Flyers drop Winter Classic in OT, masses entertained

The Winter Classic looms no longer.

The NHL's flagship event has sailed off into the sunset, with the home team finally getting a win as the Bruins bested the Flyers 2-1 in OT.

In other history making news Dan Carcillo got into a fight. Whoops! Nothing Earth-shattering about that on the surface, allow me to explain. Carcillo's first period fight against Shawn Thornton was the first ever Winter Classic bout. Who would have guessed this tiny piece of history would be made by the Flyers? Life is just full of surprises. In case you were wondering Carcillo picked up the "W" in the tussle, also no real surprise.

In terms of the game, well it was a defensive battle which doesn't tend to make for good television, just ask the New Jersey Devils about that. Both teams came out tentative and stayed that way for nearly the entirety of the game. If it wasn't for some spotty officiating, the game very well could have gone to a shootout tied at zero.

Less then five minutes into the second period, Scott Hartnell got away with a fairly blatant trip on Bruins net minder Tim Thomas. Shortly after that, Thomas went through a midlife crisis. He decided that maybe this whole stopping the puck thing wasn't for him after all. So he decided to try his hand as team enforcer and threw a wicked hard crosscheck at Scott Hartnell, who had once again drifted in close to the crease. At the same instant, defenseman Danny Syvret, who has been playing well since taking over for the injured Ryan Parent, fired a weak writster from the blue line which squirted past Thomas and into the net.

Now, far be it for me to rip the incumbent Vezina trophy winner, but that selfish and idiotic play almost cost his team the game. Sure, Hartnell's earlier trip likely deserved a penalty, but leave the revenge to the guys who aren't the last line of defense. Like the aforementioned Thornton character.

Fortunately, the refs and Neil Diamond were there to bail out Thomas, who was named to the US Olympic team after the game in one of the most bizarre spectacles ever to air on network television. More on that later.

Following a Dennis Leary and Lenny Clarke led rendition of Diamond's Fenway Park staple "Sweet Caroline," Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen went down to block a shot, a Bruin fell over him and BAM! Instant tripping penalty. The call was really more of an effort to even up the game's power play total then anything else, but sadly this one ended up in the back of the Flyers net courtesy of ex-Flyer Mark Recchi with a mere two minutes and 18 seconds left in the game. The Flyers survived a late Danny Briere penalty, which carried into over time, but couldn't survive another questionable call from the zebras.

The Flyers almost ended the game at one end, but Briere failed to bury the puck into a wide open net. The play went the other way with about half of the Bruins bench still on the ice during one of the longest line changes in recorded history. Naturally this wasn't called and Marco Sturm redirected a shot past Michael Leighton to end it for the home team.

Immediately following the play, NBC color commentator and noted buffoon Mike Milbury announced that the Bruins had gotten away with one on that play. Not to let the day be sullied by Milbury's sudden fit of common sense, play-by-play announcer Mike Emerick did what he does best, ignored Milbury and beamed about what a great game they had just witnessed.

And it was an entertaining game. Leighton continued to play better then any one ever could have imagined. He stopped 24 of 26 shots and handled the pressure of the day admirably. The two goals that got past him were both redirections from in close that no one would have gotten to. The Flyers have no one but themselves (and of course the officials but that goes without saying) for the loss as they failed time after time to convert on odd man rushes. It seemed like every other play there was a Flyer 2-1 or breakaway and the result was always the same. Ill-advised shot wide of the net or easy save for Thomas. Perhaps the outdoor ice surface was to blame, who's to say?

The Flyers still got a big point out of the game even though they saw their four game winning streak come an end. Their record on the Walt Disney Presents "The Flyers Six Game Road Trip" goes to 4-0-1, with the final game taking place Sunday in Ottawa at 1 p.m.

So, just a few weeks ago the Winter Classic lurked just round the corner like a huge embarrassing monster. The Flyers couldn't beat anyone and they were headed towards a potential disaster on national television. Instead, they came out and played a good not great game. A few bad decisions on offense were the difference in this one, with the game's officials accounting for all of the offense. I guess if you want to sell the league to the masses, this is the way to do it: honestly. It's as if the NHL said: "Hey! We want you to like our sport, but we don't want to lie to you. Our officials like to decide games for the players. It's what they do." Take it or leave it NHL fans. This is the sport we've come to know and love. At least they sucked for both teams yesterday.

Following the game, Thomas was announced to the US Olympic team. Rather then just say "hey this guys on the team," NBC ran with the concept. They decided to make a huge thing out of the roster announcement, trotting out a army of little kids, each wearing a jersey corresponding to a member of the Olympic squad. Then it was Thomas turn, and when his name was called, he came out and stood in line with the youngsters. Is the idea of consistency is so foreign when it comes to hockey, that no one considered how strange it would look to have a grown man stand out in line with a bunch of kids? Apparently it is. Either do the thing with all kids of no kids, but mostly kids and one bearded grown man makes no sense. Or better yet. Just say who's on the goldarn team! Having the kids with the names on their jerseys awkwardly stand there and then miss their cue to turn around is not the way to go. Get the rest of the to show up, or don't do anything at all.

I digress.

I gotta say that it was a real kick to see the Flyers at the center of the hockey universe for just one day. The Winter Classic is one of the very few things Gary Bettman has done right during his all too long stint as Commissioner. Taking the game back to its roots, what a novel concept!

Now, let's all go back to worshipping at the alters of Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin again. After all, that's the way things should be. I' m seriously jonesing for a Pens/ Caps game, man! I need to see some split screens of Crosby and Ovechkin!!