Except for the games against the Pens that is... those count for double.
Yes, it is that time of year! Time to shake the dust from the NHL's preason off of our boots and prepare for another 82 games of fun in the sun! Except for there won't be any sun. It's not good for the sport. See: Phoenix, Tampa, Florida, etc.
Sadly, the Flyers were unable to claim a victory in their final pretend game, a 5-4 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild. What a coincidence that a pretend game ends with a pretend decision. Shootouts are the work of the DEVIL! Heed my words!
The Flyers showed some heart and battled back late in the game to tie it at 4 thanks to another goal from Danny Briere. Very few things excite me more then the prospect of saying I told you so to all those "fans" that bailed on Briere last year after the injuries. Something tells me Danny feels the same way...
Mika Pyorala continued his strong showing with another goal, while Mike Richards added a goal and an assist. The top line looks to be Pyorala, Richie and Simon Gagne, with Claude Giroux floating in and out as need be.
Giroux also netted a goal against the Wild.
Ray Emery pitched another fantastic outing, allowing only one goal on ten shots before getting pulled for current back-up Johan Backlund. Backs wasn't as dominating, getting beaten three times on fourteen shots. He was also beaten three times on four shots in the shootout. Basically, anyone NOT named Petr Sykora scored on him.
The real question here is what the HELL is wrong with Petr Sykora?
Anywho, the team is now done until Friday when they start the season on the road against the Carolina Rod Brind'Amours.... I mean Hurricanes. Should be a good game, as the two teams really had some classic mathces last year. Let's hope that continues and that the orange and black come out on top.
I'll be back later in the week with some final pretend season thoughts.
Player of the Game: Mike Richards (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shootout goal)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
He's gone, the evil has gone!
Ah the immortal words of Dr. Sam Loomis from the original "Halloween" Now, I don't want to imply that recently waived defenseman Randy Jones is in anyway evil or comparable to a serial killer like Michael Myers but is there any better way to make an exit then with a classic Donald Pleasence freak out?
The correct answer is no.
Sadly, I think I may have buried my lead a bit there, that's right Randy Jones has been waived. The move was made for a variety of reasons, including the emergence of several very talented youngsters during camp and for the fact that it made NO sense to pay your sixth d-man almost $3 million.
So, Jones finds himself a Phantom once again, after three plus years with the Flyers. Three plus years marked by occasional brilliance, occasional buffoonery and fairly consistent mediocrity. That said here are three reasons this is a great move.
I will try and limit myself to only three.
Why the move makes sense:
1.) Salary Cap- Last year the Flyers were handcuffed by the cap all year long. By getting Jones' $2.7 million off the books, the Flyers gain some much needed wiggle room against the cap.
2.) That brings me to point number two. Both Braydon Coburn and Ryan Parent will need to be resigned after this year. Losing Jones now makes sense because Jones wasn't coming back next year. Best to replace him now and give the young guys a shot. Also, you can now flip some fo Jones' salary over to fourth line center Blair Betts, who is an excellent role player.
3.) Hey, how about we give the young guys a shot? Ole-Kristian Tollefson was signed to be the team's seventh defeseman, but he now finds himself competing to make the team outright. Tollefson is a big, beefy guy who can't seem to stay healthy. Not a huge problem because the Flyers have Tolllefson's replacement/ competition already picked out. Meet Danny Syvret, who had a monster year with the Phantoms last season to the tune of 12 goals and 45 assists. Syvret has earned at least a look and if the knock on Tollefson is that he can't stay healthy, then look no further then this speedy, puck-moving as a fill-in. Heck, Syvret make just take the job from Tolly outright but that remains to be seen.
Well there you have it. I could go on further, but any other points may just be rehashing the above. There are some problems, but overall the move is nothing but positive. It is an unfortunate end to Jones' Philly career and it most certainly is the end. It is ver unlikely the Flyers will recall him from the Phantoms as doing so they would risk losing him to another team and being forced to split his salary with them. Essentially, the Flyers would be paying him to play elsewhere. A trade could be in the works, but what Jones would bring back is anyone's guess.
On that bombshell, it's time to end this thing. Sorry for going long. That's all for now.
The correct answer is no.
Sadly, I think I may have buried my lead a bit there, that's right Randy Jones has been waived. The move was made for a variety of reasons, including the emergence of several very talented youngsters during camp and for the fact that it made NO sense to pay your sixth d-man almost $3 million.
So, Jones finds himself a Phantom once again, after three plus years with the Flyers. Three plus years marked by occasional brilliance, occasional buffoonery and fairly consistent mediocrity. That said here are three reasons this is a great move.
