The Flyers' Way To Combat Tampa's 1-3-1: Troll The High Hell Out Of It

It sucked that the Flyers ultimately lost to the Lightning in overtime today, but this from the Flyers today should forever be remembered as one of the greatest troll jobs in hockey history.  Behold, the Flyers attack of a 1-3-1  where the forward remains in the neutral zone!



Awesome. Amazing. Orgasmic. Hilarious. All adequate words to describe an effective trolling job. And yes, the Flyers do use the 1-3-1 at times, but at least when they use this rather less palatable defensive strategy, they at least have their forward employ some semblance of a forecheck. Brilliantly done by the Flyers. Brilliantly done. Such a shame they lost in overtime. This troll job needed to be complete with a Flyers win at the end. Oh well. Sometimes the trolling alone is enough of a win for one game. Epic.

May 27 Playoffs Live Blog

Well here we go. Game seven. Lightning. Bruins. Someone's going to Vancouver. Someone else is going home. For my thoughts heading into this game, click here.

Game 7: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, SR: Scott Oake)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

(Originally published as a fanpost at Broad Street Hockey)

Saturday, May 22, 2004.

The Philadelphia Flyers were one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals. One win away from the Calgary Flames. One win away from the Stanley Cup itself.

As a sports fan, there are certain inevitable truths that however unfounded they may be, I hold near and dear to my heart. One of them is the Flyers would not lose that series against Calgary. There was just no way. That was the year. That was the team. I know it. I'll always know it. Even if I never got a chance to see it.

We all know what happened that day. There is no need to run through the events. The overly drawn out narrative of Dave Andreychuk. The cruel torturous hope provided by Kim Johnsson. We all know how it ended. And it's too depressing to think about.

Yet I can't help but dwell on it. So what if the Phillies, who I love just as much as the Flyers, won a World Series since then. So what if after the direct kick to the junk the Panthers gave the Eagles in January 2004, they would finally make the Super Bowl one year later? So what if the Flyers have gotten over the Eastern Conference Finals hurdle?

That feeling of lost opportunity from 2004. Primeau. Gagne. Roenick. Kapanen. LeClair. Recchi. Markov. Johnsson. Radivojevic.

I could go on. Those were the guys. That was the team. The over-achievements of the 2010 team, as fun as they were to watch and celebrate in, do not and cannot replace the emptiness of 2004. They can't take back the tears I cried. They can't replace the nights I spent thinking "what if.....what if......."

May 25 Playoffs Live Blog

Game 6: Bruins @ Lightning 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, SR: Scott Oake)

Game 5: Thunder @ Mavericks 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

May 23 Playoffs Live Blog

After today, every Conference Final hockey game in 2011 will be an elimination game.

Game 5: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, SR: Scott Oake)

Game 4: Mavericks @ Thunder 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

May 21 Playoffs Live Blog

The Bruins will look to take a 3-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning while the Mavs and Thunder do battle in OKC for the first time with the series tied at 1. Join us for fun!

Game 4: Bruins @ Lightning 1:30 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)

Game 3: Mavericks @ Thunder 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

May 19 Playoffs Live Blog

The Lightning look to bounce back from Tyler Seguin's big game, meanwhile the Thunder are looking to bounce back after Dirk's and Joey Crawford's big game.

Game 3: Bruins @ Lightning 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)

Game 2: Thunder @ Mavericks 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

May 17 Playoffs Live Blog

Game 2: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire, SR: Ryan Rishaug)

Game 1: Thunder @ Mavericks 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

May 14 Playoffs Live Blog

Game 1: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole, Garry Galley, and Mike Milbury, SR: Scott Oake)

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Schedule

After one of the best first rounds in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, three of the 4 conference semifinal series histories were complete duds. The fourth was one of the best seven game hockey series ever played. Go figure. This year has been proof positive why I think the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the best playoffs in sports. Now onto the schedule for the Conference Final round which surely must have the NHL hoping ends in a Stanley Cup Finals berth for the Boston Bruins. If not, their run of 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals with big hockey markets that people watch may come tumbling down. No more local broadcasts. In the U.S., all Stanley Cup Playoff games from here on out will be exclusively on Versus and NBC. Which means regardless of whether or not you live in your team's market or not, the announcers listed here are the announcers you will hear in the next round. (all times ET)

