Speculation is running ramped about which players will represent Canada. From now until early 2010, there will be numerous amounts of newspapers, articles, blogs and other forms of hockey writing from writer’s to aficionado’s across the country, speculating what the final roster of what the beloved team will be. Whomever they decide, we do know this, there’s certainly no shortage of talent. Players such as; Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger & Mike Green are all locks (barring injury) to make the squad. The management crew certainly does not want to be expeditious in determining the line-up, it would be wise to be very methodical in choosing the players as last Olympics did not fair so well. That being said, there is a myriad of other choices when determining the final roster. Canada has enough talent to send 3 full teams to the 2010 Olympics. However, we do not live in a perfect world and management will have to settle for cutting some very good players that deserve to represent their country on the international stage. In the wake of the managers being named, I thought I would offer my two cents on which players have an excellent chance on being selected:

*Joe Sakic & Scott Niedermayer not listed because of career uncertainties

The biggest controversy will be on the situation of goaltenders. Canada is certainly too deep between the pipes. The main question will be; who is more deserving, Roberto Luongo or Martin Brodeur? While Brodeur has the experience, that in itself may be his downfall. There has been talk that he may be showing signs of aging, coupled with his lackluster performance at the last Olympics could prove to management that Luongo is the right man for the job.

With the NHL toying with the idea that this may be the last time they send players to compete for the Olympics, (although I doubt that will be the case) it certainly puts pressure on the players to make a push to represent their country. For all of these players, it will be the first time they will compete for Olympic glory at home in Canada, they will all want a shot to play. Of course injuries and performances of this year and the early part of next year will play a huge role in who ultimately gets to compete in Vancouver. But for now, isn’t it interesting to speculate?

Until next time,

Alex Fineberg

The scoring for the Habs went like this, Tomas Plekanec, from Josh Gorges, and Francis Bouillon, and Saku Koivu, from Mark Streit, and Francis Bouillon. Jaroslav Halak made 22 stops in the loss. For the Flyers, the scoring went like this, R.J Umberger, from Daniel Briere, then Scott Hartnell, from Vaclav Prospal, then Daniel Briere, from Mike Knuble, and Prospal, and finally R.J. Umberger, from Jeff Carter ( empty net ). Martin Biron made 36 saves for the win.

After two periods, the Canadiens had almost double the amount of shots that the Flyers had, but they still couldn’t beat Biron. The Habs were trying, but Biron seemed to see everything. Why didn’t Guillaume Latendresse stand in front of the net? Perhaps even Tom Kostopolous, or Steve Begin. Well, either they are too afraid, or they are being told otherwise. Hello, if Biron is seeing everything then blind him somehow, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

Jaroslav Halak played well after two periods, especially on the Jeff Carter break-away. The defence played well also, as one could see from the shot total, but there was no finishing on great plays that the Habs made. It almost seems as though the Canadiens were shooting the puck directly at Biron, making him look better than he really is. After two periods, the Habs were behind 1-0.

In the third period, the Flyers were able to score another goal, for which the Habs replied scoring two quick ones to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Habs, two goals wasn’t enough to get them into overtime. Once again during the course of the game, the Habs out-played the Flyers only to get the short end of the stick. Again the Habs were able to keep the number of shots to a minimum for the Flyers, but when Philly got a chance they buried it.

So far in the series after four games the Habs have out-shot the Flyers, and have for the most part out-played them also, is Biron as good as he seems, no, he’s a good goalie, when he was available I wanted the Habs to acquire him, but he isn’t as good as he seems. The Canadiens seem to be shooting right at him, sure he is in the right position sometimes, but all the time? No goalie can boast that! In the play-offs the majority of the goals are garbage, which opens up the skilled shooters to score as everyone’s attention is on the guy in front of the net. For the Habs, they shoot, but from un-obstructed angles, so Biron sees everything, no one is in front of the net. I don’t know if they are being told something different, but it seems that no-one is willing to pay the price and stand in front of the net on a consistent basis, that’s what will disturb Biron enough to let in goals.

If the Canadiens want a chance to win game #5 in Montreal, they have to crash the net, and bother Biron, and like I said, with someone standing in front of the net, there will be a spot for someone to shoot from as a defense-man will try to move that person obstructing Biron’s view, I’m sure that the coaches have noticed that after four games?!

