Flyers Enter 2008 Exhibition Schedule

The Flyers started training camp last weekend and even had their 1st preseason game last night. I didn't watch it, because it wasn't on TV, but the Flyers did attempt to webcast it.

For whatever reason, I couldn't get it to work, but I applaud the idea and hope they can get the kinks worked out of televising NHL games over the internet.

Just off of the top of my head, here are 10 storylines to monitor as the Flyers progress through their camp and preseason schedule:

1.) How will Simon Gagne play as he gets back into the grind of the NHL schedule? Will he play tentatively, or will he come back as the 40+ goal scorer we've seen in the past?

2.) How will Mike Richards adjust to the burden of the captaincy?

3.) Will Jeff Carter earn his new contract? You can argue he is slightly overpaid right now, but might be a bargain by year 3 of his deal if his upside is what everyone believes it to be.

4.) Which young Flyer prospect will make the team out of camp? Steve Downie or Claude Giroux?

5.) Can Scott Upshall stay out of John Stevens' doghouse?

6.) Of the gaggle of defensemen that GM Paul Holmgren acquired during the off-season, which ones will make the team?

7.) Can Braydon Coburn build off of his success from last year?

8.) Which goaltender is Martin Biron? The one benched in favor of Antero Niittymaki during stretches of the regular season or the one that practically stole a playoff series from Montreal all by himself?

9.) How much will the Flyers miss assistant coach Terry Murray, who did a great job with the defensemen last year? Murray has moved on to become head coach of the LA Kings.

10.) This team could very easily have missed the playoffs last year and it would have probably resulted in John Stevens' firing. If the Flyers struggle in the first half of the year, will the Flyers fire Stevens?

One more important item: Tim Panaccio, formerly the Flyers beat writer for the Inquirer, is now blogging over at HockeyBuzz.com. According to what I read over there, Panaccio took a buyout from the Inky. Panaccio was always one of my favorite writers (even when he covered the Eagles beat for the Inky), so I'll look forward to checking out his work over at HockeyBuzz.

The Flyers 2008 Post-Mortem

If you have told me that the Flyers would be in the Eastern Conference Finals just one year removed from being the worst team in the NHL, I would probably have tried to buy a quantity of whatever it was you were smoking or taking. To go from a team that couldn't get out of it's own way to advance in the playoffs to the final 4 in the NHL was beyond the expectations of the most stepford of Flyers fans.

But as great as the turnaround was, if you look at the big picture, it still appears as if there is a talent gap between what the Flyers have now and what the two teams going to the Finals have on their rosters.

First and foremost, they need to find a way to build some depth along the blue line. When Timonen and Coburn went down, the Flyers' defense was woefully inadequate for a run at the Cup. Now, not a lot of teams would be well equipped to lose their top two defensemen, but the mobility and talent gap between their top two defensemen and their bottom 4 defensmen was exposed for all to see. Not every player has to be Kimmo Timonen (although that would be great), but you'd like your defensemen to be mobile and good passers such that they can move the puck to the forward moving with speed, rather than the forward standing around and waiting to receive a puck bounced off of the boards with no real purpose.

Secondly, the Flyers need to find out who can play with Danny Briere. Early in the year, Briere and Simon Gagne developed some good chemistry. When Gagne became enmeshed with his concussion issues, Briere struggled with various linemates until the Flyers acquired Vinny Prospal the day before the deadline. The Flyers cannot afford to have a guy like Briere, in whom a ton of money is invested, struggling to find linemates for long stretches of 5-on-5 play. The assumption is that Gagne will come back and be the same player, but after what we've seen after Eric Lindros and Keith Primeau got laid up with concussions, that is not a great assumption.

Finally, I would be more comfortable going forward with this team if they developed a more systemic identity with respect to how they play. Think about it....what is the identity of the Flyers? If you believe the National media and uninformed trolls on message boards, the Flyers are a bunch of untalented goons. While Flyer observers know that is incorrect, what is apparent is that the Flyers don't have an identity they can look to when things aren't going so well in order to baseline their play. Are the Flyers a forechecking attacking team? Are they a trapping team? Are they a counterpunching team? They've been all of those things at certain points of last season and I'm not certain they are good at any one of them such that they could lean on that particular style to get them over in difficult situations.

Breaking down the roster observations by position.....

Forwards:

- Mike Richards is going to be the captain of this team next year whether Jason Smith is here or not (which he probably won't be). Richards made a huge leap as a player and his work in the playoffs only served to further raise his profile. He is to this team what Chase Utley is to the Phillies.

