Pathetically swept

Flyers finish what started after the All-Star break with a pathetic series vs. Boston and were pathetically swept. They didn't show up for the last half of the season, didn't really show up vs. Buffalo (but it turned out they didn't have too because Buffalo just wasn't that good), and only showed up for 1 period out of 4 games vs. Boston.

So a season of great promise that started AWESOME ends in shambles thanks to a sputtering offense that couldn't finish, a horrible defense and a coach that had no answers - the Eagles on ice.

A thorough evaluation of the season will be coming in a few days naming everyone that sucks and why they suck and who must go. But feel free to get a jump on that in the comments.

Flyers suck

Flyers suck. There will be no miracle comeback this year. Boston is the superior team.

Other notes:

• Start Bob for game 4.
• Flyers suck.

Flyers lose game 2 and maybe the series?

Here is one thing you'll never hear: "The Flyers goalie stole this game." We heard it twice for Ryan Miller in Round 1 and now once with Tim Thomas in Round 2 for his effort in this game. Flyers goalies only blow games, not steal them.

The Flyers started great, with JVR scoring on a 2 on 1, 29 seconds in. Then JVR even got a power play goal to put the Flyers up 2-0. But Boston got one back and shortly after that the familiar refrain of "Boucher would like to have that one back." was uttered for the umpteenth time.

The Flyers were outplayed and even dominated in the second, but the game stayed tied at 2-2. The Flyers then dominated the third with "10 bell chance after 10 bell chance," but nobody could beat Thomas. Probably every forward on the ice blew a golden opportunity. Or looking at it from a Boston perspective: Thomas made great saves. But one save Thomas didn't have to make came with 4 seconds left as Briere was looking at a wide open net but fanned and then Thomas saved the second try. Despite outshooting Boston 21-7 in the third you started to get that feeling...

In ovetime the Flyers had the better chances early and even nicked the crossbar. Then Carle, who should not see the ice in an overtime gave it away, but Peverley rang it off the post from 40 feet away. Boucher was beat. Flyers hit the post again themselves a little later. Hartnell made a great block of a Recchi shot to extend the game for at least another couple minutes. But then Timonen blows it, gives it away and Krejci buries it off the back crossbar for the OT win. The refs remained clueless that he scored, but replays confirmed the 3-2 Boston victory.

Other notes:

• If there was any justice in sports JVR would have won it in OT after his great effort and probably greatest game of his young career. But that's not how sports work. It isn't some corny movie following a script.
• Do the Flyers now have Boston right where they want them? Or do they have to lose 1 more game?

U-S-A!

As the Obama news hit the fans, they spread the word quickly, and then chanted U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A! For all the classless talk about our fandome, at least we can now enjoy some national attention for sharing in the moment honorably. And, sure, it's not like this killing will end the terrorism, or justify the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the hunting (dare I guess billions?), or justify the number of lives cost trying to kill this one tyrant... But it is a nice emotional victory, and it's a great tribute to those that orginally lost their lives in the WTC and Pentagon, as well as those who have died in service since then, especially the honorable efforts in Afghanistan.

I was there on Oct 7, 2001, when Dubya came on live in the Vet Phanavision announcing that we had just started our mission in Afghanistan. Was that the Cardinals game where Jake The Snake beat us on the last drive when Troy Vincent let behind him the Cardinals WR with essentially no time on the clock. This couldn't have been better than that, but it was another nice opportunity for the fans to resume that same chant, "U-S-A!"

Eagles 2011 Draft

The Eagles drafted 3 offensive linemen, 3 linebackers, 2 running backs, and 1 each of safety, kicker and cornerback. They drafted no defensive ends. I'm sure all the picks are "high quality good kids, smart, and captains of their teams."

According to the "experts" that are not employed by an NFL team, the Eagles first and second round picks were guys that were projected to be drafted lower. But I don't think that is really important except a couple years down the road when we look back and see who the Eagles didn't pick. Let's hope most of these guys can play.

ROUND 1, pick 23: Danny Watkins, G, FIREMAN, 6-4, 310, Baylor
Watkins used to play hockey and was a goon and used to be a fireman. He didn't play football until he went to Junior College where he wanted to learn to be a better fireman and apparently got good really quick at football instead and then transferred to and excelled at Baylor. He apparently will be a guard in the NFL because he's not athletic enough and doesn't possess the quick feet and good lateral motion necessary to play tackle. Howard Mudd supposedly loves this guy. At 26 years old he is the oldest player ever drafted in the first round and will be 27 in November. Did you know he used to be a fireman?