Maxime Lapierre should be replaced, the Habs have nothing left to lose, put in someone like Gregory Stewart, he’s grittier than Lapierre, and fresh, Plekanec is also not doing much, he should be replaced also, put in Mikhail Grabovski, sure Grabs isn’t the best face-off guy, but how many face-offs has Plekanec won lately? And why replace Ryan O’Byrne with Patrice Brisebois again, O’Byrne played well last game, and the Flyers only had 14 shots on goal, am I missing something? Brisebois isn’t playing better than O’Byrne, at least if O’Byrne makes a mistake, he’s a rookie, what excuses can be made for Brisebois when he makes mistakes?

The series now shifts back to Montreal on Saturday, hopefully the two day break will give the Habs enough time to figure out how they are going to win on home ice, and not lose the series 4-1 in Montreal. The Canadiens will most likely come back with Carey Price in nets, hoping that the break he had will have cleared the cobb webs out of his head. The Habs have to play the same way defensively, but have to break their funk of not being able to capitalize on their chances. If they can’t find a way to bother Biron, well then the Habs have to hope that Biron has a bad game, either way, the Habs can’t permit themselves to lose the series on home ice, the Habs shouldn’t even be in this predicament. Crash the net boys, bother Biron, get the Flyers into penalty trouble, and then score, wear the Flyers defence out, and get in front of Biron!

More and more is Price beginning to look like the 20-year-old kid he is. The pressure in the Stanley Cup playoffs is immense and Philadelphia is a tough building to play in.

Here’s what I wrote back on April 3: “I think, and hope, the Canadiens end up regretting trading (Cristobal) Huet instead of keeping him as insurance for the playoffs.”

Dreams, my friends, can come true. With the Flyers now up two-to-one over Montreal, I can’t help but think of Happy Gilmore headbutting Bob Barker and telling him: “The price is wrong, bitch.” Best. Cameo. Appearance. Ever.

Still on the Flyers/Habs series, is Darian Hatcher not the biggest doofus in the NHL? His hit from behind on Francis Bouillon was bush-league and typical of the Philadelphia Flyers. But it takes a special type of moron to do it in the third period with his team up three-nothing. Hatcher single-handedly got the Canadiens back into the game and while I hate both teams equally, a part of me was hoping the Habs would tie it up, and even win it in overtime, so Hatcher could feel like even more of an idiot. What a douche bag. I hate Hatcher.

Here’s a video called “Hitler Loves the Flyers” courtesy of Slap Shot, the New York Times hockey blog. It was made after the Habs won game one of their series with Philadelphia so while the shots at Martin Biron are clearly unwarranted today, the numerous disses thrown at Danielle Briere are simply amazing. The video is golden. Enjoy!

Seriously, how does Detroit do it? Johan Franzen, aka “The Mule,” is tied for the NHL playoff goal-scoring lead with seven goals in only eight games.

So, uh, who the hell is this guy? Franzen scored 27 goals in the regular season to go along with only 11 assists. Eight of those goals were game-winners and 14 came on the power play. The guy’s a sniper. To close out the regular season, Franzen scored 15 goals in Detroit’s final 16 games. He’s picked up right where he left off in the playoffs.

I must admit that I knew Franzen was poised for a breakout season. I picked him in the last round of my keeper league fantasy hockey pool. Sure, I dropped him after he opened the season with only one goal in 17 games, but, well, that’s besides the point. I still knew.

Franzen is the next player on the long list of successful late Detroit Red Wings draft picks. He was chosen in the third round, 97th overall back in 2004.

The others? Pavel Datsyuk, drafted in the sixth round, 171st overall in 1998. Nicklas Lidstrom, drafted in the third round, 53rd overall way back in 1989. Dude’s had a pretty good career, hasn’t he? Valtteri Filppula, who scored 19 goals this season, was chosen in the third round, 95th overall in 2002. Look for him to have a Franzen-type breakout season next year. Tomas Holmstrom, drafted in the 10th round, 257th overall back in 1994, has forged a nice little career for himself. And, of course, Henrik Zetterberg, drafted in the 7th round, 210th overall in 1999, is only one of the NHLs best players.

