The Jamie Langenbrunner Sweepstakes Are On

Surprise, surprise. The Devils are so desperate for life that they have asked longtime player and current captain Jamie Langenbrunner to waive his no-trade clause earlier today. Even more surprising, one of the top contenders to trade for Langenbrunner turned out to be the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, the Flyers played the Devils in the Prudential Center tonight and what only seemed like an awkward game of hide and seek broke out between Paul Holmgren and Lou Lamoriello. At least according to the Flyers reporters, who kept saying that Homer was looking for Lou.

A trade for Langenbrunner would be very interesting, and one that I am not sure is wholly necessary. The Flyers are one of the best teams in the NHL, why do you need Langenbrunner? Is Laviolette that upset with Nikolay Zherdev?

Langenbrunner's contract expires after this year and is due to be paid $2.8M. That's a pretty big cap hit for a team that is currently just under the salary cap, an amazing feat for Holmgren whose strong points in life do not include math. Rumored offers from the Flyers include a 3rd and 5th round draft pick. Eklund has reported for hours now that Langenbrunner to Dallas is a done deal, though no one else is saying that, including the very reliable Tom Gulitti of The Record, who is saying this whole Langenbrunner saga is a big unknown amongst anyone. Flyers reporters are disagreeing with each other, from Panotch quoting Eklund's Dallas report and getting that report over the air on CSN, to Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer's above tweet that has the Flyers still in it with an exact offer, to Anthony San Filippo of the Delaware County Times yelling at me after tweeting a quote from one of his sources that the Flyers were not getting Langenbrunner moments after Eklund's "report" came out and me asking him if Eklund was his source.

Basically, this whole thing is a huge messy unknown that Lou Lamoriello appears to be sleeping on.

Update: Jamie Langenbrunner is a Dallas Star.

The Most Embarrassing End To A Shootout Ever

Presented without comment.



LOLDEVILS! Enjoy last place, an aging Marty, and that ridiculously long contract, New Jersey.........

Injury Bug Bites Again As The Flyers Lose The Heart And Soul Of Their Team

There are certain guys on the ice who do all the little things so well, that they become just as vital, if not more so than the playmakers, snipers, and the strong defensemen. For the Flyers, that player is Ian Laperriere. And now Ian Laperriere is going to be out for at least a month with a brain contusion and a slight concussion. From Flyers beat writer Tim Panaccio.

Forward Ian Laperriere, who suffered a fracture of the right orbital bone blocking a shot in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against New Jersey, has a concussion, and, even more dangerous, a brain contusion.

He is out indefinitely and likely won’t play again this spring.

“I will play with injuries, but not to my brain,” Laperriere told CSNPhilly.com.

Laperriere’s eye injury does not require surgery.

Laperriere was examined by doctors here and in Pittsburgh on Tuesday where Joseph Maroon, the vice-chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, confirmed he had suffered a brain injury after reviewing a CT scan.

While some Flyers fans will want him to return ASAP, I am of the mindset that he will be better off sitting out the rest of the playoffs for the simple fact that if he is out for at least or even about a month, that puts us late in the conference finals and possibly into the Stanley Cup. If the Flyers make it that far, that likely means that his likely call-up, Andreas Nodl, has done a fine job and the Flyers have done a fine job at rallying around the injuries. Lappy is a fucking warrior and as much as I know he wants to play, it would kill me to see him comeback too soon and suffer a more permanent injury, especially with the brain involved.

For those that have not seen it yet and would like to know what kind of puck to the face it takes to knock out one of the game's good guys and tought as nails warriors, here is the slightly squeamish video.



Having taken a falling golf ball to the eye before, I honestly can't even watch that without seriously wincing in pain. For realz.

I have talked to people who were at that game Game 5 in Newark, and I can confirm those cheers that you heard immediately after the whistle, were cheers of Devils fans, presumably cheering the fact that Laperriere got hurt. Classless. Classless. Classless. Yeah, I know that Philly fans get the rep for cheering an unconscious Michael Irvin (and the same three words that I described those Devils fans can be used to describe those Philly fans: Classless. Classless. Classless.), but how many of you heard about those evil Devil fans cheering an injury to one of the game's toughest, hardest, working, and classiest players? Again, I repeat, perception is not reality. Reality is reality and the reality is there are douche bag and jackass sports fans everywhere, only you just do not hear about them because it is much more funner to single out one city for having a bad reputation than to rail against North American sports fans everywhere, is it not?

