Don't freak out!

I'm just tinkering with the layout and getting the damn labels back in my post. So settle down.

oy

my template on etgp is all messed up, and I'm using this one to fix it. okay?

The Pronger madness!

Dude, The Pronger is everywhere this week! He's hanging with kids from the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, he's signing big money multi-year contracts, he's all up in your face in his gay orange Flyers jersey. Wait, what?

Yesterday, Rod sent me a link to the NHL shop for the Pronger t-shirt. It was available in all sizes. Today, all the L and XL are sold out. What does that tell us? It tells us that all the babies that are whining about how much we gave up by losing Lupul and a coupla draft picks love The Pronger anyhow. Either that, or there was a mis-print on the NHL shop site.

My biggest fear of The Pronger signing? That I will grow to hate him. It's much easier to love a player when he's on the west coast, and you catch a few games a year. But when he's on my tv, accidentally putting the puck behind Emery, I'm gonna start to hate him.

A few years ago, when Briere played for Buffalo, I always secretly (okay, not so secretly) wanted him to be a Flyer. And then he was. But he was never as good as a Flyer as he was as a Sabre. As a Sabre, he was BRIERE. A superstar. One of those big players that played for other teams. Once he was ours, it was like meh. I really don't want that to happen with The Pronger. I've loved watching this guy play since my first playoff run back in 2006 when he was with Edmonton. I have an Edmonton conference championship hat, for crying out loud! Shutup, you know I've only been watching hockey for 3 years.

Please don't make me hate The Pronger.



By the way, I don't much mind The Pronger in his white tee. I honestly don't understand why the ladies don't swoon for him!

I love Kovalev, but even I don't think he is worth 5 million per year.

Is he?
At least he is still in the East, and I can get to see him a couple of times. Le sigh.

In other news, I could pretty much watch video of Pronger hits and goals all day long. I was watching Daily News Live today, and they were interviewing Pronger by phone. They just had a picture of him up on the screen, and I was able to listen to what he was saying. Then they started playing video of his hits and goals while he was talking, and I could no longer hear what he was saying. Watching Pronger in action makes my brain shut down. In order to hear what he was saying, I had to turn away from the TV so I could not see the video!

The Pronger makes me swoon.

Free Agent Frenzy analysis....oh wait, I don't do that sort of thing.

"look into my eyes. you are getting sleepy. you will soon realize my plan is genius...."

First off, let me just say that Bob Gainey has lost his mind. I'm sure he has some sort of plan, I'm just not smart enough to figure it out. Right? In the words of someone on twitter "you can't hit what you can't see." I think that about sums up Bob's free agent signing philosophy.

I still love the moves the Flyers made. Sucks to lose Knuble, but they just couldn't afford him. Flyers are going to be a tough team to play against next year. Ouch.

On another note, I just wanted to point out a blog that you should be reading, Ronnybrook. He blogged on blogger for awhile, and now he's over on wordpress. You may recall him from his link on Puckdaddy a few weeks back, writing about the Flyers partying ways, and the ensuing backpeddling from the Flyers front office. Nice work.

Also, I thought there was someone else you should check out, but I can't remember who!

On another note, know which words I hate? "Embedding disabled by request." How am I supposed to post a rocking metal mania video to kick off your July 4th weekend?!?!?!

Quit yer belly-achin!

Lupul = 50 points last season
Pronger = 48 points last season.

Pronger will take a bitch out. The only bitches Lupul took out were the easy ones in Old City.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think we all know how I feel about this trade. The Pronger is a Flyer!

I'm still nauseous...

I had a wedding to go to on Friday night, so I didn't get to watch the game. Said wedding was in the heart of Red Sox Nation, so the Phillies/Red Sox game was on in the bar. I had no reception on my iPhone, so I couldn't even check the score that way. I didn't even get a glimpse at the score until late in the third, right before the Red Wings scored and gave me a little hope.

I got home from Red Sox nation late yesterday afternoon and had to take a nap and write a few papers. Then I had to watch the premiere of True Blood (which was kinda lame). Once all that was over, I decided to watch the last minute or so of the game. Man, I really wish I hadn't. All those Pens squealing like little girls was really annoying. And Malkin with a shit eating grin on his face was more than I could bear. Honestly, I'm not going to be able to deal with this. The Pens winning is waaaaaaay worse than the Flyers not winning. Watching it made me feel sick to my stomach. And Crosby yelling wooooweeee when he picked up the Cup...how gay and annoying.

Ugh.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Man, Pens fans are going to be insufferable. Ugh.

Remember, Homer is a genius. Flyers sign Emery.

Yeah, so there is gonna be a press conference at the SkateZone at 11 today, but the Flyers are already announcing that they have come to terms on a contract with goaltender Ray Emery. Somewhere, Marty Biron is crying into his Flyers mask.

Flyers bloggers and journalists everywhere are bracing themselves for the golden material they are going to be able to work with over the next year.