Unbelievable, eh? Detroit’s scouting and drafting department is the best in the NHL, no contest. If the Toronto Maple Leafs are serious about winning a Stanley Cup they should buy the Detroit scouting staff and get Ken Holland over here asap.

Sean Avery has officially transcended hockey. Here’s a piece about him in The New Yorker.

Speaking of douche-baggery, here’s an article I’ve been wanting to share for a long time, courtesy of The New York Times, on the timeless art of the face wash.

Is it time to officially give the Dallas Stars some respect? First they shoot down the defending champion Anaheim Ducks in five games and then they go into San Jose and win games one and two on the road. Yeah, I think some respect is due.

Dan Myers over at Penalty Shots thinks the Leafs should be considering, get ready for this one, Bobby Clarke for the general manager position. Clarke’s career record as a GM is a sparkling 714-443-199. It’s tough to argue with that record, but it’s not tough to argue that Clarke is a serious douche who left one hell of a mess behind in Philadelphia. While we do have what Clarke never did in Philly – a goalie – I just don’t see it happening.

The Toronto Marlies are moving on to the second round of the AHL playoffs thanks to an ugly goal by Bates Battaglia with only a minute to go in game seven last night. While I’m still losing sleep over the fact that Justin Pogge is not in net for the Marlies, Scott Clemmensen was great yesterday, making 33 saves to ensure the victory. He’s keeping the hopes of a parade alive in the city of Toronto. Sad, I know, but it’s all we’ve got.

Speaking of Toronto, when did we become the “City of Champions”? I thought Edmonton held that title? Did I miss the memo or something, because I sure as hell haven’t missed any championships.

I ask because Damien Cox wrote a blog post entitled “A Tradition of, Um, Something” in which he took the city’s sports teams to task for, well, sucking. He took shots at the Leafs (of course), the Toronto Rock, some OHL teams no one gives a damn about, the Raptors, Marlies, Blue Jays, and Toronto FC. Basically, anything and everything MLSE related. It’s just Cox being Cox, you know, in his tradition of, um, bad sports writing.

In the Western Conference you will see the Dallas Stars against the San Jose Sharks, and the Detroit Red-Wings against the Colorado Avalanche.

Stars, Sharks: Evegeni Nabokov against Marty Turco. Nabokov is the better goalie this year by far, but Turco has played really well, and didn’t play as many games during the regular season as Nabokov, one would have to think that Nabokov will get tired eventually. Nabokov has the edge as long as he doesn’t get tired. The Stars still don’t have Sergei Zubov, which could hurt them in this series. If the Stars hope to defeat the Sharks they will have to do the same thing as they did against the Anaheim Ducks, as the Sharks are also a physical team, however they might be a little bruised after their last series against the Calgary Flames. Technically the Sharks should win, but then again, everyone had the Ducks winning too, as the Stars had a bad end of the season, and look what happened.

Avalanche, Red-Wings: As much as it pains me to say it, with the recent play of the almost extinct Dominik Hasek, Jose Theodore is the better goalie so far, Chris Osgood is a good goalie, unfortunately Theodore has been standing on his head in the play-offs, the edge to starting goalie goes to the Avalanche. Ian Laperriere, he has got a target on his back after smashing Niklas Lidstrom into cloud nine at the end of the season. The scorers for both teams are about even, the defence however goes to the Red-Wings. This series should go to the Red-Wings, but they didn’t impress too many people in their last series, are they too old? The Avalanche have some speed, but will it be enough to win? Colorado could upset.

In the Eastern Conference you will see the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers, and the Montreal Canadiens against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Penguins, Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, enough said. Lundqvist is superior to Ty Conklin, and Marc Andre Fleury, by far. Pittsburgh’s offence is better than the Rangers, but, Jaromir Jagr has come out of his shell, that could hurt the Pens. The Pens are all offence, and didn’t have much trouble sweeping the Ottawa Senators in their last series, but the Rangers are not the Sens. The Rangers have Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, to shut down either the Sidney Crosby line, or the Evgeni Malkin line. But will the Pens be able to defend against the re-appearance of Jagr the great, Brendan Shanahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Martin Straka? Fleury, or Conklin will have their hands full in this series. The only factor that will not be one is Sean Avery, yes he can score some nice goals, which he just might, but his intimidation antics will not work in Pittsburgh with big George Laraque on the ice, Avery better hope that those two don’t meet, or else Avery can book his hospital room right now. Besides goal-tending which the Blue Shirts hold the advantage, the Pens have more explosive talent up front, question is, will they be able to explode on the Rangers, the Rangers aren’t the Sens. Keep the Pens in their own zone. I believe that the Rangers could win this one, if they are able to slow down the Pens, if not, the Pens take it.