ROUND 2, pick 54: Jaiquawn Jarrett, S, 6-2, 195, Temple
The Eagles apparently fell in love with this guy watching him play against MAC competition. He only had 2 interceptions all last year and has a mediocre 40 time, but apparently he plays very instinctually and can hit. While his tackling is fundamentally sound, his coverage abilities appear to be less so. Jarrett says his role model as a safety is Jack Tatum and loves his playing style from watching ESPN clips. Unfortunately for Jarrett, Reid was dumb enough to compare him to Dawkins. Right. Some say he might be more of a free safety, so what about Nate Allen? And see ya Quintin.

ROUND 3, pick 90: Curtis Marsh, CB, 6-1, 193, Utah State
This guy played cornerback for just two seasons in college, and only one as a starter (but that's more than Castillo has ever been a defensive coordinator), so he is another player that is going to need a lot of coaching to get up to NFL speed. Oh wait... He is big and tall with long arms, but is seen as a raw prospect. His former position was running back so I'm going to assume he has some hands and can catch, which only Samuel seems to be able to do consistently in the Eagles secondary. His father, Curtis Marsh Sr., played three seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers if that means anything.

ROUND 4, pick 116: Casey Matthews, LB, 6-2, 235, Oregon
This guys claim to fame is his last name. I'm going to predict he doesn't share the talent and ability of his family members and will mostly make an impact on special teams and not the linebacking corps. He does possess the same good hair of his brother, though. Eagles fans of course already love him. Must be from all those Oregon games they've watched.

ROUND 4, pick 120: Alex Henery, K, 6-2, 175, Nebraska
The Eagles made Henery the only kicker picked in this draft and the highest drafted kicker since 2006 when New England took Stephen Gostkowski at #118. Most say the Eagles reached taking a kicker this high – no kickers were drafted last year. But Akers didn't sign his tender after the Eagles franchised him and we all know what that means. And you don't waste a 4th round pick on a kicker and not keep him and he did make 68 of 76 FG attempts at Nebraska. See ya Akers. Bonus: Henery can also punt! So we can keep Rocca until it gets cold and then have this guy punt too and free up a roster spot. Henery will also be the latest athlete in town whose name will be perpetually butchered by the locals.

ROUND 5, pick 149: Dion Lewis, RB, 5-8, 195, Pittsburgh
LeSean McCoy said on the Twitter that Reid took his advice with this pick as this guy was his backup when McCoy was at Pitt. Like McCoy was when he was drafted, Lewis is being compared to Brian Westbrook as every shortish RB that is shifty/speedy and can catch will be for the next 10 years or more, especially if they are picked by the Eagles.

ROUND 5, pick 149: Julian Vandervelde, G, 6-3, 300, Iowa
Vandervelde sings opera and sang the anthem when Obama visited Iowa a few years ago, is supposedly really smart, is a nerd that likes Dungeons & Dragons, is well coached and is quick off the ball, can probably play center too, and most likely will warm the bench if he makes the team. Todd McShay predicted he would be this year's "Mr. Irrelevant," but was wrong. (shocking!)

ROUND 6, pick 149: Jason Kelce, G, 6-4, 283, Cincinnati
This seems to be a depth pick or a project pick. Kelce though is very quick for being so big, running a 4.89, 40 while weighing 283. He originally was a walk-on linebacker who later transitioned to OL and played both guard and center at Cincinnati and made second-team All-Big East at both positions. Last name will also provide correct pronunciation difficulties.

ROUND 6, pick 149: Brian Rolle, LB, 5-11, 218, Ohio State
This guy seems kind of small to play linebacker in the NFL, but maybe he's fast and can cover a tight end. Probably will make more of an impact on special teams.

ROUND 7, pick 149: Greg Lloyd, LB, 6-2, 234, Connecticut
Lloyd's dad is the son of Greg Lloyd Sr, the Steelers former All-Pro player. Father and son are estranged though apparently because of the dad's abuse and some incident involving a gun. The dad was an Eagles linebackers coach for a brief stint a few years ago. Lloyd had knee surgery his junior year and barely played his senior year when he was still recovering. He's very athletic though, is a big hitter and his combine performance was good! Sold! Another special teams guy looks like.