Eastern Conference Finals

#5 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Boston Bruins

Game 1: May 14: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole, Garry Galley, and Mike Milbury, SR: Scott Oake)
Game 2: May 17: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)
Game 3: May 19: Bruins @ Lightning 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)
Game 4: May 21: Bruins @ Lightning 1:30 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Joe Micheletti) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)
Game 5: May 23: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole, Garry Galley, and Mike Milbury, SR: Scott Oake)
Game 6: May 25: Bruins @ Lightning 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole, Garry Galley, and Mike Milbury, SR: Scott Oake)
Game 7: May 27: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole, Garry Galley, and Mike Milbury, SR: Scott Oake)

Western Conference Finals

#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #1 Vancouver Canucks

Game 1: May 15: Sharks @ Canucks 8:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 2: May 18: Sharks @ Canucks 9:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 3: May 20: Canucks @ Sharks 9:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 4: May 22: Canucks @ Sharks 3:00 (NBC - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 5: May 24: Sharks @ Canucks 9:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 6: May 26: Canucks @ Sharks 9:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)
Game 7: May 28: Sharks @ Canucks 8:00 (Versus - Dave Strader and Brian Englbom, ItG: Darren Pang) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)

The Night A Hockey Game Had 1 Less Point Scored Than An NFL Game

The Bears and Dolphins managed 16 combined points tonight. The Flyers and Lightning managed 15 combined points tonight. Seriously.

While an entertaining and yet maddeningly frustrating hockey game, it was just 1 game that the Flyers have not seen the likes of since the 1980s and early 1990s. In short, while not exactly sterling, I am not sure if there is anything that I would take from it in regards to the team. It's not like games like that are the norm. That being said, Sergei Bobrovsky did look a little fatigued out there, as this was his 12th start in a row. He was benched after he gave up 4 goals in the 1st period, which while not all his fault, Bob did not particularly sharp at all during that period. Granted Laviolette knows his players better than we do, but he has a history of stubbornness with his goalies. Lave says Bob is young (he's 22-years old), but Bob has not played in a season longer than 40-games in his career. This was his twelfth game in a row. I just hope Peter Laviolette knows what he is doing, as the last thing the Flyers can afford is an injury to the most promising goalie they've had since Ron Hextall in 1986.

Does The Simon Gagne Trade Justify Deserting The Flyers?

With the events leading up to the Simon Gagne trade and the actual trade itself, talks have begun about deserting Flyers fandom. Homer is an incompetent moron, yes, but his incompetence is causing people to want to leave Flyers Fandom, desert the team, boycott the team until Homer is fired, etc. As you may remember, such talks revolved around the Eagles when they did not re-sign Dawkins last off-season, when the Eagles signed Michael Vick last pre-season, and as mentioned, Homer has driven some people to that edge with this off-season.

And once again I find myself needing to re-iterate I do not think completely deserting a team over off-season moves is ever justified. That’s not to suggest that some people won’t get away from the sport and the team over time, that happens, but to go from completely supporting the team to no longer supporting the team over 1 move and/or a string of moves in a single off-season is ridiculous for me. When the Eagles signed Vick, James Craven decided to “boycott” the Eagles over it, did not watch a single Eagles game last year, and will not watch one until Vick is off the team. To me, something like that is completely ridiculous. Not every move a team we support makes is going to be a good move, but when the bad ones or the controversial ones come along, that does not mean one should forget about them completely.

Another thing about boycotting and/or deserting the Flyers is that it takes you away from the other players on the team that you love. Now whether or not the Flyers are a better team now than they were in June can be a point of great contention, but this still is a talented team with Pronger, Timonen, Richards, Giroux, Leino, JVR, Lappy, Betts, Briere, Carbomb, etc. Just because Homer backed himself into a corner and traded Gagne to get himself out of it, does not mean you should give a big “fuck you” to the entire organization, which would extend to the above players who at some point or another last year we grew to really love watching.

That being said, I think there is room for 2nd team fandom. I know that not every sports fan believes in this, but personally I always find room for 2nd teams, especially when Philly teams are out of it. That is not to say it can or has to take anything away from one’s Flyers fandom, but supporting an additional team, especially one like Tampa Bay (though the cities have had pretty interesting relationships in sports this past decade) where there aren’t any harsh feelings, isn’t out of bounds. The Hurricanes were my 2nd team in the Eastern Conference for the past decade or so (Brindy FTW!), and now that team is Tampa Bay. It does not take away from my Flyers support, it does not take away from reveling in the Flyers achievements past and present and future, it does not take away the pain of being so close in 2004, but it gives me another team to be happy for when they succeed. And I truly believe this Tampa team will be a force to be reckoned with this coming season.

