For the majority of my life, the Flyers have been one of the best franchises in the NHL. It truly began during the Eric Lindros era and has continued to this day, minus one epically bad season mixed in. Yet year in and year out, the Flyers have always come up short, whether it was an unexpectedly early playoff exit, the seemingly annual dismissal at the hands of the Devils or heartbreaking series a la Tampa Bay, Detroit and Chicago.
During this run of impressive regular seasons that ultimately end short of hoisting the Stanley Cup, one thing has been missing more than anything else. That thing is a goaltender that can literally win you not just a game, but an entire series, as every Flyers fan alive can attest to. Well, the Buffalo Sabres have that missing piece in Ryan Miller, and he is the only reason why this series is now tied 2-2 heading back to the Wells Fargo Center tomorrow night.
I could talk about the questionable referring — which had me screaming and yelling and jumping up and down — but as bad as some of those calls and no calls were (especially giving Mike Richards a major for that elbow), the referees didn't decide last night's game. Ryan Miller did. The Flyers could have had all the power plays in the world last night, and it wouldn't have mattered. Not only because their power play is a complete disgrace (seriously, it's fucking atrocious), but because Ryan Miller simply was not going to yield anything last night. For the second time in this series, Miller literally played flawless hockey.
And while the Flyers dominated the game for the most part after the first half of the first period, they weren't flawless. Particularly on the lone goal of the game.
The entire play was a series of mistakes. First, the Flyers backed up, allowing Buffalo to enter the zone easily, instead of holding the blue line. Then, after a nice poke check by Danny Syvret, Giroux couldn't get his stick on the puck, a difficult play. And most egregiously, Nikolay Zherdev, who every single person in the Philly.com comments section insisted absolutely has to be in the lineup no matter what, tried to break out of the zone early on the original poke check instead of taking care of his defensive responsibility. That left Matt Carle in an impossible 2-on-1 situation, resulting in a slam-dunk goal for Jason Pominville.
That's why Zherdev has had such a difficult time staying in Peter Laviolette's lineup. For all the good things he does offensively, he goes and does that, completely ignoring his assignment defensively, resulting in a goal for Buffalo. It turned out to be the difference in the game. Well, that and Ryan Miller.
Honestly, it's difficult to be too upset with the Flyers last night. This wasn't game 1, where they generated very little great scoring chances despite controlling the game. After the initial 10 minutes, when Buffalo took it to the Flyers and scored the goal, the Flyers played exactly the way you want. They forechecked aggressively, cut down on mistakes, fired the rubber at Miller, got traffic in front, won puck battles, created tremendous chances. They just couldn't beat Miller. He was too damn good.
The best chance they had was on the play above, with Danny Briere all alone down low with the Buffalo goalie. It sure did look like Briere had a whole lot of room to score between Miller's legs, but Briere tried to beat him glove side. His former teammate would have none of it. Hindsight is always 20-20, and I'm sure Briere is kicking himself for not sliding between Miller's five-hole after his poke check missed, but what can you do? Sometimes you a goaltender can steal a game and even a series. So far, it's been Flyers 2, Ryan Miller 2. He's that guy the Flyers have been searching for forever. Unfortunately, he's winning games for the opposition.
And I mean this as no indictment of Brian Boucher. Boosh was fantastic again last night. He stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, and the one he gave up he had absolutely no chance on. Boucher has been spectacular. He really has. But even with his impressive playoff numbers and awesome play in the two-plus games he's been in net so far, he won't singlehandedly win the Flyers a series the way Ryan Miller has singlehandedly evened this thing up for Buffalo. The guy is incredible, and it's incredibly frustrating that Philadelphia isn't up 3 games to 1 or done with the Sabres in a clean sweep. But what can you do besides keep cracking away and hoping you can crack through the way the Flyers did in games 2 and 3?
I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on a few Flyers in particular last night. For the second straight game, Kris Versteeg impressed the hell out of me. He was flying all over the ice, making plays, creating chances and playing sound defensive hockey. These past two games he's been every bit the player I thought the Flyers were getting when they traded for him. Glad to see him pick him game up. His forechecking and pressure on the puck was a big reason the Flyers got things going after that first 10 minutes.
And to me, even with James van Riemsdyk continuing to be the best skater on the ice and the top three lines creating chances, the fourth line was the best of the bunch last night.
Dan Carcillo had his best game in forever. He showed the offensive flair that had some people thinking he'd be much more than a fourth-line agitator when he was coming up. Carcillo was all over the place last night, drawing penalties and pounding the Sabres on both ends of the ice. He had a jump in his step that we haven't seen in quite some time. And his linemates followed suit.
Blair Betts and Daroll Powe have been stalwarts on the penalty kill all season long, and they were again last night, especially when killing off that five-minute major to start the third period. And at even strength, no line cycled the puck better or spent more time in Buffalo's zone than Betts-Powe and Carcillo. It really was an impressive showing by that trio. It's a shame they weren't rewarded with a goal.
But with the good came the bad. Namely, Jeff Carter injuring his knee on a collision with Tyler Myers. Missing a goal-scorer against a guy that's already difficult to score against is a big deal. Hopefully Carter is OK to go tomorrow night and/or Sunday, because with the way Ryan Miller has played in games 1 and 4, the Flyers will need as many goal-scorers as possible in the lineup.
And speaking of Tyler Myers, I cannot say enough about the kid. He has been downright awesome in this series, and he was against last night. In the NHL, we're used to our big defensemen being smart and using their reach, but not being that agile or fast. Zdeno Chara, Chris Pronger, even guys like Derian Hatcher before them use their size, strength, reach and smarts to dominate. Tyler Myers has all that, but he also has the speed and agility of players half his size. At 6'8" that's frightening. The kid has been the biggest standout on the blue line for either team thus far, and that's certainly not helping Philadelphia in finding a way to beat Miller.
Thankfully the Phillies won in come-from-behind fashion to give the day something positive. After the bats went silent Monday and Tuesday, it was Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino supplying the power and re-igniting the bats just as the Phils drew it up. Or something like that.
Anyway, it was nice to see Polanco have another monster game with his three-run jack to tie the game in the 6th and Victorino continuing his hot start with an absolute bomb in the 7th to give the Phils a 4-3 win and prevent the sweep. Unfortunately, no one could get a hit on Tuesday, when I sat out in the cold and rain to watch Roy Halladay labor through six innings only to have David Herndon surrender a game-ending (for all intents and purposes) home run on his first pitch. Oh yeah, and the Phillies only got two hits off Randy Wolf, one of which was a bunt single by Jimmy Rollins.
This week has not exactly been that great. Hopefully that all changes tonight with the Sixers getting a boost from the home crowd. Though somehow I doubt it.
With the all-star break upon us, I'm going to do a breakdown of the players through the first 50 games of the 2010-11 season over the next few days. Yesterday, I kicked things off with the newcomers. Today, I take a look at the Flyers' young guns. Check back tomorrow for a look at the veterans.
For the purposes of this exercise, I'm defining a "young gun" as any player with less than five years of experience in the NHL. Yes, I'm fully aware that that means the 27-year-old Ville Leino, in just his third NHL season, is included while younger guys like Braydon Coburn and Mike Richards fall under the veteran category. That's just the way it goes. So without further ado …
Claude Giroux
It didn't take very long for Philadelphia Flyers fan to notice that Claude Giroux was going to be a star. You could see he was on the precipice last year, and now, in his third true season in the NHL (he played in 2 games in 2007-08), the 23-year-old Giroux has entered the field of young NHL stars, literally. Before Danny Briere was added to the All-Star squad, Giroux was the lone Flyer to make the team.
It's easy to see why. Through 50 games, Giroux is tied with Mike Richards for the team lead in points with 47. He's second behind Richards with 28 assists and third on the team in goals with 19. And he's scored three shorthanded goals, combining with Mike Richards for six in all as the most dangerous penalty-killing duo in hockey. Arguably, he's been the best player on the NHL's best and deepest team.
Giroux has developed into a fantastic two-way player. He's physical, aggressive, smart. And his offensive prowess is off the charts. He can snipe a shot, dig around the net, make passes that no one else even sees, and he can grind along the boards, knock people off the puck and explode through the neutral zone. Honestly, it's hard to find any weakness in his game. He even has the versatility to play wing or center, alternating roles of late with Jeff Carter. He's played wing alongside Richards, centered several different lines, and now is playing mostly center with Jeff Carter and Nikolay Zherdev skating alongside him. That line has been out of this world the past couple of games.
We all knew Claude was going to be something special, and now he is. He's easily this city's most favorite Flyer right now, and why wouldn't he be? Claude is awesome.
Ville Leino
Once again, I would like to thank the Detroit Red Wings for giving away Ville Leino to the Flyers. For whatever reason last year, Leino couldn't consistently crack Philadelphia's lineup after coming over from Detroit. This despite playing brilliantly when called upon. But then Leino got his chance in the playoffs and completely took off. He combined with Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell to form Philadelphia's best line in the run to the Stanley Cup Final, and it's simply been more of the same in his first full season in Philadelphia.
Leino is tied for second with Sidney Crosby for plus/minus among all forwards, sitting at plus-20 on the season. His 25 assists are good for third on the team, and his 36 points put him just four away from becoming the fourth Flyer with 40 points on the year. But more importantly is that his chemistry with Briere and Hartnell has carried over into this season. That line has been by far the Flyers best and most consistent all year. They've combined for a staggering 115 points as a line in 50 games — 54 goals and 61 assists. And Leino is as big a reason as any that both Briere and Hartnell are having their best seasons as Flyers. His playmaking ability is truly invaluable on a team with so many goal-scorers. Thanks again, Detroit.