- Jeff Carter will get a big raise as a restricted free agent and probably cemented it with a stretch of dominant games that he had when Mike Richards was out just before the playoff run.

- If Simon Gagne can come back, that would be great, but it would behoove Paul Holmgren to have a plan B in case Gagne gets scatterbrained. Before the playoffs, I was very much in favor of resigning Prospal as that Plan B. Unless the words "surgery" and "Vinny Prospal" appear in the same sentence this week, he will not be getting any faster this offseason, and his lack of speed is probably why he disappeared for long stretches in the playoffs.

- A lot of people believe that RJ Umberger is going to be a big time player, especially after the Montreal series. While I appreciate what Umberger did, I'd be VERY careful if I were Paul Holmgren to not break the bank for this guy. For one thing, he just turned 26; he's not some young kid just out of junior hockey. He doesn't really have a line to call home and I don't see him getting much better than he is right now. He scored 12 goals during the regular season last year; 6 against the Pens alone. If they can keep Umberger for a year or two for a reasonable number that won't kill their cap, I'd be happy with that. But if Umberger holds out for money befitting a top 6 forward, that will be a problem. If that is the case, maybe you think about shopping Umberger, whose value may never be higher.

- Another player who could be moved is Mike Knuble. He is going to be another year older and another year slower. They would be wise to make sure they can replace Knuble's power play prowess, however, before they consider moving him. Sami Kapanen, while slowing down some, can still be a valuable 4th liner and solid soldier in the lockerroom. I suspect the Flyers will leave it up to Kapanen to see if he has another year left. He may just retire and return to Finland as he has threatened to do in the past.

- Whatever problems John Stevens has with Scottie Upshall (healthy scratch at time during the season), hopefully Upshall's playoff performance has swung the coach. More Upshall in the lineup, please.

- Steve Downie needs to work on his skating as well as his self-discipline. He will also need the benefit of the doubt from Stevens to some extent; Downie will not improve by sitting in the press box.

- Will Claude Giroux (QMJHL MVP) make the team out of camp next year? Alot of folks are assuming this without figuring out where, exactly, he would play. You can't put this guy on the 4th line. A little time on the Phantoms wouldn't hurt.

Defensemen

- It was amazing to watch the development of Braydon Coburn over the course of the year. He has truly developed into a top notch NHL defenseman.

- I've written this before, but Kimmo Timonen is an absolute beast. He is better than was advertised when the Flyers signed him.

- Randy Jones probably made himself some money with a really solid playoff. He is a restricted free agent and I have no problem with the Flyers bringing him back in a role no better than the 4 or 5 defenseman.

- Don't be surprised to see Lasse Kukkonen traded. I just don't think Stevens likes him.

- Youngster Ryan Parent, obtained in the Peter Forsberg deal, probably earned himself a spot on the team starting out of camp with a stellar effort under fire in the playoffs. I still don't understand, though, how a guy that skates as well as Parent has absolutely no discernible offensive skills.

- Now this is where things get a little tougher. Jason Smith was the perfect captain for this team, but his injuries (from what I read today, BOTH shoulders were seperated) and lack of foot speed kept him from performing optimally. Derian Hatcher practically had his knee drained every day and is fighting age (he's 35) and lack of foot speed. I think the Flyers can afford to have one of these slower, more physical defensemen back, but NOT both.

The thing to be aware of is that you can't simply jettison both of these guys without replacing their physicality. Both can fight and both are a bitch to go up against in the corners and along the boards. There were rumors about Smith wanting to go back to New Jersey (where he originally was drafted) for reasons I cannot possibly fathom (who would want to live in North Jersey?). Hatcher? He may retire or get bought out (he makes about $3.5 million). Regardless of the outcome of the situation with these two similar defensemen, the Flyers will need to replace those skills that they did bring to the table.

- Young Flyers defensemen to look for next year? "Nasty" Nate Guenin could supply toughness from the blueline next year (146 PIMs for the Phantoms last year). Guenin is probably the first call-up in case of injury. Oskars Bartulis is a rangy, smooth skating defensemen with offensive skills. Michael Ratchuk is an offensive minded defenseman that played with the Phantoms in the Calder Cup playoffs for 5 games and should be a big time player on the Phantoms next year.