Enough of my soapbox and onto an actual piece of goodness on the Flyers injury front. It appears that Simon Gagne, who was originally projected to be out til around the time of Game 6 of a Conference Semifinal series may return as soon as Game 3 of said series. His toe is healing at an extremely fast pace. OMGagne.

NFL Draft Day 1 And April 22 Stanley Cup Playoffs Live Blog: Fighting For Life Begins

Philadelphia @ New Jersey 7:00 (TSN - Chris Cuthbert, ItG: Ray Ferraro)

Ottawa @ Pittsburgh 7:00 (Versus - John Forslund and Darren Eliot, SR: Charissa Thompson) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)

Chicago @ Nashville 8:30 (Versus) (TSN2)

Colorado @ San Jose 10:30 (Versus) (CBC - Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes)

Somebod Please Find Me The Nearest Bridge I Can Jump Off Of

Me. Bridge. Death.

Both Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter are getting foot surgery after their injuries last night. Gagne is going to be out 3 weeks. Carter is out indefinitely.

Sure Gagne has had a hard luck series with little production and Carter could not find much of a groove until last night, but their presence and their threat on the team will be missed. Ville Leino showed promise in the few games he saw at the end of the year, but Phantom call up David Laliberte has the fear of the unknown riding at an all time high. He played in a few games at the beginning of the year and did manage 2 goals in 10 games, but he is a scorer who is going to be asked to fill the role of a grinder. They would have been better off calling up Nodl, in my opinion, but there is going to be plenty of time to change their mind if the Flyers can finish off New Jersey. But I am now worried and fear that even if we beat the Devils, that our chances of losing in the next round have increased tenfold.

Me. Bridge. Death.

CARBOMB!!!!!!!!!!

Martin Brodeur stood on his head for the 3rd period and overtime in this again. The rest of the Devils stood around and did nothing to help him as the Flyers dominated the flow of play and the forecheck. Despite the fact that this was one of the worst officiated playoff games I have ever seen, that does not change the fact that the team that played the better all-around hockey game was the team that won this game. Heck, if not for the man between the pipes, Martin Brodeur, this game would have been a wash.

The Devils spent significantly more time on the PP and were still outshot by the Flyers. In fact, their 2 goals in the game were both on the PP. That does not mean the Flyers PK was bad though. No, they successfully killed off the other 6 and the Devils averaged less than a shot per PP while the Flyers averaged 2 shots per PP. If not for Brodeur, this game could have easily been 5-2 or 6-2 Flyers. Brian Boucher played solid like expected. He did not make any big saves but he did not need to. The 2 Devils goals were both screens on the PP that he could not have done anything about. The Flyers now lead the series 2-1 and will hope to extend that to 3-1 on Tuesday night when the two teams meet for Game 4.

Flyers Vs. Devils: 10 Years Ago.

Forget Super Bowl XXXIX, the 2009 World Series, and any NFC Championship game the Eagles lost in the last decade, the darkest moment of my Philly sports fandom came sitting less than 100 feet behind Brian Boucher in the First Union Center as I helplessly watched Eric Lindros get taken out at center ice and then Elias score the game-winning goal with 2:32 left in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Flyers got some semblance of revenge in 2004, but this one feels a bit different to me. Flyers vs. Devils: 10 Years Later.

History will be made.

Setting The Stage For Tomorrow

(Originally published at Broad Street Hockey)

Tomorrow is the day when all questions will be answered. We all know that the Rangers-Flyers game is win or go home, but on days like this, there always seems to be massive confusion of who will get what seed and who will play who in the Eastern Conference with given results. Seeing as I am someone who compulsively must know this, I figured why not post it here tonight instead of trying to do math in the midst of the tension tomorrow. There are 2 playoff important games in the east tomorrow, the first one being the obvious Rangers-Flyers win or go home game, the 2nd being the Sabres-Devils game which will be a battle for the 2nd place seed. However there is a twist in that game and that is the Devils need only to force overtime in order to clinch the 2nd seed, whereas the Sabres must win in regulation to overtake the Devils for the 2-seed.

So without further ado, here is a breakdown of what the playoff matches will be with given any combination of results in those games tomorrow.