James van Riemsdyk
Last season, James van Riemsdyk didn't have the kind of rookie year expected form a No. 2 overall pick — especially when the No. 1 pick in your draft is Patrick Kane. And JVR got off to quite the slow start this year as well. So slow, in fact, that he went goal-less through the first 17 games of the season. Not good. Even worse, he found himself as a healthy scratch on a few occasions. But ever since his last healthy scratch, JVR has been a man a mission, looking much more like a veteran than a 21-year-old.
Since that dreadful start, van Riemsdyk has had one of the hotter sticks on the team. He went from nonfactor offensively to scoring 12 goals and adding 11 assists, good for 23 points, and he's a plus-14 on the year. As has been the case with several Flyers this year, van Riemsdyk got his confidence back playing alongside Mike Richards. Richards, JVR and Andreas Nodl started to develop some chemistry, and once Riemer's confidence was back, he moved to a line with Giroux and Carter. That line didn't miss a beat either, as van Riemsdyk continued to score and use his size, strength and speed to create chances.
Unfortunately, van Riemsdyk suffered a lower-body injury in a loss to the Devils last week and missed the past two games. But he'll have no trouble getting back in the lineup with the way he was playing. Hopefully he keeps it up and develops into the player the Flyers thought he could become. After a slow start, he looks to be on his way.
Andreas Nodl
If you had to pick the most pleasantly surprising skater on this team, it would unquestionably be the 23-year-old Andreas Nodl. Nodl came into this season having played a total of 48 NHL game over two seasons. Last year, he skated just 10 times for the Flyers. Hardly anyone thought he would even spend much time with the big club this year — he was expected to be the best player on the Phantoms.
Instead, Nodl has forced himself into the lineup with his surprisingly effective play. I'll give you one guess on whose line he's spent the majority of his time. Yeah, Mike Richards.
Nodl has played in 41 games this year, and he has 9 goals and 9 assists. He's a plus-13 — he's never been a plus player in his career before. And he's accepted the challenge of being a shutdown defensive player on a line with Richards. The guy has even seen occasional time on the power play and PK, something no one could have seen coming.
There's no guarantees that Nodl will be in the lineup the rest of the season, but he's done nothing to warrant a demotion as of yet. Without question, Andreas Nodl has been the biggest surprise outside of Sergei Bobrovsky on this team.
Darroll Powe
Darroll Powe has the unfortunate distinction of being one of only three Flyers to be on the wrong side of the plus/minus statistic this season, and the only Flyer to be a minus player (he's a minus-1 right now) while having played in all 50 games. And guess what? That doesn't reflect how valuable he is to this team at all. Because Darroll Powe is one of those players that every championship team needs — the hard-working grinder who can and will do just about anything required of him to get a victory.
Powe is actually one of my favorite players on this team full of likable players. He won't wow anyone offensively — he has just 3 goals and 8 assists — but his hard work does allow him to move up from the fourth line quite often. His hustle is unmatched, giving it his all every single shift, and his aggressiveness is never questioned. Darroll Powe was tailor-made to play in Peter Laviolette's aggressive forechecking system. He leads the Flyers with 122 hits, creates rushes with his speed and plays outstanding defensive hockey. His hard work has earned him double-shifts in several games, and it's not uncommon for him to move up to the Richards or Giroux line.
But where Darroll Powe makes his living is as a fourth-line checker and incredible penalty killer. The Powe-Blair Betts-Jody Shelley line is exactly the type of fourth line every hockey hopes to have. All three players are tough, smart and defensive-minded. They grind out hard shifts, and can even put some sustained pressure in the offensive zone by forechecking hard and cycling the puck. And no one forechecks better than Darroll Powe. Then you take Betts and Powe and you have one of the most impressive penalty kill duos out there. Richards and Giroux can create shorthanded offense in an instant. Powe and Betts simply shut down the opposing PK, using lively sticks, blocking passing lanes, laying out for shots and winning battles to clear the puck. Darroll Powe is an unsung hero for all the work he does winning those battles, throwing thunderous hits and killing off penalties. He's easily one of my favorite Flyers, and it's easy to see that he's one of Laviolette's favorites too.
Dan Carcillo
When the Flyers traded for Dan Carcillo during the 2008-09 season, it was an unpopular move. Fan favorite Scottie Upshall was shipped out of town. But it didn't take long for Flyers fans to fall in love with Carcillo. He's aggressive, he fights, he agitates, he talks, yet he has some decent offensive game too. Overnight, he became a fan favorite. The same cannot necessarily be said for winning over Peter Laviolette.
With so much depth and talent, Carcillo has suited up in just 28 games this season. The play of Nodl, Zherdev and JVR is certainly the main culprit, but so is Carcillo's often wild antics. More times than not, it's a good thing for the Flyers. That's evident by the team's record with and without Carcillo in the lineup: The Flyers are 22-4-2 with Carcillo and just 11-8-3 without him.
For the most part, Carcillo has been a good soldier this season. He's upset with being a healthy scratch so often, but for the most part he's played smart, disciplined hockey. He has just four points on the year, but he did score in his last game. He's also a minus-6. Basically, it's been an up-and-down, frustrating season for him, and things probably won't get any easier.
When van Riemsdyk get healthy, he'll likely be left watching yet again. That's because for every good thing Carcillo does, he can do a something bad. Take the last game against Montreal. He scored a goal and helped seal the victory. He also took a bad retaliation penalty to negate a would-be Flyers power play, and then got hit with a 10-minute game misconduct. When he's at his best, he's taking the opposition out of its game by being a great agitator, can add a little offense here and there, and will protect his teammates and drop the gloves. At his worst, he becomes a wild man gunning for someone, anyone, takes stupid penalties and let's his temper get the best of him. He'll be fighting all season to get in the lineup. While the team's record with him suggests he should play more, I have a feeling we won't see a ton of Carcillo barring any injuries.
Oskars Bartulis
Prior to the the start of the season, Oskars Bartulis was expected to be battling for the seventh defenseman spot with Matt Walker. By opening night, he found himself in the lineup with Chris Pronger recovering from offseason surgery and Matt Walker suffering an injury in the preseason. The second-year defenseman held down the fort admirably, but it's hard to judge where he's at right now.
Last season, he showed promise, and he did play well early this year. Still, he has only seen action in 12 games, where he didn't register a single point, and he sits as a minus-4 on the year. And by the time Matt Walker got healthy, Walker replaced him in the lineup for a few games while Pronger healed his in-season injury. The jury is still out on Bartulis, but we probably won't see him much if at all the rest of this season. The Flyers are just too deep and talented on the blue line for him to get any significant action.
Update: The Flyers just waived Matt Walker, so looks like Bartulis is the guy should the 7th defenseman be needed.
How do you cap off an incredible day of reveling in the return of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia? By going to the Flyers-Penguins game at the Wells-Fargo Center and witnessing the Flyers snap Pittsburgh's 12-game win streak and reclaim the top spot in the Eastern Conference. That's exactly what I did last night, having the honor to go to the game with Adam EatShit, who repeatedly said on the way down that he had a good feeling about the game despite Pittsburgh's impressive streak.
The Flyers came out last night completely dominating the first 18 minutes of the first period, at one point holding an 11-3 advantage in shots. Every shift was spent in Pittsburgh's end, they were winning damn near every faceoff and, to be frank, the Flyers just looked like a much better team than the Penguins.
They were getting chance after chance, sustaining pressure the entire time, but they couldn't put the Pens in much of a hole. Yes, the Flyers did take a 1-0 lead on a perfectly placed goal by Claude Giroux resulting from hard work by Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell in front of the net, but Marc-Andre Fleury did what he always seems to do against Philadelphia, making some truly spectacular saves.
Then, in the final two minutes of the period, the Pens finally had their first real pressure of the game, spending almost the entire time in the Flyers' end and generating some chances. Pittsburgh was strong on the puck, cycling with relative ease and wearing down Philadelphia's defense. Luckily for the Flyers, the horn sounded before the Pens could do any damage, but there was sort of an uneasy feeling in the building.
The Flyers had completely dominated almost the entire period, spent almost the entire time in Pittsburgh's end, won faceoffs and finished with a 12-7 shot advantage, but only held a one-goal lead against the hottest team in hockey that just so happens to have two of the greatest scorers alive in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. A one-goal lead is hardly comfortable against the Penguins.
Well, as great as the Flyers played in the first period, the Penguins played even better in the first 9 minutes of the second. Building on those final two minutes of the opening period, Pittsburgh came out of the locker room and just absolutely took it to the Flyers. The roles completely reversed.
The Flyers looked sluggish and tired, while the Pens looked hungry. They won damn near every faceoff, rarely let Philadelphia even get through the neutral zone and put on a cycling display I haven't seen since the days of Lindros, Brind'Amour and Otto. That 12-7 shot advantage quickly dissipated, as the Flyers were held without a shot on net for over 9 minutes, and the Pens were peppering Brian Boucher.
Pittsburgh's hard work paid off, frustrating the Flyers and eventually leading to a silly penalty by Danny Briere, though the interpretation of the call didn't sit well with the Flyers faithful. Chasing down a puck carrier, Briere definitely got his stick in the midsection of a Penguin, but then his stick was held by the arm. The call could have easily gone either way, holding the stick or hooking, or even concurrent minors, but only Briere went off. A minute and 10 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin blasted one over Boucher's shoulder for the power-play goal to tie the game.
That was the wakeup call the Flyers needed in the second period, because after that, they really cranked it up. After being dormant for the first 9 minutes, the Flyers once again looked like the team that had owned the first 18 minutes of the game. Claude Giroux was flying all over the place, and all four lines began rolling.
