Flyers Beat Sabres; Acquire Prospal, "Lose" Forsberg

Unbelievably, the Flyers beat the Sabres last night in a shootout by a score of 4 - 3. You read that right; "in a shootout". Even more unbelievably, they came from 3 goals behind to beat a team that owned them in recent history, in the Buffalo Sabres.

No, wait, it gets better. The winning goal during the shootout? Scored by Danny Briere!

Maybe this is the karmic series of events we've been looking for to get out of this losing streak. Maybe it's all a mirage. It was at least fun to watch the Flyers play competitively again.

Marty Biron still looked shaky throughout the shootout, but he did manage the poke check on Tim Connolly and was there to whisk the puck away when Derek Roy skated in too fast and mishandled the puck.

Jeff Carter played (in my opinion) his best game as a Flyer. He was strong on the puck and (for once), he finished a chance on a breakaway and in the shootout. R.J. Umberger, showing up to the scene of his most infamous moment, also got on the score sheet, with a goal scorer's goal, picking to the top corner against Ryan Miller on the power play.

If Umberger and Carter played like this regularly, I'm not sure we'd be talking about a 10 game losing streak. Regardless, the Flyers are off the schneid and next play Thursday against Ottawa.

Photo: Yahoo.com (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

Live Long and Prospal

After the game, the Flyers announced a trade, where they acquired 33 year old Vinny Prospal in exchange for AHL defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft choice.

Prospal, who came up with the Flyers, is having his best year offensively, but is due to be a free agent and, more or less, publicly called out his coach last week. He'll be a top 6 forward on this team right now and, if they make the playoffs, he'll help their power play. It will help that he knows John Stevens, as they actually played together when both were players on the Phantoms.

The oddity of this deal is that the Flyers gave up Alexandre Picard, an offensive defenseman, who was, at one time, touted to be their best defenseman in the organization. Clearly, his stock has fallen in the eyes of the organization to be given up for what will probably be a rental situation with Vinny Prospal. I heard Stevens himself extol Picard's virtues during a season ticket holder Q&A a couple of years ago, so including Picard in this deal surprised me a little.

Peter Forsberg Signs with the Avs

Yesterday, Peter Forsberg performed a 180 degree turn on his intentions and returned to the NHL yesterday, signing a 1 year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

On the surface, I am happy he's not coming back to Flyers. I think the risk of him coming back and being hurt or unavailable for games at a stretch like he was with the Flyers is just too much to deal with on a team that already has a full plate (ton of injuries, plus getting Briere sprung).

On the other hand, Forsberg did yesterday what Forsberg has done since he signed with the Flyers; he did what was best for Peter Forsberg, leaving the Flyers wanting for more.

At the risk of being called childish by Bill Meltzer, the following are the facts about Peter Forsberg's time in Philly, and it's a time that Forsberg probably won't mention when he's inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame:

1.) Peter Forsberg, in pretty much open defiance of the Flyers management, elected to play in the Turin Olympics despite recurring groin problems leading up to the Olympics. Forsberg was grudgingly allowed the benefit of the doubt by Flyers management, but by putting his energy into a gold medal run for Sweden instead of getting right physically for the NHL playoff run, Forsberg put himself (and another international medal; he already had a gold from 1992) ahead of the Flyers organization.

2.) Anyone else remember when he refused to take a shot during a shoot-out early in his captaincy when told to do so by then-coach Ken Hitchcock? He got off very easy for that. Could you imagine Mark Messier begging off of a shot in a shoot-out?

3.) The Forsberg Drama '06-'07: The whole thing with Forsberg's foot and finding the right orthopedic insert makes me want to destroy my ABBA CD collection. The Flyers foot the bill to fix foot problems of Forsberg's that were congenitive in nature (i.e.--his feet were always that way). Following the surgery, there were trips to foot specialists in North Carolina (11/2006), Cleveland (see here for reference), and Phoenix (12/2006) to see orthotics specialist Ernesto Castro to essentially find a boot skate to fit his foot.

All the while, he missed games, while the Flyers drown in a sea of losses. Even Peter Forsberg at 80% could have helped, but he chose a different path. Tim Panaccio called Forsberg's situation, at the time, "a soap opera reminiscent of the Eric Lindros' concussion days", but the difference here is that Lindros never really had the respect of his teammates (read Jonesy's book if you don't believe me), whereas Forsberg commanded the respect of the Flyer lockerroom. In Forsberg's absence, the Flyers obviously struggled.