Before we bash this idea, as I have been doing with all the Flyers fans at work, let's just take a moment to think about this. We already know that Paul Holmgren is a genius. His deal to get Timonen and Hartnell here was pure gold. Right? I think we can all agree that (on paper) his work during the 2007 Free Agent Season was brilliant. Sure, Briere didn't really work out, but for the most part, it's been a pretty good retooling. (We'll just ignore the bonehead moves that put the team over the cap and sent the glue in the lockerroom to Phoenix in exchange for a bag of pucks, err, Daniel Carcillo.)

I don't know much about the Em, other than that he dresses like a P-I-M-P and that's alright with me. I will be giving Homer and Emery the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Also, if this move is any indication, I think Homer is gonna be outta control crazy once July 1st hits (or sooner, as is his custom!)

Bad blogger, bad blogger!

I needed something to do with all my free time and money now that hockey season is over. I thought it would be fun to take a couple of summer classes. Boy was I wrong. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday reading and writing about the ancient Romans. No time for Metal Mania, Steve! I did get to watch part of the Wings/Pens game. My favorite part was when Fleury got pulled. I didn't even know who the Pens' backup goalie was at this point in the season. Garon? Really? Her?

Anyhow, its nose back to the grindstone for me, but let's just check out Steve's suggestion to check out the top 100 Hard Rock songs......OH NO! Oh dear. I kinda don't love GNR. But mostly because their songs are SUCH earworms. Just looking at the title of the song will keep it in my head for days. Anyhoo, here is number one:

Ha! He's so sprawly!

yeesh.

Wow. That third Malkin goal was pretty unbelievable. Seriously. I hate the dude and I hate his team, but wow.





Do we really need to see his mom every time he scores a goal? I mean, it's not like it's the first time she's at his game. We saw her all through the Caps series. Are there no other players' parents there that we could see instead? Are you jsut showing her because she looks like a short version of Malkin wearing a wig?

Also, is it just me, or is it impossible to tell Paul Maurice and Dan Bylsma apart? Seriously. If I didn't see which players were sitting in front of them, I would have no idea which one it was. Same haircut, same glasses, same puzzled look on their face. Anyone have any helpful hints for telling them apart?

The return of Metal Mania!

Yeah, it's a bit early in the off season to start metal mania, but since there was no hockey on Friday night, I happened to flip over to VH1 Classic. I think they used to only do Metal Mania on Saturday and Sunday nights, but hey, what do I know?

They played some Skid Row, which got me wondering which video/song is better?




or



I love Monkey Business, because it shows them at the height of their popularity, but Youth Gone Wild is great too, because it shows them at the beginning...all baby faced and trying to be snarly. Tough decision!

Kovalover

I forgot to post this! Thanks to Jess and Soph for this little gem, and congrats to them today as they graduaaaaaaaate! Woooooooohoooooo!

Thanks, Braceface!

Um, yeah. My Braceface does not look like this. At all.

I was at work yesterday, and a frequent customer of mine stopped by for her usual. I hadn't seen her in a while, so we made some small talk. She asked if I was going anywhere on holiday, and I told her I was headed to Montreal in June. She asked if I was going with anyone, and I said "I'm meeting a few friends there." She said, "You have friends?"

Ouch, Braceface. She didn't mean it in a mean way, so I didn't take it too hard. In fact, it sorta made my day, because it was just so funny and so brutally honest. She wanted to know if my friends were from around here, and I told her no, they were from all over....New Jersey, Canada, the West Coast. She said, "Oh. I'm looking for some friends."

Poor Braceface. I have to call her Braceface because she is a 30 year old woman with braces, and she's not quite pulling it off. Plus, she used to be mean so we had to give her an evil nickname.

So, friends, just 6 short weeks left until the draft. Who's gonna be there? I'm hopefully getting there Thursday night, and leaving on Sunday. No news on draft tickets yet, but I know y'all will keep me posted. I do have a backup plan in place in case I can't get tickets the usual way, more on that if it becomes necessary.

Happy Saturday to y'all, and look for the return of metal mania soon!

Oh crap, you mean I still have to write about hockey?

Don't fuck it up tonight, Hiller.

I actually love watching the playoffs once my team has been eliminated. I mean sure, there's not as much passion involved, but there's not as much stress either. You can sit back, relax, and not really care about the outcome of the game. As the game goes on, you realize who you're rooting for (unless it's Pens/Caps, then you know you're rooting for NotPens) and then you live and die with every goal.

However, now that the Flyers and Habs have been eliminated, I've gone back to a more night time related schedule at work. That has really been cutting into my game watching time. I would venture to say I have not watched one entire game since my teams were eliminated. Even when I have been able to watch, I tune in but the game barely holds my attention!!! What is wrong with me? Why am I burnt out on hockey? It's starting to scare me. I'm home tonight and well rested, so I am going to try and watch both games. I'll let you know how it goes!

Update: Well, I failed. I watched the first period of Canes/Bruins while flipping back and forth between Seinfeld. Then, flipping back and forth between Family Guy. Then I fell asleep on the couch at 8:40 and woke up around 9:45. Bad, bad, bad hockey fan. Let's see how I do with the Ducks game. Although honestly, it's 10:26 and I haven't started watching it yet. Sigh.

Really? Emery? Her?

Ray seems perplexed by the idea too...

H/T to Poor Richard's Scorecard for the find. I guess I've been negligent in keeping up with my Flyers' news!