Canadiens, Flyers: Where to start, well to keep it short, Carey Price is better than Martin Biron. The Flyers defence is slow, and Derian Hatcher has seen better days. These two teams were no.1, and no.2 in the regular season on the power-play, with the Habs being no.1. The Habs had a hard time against the Bruins on the p.p., but if they can manage to bring it back now that Saku Koivu is back then they will do well as the Flyers are an undisciplined team. Daniel Briere will be deaf when he leaves the Bell Centre, and may have to work on his confidence as well as the Montreal fans will let him have it big time. Montreal has the edge in coaching staff, and defence, as well as in between the pipes. With Mike Knuble, and Simon Gagne out, for sure the Habs have the edge in offence as well, question is, will Philly be able to contain it for seven games if necessary? Montreal should win this one, as the Flyers only impressed themselves by winning, but you never know, still the Habs should prevail if their power-play clicks, and they play their game, and don’t play the Flyers way, yes the Flyers have Steve Downie, but the Habs have Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, Francis Bouillon, and Maxim Lapierre to a lesser extent. The Habs two best players in Alex Kovalev, and Carey Price, are better than the two best players of the Flyers in Mike Richards, and Daniel Briere. Should be a good one to watch.

The team that most fans wanted the Habs to play in round no.2, the Flyers, will start round 2 at the Bell Centre on Thursday. Some fans said it didn’t matter who the Habs faced as long as they stuck to their game, but admitted that the Flyers gave the Habs the best chance to move on to the Conference Final.

In the Flyers, you get a team with some young talent, a decent goalie, but slow defense-men. Daniel Briere will be constantly harassed by the fans for choosing the Flyers over the Habs. Unfortunately both Briere, and Martin Biron are from Montreal, Biron has the tendency to play well in Montreal.

Anything can happen in the play-offs, most people said the Habs have the best chance against the Flyers, but the Flyers could surprise many people. I do think however that the Canadiens have a better shot at going into the Conference Finals by passing through Philly, instead of New York, but like I said, in the post season anything can happen.

The Canadiens will now have one day to compose a game plan, as they resume play on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. The fans in Montreal made the difference in the Habs previous series against the Boston Bruins in game no.7, and you can bet that they will keep doing the same thing, especially when it comes to Briere, maybe even Biron.

Round no.2 for the Habs should not be as physical as round no.1 was, sure there will still be a physical aspect, but it shouldn’t be as bad as it was against the Bruins.

Unfortunately for the Habs bumps and bruises, they didn’t have much time to heal, but they had more time than the Flyers did, let’s hope it helps. The Habs won the season series against the Flyers this season, yes the post season is different, but at least they have some notion as to how to play the Flyers. Both teams have some bruises, so they are even there, But Carey Price is better than Martin Biron. Alex Kovalev is better than Briere, Saku Koivu when healthy is better than Mike Richards. As for the defence, well the Habs take the cake there too. For all intents and purposes, the Habs are the better team, and should win this series.

Let’s hope that the Canadiens of games no.1, and 7 show up for this whole series, and that they don’t make this series go as far as the previous one. The young kids on the Habs will be better this round as they don’t have a Zdeno Chara to deal with, and that they will have more room to skate and make things happen.

GO HABS GO!

Briere scored the game winner (his second goal of the game) to lead the Philadelphia Flyers over the New York Islanders last night at Nassau Coliseum, keeping the Flyer’s playoff drive afloat and spoiling a fine effort by Islanders goalie Wade Dubielewicz, who made 51 saves. Philadelphia also got goals from Joffrey Lupul and Mike Richards. Richard Park, Blake Comeau and Frans Nielsen tallied for the Islanders.

