Ok, so in the considerable time since i last updated you, Mr Sundin has yet to decide on where his future may lie. Recent newspaper reports have suggested that the two teams Sundin would like to join are the Rangers and my Flyers. This is highly surprising news to me, i don't see the need for the Flyers to go after any more forwards (even if they are as good as Mr Sundin) and even if we want to, we're in no cap situation to do so. Pretty much the only way he could sign with us is if we do some serious cap dumping somewhere. Oh, hello Florida, you want Knuble and Hatcher? The ever-reliable Eklund has stated recently that Sundin would be willing to play for a cup-contender for as little as $2m though, so there could possibly be legs to this. One thing that this piece could serve to do is eliminate the Canucks from the running, although i find it very hard to believe anyone could turn down $20m for two years work.

In other news, John 'the baker' Stevens has signed a 2-year contract extension with the Flyers. He was recently awarded the 'coach of the year' award by the Hockey News for his efforts in guiding the Flyers from 30th to the conference finals in only one year. I'm still highly sceptical in his ability, he did very well in the play-offs this year, out-couching both Boudreau of the Ovechkins and Carbonneau of the Canadiens despite missing Gagne for the entire run, but he really ought to have performed better in the league, and he was also the man who ran rule over the side who finished bottom with Forsberg. He's also over-seen two 10-game losing streaks. The question you need to be asking is, should a side with forward ranks of a high enough depth to be able to put Jeff Carter and RJ Umberger on the third line really be expecting any less than we got? Still, Hitchcock was fired a matter of months after an extension, so you can't read too much into this.

The Jay Bouwmeester saga runs on. He has signed a one year, $4.85m extension to his current Florida deal, but this will obviously expire next summer and crucially, will make him a UFA at the end of it. Interested teams are touted to be the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and (you've guessed it), the Philadelphia Flyers. After losing Sundin, the Leafs desperately need a star and Bouw would meet the bill perfectly. Ottawa are looking to replace Wade Redden, after the left-handed defenseman went to the Rags. The only team who doesn't really fit is the Flyers. We would like Bouw, but with Coburn and Timonen already there, we don't really [i]need[/i] another top-pairing defenseman.

Alex Radulov has made some pretty interesting comments to the papers this week regarding the NHL poaching players from the Russian leagues. The most interesting quote is as follows:
"The NHL for 15 years has brought young players from Europe, first and foremost from Russia," Radulov said, via a translation on Russianprospects.com. "I think that it is time to end this. Simply put: (It's) time to stop robbing us."
Wow. People living in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks at greenhouse manufacturers. Nobody was stopping you from taking the 25k per year in the Russian leagues were they Al? How much of the $1m you earned from the Preds last year did you pump into the Russian league to stop this 'injustice'? Nobody is putting a gun to their head and making them sign in the NHL, it's personal choice. Eejit.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Ryan Whitney is facing 3-5 months on the sidelines. This probably means Goligoski makes the team, which shall be interesting.

Finally, professional clown Sean Avery has come out saying he isn't impressed with the Rangers spending policy. Whilst he got a good move to Dallas, i sense a little bitterness here Sean.

Gagne certainly would be the "free agent signing" of the year, if he returns healthy.  The addition of Gagne gives the Flyers two snipers (Gagne, Lupul), two playmaking centers (Briere, Richards), a scoring/checking center (Carter), and two gritty wingers (Knuble, Hartnell).  Add to that the speed and snarkiness of Upshall, the quick skating and playmaking abilities of Claude Girous, and the snarl and board-work of Steve Downie, and you've got quite a top 9 on the roster.

Being a relatively young fan (let's just say I would have had the same draft year as Richards and Carter), Gagne is the first player I have watched from development through his entire NHL career.  I can remember his draft day - the same draft in which Vinny Lecavalier was taken first overall and Scott Gomes 27th.  I can also remember watching him as a scrawny-looking rookie.  And I remember his first games with Peter Forberg.

I hope to watch Gagne create more great Flyer memories this season, and for many more to come.

As for swapping the 27th pick for Steve Eminger, the Flyer faithful seem less thrilled.  Check out the comments section on Bill Meltzer's live draft blog for the reactions, which range from a "wait and see" faith in Holmgren to a virulent belief that Holmgren has sacrificed the Flyers future for a Cup run now.

The latter thought is rather dramatic.  Eminger isn't a Cup-guarantee addition to the blueline, nor would Carlson/Markstrom insure the Flyers' success for decades to come.  Pondering the admittedly strange trade last night, I concluded that Eminger does benefit the Flyers in a few key ways.