ROUND 7, pick 149: Stanley Havili, RB, 6-1, 230, USC
A possible fullback to come in if Leonard Weaver is still recovering. But he's probably too small to play fullback in the NFL even though he can catch and can block. Probably a cut or practice squad dude.

Wonder if we'll see these new guys play at all this year. Must suck to be a rookie right now.

Pathetic

Flyers were drubbed SEVEN to 3 and barely competed the entire game. I wonder if they realize they are in the PLAYOFFS, not an exhibition game, and no longer playing the Buffalo Scrubs, but a real team. Everyone was terrible, but especially the defense and goaltending. How many unchecked, untied up forwards will get tap ins? How many too slow to react and bobbling goals and squibbers can these AHL clowns in net let in? Everyone also includes Laviolette as the broadcast noted the poor matchups he created despite having the last change. His refusal to adjust was Andy Reidesque.

Other notes:

• Thomas is eminently beatable. His mask is stupid too.
• Boston's powerplay sucks, but Flyers are giving them a run for their money in terribleness.
• Please refs, call real penalties not taps and nudges. You're making the game a sad joke.
• If his every shot wasn't easily blocked, will Timonen ever manage to get one on net?
• Pronger and Carle were both -4 for the game. Powe was also -4 despite only playing 6:49.
• The fourth line was terrible.
• The only players that weren't a minus were O'Donnell, JVR, Giroux and Zherdev with zeroes.
• The Philadelphia Tea Party shirts were terrible. Great idea Snider.

Why the Bruins suck

On Saturday April 30, The Flyers will again face the Boston Bruins in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Most fans remember what happened last year, but in case anyone forgot, the media is awash with "incredible comback/epic collapse" ledes like this one from Boston.com

As the man behind the moves to improve the Bruins following last year's meltdown against Philadelphia, GM Peter Chiarelli can't be happier about another crack at the Flyers.

or Fox's

While the Philadelphia Flyers long will be remembered for their epic seven-game comeback against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, there's little doubt those same players would prefer to take a more conventional approach this spring when the teams face off once again.

This crap is as predictable as a Benny Hill joke. Willweeverwin looks to rise above such lazy journalism by giving Philadelphia fans 5 other reasons to hate the Bruins:


5. Dennis Leary



An alleged comedian who appeared in the film Operation Dumbo Drop and several annoying Ford truck commercials. Bruins Fan.


4. Jay Miller



The 1980's Bruin goon with the Magnum PI mustache was probably the only dude who more often than not would get the better of Dave Brown.


3. The Dropkick Murphys



As a union man of Irish decent I can certainly relate to this band and even enjoy some of their albums. But somewhere in the early part of last decade this band became a parody of themselves, with every song being about Boston, drinking, or drinking in Boston. To no one's surprise, the band's music began to be featured at Fenway Park and the Garden. Far from being insulted that "toonie" clowns at Celtic games were singing along to their hits, the band instead began to purposely write songs to achieve more sports airplay. Sellouts.

2. Ben Affleck



The man who is responsible for Jersey Girl, Gigli, and Daredevil. Bruins fan.

1. Jack Edwards




Philadelphia has its share of homer announcers (Larry Anderson) and idiot announcers (Chris Wheeler), but Edwards combines idiocy with homerism in a synergistic package that would make any sane individual hit the mute button. Yet he is adored as a hero in Boston. In Jack Edward's mind, a Boston Bruin has never committed a penalty or lost a fight, and the Bruins did not really blow a 3-0 lead in game 7 of last years series.

Not a sweep, but too much Heat

I'll say this for the 76ers: They played with the maximum amount of heart and intensity against the Heat in games 4 and 5, and never backed down an inch.

In game 4, that effort left them down 4 points late, but two clutch 3-point bombs from Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams gave Philly the lead, and a missed LeBron James runner and two free throws from Evan Turner sealed the win.

Those 3-pointers were the kind of killer clutch buckets the Sixers don't get enough of, and they'd be sorely needed if this series had any chance of continuing past game 5. They didn't arrive, though, and the Heat closed out the series as expected.

The Sixers were feisty, the game was chippy, and future Heat opponents probably got some good ideas on how to defend Miami's James/Wade/Bosh trio, but as close as the game was it never really felt like the Heat were going to lose as they could pull out a six- or eight-point lead again every time the Sixers got it close.

So, short of trading Andre Iguodala, the Sixers could now be stuck in that roster limbo for teams good enough to barely make the playoffs.

