NHL 08 Playoffs

[Feanor]

Most posts from Flyer fan still are b*tching about the missed trip call before Poti was caught for tripping, the bottle that hit Carter's shoulder, the dirty hits on Flyers, etc.

I wasn't bitching about it - since Carter wasn't injured I thought it was funny.

But Flyers fans do have to b*tch about the refs on the odd occasion that we win a series. If you complain after your team loses it just gets dismissed as sour grapes.

[pk500]

B*tching about the refs will give Flyernation a convenient excuse after Philly loses to the Habs in the second round, though.

After all, only Anaheim marched to the box more in the first round than the Flyers. So if that trend continues against Montreal, there's no way the Habs' power play will remain as anemic as it did against Boston -- it's too good.

So crap officiating will continue to be the convenient crutch even though the Flyers' ill discipline in the first round was exceeded only by the West Coast's version of Thug Nation, the Ducks.

Take care,
PK

[Feanor]

You're so biased, it's hilarious. Keep up the bitter, one-eyed nonsense, pk.

Btw, you have your facts wrong. Washington committed 36 penalties to the Flyers 35, and Ottawa committed 23 penalties in only 4 games so they were actually the second most heavily penalized team in the playoffs.

[Diablo25]

Philly fans of being a bullwinkle, etc. that boos Santa Claus (he was a drunk Santa, thats why he was booed), throws snowballs at Jimmy Johnson, cheers injured opponents, etc.

You forgot to mention once being the only U.S. sports team (as far as I know) to have an actual court room setup at the stadium during events.

Not any more...that went down with the Vet. Man, the 700 level at the Vet was zoo

[pk500]

You're so biased, it's hilarious. Keep up the bitter, one-eyed nonsense, pk.

Biased? Of course I am: I hate the Flyers.

Bitter? About what? My team has five Stanley Cups, last appearing in the Finals two years ago. That makes the Oilers look like the Canadiens compared to the Flyer Nation, which still clings to the two Cups from the Shero glory days like a security blanket.

Btw, you have your facts wrong. Washington committed 36 penalties to the Flyers 35, and Ottawa committed 23 penalties in only 4 games so they were actually the second most heavily penalized team in the playoffs.

I stand corrected, by one minor. Still, if you think the Flyers can continue traipsing to the penalty box and beat Montreal, pass me the pipe.

An ominous stat for Philly from the first round: The Flyers' penalty kill limped along at 77.1 percent, 12th out of the 16 playoff teams. And Montreal's PP is better than Washington's despite the first-round numbers. I hope, for your sake, the Flyers are watching tape of how Boston killed Montreal's penalties.

Take care,
PK

[Sully]

B*tching about the refs will give Flyernation a convenient excuse after Philly loses to the Habs in the second round, though.



Take care,
PK

Not really. Flyers fans are well aware that we're huge underdogs going into this series. Going against the Caps, we knew we were the better team. Take the Caps out of the South, and they miss the playoffs. Put the Flyers in the South, and they eclipse 100 points. The division was a joke.

Philly, as a team, did not play well in the first round. They let a series that should've been over in 5 go to a game 7 OT. They play like that against Montreal and they'll be lucky to see a 5th game.

No doubt the Flyers need to be more disciplined against the Habs. You're really going out on a limb there with that one, especially when you consider the Habs owned the league's top powerplay.

[XXXIV]

The Habs swept the Bruins during the season and had to squeak by in 7 games.

Thy also swept the Flyers this season...How many games does this one go?

[XXXIV]

Edit: DP

[10spro]

The Habs swept the Bruins during the season and had to squeak by in 7 games.

Thy also swept the Flyers this season...How many games does this one go?

I have the Habs in 6, but the series will be tougher than what people think. By that I mean games will be decided by a one goal margin or so. Yeah those records in regular season mean nothing because it's a whole new ball game once the playoffs start. Philly has more skill upfront than Bos, but it's tough to read on Biron and the D. That's where they have been inconsistent, regardless go Habs!

[Diablo25]

2-0 good guys (Flyers) after one!

[XXXIV]

2-0 good guys (Flyers) after one!

Good guys? ...ahh the eye of the beholder.

The Habs swept the Bruins during the season and had to squeak by in 7 games.

Thy also swept the Flyers this season...How many games does this one go?

