Crap on ice continues

I'll just let Sami Kapanen say it for me.

"It's getting to the point where it's ridiculous," Kapanen said after the Flyers (31-15-9) lost for the fifth time in six games. "The other team is smiling and laughing [while] skating off the ice. At least punish those guys when they have the lead and they're playing like that. We just have to go after them. I don't care what we're doing. We just have to fight a little harder."

Anyone notice what happened in the Rangers game previous? Flyers were sucking, Brashear finally stepped up, handed Orr a beatdown, Flyers withstood a horrible call by the ref, came back from 2-0 and even went ahead 3-2 before eventually blowing the game.

Mostly the Flyers are playing scared and tenative. They're going all out at times but with no direction. How many times have they gone into a scrum digging for the puck tenaciously and if they don't end up losing the battle like they do most of the time, they get the puck and then do nothing with it. They hesitate all the time. They make bad passes. They pass it to guys that are stationary, they have no flow and no aggressiveness. They just wait for something bad to happen which it inevitably does.

McNabb the total chump

McNabb has always annoyed me. I don't like his demeanor, I don't like his robotic monotone news conferences and his constant nose wrinkling, I don't like his constant empty talk about how he's a leader as if he's trying to convince not only us that it's true but also himself, and what's always really annoyed me is his forced, fake jocularity when he's trying to show his "lighter side".

I have to think McNabb is totally insecure and that's why he always feels so victimized -- the most victimized multi-millionaire sports star ever. He STILL whines to this day about the 30 drunks that booed him on draft day. McNabb probably still holds a grudge against the kid that hit him with a snowball in 3rd grade. Now McNabb's latest whine is about what total non-entity Freddy Mitchell (who?) once said and TO's comments from last year's ESPN interview that everyone else had moved past. But the real kicker is he had the gall to call TO's comments "black on black" crime. TO didn't come up with Brett Favre anyway, Irvin did, it wasn't racist at all, but in McNabb's mind I don't think he's dealing with reality anymore. He has to be mentally ill.

McNabb thinks he gets more criticized than other QBs? Remember Jaworski? Booed mercilessly. Fans chanted "Randall! Randall!" as soon as he threw a bad pass and I think he once took the Eagles to the Super Bowl if I'm remembering correctly. If that's too far in the past, remember Doug Pederson? He wasn't supposed to be good but did he get any slack? Elway was constantly criticized in Denver, Phil Simms was booed on draft day too, Browns fans cheered when Tim Couch got hurt a few years ago. Saints fans did the same for Bobby Herbert. McNabb, get some perspective.

It's Eric Lindros all over again. I'm ready to get rid of McNabb, his tiresome Chunky mom, his dumb "black-on-black crime" dad, and all his hurt feelings while he still has value and before he pouts, mopes, and whines, through another losing season. Maybe the Eagles can get lucky and find a modern day Minnesota to make a deal with.

I realize none of this will happen of course because McNabb is Reid's BFF but with McNabb and his pathetic attitude and warped perspective I don't think the Eagles will be any better than last year. The window has closed.

Rangers suck

The Flyers actually showed up for a game and hard work actually paid off. They came out with energy, skated, made quick decisions with the puck, and most importantly, hit people. Richards, who was the only guy playing hard in the last few games, lead his line with Brashear and Savage to the Flyers best chances all game, and in the first Brashear scored a rebound goal. Sike! The ref stole that one away. Instead Jagr, who missed the net all night, got lucky on one and put a shot off the post by Esche. Esche by the way played great in this game and made a lot of really good saves. Hatcher, who became the interim captain before this game, also played great and saved almost as many goals as Esche.

The Flyers continued to work hard but continued to come up empty. If Savage buried half his golden opportunities he would have had a hat trick. Several other Flyers had good chances but also failed to finish. Going into the third it was still 1-0 until Hatcher on a rush up ice scored with a slap shot from the blue line. Sike! Flyers were offside somehow. Who? Who knows because OLN never bothered to show a replay. Another goal stolen. Then after the Rangers went up 2-0 it looked like a loss was inevitable. But about 2 minutes later the Flyers finally got a break as Pitkanen's wrist shot was perfectly deflected into the net by the Rangers Rucchin.