If the Flyers win and the Devils at least force overtime:

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers
#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

If the Flyers win and the Sabres win in regulation:

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
#2 Buffalo Sabres vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers
#3 New Jersey Devils vs. #6 Boston Bruins
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

If the Rangers win and the Devils at least force overtime:

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 New York Rangers
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Montreal Canadiens
#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

If the Rangers win and the Sabres win in regulation:

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 New York Rangers
#2 Buffalo Sabres vs. #7 Montreal Canadiens
#3 New Jersey Devils vs. #6 Boston Bruins
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

I think I've got it all right here. If I have overlooked or forgotten something as I did earlier when I mistakenly thought the Devils had already clinched the 2-seed, then please let me know. Due to our owning the tiebreaker over Montreal, we have successfully avoided the Capitals, but all of that won't matter if we do not beat the Rangers tomorrow. Go Flyers!!!

(FYI, I will have a live blog up tomorrow and will likely be starting in time for the start of the 12:00 meaningless Bruins-Caps game. You say why live blog a meaningless hockey game? I say, why not live blog a meaningless hockey game?)

Assessing Pros And Cons Of The Flyers Post-Season Options

There is a week of regular season hockey remaining and the Philadelphia Flyers are locked in a tight playoff race. Will they make the playoffs? Will they choke it all way? I don't know, but this post will assess the pros and cons of every outcome for the Flyers season, as frankly, there are pros and cons to every remaining outcome.

Choking And Missing Out On The Playoffs

Pros: You mean there are pros to a choke job? Yes. Sure it will be embarrassing and I don't want to see it, but let's face facts, despite the pre-season predictions by the Hockey Almanac, the Philadelphia Flyers are not a Stanley Cup team. On average in the post-lockout league, it takes around 93 points to make the playoffs (this goes for both conferences). Should they win out, the Flyers will max out at 90. That's still 3 points short of what it normally takes and this Flyers team winning 3 more in a row is realistically highly unlikely. This team never developed a chemistry together, as of the moment have 4 playoff goalies with the only one known outside of the Flyers contingent being Brian Boucher (unless you have heard of Johan Backlund, Jeremy Duchesne, and Michael Lee Teslak). I'll have a bit more on Boucher when I look at the pros and cons of the Devils, but really, this is not a threatening team in the playoffs.

Cons: Duh. Like I said, even if a team has no chance of winning it, you still want to see your team in the playoffs, if for no other reason than to have your suspicions confirmed. And even though it is highly unlikely to happen to the Flyers, if they can get hot, the Eastern Conference is not exactly uber-threatening this year (read: it sucks), who knows what can happen.

Now that we've gotten the not-making playoffs situation, the following will be the pros and cons of all of the possible first round match-ups for the Flyers.

New Jersey Devils

Pros: Ask Flyers fans which match-up they like best, and almost all of them will say New Jersey. The pros to this series are really simple in that the Flyers dominated the regular season against the Devils, taking 5 of the 6 games against them. The Devils are a team not as hot as they were in the beginning of the year, Martin Brodeur is not getting any younger and the Devils continue to overuse him like it was his earlier years. Now I know you don't need a Vezina caliber goalie to take this thing, but you need a goalie who won't make dumb mistakes. Fatigue, overused goalies make dumb mistakes. Frankly, the Devils are the only team I have pure confidence that we can beat should we make the playoffs. And then there is the Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. 10 years ago, he played the Devils in the playoffs and even though that series ended in the biggest hockey heartbreak I have ever felt and the worst sports moment I have ever seen live in person, that does not change the fact that earlier in the series he made the greatest save I have ever seen a Flyers goalie make (cue Steve Levy and Darren Pang!)



Cons: Regular season success against a team does not always equate to post-season success against said team. Just ask the Montreal Canadiens. In the 2007-08 regular season, the Habs were 4-0 against the Flyers. Then their conference semifinal playoff series came along and Carey Price turned into the Carey Price we all know today and the Flyers won the series 4 games to 1 in a series that could have just as easily been 4-0. The Flyers are capable of a complete offensive breakdown and who says Martin Brodeur can't channel his play of 10 years ago in an inspired effort for New Jersey. The Devils also have one of the top scorers in the world in Ilya Kovalchuk. He has under-performed since coming to New Jersey but who is to say he does not break out in the playoffs like he is very much capable of?