Then, Nikolay Zherdev broke out in a 2-on-1 with Jeff Carter. All night long — and all season long, really — Zherdev had both dazzled and infuriated Flyers fans, something he's made a career of doing. His talent and skill are unquestioned. The man has some of the best hands on the planet. But boy does he have the true European mentality. Because he can do so much with the puck, he often tries to do too much. He was doing that a lot last night, trying to stickhandle between two and three guys at a time, rarely succeeded. But when he broke out on that 2-on-1, he made no mistake, showing incredible patience, moving to the middle and beating Fleury on a gorgeous goal, 2-1 Flyers.
He made it look so effortless, which he often does. Now if he could only harness that and make fewer mistakes, he would really be something. But that's what they've been saying about Zherdev his entire career. Just ask Rangers fans.
The importance of that goal cannot be overstated. The Flyers controlled the play in the first but only held a 1-0 advantage, and PIttsburgh answered in the 2nd. But the Flyers didn't let that deter them, instead turning it up a notch from there, climbing back to even the shots in the 2nd period to 11-11 and going back up a goal.
However, they did once again miss several golden opportunities to distance themselves late. In a rare role reversal, it was the Penguins that began a steady march to the penalty box, giving the Flyers three power plays after Malkin's goal. They were practically begging the Flyers to put them away. But they couldn't, because their power play has been complete garbage. Of those three power plays to close the second period, only one looked remotely competent. The others continued to be embarrassing, getting outmanned in scrums despite being up a player, bad entries, miscommunication, no spacing, not enough puck movement. Name a facet of the power play and the Flyers are struggling at it.
Credit Pittsburgh's penalty kill, no doubt, but man do the Flyers need to work on their power play. It's been a huge problem for nearly two months now. Something needs to be done. And of course I have a suggestion for Peter Laviolette, one that seems pretty obvious to me: Put the Briere line out there as a power play unit.
I really don't understand why Laviolette doesn't put this trio out there together on the man advantage. I really don't. The Briere-Leino-Hartnell line has been the best offensive line all season for the Flyers, dating all the way back to last postseason. All three of them have over 20 points, Briere leads the team in goals (16) and the three of them have remarkable offensive chemistry. Then you add the fact you have a sniper in Briere, playmaker in Leino and grunt guy in Hartnell, and you have all the ingredients needed for a strong power play unit. Put them out there together, Pete. Please. And for the record, my other power play trio would be Richards, Giroux and Carter. No Andreas Nodl, even with as well as he's played. Just my two cents.
Anyway, back to the game. The third started out a little dicey with Briere and Max Talbot getting called for concurrent minors on a holding the stick/interference play, meaning open ice against a dangerous team in a one-goal game. Not something you want. To compound that, Matt Carle foolishly started reaching toward Malkin as the big Russian was going by him heading toward the Flyers line, getting his stick up in the face. Seconds later, Malkin was scoring his second game-tying, power-play goal of the game.
Matt Cooke set up a great screen on Boucher, and Malkin didn't miss. It's bad enough going 4-on-4 against Pittsburgh while trying to protect a 2-1 lead, but it's absolutely deadly go down a man for a 4-on-3 power play. There's just too much ice for guys like Malkin and Crosby to work with. Now the game was tied in the third period. The Penguins came in as the hottest team in the NHL, and ever since the Pens got Crosby, Malkin and Fleury, Pittsburgh has been the team that's taken over as Philadelphia's tormentors, replacing Martin Brodeur and the Devils.
This was the type of game that perhaps even just a year ago the Flyers would let slip away against Pittsburgh, and this was the way they'd let it happen — outplaying the Pens most of the game, taking a few penalties, losing the lead and then falling apart. But this Flyers team is different. Maybe it was last year's inspired run to the Stanley Cup Final. Maybe it was Paul Holmgren doing a masterful job tweaking the lineup and bringing in the best defense corps in the league. Or maybe it's just maturity that comes over time.
Whatever it was, the Flyers weren't about to let the past haunt them. Not one bit. Just like they did after Malkin's first goal, the Flyers responded. They turned it up another notch and started to dominate once again. Clearing the puck out of harm's way, sustaining pressure in Pittsburgh's zone, flying out in transition. Then finally, mercifully, the Flyers answered the bell on the power play.
With the Flyers actually set up in the zone for once, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen played catch with it for a moment. Then Pronger stepped inside with the puck a little bit, looked, and let go a wrister near the top of the circle. Scott Hartnell, playing another tremendous game, got his stick on it and deflected the puck past Fleury, 3-2 Flyers. The irony of it is that Malkin, the player who had made the Flyers pay dearly twice on power play goals of his own, was the guilty party, called for interference.
The Flyers kept the pressure up and really owned the period, outshooting the Pens 14-5, closing the way they started. They kept their shifts short, put on some pressure and played sound defensive hockey. Richards, Giroux and Nodl played the role of shutdown top line, while Blair Betts, Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe put forth perhaps the hardest-working shifts of the night. And Jeff Carter, well, damn. He played perhaps the best defensive game I've ever seen him play.
Carter is known as a great goal-scorer and very sound two-way player, but what he's not known for his winning battles along the boards and playing physical. Well guess what? Last night he was doing all of those things. Beyond winning faceoffs and making plays in the offensive zone, Jeff Carter was playing defense like a defenseman. He was mucking in the corners and winning the battles. And in a rare display, he was throwing his considerable size around. At one point, Sidney Crosby had the puck below the goal line in the Flyers zone. For all his great skill, Crosby may just be the most difficult player in the entire NHL to knock off the puck. He's way stronger than the casual fan realizes. Honestly, he probably gets knocked off the puck one percent of the time. This was one of them, and it was Jeff Carter who did it. He attacked Crosby aggressively, checked him into the boards, knocked him off the puck, stole it and sent the Flyers the other way. It was one of the most impressive plays I've ever seen from Jeff Carter, and if he starts doing that regularly the way Mike Richards so often does, he'll move up to another level. Really impressive game by Carter.
But again, as great as the Flyers were playing, they couldn't put Pittsburgh away. Then when they tried, it resulted in disaster. Up a goal with less than three minutes to play, Mike Richards and Darroll Powe found themselves bearing down on Fleury in a 2-on-1. Richards fired as Powe crashed the net. The problem was Powe crashed too hard, running right into Fleury for a goaltender interference. It was an absolutely stupid play by Powe. I know he was trying to put the game away with a goal, but you can't take a penalty there. Just can't. Especially when the Pens had already scored their only two goals of the night on the man advantage, and the Pittsburgh power play was getting chance after chance. Powe played a tremendous game overall, but that was a killer.
Or it could have been. Instead, the Flyers actually had their special teams bail them out. Betts and Nodl did a nice job early with Giroux and Richards a nice job late, but the star of the final two minutes was without a shadow of a doubt Kimmo Timonen.
I'm not even sure that words can do justice my feelings toward Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers have a ton of players on this team that I love. Claude Giroux is my favorite Philadelphia athlete (along with Cliff Lee) right now. Mike Richards is a warrior. I love the grinders like Darroll Powe and Blair Betts. Andrej Meszaros has been outstanding. There's nothing not to like about Ville Leino, Chris Pronger and Sergei Bobrovsky. But it's hard to appreciate anyone more than Kimmo Timonen.
He isn't just a good player. No, he doesn't put up numbers like Lidstrom and Green and some of the other flashier guys, but he truly is a great defenseman. And I mean great. He does everything right, always makes the right decision, rarely makes a mistake. And last night, he had one of the most impressive individual penalty kills I've ever seen, and it came with the game on the line.
At one point in those frantic 2 minutes, Kimmo blocked a Pittsburgh shot and was clearly stung by it. He immediately dropped his hand in pain. But the puck was still in play, and his team was down a man. So Kimmo wasted no time, went to the corner after the puck, threw his weight into a mass of Penguins, came away with the puck and cleared it. It was truly remarkable.
As the penalty expired, Powe came flying out of the box and gave the Flyers one final clear on a great effort, and the game was over. They killed off the penalty, snapped Pittsburgh's 12-game winning streak and jumped over the Pens to reclaim first place in the Eastern Conference.
Through 32 games, the Flyers have 45 points, the most in the NHL (and one more than the Penguins). They have three balanced scoring lines, a tremendous checking line, six top defensemen, numerous penalty killers and have gotten excellent goaltending by Bobrovsky and Boucher. The only thing missing right now is the power play, and you have think that will come with all the talent on this squad.
Just as importantly, the Flyers for the first time really since Crosby and Malkin came into their own look to be definitively better than the Penguins. They've played four times already this season, and the Flyers have won three of them. No one can match a duo of Malkin and Crosby, but the Flyers are way deeper from top to bottom. And there isn't another team in the NHL that can come close to having six defensemen as good as Philadelphia's.
There's still a long way to go, and a lot can happen, but the Flyers are in first for a reason — they're the best team in the Eastern Conference right now, and maybe the entire NHL.
59-28. 5-1. Two-game winning streak. Three-game winning streak. Right now the Eagles and Flyers are rolling.
What can you say about the games last night? The Eagles completely and utterly dominated from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, blitzing the Redskins for 28 points in the first freaking quarter and doing any damn thing they wanted on offense. And it started on the very first play from scrimmage.
The game was a complete mockery. The Eagles gained 592 yards of offense, controlled the ball for 38 minutes and 11 seconds, and didn't turn the ball over once while intercepting Donovan McNabb three times. Michael Vick played perhaps the best game of his entire career, accounting for six touchdowns — four throwing and two rushing — while completing 20-28 passes for 333 yards and rushing 8 times for 80 yards. I don't care that he missed a couple games due to injury and wasn't the starter on opening day. Michael Vick is your 2010 NFL MVP right now. No question about it.
