Why care??

There is a huge problem in Flyerland. We care too much. Why should we care so much when its obvious that the players dont. They never show up. If we're lucky, they'll give us a period of good hockey. But more often than not, we'll get "efforts" like we saw last night & like on Saturday against the Rangers. Undisclipined, uninspired, & unorganized. Why should they care? They've all got their multi-million dollar contracts, they've got their fame & fortune. They should care for the same reasons the fans care; we are proud of the Philadelphia Flyers organization & what it stands for. We care about the history of the 1970's Broad Street Bullies, we care because of the toughness & grit of the 80's teams, we care because of the Legion of Doom years of the late 90's, we care because of the heart that the teams of the early 2000's showed, we care because we spend thousands of our hard earned dollars each & every year on tickets, jerseys, merchandise, etc, as well as countless hours of watching this "team" play what it calls hockey. If we care so much, why cant they show up for 60 minutes, 3-4 days a week?

Maybe it would be a good idea to get as many "real Flyers" together with this team, like Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent, Bob Kelley, Gary Dornhoffer, Dave Shultz, Tim Kerr, Dave Brown, Ron Hextall, Dave Poulin, John LeClair, Keith Primeu, Jeremy Roenick, etc.. and have them talk to the team. Knowing some of the 1970's guys, Im sure the conversation would go something like this; "You guys are a fucking disgrace, you have no heart, and you have no business representing that logo on your jersey" But Im sure it would fall on deaf ears. After all, these guys have their contracts, their fortunes, and apparently thats what the most important thing is to these guys.

Baby Steps

Bottom line is, we lost. But its the holiday season & I'm trying to look for some positives.

-We got a point in the standings...woohoo!

-They played a full game, and looked pretty darn good. Had Fleury not stood on his head in the 3rd, we would have won

-Jeff Carter showed up. Maybe the trade rumors are getting to him, hopefully this type of effort from him will continue

-Boosh looked great against one of the best offenses in the league

-We hung shift for shift, with the defending champs

Some negatives

-Pronger hasnt looked the same in the last couple games, maybe he's playing hurt a little?

-We didnt get calls. Yeah I know we never do, (especially against the Pens) but Malkin & Hartnell went down, then Malkin got in a couple cheap shots. C'mon, when its obvious, you've gotta call it. Had it been the other way around, you know it would have gotten called.

-Maybe it was just the area I was sitting in, but it didnt seem to be a Flyers/Pens crowd until the 3rd period. However during the 3rd, it felt like a playoff atmosphere

-That damn Crosby scored the shooutout winner. Couldnt have ended worse. Im the biggest Crosby hater out there, but even I've got to admit, the kid has a ton of talent

Ok I just said something nice about Sidney Crosby, Ive gotta go take a shower & wash this feeling off me

Good vs Evil Round 2

Tonight is the type of game you live for as a Flyers fan. Head to head against arguably our biggest/most hated rival-the Pittsburgh Penguins. These teams are slowly becoming the Red Sox & Yankees of the NHL, not because of the successes on the ice, Pittsburgh has only been good for the last few years, and the Flyers havent made it to the finals since 1997.

The Penguins are at the top of my "hate list" Im not talking about just hockey teams, I hate the Pens more than any team in any sport. Most teams have at least a couple guys that I really like, there isnt a single guy on that team that I like even remotely. Their fans act like they are the best in hockey. Ill admit, they have a great home ice advantage now-a-days, but where were all these "fans" from '01-'06? Where were these "fans" when the team was literally hours away from being moved to Kansas City? The answer is they werent even following the team, but now that they are good again (thanks to an incredible 4 year draft run) all the "fans" come out of the woodwork. Now I'm sure that there are plenty of true fans who stuck with the team through thick & thin, but I would say at least half of them are prototypical frontrunners.

The Pens have had our number over the last couple seasons. They beat us in the '08 conference finals and last year in the 1st round, & as well as a 5-4 win earlier this season. Are they in our heads? I cant answer that, but I do know that 2 wins over these guys in the next 3 days may be just the medicine we need to get the season turned around. And I also know (as does anyone who's watched Flyers vs Pens over the last couple seasons) that this will be an incredibly physical affair. Last time these teams played, the game ended with Pronger manhandling Chris Kunitz & Scott Hartnell biting the finger of Kris Letang.

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE & LETS GO FLYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laviolette not being Mr Nice Guy

The one major difference between John Stevens and Peter Laviolette is accountability. The Flyers were a very undisclipined team under Stevens, and still are to an extent so far under Laviolette. Although it seems like Laviolette wont stand for it. Rumor has it that Carcillo got a severe tounge lashing after his KO of Matt Bradley (it will be interesting to see how much ice time he gets in his return tonight) According to multiple articles that Ive read, Laviolette made Danny Briere skate hard, in front of everyone the other day in practice. On the surface, this is the perfect way to handle undisclipined play, if I were the coach, its the way I would do things.