The Comeau-Park- Kyle Okposo line continues to be the most impressive unit for New York recently. Coach Ted Nolan has shown a lot of faith in Park to mentor the two kids and his trust has paid off some nice dividends, particularly with Okposo. The rookie phenom recorded his 4th NHL point last night (an assist on Comeau’s goal) in only his 6th game as a pro. He is really turning out to be a special player.

Dubielewicz’s performances in goal have also been eye-opening as of late. He has shown a remarkable ability to move laterally across the crease to stop shots and made quite a few stunning saves during the game. He has proven in this short stretch since All Star goalie Rick Dipietro got injured that he is capable of backstopping the Islanders on a consistent basis. One has to wonder, though, what happens next season in the case of goalie Joey MacDonald, whom the Islanders have signed to a one way contract (meaning that he cannot be sent down to the minors without having to clear waivers on the way back up.) Dubielewicz, an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, clearly wasn’t factored into the Islanders plans when MacDonald was signed. However, he’s made a strong case for himself to not only be the backup, but to play more regularly in an attempt to keep Dipietro healthy.

Perhaps GM Garth Snow ought to consider moving MacDonald this summer to a team in desperate need of goaltending and sign The Man They Call Dubie to a contract extension. There’d be no better example to prove to the fans and the league that the Islanders are serious about giving themselves the best chance to win in the near future.

Philadelphia continued their winning ways against New York last night with an authoritative 4-1 victory. The Flyers got goals from Vinny Prospal, Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn to seal the victory. The Isles’ lone tally was provided by Miroslav Satan. Joey MacDonald got his first start in goal for the Islanders this season and acquitted himself reasonably well. There wasn’t much he could do on the majority of Philadelphia’s scores.

The game (and, indeed, the season series) could best be described as “A Tale of Two Power Plays”. The Flyers have an excellent one. The Islanders (to put it mildly) do not. Philadelphia scored three times with the Man Advantage, making them 14 of 32 on the PP against New York this year (an unusually high 44% conversion rate.) The difference between the two teams could not be more apparent and is not just due to the disparity of the talent levels. Philadelphia’s PP features lots of movement and continuous
“Slam Dunk” opportunities for their forwards. Defenses never know who might strike at any given time. On the other hand, New York’s is an easily read design with most shots being of the low percentage variety. Team will often pressure the Islander players on the point and have been able to force turnovers with regularity.

What is more alarming about this trend was the Islanders came in knowing full well that the Flyers have a fearsome Special Teams contingent and therefore should have concentrated on playing mistake-free hockey. Instead, they constantly committed foolish transgressions, leading to five Flyer PP opportunities. Josef Vasicek, in particular, played a very undisciplined game. Coach Ted Nolan has got to be frustrated at this point with the lack of polish the supposedly “veteran” Islanders have been displaying lately.

Joey MacDonald’s appearance was vital to the team so that they can see what they might have with him for next year. He is signed to a one-way contract, which means he cannot be sent to the minors and brought back up again without clearing waivers. It’s going to be interesting to see how New York handles this situation because G Wade Dubielewicz is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He has certainly played well enough to maintain his Backup status and is very popular with the fans. We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

The belief is that Carter will seek a similar deal to the one signed by teammate Mike Richards, who signed a 12-year, $69 million contract extension earlier in the season. Carter and Richards have similar career statistics, and so would be comparables during negotiations.

Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch suggests that the Columbus Blue Jackets may re-sign pending UFA forward Michael Peca because he has a great “dressing room presence” and could help guide Rick Nash through the “early stages” of his captaincy.

Portzline also speculates that the Buffalo Sabres will botch contract negotiations with goaltender Ryan Miller much in the same way they did with forwards Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, and defenseman Brian Campbell.

Miller is set to become a UFA after the 2008-09 season, and word is that he already sees himself playing for the Detroit Red Wings in 2009-10. A native of East Lansing, Michigan, Miller is also good friends with Red Wings goaltending coach Jim Bedard.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun suggests that if the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t trade forward Darcy Tucker, they should buy him out.

A buy out would cost the Maple Leafs two-thirds of Tucker’s $6 million contract; the club would be on the hook for a $1 million cap hit per season, over six years.

Garrioch also wonders if teams like the Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks may put in an offer sheet to Montreal Canadiens pending restricted free agent goalie Jaroslav Halak this summer. Aside for Cristobal Huet of the Washington Capitals, the free agent market appears to be pretty bare, leaving teams looking for an upgrade in net to perhaps try and poach RFAs.