In all, Vick hit seven different receivers, with all four TD passes connecting with a different guy. DeSean Jackson gained 98 yards on his two catches including the 88-yard touchdown. Jeremy Maclin had 79 yards and a touchdown, Jason Avant 76 yards and a score. LeSean added 51 yards and a touch receiving to go along with 43 yards on the ground. Jerome Harrison had a breakout game, gaining 109 yards on 11 carriers and scoring a touchdown. Everything the Eagles did seemed to work, and there wasn't a damn thing Washington could do about it.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles dominated in the first quarter, forcing three and outs and a turnover, then played more than well enough to win. Dimitri Patterson broke out with two picks, one returned for a touchdown, and showed he is more than capable of being a starting cornerback in this league when you take into account his strong game against Indianapolis.
It was pure domination, and it begs the question … Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC? With the Giants laying an egg against the Cowboys at home and the Eagles responding by thrashing the Skins, it sure looks like it. No one really believes in the Bears, do they? The NFC West is a joke. And the only team in the NFC with a better record than the Eagles is the 7-2 Atlanta Falcons, and the Eagles already beat them.
The Saints and Packers still are right there, and the Giants can't be taken lightly, but the Eagles sure look like the class of the NFC yet again. That's in large part to Michael Vick and the fastest offense on the planet. I mean, who can match Philadelphia's speed on offense? Think about it: Michael Vick is the fastest quarterback alive and arguably as fast as any player in the league. DeSean beat Chris Johnson in Shaq Vs. Maclin is burner. LeSean is a burner. Jerome Harrison even has good speed. This team is scary good right now, and they showed what they're capable of when everything is going right last night. I think it's safe to say no one saw this coming.
The Flyers, on the other hand, are a different story. Adding incredible depth to the defense and keeping the core together, this team was expected to be in contention from the start following up last year's incredible run to the Stanley Cup Final. The only question mark they had was in net, and well, that's been answered pretty emphatically with the play of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Unlike the Eagles, there have been no surprises in the Flyers' play beyond the 22-year-old goalie really stepping up. Everyone expected the Flyers to be one of the best teams in the league, and they are. Currently, they lead the Atlantic Division by 5 points and with their 26 points trail only the Capitals' 27 points in the entire NHL. They've earned at least one point in their last 10 games, going 9-0-1, and recently, they've been absolutely annihilating teams that came in red-hot — a 4-1 over the Rangers, 8-1 pounding of Carolina, 5-2 joke of a game against Florida and then last night's 5-1 domination of Ottawa.
In last night's game, the Flyers scored their first two goals on what can only be described as picture-perfect hockey. Both goals came courtesy of offensive-zone faceoff wins, a quick pass, and a deflection off the point-man blast. The first was by Danny Briere after Ville Leino won a draw to Sean O'Donnell, who passed it point to point to Andrej Meszaros, who fired before Briere redirected the puck in the net. The second came with Giroux winning a draw right back to Kimmo Timonen in sort of a high slot position. Kimmo fired, Darroll Powe drove the net and deflected Kimmo's shot right past Brian Elliott and in.
From there, the Flyers added three more goals, all of which the captain had a hand in and Giroux was on the ice for: a power play goal by Claude Giroux courtesy of a flubbed pass by Richards, a shorthanded breakaway goal by Mike Richards and then an even-strength goal by the captain, his second, assisted by Braydon Cobrun and Claude.
I don't know if the Flyers are the best team in hockey right now, but I do know they are the deepest. By far. They go six deep on defense, and all six are top-pairing level players — Timonen-Coburn, Pronger-Carle and O'Donnell-Meszaros. Plus they have Oskars Bartulis if needed, and Matt Walker soon to return, giving them 6 really good defense and 8 quality defensemen. Then you add the depth up front with four legit lines, not to mention the trio of James van Riemsdyk, Andreas Nodl and Kyle Wellwood all talented players who can fill in when necessary. Mike Richards can does play with anyone — right now mostly with Nikolay Zherdev and Andreas Nodl, though JVR took Nodl's place last night and hit a post while playing pretty well. Giroux is another guy who has moved all over the place, recently settling in with Jeff Carter and Powe. Briere-Leino-Hartnell have been lethal, not missing one beat from last postseason. And Betts-Carcillo-Shelley have all been working hard and playing smart. That's depth no one can match. And it's why this team is rolling.
During games 1 and 2, I was surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Sure, I got pissed at times, and I was into the game for sure, but I wasn't completely blowing my lid at every little thing, even with the Flyers losing two very close, very hard-fought games out in Chicago to begin the Stanley Cup Finals.
That all changed last night.
From the drop of the puck until Claude Giroux's redirection in overtime, I was a raving lunatic — yelling, screaming, blowing my lid. It was me in prime form, miserable for 66 minutes of game action. I actually feel sorry for my roommates. Each time Matt Carle made a mistake, each time the Flyers failed to make the simple play, each turnover, each bad call, each Jeff Carter shift, each little misfire and I was going off, fuming. Even when the Flyers led, I don't think there was a single second of joy — it was all anger all the time, until Claude ended it at least.
Though the Flyers did give me an early reason to celebrate. In the first few minutes, the Flyers came out storming like you'd expect them to do at home, feeling the desperation. They looked good and strong and were working hard. But Chicago weathered the storm, as they say, and started creating chances of their own. Halfway through the first, it was pretty evident this game was going to be a lot like the first two, a tight-fisted affair that comes down to the very end — not the easy 4-0, 4-1 Flyers victory I was hoping for for my heart's sake.
As the tension was building and the game settling in, the Flyers finally caught a break. Marian Hossa got called for a slash, putting the Flyers on the man advantage. Braydon Coburn, who recovered from a very poor game 1 to play an excellent game 2 and even better game last night, started the rush up the ice. He found Briere who entered the zone with speed, got a return feed, fired a shot that was saved by Niemi but gathered by Claude Giroux. Giroux fed Coburn, who launched a one-time laser. Niemi made that stop too, but couldn't control the rebound with his glove. That's when Scott Hartnell, who has been as good as anyone in these Stanley Cup Finals, pounced on it and made a ridiculous blind, almost behind-the-back pass to Danny Briere, who buried the puck in the wide open net.
Once Hartnell made the pass, before it even hit Briere's stick, I was leaping up off my couch and screaming, yelling, "GREAT PASS, SCOTTIE! GREAT FUCKING PASS!" Of course Briere buried it, and the Flyers went up 1-0. It's been unreal just how good this line has been, whether it is Briere, Hartnell and Giroux on the power play, or Briere, Leino and Hartnell at even strength. Easily the best Flyers line offensively this postseason. And they came through again to give the Flyers the all-important first goal in a pivotal game 3.
But my joy wouldn't last long. Already, the referees had blown a play dead for losing sight of the puck on a mad scramble in front of Niemi when the puck was never anywhere close to being covered. The puck was loose with the Flyers buzzing. Yet the referee lost sight of it, which is just inexcusable. I know officials aren't perfect and have a really tough job, but this is the Stanley Cup Finals. It should be the best of the best out there. And it's the referee's job to fight for sight lines to see the puck. You don't blow the whistle when the fucking thing isn't covered. And that was just one of many instances where the referees were awful.
The next came just minutes after Briere's goal. After missing a blatant hook on Briere as he was fighting through the neutral zone, Dan Carcillo jumped over the boards and absolutely plastered a Blackhawk along the boards, with the puck right at the player's feet. It was a perfectly clean, legal hit, a really good hit and great hockey play actually … but the refs blew the play dead and called Carcillo for charging. That was it. I had enough. And I went off on a huge, HUGE tirade. If he had any other name on the back of his jersey (besides, say, Avery), there is absolutely no call there. Why? Because it wasn't a penalty. Not even close. That bogus call was made because it was Dan Carcillo who made the hit. It was fucking terrible. Peter Laviolette had the exact same reaction as me, losing his shit, berating the officials and slamming the glass. It was a fucking horrendous call, and it came with just 1:55 remaining in the first period and the Flyers holding a one-goal lead. I was beyond furious. I mean, come the fuck on. If you're gonna make a call, make a real fucking call. Not some pussy-ass charging shit on a play where the guy took two or three strides before the hit. Un-fucking-real.
Thankfully, the Flyers killed off the penalty with the fervor they have all postseason, with incredible work by Blair Betts and Darroll Powe specifically. And to put the icing on the cake, Dustin Byfuglien and his fat ass made a ridiculously bone-headed play as the horn sounded, getting a little too aggressive in the scrum that ensued as the first period ended. Byfuglien, who has been a complete nonfactor by the way, stupidly threw the much, much smaller Danny Briere to the ice for no apparent reason, earning himself a roughing minor. What a dumb tub of lard.
I fucking hate Dustin Byfuglien. With all my being. And Patrick Kane too. Little fucker with that faggy mullet, chewing on his god damn mouthpiece. I hope something absolutely horrible happens to him. Damn, playoff hockey really does bring out the hate.
After the five seconds on Carcillo's penalty were up to start the 2nd, the Flyers had another power play. They didn't score, but holy fucking shit did they look dangerous on it. Gagne, Richards and Leino were out with Pronger and Timonen, and that quintet was buzzing. Niemi made a ridiculous save on Gagne, but the Flyers got the puck back, and Leino, who was the best skater on the ice for either team last night, made a great feed to Richards. Richie had a wide open net, went down for one of his patented knee blasts … and fucking missed the net. I couldn't believe it. The fucking thing was set up on a tee for him. Leino made an incredible pass. Niemi was down and out. But the captain missed the fucking net. Inexcusable. I started going off, yelling that you have to bury that. You just have to. And boy did it turn out to be an enormous momentum swing.