I have the Habs in 6, but the series will be tougher than what people think. By that I mean games will be decided by a one goal margin or so. Yeah those records in regular season mean nothing because it's a whole new ball game once the playoffs start. Philly has more skill upfront than Bos, but it's tough to read on Biron and the D. That's where they have been inconsistent, regardless go Habs!

I hope you are right....Im with you in that I dont think the regular season means crap once the playoffs start. This is just a whole new incredible level of hockey.

Oh yeah...and.... GO HABS!!!

[10spro]

2-0 good guys (Flyers) after one!

Good guys? ...ahh the eye of the beholder.
Oh yeah...and.... GO HABS!!!

Well, the good guys are pretty quiet now. One thing I remember about the Habs that turned their season around, not that they had a bad one but definitely gave them a ton of confidence towards the end, is a game they won in OT against the Rangers. NY was up by four goals or so with 10 minutes left. A. Kovalev had the game of his life tying the game and eventually winning it on OT. Nice comeback, but they'll need to play better.

[Feanor]

It seems like the Flyers gave up a ton of goals in the last minute of the 3rd period this season, so I wasn't surprised it happened again. Mike Richards getting called for kneeing when he hit Kovalev with his shoulder was ludicrous, but Philadelphia could have killed that penalty or at least come out strong for the OT.

Maybe players like Jeff Carter need to keep a wooden stick handy for purely defensive situations if their usual sticks are going to snap like a twig.

[pk500]

I must admit: Joffrey Lupul is playing some pretty decent hockey for the Flyers. The guy was complete shite in Edmonton, but the change in scenery has helped him.

Take care,
PK

[Sully]

I must admit: Joffrey Lupul is playing some pretty decent hockey for the Flyers. The guy was complete shite in Edmonton, but the change in scenery has helped him.

Take care,
PK

The last two games. The guy was invisible for the first 6 with Washington. He did play well during the regular season, though.

Like Feanor, another collapse doesn't surprise me. The penalty on Richards could've gone either way, so it doesn't really upset me all that much. If that play happens 10 times, it probably goes 50-50 in that situation. As for the broken sticks, it seems like we're seeing a lot of those lately. Carter's came at the worst time, and set up the one guy the Flyers don't want taking that shot for Montreal.

[pk500]

The broken sticks issue frustrates me as much as anything in the NHL right now. Only wanton head shots bother me more.

There is a solution: Ban composite sticks. MLB bans aluminum bats, so why can't the NHL ban composite sticks? The game would improve with wooden sticks.

Wooden sticks give better feel, which would provide more crisp, accurate passing and shooting. Wooden sticks are much less expensive. Not a big factor for pros, but a big factor for parents whose kids are begging to use the same gear as the pros. There's nothing cheap about a single stick that costs $150-200 -- that's obscene.

The game also would be safer, as the increased accuracy with wooden sticks and slightly decreased speed would keep more pucks away from players' faces.

Wooden sticks also seem to be more durable, at least on slap shots and heavy stress.

The only compelling reasons to keep composite sticks are players' complaints that wood is too heavy (which is horsesh*t, by the way) and less consistent (a legit complaint), and the equipment companies' ridiculous profit margins on composite sticks. The horse probably is too far out of the barn with equipment companies and composite sticks for the NHL to ban them, unfortunately.

Take care,
PK

[Naples39]

Given that this was the Flyers 3rd game in 4 nights, I came in expecting a loss in game 1. With a little luck and great finish by Jim Dowd, the Flyers found themselves up 2-0 and with a golden opportunity to sneak an away win.

The Flyers played a very good third period outshooting the Habs, but didn't have luck on their side with the penalty call on Richards and the game-tying goal. Everyone's talking about Carter's stick breaking, but he only won 28% of faceoffs last night, so him getting beaten by Koivu (who was 71%) is no big surprise. Just sucked Richards was in the box because he was the only guy winning faceoffs for the Flyers last night and Kovalev wouldn't have likely been able to step into one right off the draw if Richards is in the circle.

What really hurt were those two second period goals, but it's no surprise having watched this Flyers team all year. The only officiating call of the evening that still bugs me is Kovalev's SHG. The NHL said that video evidence conclusively showed contact with the puck came under the bar, but they must've had some replay that TV didn't. All you could see on TV was Kovalev's stick making a downward motion, striking the crossbar after striking the puck. Doesn't simple logic necessarily imply that contact with the puck was therefore above the crossbar? I would think so.