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pros: Like I said, the Flyers are not winning the Stanley Cup this year. That being said, a successful first round knock out of the Pittsburgh Penguins would be just as good. They got us in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals and the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. Revenge would sure as well be sweet, especially seeing as the Pens would be losing to a team not likely to win the whole thing. And it's not like the Flyers have gotten their butts kicked by the Pens all year long. They have played close games this year.

Cons: Most of those close games have been just that for the Flyers, close calls, good efforts, and oh, we'll get 'em next times. The Flyers have beaten them this year, but the Pens took the season series and face it, when it comes to post-season hockey, Sidney Crosby has our number. He does not lose to the Flyers in post-season hockey. And as sweet as beating the Pens would be, could you imagine the laughter from Pens fans if they eliminate the hated Flyers 3 years in a row? It would be unbearable.

Washington Capitals

Pros: Even though the Caps have the most points in the league, you almost have to pro-rate the Southeast Division, as let's face it, outside of Washington, that division is terrible. The only other team in that division still in the playoff race is the Atlanta Thrashers and they are 3 points out of 8th with 3 games left and games against the Penguins, Devils, and Capitals to close out the season. Thus begs the question, are they really that good? Of the 8 Eastern Conference playoff teams, are tied with the Penguins for having given up the most goals in the regular season (222). If the Flyers offense can play consistently well for that series, it might be as much of a laughter as one would initially think. Then again, I think you can say that about any time heading into the post-season against Washington.

Cons: Scoring 5 goals on Washington will do you no good if the Caps are going to score 6 goals on you. Again I say, you don't need a Vezina caliber goalie to win (though against a team like Washington, it certainly would not hurt), but you need solid defensive play and you need a team to play well in front of that goalie to give someone like Brian Boucher as much of a chance as possible. For some reason, the Flyers have not played well in front of Brian Boucher this season. They have made him a scapegoat amongst the fans when most of the goals he lets in have been unstoppable. And the most notable ones that were his fault occurred at a point in time where the goals made the game 4-0 and 5-1 in favor of the Islanders. That being said, Boucher may have to make some spectacular saves if the Flyers want to win a series with Washington. And even if Boosh can make great saves, this series will come down to how the Flyers play defensively and let's face it, the Flyers defense has been inconsistent all year long. Boosh will be handcuffed and an unfair scapegoat in this series.

Buffalo Sabres

Pros: The Sabres are not a team that scares a lot of people, but should they? They are fighting for a 2-seed and have one of the top goalies in the sport on their team. But why are they constantly being overlooked? The lack of a real star is certainly possible. Not being in a big market is another. Admittedly I have not seen a lot of the Sabres this year but does I have seen them play the Flyers this year and when watching them, I just get the sense that this team is not going to do anything this year. Does anyone feel like this Sabre team is going to win it all? The Flyers have been a team that plays well against good, big-named goalies but struggle against the young goalies. Seriously. Vesa Toskala actually shut the Flyers out once this year. Anton Khudobin made his NHL debut with the Wild against us and won 2-1. Jeff Deslauriers of Edmonton shut us out. Ryan Miller is certainly in the category of the former. Does that would not bode well for most teams bode well for the Flyers?

Cons: When Ryan Miller's back is against the wall, it does not matter how good you are against good goalies, the guy can flat out play goaltender. We saw it in the Olympics and if he is not burned out, we'll see it again in the playoffs. And Buffalo may not have huge offensive superstars that are heard about everyday in the hockey world outside of Buffalo, but they 223 goals this year, which is good for 4th among Eastern Conference Playoff teams and 5th overall in the Eastern Conference, so it's not like these guys are offensively anemic.

While highly unlikely, the Flyers can also play the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs. But due to it's unlikeliness and the fact that Donovan McNabb has just reportedly been traded to the Washington Redskins I won't get into breaking that one down now.

Clueless Devils Announcers Errantly Call A Blowjob Miming A Dinner Bell Signal

And you guys thought the empty IZod Center was the best moment of the day of Jersey fandom, boy were you kidding yourselves (final announced crowd of that Nets game, btw: 1,016; obviously a lot of late arrivals). This Devils fan from the 5,580 at Prudential Center has without a doubt given us one of the best fan videos of the year. Now whenever a fan signals something obscene and it is caught on camera, it is always funny, but when the announcers notice that signal, talk about it as something else not knowing what it really is, it is guaranteed hilarity. Thanks to Broad Street Hockey for the find.



Oh my.

Wow.