The Blackhawks dodged that bullet, then got themselves an offensive zone draw seconds later. The Flyers won it back to Matt Carle, but Carle took his good old fucking time making a decision, failed to move the puck and got taken over by a Blackhawk. The turnover kept the play in Philadelphia's end, and Chicago went to work. Seconds later, Duncan Keith beat Michael Leighton thanks to a deflection by Jeff Carter, giving Leighton no chance. As much as I'd like to chastise Carter, who I thought had an absolutely horrendous game with the exception of maybe a two-minute stretch, this one was 100 percent on Carle. His teammates won the faceoff back to him. It was his job to make the right play, get the puck out and out of harm's way. He did the complete opposite, turning it over, and the Blackhawks tied the game because of it.
In a span of a minute, the Flyers went from being up 2-0 to being tied 1-1, all because of two huge mistakes. Richards missed the net when it was wide open, inexcusable for an NHL player, especially an all-star and Olympian in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then Matt Carle failed to clear the puck, turned it over, and it led to a goal. I was beyond pissed off, and I was out for blood. Carle has been fucking terrible so far. He was the worst player on the ice in game 1, still had the jitters in game 2 and was bad again last night. I don't know what the fuck happened to this guy's confidence, but he doesn't have it right now. I couldn't stop getting on him, jumping on his every mistake, of which there were many. Though I do have to give the guy credit, he got better as the game wore on, and he made a huge play to save a goal on a 2-on-1, stripping the puck, and did make some excellent defensive plays throughout. He also made a lot of mistakes, which are driving me fucking insane.
Combine that with Jeff Carter literally not doing jack shit, and I was calling for some changes. Yes, Carter got some shots on net and a few pretty good chances, but you could see him at times not going all out, making lazy passes, looking nonchalant with the puck. It was at the point where I was calling for Carcillo to get back on the ice, begging for Claude to get some shifts for Carter, anything. He was a total nonfactor in the first two periods, and in the first two games. But Laviolette did stick with him, and eventual, just like Carle, Carter got better later in the game. That didn't stop me from getting on those two all fucking night.
Pissed, blowing my lid and watching the officials miss penalty after penalty, high stick after high stick, both ways, I was struggling to calm down. Even with the AC blasting, I was sweating I was so mad. I needed something good to happen just so I could release some tension. That's when the Flyers finally caught a break. Byfuglien — who is very clearly frustrated by Chris Pronger, the first defenseman who's actually pushed back on him — took a cross check by Pronger that wasn't called. In retaliation, he whacked Pronger's stick, breaking it into pieces and getting called for a slash. Stupid, stupid penalty by an increasingly stupid man. Did I mention I hate Dustin Byfuglien? Maybe I should rethink that, because he hasn't done shit so far but hurt the Blackhawks, and he did again here with that dumb penalty.
The Flyers had already scored one power play goal and should have scored another, looking tremendous on both man advantages to that point. And once again, thanks to a vastly improved performance in the faceoff circle and great work along the boards, the Flyers were able to get set up. Claude got the puck back to Pronger, who fired from the point. Hartnell got his stick on it for a great redirection, and the puck trickled by Niemi near the goal line. From the reaction of many players, it seemed to go in, but my initial thought was that it didn't completely cross the line, at least upon first sight. Play continued until there was a stoppage, the play was reviewed … and it was close. Really close. About as close as it could be. But Eddie Olczyk was pretty confident it would be a goal, astutely pointing out that the puck went up on its edge and there was a sliver of white between it and the goal line. I still had doubts, but Olcyk proved to have a keen eye, and the Flyers were awarded the goal.
I was ecstatic. Electrified. Ready to go nuts. Hartnell-Briere-Giroux again cashed in on the power play, Pronger did his thing and the Flyers regained the lead. Peter Laviolette could sense the importance even more. After the first period, he sat Dan Carcillo and Oskars Bartulis, instead opting to go with five defensemen the rest of the way and double-shifting guys to make the lines work up front. In the second, it was Leino who was getting most of the double duty, an honor the former Red Wing definitely earned. Leino was all over the ice, making magical plays with the puck, creating opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. He had that great setup to Richards. And he had many, many more great plays. Laviolette recognized Leino was on another level last night, so he kept sending him out there. Sometime during his tremendous second period, I said to my roommate, "Imagine how awesome it would be see to see Leino out there with Giroux, and a shooter, with what those two guys can do with the puck." Talk about a case of foreshadowing …
Anyway, I was still on edge, obviously. It was a one-goal game, and the Blackhawks have shown they can score. The Flyers needed to play smart, sound hockey the rest of the way to hold on. Instead, they took a delay of game penalty as Scott Hartnell slightly nudged Michael Leighton, who backed into the net and knocked it off during a very dangerous sustained attack by Chicago. Not good. Thankfully, the Flyers killed off yet another penalty, again thanks in large part to Blair Betts and Darroll Powe. I know I've said it a lot this season and these playoffs, but damn, these guys are good at what they do. Betts is relentless at hounding the puck, and he rarely misses an opportunity to clear. His stick is so active it's absurd, and he just has a knack for where the puck is going. He and Ian Laperriere were as good of a penalty-killing duo this season as I've ever seen. And when Lappy went down, in stepped Powe to team with Betts … and the Flyers haven't missed a beat.
Powe has picked up right were Ian left off. Last night, he was one of the best Flyers on the ice. Powe worked incredibly hard to support Betts on the PK, got to many pucks and dished them out, and he was just as good even strength. Powe used his speed and aggression to create turnovers, to get the puck deep, to backcheck, to create things. He was playing so well that he started earning extra shifts himself, skating with Giroux and Asham a bit, and even with Gagne and Richards at times. Laviolette was doing a tremendous job rewarding the players who were playing well with more ice time. That's what a good coach does, especially with his team's back against the wall.
Though even with the strong penalty kill, the Flyers couldn't escape the period with the lead. And I was pissed. All night long, the Flyers were doing the best job I've seen all postseason in the faceoff circle. Claude Giroux was winning damn near every one. Richards and Carter were both getting wins, Briere was improved, everyone. But when the Flyers really needed a win in their own zone late in the period, they didn't get it. Joe Quenneville sent out former longtime Devil John Madden, a man known for his faceoff prowess, to take the draw against Richards. Madden, one of the five faceoff guys I said the Flyers should have targeted in the offseason, won it clean to Brent Sopel. Sopel wasted no time, sending the puck to the net, and the god damn thing somehow found its way past Leighton. I was furious. Furious at Richards for losing the draw. Furious at Gagne for not going down to block the shot. And furious at Leighton for not making the save. He may have been screened a little by Lukas Krajicek, but he should have been able to get around him or tell him to move. It was a pretty good shot, near the far post, but one Leighton should have saved.
Note to the Flyers, faceoffs are fucking important. Seriously, sign an elite guy in the faceoff circle this offseason … and Richie, Carter, Briere, Claude, even Betts (who is actually pretty damn good at draws), take a cue from Sidney Crosby and work your ass off at winning faceoffs. It can be done. And should be. Those fuckers are vital.
So after two periods, we were right back to where we started. The Flyers coughed up two one-goal leads in the second. Not good. And certainly not a good omen. Laviolette had already shortened his bench, planting Carcillo and Bartulis to the bench, and limiting the time of Laperriere, Betts and Krajicek. Could the Flyers sustain their energy for the third period? I sure hoped so, but I was still fuming. Fuming at the refs. Fuming at the Flyers. Fuming at that goal. Really, really, really fuming at Matt Carle and Jeff Carter, who had done absolutely shit until that point. I was saying how if the Flyers aren't even going to play Bartulis, why not just dress five d-men and suit up JVR? Or why bother having Carcillo in the lineup if you aren't going to play him? Yes, van Riemsdyk had an awful game 1 and hasn't exactly been scoring at will, but the line of Giroux-Asham-JVR had been clicking all playoffs, and at least he brings the threat of offense. Carcillo did anything but that last night, falling over himself, turning the puck over a the blue line to lead to a break the other way, showing no hands to play with the playmaking Giroux. It was a bad night for Carcillo. Guess that's why he found himself with the best seat in the house.
I wasn't sure my heart could take the third period. I really wasn't. I was literally a raving lunatic. I couldn't stop going off on tirades, talking a mile a minute, raising my voice louder and louder, feeling like my head was going to explode. Then less than three minutes into the third, with the Flyers buzzing and taking it to the Blackhawks, this fucking happened.
Kimmo Timonen pinched to keep the puck in and did just that. Then he retreated back to his post, only he didn't do it fast enough, sort of lazily striding back even as Patrick Kane was behind him, just looking to get sprung with an outlet. Well, just like that, Leino couldn't get control, Toews did and Kimmo was caught flat-footed. In an uncharacteristic lapse, Timonen didn't get back in time, Toews hit Kane with a perfect pass, and Kane found himself on a clean breakaway. A hundred times out of 100 Kane is going to beat Michael Leighton on a breakaway, and of course he did. After all that work, all that effort, the Flyers found themselves down 3-2 in the third. I lost my mind, going off about blowing two leads, about Richie missing the net, about that goal before the end of the 2nd. I couldn't take it. I had lost it completely. I thought the Flyers just dug their own grave. And I actually wanted to murder someone. I'm not even kidding. I could kill I was so out of my mind.
Luckily, I didn't have enough time to let those thoughts fester. Because just 20 seconds later, the Flyers tied it up. And wouldn't you know it, it came on a play by Claude Giroux and Ville Leino. I seem to recall saying something about wanting to see these two guys on the ice together. Clearly, Peter Laviolette heard me.