1. Saving cap space - Eminger has been a bubble player ever since Washington took him 12th in 2002, bouncing from the Hershey Bears to the Caps to the press box.  Even if he receives a raise, he won't be as expensive as a player with 3 years of solid NHL experience and a big playoff series against Montreal.

2.  Blueline depth - Okay, so Eminger isn't a top-4 man.  But the Flyers lacked wiggle room at D, especially if neither Derian Hatcher nor Jason Smith return to the lineup this fall.  Eminger provides one more option for the Flyers' organization as a whole.

3.  Defensive potential - Several have pointed out that Eminger has yet to live up to first round choice potential.  I'd suggest these people take a look at the tools Eminger possesses - can move the puck, decent size, good skating ability.  These outstrip the tools of Nate Guenin (even more of a bubble guy than Eminger) or young Phantoms like Oskars Bartulis who just aren't ready for the NHL.  Put those tools along with some actual ice time in the capable hands of John Stevens and Jack McIlhargey, and Eminger may just blossom into a gem.

4.  More moves ahead? - Acquiring Eminger may be just the first pawn in a bigger move.  Could Knuble + Eminger be leveraged for a true top-4 defenseman?  Or the type of winger that could fill a key spot should Simon Gagne be unable to return? 

But is all this worth a first round pick?  That remains to be seen.  But Paul Holmgren has yet to disappoint the fans in Philadelphia.  I think he's earned some leeway to work the magic that brough Coburn, Parent, and Timonen to the Flyer blueline.

Let's play a little game called "Guess what I've been up to the last two weeks." Here's a couple of choices for you...

1. Absolutely nothing
2. Contemplating complex philosophical questions like the meaning of life
3. Curling into the fetal position and crying myself to sleep every night because of law school exams
4. Curling into the fetal position and crying myself to sleep every night because Philadelphia was celebrating 100 seasons of ineptitude

I guess #3 and #4 encapsulate it best. And then today, as I continued to cry and babble incoherently about Shawn Bradley, Joe Carter and Ronde Barber, I realized, "Hey, Kev, you've got a blog. You've got something to live for. Get up and write something."

So here it is: me re-releasing myself into the wild, in the words of that immortal philosopher Mitch Martin. I'll even be upbeat for a change! That means that instead of dwelling on Eric Lindros, Tommy Hutton, and Jon Harris, I'll try to answer this question: who will save us poor Philadelphians from our title drought?

• The Sixers, despite exceeding all expectations this year, are pretty quickly eliminated from this discussion. They're trending upwards, certainly, but the NBA isn't a very fluid league; for the Sixers to jump from 7th place in the woeful East to legit title contenders, they'll need an influx of talent that can only be achieved by either: (1) owning a very high draft pick; or (2) hoping that an ex-player of yours who's the GM of a struggling franchise decides to gift wrap you an in-his-prime superstar. Since neither of those is happening...
• The Eagles have managed to keep the window of the McNabb Era open for quite some time now, and the constant influx of young talent from solid drafting means that the Birds should remain competitive for a little while yet. But if we're going to be really honest here, this is a team that's missed the playoffs 2 out of the last 3 years, is playing in the toughest division in football, and has question marks at safety (can Dawkins have an Indian summer?), linebacker (will the young kids step up?), and on offense in general (will anyone step up in the red zone?).
• The Phillies might not be that far off, especially in a day and age when the Cardinals can win a World Series with a rotation featuring Anthony Reyes, Jeff Suppan, and Jeff Weaver. But that St. Louis team caught lightning in a bottle, and serves as the exception that to the old October rule: pitching wins championships. The offense is there for the Phils (or it will be, once Ryan Howard gets back on track), but it's downright scary when they send anyone other than Cole Hamels to the mound. If someone can perform surgery on Brett Myers -- you know, to extract his head from his ass -- and the Phils could manage to add a legit No. 2 starter at the trade deadline, then maybe we'd be in business. But let's not hold our breath.

For those of you keeping score at home, that leaves just the Flyers (sorry, the other ones don't count). Maybe it's tough to believe that a team we last saw getting shellacked by the Penguins is our best chance for a title, but believe me: it is.

Look, I'd be lying if I said I was a diehard hockey fan. Since the lockout, I've kept tabs on the Flyers scores, caught a game here and there, lowered my expectations when Simon Gagne went down for the season, and generally followed the orange and black as a casual fan. But even without any special insight, I can look at the following things...

#1: The team's nucleus is young.