I will try and limit myself to only three.
Why the move makes sense:
1.) Salary Cap- Last year the Flyers were handcuffed by the cap all year long. By getting Jones' $2.7 million off the books, the Flyers gain some much needed wiggle room against the cap.
2.) That brings me to point number two. Both Braydon Coburn and Ryan Parent will need to be resigned after this year. Losing Jones now makes sense because Jones wasn't coming back next year. Best to replace him now and give the young guys a shot. Also, you can now flip some fo Jones' salary over to fourth line center Blair Betts, who is an excellent role player.
3.) Hey, how about we give the young guys a shot? Ole-Kristian Tollefson was signed to be the team's seventh defeseman, but he now finds himself competing to make the team outright. Tollefson is a big, beefy guy who can't seem to stay healthy. Not a huge problem because the Flyers have Tolllefson's replacement/ competition already picked out. Meet Danny Syvret, who had a monster year with the Phantoms last season to the tune of 12 goals and 45 assists. Syvret has earned at least a look and if the knock on Tollefson is that he can't stay healthy, then look no further then this speedy, puck-moving as a fill-in. Heck, Syvret make just take the job from Tolly outright but that remains to be seen.
Well there you have it. I could go on further, but any other points may just be rehashing the above. There are some problems, but overall the move is nothing but positive. It is an unfortunate end to Jones' Philly career and it most certainly is the end. It is ver unlikely the Flyers will recall him from the Phantoms as doing so they would risk losing him to another team and being forced to split his salary with them. Essentially, the Flyers would be paying him to play elsewhere. A trade could be in the works, but what Jones would bring back is anyone's guess.
On that bombshell, it's time to end this thing. Sorry for going long. That's all for now.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Home sweet home
Ah the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers bested their arch-nemisis from just down the turnpike in front of a fairly packed Wachovia Center by a score of 2-1 via overtime.
It was an entertaining game... from what I say. Sadly, Thursday is a big TV night with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Office," and "Community" all airing in one night so I didn't get to see much of it. Actually, I missed all the scoring.
Apologies.
But the thing that I did catch was Ray Emery's amazing save in the third on someone, not sure who. Either way it was great. Look for it on Youtube if you get the chance.
The Flyers recieved goals from defensemen Matt Carle and winger Mika Pyrola. Danny Briere picked up two assists in the contest and I couldn't be more pleased. Hopefully this continues through the regular season and all the nay-sayers can finally get off his back.
Pyrola netted the game winner in OT and seems to be trying his darndest to make the team. It's hard to argue with the guy, especially if he keeps scoring big goals. Seeing as though I missed so much, I won't bore you with any longer.
However, I will say that "Sunny" is currently the funniest show on television. If you aren't a fan already, I urge you to sit down and enjoy. It's like "Seinfeld" but with even more reprehensible characters.
Sit back and enjoy!
Player of the Game: Ray Emery(31 saves)
Next game: Saturday @ New Jersey at 7 p.m.
That's all for now!
It was an entertaining game... from what I say. Sadly, Thursday is a big TV night with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Office," and "Community" all airing in one night so I didn't get to see much of it. Actually, I missed all the scoring.
Apologies.
But the thing that I did catch was Ray Emery's amazing save in the third on someone, not sure who. Either way it was great. Look for it on Youtube if you get the chance.
The Flyers recieved goals from defensemen Matt Carle and winger Mika Pyrola. Danny Briere picked up two assists in the contest and I couldn't be more pleased. Hopefully this continues through the regular season and all the nay-sayers can finally get off his back.
Pyrola netted the game winner in OT and seems to be trying his darndest to make the team. It's hard to argue with the guy, especially if he keeps scoring big goals. Seeing as though I missed so much, I won't bore you with any longer.
However, I will say that "Sunny" is currently the funniest show on television. If you aren't a fan already, I urge you to sit down and enjoy. It's like "Seinfeld" but with even more reprehensible characters.
Sit back and enjoy!
Player of the Game: Ray Emery(31 saves)
Next game: Saturday @ New Jersey at 7 p.m.
That's all for now!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Flyers victorious in "must win" pretend game
Boy this is going to be fun.
So, I beg your forgiveness, but I was a touch late getting to tonight's Flyers game, which turned out to be their first victory of the preseason. The game's final was 5-2 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. I was really only able to catch the third period and I missed how the good guys scored their final goal.