Homer interested in Emery, Biron not worried.

oh gosh

I cannot root for either team in the Pens/Caps series. Right? I mean, I hate the Pens. Ovechkin drives me crazy. Pens fans are douches, Caps fans are idiots. It's a lose/lose situation right?

I can't root for the Broons. Canes are okay. They've got Leighton, so there's that.

Canucks? I don't believe I've ever watched a Canucks game in my entire life.

Chicago? Meh. Sure, they've got Eager, so there's that, but come on, that's not a lot to go on.

Detroit? Boring to root for them.

Ducks. Ducks. Ducks. The Pronger. Ducks all the way.

yeah, I got nothing. I guess we'll have to wait and see once the games get started.

Toyota Turning Point

Ah yeah! What a great first period and start to the second period! Goals! Lupul and Briere get off the schneid! A fight even! Wow! A fight in the playoffs, we're really getting our money's worth today! That will really get the crowd pumped up.

Uh oh. Wait. What just happened? Oh crap. Pens score. Oh great. Two stupid tripping penalties right in a row. You couldn't take Jordan Staal off his skates if you tried, that guy's a moose, but he falls when tapped on the leg like that? Oh crap. Another goal. Why can't the Flyers get the puck out of their own zone? It's not that hard guys. Oh my god, what is wrong with these guys? Why do I feel nauseous. They are going to blow this, aren't they? Gosh, it's kinda quiet and restless in here. At least we're not as quiet as the Pens fans were last game. God, why aren't they hitting anyone? Gah! Those two stupid penalties made them afraid to touch anyone. Oh crap. Another goal.

They'll get themselves together for the third, right? Stevens will yell at them and they will get their shit together. We're a good third period team, right? Wait, I know why the second period sucked...the guy next to me moved over a seat. Doesn't he know the rules about changing seats while the game is on? I'll have to tell him. He thinks I'm crazy. He's not moving back. I'll blame the loss on him! Oh shit, they still look awful. Not hitting. Wait, no shots on goal yet and 7 minutes gone by? They are gonna blow this. I can feel it. It's because I wanted them to win. No, it's because the guy next to me moved. God, they've completely fallen apart. No hitting, can't get it out, no heart. Poor guys. Oooh! The guy next to me moved back! Flyers immediately get a great scoring chance, only to hit the cross bar. If only the dumbass had moved back at the start of the third like I told him.

I hate when they pull the goalie. Ugh. Stupid Crosby. Ugh. Hey look, there's Mike Milbury. Wow. The season is over. I better take a picture of my seats, since I won't be back next year. Stupid Flyers. Stupid Penguins. Go Ducks! Go Canes!

get ready for more of this....

Carcillo!!!!!

yeah, I know this isn't a picture of Carcillo. It's a picture of bullshit. Whatevs.

Flyers lose again, despite outworking the Pens. Whatever. Just win tomorrow Pens and get it over with, so I can get a refund on Saturday's game.

I saw the most amazing thing last night. Carcillo scored a goal. A much needed, timely goal. The crowd at the Wachovia Center went nuts! It went to a tv timeout immediately after his goal, and the crowd stayed on its feet and applauded him at full force throughout the entire break. Like 3 minutes of deafening applause. It was unreal. Most of the crowd stayed on its feet for the rest of the game, and the cheering was out of control. I thought it was going to be enough to carry the Flyers through to victory, but MAF had other plans. Oh well.

Oh great. Habs game tonight. Maybe I can watch the Rangers and Avery irritate Rod instead of the Habs. Ugggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh.

le sigh

I couldn't think of any pictures for today, so I went with this. Sue me.

I didn't really watch the Habs game last night, because it was just too stressful and sad. I guess that makes me a bad fan, but it was really just self preservation. I watched the Rangers/Caps game instead, because Rod really hates Sean Avery, and he gets so mad when Avery does something douchey. It's funny to watch Rod get mad! I personally find Sean Avery amusing. His antics are so douchey and over the top. This is not to say I like him, so hold your fire please. I think he is a very effective player for the Rangers, and he does silly things that make me laugh.

Flyers return to the ice tonight, and I return to the Wachovia Center for what I expect will be my last game this season. I don't think the Flyers will be able to pull another game like Sunday's out their asses, but we'll see. Can't wait to see if Giroux can tear shit up again. Maybe I will record the starting lineups and let you hear how loud the cheer for him will be. Bet it's louder than anyone else.

I had to get up at 6 am on Sunday to work 7-1 and then go to the game!

So you Flyers are lucky that was a good game, or I would be pissed.

I'm amazed that the crowd was so into it. I was apparently the only person who had no hope for a win (or even a good effort). I was pleasantly surprised.

I came home and watched the game on TV (weird, I know) and was amazed at how Pierre McGuire has the biggest boner for the Pens. But then I read the Pensblog, and they were pissed at how McGuire has a boner for Mike Richards. Amazing how two different fan bases can hate McGuire so much, but about the exact opposite thing. Honestly though, if you think the NBC broadcast had bias towards the Flyers, you are either retarded or deaf (no offense to either group). Seriously, NBC's job is to sing the praises of the annointed one and his team, no matter what.