The young talent is undeniable. Captain-to-be Mike Richards is 23. Jeff Carter is 23. R.J. Umberger is 26. Joffrey Lupul is 24. Braydon Coburn is 23. Lasse Kukkonen is 26. Scott Hartnell is 26. Randy Jones is 26.

Among the important veterans, Daniel Briere and Marty Biron are just 30, Kimmo Timmonen is 33, and Mike Knuble is the old man at 35. A few others -- Jason Smith (34), Vinny Prospal (33), and Derian Hatcher (35) -- may not be back next year as the club tries to get even younger (more on that below).

And the Flyers have some prospects that may be ready to step up. Defenseman Ryan Parent (21) filled in well for the injured Coburn during the playoffs. Winger Steve Downie (21) had his ups and downs, but managed 12 points in 32 regular season games this year. Claude Giroux (20) may be ready to stop dominating juniors and come suit up for the Flyers. And James vanRiemsdyk (19) is probably not ready to leave college yet, but he recently tallied 34 points in his freshman year at New Hampshire and will be a stud when he's physically ready for the NHL.

#2: Paul Holmgren clearly knows what he's doing.

Since taking over when the Flyers hit rock bottom during the awful 2006-07 campaign, Holmgren has engineered a vast influx of talent. In a flurry of moves last summer, he added Briere in free agency, talked Nashville into giving up Hartnell and Timmonen -- now the Flyers' best blue liner -- for a first round draft pick, and acquired Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul from Edmonton. The sum total of these moves: the Flyers jumped from an NHL-worst 56 points last year to 95 points and the playoffs this year.

With the new salary cap in place, Holmgren will certainly have his work cut out for him this summer. The700Level does a nice job of assessing the impending free agents, noting that the Flyers will do everything they can to hold onto Carter. Prospal would cost a lot to re-sign and may not be back, and while Smith did an admirable job as captain this year, Holmgren will likely let him walk in search of adding speed at the blue line. The trickiest situation may be R.J. Umberger: if some team is willing to pay through the nose for him, Holmgren may have no choice but to let him walk.

Whatever the case, the priorities are clear for Holmgren this offseason: get your own house in order, replace anyone who leaves, and add an impact defenseman or two.

#3: This team is not that far off.

Yeah, it may have looked like they were on Sunday. Clearly, the Penguins were the better team and deserved to win that series. But I couldn't help but feel that the Flyers couldn't catch a break all series. Coburn is in the slot and somehow manages to take a slapshot to the face, the physics of which still boggle my mind. Timmonen misses all but one game of the Pittsburgh series with a blood clot. At one point in Game 1, a shorthanded Evgeni Malkin is leveled by Richards behind the Philadelphia net, is slow to get up and consequently puts his team in a 5-on-3 situation, but then picks himself off the ice and --voilà! -- the puck is on his stick and he only has Marty Biron to beat.

But let's look at the big picture here: the Flyers were in hockey's final four just a year after being outscored by 89 goals.  That they lost to a highly skilled team while playing without their top two blue liners isn't a death knell.  It's an indication that Holmgren needs to add some speed at the blue line, John Stevens needs to emphasize to his guys how to accentuate their strengths (get the puck deep for God's sake!), and the Flyers need to come back next year with the same hunger they displayed in their good stretches of October, January, and April.

Oh, and if Simon Gagne can come back healthy, that will help out a lot on the power play.  And at even strength.  And on the penalty kill.  To be honest, Gagne was the team's best two-way player for a couple of years, so a full-strength Gagne is better than anyone Holmgren can add on the open market.  We know from our experiences with Lindros and Primeau, among others, that concussions aren't something to mess around with, but let's just keep our fingers crossed...

What about you guys -- you think the streak will ever be broken?  Who's the team to do it?

James Mirtle did a great interview with Matt Pesotski of The 700 Level.

Speaking of The 700 Level, there's some fantastic photoshop action happening over there. 

And from the kings of photoshop at The Pensblog - let's just say that Simon Gagne never looked more beautiful.

My personal favorite Flyer blogger, Bill Meltzer, has a far more serious approach to the series.

Mike Morreale, along with the rest of the NHL, has finally discovered that RJ Umberger is more than Brian Campbell's test dummy. 

The NHL Stats Blog previews the first ever conference finals between the Keystone state rivals.

And to end with a little star power, David Boreanaz of Bones looks forward to the Stanley Cup visiting the Fox soundstage.