Not only is Chico clueless about hockey, he is also clueless about sexual gestures. Good to know!

The Winner Of The Ilya Kovalchuk Sweepstakes Is.......

............The New Jersey Devils.

I'm in hockey hell right about now. Unless they just gave up Parise for Kovy. Then this would be awesome.

The price for Kovy: Oduya, Bergfors, Cormier and a 1st round pick. The Devils also get Anssi Salmela from Atlanta and the teams will swap 2nd round picks in the upcoming draft.

Here's hoping that Jacques Lemaire has problems fitting in a great offensive star like Kovy into his defensive first system in New Jersey.

Everything Old is New Again in Jersey

(Guest posted by James Craven of The O Files)

Jacques Lemaire was hired to coach the New Jersey Devils. Again. The 1990's live. Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick are doing highlights on SportsCenter on ESPN, the Devils are playing at Brendan Byrne Continental Airlines Arena, the left wing lock (or as it is better known, the neutral zone trap) is legal, and I'm living in the backwater town of Emporia, Virginia, where the most excitng thing there is watcing the delivery truck back into the Winn-Dixie. It's like he never left.

Well, things change. Olbermann and Patrick now do highlights on Football Night in America, the Devils now play a couple blocks away from Newark Penn Station at Prudential Center, the trap play is now illegal in the NHL, I came back to Philadelphia (my birthplace) and Winn-Dixie closed in Emporia when the company went bankrupt, but Lemaire left Jersey a few years ago for the Minnesota Wild. And it's not the first time that a coach has returned to a team he led to past glory.

The most prime example is Billy Martin, who led the New York Yankees four times while Fat George Steinbrenner fired managers on a semiannual basis until Joe Torre settled him down in 1996. And George Halas not only owned the Chicago Bears, but four times coached "Da Bears" ten years at a time. So if the Devils win Lord Stanley's mug next season, don't say that I warned you. In the words of two-time Yankees manager Yogi Berra, it wopuld be deja vu all over again.

Videos Of Epicness: 2 Thrilling Game 7s With 2 Hilarious Choke Jobs

Well, they are hilarious for me at least, a Flyers fan. Forget the NBA playoffs, last night featured perhaps one of, if not the, most exciting and unpredictable hour that I can eve recall. The New York Rangers were up 3 games to 1 on the Capitals. The Caps had completely blown out the Rangers the next 2 games and what happened next was me seeing a team that I hate pull a 2000 Flyers Eastern Conference Finals. Your first video of epicness of the day: Highlights from Game 7 Rangers @ Caps from the Verizon Center.



And if you thought the Flyers blowing a 3-goal lead to lose a must-win Game 6, wait until you see what the Devils did in Game 7. Cue video of epicness #2: Game 7: Carolina @ New Jersey from the Prudential Center.



THAT.........WAS.......AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And no, I am not content on just showing that once. NHLVideos decided to use the Doc Emrick call from MSG+. But, John Forslund was admitted into the hospital last night after calling the Hurricanes-Devils game. Here's why.....



This will never get old!!! Good luck to the Carolina Hurricanes. You guys officially have my support to win the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And it does not hurt my new-found love for them that they have ex-Flyer Rod Brind'amour.

Conference Semifinals start tomorrow with the Blackhawks vs. the Canucks at 9:00 tomorrow (schedule will be up in a bit). And thanks to the Hurricanes comeback, it's Ovechkin vs. Crosby!!!!! I've never been this pumped for a non-Flyers NHL playoff series in my life!

Video Of Epicness: Carolina Buzzer Beater And Marty Brodeur Temper Tantrum

If there's one thing that will cheer you up when the Flyers play the game of their lives against the Penguins only to be denied by an even more specatular Marc-Andre Fleury and lose (the series score has been revised, it's now Pens 2, Flyers 1, Marc-Andre Fleury 1), it's seeing the New Jersey Devils get screwed over by the refs on a buzzer beating goal to win the game and then seeing Marty Brodeur throw a huge hissy fit. Wait.....what did he just say???? Cue the video!!!



HAHA!!!!!

And while Marty Brodeur certainly had a point that there was a bit of interference on that play, it is the playoffs and sometimes it is best to just let them play on, especially when it is sort of ticky-tacky as that was. I'm not saying there was no interference, I'm just saying that 9 times out of 10 that call in the waning seconds of a tied playoff game will not be made, regardless of who the official is.