Lastly from Garrioch, he reports that if Boston Bruins struggling forward Glen Murray doesn’t start scoring and help the team earn a playoff spot, he will likely be dealt in the off-season.

Murray’s $4.15 million salary could then be used by the Bruins to try and land Pittsburgh Penguins pending UFA forward Marian Hossa.

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella tells Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times that 23-year-old defenseman Paul Ranger is an “untouchable” in terms of trades.

“To me, he’s an untouchable because of what he’s going to be.”

“He’s one of the most underrated players in the league,” Tortorella said. “He’s a huge piece of our team as far as transition, as far as his stick, getting us out of our end zone, penalty killing. Ranger is more physical than any of our D. He’s grown.”

As witnessed by their reported interest in Brad Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning before he was moved to the Dallas Stars, the Blue Jackets are willing to spend big bucks to fill their biggest needs (i.e. a number one and number two center). And with between $15 million to $20 million in salary cap space at their disposal, they may just pull the biggest moves of the summer.

With that in mind, Portzline suggests that Blue Jackets GM may inquire about the availability of Daniel Briere of Philadelphia, Patrick Elias of New Jersey, Scott Gomez of the New York Rangers. The thought there is that those three clubs may be looking for “roster and payroll flexibility.”

Of course, rumors continue to swirl that the Blue Jackets will trade for San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau before the entry draft, as Portzline and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun both have reported. As Gary Peterson of the Contra Costa Times documents in his article, Marleau has had a tough season with the Sharks and has seen his name pop up in numerous trade rumors.

So, getting any one of the aforementioned players would definitely resolve their need for a top-line pivot. But what will Columbus do about their second-line center position?

Portzline suggests that trading for Matthew Lombardi of the Calgary Flames may be an option.

The Flames have two pending unrestricted free agent forwards they would like to re-sign in Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow, and would consider shedding Lombardi’s salary to make it happen.

“You don’t get (a top-six role) by acclamation, you have to earn it,” Flames GM Darryl Sutter said last week. “To be quite honest, Langkow and Conroy have outplayed him this year.”

Last night’s game was a mirror image of the March 1st tilt in more ways than just the score. Once again, the Flyers not only scored a fluke goal against Rick Dipietro, they outmuscled the Islanders and took advantage of their undisciplined play. Four power play goals by Philadelphia (two by Scott Hartnell, one each for Jeff Carter and Daniel Briere) moved the Isles one step closer to a non-playoff future.

The blueprint for beating New York is no secret around the league: Play them hard early, let them take foolish penalties, get a lead and then simply dump and chase for the rest of the game. Oh, and don’t worry about taking any silly penalties yourself….The Islander Power Play is about as electrifying as a two volt battery these days.

“What is wrong with the PP?”, many fans wonder. I broke down the video of the game, paying particular attention to the man advantage situations for both teams. While Philadelphia’s excellent squad constantly moved the puck smoothly in the offensive zone, the Islander passes were slow and often off the mark. The biggest issue on the New York side was the astonishingly high number of shots from the point that never reached the net. While they have improved the positioning of the forwards to crowd in front of the goaltender, it’s really become a moot point if he’s never forced to make a save on the initial shot.

Regarding the Isles’ normally good penalty killing, coach Ted Nolan made a very odd personnel choice in regards to a first period penalty to Dipietro. He selected Andy Hilbert, one of the team’s only skilled defensive players, to serve the goaltender’s time. No, that’s not a misprint. Why would Nolan attempt to defend against a 5-3 advantage by choosing to sit one of his fastest and noted PK players? It honestly left me scratching my head.

The Flyers are clearly a team on the rise. They played with an intensity of a playoff bound team and it couldn’t have been more evident. Ted Nolan even alluded to the fact that “only 90% of our guys were working” while praising the energy and passion that Sean Bergenheim brought to the game.

If this sort of diminished effort is what fans can expect the rest of the way, it makes you wonder why GM Garth Snow kept this group together at the trade deadline in the first place. It also makes you concerned about what steps he’ll take in the off-season to rectify the situation.