Goaltending

- Martin Biron is the undisputed starting goaltending on this team right now. Whether it was the right thing to do or not to shuffle him in and out of the lineup during the regular season, this is Biron's team now.

- Antero Niittymaki will probably be back. He will be under contract in the coming year, but at what point do you actually start grooming a young(er) successor to Marty Biron? Biron is 30 and is not the biggest guy in the world. Biron cannot play as many games as say, Martin Brodeur. Niitty will suffice next year as a safety net, but I wouldn't give Niitty another contract, unless it is understood that he is the backup.

- Dovetailing off of the previous point, the Flyers definitely need to identify a young, up and coming goaltender to foster in their system in the next year or two. Phantoms goalies Scott Munroe, Martin Houle, and Michael Teslak are middling prospects at best.

Coaching

- There is a big movement to give John Stevens a long term extension. Not so fast, in my opinion. Stevens is a good, young coach, but I worry about his ability to shape the identity of this team. He was almost fired back in March and was publicly called out by Paul Holmgren to step up. I would wait until December, to see how the team comes out of the gate before I start awarding Stevens with a long term deal. Stevens might be the right guy now, in that he is a young, player-empathetic coach, but this team may need more of a task master to get to the next level.

Available Free Agents Who Could Help

- The cap will go up a bit, and barring some huge move to free up a ton of cap space, I'm not sure the Flyers will be huge players in the free agent, unlike last year where they scored Briere, Timonen, and Hartnell.

The obvious free agent who would help immediately is Brian Campbell, former Sabre defenseman. There are other, cheaper options for a puck rushing/moving defenseman. Namely, Colorado's John Michael-Liles, Ottawa's Wade Redden, and Montreal's Mark Streit.

Flyers Down 2 Games to Pens

The Game 1 loss almost seemed like a Kimmo Timonen hangover.

The Game 2 loss is a little more vexing, only because I feel like if the Flyers got as many breaks as the Pens got last night, the series could be even. And while they did lose 4 - 2 and are down 2 games to none in this best of 7 series, I certainly do not believe that the Flyers are out of this series by any stretch of the imagination.

Losing Braydon Coburn in the opening minutes of the game last night was just a crushing loss to a team already missing their best defenseman. It really impeded any sort of momentum the team had in terms of how they had planned to come at the Pens. I don't know what the hit totals were, but I did feel that the Flyers were doing a good job at taking a more physical approach to the game. If this were the regular season, I wouldn't bat an eye at how the team played last night, because I thought they played well. They just didn't play well enough and certainly did not get any bounces offensively. I think if they can keep up this level of play, they Pens can almost certainly be had.

As for the particulars of the games from the weekend, what more can be said of Mike Richards? He scored both goals on Friday night and scored on a beautiful shorthanded breakaway that tied the game for the Flyers near the end of the 2nd period and gave them momentum. He's been hitting, winning faceoffs (63% last night) and I wouldn't be surprised if it was Richards that actually sewed up Braydon Coburn in the dressing room after he got hit in the eye.

The one thing that has concerned me in the two playoff games so far is that Danny Briere and Vinny Prospal have almost been non-entities in this series. We cannot have Danny Briere get outplayed by Jordan Staal (the line Briere seems to be matched up against) and have any expectation of success

Did you notice?

- Happy that Steve Downie got in the game last night. Sad that he gave up the turnover on the game winner. This is not the last we'll hear of Steve Downie.

- Huge hit, by the way, from Downie on Kris Letang.

- For all of Tyler Kennedy's wild flailing, I'm not sure he made contact with Scottie Upshall's face once. While Kennedy was the busier fighter, Upshall landed a couple solid ones in their first period fight. What a bunch of fake tough guys on the Pens. The Pens are better off when they shy away from the rough stuff.

- The two penalties that were called on Derian Hatcher were two of the most bogus calls I had seen in all of the playoffs. The alleged hooking call, where Hatcher made was simply a real good defensive play on Malkin, was just the worst call of the playoffs. If they made that call both ways, the Flyers would have had far more power play time than they had.

(Picture: (AFP/Getty Images/Jim Mcisaac))

Flyers, Biron Best Habs in Game 3

For all of those years, I saw the New Jersey Devils come into Philadelphia and kick the Flyers' asses with a French Canadian goaltender named "Martin", I always wondered what it would be like to have our dominant French Canadian goaltender named "Martin".

Well, last night, I found out, as the best player on the ice for both teams was none other than Flyers goaltender Martin Biron, as the Flyers beat the Habs 3 - 2 to take a 2 games to 1 lead in their best of 7 series.