La troisième période allait bon train pour les Flyers mais un cadeau de Darian Hatcher, étampant dans la bande Françis Bouillon.  Résultat jeu de puissance de cinq minutes au Canadien et Derian Hatcher est chassé du match.

Les Canadiens enfilent deux buts pour porter la marque 3-2, toujours en faveur des Flyers.

Sur la pénalité de Derian Hatcher, un geste des plus salaud a été effectué par Tomas Plekanec qui a effectué de l'interférence sur R.J. Umberger d'une façon des plus lâches, en fillette, en le plaquant de son fessier en se pliant lorsque Umberger passait derrière lui.  Plekanec l'a atteint directement à la cuisse, celui-ci tombant au sol se tordant de douleurs.

Plekanec aurait mérité un 5 minutes pour tentative de blessure.  C'est un geste des plus salauds.

Le reste du match il ne fallait pas être cardiaque pour l'observer, les Flyers ont joué avec le feu mais ils ont gagné et mène la série 2-1.

Il semble que les Flyers ont trouvé la façon de battre les Canadiens, soit de les intimider physiquement et de placer un joueur devant le filet du Canadien avant d'effectuer un lancer.

Les Flyers n'ont dirigé que 14 lancers vers le filet du Canadien contre 34 par le tricolore.  Martin Biron a été encore une fois sensationnel sauf sur le deuxième but des Canadiens où il a été incapable de maîtriser la rondelle.

Série à suivre mercredi et match crucial pour le Canadien car 3-1 dans la série pour les Flyers leur serait presqu'insurmontable vu l'énergie avec laquelle les Flyers jouent. 

Petit mot en terminant, ça aurait été si beau de voir Simon Gagné endossé l'uniforme des Flyers en séries face aux Canadiens, malheureusement ce dernier est blessé.  Encore une fois il faut rappeler que les Canadiens affrontent une équipe dont un des meilleurs joueurs est sur la touche.

That’s me in the corner. That’s me on the summit of Vermont’s Stratton Mountain mugging for the camera. That’s me not wearing a helmet.

Hey I was snowboarding and cool snowboarders don’t do anything that looks dorky or gorpy. I had consciously chosen to ride that day sans helmet No big deal. The next day with a helmet on, I, switched over to skis, the day’s highlight being a non-stop, high speed descent of a Black Diamond slope under the gondola. 

Back on the board the following day, I reluctantly, at my wife’s urgings, went back to wearing my helmet. On my third run of the day, a snowboarding repeat of my skiing the expert run from the top, I lost a heel edge on a particularly steep drop-off and went down hard, very hard, striking the back of my head on the hard pack ice beneath the inch of so of new powder. 

Even with the protection of the helmet, the impact from the fall left me momentarily dazed. I got back up, shook off the slight mental fog, finished that run and the rest of the day. Mid-afternoon of the next day, the muscles, tendons and all the stuff in my neck and in my abdomen began to seize up. By evening I could barely move my body without pain and audible wincing. 

For almost two weeks following my Stratton spill, I suffered what people rear-ended in an auto collision would call whiplash, nothing disabling, but uncomfortable enough and lasting long enough to put some manners on me. 

What was learned from this? Never again will I go out on a mountain to ski or snowboard without a helmet. I joked with friends that without my padded plastic lid, I might have been talking concussion a la the Flyers Simon Gagne. Not so, one friend said, “you might not be talking at all, a la Sonny Bono.

SCHEDULE
GAME 1 - @ WAS - Fri., Apr. 11, 7:00 PM
GAME 2 - @ WAS - Sun., Apr. 13, 2:00 PM
GAME 3 - @ PHI - Tues., Apr. 15, 7:00 PM
GAME 4 - @ PHI - Thurs., Apr. 17, 7:00 PM
*GAME 5 - @ WAS - Sat., Apr. 19, 1:00 PM
*GAME 6 - @ PHI - Mon., Apr. 21, Time TBD
*GAME 7 - @WAS - Tues., Apr. 22, Time TBD
*if necessary

CAPITAL REVIEW
The Washington Capitals were one of the most active teams this year at the trade deadline. They acquired current starting goalie Cristobal Huet from Montreal for only a second round pick. They got seasoned veteran Sergei Federov from Columbus as well but the Caps were already a strong team. They made quite a run after that to contest the Carolina Hurricanes for the Southeastern Division leader, a position they eventually achieved.

Obviously the most astounding aspect of the Capitals is the play of perhaps the best player in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin. An all-around player, Ovechkin finished the 2007-07 campaign with 112 points (65 goals 47 assists). How about the second leading scorer for Washington? Ovie nearly doubled him up. It was rookie Nicklas Backstrom who finished with 69 points.