Luckily, most Sixers fans would have no problem seeing Iguodala go. Short of the team somehow signing a superstar, Iguodala will go on thinking he's "the man" on the team and throwing up too many jumpers when he should be driving and getting to the foul line. He's a good player — a solid if overrated defender who can get to the basket and push the ball in transition — who would best be served on a roster where he filled in gaps next to a star or two instead of being promoted as the franchise's best player, which he no longer is in Philly.

I would think/hope the team knows it at this point, so maybe the roster can, in fact, be improved this offseason. How much is the question for those hoping for more than one playoff win from the 2011-2012 season.

NOTE:

* I've been wondering what kind of sneakers Evan Turner wore all season, and finally just looked it up. It's Chinese company Li-Ning. I'm not sure what kind of marketing strategy the company employed this year for its handful of sponsored NBA players, but a bit of a marketing bump might be needed considering I had to look up what kind of sneakers Turner wears on Wikipedia. Just sayin'.

Finally, the Flyers play up to their potential

After suffering through an anxiety inducing first 6 games of this series, the Flyers gave their fans a break by winning the 7th game easily. The Flyers started strong, completely dominating the first period. Unfortunately, as usual, Ryan Miller was equal, holding the Flyers off the board for the first 19 minutes. Just when it seemed the Flyers would have nothing to show for their great effort and the period would end in a scoreless tie, Miller let in a soft goal on a Coburn point shot. The late goal seemed to energize the Flyers and dishearten the Sabres, as the second period was again all Flyers. Philadelphia scored two power play goals, as the aggressive Buffalo penalty kill from earlier in the series was MIA. Early in the third Villie Lieno scored the Flyers fourth goal on a bad angle slapshot. Miller should have had this one as well, and Ruff replaced Miller with Enroth. Buffalo managed to score two late goals, sandwiched around a good Dan Carcillo scoring effort, to make the final score 5-2. But it was never close after Leino's goal. I was even hoping for a 8-0 drubbing, like the one Ruff's Sabres' gave the Flyers back in 2001, because Lindy Ruff is a horse's ass.

• Players of the series for the Flyers- Briere, JVR and Boucher

• Chris Pronger took a regular shift this game.

• Buffalo seemed to run out of steam in the series (in part due to injuries to key players), but the soft goals the Flyers allowed made the series more competitive than it should have been.

• The second round opponent remains to be determined. Montreal beat Boston to force a game 7 tomorrow. Tampa and Pittsburgh play their game 7 tomorrow as well.

Who would you like the Flyers to play in the next round?

Villedelphia

Another game, same old story during regulation, but a different ending this time. The Flyers starting goaltender was once again BRUTAL. Leighton was terrible. So terrible in fact these were posted on the Twitter:

Another day, another brutal performance by a Flyers goaltender. - Mike Zeisberger

Help me out: starting Leighton was the worst coaching decision in Philadelphia since ______? - Anthony SanFilippo

Ill say this about Leighton today; My old midget goalie, Ryan Press, stops two of the Sabres goals in the first period. Easy. - Steve Simmons

Another bad goal. It never ends. I thought I'd never say this but I feel bad for philly fans. - Matthew Barnaby

Mike Milbury was even angered by how horrible Leighton was and called his play "peewee hockey" between the first and second period.

But despite the goaltending once again putting the Flyers in a big hole, they didn't quit. Probably because Buffalo really isn't that good. Flyers have outchanced and controlled the play for the majority of the series and at times have even been dominant. With some bounces or powerplay goals or adequate goaltending they could have even swept these clowns. Instead they make it hard on themselves.

So Leighton spots the Sabres 2-0. Briere answers with a rebound goal after Hartnell worked to get a shot on net. Then Leighton gives up another soft one and Flyers are down 3-1 after one. Boucher starts the second and JVR whips a great wrist shot by Miller 49 seconds in. Later Briere finally cashes in on a power play, having all day to pick his spot and blows it by Miller and ties it at 3-3. Then the refs give Buffalo a 5 on 3 via a terrible slashing call on Versteeg and a Richards hit that happens 100 times a game, but is called boarding when the player crumples to the ice. Sabres blow the powerplays but get one back when a long shot is deflected by O'Donnell and it handcuffs Boucher. So the Sabres are up 4-3 after two.

The Sabres actually play well in the third but give a powerplay to the the Flyers around the half way mark. Just as it expires, Hartnell shotputs/pushes/forks more than shoots a shot through both a defenseman and a scrambling Miller off a great feed from Richards. After the game was tied it was all Flyers, but they blew about 5 golden chances to win it in regulation.