Flyers continued to outwork the Rangers and it finally paid off with Richards beautifully deflecting a Freddy Meyers IV wrist shot to tie the game with 1:38 left. In overtime the Rangers controlled the puck for the entire first minute but never got a good shot. The Flyers only needed possession of the puck once. Pitkanen took a lead pass from Knuble, skated down the wing, and blew a shortside shot over the once impenetrable Lundqvist's shoulder for the victory. As John Davidson said, "Oh boy, what a laser beam!" Eat it New York.

Yawn

I was going to write a post about how the last 2 pathetic Flyers games sapped me of energy and strength and how I didn't really feel like writing about them. And once again my procrastination and laziness have saved me the trouble because Phil Sheridan did it for me. Choice quote from Knuble: "What we have going right now is crap on the ice."

I will add however that contrary to the announcers assessment, Tampa Bay was not playing all that great either, they got some lucky bounces and scored 6 goals on about 9 scroring chances. They went 14 minutes without a shot from the end of the first and into the second period. Of course that stretch had goals bookending it - Modin's deflections that Niittymaki should have saved. Modin's third goal, another lucky bounce, was the first shot Tampa Bay had in the third, 7 minutes in. Flyers played horrible, but the final score wasn't really a true reflection of the quality of the opponent.

In other news, WIP wants to have a "losers parade". To me there would be nothing lamer. There was nothing lamer than the Red Sox fans or Cubs fans and their lovable loserdom. Instead of expressing disgust at Philadelphia's lack of championships, the parade seems to be celebrating it, which is truly, truly the realm of losers.

Another win but another inconsistent effort

Flyers improved their record to 83-18-8 all-time at home against Pittsburgh last night but it should have been a lot easier than it was. Flyers dominated in the first but once again only managed 1 measley goal. They did go up 2-0 on the powerplay in the second with Nedved's first goal after a lucky bounce off the backboards. But from that point on they were outplayed. This team works really hard, outplays, and outchances the opponent then they think it's going to be easy, they start relaxing and before they know it the game is tied. Hitchcock needs to fix this. But in the end it was Knuble, who fumbled and bumbled the puck all night, being clutch again and deflecting a Hatcher shot to put the Flyers back on top, 3-2 with 2 minutes to go. Flyers received their last big break of the night when a last second shot by LeClair went through Niittymaki, sat in the goalmouth behind him with Crosby skating by but unable to poke it into the open net. The Penguins have to be the most frustrated team in the league right now. To end the night Richards knocked down Shane Endicott with a (glancing) right. They showed Brashear on the bench watching. Hopefully he was taking notes. In other news, Sim was traded to Florida for a 6th round pick.

Another road game, another win

There is one threat on the Penguins team and that is Crosby. He was pretty well contained but the Flyers still only eked out a 1 goal win. Flyers were helped tremendously by the Penguins inability to hit the net with their shots or score on the powerplay. They still outshot the Flyers however 33-26; imagine if they had aim. Esche in his return also played surprisingly good. Nedved did nothing of note this game and I don't see him doing anything of note the entire time he is here. He's one of those Bob Clarke specials only this time he arrived 2 months early, kinda like the Flyers swoon and the Spring weather.

Other notes: With Pitkanen out again and Frederick Meyer, IV in the box for stepping up and fighting, the Flyers only had 4 defensemen in the latter stages of the third when the Penguins really made a push. This NBC broadcasting team was superior to last week's. Although he looks somewhat ridiculous where he's stationed, Pierre McGuire's comments during the game were really good. He wasn't afraid to voice a strong opinion and called several players weak efforts "terrible". Also Davidson's praise of often overlooked Handzus was surprising. "Kudos" to Davidson for noticing. Carter should have had a goal on the 5 on 3 but he made up for that by being alert during the next power play when he caught Fleury cheating. That Ovechkin goal was pretty nice but c'mon, half of it was luck. If you can help it, don't put Knuble or Nedved on the ice at the same time. Lots of nice hits this game. Crosby needs some help.