[Jimmydeicide]

Looks like PK was right about philly fan bitching about the refs , everyone of you mentioned some call in your posts.

GO HABS!!!!!!!

[XXXIV]

Looks like PK was right about philly fan bitching about the refs , everyone of you mentioned some call in your posts.

GO HABS!!!!!!!

The man is a prophet...

[Diablo25]

Looks like PK was right about philly fan bitching about the refs , everyone of you mentioned some call in your posts.

GO HABS!!!!!!!

Not bitching...just calling a spade a spade. BS call on Richards. BS. Clearly not a trip. Cost the Flyers the game. I loved the fact that the suits in Toronto didn't overturn the Habs first goal. Why even review the damn thing if you aren't going to overturn it? The puck was clearly hit above the crossbar. His stick hit the damn crossbar AFTER it hit the puck. Whatever, no matter what point I make it will be viewed as crying about the refs. One thing is for sure, game two will be all the better for it.

[Feanor]

The only officiating call of the evening that still bugs me is Kovalev's SHG. The NHL said that video evidence conclusively showed contact with the puck came under the bar, but they must've had some replay that TV didn't. All you could see on TV was Kovalev's stick making a downward motion, striking the crossbar after striking the puck. Doesn't simple logic necessarily imply that contact with the puck was therefore above the crossbar? I would think so.

This Canadian writer said the same thing:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Pl ... 6-sun.html

But a couple of the guys of the Flyers postgame show said all the angles were inconclusive, and not enough to overrule the call on the ice that it was a goal. Of course, the on-ice ref thought the pucked bounced in off Biron's head. If he had actually seen that Kovalev swatted the puck in, he might have waved the goal off.

[pk500]

Not bitching...just calling a spade a spade.

Right, right. Just like how Ovechkin took a massive dive on the trip call against Richards ... how Steve Downie is the most persecuted player in NHL history ... how Richards got screwed on the tripping call last night ... how it was about time Poti was called for the trip in Game 7 against Washington since the refs missed a prior trip and sundry other transgressions against the Flyers.

I've said it once, I'll say it again: No NHL fanbase has a persecution complex quite like Flyer Nation.

Any Flyer loss by two goals or less in this series will be accompanied by forum posts from Flyers' fans moaning about this bad call or that no-call -- guaranteed. The Flyers don't lose close games -- they're stolen from them by the officials on their damn NHL-inspired vendetta.

At least Flyers' fans have passion. Can't criticize that.

Take care,
PK

[Jimmydeicide]

Its not just their hockey team either , who else thinks their team is bigger than Santa.

Anyways, sorry Philly fans enough piling on from me. Who am i to talk, if the Nhl had a promotion relegation system my team would be in the Ahl.

[Feanor]

It's really funny to me that the same guy who whined and cried for months and years about the NHL and the refs supposedly stealing the 99 finals away from the Sabres, spends most of his posts in this thread criticizing Flyers fans for daring to mention calls that seem unfair and coming up with straw man arguments.

For the record, Ovechkin clearly leaped into the air after hitting Umberger's skate, Steve Downie has nobody but himself to blame for the target on his back, Mike Richards would have to have one arm and three legs for that kneeing call to have been legitimate, and the main person who said the tripping penalty on Poti was justified, especially given the swallowed whistler earlier in overtime of Game 7, was the Washinton Capitals own coach.

I guess when your team has already been out on the golf course for three weeks there's plenty of time to kill while you wait for the second round of the draft.

[pk500]

It's really funny to me that the same guy who whined and cried for months and years about the NHL and the refs supposedly stealing the 99 finals away from the Sabres, spends most of his posts in this thread criticizing Flyers fans for daring to mention calls that seem unfair.

For months and years? That's hilarious. I thought my avatar was visible: I'm not even a Sabres' fan. It was a bad call on Hull's goal, but my criticism of it doesn't even approach the litany of nightly moans from Flyer Nation.

I guess when your team has already been out on the golf course for three weeks there's plenty of time to kill while you wait for the second round of the draft.

Oh, nice dart. My pain is immense and clear, much like the Flyers' memories of Kate Smith and those Shero glory years.

I must admit it is fun to rile up Flyer Nation because it's about as easy as catching insects on a No-Pest Strip in the jungle.

For the record, the Oilers have a first-round pick, their last from the Pronger deal. They lost their original first-round pick as compensation for the Penner deal.

Take care,
PK