Flyers Gameday and a Confession

First let me get this out of the way. Fran and I are celebrating Thanksgiving in the true tradition of the holiday and going to Mohegan Sun all weekend to trade all our money to them for the hope of becoming a millionaire and possibly a couple whiskey sours. That's why I'm writing this gameday, because Fran is packing our suitcase. Picture the owners of the Pomeranian in Best in Show - yes that's us. So while we're gone we're not going to be able to offer you analysis and locker room dick pictures on the three games happening over the weekend, I don't think. Not to say that posts won't be popping off, because we already have them lined up. So cool your beans. There's going to be historical analysis, some local talent scouting, and an interesting viewpoint on the Thrashers, at least. So you will not be without hilarity all weekend. Just like you will not be without cranberry sauce and dumps on your old, childhood toilet. Onto tonight's MUST WIN OR THE SEASON IS OVER game. Let me tell you something about Long Island - it's full of trashy whores. I see them every day. Let me tell you something else. The Islanders Hockey Blog, the Isles blog on our network incase you were having trouble figuring that out, asked what I thought about the season series this year back in September, and unlike the NMR (New Mike Richards) I didn't pull any punches:   Philadelphia Flyers: In short, what Islanders fans should expect from Islanders-Flyers match ups this season is one of two things: 1) to feel that they could have spent the money they just paid to see that ass-whomping on LIRR tickets or 2) that they just missed out on an opportunity to catch up on Nip Tuck. I don't mean to come off as a crass Philadelphia blog with no tact, especially on a fellow Networker's site, but the Flyers are a team that is done with their ups and downs, their months of inconsistency, and their pre-Stanley Cup Parade exits from the playoffs. There was even some talk that the Flyers would be entered into the Olympics as their own country this year but the IIHF decided against it when it was determined that they'd have to make a platinum medal in honor of an undefeated team that didn't even give up a goal in the whole tournament and also managed to win the Gold in that sport where you cross country ski and shoot targets. Kyle Okposo, specifically, should watch out for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. The rest of the team will want to be on the look out for Daniel Carcillo, Arron Asham, Mike Richards, Ian Laperriere, Chris Pronger, and maybe even Riley Cote - because you never know when he's going to get his one win of the year. Over the past two years we've beaten you 13 out of 14 times. We're a lot better than we've been and you're a little better than you've been, depending on whether or not John Tavares goes all Stampkos. So while most Flyers fans of late actually dislike the Islanders less than any other team in the Atlantic, and possibly in the Eastern Conference, I can't see anything except that we will go 6-0-0 against you this season. And if I'm you reading this I'm totally thinking "who does this asshole think he is?" And I'm not generally like this, but there's no need to sugar coat it. 6 wins, and if they need to be like the March 28th game they can be but Daniel Carcillo is literally going to bite Marty Biron in the throat for being an idiot if things get hairy. -Courtesy of Ryan, Flyers Goal Scored By... So scratch the no ups and downs thing and 86 the OKT comment. But this all starts tonight. I don't give a shit who we dress. I can't believe we're tied in the standings with these pizzeria owning greasers.

View original blog post here: Flyers Goal Scored By... - A Philadelphia Flyers NHL Blog

It’s Boucher vs. Biron!