Another weak game

Game notes:

• Even though the last place Bruins had a season low 18 shots they scored 5 goals.
• Boston scored 3 goals on just 5 shots in the second period.
• The Flyers trend of out shooting and out chancing the opposition and still losing continues.
• In the second period if Gagne doesn't hit the post or Sim buries that shot to tie it up at 2 apiece this game might have ended different.
• Niittymaki looked slow and out of it in this game. Will Hitchcock put Esche in vs. Pittsburgh or will he just be the backup?
• Maybe because of the recent spring-like weather the Flyers have begun their annual March swoon in January this year.

Flyers blow it

Flyers are falling into an unsettling pattern that started in the Blackhawks game - dominate a team for long stretches but fail to score and put the game away. They did the same exact thing tonight vs. Carolina. They dominated the entire 1st period as Carolina didn't even have a shot on net until 16 minutes or so were gone. But what was the score? 0-0. Flyers didn't dominate as thoroughly in the second but did control play and had way more offensive zone time. They also had an extended 5 on 3 on which they barely mustered a shot as the power play was once again pitiful all game. It took an incredible pass from Therien (of all people) right on the tape to Carter who made a great move on the breakaway for the Flyers to finally take a lead. So after dominating for 2 periods they had one measly goal to show for it. You knew what was coming next.

Carolina controlled the third with the help of some really poor and sloppy defensive zone play by the Flyers and of course tied it up. Flyers controlled most of the overtime but didn't score. The shootout came and Gagne once again blew it. I don't think he's scored once all year in a shootout or even an in game breakaway for that matter. He missed 2 of those tonight. Niittymaki was terrible in the shootout as well. Guys didn't even put a move on him, they just blew them by. Fortunately for the Flyers shootouts are bogus and aren't really hockey at all so they will not have to worry about it when the playoffs begin.

Other notes: Flyers need to fight more. Brashear, earn your money and take on the guy that put Johnsson's head into the glass. Pathetic.

Worst refereeing ever

The toughest adversary to overcome in this game was not the Colorado Avalanche, it was the worst refereeing I've seen in years. Don Koharski, you suck but Stephane Auger, you by far are the most execrable piece of garbage to put a whistle to your lips in a decade in any sport. There was not one legitimate call (aside from the non-judgment high sticking ones) in the game either way by this inept crew. And of course they basically decided the outcome of the game, not the players on the ice. I certainly hope the Flyers and Avalanche both send tapes of this game to the league and ask for explanations. Please explain to Colorado how a Flyers player holding a stick results in a hooking call on the Avalanche. Then explain how a totally legitimate, from the side, body check into the wall is boarding to the Flyers. Explain to the Flyers exactly what a tripping call is. Is it when you jam your stick into a players skates and make him fall or is it when a player twists and contorts himself into a position where they lose their balance and fall by themselves? And then explain how every single semi-breakaway rush up ice results in a penalty, usually on a player that is doing nothing at all but playing defense. The absolute worst.

Anyway, I think the Flyers did their best to overcome the refs. They dominated territorially for large stretches in the game. The Avalanche would answer with rushes but not too much sustained pressure. Then the refs would issue their salvo resulting in the only sustained pressure the Avalanche had via the powerplay. In the end, the refs won.

Even though he is a whipping boy, Knuble came to the fore again when it mattered. He made a great shot to get within one and his rush up ice was really nice too for the tying goal. No other player in the league though would have scored that tying goal. Only Forsberg has that skate to stick ability. Flyers penalty kill I thought was once again really good with Niitymaki being the anchor but sometimes their powerplay is really frustrating to watch. After having a point stolen from them the Flyers need to use this game to get angry and start playing that way. It would be for their own good.