I still hold no delusions that the Flyers can win this series, or even another game, but it was nice to be rewarded for getting up at the asscrack of dawn.

Also:

• I bet 4 out of 5 Flyers fans have a Giroux jersey by the end of the week.
• I do a lot of hockey card shopping on ebay (*cough* Kovalev *cough*) and I can tell you that Giroux cards today were going for 30 bucks and up. No lie. Check it yourself!
• I really need to get to sleep now!
• I think the Luden's are causing my tonsils to swell.
• I am so glad the Habs are not playing the Flyers. I would have gotten killed for wearing a Habs shirt.
• Oh Jared Ross...sorry about what I said about you earlier in the week. My bad.

Also, a quick word on penalties. Um. Hmm. Actually, no, I'm not going to get into it, but wow. Maybe a quick refresher course for the refs on what consitutes hooking, slashing, and what have you. Because honestly, I don't know what the fuck the refs are seeing out there, but it's getting kinda outta control...

Flyers get ready for loss number two, I get ready for a long nap.

I have no plans to watch tonight's Flyers game. I'm in need of sleep, and I am going to take a long nap and not set my alarm. So there. Take that Flyers! If you're not going to show up for the game, neither am I!

The hero and the goat (Kovy's not the goat...)

Gorges (the goat) likes when Kovalev scores. But not as much as I do.

Yeah, so that game didn't suck. Lots of energy, decent puck possesion, not terrible goal tending. I guess when you're expecting a bloodbath, and you only cut yourself shaving, it's not so bad. The Habs looked a hell of a lot better playing the Bruins than the Flyers did playing the Pens. Trust me.

I sitll hold no delusions that the Habs can win this thing, but at least they're going down fighting.

I'm trying to pull tape of that Kovalev goal, because man oh man was that sick. I can't even tell you how much I love when he does that. Unfreakingbelievable.

In non Habs news:

• WTF? Carcillo suspended, Stevens fined? Oy.

• Interesting thoughts on Carter and Richards being used too much on the PK and tiring themselves out. Looks like someone's trying to come up with explanations for losing the series already.

• Also, just a random question from the Flyers game...WTF is Jared Ross doing up with the big boys? He's seen like 5 games this year. Bring Noodle back.

• Gah, Carolina, you were supposed to be unstoppable. Ward, you better get your shit together before tomorrow night, because we all know Leights aint ready for the big time.

• Oh, I think I may be going to the stupid Flyers game on Sunday after all. Grrrr. They better not play like shit. Soph and Jess, I'll keep you posted if I change my mind. Right now there are still good tickets available...

• I'm addicted to Luden's cough drops.

Go Flyers! Go Canes! Go Rangers!

I am going to save a TON of money!

Guys, I'm so excited! When the Flyers lose in the first round, I won't have to pay for second round playoff tickets! No money spent on second round tickets = more money to spend on Habs stuff. This is such a win win situation!

Seriously though. I didn't expect the Flyers to win, and I did expect them to suck, but I did not expect them to suck that bad and get so badly dominated. Ouch. This team doesn't have the same heart as last year's playoff team, and I don't think they have the ability to bounce back like they did last year.

Now, last year, they lost game one in the first round and went on to win the series. But, as I just mentioned, this isn't the same team from last year. That team had momentum and was clicking and gelling and all the other things that great teams do. This team is just waiting. Waiting for what, I'm not sure. Maybe they are waiting for Upshall to come back. I dunno.

I've had some requests for my little stuffed Iceburgh to be abused, so I'll see if I can make that happen for Friday's game. Even if it doesn't help with a win, it will make us all feel better. Right? RIGHT!

Oh gosh, not the Pens again.

I had no idea Iceburgh was gay!

Sigh. Here we go again. Battle of Pennsylvania and all that crap. Seriously, the Flyers better get their shit together and quick. They've been playing like a team who doesn't care. Perhaps it's part of their master plan to lull opponents into thinking they're not a serious threat. Yeah, maybe that's it! Let's hope so, or we're all going to be rooting for Carolina in the next round.

So take a day to rest up, watch Sudden Death to get yourself in the mood to kick Iceburgh's ass, and let's go Flyers. Or something.

This has nothing to do with anything.

But Fletch always makes me laugh, and I need a laugh. Fletch F. Fletch kills me every time.

Get well soon!

I hope Markov and Schneider are better soon, because wow, this team needs them. Holy power play woes batman. That was not a pretty sight. The game itself was okay (sorta) but the powerplay is a mess. An absolute mess.

Okay, wait, so I'm a little behind on the news...just caught up now....Schneider out the rest of the season and Markov three weeks. Okay, so instead of get well soon, I say, fuck you Leafs, fuck you and your shitty hits. Damn. That sucks.

And sorry for the brief lack of posting. The Habs had gone on a bit of a winning streak after my last post, and as we know from Bull Durham, you don't mess with a streak.

Let's hope the damn Flyers can take care of the Panthers this week, but so far they haven't helped the Habs when I've asked them to, so why should they now?

Fuck.

Habs Centennial jerseys...jinxed!!!

