Jaromir Jagr's 1st Goal As A Flyer

This is almost surreal.  Amazingly, surreal.



As I am watching early regular season games, I don't scream frequently.  As soon as the puck went in, I screamed.  And then the salute afterwards.  Beautiful.

Former Stanley Cup Finals Rival Kris Versteeg Now A Flyer

I was walking to a nearby campus restaurant during a short break of my evening class when I check my phone. As it turns out, my brother tried to call me 10 minutes earlier. I call back.

"The Flyers traded their 1st and 3rd round draft picks for Kris Versteeg."

"WHAT?!?!?!?" could be my own reply. Versteeg for a first and 3rd rounder. Homer is out of his mind. Again.

I hung up, grabbed my food, and went back to class. My first thoughts on the trade was that of an obvious overpay. A 1st round draft pick and a 3rd round draft pick? Never mind that Versteeg is a solid, young 2-way forward whose prime is still ahead, a 1st and a 3rd rounder seemed like a little much. But then I got back from class, went online, and learned a thing or two about this year's upcoming draft class. As it turns out, it basically sucks. Suffice to say, I am much happier about this trade now than I was a few hours ago. It is still a bit of an overpayment, but given that the Flyers draft picks are going to be picking near the bottom in this very weak class and that Holmgren is clearly bracing the Flyers for "win now" mode, and this trade is not as bad as it initially seemed.

The Flyers can easily slot Versteeg on the line with Richards and JVR, while bumping Andreas Nodl down to the 4th line and benching two of Nikolay Zherdev, Dan Carcillo, and Jody Shelley. It is likely that the Flyers are not done making moves as they have 15 forwards on their roster, 14 if you exclude Ian Laperriere who is on LTIR. It is very likely that Dan Carcillo and/or Nikolay Zherdev will be shipped off before the deadline. While an enigma, Zherdev has been able to light the lamp when given the opportunity by Peter Laviolette. The problem is, Laviolette has this thing where he is not willing to give Zherdev a lot of meaningful ice time and frequently lists him as a healthy scratch for games. And with Jody Shelley signed to a 3 year, $3.3M contract, it is unlikely that he is movable. I will be very surprised if Dan Carcillo is a Philadelphia Flyer once the trade deadline surpasses.

If you are having problems getting excited about Kris Versteeg in a Flyers uniform, allow this to change your mind set. Though I must insist for multiple reasons, watch this video with the sound off.

Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Have A Hunger For Wins

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a bit of a sticky situation right now. They are constantly trading draft picks while simultaneously placing in the bottom of the standings with no playoff appearances since this happened. Naturally, things have not been very sugary for the Maple Leafs or their fans. And last night may have been the whipped cream on top for some Leafs fans. After losing 4-1 to the Flyers, Leafs fans were determined to show their Toronto Maple Leafs that they had enough. Their means of voicing their displeasure: throwing waffles. No seriously. They threw waffles onto the ice.



Chris Pronger's quote after the game sums it up best, "Who brings a waffle to a game?" Clearly, a fanbase that is starving for a winner.

Sergei Bobrovsky Likes Red Gatorade

The Philadelphia Flyers played in their 2nd pre-season tonight. And in related news, they played in their 2nd overtime pre-season tonight. And also related, they participated in their 2nd shootout of the pre-season. The 1st one was against the New Jersey Devils and the Flyers on in 4 rounds. This one was a tad different. This went 11 rounds and the Flyers wound up losing a marathon that saw Dan Carcillo take a penalty shot. But the highlight and most amusing moment of the shootout had nothing to do with Dan Carcillo. But the funniest moment of an amusing 11 round marathon came in the 9th round when Toronto Maple Leaf Christian Hanson went to take his shot on Sergei Bobrovsky. Now frequently when a player roofs a shot, there is a good chance it could knock the goalie's Gatorade bottle off the top of the net. But how often is it that you see the actual Gatordade bottle punctured and Gatorade spilling all over the back of the net and the ice?



To talk about the Flyers goaltending situation seriously for a minute, Sergei Bobrovsky (nicknamed "Bob") is one of the Flyers top goaltending prospects, though it must be said that even though this is pre-season, under no circumstances should he wear a Flyers uniform once the regular season starts. He needs to stay in Glenn Falls with the Phantoms to develop. He will most likely play behind Johan Backlund, but given the fact that the Flyers goalies seem to have injury problems, there is a good chance Backlund will spend time with the Flyers, which in turn would allow Bob to get more playing time with the Phantoms. While it seems like Bob may have a problem with shots named at the top shelf, as evidenced by this shootout and some other goals he has given up in the pre-season, he is extremely fast between the pipes and is very good saving shots that stay on the ice. For a team whose goaltending situation has been fluid since Ron Hextall and 1986, it is possible that Bob could be that long time the solution that has so long eluded the Flyers organization for the past 24 years.

Update: For those bored on this Friday and are interested in 10 minutes of lulz, here is the Maple Leafs-Flyers 11 round shootout in its entirety.

O.M.G.

The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 1975 New York Islanders..

The 2004 Boston Red Sox.

The 2010 Philadelphia Flyers are one win away from joining this club in the annals of history.

Brian Boucher Saves The Flyers Season For Now In One Heart Stopping Moment

In a post you never saw that I put up right as the McNabb deal was announced (thus I doubt you guys even knew I broke down the pros and cons of the possible teams the Flyers could face in the playoffs; scroll down and check it out), I put up a video of what still is the best save I have ever seen made by a Flyers goalie. This one may not be as legendary as the last one, but if that one is number one, then the save he made tonight was number 2. Check it our for yourself.



BOOOOOOOSH!!!!

Simply amazing. Thanks to that save, the Flyers held onto win and because the Rangers lost as well, the Flyers are just 2 earned points or Rangers relinquished points away from a playoff spot. Before it was said that even though Boucher had been let down by the Flyers' play both offensively and defensively, he never was able to be spectacular and steal a game. Tonight he stole a game.