Other notes: I am unimpressed with NBC's coverage, their dumb "scoreboard", and their announcers. And enough with Mark Messier. The year is 2006 and they're feting a guy who's last good season was 10 years ago. I watched America's Test Kitchen cook pork chops on PBS instead of NBC's intermission snooze fests. Try and sell the league, not some washed up Ranger. Also, some of the "lesser" players need to start scoring some goals. That means you Carter, Richards, Savage, Umberger, and the rest.

Update: "We made a hell of a comeback. We played a really good hockey game, but the second penalty in the overtime was a dive," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Everybody on the ice knew it. Their bench knew it. It was a dive. He grabbed [Rathje's] stick and went down."
(...)
"What's hard is when you are shorthanded and then are shorthanded again on a dive," Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock can expect a fine for daring to state the truth.

Lame

Flyers looked like they were scared in this game, scared af a bunch of 40 year olds. They stood around watching, were full of hesitation, had terrible power plays, way too many careless turnovers, and worst of all didn't hit anyone. When Kapanen has the biggest hit of the game for you you have a problem. When is Hatcher going to step up or did he become a hippie during the lockout?

Despite the final of 6-3 the Flyers did have a chance in this game. In the first period, largely thanks to Richards, the Flyers had several power plays which were all squandered. Then Savage scored in the second but one of the weakest calls in history of sports nullified it. Maybe the ref didn't think Savage could possibly have scored without cheating? If the refs are going to call Savage's bump a penalty they might as well rename the sport "prissy". So weak. After that the Redwings took the lead with a powerplay goal and the Flyers were playing catch up for the rest of the game.

Other notes: They need to white balance the cameras in Detroit. Dornhoffer was extra critical this game and sounded very disappointed. The penalty kill was actually pretty good. Despite the final score, Niittymaki played great but he can't be expected to stop every 2 on 1. Detroit had 42 shots. Seidenberg was pretty bad. Legacy is not a good goaltender but does Detroit need one?

Blackhawks downed

The Flyers deserved to win this game but they made it way harder than it should have been. Through the first two periods it took on an eerie similarity to Flyers teams of the past - complete domination, huge advantage in shots and attack time, but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Chicago would get one great chance to score and put it in; Flyers would get 10 great chances and miss. Nice shot Gagne. But in the end Mr. Clutch, Knuble, scored another go ahead goal and Richards put one by Anderson to "seal the deal."

Other notes: Imagine if Knuble was a really good player instead of just good. All those passes he fans on would be in the back of the net and he'd have 20 more goals. The Flyers were not shorthanded once the entire game if you can believe that. Only a concurrent minor was assessed to Radivojevic for roughing. This game was boring.

Can't win 'em all

Flyers actually started this game pretty strong and had their best chances in the first. If Richards hits the gaping net from 2 feet away or Radovoawhatever puts that Handzus feed into the far side of the net like he should have, the Flyers probably win this game. And you knew the Devils would get one lame chance and put one in. Niittymaki did not have his best game and he looked lazy on the first goal and not so great on the third one. With the team struggling and playing with no energy, why did no one try to pick up the Flyers by dropping the gloves, especially after the Gomez goal? Brashear not only are you worthless as a hockey player, you're quickly becoming worthless as a goon as well. Nice penalties by the way.

Other notes: Is Kapanen really the key to this teams success? The penalty kill was poor last night and there was no offensive push from any line except the Forsberg one. Flyers powerplay is pretty anemic and predictable as well. Get in the zone, Gagne plays with it along the side boards, he dumps it down to Forsberg in the corner and goes the net kind of lazily. Forsberg plays with it some, looks to pass, no one is moving, passes it to Johnsson at the point, he skates to the center of the ice and then passes it back to Gagne, repeat this sequence until a weak wrist shot is blocked out high and cleared or Forsberg plays with it so long he gives it away.

We're #1

By defeating the lowly Southeast division cellar-dweller Capitals 3-1, the Flyers became the first team to 60 points and now lead the entire NHL. 41 games down, 41 more to go until the real season starts.