Simon Gagne Traded

Coming into today, Simon Gagne had the distinction of being the longest current tenured athlete in Philadelphia sports. That distinction currently belongs to Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers. An era has officially come to an end today with the announcement that the Philadelphia Flyers had traded Simon Gagne. The return is not exactly one that we should be jumping up and down about, though it is one we all could have and should have expected. For Simon Gagne, the Flyers received from Tampa Bay defender Mike Walker (and his $1.7M cap hit) and a 4th round draft pick. Yep. That's it. Why? Were you expecting something else? Bernier? Quick? Simmonds? Some other young stud?

To expect that at the start of the off-season the Flyers would be in line for one of the above players was certainly not unreasonable. The Flyers had some cap room, they had Mike Rathje FINALLY coming off the books after spending most of his time in Philadephia on long-term injury reserve, and let's face it, they had money to play with. But let's see where all of that went.

Overpaying Andrej Meszaros.
Overpaying Braydon Coburn.
Overpaying Jody Shelley.
Signing Nikolai Zherdev.

The signing of Zherdev was a good signing and not an overpay, but the timing of it was terrible and the signing is only good in a vaccum, something I will examine a little later. Paul Holmgren managed to create a situation where he had absolutely zero leverage and traded away the face of a franchise, a phenomenal 2-way forward, and a great guy off the ice for a hill of beans. That is not an indictment on what Homer did today, but the position he put himself in where he was literally backed into a salary cap corner and got out of it by bullying Simon Gagne into giving in into waiving his no-trade clause. The return is a complete joke. In addition to the draft pick, they managed to come up with their 8th defenseman. Matt Walker now joins Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Meszaros, Sean O'Donnell, and Oskars Bartulis. Homer now has 2 more D-men than the number that regularly appear in games. Now I understand the concept of keeping a 7th defender, but Homer has once again create himself another unnecessary hole in who is he going to cut? Carle? The recently signed O'Donnell? Bartulis? It is a never ending chain of stupidity and self-made holes. The Flyers and Homer had 10 million dollars to re-sign Carcillo and Powe, get a 3rd line winger, upgrade the 5th and 6th defenseman spot, and get a goalie. Let's analyze what Homer did and how this mess could have been avoided.

He needed a 3rd line winger: He massively overpaid Jody Shelley at 1.1M per year for 3 years and in addition signed Zherdev for 2M.
Upgrade the defense: He traded a 2nd round draft pick for Andrej Meszaros with a huge $4 million cap hit (when perhaps better free agent options were settling for that much or less), signed gritty veteran Sean O'Donnell, and re-signed Braydon Coburn at an expensive price.
Goalie: Re-signed Michael Leighton for 2 years at $1.55MM per year when better and cheaper options were going for less than Leighton (I am looking at you, Ellis and Mason).

Of these moves, the ones that stick out as the huge missteps are trading for a 2nd round draft pick for a 5th defender with a $4M cap hit when cheaper (and even better options) were available, signing Jody Shelley to a $1.1M cap hit (for my Shelley vs. Carcillo breakdown, see here), signing Zherdev when Homer did, and signing Michael Leigthon at a $1.55M cap hit when options like Ellis and Mason are better and were going for cheaper amounts.

The Flyers have young talent that will be a year older and (hopefully) a year better come this coming season (Giroux, JVR, Leino, etc.). Skill-wise, the 5th-6th defense pairing (however grossly overpaid Meszaros is) is improved from the disaster that was Krajicek/Parent. Nikolai Zherdev may be a bit of a head case, but his offensive potential is great, though his defense is a huge question mark. Are the Flyers a better now than they were in June during the Stanley Cup Finals? It is not a clear cut answer. Maybe they are, maybe they are not. Their goaltending (as always) is a major weakness. Chris Pronger may be great, but he can't cover Leighton's 5-hole, nor can he be a GM with a fucking clue on how to handle the NHL's salary cap. The Flyers paid the price for Homer's miscalculations when Gagne was traded. Everyone saw it coming, but it all could have been avoided.

We will never forget you, Simon.