a really good all-around blue-liner, but don't we already pretty much have 4 of those? Unfortunately, I don't think we can think too big until Kimmo's contract is up. Hopefully, Weber gets complacent with his new contract and we can pick him and his ridiculous contract up in a couple of years (when we can afford it). If Carle expects Suter money, then we can think differently about this.

Bogosian has really picked up his play. The Jets are thinking long term so I highly doubt he'd be dealt. At least that's what the constant Jet's coverage (here in Winnipeg) has been telling me since November. Good to be back in the NHL. I get more Flyers coverage this way, believe it or not.