Basically, what I'm, trying to tell you is that this will be brief and also, I'm considering skipping the first 1 3/4 periods of every Flyers game this season as good things seem to happen.
A couple of thoughts on the game though. We'll get the bad stuff out of the way first. The discipline problems continued for the Flyers. They were short handed 6 times tonight, compared to only two power plays. That needs to change. But why focus on the negative? Tonight is a night for pretend celebration and champagne-less champagne, after all!
On the happy side of things, Danny Briere's return to glory continued as he notched another goal and continues to look like the Daniel Briere of old. It's a wonderful thing.
Also, Chris Pronger has been pretty much as advertised. He picked up two assists and was solid defensively. Nothing new there. Kimmo Timonen also played a solid defensive game. The man just doesn't have a medium or low setting.
The real surprise is James vanRiemsdyk, who picked up two goals in the contest. He played a few shifts with Briere and Claude Giroux, a foreshadowing of things to come, perhaps? We shall see.
Yes, the games and stats don't matter, but getting that first win is nice. Especially for me. I tend to get a bit--- how should I put this--- panicky when it comes to hockey. Playoffs, preseason, I'm a mess either way. Ok, well that is all. Thanks for stopping by.
Player of the Game: James vanRiemsdyk for goodness sakes!
Next game: Thursday home against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m.
So, I beg your forgiveness, but I was a touch late getting to tonight's Flyers game, which turned out to be their first victory of the preseason. The game's final was 5-2 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. I was really only able to catch the third period and I missed how the good guys scored their final goal.
Basically, what I'm, trying to tell you is that this will be brief and also, I'm considering skipping the first 1 3/4 periods of every Flyers game this season as good things seem to happen.
A couple of thoughts on the game though. We'll get the bad stuff out of the way first. The discipline problems continued for the Flyers. They were short handed 6 times tonight, compared to only two power plays. That needs to change. But why focus on the negative? Tonight is a night for pretend celebration and champagne-less champagne, after all!
On the happy side of things, Danny Briere's return to glory continued as he notched another goal and continues to look like the Daniel Briere of old. It's a wonderful thing.
Also, Chris Pronger has been pretty much as advertised. He picked up two assists and was solid defensively. Nothing new there. Kimmo Timonen also played a solid defensive game. The man just doesn't have a medium or low setting.
The real surprise is James vanRiemsdyk, who picked up two goals in the contest. He played a few shifts with Briere and Claude Giroux, a foreshadowing of things to come, perhaps? We shall see.
Yes, the games and stats don't matter, but getting that first win is nice. Especially for me. I tend to get a bit--- how should I put this--- panicky when it comes to hockey. Playoffs, preseason, I'm a mess either way. Ok, well that is all. Thanks for stopping by.
Player of the Game: James vanRiemsdyk for goodness sakes!
Next game: Thursday home against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Desperately Seeking Blog Topic: Round 1
Ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, we stand here today on the precipice of yet another hockey season. The preseason is moving along nicely and hopes are high in Philadelphia. The last part of that sentence is a bit redundant now that I think about it. Hopes are always high in Philly as far as sports go. It's just how fans here are, it's in our blood.
This particular hockey season may be one of the most anticipated in recent memory, as one of hockey's premiere publication's "The Hockey News" has picked our beloved Flyers as early favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
It's a beautiful thing, or it's a kiss of death. I'm not sure which yet. I'll get back to you later. As in after the season later.
I'm a simple man. I like movies, Philly sports, books and Johnny Depp. There are a few other things on that list but I hit all the big ones. As far as local sports go, the Flyers are currently fighting it out with the NBA's 76ers for crown of "Black Sheep Sports Franchise." The Flyers have a bigger fan base, though they receive less attention from the local sports media. You decide who is winning, or losing the race. For me the Flyers are the most interesting/ my favorite team in the city. You can keep your birds and their ever-chanting fans. I'll take my orange and black.
Factor in my interest in a possible career as a journalist and you have a ready-made blog topic. Also, I just read Stephen King and Stewart O'Shea's book "Faithful," which chronicled the Boston Red Sox championship run from a few years back.
Maybe I can capture some of that magic for my Flyers. Maybe not. Either way it will be an entertaining season and intend on covering it has much as possible. Hopefully, I can do some game recaps, news, gossip, all that jazz.
That's all for now.
Next Game: Tomorrow, vs. Detroit Red Wings. TV: The Comcast Network. Radio: 610 WIP
Last Game: Saturday at Toronto Maple Leafs. Result: 5-4 Overtime loss. Player of the Game: Danny Briere (2 goals)
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