KEYS TO THE SERIES
This Capitals team is not as deep as many in the Eastern Conference. They have a few strong players but by far their best player is Alexander Ovechkin. If the Flyers can shut him down they will put themselves in excellent position to advance.
Goaltending has been an issue at times this year for the Flyers, but not now. Marty Biron enters his first playoff series coming off two straight shutouts against two top teams in the East in New Jersey and Pittsburgh. His confidence needs to be sky high going in to the post season. On the other side, Cristobal Huet has won his last eight decisions and also goes into the playoffs red hot.

SCRATCHED UP
Washington

Jeff Schultz D Day-to-Day Undisclosed Injury

Shaone Morrisonn D Day-to-Day Upper Body

Michael Nylander C Injured Reserve Torn Left Rotator Cuff

Philadelphia

Danny Briere C Day-to-Day Knee

Derian Hatcher D Day-to-Day Leg

Simon Gagne LW Injured Reserve Mild Concussion

PREDICTION
Flyers in 6

In depth NHL playoff coverage coming up this week.

THE SEASON SERIES

November 2, 2007

Flyers win 3-2.

November 23, 2007

Capitals win in overtime 4-3.

January 13, 2008

Flyers win 6-4.

February 6, 2008

Capitals win 4-3.

In January, when they were the 2 seed and atop the Atlantic, it would have been crazy to say the Flyers could possibly miss the playoffs; even in a tight eastern conference race, they were clicking on all cylinders. But yet again, a once crazy thought is becoming more and more likely. The orange and black h

ave been beaten in routes, heartbreakers, and overtime games too. The bottom line is that they are 0-8-2 in their last 10, and have picked the very worst time to start falling apart. The team has played bad hockey, there's no getting around that. However, there have been injuries to key players...lots of injures. It's as if the sports gods are yet again pulling the rug out from under another potential championship Philadelphia team.

When talking of recent Flyers injuries, the lead off is obviously your reliable, play making 40+ goal scorer Simon Gagne. Advised by concussion specialists in North Carolina to sit out the rest of the season, the team has a huge hole to fill offensively. He's only played in 25 games this year, but he had 18 points, and is always dangerous when healthy and consistently on the ice. How about Joffrey Lupul? He's probably the most successful (and surprising) acquisition of the off-season. Lupul was recently sidelined after his own teammate, Derian Hatcher, laid him out by mistake. After finally coming back he re-injured himself, this time a high ankle sprain, against Montreal on the 16th. He's missed 3 games so far and is expected to be sitting out for another 2-3 weeks. His numbers speak for themselves when you wonder what you're missing by losing Lupul: 18 G, 21 A in 44 games. And speaking of Hatcher, the big man is also injured right now with a right knee injury that's expected to keep him out 3 weeks as well. A disappointment last season, Hatcher has played his defensive position with excellence this year. He looks quicker, handles the puck better, and can still throw his weight around pretty darn well. Steve Downie also recently joined the MASH unit formally known as the Flyers locker room. Downie suffered a concussion and is listed as day-to-day. With his injury you obviously are missing a physical aspect of the game and a great fighter(let's face it, Riley Cote is an awful at it). But fighting and checking aren't the entirety of Downie's game; he has showed the ability to score a pretty goal and know where to be for his linemates to create offense. Another huge loss. Oh yea, and all-star center Mike Richards is also injured with a hamstring tear. He'll miss a couple weeks, but he hasn't done that much, right?

Teams in every sport will tell you that injuries are unfortunate but in every case, they are part of the game. When faced with challenges and players dropping like flies, the rest of the team has to step up. Players must excel in a higher level of play, and every game is magnified as your team races towards the playoffs with a shorter, and now less experienced, bench. But an 0-8-2 record in their last 10 games says that nobody has stepped up. No single player has took it upon them self to become the leader that the Flyers need without a Richards or Hatcher. The team has not gelled together with the lines constantly being shuffled around to try and find a combination of offense that works. Getting rid of Jim Vandermeer (although fantastic) is not enough to right the ship. The first player to look at with a feeling of bitterness and disdain is the man with the big contract, Danny Briere. Yes, he has 22 goals so far this year. But when he scored against Florida a few days ago, that was his first goal since the beginning of the month. A man who was signed to a contract of over 50 million has to give you more than that. Also, if Briere isn't giving you that goal scoring ability, he has to be able to excel in other parts of his game. The fans are starting to boo Briere when he touches the puck, and for good reason. He holds a -23 plus minus for the season, and has been somewhat of a bust so far.