In overtime both teams had chances but the Flyers cashed theirs in. Versteeg shot it and it got blocked. He throws a second attempt on net that ends up hitting Richards up high and it bounces right to Leino who fights off a defenseman and beats Miller's desperate lunge for the winner. Ugly, but beautiful. Eat it Sabres.

Game 7 is Tuesday night.

Other notes:

• Laviolette was effusive in his praise for the team and its resiliency after the game. He better be considering they saved him from his horrible decision to start Leighton.
• Briere has 38 playoff goals since the lockout; Only Zetterberg has more with 43.
• Myers is real tuff. He punches Pronger knowing Pronger can't beat his face in in return.
• Curious why no penalty for that punch by the way.
• Even though Pronger only played the point on the powerplay, just his presence I think is a big plus.
• The Versteeg slash was a ridiculous call. Is this the NHL or high school girls lacrosse?
• Miller on Richards hit - "If Mike Richards thinks we’re getting away with murder, I don’t know what he got away with. Mass murder?" And Lindy Ruff wants Richards suspended. Quit whining.
• What is the unbiased opinion on the hit? TSN crew - Kerry Fraser, Craig MacTavish, Jamie McLennan, James Duthie, and Bob McKenzie all agree: Richards hit not suspendable. Barnaby also said as much via Twitter as did Darren Pang on WIP.

Leights Out, Part Deux

Just like last year's game 6, Carle screws up and Leighton is beat for the winning goal in overtime. But this game was lost by others. Boucher showed why he is a career backup and gets the 3rd goat. Taking the 2nd and 1st goat of the game is the worst power play in hockey history. If this supposedly elite team of 1,000, 20 goal scorers had just an average power play they would have swept this mediocre Sabres team. But they have a worse than pathetic power play. Even if a miracle happens and they beat the Sabres in 7, which to me is highly unlikely, they aren't going very far because of this fact.

Other notes:

• The Flyers yearly experiment of a rotation of 3 AHL goalies has failed once again.
• The power play sucks.

Too cold sweepio?

I ... I don't think the 76ers are winning the NBA title this year.

The Sixers played as hard and intensely as they could for most of last night's game 3 against the Heat, but then they ran into the wall that required much more talent and scoring ability to bypass.

A few minutes into the fourth quarter the Heat started pulling away and were never threatened again on the way to a 100-94 win.

Most predictions I heard for the series had the Sixers winning one game at the most, but I think they just lost the one game they could have won. Unless the Heat get extremely lackadaisical in their approach to Sunday's game 4, or party too hard Saturday night, the series and the season is all but over.

The Sixers' best player, point guard Jrue Holiday, played well with 20 points and 8 assists. Elton Brand was going pretty good for a while — he ended up with 21 points and 11 rebounds — but then they stopped feeding him on the post for some reason.

In the meantime Andre Iguodala forced up a couple jumpers, the Heat continually tapped in offensive rebounds for points, and that was that.

Iguodala actually hit a really tough fall away jumper with the shot clock expiring late in the fourth, but it was too late at that point. He'd already not scored much all game, and the Sixers could not make stops or keep the Heat off the boards.

The Sixers have a bunch of guys — Holiday excepted — of similar size and ability, and designated no. 1 option Iguodala should be a no. 3 option, even on this team. They badly need a couple of big bodies that are good enough to be on the floor at critical times, and would be well-served trading Iguodala while he's still fairly highly regarded around the league, if indeed he is.

Unless he's taking it upon himself, coaches keep putting the ball in Iguodala's hands at critical junctures, so it's not all his fault. But TNT game analyst Steve Kerr seemed to sum it up. Trying to be nice after Iguodala bricked a jumper late in the game, Kerr said he can hit three-pointers when in a rhythm, but still needed to work on improving his mid- to long-range shooting.

Uh, guy's been in the league seven years, Kerr. Don't hold your breath.

NOTES:

* Game 4 in Philly is set for 1 p.m., so I'm not joking about the Heat blowing it by boozing Saturday night. Could happen.

* LeBron has a Gladiator quote on his biceps. Lame or super lame?

* Doug Collins needs a hug, apparently.

Oh well. Can't make anything easy.