Biron's performance could not have been more timely. The Flyers gave up 8 power plays, including a solid 2 minutes of 5 on 3 power play time and a full 5 minute power play assessed to Derian Hatcher for boarding.

At the other end of the rink, Habs rookie goalie Carey Price was shaky to say the least. Scottie Upshall beat him pretty clean on his goal, but the Mike Richards shorthanded goal was one Price should have had and the goal seemed to suck the life right out of the Canadiens. When a fat rebound kicked out to RJ Umberger for the 3rd goal of the game, you had a feeling that maybe the Canadiens were considering pulling Price, which they eventually would do.

Let's be clear: This was, by far, not a perfect game by the Flyers. I thought the officiating was a bit one-sided, but the Flyers need to play a little smarter. The Derian Hatcher play is a perfect example. While I don't believe the play warranted a full 5 minute major (should have been a double minor for boarding), Hatcher should have never put himself in that position to begin with. Lasse Kukkonen took two bad penalties in the latter stages of the 2nd and 3rd period. Because of all the penalties, the penalty killers saw a lot of ice time and you can never get into an offensive rhythm when you're killing penalties the whole game.

Did you notice?

- The play where Steve Downie allegedly tripped goaltender Carey Price was a good example of how Downie cannot catch a break of any sort from the officials. Price clearly flopped and threw his own mask off in embellishing the call and it should have been called a dive. The penalty calls should have been evened out on that play, but it was just another example of shaky officiating.

- Montreal definitely had a territorial advantage as the game wore on. The Flyers were outshot 17 - 2 in the 3rd period. Yikes. They need to tighten that up going into Game 4.

- Has any Flyer been the recipient of more good bounces in the first 3 games of this series than RJ Umberger? That second period rebound, after a Jeff Carter shot, came right onto his stick for the eventual goal. Carter couldn't have passed it to him that well.

- Another strong game from Braydon Coburn.

At the game:

- Don't know how it sounded on TV, but the "Marty! Marty!" chants were real loud in the arena. After Upshall scored, you couldn't hear Lou Nolan announce who scored it was so loud.

- Not a ton of Montreal fans, but a few. A couple of idiots in my section brought a sign with them all the way from Montreal, which was in French, so none of us knew what it said. To bring a sign down to a hockey game in another country, it had better say something pretty damned profound. After they put their sign up a couple of times, the fans behind them (most of which are regulars in that section) yelled for them to keep the sign down.

- Saw a good number of Montreal fans leave before the end of the game. Weak!

- The heavy rains before the game put a damper on the pregame tent activities, which was a shame.

- PLEASE stop booing the Canadian national anthem! The Flyers anticipated this, and had Danny Briere record a message asking the fans to respect both anthems, but a bunch of knuckleheads booed anyway. It makes no sense to boo that anthem, considering the majority of the Flyers are, in fact, Canadian. Also -- the "USA, USA" chant when the officials were sorting out the penalties when Price flopped like a fish was sort of infantile. We aren't fighting WWIII our there. This isn't the Iranian national team. You want jingoism? Go rent "Miracle".

- They did the "God Bless America" thing with Lauren Hart and Kate Smith again last night. They are in danger of making it not so special.

- Harkening back to the last series, where a Washington Post reporter said the orange clad Flyer fans all looked like security at a Megadeth concert, the Flyers got Megadeth's Dave Mustaine to record a little speech to rile up the crowd. It worked...and you can probably expect to see it again in Game 4 if you're going.

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Flyers-Habs Round 2 Preview

Round 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs begin tonite for two teams that had to go to a Game 7 in order to meet up.

Montreal defeated a plucky Boston Bruin team in 7 games and were led by rookie goalie Carey Price, who turned aside 25 shots to lead his team. The Flyers, as we all know, had it a little tougher, going to OT, before Joffrey Lupul ended matters with his first goal of the playoffs.

At first blush, this matchup doesn't look good for the Flyers. They were swept in the season series with Montreal, losing all 4 matchups by a combined total of 15 - 6. In the games with Montreal, the Flyers just looked slow and flatfooted. The interesting thing about the losses to Montreal is that everytime the Flyers seemed to be facing the Habs, it was during a period of time when the Flyers weren't playing well. They lost twice to Montreal, back to back, during that 10 game losing streak they had in February that almost blew the Flyers' season. The first time they lost to the Habs, it was their 3rd loss in 4 games and their second loss against the Habs came after they had just blown out the Pens by a score of 8 - 2 in an emotional game. It wasn't as if the Habs saw the Flyers at their best this year.