Instead of trying to do some fancy shit, a problem the Flyers had struggled with throughout thus far, Giroux just made the simple play, throwing the puck toward the net. The puck went off the defender and in on Niemi, who made the save but kicked it out to Leino, who buried it in the empty net to tie the game, just 20 seconds after Kane's breakaway goal. I was relieved, excited … yet still pissed. And I wouldn't get any less pissed.
The rest of the way, the Flyers completely dominated the third period, just like they had in game 2. They outshot Chicago 15-4 again, put a ton of pressure on, but Niemi wouldn't budge. With each save, I had visions of game 2, with Niemi coming up with big stops, and worried that Leighton wouldn't do the same at the other end. But it was clear the Flyers were hungry, and they were flat-out taking it to Chicago. Yet they couldn't score, even with chance after chance after chance. I was struggling, and Jeff Carter put me over the edge one last time. With seconds left, the puck went down to Chicago's end as Duncan Keith went back to retrieve. Carter should have been busting his ass to pressure Keith, but instead he was gliding. Yes, he did force Keith to ice the puck, or so it seemed, but Carter's lazy skating wasted valuable seconds for an offensive zone draw. Though that turned out to be moot because the god damn officials somehow waved off a very clear, very blatant icing, which almost fucked up everyone's world. Carle went back for the touch-up and rightfully expected an icing call. When it didn't come, Jonathan Toews wound up with the puck in a dangerous position as time winded down. Horrible, horrible decision by the refs that almost cost the Flyers. Luckily time ran out. The game went into overtime, and I was certain I was going to die of heart attack.
During the intermission between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, I was still a complete mess. I turned to the owner of the house and told him if our asshole roommate walked in and even uttered one fucking word at me, I was going to throw a god damn glass at his fucking stupid fuck head. And I would have, and probably would have told him I hope he gets hit by a fucking 18-wheeler. And I would have meant it. Luckily, that asshole never walked through the door. Good thing for him.
Also during the intermission, my other roommate asked who I think was going to score. I said, "Probably Carter, or Carle, because I've been shitting on them all game long."
That premonition almost came through, as Jeff Carter put on the forecheck to retrieve the puck, it squirted to Gagne and Simon fired. It went along the goal line, and several players put their hands up and the horn sounded. And Carter, ever aware, saw the puck wasn't in the back of the net but under Niemi and took a swat, eventually burying it in the back of the net. Even if Gagne's tricky shot didn't go in, I thought, it didn't matter, Carter had poked the rebound by Niemi and in, game over.
The only thing that could keep the game going at this point would be if the whistle blew before Carter deposited it in the net … or the horn had sounded beforehand.
Well guess, what, the god damn horn sounded before Carter whacked away at it. No fucking goal.
If that horn never sounds, the game is over right then and there. No, Gagne's shot didn't go in, but Carter's rebound stuff did. And I don't think Niemi had it covered long enough for a whistle to have blown, meaning had the goal judge simply not had an itchy trigger finger, Carter would have walked away as the hero in a game and in a series where he's been dogshit. Either way, it was great work by Carter, and he actually played decently in the third, with the exception of lollygagging in the final seconds.
I didn't think the Flyers could afford to miss anymore chances. The longer they let Chicago hang around, the worse off they would be. That's when Danny Briere and company came up huge again.
Claude won the faceoff, got it back to Pronger who sent it over to Carle. Carle made a perfect outlet pass to Giroux, who rumbled up ice before spotting Danny Briere at the Chicago blue line. Giroux fed it to Danny and headed straight to the net, and Carle, making the single biggest play of his career, joined the rush. Dave Bolland was left out to dry, and compounded that by making the wrong decision. Skating with Giroux, Bolland left Claude and went toward Briere. Briere saw Carle joining, and made the right play, feeding it to him. Carle wasted no time getting it to Giroux, who found himself all alone in front of Niemi thanks to Bolland's defensive error. And Claude smoothly redirected it right past Niemi, game over, 4-3 Flyers, now a one-game series.
We all jumped out of our seats, going crazy. As I usually do, I started going bonkers, hitting anything in sight out of joy. I got so overexuberant that I completely missed the soft padding on my couch as I wound up for a big slap, whacking my bare hand on the solid wooden corner of the couch. Now my hand right below my thumb is all black and blue and swollen. I hurt myself during a celebration like my name is Kendry Morales.
Speaking of baseball, Jim Joyce should fucking kill himself for blowing that call last night, ruining Armando Galarraga's perfect game. And seriously, Jason Donald (former Phillies prospect traded to Cleveland in the first — see, good — Cliff Lee deal last season), did you really have to run that hard? OK, hard to blame you. If anyone, besides umpire Jim Joyce, we should blame Miguel Cabrera for going way too far off first to get that ball. The second baseman could have easily gotten that and tossed it to you at first. Though clearly, Donald was out. Jim Joyce should kill himself, especially after Austin Jackson made that ridiculous catch to keep the perfect game intact to start the ninth. But whatever.
None of that is important. What's important is that the Flyers won last night, a must-win game at home. What's important is that they are now just three wins away from hoisting Lord's Stanley Cup. Just three more wins. Might as well make it four in a row, end this thing at home, just like you won four games in a row against Boston, which would make it four straight series wins in a row. Just three more wins. Three more.
The Flyers have gone through a lot the past few years -- from an upstart, young team that made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals to underachieving squad bounced in the first round to an injured, uninspired club that cost its coach his job to a struggling team failing to find its footing to hot, then not, to the team that took a shootout victory on the last day of the season just to get into the postseason, a team that upset the No. 2 seed but lost key players, a team that came back from down 0-3 in the series and 0-3 in game seven, to now, Eastern Conference Champs. Through it all, Mike Richards has been the pulse of the team -- from future star and captain in waiting to given too much responsibility too soon to unfit to be captain to the leader behind this surge.
Well tonight, Mike Richards was every bit what you want your captain to be. He led by example. He busted his ass every shift, every second. He could smell the Stanley Cup Finals within his reach, and he was ready to go through hell to make sure he got there. Mike Richards was the best player on the ice, no two ways about it. Way better than anyone else that laced them up. Perhaps better than anyone has been in one game all postseason long. Offense, defense, hustle, physicality, Richards stood out the most in all those areas. He is the captain, the rightful captain, and he was determined to lead his team to the promised land.
Montreal came out expectedly strong, laying it all out on the line, playing like there was no tomorrow (which for them, there wouldn't be, not this year). In the game's first minute, Chris Pronger attempted one of his patented long stretch passes, a thing he has mastered in his career. Only on this occasion, Montreal was ready for it. Roman Hamrlik read it, cut it off and got the puck to Brion Gionta. Gionta pushed it ahead to his former New Jersey Devil teammate Scott Gomez and headed to the net. The normally very defensively responsible Blair Betts read the play wrong and went toward Gomez, who was already being marked by Matt Carle, instead of bearing down on Gionta, who found himself wide open. Gomez wasted no time, slipped a pass through Gionta and the Montreal winger beat Michael Leighton five-hole just 59 seconds in.
Definitely the not the start the Flyers wanted. Not in a closeout game at home. Now the desperate Canadiens had a pulse, had life, had a belief. That's the last thing the Flyers wanted. To compound things, Kimmo Timonen let his emotions boil over just a little over a minute later, getting called for roughing on Gomez, who had been taking little cheap shots at Kimmo all series. That left the Flyers shorthanded and already down 1-0. That's when Mike Richards said enough is enough, tiem to take this game over and demoralize his native country by putting forth one of the single greatest shifts my eyes have ever seen.
A bonecrushing hit to start an odd-man rush, a great pass to set up Braydon Coburn for an excellent chance, great work defensively, and just all-out hustle off an outlet by Claude Giroux, beating both Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Halak, who inexplicably came rushing out of his net despite having a defenseman coming back, to the puck, poking it by with a dive, getting up and calming depositing it in for the shorthanded goal, tie game. That's when I knew they had them. This series wasn't going back to Montreal. Mike Richards had that extra something in his game, the type of step and determination that makes you remember just how incredible he is.
Sometimes people like to question whether or not Mike Richards is a true superstar. All-star and tremendous player, no doubt. But he's not flashy, not the fastest guy i the world, not a 50-goal scorer, so sometimes he just doesn't come across as remarkable, as a superstar player. Everyone seems to take for granted all the little things he does -- killing penalties, winning puck battles, playing sound defensive hockey, not mention his scoring acumen. Then Richards goes out and has a game like this, and makes anyone who questions his superstar status look foolish. There is no debate, none whatsoever. Mike Richards absolutely is a superstar, absolutely is captain material, absolutely is a leader and a winner. He is one of the best two-way players in hockey, and his desire, his will is second to none. He drove that point home with an exclamation point tonight.
The Flyers started to get their game going again, and then after a sloppy start to the second, Arron Asham found himself all alone with Halak for the second time on the night. Asham, who looked faster than he ever has as a Flyer, was all over the ice from the start. He was jumping on loose pucks, breaking away from defenders, stickhandling like Jaromir Jagr. Clearly playing with Claude Giroux is rubbing off on him. After already beating Halak on a breakaway with a nasty move only to fire the puck over the crossbar, this time Asham didn't miss. Matt Carle, who had an up-and-down game (some really bad turnovers, but also this play), kept the puck in and fired it right to Asham, who made a filthy move to beat Halak and make it look effortless while doing it.
A little less than a minute and a half later, it was Richards back at it. Jeff Carter, who looked a little less impressive than he did in game 4 but still good, made a great handoff pass to Timonen, who jumped in from the point. Kimmo quickly fed it behind the net to Richards, who one-touched it to the front to Carter, who then one-timed it off the elbow to put the Flyers ahead 3-1, tic-tac-toe.