But this doesn't all fall on the shoulders of Briere. There are lots of guys on this team that are more than capable of upping their game and haven't. The results have been ugly; their play looks like that of last year: the 22 win team. They can't find a way to score. They aren't getting the bounces. They'll score and let up a goal 30 seconds later. It's the little things like that which take the wind out of your sails. It's the little things that the Flyers need to start doing if they want to even have a chance at the playoffs. The game against Florida was a perfect example of the recent 0-8-2 stretch. The Flyers were up 1-0 and Briere was our goal scorer. It wasn't often the Flyers have had the lead in any game recently, but they were up 1. Now, it wasn't a pretty game, that's for sure. The offense still looked out of sync, unable to piece anything together with great consistency, but they were about to get 2 very important points and that's all that mattered - ending this losing streak. Then with under 4 seconds left, Florida scored. The fans at the game who were standing and cheering were sent into a trance. It was complete shock and disbelief, which later turned into rising anger and frustration when Olli Jokinen fired a slap shot into the net with just over a minute left in the extra session. All you can really mutter is "unbelievable."

Is the chance for a playoff berth over? Hell no. The Flyers have played 62 games, leaving 20 very important contests to determine their berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. As of right now, they are on the outside looking in, essentially tied for 9th with the Islanders, with 67 points. It's hard to believe that all this has happened so fast. Just a month ago the Flyers were atop the division, 2nd in the east, and a goal scoring machine. Fast forward to the present and it's painful to watch them play. They can only do one thing now, and that is go out and play one game at a time. Cliche, I know, but every potential 2 points are so essential for the Flyers. They're bruised and battered, but not out of it. A chance to end the 10 game losing skid comes tonight when former Sabre and the rest of the Flyers visit Buffalo: the team sitting in the 8th spot with 1 more point than the Flyers.

If they want a shot at the playoffs they better start winning, and fast. Tonight would be a good time to do so.

Why? Some excuses for injuries, of course. It kills to be missing Gagne, although actually it helps to know for sure he isn't coming back this season. Lupul is a bigger loss, because he's been in the lineup and very productive more often than Gags has this year, and the team really misses his high energy and physical presence on top of the skill.

As much of a focus of fan dissatisfaction as he's been, Hatcher had been a key penalty killer on this team. And both extended absences for him have resulted in Flyers slumps. 

But even the injury-depleted crew has been able to come up with wins here and there earlier in the season. And did some of that without Gagne and without Lupul.

Still, it's becoming more and more difficult to watch the clear signs of a team in distress.

• Where once they shot lasers on net from pretty much anywhere on the ice, now they try to guide shots, without pace, that never get through or shoot hard well wide of the target.
• When they were winning, they passed crisply to briskly moving team mates. Now, guys are standing around waiting for passes that are tentatively dinked around.
• The passes that used to go forward into the offensive zone or were dumped deep have turned into dangerous, oddly timed cross ice passes to no one.
• Biron, started the year contained, composed, and in position, with the puck finding him and sticking, is now trying to do too much, ranging far afield from the safety of the crease, and looking scrambly and discombobulated.
• They used to have a good number of players who hit consistently throughout the game. Now it seems there's a switch some evil mastermind is turning on and off.
• During the winning streak they were winning battles for the puck. I'm not sure they can find a battle that doesn't involve a pointless goon padding his penalty minutes.
• There have been nights with enough muffs on passes and shots that there was cause to wonder if someone had sawed off the sticks as a practical joke. But I guess this is what happens when they're said to be squeezing the sticks--their arms get short.

It's becoming more and more difficult to watch, easily as frustrating for the fans, who are starting to pick scapegoats and savage them in the arena with the taunting boos of discontent. It's always seemed counterproductive to me. Do you remember any player getting better because he was being booed?

The Flyers desperately need to come out Saturday with guns blazing and play like they can, not like they have been. Or suddenly, this will become another long discouraging season.

Last night the Flyers failed to generate a power play, a first for the season and one which definitely goes down as the ultimate sign of ineffectiveness. 

Tomorrow the Flyguys host the Florida Panthers and look to turn things around.  They then hit the road for one game in Buffalo against the surging Sabres.  Thursday I will be in attendance for their home game against the Ottawa Senators from the luxury box bitches.

Welcome!  Since the Flyers recently advised me to stop playing hockey for the rest of the season, I've got a little bit of free time on my hands.  You see, the concussion is the one injury that I can't go into the practice facility and rehab.  The only way they let you play again is if you can convince them that there aren't any lingering effect- wait, did that spatula just...blink at me?