What does that mean? I think it means this series will be closer than many of the pundits realize.

Forwards:

Unlike Washington, Montreal does not have that one sniper who can single-handedly carry the team like Ovechkin. Also unlike Washington, Montreal is a deep and talented team at forward. Alex Kovalev has rejuvenated his career this year and is the statistical leader of this team. Captain Saku Koivu, though oft-injured nowadays, is still the heart and soul of this team and can still play a little bit (40 assists in 77 regular season games) when he's out there. Montreal also has good young talent, featuring the flying Kostitsyn brothers, Sergei and Andrei. Both have developed nicely, with Andrei being the more prolific scorer with 26 regular season tallys. Both centers Tomas Plekanec and Christoper Higgins scored over 25 goals this year. Overall, Montreal is very, very fast at forward.

The Flyers will not hold the dominance in the center position that it did in the Washington series. Briere, Richards, and Carter are going to all have to hold their own against the center combination of Plekanec-Koivu-Higgins. In a way, not having to worry about Ovechkin may free up Mike Richards to be more aggressive offensively. Danny Briere seems immune to the boos that he will certainly receive from the Montreal faithful, and I'm sure the Flyer faithful will find someone to hate (I nominate Kovalev). For the Flyers to be successful, they will need more offense from Upshall, Lupul, and Hartnell, as power play specialist Mike Knuble will be unavailable for the beginning of this series. By the way: Riley Cote should never see the ice in this series. Slight edge: Montreal

Defensemen:

Get to know the name Mike Komisarek. He is an American born player and he reminds me more of Scott Stevens than any other young player since Stevens left hockey. He is a shutdown d-man and Danny Briere will probably see alot of him. Montreal also has two more offensive-minded defensemen in Andrei Markov (16 goals) and Mark Streit (13 goals). Roman Hamrlik (remember him? first pick of the NHL draft about a billion years ago?) also lines up on the blueline for Montreal and it's good to see he's alive.

The Flyers are definitely at a disadvantage on the blueline, speed-wise, against Montreal. Fortunately, one of the goats from the regular season in the games against Montreal, Jim Vandermeer, no longer plays here anymore. But that doesn't mean the Flyers aren't going to have trouble with the speedy Montreal forwards when Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher are on the ice. As such, those two older, but tougher Flyers will need to punish the faster Montreal forwards when they get the chance. Especially Hatcher.

On the other side of the coin, as with Mike Richards, I think you'll see a little more offense from Kimmo Timonen, as he's not going to have to be inside of Ovechkin's jersey for 7 games in this series. Not that he won't have his hands full defensively, but the assignments cannot be compared. Someone from the blueline like Lasse Kukkonen or Randy Jones will need to play a little over their heads to make this matchup even. Edge: Montreal.

Goalies:

Montreal goalie Carey Price gets a lot of attention for his accomplishments at the junior level. He is much bally-hooed. However, he is still a rookie with only 41 NHL regular season games under his belt and 7 playoff games. He hasn't won a thing at the NHL level and did not play minor league hockey. He is good, but he's still young.

Martin Biron held the Flyers in during the tumultuous game 7 against Washington and broke through with his first playoff series win. He's playing his angles well and is controlling rebounds, which will be important in this series.

I'm going to go against some of the conventional wisdom and say this matchup is Even. I understand Price's pedigree, but he's not even old enough to drink yet. I understand that folks want to annoint this guy as the next Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden (two rookie Montreal goalies that led them to Stanley Cups), but I have a little more respect for history than that. He may well be the next one in that great line of Montreal goalies, I don't know. Let's see this kid do it first before we put him in the hall of fame.

Coaches:

Former captain of the Canadiens and current coach Guy Carbonneau is widely respected in hockey circles. He is considered one of the greatest defensive forwards to have ever played the game. In his second year as coach, his team won the Northeast division and had the best record in the conference after completely missing the playoffs last year. He is almost definitely a coach of the year candidate.

John Stevens didn't have anything close to Carbonneau's on-ice career, but as a coach, Stevens definitely has more experience when you consider his minor league success. Like Carbonneau, Stevens' team missed the playoffs last year. Unlike Carbonneau, Stevens' team almost missed the playoffs this year and if they did, he probably would have been fired. His players like him, which is good or bad, depending on how important you think such things are. Slight nod to Montreal.