The implication with Forsberg, when he was here, was that he was uncomfortable with the status of being the lead dog and that because the Flyers were so bad, the motivation for him to play at less than 100% simply was not there. That might be an unfair characterization, but Forsberg's actions left many open to make that characterization. I'm sure I'm not the only person who heard various people in the electronic media (Al Morganti and Glen Macnow, I'm looking at you) call Forsberg a "diva" or "prima donna".

So, with the way the Forsberg era went down in Philly, is it any wonder that folks here, upon hearing that he wasn't going to sign here when healthy, were a little bitter, what with Forsberg being given the benefit of the doubt by the Flyers at every turn here?

Whatever. The page has been turned and I do think the Flyers are better for it. But if the Paul Holmgren, or a Flyers fan feels Forsberg jobbed the Flyers in some way, I do think they are justified in their feelings.

No Foppa This Year

According to all reports, Peter Forsberg will not return to the NHL this year.

All through this process I believed that Forsberg was going to come back to Philly if he was going to go anywhere. The Flyers treated him really well when he was here and he enjoyed living in the city. Furthermore, there is nothing an aging hockey player enjoys more than the easier travel schedule playing in the Eastern Conference gives you.

That Forsberg is not coming back does shock me (such a big fuss was kicked up, afterall), but at the same time, I'm a little relieved.

The Flyers, right now, do not have the infrastructure in place to have a player like Forsberg simply parachute onto the scene and not screw up the rebuilding process for this team. All things being equal, if the Flyers were playing consistently and their main weakness was needing a forward who could play the power play and take a big faceoff, I'd have been more enthusiastic about Forsberg.

But the fact is, this team needs help on defense. They have some skill at forward (even with the injuries); they need someone on defense to get them the puck. That is where their bigger needs lie.

Maybe if the Flyers somehow get a Dan Boyle for this year and sign him long term, maybe Forsberg gets better over the summer and you look to have him back starting in training camp; just not right now.

(NOTE: I am breaking my unofficial one post per day policy today, when I should have a Phillies post up by 1pm. As I said yesterday, I'm Flyer'd out right now and won't post about them until tomorrow.....that is, unless they make a big trade.)

Flyers Lose Again; What Now?

The Flyers continued their losing ways, by dropping one to the woeful Islanders by a score of 4 - 3. The loss was their fourth straight, and I personally, can only think of one good game that they've played since the All-Star break (their shutout win over Anaheim).

You simply can't watch their games recently and pick out one thing that's wrong with this team right now; they are woefully out of synch for some reason. They seem to sag at just the wrong time and then, as if by sheer will, the puck ends up in their net.

Last night, they even went the extra mile and gave up 47 shots on goal; they were outshot in every period, up to an including the third period, when they entered the period down by a goal and some sort of extra offensive push would be demanded.

What gives with this team? Some thoughts:

1.) During last Thursday's game, it was implied by the broadcasters that the team was bitten by the flu bug in explaining the team's phlegmatic play. The same excuses sort of continued through the weekend, but at this point, I don't buy the flu. That's a bullshit excuse at this point and doesn't explain the entire team looking badly.

2.) Maybe they miss Simon Gagne. Gagne is an elite player in the league; good both offensively and in his own end. Even when Gagne did come back, he was very tentative and a shell of what he is when his head is right (pun intended). The type of two way play that Gagne provides has been missing from quite a few players lately; notably Danny Briere (now a -18 for the year!). Maybe they address some of what Gagne brought at the trade deadline; maybe they don't.

3.) These are the dog days of the season and older defensemen like Derian Hatcher and Jason Smith are simply worn down. Hatcher has been a minus player in 3 of the last 4 games.

4.) There is always the school of thought at this time of year about concern for the trade deadline. I think it's fairly obvious that the Flyers have some chips to trade and they definitely have the ability to make a move; with or without Forsberg coming on board. Perhaps this is making the team play tight and trying to do everyone else's job; including their own.