Another tremendous play by Richards in a game full of tremendous Mike Richards plays. That was all she wrote for Montreal. The Canadiens weren't coming back from two goals against this team in Philadelphia. Not with Mike Richards playing the game of his life. Not with the unexpected hero Michael Leighton in net. Not with Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger locking things down defensively. Not with Blair Betts, Darroll Powe and Ian Laperriere checking their hearts out. Not tonight. The Flyers were going to the Stanley Cup Finals, no question about it.
Though it wasn't easy. Montreal wouldn't just lay down and quit the way the Devils did in round one. If they were going to go down, they were going to make it interesting. And that little gnat Scott Gomez jumped on a puck that caromed off the boards past Coburn and right on Gomez's stick. He buried it with a sniped shot past Leighton, one-goal game. Even then it didn't matter. Not when Montreal went on the power play, not when they put the pressure on.
Darroll Powe and Blair Betts were relentless on the PK, as were the defensemen -- Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle and even Ryan Parent when Pronger and Kimmo were in the box. Powe in particular had a great game, winning every single battle along the boards and getting the puck out time and time again with the one-goal lead. Richards and Giroux also manned the top of the PK, and were tremendous. Besides hooking up on the first Flyers goal shorthanded, they were smart and effective killing penalties, highlighted late by Giroux's incredible shift, ragging the puck with two and three guys on him to kill off the final 20-plus seconds of a late penalty, something Giroux has made an artform of. They killed off a four-minute high sticking penalty by Chris Pronger, one of their PK mainstays on the blue line, thanks to a helping hand by Ryan Parent. They killed off a penalty by their other defensive stalwart, Kimmo Timonen. They killed them all.
And just when Montreal was looking to make one last push, pulling Halak, the captain rose up and wouldn't let them, relentless pursuing the puck, stripping Tomas Plekanec, throwing it toward net as he tumbled to the ice, where Carter pounced on it and buried it in the empty net to ice the game.
It was yet another insanely awesome effort by Richards. You could tell he wanted this, that this team wanted this. And boy did he and the Flyers earn it. Every single one of them. From Ray Emery's early solid play, to Michael Leighton's regular season heroics to Brian Boucher morphing into Bernie Parent, only to go down and have Leighton return ... and morphing into Bernie Parent. Danny Briere and his sharp-shooting. Ville Leino for never getting down on himself when he was a regular on the scratch list to becoming a playoff standout. Scott Hartnell for putting a terrible season behind him and finding his game again in the postseason. Dan Carcillo and his overtime goal, tenacity and agitation. Simon Gagne and his returned scoring touch. Jeff Carter for coming back and looking like he's never missed a beat. Ian Laperriere for sacrificing life and limb, almost losing an eye, and then coming back with a couple huge, key shot blocks tonight. Blair Betts and Darroll Powe for their yeoman's work. Andrea Nodl for filling in admirably. JVR scoring the biggest little goal of his life. Arron Asham pulling off moves no one knew he had. Claude Giroux continuing to amaze and awe and turn into something special. Kimmo Timonen and ihs understated warrior play. Matt Carle elevating his game. Braydon Coburn finding consistency. Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek not getting overwhelmed. Chris Pronger playing more minutes than anyone and playing each and every one of them better than any other defenseman in this postseason. And Mike Richards, doing everything you can ask a hockey player to do, leading his team in points, killing penalties, throwing huge hits, winning faceoffs, winning battles, defense, offense, special teams, you name it Richards did it. He has been the catalyst. He has been the man throwing himself around like there's no tomorrow. He is the epitome of what a captain should be. Let he never be questioned again.
And Peter Laviolette, boy, what can I say about Peter Laviolette. Master technician, master motivator, master coach. He is the Flyers right now. He's the perfect coach for this franchise, for this team. He's pushing all the right buttons. Now he's pushed this bunch of former underachievers to the precipice of greatness. The Flyers are Eastern Conference Champs. They weren't afraid to touch the Prince of Wales trophy, much the way the Penguins weren't last year. Not after this season, not after all this team has been through and overcome. Mike Richards went right up to that thing and grabbed it by the horns, just the Flyers have grabbed this opportunity and have run with it. Now they need just four more wins. Just four more.
When Michael Leighton went down late in the season — after taking over for Ray Emery, who went down much earlier — and the Flyers had nowhere else to turn but a rusty Brian Boucher, I longed for the days of 2000, when Brian Boucher was a fresh-faced rookie riding a hot streak and playing nothing short of outstanding hockey between the pipes.
Now we face a similar scenario. No, it's not the Eastern Conference Finals, but it is still the playoffs. And no, these are not the same teams, though there are a few familiar faces. For there Devils, Martin Brodeur is still between the pipes, and Patrick Elias, Brian Rolston and Colin White are also still here (in the case of Rolston, back). For the Flyers, there's Boosh and Simon Gagne, at least before he got injured blocking not one but two shots last night in the second period. It would be nice if the new faces can help the familiar ones flip the script from a decade ago, and the sooner the better. It would be in the Flyers' best interest to get this thing over with Thursday in Newark. One thing is certain: If history is any indicator, this series is far from over. The Flyers are in a great position, but there's much more work to be done. It's no time to lose focus or get complacent. Not against this team and this goaltender, even if he didn't look like the same guy from 10 years ago last night, the same guy who was damn near unbeatable in game 3.
I was lucky enough to be at game 4 last night (thanks, Adam EatShit) with uncle jellyfish. I couldn't tell you exactly why, but I had a great feeling about the game all day. Maybe it was because the Flyers saw the best of Brodeur on Sunday and still found a way to win, even with playing a good portion of the game on the penalty kill. Maybe it was because even without the second line scoring, they were still finding ways to get enough goals. Maybe it was just being a homer. Whatever it was, that confidence was quickly shaken when the Flyers hit the rewind button from Sunday and came out taking penalty after penalty after penalty. And I mean one right after the other.
First it was Mike Richards getting sent off for a hook — I should have known things weren't going to go smoothly right away, because Richards literally couldn't control the puck at all, on his first three shifts, the puck was bouncing off his stick like he had stone hands, and it continued all night — and then, before that penalty was even through, Braydon Coburn put on a bear hug and got called for holding, giving the Devils 3:54 seconds straight of power play … before Chris Pronger cross-checked a Devils behind the net just a minute and 8 seconds into Coburn's penalty. With a 52-second two-man advantage, it was only a matter of time before the Devils cashed in, and that's exactly what Ilya Kovalchuk did, putting New Jersey ahead early and silencing the crowd. The Devils had 5 minutes and two seconds of consecutive power play time, with 58 of those seconds up two men. That pretty much negated any momentum the Flyers hoped to carry over from the dramatic overtime victory Sunday, and it took the crowd out of the game, save for a some moans and groans and expletives directed at the officials.
But to be honest, every one of those penalties was, in fact, a penalty. Maybe not in 2000, but certainly in 2010. It's been a problem for this team the past couple of seasons, taking too many penalties, and it put them behind again. As a result of so much time on the penalty kill, the Flyers couldn't generate much offense, and they left the first period down a goal and getting outshot 12-7. Truth be told, they were lucky to come out of all that with only one goal surrendered, and that can be attributed to the tremendous penalty killing of Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts. If you've watched the Flyers all season, you know just how awesome this duo is on the PK, and their work has been as big a reason as any that the Flyers are in control of this series. The Devils have been living on the power play, and yes, they've scored some power play goals, but for the most part, the Flyers have really limited the chance when down a man. Betts and Laperriere have been the biggest keys to that, and last night they were tremendous again. In fact, I thought Laperriere was arguably the best player on the ice, even with Jeff Carter and Danny Briere finally getting off the schnide and providing a huge jolt. Ian was blocking everything in sight, getting his stick in every passing lane, always making sure to pump the puck deep, mucking in the corners and finishing his checks. He was oustanding last night, even when the Devils looked to be in control of the game early on.
However, much like Laperriere's face, things weren't looking so good after one period of play. The Flyers looked flat and undisciplined … but I still didn't feel completely despondent. Even in another season of underachievement, this team has shown time and again that they can come from behind and win. Sometimes that has hurt them, leading to lackadaisical play early on with the belief they can turn it on later. But other times it has been an asset, proving there's no reason to hang their heads when they give up the first goal.
The Flyers bided their time and continued to work. The forecheck was on full bore, and they came out aggressive and hungry in the second period. Before you could blink an eye, the Flyers had turned a 12-7 shot deficit into a 15-13 advantage, outshooting the Devils 8-1 to start the period. Yet the Flyers couldn't slide one past Brodeur for the longest time. He was making all the stops, yes, but he looked a little shaky, was having trouble finding the puck, often fighting it, and scrambling around to track rebounds. Well, except for on this save:
That was just vintage Brodeur. On his back, seemingly down and out, he swipes his left glove hand, flashing the leather and robbing Gagne. The entire Wachovia Center let out a collected groan, astonished the puck didn't go in. That's why the guy is ticketed for the Hall of Fame. Brodeur had no right making that save. Not with that setup, not with the one Flyer who has seemed to have Brodeur's number over the years shooting the puck. But up came that glove to somehow snatch a goal right from the Flyers. Fuck.
Thankfully, that incredible save didn't dissuade the Flyers. Instead, they kept on the pressure, which eventually led to a Rob Niedermayer interference call, which eventually led to Jeff Carter finally burying one of the many chances he's had in this series, penetrating Brodeur for the first time on the night. Unfortunately, some asshole in a Ryan Howard jersey obstructed my view slightly as the play developed, though I did see the goal, and completely blocked uncle jellyfish's entire view, causing him to miss the tying goal. This stupid fuck, who moved at the speed not even a snail could envy, had a cane and bad limp, meaning he knows full well that he doesn't move fast. Yet he still took it upon himself, with the Flyers on the power play with a chance to tie the game in game 4 of a playoff series against the hated Devils, to venture back to his seat right as the puck was being dropped for faceoff. It was the second time this fucking asshole got up in the middle of play, blocking the view with his five-minute venture down the aisle.