Intangibles/Conspiracy theories:

Wouldn't a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Eastern Conference final make an excellent story? Or how about Montreal's drive for another Stanley Cup? As the last Canadian team, will the officials have a say in this affair? Doesn't Montreal have some sort of kharma deficit for burning out police cars after their Game 7 win in a FIRST ROUND playoff series? I'd say this is Even.

The Prediction:

Some are predicting either a Montreal sweep or Montreal winning in 5 games. Me? I think that Montreal will have at least one game where they make the Flyers look just plain bad and blow them out. I also think that the Flyers will have at least one game where they just punish Montreal physically. This series will be closer than some think. Unlike most, I think the Flyers can win this series if they assert their physicality and get a break here or there. However, just looking at the two teams, it's hard to pick against Montreal here, despite that I'm a huge Flyer fan and season ticket holder (see you at the game on Monday!). Montreal in Six tough games.

Flyers Face Game 7

I missed a ton of stuff to talk about over the past few days as we threw a party for my son, who turned two, and I had to play Mr. Mom yesterday and didn't have time to post anything.

But today, let's stick with the Flyers, who put themselves in just a brutal hole by dropping a 4 - 2 decision in front of their home crowd in one of the most frustrating games of the year. This was after they got up 2 - 0 on the strength of their seemingly rejuvenated power play.

At about the midway point of the game, it was as if the Flyers stopped skating and hoped the Capitals would simply quit. Not only did the Caps not quit, but I wonder if that game gave Alexander Ovechkin the confidence he may have been missing and would possibly propel him to carry his team to a Game 7 win tonite. Ovechkin finished with 2 goals, including the backbreaking goal on a breakaway near the start of the third period. This was the same segment that saw the Flyers put a ton of pressure on the Caps, to no avail, and included Braydon Coburn solidly ringing one off of the post.

I'm not so sure about how the Flyers will even come out tonite and to be honest, I'm not feeling terribly optimistic. There is much to be concerned about with this team right now. Specifically:

1.) Can Martin Biron handle back-to-back starts? He has not done well with these situations through the regular season.

2.) Can John Stevens make the necessary adjustments? Last night marked the second time this series his team coughed up a lead.

3.) Will any of the Flyers secondary scoring show up? Hartnell, Upshall, and Lupul have 1 goal combined. Last night, Lupul finally posted an assist to give him 1 point for the series, which is only one more than I have. Also, the Flyers d-men currently have 1 goal in this series and that belongs to Derian Hatcher, of all people. I can't call out Kimmo Timonen here, as his task has been to keep an eye on Ovie, but the rest of the guys on the blueline (*cough*Randy Jones*cough*) need to pick up the slack offensively.

4.) Can the Flyers sufficiently hide Jason Smith? He's a -6 in this series so far. Love his heart and grit, but he is not getting any faster in this series.

The puck drops at 7 tonite down in DC.

Briere Pots Two; Beats Caps

Danny Briere scored two very big goals and Vinny Prospal had 3 assists as the Flyers thumped the Washington Capitals by a score of 6 - 3.

With a charged Wachovia center crowd completely berzerk, the Flyers came out strong against the Caps in the first period, putting 11 shots on goal, scoring on 3. Briere's first goal featured two exceptional passes; first by Braydon Coburn on the breakout and then by Prospal, while Briere and Prospal were on the rush into the Capitals zone. The goal that really set the place on fire in the first period, however, was the third goal.

Occurring a mere 17 seconds after Scott Hartnell scored to make it a 2 - 1 game, Jim Dowd stole a breakout pass from Washington's Milan Jurcina, and left a drop pass to Kapanen, who made no mistake with the puck. The place was already going nuts from when Hartnell scored; after Kapanen scored, the Wachovia center exploded and you never really felt Washington had much of a chance after that.

There were a couple of anxious moments in this game; specifically, the injury to Kimmo Timonen. Timonen has done a great job in leading the charge of keeping Alex Ovechkin under wraps. Losing Timonen for any length of time will be costly to the Flyers and from the awkward and forceful way he plowed into the base of the Capitals' goal camera, I'd be surprised if Timonen didn't miss some time.

Another anxious moment was the Capitals' third goal, by Brooks Laich, which was almost definitely hit with a high stick. That goal, which should not have counted, made the score 4 - 3 Flyers, and coupled with the Timonen injury, made for some unwanted strang und durm.