I think there is something to a combination of the trade deadline theory and possibly, a Peter Forsberg angle as well. Chuck Gormley, excellent Flyers beat writer from the Courier-Post, points out today in a rare blog entry, espouses this very thought:

You might have seen a quote from Marty Biron in one of my recent stories saying the players aren't talking about it (JD add: "it" refers to Forsberg's return). With all due respect to Marty, he's lying. Guys in the dressing room ARE talking about it, Someone asked me every other day what's going on with Foppa. Jim Dowd is wondering because his job's at stake. Mike Knuble's wondering because he'd like to play with the guy instead of getting traded to Detroit to make room for him.

Sometimes, from what I understand, players hear stories about who is coming to the team and they begin to lay upon the imminent arrival of that player some sort of savior complex, such that they stop focusing on their job and what they can do and begin focusing on what the player, who is not even here yet, may or may not mean to the team. This is common around the trade deadline, but in the Flyers' case, there is an even weirder circumstance because of the Peter Forsberg dilemma (or as Gormley skillfully calls it "The Foppa Soap Opera").

Forsberg's decision is supposed to come this weekend and not a moment too soon.

Andre Miller Dazzles Mavs; Peter Forsberg Concerns

Andre Miller led the Sixers last night to a 84-76 wins over the Dallas Mavericks last night in one of the most satisfying wins of the season for the Sixers. He was truly dominant in this game as his poked and prodded his way through Dallas' defense en route to 21 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds.

The cynic in me could say that the Mavs played the night before this game; they were perhaps tired. Or that maybe Andre Miller was putting on an audition for the point guard needy Dallas Mavericks.

I think the cynic in me, while right alot of the time, is wrong on this occasion.

When the Sixers are going poorly, they drop these types of games, whether the opposition played last night or not. And as for Miller, the NBA's co-player of the week, he's put up these types of numbers before and he's been nothing, if not consistent, for the Sixers. Seeing these performances makes me wish we had him a few years ago to put next to Allen Iverson.

I'm sure Miller would like to be playing for a contender (who wouldn't?), but I'm not even sure that Dallas is a good fit, trade-wise for the Sixers. I'm sure there is some NBA dork out there who plays with the NBA trade machine on ESPN.com who could find a good trade suitor for Miller's services, but I'm pretty sure Dallas isn't it.

Regardless of any cynical questions, this was a real good win for this young team.

Tell Me Again: Why do the Flyers Need Peter Forsberg?

Look, I'm all in favor of trying to make the hockey team better. I know how moribund the offense has been lately.

But really: Do we need to go through this whole Peter Forsberg "thing" again?
The way I see it, the following are reasons that GM Paul Holmgren should tell Forsberg's agent that the Flyers aren't:

1.) You've committed 20 years and $121 million dollars for Danny Briere and Mike Richards to be your number 1 and 2 centers. Now, we want to throw a 35 year old Peter Forsberg in the mix? Which of these huge investments do we now want to move out of position? Is the plan to put Forsberg with a grouping of 3rd line pluggers and trade away Jeff Carter? Please tell me that's not the plan, because I am so not on board with it.

2.) Do we really need to have to wonder every time this guy skates off of the ice whether or not his foot is sitting in his boot properly? Is it that we'd like to revisit the whole transglobal trek he took last year to find the proper boot insert? Don't we, as Flyers fans, already know too much about skate boot technology? Do we not already know where the skate boot experts are?

3.) At 35 years old, will he even be what he was the first year here with the Flyers? Unless he is juicing or superhuman, I don't think so.

4.) Last I checked, the Flyers could use another a puck moving presence on the blueline, and MAYBE, a cheap, veteran rental player who can score a little bit to play with Jeff Carter, not an aging Swedish diva.

If Forsberg does come over here, I hope I'm wrong, because the Flyers definitely have some holes right now and I'm hoping that whatever Forsberg does have left, he can at least help mask those holes. But as it stands right now, I don't think Peter Forsberg is right for what ails this Flyers team.

Update: This video, courtesy of Hockeybuzz.com, does not change my mind, but Foppa looks like he's moving pretty good:

The Sixers? Playoffs?!?@ Playoffs??

Ummm...don't look now, but the Sixers, after beating the LA Clippers last night by a score of 101-80 are only a 1/2 game out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the NBA Eastern Conference.

How bad is the East if the Sixers have a shot at the 8th spot?