Hmm.

Since the Flyers have relocated me to a brand new house farther away from the SkateZone in Voorhees, I've got a lot of unpacking to do.  But since Keith Primeau and Eric Lindros aren't coming over to help me move this piano into the upstairs bath until later, I figured we could roll through my crib.  You know, like on MTV Cribs?  Let's go cribbin', Cribman.

(shoots deadly look at an idle house plant)

So this room is where me and my boys hang out when we haven't lost nine straight games.  For the record, I thought about telling Coach Stevens that I could play last night until I heard San Jose was in town.  Look, I have no problem matching up against my fellow countryman Joe Thornton, and I even think that I've had Nabokov's number for years, but do you realize that San Jose are the Sharks?  Seriously!  What if they're UNDER THE ICE?  OH HELL NO.  I can't take that chance.  We've got Fat Derian on our team; if he cracks the ice, then that's a shark's free pass to devour hockey players.  NO WAY!  I'll wait until we play the Caps.  I'm not afraid of hats.

This is my new HDTV.  I've mounted it on the ceiling here (yes, next to that microwave) because as of late, the dizzy spells have left me on the floor a lot more than usual.  It comes with all the premium HD channels, even Versus and the NHL Network.  Let's see who's on now!  (picks up frozen waffle, points upwards)  Looks like another local blackout.

Here we are in the kitchen, where all the monsters live.  I know the Cribs tradition is to check out what's in my fridge, but I'm not going near that thing.  Every time I open it, a tiny orange ghost pops out and the theme song to Growing Pains plays.  That's why I've picked up food from Arby's every meal for the last two weeks.  The drive-thru's always backed up though - which is why I end up just licking the pictures of the food on the menu order board outside.  Low-calorie and delicious!

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this little tour du Simon short.  I'm going shoe shopping with Peter Forsberg this afternoon.  He's so damn picky.  Thanks for stopping by, MYFO!  If you don't mind, I have some chores to do before I go.

(tackles aforementioned house plant)

What Flyers fans feared for much of the season was confirmed Wednesday night: Simon Gagne will miss the rest of this season after suffering several concussions earlier this year. It's a huge blow for the Orange and Black, especially considering their recent seven-game slide (though the final loss to Ottawa on Tuesday night at least came in overtime) and the spate of injuries that has plagued them over recent weeks.

I'll be honest with you: I don't follow hockey as closely throughout the season as the other major sports, so apologies in advance if, for some reason, you've come here expecting in-depth analysis. That being said, I generally keep up-to-date on what's going on with my Flyers, and let me frame this latest bit of news this way: if you're hoping the Fly-guys will be the ones snapping the 25-year old Philly championship drought, I wouldn't hold your breath.

The winless stretch has dropped Philly from second to eighth in the conference, and the roster juggling has deprived them of any continuity. My money is on the Flyers getting their act together in time to at least hang on to a playoff spot, but with no Gagne, no Forsberg, and no home ice advantage, we may have to put off those plans for a deep playoff run until next year.

But let's be honest: we can wait. Paul Holmgren clearly has his act together, and we've got faith that the Flyers are ultimately headed in the right direction. If Gagne can return healthy next year and Holmgren can add another piece or two, we may yet live to see the next parade down Broad Street.

Yes, this team is injury plagued. Simon Gagne is trying to re-coop after his third concussion of the season. Derian Hatcher, one of the orange and black's most reliable defensemen is out with a knee injury for three weeks (although apparently he is healthy enough to be swimming with sharks). Joffery Lupul is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain. Steve Downie has a concussion and is now missing time. Despite these key components, the Flyers definitely have the potential to win but they have not. Coach John Stevens has juggled the lines more times than Peter Forsberg has put on new skates. The team is lacking both chemistry and heart, although we saw a bit of the latter towards the end of last night's overtime loss to the Senators.

One reason is obviously a lack of scoring. They have scored only 17 goals in this eight game skid. A move the Flyers made yesterday was a good one. They brought up Claude Giroux all the way from juniors and the 20-year-old was allotted over nine minutes in his NHL debut and was the first to attempt a breakaway in last night's shootout. He made a pretty move and narrowly missed the net despite juking Ray Emery out of his pads. Giroux's presence is exciting and sends a message to the rest of the team that they need to step it up.