The anxiety was eased, however, when Mike Richards picked up a Capitals turnover and set sail towards Cristobal Huet. Richards was hauled down and was awarded a penalty shot by "Donut" Don Koharski. On the subsequent penalty shot, Richards used the "Forsberg Move", where subtle juking gets the goalie moving laterally, and deftly tucked the puck between Huet's legs for the back breaker.

Game 4 will be Thursday at the Wachovia Center.

Did you notice?

- Scottie Upshall goading Mike Green into a fight. It's obvious that the Caps have had enough of Upshall and as offensively talented as Mike Green is, he got his ass kicked in that fight.

- In what might taint Alex Ovechkin forever in the minds of Flyers fan, the flop that AO took in the 3rd period after the incidental skate contact with RJ Umberger. I'm stunned that he wasn't called for diving on that play. Also, did the lip readers catch what Stevens was yelling at Ovie from the bench?

- The Brooks Laich goal, coupled with the Sixers game on Monday night and some of the crap calls the Phillies have gotten lately, has me wondering if someone forgot to give a donation to the old referees and umpires home. As a Philly sports fan, I'm ready for some better luck with the calls.

- Sergei Federov played several shifts on defense in the game, and at some points, the Caps had 5 forwards out on the ice. The concept of putting 5 forwards on the ice is a move I have always been a fan of in the EA Sports NHL games, so I'm pleased to see an NHL coach use it in a game.

- Nice pass from ex-Flyer Donald Brashear on the Caps' first goal. Donald's got some skill and every now and then, he flashes it. Sometimes, he tries to flash it to the detriment of his hitting game, but Brash can play a little bit.

- Finally, just what in the hell was that celebration that Mike Richards did after he scored on that penalty shot? It was either a reference to the earlier Ovechkin dive or some obscure OHL goal scoring ritual I'd never heard of. Either way, I look forward to hearing some theories on it.

Flyers Split in DC

Bleary eyed and undaunted after a LONG weekend (that lasted until I put down my last beer at 11:45 last night), I can tell you that I believe there is nothing like NHL playoff hockey for it's sheer drama and intensity.

Jeff Carter and RJ Umberger potted goals and Martin Biron closed all windows and doors, giving the Flyers a 2 - 0 victory down in DC. The win gave the Flyers a split in the first two games of the series. For the next couple of games, matters will be negotiated in South Philly. I can assure you that the Wachovia Center will be rocking on Tuesday and Thursday night.

In both games, the Caps came out buzzing in the first period and in both games, the Flyers not only withstood the fury of the adrenalized Caps, but responded in kind. On Friday, it was Vinny Prospal scoring on what could charitably could be called a soft goal. Yesterday, it was RJ Umberger's semi-breakaway.

You can't feel good about things if you're a Caps fan. The Flyers took the best the Caps had to offer in two games in their barn, and the Caps have held the lead for a grand total of about 12 minutes.

It's hard to overstate how well Martin Biron played yesterday. The Caps had some glorious opportunities, especially in the first period, only to be turned away by the immensely confident Biron. Alexander Semin, especially, must be shaking his head. He hit a cross bar in the first period, then just got flat out robbed by Biron in the second period. I don't think I've seen Biron play that well all season.

On top of everything he did on the ice yesterday, Marty Biron will become a father for the 3rd time today. By the time you have read this, Biron and his wife will have already checked into the hospital, and have probably had another child. Having your wife have a C-section on your off day during the playoffs means you have some big time political capital in your marriage.

Observations:
- Watching Scottie Upshall buzz around in both games makes me even angrier that Stevens has sort of buried Upshall all season.

- Note to RJ Umberger: Hate to break it to you, but you deserve the 4th line assignment you have right now. You are not a top 6 forward on this team. Just get over it.

- Kimmo Timonen. Worth. Every. Penny.

Programming note: Phils post later.

What a weekend.....

Last weekend is as about as busy as it gets when you follow the four major sports teams. The results were mostly good, especially for the winter sports teams, who with victories last Friday, both clinched berths in the playoffs for their respective leagues.

The Sixers clinched their playoff berth on the road, by beating the Atlanta Hawks by score of 109 - 104. Andre Iguodala led the way with 30 points and 10 assists. And while the Sixers did drop the backend of the home-and-home series with Atlanta, it shouldn't have dampened the palpable enthusiasm people are starting to acquire for this Sixers team.