Just received word that former Flyers goalie Marty Biron will start Wednesday night's game between the Islanders and Flyers. Brian Boucher will start for the Flyers, who are looking to end a three-game losing streak. Here are some quotes from Tuesday's practice: SCOTT HARTNELL Q; On the possibilty of playing vs Marty Biron tomorrow SH: "We're not sure if he is playing tomorrow but being a teammate of his for two years, I know he's a great guy who loved to be at the rink every day and loved to have fun. Seeing him in between the pipes will be a little different. You shoot on him every day in practice so you think you may have his tendancies. It will be fun and we need to get ourselves back onto the winning ways." Q: is it going to be good to get this road trip behind you and get a game at home again? SH: "Yes, the travel was a little bit difficult last night. We got in pretty much around 5 am. It will be nice to get home and sleep in your own bed and get back on the winning ways at home. But we have one more game left (tomorrow) and it isn't going to be easy. The end is near but we have to bear down here and have to skate a full 60 minutes tomorrow. AARON ASHAM (who skated full practice with the team today) "Everything is going well. I had a good practice today. The rib felt pretty good and I did a couple of battle drills and it was pain free. I am here if they need me. Hopefully I can be in the lineup tomorrow." MIKE RICHARDS Q: if Biron is playing tomorrow what will that be like? MR: "it will be nice to see him again. Obviously we have beenthrough a lot the last couple of years when we were teammates. I know that he is having some success out here which is nice to see. It will be nice to see him out there." Q: You are at the end of a long road trip. What's the feeling coming back? "I think it is more mental than anything else. It is obviously not going the way we wanted it to go. But if we win tomorrow we could salvage a couple of points out of it and head back home where we feel more comfortable. I think tomorrow is going to be more mental than anything." Q: Kimmo did not practice today. Is he ok? JS: "Like we have been doing a lot this year, it is a maintenance day for Kimmo. We are just giving him a day of rest so he can get ready for tomorrow." Q: How is Arron Asham? He practiced today. JS: "We wanted to get him up here. He has been skating back home with Hatch (Derian). Hatch has been skating Gagne and Ash while we have been away. It's tough to just be on your own. So we wanted to integrate him with the team and see how he feels and he said he felt pretty good. We will skate him tomorrow and see how he feels after he does some battling drills along the wall. He looked good today. We will see how he feels tomorrow morning." Q: How important is the game tomorrow to salvage this road trip? JS: "it is very important. You always want to get back into the winning ways. We kind of lacked some urgency early in our game last night and then played like gangbusters in the 3rd period. That's the way we need to play for 60 minutes. The Islanders are a hard working team who are playing with a lot of confidence right now. This game is not only critical for the road trip but critical for where we are in the standings and where we are at this point in the season." Q: After a long road trip like this, is it good to come back and play in front of the home town crowd? JS: "It is always great to play in front of our fans. It is a situation we are very comfortable with. We have been a very good home team this year. It is still a continuation of the road trip, though. We are home for an afternoon game on Friday but right back on the road again. You can't go home and think you can relax. Buffalo is a very good team. We are going to have to take each game one at a time. We need to try to get our focus back starting with the Islanders game and then feed off our crowd at home. The fans seem to give us energy when we are home." Q: Who is in net tomorrow? JS: "Brian Boucher is playing tomorrow. We feel that it is important to get Boosh back into the net. He has played better and better. He was sharp when he came in relief yesterday. We planned to play him tomorrow regardless of what happened yesterday."

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Flyers minus Briere

Tonight the Flyers head to Long Island to face the Islanders. Danny Briere will be joining Blair Betts, Darroll Powe, & Simon Gagne out of the lineup tonight. Danny Breeze was suspended for his hit on Colorado's Scott Hannan on Monday night. When I first heard about the suspension, I was livid, "how in the hell can Briere get suspended?!" But the more I look at the hit, I guess it is suspension worthy. Hannan wasnt looking, and it was after the play. My only question is, if Briere got suspended 2 games for that hit, how many games would Pronger or Carcillo have been suspended for the same hit? On to tonight....the Flyers are currently in a 3 way tie for 3rd/last place in the Atlantic.

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Flyers minus Briere

A New Hockey Tradition Is Born

The Daniel Briere Hat Trick: 2 goals 2 assists 2 games I saw that little gem in the comments (member JpH89) of the Broad Street Hockey story covering the suspension, and it was just too cool to leave it in the obscurity of a comment thread. There have been way worse hits than Briere’s on Hannan, for sure. To listen

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A New Hockey Tradition Is Born

The Mike Richards Captaincy

Claude Giroux's fight on Monday, and the combination of his and Mike Richards' view of the same situation and the action they each took as a result of each's view, are a bit confusing. Just like reading that sentence. Richards: "We have to create urgency throughout the game; we didn’t have it," Giroux: "I didn’t like the way I played, and wanted to change it up a bit and hopefully, we would start playing better," he said. "Sometimes, it’s fun to get messy a bit." So both of these guys saw the same situation but it was the 21 year old who's in his first full season as an NHLer, with only had 8 fights in all of his hockey career, who decided to do something about it.

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View original blog post here: Flyers Goal Scored By... - A Philadelphia Flyers NHL Blog

Flyers Gameday: 11-25-09 vs. Islanders

PREVIEW (3 AM) The Flyers (12-8-1) will look to halt their current three-game losing skid when they return to the east coast to take on the New York Islanders (9-8-7) in Uniondale. Philly has dominated the season series in recent years -- Martin Biron's history of success against the Islanders contributed to the club signing him in the offseason -- but this is a game for which the team must co

View original blog post here: HockeyBuzz.com: Bill Meltzer