Don't get me wrong; I like a lot of the Sixers' young players, but this team lacks lots of elements you need to be successful in the NBA: any sort of 3-pt. threat, a consistent inside scoring threat, the lack of good perimeter defense, etc, etc. I could go on and on. And alot of the issues are mostly due to lack of talent and the poor construction of the team, in general.

But the fact that the Sixers are this close to a playoff spot is a testament to the young talent on this team as well as coach Mo Cheeks. Cheeks, not thought of as an elite coach in this league, seems to be making the best of the state of flux that the Sixer organization is currently experiencing.

The real trick is to figure out what is best for the franchise: making the playoffs this year or to continue to trade away assets in order to rebuild for this summer? That is the question for GM Ed Stefanski.

The Flyers

The Flyers lost again to that paragon of goaltending Stephen Valiquette and the NY Rangers by a score of 2 - 0. The Flyers' offense is simply non-existent right now. Simon Gagne is still trying to find his game as there were several occasions where he lost puck battles or simply looked disinterested in getting into a prolonged puck battle.

Defensively, I thought the Flyers played about as well as you could. The first goal was a miscommunication between the defense and the goaltender, but otherwise, they were solid. Derian Hatcher was an absolute beast in this game, playing about as physically as I've seen from him in a long time. The team, in general, possibly from being frustrated at not scoring consistently, seemed to have a collective burr under their saddle. A huge fight in the 2nd period occurred, punctuated by Steve Downie beating Fedor Tyutin like he stole something. Mike Richards seemed to be searching out a fight for most of the 2nd period, first trying to go with Sean Avery and later, he finally did go with Brandon Dubinsky.

But other than the spark from the fight, the Flyers' offense has been largely dormant of late. You sort of wonder how much this has to do with the Peter Forsberg rumors that have been circulating about, because the way they are playing offensively reminds me of how they played last year when Forsberg was flying all over the globe searching for a new skate boot.

Super Tuesday Indeed; Flyers and Sixers Win

While America seemed to either going to or monitoring the polls in what is probably one of the messiest, least understood process in American politics (the system of primaries and caucuses), the home teams were busy winning their respective games.

The Flyers, behind a late goal by Steve Downie, beat Atlanta by a score of 3 -2. This game had some interesting moments when action was back and forth, but Atlanta mostly played a patient game of laying back and waiting for Flyer mistakes. As a result, the Flyers had to do the same; it was very similar to last Tuesday's game against the Kings in both tempo and score.

One thing from yesterday's previews of this game in the media bothered me.

Alot was made in previews of yesterday's game and in today's reports in the papers about how well Antero Niitymaki plays against the Atlanta Thrashers, and specifically, his countryman Kari Lehtonen (check here, here, and here). I guess there was some sort of rivalry with Lehtonen when these two were younger back in Finland, but who cares? Unless they've changed the game such that the two goalies now can simply shoot on each other, air hockey-style, I don't understand the relevance of matching goalies up against one another. That's as dumb as swapping out your starting QB for your backup simply because your backup beat the other team's starting QB back in college.

As for Niitymaki's playing well against Atlanta, well, what are the odds of that? They made the playoffs last year for the first time in their short 7 year history! That means there are plenty of goalies with good records against the Thrashers. This was simply another excuse for Stevens to get his boy Niitymaki some extra playing time. At least Biron will be going tomorrow night against the Caps on Ron Hextall Night.

The Sixers Comeback

The Sixers, who choked up a 20-point lead to lose on Monday, came back at home last night against the Washington Wizards and won by a score of 101 - 96. The guy quickly becoming one of my favorite Sixers, Thaddeus Young, had another good night, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 boards.

Cheeks went with a younger lineup and it paid dividends. They pressed defensively and guys were generating easy offense off of it. It sounds simple, but with the young legs Cheeks had on the court often come the mistakes typical of inexperience. The risk worked out last night. Specifically benefitting was Rodney Carney, who had a couple of sweet open court dunks. I don't know about Carney's future as a player on the Sixers, but he does look so smooth when he runs the floor.

Other heroes in the Sixers win were Andre Iguodala with 20 points and Andre Miller with 11 points and 14 assists. Miller has had double-digit assists in two of the last three games, but before that, it had been more than a month (12/30 vs. Portland) since he had a double-digit assist night.