Okay, so as a major sports jinx, I like to think about what else can be jinxing my teams. I know it can't always my fault.

I started thinking about those god awful centennial jerseys, and about how the Habs seem to lose when they wear them. I decided to see just how often the jerseys jinxed them:

11/15 Lose to Flyers 2-1
12/4 Win over Rangers 6-2
2/1 Lose to Bruins 3-1
3/14 Lose to Devils 3/1
3/21 Lose to Leafs 5-2
3/31 ??? Playing the blackhawks...

(This info is based on the Habs schedule and the jersey schedule here. I'm not saying I'm 100 percent right on this, because I did not in fact see the Rangers or Devils games listed above.)


Hmm, no offense, but if I'm Bob Gainey or a Montreal player, I'm asking if we can be let off the hook for wearing those jerseys on Tuesday. Maybe they can wear them after the game? Or maybe in the third period if they have a 12-3 lead? Just sayin....

Kovalev scores twice but keeps his helmet on. Habs lose. And oh yea, Flyers win.

I have to say I quite enjoyed last night's game. It was not painful to watch, other than the part where they lost. And the part where they sorta let up a bit in the third. Overall, a good effort from the boys and I'm happy they at least got a point.

I was bummed that Kovalev did not get a shootout goal, that would have made my night. Oh well, an entertaining game and the Habs hold onto 8th for at least another day...

Happy hugging Habs take care of business without help from Flyers...

The Habs are now 2-0 in this streak when Kovalev loses his helmet!!!

I gotta tell ya, being at a Flyers game while a Habs game is on is just torture for me. Especially when the Flyers are not cooperating by beating the stuffing out of the Panthers. Torture. It's hard to pay attention to the game while watching the scoreboard and checking NHL.com and twitter for updates. Somehow I made it through.

The Flyers seemed a little off last night. Yeah, there were a lot of positives, and Coach Stevens said he was happy with the effort, but still something was off. They were slow and sloppy and had silly breakdowns that cost them some goals. They looked like a team that had played the night before.

Danny Syvret was an emergency call up a few hours before the game, but it wasn't clear who he was meant to come in for. Turns out Kimmo was not feeling well, but decided to play anyhow. So maybe that was part of the lackluster play. Also, I think wig night may have been a bit of a distraction. Who knows? All I know is the Flyers better beat the Panthers next time for sure...

As for the Habs game, I fell asleep while watching it, but maybe I'll catch it today. Looks like a better effort from the boys. Let's just hope (still? again?) that it doesn't boost their confidence so much that they stop working hard!

Ooh, happy day for me...Habs I/O has Kovalev audio. I'll just be listening to this over and over for the next few hours.

Thank you Sabres, let's go Flyers!

As a Flyers blogger, I am legally obligated to use this picture in a post today. Or else.

Buffalo kept me on the edge of my seat last night, but ended up beating the Panthers with help from a beautiful goal off of Bouwmeester's stick. They must have replayed it about 12 times, and I loved it every time.

So tonight, the Flyers need to take care of the Panthers. I think the Flyers are 1-1 this season vs. the Cats so far. As I'm sure you have heard already, tonight is Scott Hartnell wig night. Apparently, some of the Flyers will be wearing the wigs during warmups. I'll try to get some pictures!

Sorry for the lamest post ever, I'll try to get back on track soon....

Home sweet home!

Yay! Home at last! Montreal was fantastic, and I'm happy to hear that it's even better in the summer, since I will back there at the end of June for the NHL draft. Heh.

My Lord, there's a lot of hockey going on this week: Flyers Monday, Habs Tuesday, Habs and Flyers Thursday, Habs and Flyers Saturday, Flyers Sunday. Good thing I have the rest of the week off from work to keep up with everything. Thanks to the NHL scheduling gods, last night's Habs game is the only one I'll be able to see live, since I'll be at the Flyers games for the other ones. Next week looks a little busy too. Sheesh. This stretch run is going to kill me!

Last night's win was good. It was great to see the boys actually scoring goals and holding on to a lead for once. But....well, okay, I won't start with the "buts" now. We can only hope that this boosts their confidence, but not so much that they decide they don't need to play anymore! Take it one game at a time, blah blah blah. Oh my god, this team is turning me into a basket case!

Over the next 10 games, the Flyers play the Panthers twice. So.....LET'S GO FLYERS!!!

Dear Habs,

I feel bad for you, I really do. Something is just not working, or everything is just not working, and it shows. You don't want to play anymore, and it shows. You're tired, you're bored, you're frustrated...and it shows. It's almost over. Only 10 more games and then you can get on with your lives.

You played a good five minutes tonight, and with a little luck you could have tied it up. You were really close to scoring....I know, because I was right there behind the goal and had a good look at some of those chances. It just wasn't meant to be.

I enjoyed being in your house tonight, and I feel bad that your super passionate fans had to boo you off the ice. But it had to be done. Being booed off the ice with 6 minutes left has to hurt. Sure, we boo the Flyers off the ice, but not usually until the last 90 seconds or so.

I don't know what else to say...I'm just sad for you...

Love, Kristin

P.S. Is it just me, or did Kovalev only have like 5 shifts tonight?