The Flyers did not allow a goal all weekend and swept both games from their divisional foes. In doing so, they have earned themselves the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and a playoff date with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Flyers' win against New Jersey last Friday night was nothing short of heroic, while their win yesterday against the Pens was nothing short of anti-climactic. Martin Biron collected both shutouts and seems to be peaking at the right time and Scottie Upshall, seemingly always in Coach Stevens' doghouse, picked up key goals in both games. A preview of the Flyers' playoff foe will come this week.

The Phillies have dropped two in a row to the Reds, but did win in convincing fashion last Friday on the strength of 2 Chase Utley homers. Brett Myers' adjustment back to the rotation was singularly unimpressive in yesterday's loss to the Reds, going only 5 innings once again. The Phils will have an opportunity to salvage a split with the Reds today, with CMH going up against Bronson Arroyo.

Other observations:

- Anyone catch Evgeni Malkin diving like Greg Louganis at the Olympics during yesterday's game? The Penguins are probably happy to be paired up with injury-depleted Ottawa in the playoffs, but if they try to employ their little diving techniques against a Canadian-based team, it will be trumpeted in the press all across North America.

- The last thing the Pens wanted was a playoff series against the Flyers. The Pens would probably win such a series right now, but they would come out of such a series beaten up a little. The Pens, like the Flyers, have shown a commitment to team defense recently, but they cannot hide that paper thin defense forever.

- Willie Green....1 for 11 last Saturday night against Atlanta. U-G-L-Y.

- Encouraging outing from Adam Eaton last Saturday....7 innings, 3 runs, all earned. He deserved a better fate than a ND.

- Hopefully, the league makes a big deal of it when Ken Griffey Jr. gets his 600th homer, which should be shortly the way he has swung the bat against the Phils. You tend to forget about Junior because of the inflated numbers so many other players have put up and the way he has been injured in the past few years. We should appreciate the type of player that Junior is while he is still playing.

Flyers' Playoff Hopes Dim

Last night's 4 - 2 loss to the Penguins would not be viewed so horribly if it occurred in January. After all, this was the 4th game of a 4 game road trip, where the Flyers accumulated 5 of a possible 8 points.

They also didn't play horribly last night. The effort and emotion was very good from start to finish.

If this were January, this would be a loss where, as a fan, you would simply pick up and move on.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, the loss came at about the worst possible time. They are still in 8th place in the conference, which puts them in the playoffs. But they are ahead by only one point. Furthermore, the team behind them, the Washington Capitals, are about the hottest team in the league right now, winning 9 of their last 10. Washington also has an incredibly easy schedule for the last two games, facing Tampa tonite (Go Bolts!) and Florida on Saturday. Both Tampa and Florida are out of the playoffs and are not expected to challenge the white hot Caps

The Flyers' schedule? They face two of their main nemeses at home: New Jersey on Friday and the Pens on Saturday. Both teams are jockeying for playoff position and have given the Flyers fits recently. The Flyers have been owned by the Devils all season and lately, the Pens have been doing a good job of bottling up the Flyers

This does not look good.

Further complicating matters is that if Washington continues to win and if Carolina loses, there is the possibility that Washington leap frogs the 8th spot and ends up in the 3rd spot in the East. That would mean the Flyers would be competing with Carolina for 8th spot. Right now, Carolina has 92 points....one more than the Flyers' 91 points, but the Flyers do have 1 game in hand. Carolina's upcoming schedule? Just one more game against the also-ran Florida Panthers

No sir, this does not look good at all.

Notes:

-The Pens went 4 for 6 on the PP....the Flyers? 1 for 5. Not good enough special teams for this time of year, either on the PP or the PK.

-The Flyers scratched Scottie Upshall last night. The party line is that he takes too many bad penalties. Really? When are they going to scratch Jim Dowd, as he took a stupid hooking call last night and almost took a unsportsmanlike conduct on top of that. The Flyers need Upshall's skill level in the lineup and they need it now.

-This link is an interesting take, from a Pittsburgh perspective, on the history of the Flyers-Pens "rivalry". Kind of a funny read. Almost like the Pens fans and media just discovered hockey or something. Doesn't a rivalry mean that both teams are sort of on some equal footing? As a Flyers fan, I don't like the Pens, but I don't consider them the Flyers' main rival (although it's getting there). The history between the two teams hardly shows a rivalry, with the Flyers dominating the series between the two teams over their respective histories. The Flyers' natural/historical rival, for me, would be either the Rangers or the Devils.