Lack of defense has been a problem lately for the Flyers too. They took a step in the right direction by acquiring a veteran defenseman in Jaroslav Modry. I was being a bit sarcastic yesterday about his age, but I was not kidding when I said that Jim Vandermeer was terrible. I would rather have that inflatable Le Goalie thing out on the ice than watch Vandermeer's mediocrity.

Look for the Flyers to pick up an offensive playmaker before the trade deadline because I don't think the Modry deal is the last one for this team. That is unless of course, Peter has fooled us all. And so continues the drama surrounding Foppa. Either way, the Flyers need improvement and they need it fast. They have already slipped to eighth in the East with the Buffalo Sabres breathing down their necks only two points behind. If they don't make the playoffs, this will be one disappointed city.

While the Flyers have lost one of their best players they have also lost three straight games, two against division opponents. If there is a bright side to all of this it has got to be the physical play of Derian Hatcher over the past couple games and the return of Joffery Lupul. Aside from Hatch's play and Joffery getting back in the loop, last time the Flyers and Islanders met, Scott Hartnell had a hat trick. The Flyers will have to look at those things as positive factors when they enter the game tonight because it would be devastating to lose four straight in this division. Even though the season is far from over it appeared this would be the year that the Flyers wouldn't slump at this point in the season and put themselves in a great position to finish the season at the top of the division. The Fly Guys have 27 games remaining with the last eight being against divisional opponents. The Atlantic Division is arguably the best in the NHL where it is fairly likely that four of the five teams will make the playoffs. The Isles, eight points shy of the fourth place Rangers, are the only team that appear they will be on the outside looking in.

Despite the fact that a recent CSN poll showed that 51% of fans have their attention turned to Flyers hockey despite a great Sixers run (which attracted 8%) there isn't all that much to be happy about in the world of Flyers hockey these days. Even with Gagne's injury the Flyers appear to be neither buyers nor (obviously) sellers at this year's NHL trade deadline (Thursday February 26 at 3 p.m.), although there is some speculation they may be in the market for Dan Boyle, or another puck moving defenseman. They are also unsure as to the future of Peter Forsberg who delayed his decision at least another week. As excited I was and still would be to see Forsberg back in orange and black, this speculation is really starting to get annoying.

Tonight's game will mark the NHL debut for Phantom's second leading scorer, and linemate of friend of the show Jonathan Matsumoto, Kyle Greentree.

Jim Dowd, yes, 39-year-old Jim Dowd, is on an offensive tear has five points in seven games in the new year. Scott Hartnell, the empty net master, now has two hat tricks in the span of nine days. One of the most important contributors however, is assistant captain Simon Gagne whose return to the lineup has not only brought up his personal statistics but that of the players around him. Gagne has had a point in every game since his return on January 10, and a struggling Danny Briere has notched five points in the same span.

Gagne's return, the continued on-ice leadership by Mike Richards and the hot hand of Antero Niittymaki are all contributing factors to the Flyers streak since the ball dropped on 2007. The Flyers are white hot right now and are on their way back to the top of the Atlantic Division. The Flyers have won nine of their last 11. They trail the Penguins by only two points, but that could all change tonight when the orange and black face off against the Northeast leading Ottawa Senators.

Sid the Injured

Take a picture and put it in the scrapbook on the page labeled "Baby's first injury." Sidney Crosby inadvertently crashed into the boards behind the net where his foot awkwardly stopped the rest of his body, while looking quizzically at the referee to see why he didn't draw a penalty. Crosby has a high ankle sprain and is listed as "out indefinitely". As one of the biggest Flyers fans out there, I welcome this with open arms, but there are two minute downsides to Sid the Kid's misfortune. On December 11 the Flyers whooped the Penguins 8-2 in probably the most exciting game of the season despite the blowout score. The energy in the building was electric and at game's end you couldn't help but wonder what the atmosphere would be like this Thursday when the two teams would meet again. I will be at the game on Thursday as well to root on the Fly Guys but I am at least a little dissapointed that I won't be able to have a pre-game discussion with Crosby during warm-ups. I suppose I'll just have to find the suite he'll be sitting in.

Other than the exciting divisional matchup Crosby's injury will hurt not only the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is almost certainly going to miss the All-Star Game on January 27 in Atlanta. Being the poster boy for the NHL and the leader in fan All-Star voting, he is one of the few reasons the casual sports fan has to watch the annual event that usually gets awful ratings.

Crosby played in the outdoor game on New Year's Day which battled college football bowl games for ratings and was still the highest rated hockey game in over a decade. With his absense the 2008 All-Star Game is destined to be lost in the land of Nielsen TV ratings.