Mister Steer!

Ah, I finally made it to Montreal. After wandering around trying to find an ATM so I could get some moola so I could get some food, I wandered past Mister Steer! Wonderful service, and the best part was when my waitress asked if I wanted mayonnaise for my fries! YES! YES! YES I DO!!!! In Philly, I have to ask for mayonnaise and then they never bring it. I am in heaven!!! Plus, I was able to get a margarita! Mayo and Margaritas, does it get any better?

Oh yeah, it gets better tomorrow night when I sit in the fifth row to watch the Habs lose. Wait, is that better?

Seriously, this cold is kicking my ass and the Flyers and Habs aren't helping...

Ooof. Man oh man. I am seriously the wussiest sick person ever. All I can do is sleep. I'm trying to conserve energy so I will have enough ooomph for my visit to Montreal.

Anyhow, there were two games last night. Flyers lost after blowing a 2-0 lead. Habs kept giving me false hope by tying it up but ended up losing in the shootout. I didn't get to see the Habs game because the controller of the TV is a Flyers fan and both games were on at the same time. You do the math.

Today is my last day at work, and then VACATION! Wooo! Ten days off, 5 of them in Montreal. I'll be posting from my iPhone while on the road, so check here for what I'm sure will be very boring updates and pictures of upstate New York rest areas. Nice. Cutting edge over here.

On a Habs related note, I am looking for someone to be on standby for a Habs ticket for Saturday's game. My friend is driving up on Saturday, and on the off chance that she miscalculates how long it takes her to get to Montreal, I'd like the ticket not to go to waste. If you're interested and don't mind knowing until the last minute if you're going or not, hit me up in the comments or in the email in my profile. They're good seats. Not quite as good as the seat I had for the Habs game at the Wachovia Center, but close. You know me, I don't mess around when it comes to tickets.

All I got for my birthday was this lousy cold. Habs lose, Flyers lose. Ugh.

Ha! What a dork!!

Sorry for the lack of timely post game posts. Between blowing my nose and trying to sleep to make this cold go away, things have been pretty craptastic around here.

This cold snuck up on me late Wednesday night. I thought I was tired and/or bored, but it turned out to be possibly strep throat. Oy.

Anyhow, because of it, I barely remember Thursday's Flyers game, and Tivo ate my Habs game. So I really have nothing to say, but that's nothing new.

I am so confused about tonight's Habs game. Why is Halak in? I love Halak and want him back, but it's not like Price was doing badly. Getting back into the groove, etc etc.

(goes to sleep for another 12 hours..........forgets to finish post)

Oh great, now it's Sunday and I have two more games to report on. Didn't see the Flyers game because I was working. Habs game looked okay, but why can't they score?!?! Halak looked decent. I hate Marty Broduer. He is killing both my teams now. Not fair.

This cold is driving me crazzzzzzy. I'm sick of being in bed all day!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention:
I really did get stuff other than a cold for my birthday...such as an awesome Michael Leighton rookie card from Soph and Jess. It just makes for a better title if I said I didn't.

Also, I took some pictures during warmups at the Caps game. Check them out here if you want to see lots of Ovechkin pictures.

Happy Birthday to me. You bitches better win.

I know, I know. I should just be happy with both teams winning on Tuesday night. But it's my birthday dammit, and they should both win again. Sadly, not much good ever happens on my birthday, so I am fully prepared for two losses.

Why the Flyers will lose tonight:
*Briere is back. Again. Wonder how long he'll last tonight. I say he's gone by the 10 minute mark of the first.
*Marty is in goal. Um, yeah he's been hot lately, but both our wins against the Caps this year have come with that Finnish dude in goal.
*Kmart is going to be there tonight. His last game was the Valentine's win over the Islanders. No way he goes 2 for 2 this season. Nobody has that kind of luck.

Why the Habs will lose tonight:
*Because I really want them to win and they really need to win with all the other games going on tonight. A loss could mean two other teams potentially leap frogging past them!

I did watch both games (at the same time) on Tuesday. Which means I didn't really pay much attention to either one. To me, it looked like the Habs played better, and seemed to play as a team. I saw better defense and better transitions out of the zone. I was surprised the next day see that fans were pretty split on their reaction to the game. Some said they played just as bad, some said they were much improved. I guess tonight will be a better test of Bob's skills...

Carbo-no and double game day preview

Oh sign making fan, you are wise beyond your years...

Well wow, that was shocking. I was on my way home from work yesterday and listening to Jeff Marek on HNIC Radio when I heard the news. I'm sad for Guy, but this move gives me hope that perhaps all is not lost. I'm hoping Bob has his pulse on the finger of the team and can get all of them to live up to their potential. We'll see. I particularly like this piece on Gainey's press conference yesterday. Robert always has quality stuff over there.

Two games for me tonight, one at the Wachovia Center and one on Tivo. I was trying to get out of going to the Flyers game, but I can't talk Rod out of it. Plus, I hear Soph and Jess might be there, so that's always something to look forward to! Here's hoping we can continue our non-jinxing being at the game at the same time streak.