But the risk he takes my being a "tough" coach is potentially losing the players. If they start winning again, then these hard practices might not be an issue. But if they go into January and God forbid even Febuary still playing the way they are and falling more and more out of the playoff race, there is a risk that some guys on the team will grow to hate Laviolette. Im not saying that its right or its wrong, but it would be no different than if you are I were having a bad stretch at work and the boss kept yelling at you. Hopefully every single player on this team will realize soon, real soon that there is no reason why they should be tied with the Maple Leafs!? near the bottom of the east. Time is slipping away quickly, keep coach'n em up Lavvy, and hopefully we get this thing turned around.

LETS GO FLYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss game, apparently I didnt miss much

I was unable to watch last nights Flyers game, so I cant really give an analysis. But from all Ive read, it was a terrible game to watch if you're a Flyers fan. It appears they were thoroughly outplayed on every level. This team is getting hard to watch. Just when you think they will turn it around, (after Tuesday's win) they get outplayed badly in back to back games. They have the schedule from hell this week: @ Boston, @ Pittsburgh, then home against Pittsburgh & the Rangers. I dont think Im being pessismistic in saying that maybe only 1 win this week is realistic, if that.

Im running out of words to describe whats going on. By no means is this season over, they could go on a nice little winning streak over the next couple weeks and get back into the playoff picture, but as each game and each loss comes, thats becoming harder & harder to believe. What I love about this fan base though, is that win or lose, we are always there, we wont abandon the team, lets just hope that they dont abandon the season.

LETS GO FLYERS!!!!!!!!!

Slump? or maybe we're just not as good as we thought?

Quite honestly, Im not sure what the answer to that question is. The Flyers lost 2-0 last night to the Ottawa Senators. Thats now losses in 9 out of the last 11, and shutouts in 3 out of the last 6. The last part of that is what bothers me. This team is stacked offensively, they should be able to score at least 1 goal per game with their eyes closed. Brian Elliot played ok last night, anytime you get a shutout, you must have done something right. But the only quality scoring chance that the Flyers had was Hartnell's breakaway. With the exception of the game on Tuesday, the power play has completely disappeared. I think the McDonalds power play jackpot is up to 3 million dollars or something like that. I mentioned earlier, that I think you have to give them a pass over the next couple weeks as everyone adjusts to a new coach. But the problem is that these games count, and the points that they are losing now are going to effect them when we get towards playoff time.

Which brings up the question, is there a chance that this team dosent make the playoffs? If I had asked that question before the season, everyone would have thought I was crazy. But with the injury problems and inconsistency that this team is facing, it might not be inconceivable to see this team on the outside looking in come playoff time. I dont think it will happen. I think that this team is too talented to miss the playoffs, but if this slump goes on much longer, my opinion might change.

Crisis Over...Flyers back on track to win Stanley Cup

Ok, well not quite. But they are certainly heading in the right direction. Tuesday night, the orange & black dominated the Islanders 6-2. Ive stated several times over the last couple weeks that the Flyers needed a dominating win to get their mojo back-they got it. Ive also stated that the top players on this team need to start stepping up-they did. Richards, Carter, & Giroux each netted 2. The bad news out of the last couple days is that Ray Emery will miss 6 weeks after abdominal surgery. Which means Boosh will be the main man between the pipes. He is by no means Patrick Roy, but if the defense plays to its abilities, they should be ok. Although any lapse in defense/goaltending over the next couple weeks will lead to bad news, the Flyers have tough games coming up. Starting tonight against Ottawa, then at New Jersey, at Boston, at Pittsburgh, home against Pittsburgh, then home against the Rangers. Honestly, I'll be happy with splitting the next 6 games. Realistically, I think that is the best we can hope for.

Back to Emery. It looks like we have an explanation for why he played so poorly over the last couple weeks. This injury worries me. Its very similar to the injury that Danny Briere suffered last season. We all know how that played out. In the lineup, out of the lineup, re-injured, etc. This injury is tougher on a goaltender. Especially a butterfly goalie like Emery. In a perfect world, Emery comes back in 6 weeks, plays a few games, then gets to take a couple weeks to rest during the Olympic break, but as well all know, the world aint perfect.

I think the Flyers have to limit their expectations for him for the rest of the season, and Boucher has to mentally prepare himself to potentially be the starter for more than the next 6 weeks. Yet another reason for the offense (Im looking at you Carter) to step up. They potentially may have to win alot of 5-4 type games, especially over the next couple weeks.