- Happy 26th bday to Henrik Lundqvist; 8 shots, 5 saves. Too much fun last night? I’m just kidding. I’m gonna go over his 3 goals and why the three he gave up wasn’t really his fault.

1. Goal 1: Umberger was carrying the puck up the left boards with Dawes and Girardi trailing. He passed Prospal and dropped the puck to him. Girardi decided that Dawes couldn’t handle Umberger, who is now puckless, and chases with Dawes. This sets up Prospal for a wide open pass to Briere, who gets absolutely STUFFED by Hank, but an unlucky rebound allows Prospal, who just hops around a statue standing next to the crease named Fedor Tyutin, to poke it in to make it 1-0 early. Verdict: Girardi mental mis-hap.
2. Goal 2: Backman gives Briere a mouthful of his nice Synergy, PP Philly. Crazy PP allows Timmonen to get a soft wrister off from the point, with Knuble crossing in front. The shot hits Knuble’s right skate and karams to the left to a wide open Coburn, who roofs it with no problems. Verdict: Defensive mis-hap. why? If you watch the highlight Tyutin chases into the corner leaving the front wideeeee open. 3 guys on one side of the zone during a PK is asking for a rebound goal.
3. Goal 3: 4 on 4 hockey. If you watch the highlight at the bottom of your screen you see Malik check-up on Carter to shorten his gap on him. Timmonen throws a cross-ice pass to Upshall and Girardi pinches. Girardi gets his stick lifted by Upshall who then leads Carter, who swung cross-ice and easily beats Malik with his speed, who closed the gap on him and can’t touch him now without a penalty. Carter puts in a short-side backhand without a fake. Verdict: Half Defense, Half Henrik. Girardi had a brutal first period, im gonna leave it at that. Malik had a good idea closing the gap, but obviously he isn’t a speedster and would have been better off laying back. Now this goal probobly led to Renney’s pulling of Hank, because it looked soft, but I’m not in goal either.

So I don’t really feel that Hank should have been pulled, but Vally played fine. He made a clutch save in the shoot-out on Timmonen and didn’t give up great rebounds the rest of the game. I’m not worried about Hank, he just struggles against Philly.

- Sjostrom and Backman get their first Blueshirt goals, congrats! Sjostrom looks good. If you noticed the 4th line was not called upon as much as previous games by Renney, but they did a good job when they were out there. Look for Sjostrom to stay in the lineup against the Isles. His goal was a showing of speed and determination, which is what I love. Backman’s goal lifted a huge monkey off his back in my opinion. He started to receive boo’s only after being in a NYR uniform for 70 minutes. After his goal he played fine, including a nice open-ice hit on one Flyer at the NYR blueline in the third. Overall, the pickups are starting to gel fine.

- Straka and Callahan had the other two NYR goals. Glad to see Straka get one, a PP goal. He made great use of his space getting an absolute beauty of a shot off using the post for help. He then set up Cally nicely out front, who headed straight for the net and stood his ground for an easy chip-in. Malik also had two assists, making him an absolute fan-favorite right? haha.

- Orr v. Boulerice. I see the fight in 3 parts. First part was all Boulerice. He landed some good ones that Orr just shrugged off. This allowed Orr to get some really good ones in and win part 2. He kept the momentum going trying to win the end of the fight, but Boulerice made some nice comeback haymakers and took Orr down. Slight edge to Boulerice but a nice fight for the fans on national TV.

- I hate the shootout. I always have. Ties are better than the SO. Shanahan needs to start working on a deke. If any team was smart they would have their goalies sit down and watch the endless attempts by Shanny to pump-fake and shoot high. Dawes had a nice fake and a nice finish with the backhand, but going 5-hole while the goalie is moving side to side is always risky because its just a bit easier for him to trap it. But hey, 2 points right?

My final thoughts on this game relates to the title, burn the game tape. Take the two points that we just absolutely STOLE and get ready for Tuesday at the Garden against the Islanders. Until then, stay classy. – Rob

With the Sabres already committed to $27 million in cap space for next season, and Briere ($5 million) and Drury ($3 million) looking for raises, they may have problems holding on to both. But don’t look for Regier to trade them this season, as the Sabres are poised to make another Cup run.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that “talks with Drury during training camp didn’t go anywhere and have been halted.” Meanwhile, it is not known if the club has held any contract negotiations with Briere.