Decent effort I guess, but nobody could finish and Miller played great and had some luck. JVR hits shaft of defenseman's stick with open net, Betts misses, Powe hits post, Carcillo misses, Versteeg not finishing I expect, Briere can't beat Miller 1 on 1, and Richards fails to lift the puck with the top of the net open. But Miller doesn't really get beat with down low, close in shots. He gets beat from 10-15 feet out when he's forced to move.

Other notes:

• NHL refereeing, especially that of Francois St. Laurent, is still a joke.

In the Nik of time

Some maligned Flyers came through in the scoring column and the team as a whole tightened up and actually looked calm and in control while they protected a 1 goal lead for the entire third period. The latter point is the biggest positive coming out of this game considering that no lead was safe over the last 2 months of the regular season.

Flyers came out "flying," got an early power play and Carter actually shot the puck, actually hit the net and scored. Amazing how that works. After that though Buffalo dominated for the remainder of the first and tied it up with a power play goal of their own.

In the second, Flyers took advantage of some brutal Buffalo turnovers. Hartnell picked Butler's pocket and with no hesitation fed it to Briere who then immediately roofed it over Miller. Then the nearly useless Versteeg won a battle for the puck on the boards, immediately fed a perfect pass across the ice to an open Richards who pushed it to Zherdev who then tapped it into an open net completing a tic-tac-toe play for his first playoff goal and what would be the game winner. It became the game winner because Buffalo got back to within 1 before the second ended thanks to a terrible rebound by Boucher who otherwise played well.

Early in the third it was Buffalo's turn to do their best Flyers impersonation, squandering a 1:15 long 5 on 3 advantage, by only managing one shot. After that crucial kill the Flyers were in control. There was no panic, no icings, and no blind, desperate clears. There was just winning faceoffs, winning board battles, puck possession and nice plays out of the zone and even some quality time in the Buffalo zone as well. Then Timonen iced the game with an empty net goal to make the final 4-2 and give the Flyers a 2-1 series lead.

Other notes:

• Timonen was pretty bad this game, but Coburn more than made up for his play. Both finished a +3.
• Flyers were terrible on faceoffs for most of the game, losing 24 to 36, but then came through in the third when the lead was being preserved.
• Boucher was solid and never made me nervous. Also smart play throwing the mask off when his strap broke on the 5 on 3.
• JVR was a force once again.
• Flyers should have scored more goals - they had the opportunities but did not put them home.
• Sabres might have played their worst game. Flyers have started to win most of the battles for loose pucks and other battles. Are the Flyers wearing them down?
• Pierre Maguire congratulated Zherdev on his first playoff goal. His response in a Russian accent, "It will not be my last."

Sabres rattled

Game 2 started with a good first period of up and down, exciting hockey. Then the refs ruined everything, made it all about special teams and trashed any flow the game had. But the Sabres, through stupidity and lack of discipline, were committing mostly legitimate penalties and were begging the Flyers to not only win the game, but to crush them. But the Flyers politely refused their offer - "Thank you good sirs, another power play? Another two-man advantage? How very kind! Rules and etiquette prevent us from refusing, but nothing says we must take advantage of you unfortunate chaps and your bad luck. Wouldn't want to be ill-mannered to our guests after all! Tally-ho."

But somebody forgot to inform that bore, Ville Leino, who said enough of this crap. He crashed the power play, grabbed the puck, challenged the Sabres box by skating into it and shot it through a defensemen's legs and by Miller. So while still pathetic at 1 for 10 and 1 for 15 for the series and 0-3 on 2 man advantages, they at least scored 1 power play goal. And that goal put them ahead for good. Briere added insurance a few minutes later with a nice skate deflection (which the Flyers would of course need) and the Flyers held on for a 5-4, must win victory.

Other notes:

• Giroux was the player of the game - he scored, he skated, he back checked, he hit, and he laughed at a dwarf.
• JVR was the second star. Much like Giroux did 2 years ago in the playoffs, he seems to be taking the next step these last few weeks and becoming a real pro and playing like a man instead of a college kid.
• Hartnell needs to stop taking runs at Sabres because he misses. And he needs to stop falling down.
• Bob was like the incredible shrinking goalie on that third goal - he retreated into the net and got smaller as the rush approached him.
• Bruins are down 0-2 to Montreal. They are now 0-6 in playoff games since going up 3-0 on the Flyers last year.
• After blowing that goal in the waning moments of regulation in game 6 vs. the Blackhawks last year, Jeff Carter has continued to blow goals in the playoffs.
• Pronger is still out for game 3.