I was surprised to see that the Flyers have won both meetings with the Sabres this year. I'm not sure why I'm surprised, but I am. Looks like Briere is out for tonight, which can only be good for the Flyers considering their record in the 12 games he's played in this season.

As for the Habs game...ugh. I don't know what to expect. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. (I'll even take a loss, as long as the boys show a little jump and consistency...)

(Also, thanks to everyone for leaving me Montreal restaurant recommendations. Much appreciated!)

I got nothin

I was up way too late last night looking up places to eat during my trip to Montreal and now I'm way too tired to write anything coherent. I also have to be to work in half an hour. Why I decide to post right before I go to work and risk being late is beyond me.

Good weekend for both my teams. Flyers actually played well on Saturday. I had the pleasure of watching the game at home instead of at the Center. I sold my tickets to that game, and realized at the end of the game that it was "shirts off our backs" night. I always miss that!!! I wondered why on earth anyone would want tickets to see the Flyers play the Preds, and now I know.

Habs won last night, I'm sure as a result of the fact that I was at work and couldn't watch the game. Let's hope me not watching is a good thing, since 2 out of 3 Habs games this week are at the same time as the Flyers. I will be at the Flyers games in person and therefore will not be able to watch the Habs games live. Great.

I watched the Habs game on Tivo late last night. Yikes. How the heck did they survive that first period? I think they really love being on the PK. And apparently, their secret is to put no shots on goal so the opposing goalie gets all out of practice stopping shots. I really want to thank Turco for that third one. We owe ya, buddy.

Price's confidence continues to grow. His positioning was a lot better, but he still goes down way too fast. Let's hope he can build on this win.

That's all for now, gotta get to work. Habs folks, do me a favor and tell me where I should eat when I'm in Montreal. I'm tired of staying up til 3 am looking at restaurant reviews!!

Just sayin...

Habs get ready to kiss 5th goodbye...

Last night's game was brutal to watch. It's not so much that the Habs were bad (they were) but that they were boring. It didn't help that the "play by play" guy on the NHL network was boring and didn't really understand the meaning of the phrase play by play. Here's a summary of his calls:

"5:24 remaining here in the first period"
(silence. the players skate into the zone and he has nothing to say)
(bill clement makes some random comment about how someone is "dialed in" tonight)
"well, with 4 minutes remaining in the period, it looks like the Thrashers are finally putting some pressure on."

I'm serious. I don't think he called an actual play. There were huge lapses in conversation. At one point, when he did call a play, he was about 20 seconds behind the play. It was weird.

The other part that was strange was Kovalev's intermission interview.

Gary Green: "You had really good jump in the first 10 minutes of this hockey game, but since that time the Altanta thrashers have really had the edge."

Kovalev: "Well I uh, I wouldn't say that. I mean we still played a pretty good game uh I think the difference be that we had to play a lot shorthanded, a lot of penalties that cost us. But we still uh...5 on 5 it's a different game, we played pretty well."

Wow, he thinks they are playing well. I guess they were playing better than the game at Buffalo, but playing well? Not so sure about that. Perhaps I am crazy though.

Price was better. You could see his confidence growing with each great save he made, even though he still seemed to be out of position a lot.

Today could (will?) be the last time the Habs are in 5th place. With wins today, Florida could pass the Habs, and Carolina and Buffalo could pull even. FLORIDA?!?!?! THE FREAKING PANTHERS?!? Are you kidding me?

Olli Jokinen must be stopped. Flyers lose.

Olli loves turnovers...

Wow. That was pretty much the worst game of the season. Somehow I stayed until the end, but I think it was because Rod thought there was still a chance for a Roy/Cote rematch. No such luck. That was a bust too.

I hate Olli Jokinen. I may have mentioned this a few times before. I was relieved when our game against Phoenix was done early in the season. Who knew I'd have to see him kill us again.

I think the best thing to do is forget about this game and move on. Oh, and Briere is hurt again. Poor lil guy.

I took some pictures during warmups. I'll post more when I get home from work, but there are a few there now for your viewing pleasure.

Cote vs. Roy: The Rematch

If you're like me (and obviously, you're not), you've had this day circled on your calendar since the schedule came out last year. Roy vs. Cote: The Rematch. Let's review the video, shall we?


Fight number 1


Fight number 2


Roy having an absolute meltdown on the bench after fight #2


Okay, it looks like Roy pwned Cote in fight #1. Riley got pretty lucky with a quick takedown on fight #2. And man oh man, Roy was riled up. (Pun intended)

Roy has played 38 games for 67 PIM this year. He has been playing pretty regularly, but before playing on March 3rd, hadn't been in a game since February 17th. I am willing to say it's even money whether or not he actually plays tomorrow. Best part is that this is almost exactly one year to the day since they fought. Let's see if Riley has been saving up for this one...

Why's Boruk gotta make Upshall cry?

blah blah blah Trade Deadline Day blah blah blah

Man, I can't believe I have to work until 4 today, and will pretty much be in the dark about what goes down during the day today. When I was making my schedule for this week, I had to decide between being home for all the hot deadline action and being home for the Habs game. Guess which one I chose. Normally, I would just take this day off from work and watch TSN all day, but I just couldn't pull it off this year. Oh well.

