The Flyers had their annual black friday afternoon game yesterday at the Wachovia Center, and if nothing else, it was entertaining. Lots of physical play in the 1st 2 periods which included 2 fights from Dan Carcillo and Ian Lapierrere taking a slapshot right to the mouth which led to 7 lost teeth and over 50 stiches to close the gash...but he came back in the 3rd! Say what you want about hockey players, you cant say they're not tough. Yesterday, Lappy became alot of peoples favorite Flyer.
Now for some thoughts from yesterday...
If Patrick Kaleta dosent get suspended for at LEAST 2 games for his hit on Jared Ross, then Paul Holmgren & the rest of the Flyers front office needs to raise hell. Briere got suspended for 2 games (albeit rightfully so) for his hit on Monday, but Kaleta's hit was far worse. If the league is really serious about cutting down on head shots, then they need to start making examples of guys like Kaleta
Although Carcillo had every right to be pissed off after his 2nd fight with Rivet, (Rivet got a couple extra shots in after they were on the ice) Carbomb needs to control his anger. His 10 minute misconduct really hurt the Flyers-with Ross out for the game & Lappy getting stiched up, the Flyers had to roll only 3 lines for a large portion of the 2nd. Which meant Cote & Nodl had to play a little more than they should have, which is never a good thing
By no means did Emery play great, but I didnt think he was horrible either. There wasnt a goalie in the world who would have stopped the last goal. That one will go down as a canidate for goal of the year
Tonight the Flyers head to the dirty south to take on the Thrashers. We dont have Nitty anymore, so this is no longer a guaranteed win. The Thrashers are a much improved team than what they were over the last few seasons. In addition to Ilya Kovalchuck, they have Colby Armstrong, Maxim Afinigenov, Bryan Little, Rich Peverly, a solid young goalie, Ondrej Pavelec & 2 future superstars-rookie Evander Kane & last years 1st round pick, defensemen Zach Bogosian.
Danny Briere is back from suspension tonight, whether he provides any offense or not, simply having him back in the lineup will help our depth. (the less I have to see Cote & Nodl out there, the better) Brian Boucher will get the start tonight. If he looks anything like he did Wednesday night in Long Island, expect the Flyers to win. The Flyers need a dominating win to help get their mojo back, lets hope they get it done tonight in the ATL.
Prediction:
Flyers 4
Thrashers-1
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