This is a message to that asshole, and the other asshole who got up in the 2nd period during play in my row: FUCK YOU AND I HOPE YOU DIE!!!!! WAIT UNTIL A FUCKING STOPPAGE IN PLAY TO FUCKING GO PISS OR EAT OR BLOW SOME FAGGOT IN THE STAIRWELL AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL THERE'S ANOTHER STOPPAGE IN PLAY YOU STUPID, IGNORANT FUCKS!!!!!!! This is playoff hockey people. If you aren't there to watch every god damn second, don't fucking come and spoil it for the rest of the real fans who are there to, you know, watch the fucking game. Seriously, I hope you got that limp in a horrible accident that killed your closest family members and friends, and I hope only terrible, horrible things happen to you for the rest of your life. If I was uncle jellyfish, I probably would have blown my top even more. Either way, he was rightfully pissed, and if he ever sees that schmuck again, it is 100 percent within his rights to fucking kill him. People make me so mad.
OK, got that off my chest. Now where were we? Right. The Flyers. Tie game. Asshole should die. Got it. For the remainder of the second period, the Flyers continued to take it to Jersey, and then Danny Briere joined his linemate on the scoresheet to completely put the 2nd-line scoring slump to rest, firing an unstoppable howitzer of a rising shot, making the glove hand of Brodeur that looked so incredibly fast in that save against Gagne earlier look as though it was fighting to wade through water.
Wow, what an incredible shot. 2-1 Flyers, and the place was rocking. The Devils were on their heels, you could see it, and the Carter line, which had been snakebitten through the first three games, was clicking on all cylinders. Shortly after Briere's laser shot, down came Briere and Carter on a two-on-one. The Devils defenseman did exactly what he's supposed to do, taking away any chance of a pass, but with Briere with the puck, that seemed like a good thing to just about everyone. After all, Danny had just ripped an absurdly awesome shot, picking the corner with precision, and now his hot stick was one-on-one with Marty. But somehow, some way, Briere still attempted to pass it to Carter, despite it not being there, despite having a clear path to Brodeur, despite just picking the corner with a rocket. Of course, it was broken up, and the Flyers didn't even get a shot off. That was maddening. They could have taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the game, but instead they didn't even get a shot off.
That's not exactly something new for the Flyers. To me, even more so that the inconsistent goaltending, penchant for untimely turnovers and poor performance throughout the season in the faceoff circle, this team's two most glaring weaknesses have been passing and executing odd-man rushes, which comes back to passing. Think of how many times the Flyers have screwed up 2-on-1, 3-on-1, 3-on-2 breaks all season long, either with an errant pass, missing the net with a shot, or trying to force a play that's not there. I'd venture to say they are one of the worst, if not the worst, odd-man rush finishers in the entire NHL, certainly the worst in these playoffs that I've seen. And those are big opportunities missed. Just as this one was. Not a single person in the building thought Briere was going to pass that puck except Briere. He had to shoot it. But he didn't. Ugh.
Still, the Flyers went to the third period with a 2-1 lead, had just dominated the second period, and looked good. Though somehow, at the end of the period, the Flyers were called for the only penalty in an after-the-whistle scrum with less than 5 seconds remaining. Here's what happened: A Devil, I think Dainius Zubrus but I'm not entirely sure if that's correct, came flying in and pounded a Flyler near the boards. It wasn't necessarily an illegal hit, but it was definitely a case of a guy taking a run, so when the whistle stopped play, there was a gathering and a scrum. The Flyers didn't take too kindly to the hit, so they got up in some Devils' faces and a slight scrap ensued, from both sides. Yet when the penalties were announced, only rookie James van Riemsdyk was placed in the box. It was bullshit. Listen, at that point, the Devils had had six power plays to the Flyers' three and a couple extra seconds. I'm not going to complain about any of those calls. They were all penalties. Fine. But when there's a disparity like that, especially when the referees were calling a lot penalties very close together on the Flyers, you can't, just can't send one guy to the box in a scrum like that unless someone threw an obvious punch or took a sucker shot. That didn't happen. You have to even it up there. Just have to. But the refs didn't.
I was pretty livid with that, but it was no cause for worry. Well, actually it was, but Betts and Laperriere wiped away any cause for concern with an excellent penalty kill yet again. Betts won a couple key face-offs, and Ian continued to get his stick on every shot, sending most of them into the safety netting. Then, just 4:10 into the final period, game 3 hero Dan Carcillo beat Brodeur again, with what can only be described as a softy. Carbomb, as they call him, wheeled from behind the net, turned and shot a wrister that wasn't all that strong toward Brodeur, and Marty plain missed it. 3-1 Flyers, with the house going crazy as Philadelphia fan favorite Dan Carcillo got Brodeur again. Earlier in the game, when Carcillo drew a penalty, the fat fuck sitting next me told me how he thought Dan Carcillo was a "piece of shit." This "Flyers fan," the game after Carcillo scored an overtime winner to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the series against the hated Devils, after a season where Carcillo cut down on his selfish penalties as the year went on, worked himself up to the top line, found a very nice scoring touch, and played the perfect agitator role with a lot more skill than you'd expect, hated Dan Carcillo. I didn't know that was possible in Philadelphia, yet here we had it. I told him I loved Carcillo, then stopped talking to him. That is, until Carcillo scored the fatal blow to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead, at which time I turned to this monstrosity of a human being and said, "That piece of shit sure is scoring a lot of big goals." Then I never spoke to him again.
The Flyers held a 3-1 lead, and were some 15 minutes away from holding a 3-1 series lead. I knew I felt good about this game for a reason — because these guys were finally, after 82 games that took a shootout victory on the final day of the regular season just to make it to the playoffs, ready to live up to their potential. However, there was cause for concern. Simon Gagne was not taking his shifts, more often than not being replaced by Jeff Carter, and I began to search for him on the bench. He was nowhere to be found, which made me recall the two shots he blocked in the second period. One was by Brian Rolston, and the other from another Devil. On the first one, Gagne was clearly stung, dropping for a slight second and struggling off the ice. But he returned, and that's when I believe the Rolston shot hit him. He looked a little stung but nothing that bad. Turns out, I was wrong, because Gagne did not even come out for the third period, and it turns out he suffered a lower-body injury. Sucks, I thought, but at least the Flyers have Ville Leino to fill in if Gagne can't go Thursday. Leino has played pretty well when given the chance and has a ton of skill. Not the end of the world.
So I watched as minutes later, the Flyers iced the game on a goal by Jeff Carter off a bazooka shot from the point by Chris Pronger. Carter got his second goal, the Flyers held a 4-1 lead, and for the next 10 minutes, they played awesome defensive hockey.
Brian Boucher was brilliant yet again, outplaying Martin Brodeur for at leas the second time this series. He stopped 30 of 31 shots fired his way, doing an awesome job absorbing the puck and limiting rebounds, and he absolutely looks like the rookie that lit the NHL on fire 10 years ago. Betts, Laperriere and Darroll Powe were relentless on the forecheck and in the defensive zone, continuing their tremendous game. Even with Carter and Briere registering three points apiece, I'd argue the fourth line was the best line on the ice last night, Laperriere the best player. That's how good he played defensively. Even Scott Hartnell looked to finally show some life, finishing his forecheck every shift in the third period, playing smart, not trying any ridiculous cross-ice passes or ill-advised drops. Though he still struggled to stay on his skates all night long. It's usually a good idea for an NHL player to know how to skate. But hey, at least he wasn't as awful as he's been in the first three games.
From there, it was just a matter of the clock winding down. The Flyers held on and put themselves up 3-1 in the series. I texted Arkansas Fred to ask what happened to Gagne. He responded that they didn't say anything about it on the telecast. Then he said: "Carter was lucky though cause he was nailed in the leg with that slapshot [by Pronger] that he scored on." I didn't even noticed how bad Carter got hit with it. As it turns out, he wasn't so lucky:
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren issued the following statement on Wednesday morning regarding forwards Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne:
"Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne both suffered injuries to their right foot in Tuesday night’s game. Neither will be available to play Thursday, and both players are listed as day-to-day."
Carter, who led the team in goals with 33 in the regular season and has two goals and an assist in four playoff games, missed eight games towards the end of the regular season with a fractured left foot. Gagne has two assists in four playoff games.
Both players appeared to hurt themselves after getting hit with slap shots last night; Gagne possibly from a shot from New Jersey's Brian Rolston, and Carter when he was hit by a blast from the point by Chris Pronger, in which he immediately deposited the loose puck for his second goal of the game.
Not good. That definitely means Ville Leino is playing Thursday, then either Andreas Nodl, David Laliberte or Riley Cote … or even a 7th defenseman in Oskars Bartulis. We'll have to wait and see. Hopefully both Carter and Gagne are OK, especially Carter, who missed time with a broken foot right before the playoffs, because they'll need those guys. That definitely makes the task at hand that much tougher tomorrow in Jersey, but it can't be used as an excuse. They have to find a way to win, with or without Carter and Gagne, because while we certainly want Brian Boucher to continue playing as he did in 2000, we don't want the same outcome. The Flyers are up 3-1 against the Devils in the playoffs yet again; this time, we don't even want to sniff a game 7.
P.S. Ryan Madson sucks. Let last night's pathetic display of pitching put to rest once and for all any thoughts that Ryan Madson can ever be a reliable closer. The guy is a setup man. He thrives as a setup man. And he sucks as a closer. Horribly. Let us never speak of him as a long-term closer ever again. Thank you.