Flyers started somewhat slow in this game and were whistled for 4 penalties in the first period, Therien of course with the first. Ovechkin took advantage of the second and scored with a nice slap shot. He's good, but when he scores he celebrates like he won the Stanley Cup and it's corny. Anyway, the Flyers once again took control in the second and scored 2 goals, Rathje's shorthanded rush being the best and the turning point in the game. I loved that goal. Gagne tapped in the second of the period on the power play. Even though they scored on one, the Flyers power play was brutal in this game. In fact, both teams put on a fine display on how not to run a 5 on 3 advantage. Flyers being extra pathetic because Washington is dead last in the league on the penalty kill. During the third the Flyers played some good defensive hockey with only Ovechkin posing any threat. Forsberg, who had way too many give aways and sloppy plays again, scored an open net goal to ice the game.

Other notes: The refs sucked. Niittymaki played great again. Hitchcock probably won't say it, but he's the number one goalie by far. He does almost everything better than Esche but handle the puck. On this run I can't think of one soft or back breaking goal that he's let in. He's made the big save every time it mattered. Hatcher has also been playing great. Tonight he seemed pissed and he hit more and he needs to do that every night. My only complaint is his play at the point. Next up, the hated Devils who must be crushed.

Rangers suck

Ah, it feels good to be able to stoke the fires of hate to full flame again. The Rangers currently have the longest streak in the NHL of missing the playoffs (in a league where everyone makes the playoffs) so all that I've been able to muster in the last couple of seasons was a strong dislike of the team from NY. But since the rule changes, the Rangers cadre of spineless figure skaters have been given new life and they are once again worth hating.

The Flyers started the first period strong, took a lead on a Meyer power play goal, and then got totally outplayed. Their 2 favorite strategies seemed to be backing into the zone and then standing around watching the Rangers dominate them. In an attempt to get the team going, Ben Eager, showing up Brashear once again, took on Hollweg, the punk that gave Seidenberg a concussion on opening night, and bloodied him. This did not work however and the Rangers went into intermission leading 2-1 after Straka scored on a breakaway while Rathje picked his nose. Niittymaki's big weakness is to the stick side. In shootouts he gets beat there all the time and Straka beat him again there tonight.

Second period was much better for the Flyers after Hitchcock probably screamed at them for 15 minutes and regaled them for 5 with inspirational stories about General Grant. Johnsson scored the most impressive goal of his career with a Bobby Orr like end-to-end rush and Savage picked up the trash and the Flyers regained the lead. Both were power play goals. So much for the Rangers best penalty kill at home stat.

During the third period the Flyers reverted to the first period form and were once again badly outplayed. Jagr found Straka wide open again with a nice pass and Straka buried it to tie the game. I think Handzus was probably the guilty party there with an assist to Umberger.

But in overtime off the opening faceoff Jagr let Gagne skate by him and then peeled off and watched the puck hit the back of the net after going 5 hole through weak Weekes from a bad angle. My hatred was rewarded.

Other notes: Great hit on Jagr by Richards. Carter needs to stop missing the net and start burying his chances. Therien has returned to Therienable status. Rathje seems to be struggling lately as well, maybe it's from being paired with Therienable. MSG ice is terrible. Nice one Coates - "Go down young man!" And someone help figure this out; according the the Flyers broadcasting team, Jagr is the best in the league, but Forsberg is the best in the world, while Johnsson is too good for the league. Boggles the mind.

A moral victory - Cowboys don't make the playoffs

Well, McMahon waged a valiant effort. He did battle with his prolific ability to suck for 47 minutes and won. But in the end he was unable to hold back the tide and he threw a killer interception that lost the game. But he is showing progress - that interception was not returned for a TD. However, the defense took care of that oversight on the very next play in a textbook demonstration of how not to tackle. Which is somewhat of a shame since they played pretty good for most of the day.

And so ends one of the worst seasons ever. Who on the team don't you want back next year?