Sounds like not a lot is going to happen today anyhow, so I don't have to worry. Right? Right?!?! Don't worry, I'm gonna have Darren Dreger forward any pertinent texts and emails he gets throughout the day straight to my iPhone. Thanks Darren!

Going through the motions...Flyers game day preview.

You know how it is. You're breaking up with someone, but you still have to live with them due to financial reasons. That's me and the Flyers right now. That's good though, right? I mean, if we're still living together, there's a chance we might hook up again before too long, right? Anyhow.

Today is Christmas Eve and maybe we'll see some hot trading action. Jay Bouwmeester and Chris Pronger traded to the Devils. Pascal Leclaire and RJ Umberger traded to Philadelphia. Olli Jokinen and Jussi Jokinen to any team, as long as they are together. The possibilities are endless. Trade deadline day and free agency day are our two hockey holidays, guys! Get crazy! Decorate some trade deadline day cookies! Put up the trade deadline day mistletoe.

My only wish for trade deadline day: Chris Pronger to an eastern conference team. That'd make my day.

Oh, yeah, there's a Flyers game tonight. The last time we met the Bruins, Marty really effed things up. Nitty had to come in and save his ass, with the help of Randy Jones. Maybe they could replay Jones' game winner a lot, so we can trade Jones and his purse for someone that doesn't make the guy in front of me yell, "Hey Jones, hit him with your purse." If I never have to hear that again, I'll be happy.

For a game preview by someone who is not sleeping with the enemy, check out Travis over at Broad Street Hockey. He's always got something to say, and he's on SB Nation, which is apparently where every cool blogger blogs now. That's ll for now, because I have to be at work in 25 minutes, and I'm still in my PJs! Yikes!!

A tale of two games....sort of

Just a quick post before I head out to work. Yeah even though it's snowing. Grrrr. At least there's nobody on the roads!

Saturday night, I got to watch the Habs play the Sharks. It was great. I got to watch it on the big screen...not on my computer, not on tivo delay, not just the first period or just the third period. It was great. I haven't experienced highs and lows like that since the playoffs last year. As the Habs clung to their lead, my hockey superstitions kicked in again:

"Okay, I was on the couch so I have to stay on the couch. Okay, I've been laying in this position for the entire third period, so I can't move. Okay, don't look when San Jose carries it in. OMG, the Habs might win this. NO! Don't think that! Why did you just think that?!? TAKE IT BACK! Okay, I take it back. I didn't even say it or think it."

It's really not a pretty sight in my head. The Habs ended up stealing another one, thanks to Jaro, and I spent all Saturday night dreaming of the Habs (figuratively, of course).

Sunday afternoon, I got to watch the Flyers play the Devils. As a rule, I try not to watch when the Flyers play the Devils. There is really no point. Brodeur always owns us, and this game was no exception. It was a hard game to get into, since I was getting ready for work at the time. My thoughts on the game were "meh."

So there you have it. A pretty clear indication of where my hockey heart stands these days.

More later, if I make it back from driving in the snow.

Big game this week: Thursday the Flyers play Calgary....look for Andre Roy to avenge his ass beating on Riley Cote. Biggest match of the year!

"Ben Eager is an enforcer who thinks he’s a power forward."

That's right y'all, this blog's namesake fancies himself as something other than an enforcer. Um, okay.

Traitor's Diary: Habs vs. Flyers

5:46 pm I arrived a bit earlier than usual, so I took a few minutes to take a couple shots of tequila from my flask. I put my Flyers shirt on over my Habs shirt, because I want to be able to get my camera in without being hassled.

6:04 pm The best part was the walk from the car to the Center. I saw a fair number of Habs fans, and for some reason, that made me smile. A few of them were stopping to take pictures along the way, which also warmed my heart. How cute! I really wanted to take off my Flyers shirt and join them in spirit, but I also really wanted to get my camera in.

6:12 pm I get in with no trouble, and head to the ladies room to make my transformation. Off comes the Flyers shirt, revealing the Kovalev shirt underneath. Yikes!

6:15 pm I make it out of the ladies room alive, but this is definitely uncomfortable. I need a drink for sure, so I had to the AT&T Pavillion.

6:16 pm I ask for a margarita, but I am told "we don't have margaritas." I get a tequila and orange juice instead. I wonder if the barkeep thinks I am from Montreal when she gives me the bullshit about margaritas, because I have had many a margarita from this very bar. Whatevs. I've got my drink and I head back to my seat for warmups.


6:20 pm I down my drink (man OJ and tequila goes down so smooth) and get ready for warmups. There are a couple of Habs fans right behind me, and I really wish I spoke French, so I could understand what they were saying. A Flyers fan asks them if they are local or if they came down from Montreal. They tell him they came by bus, which took them about 11 hours. Sheesh! I hope they're not turning around and going right back!

6:29 The boys come out for warmups. I take pictures. Kovalev is a total slacker during warmups. He leaves the ice a full 7 minutes before any other player. What a prima donna! I then remember that there are other players on the team and take some pictures of them too. I remember EP's request for pictures of Halak, and snap a few for her.

6:46 pm Warmups are over, so I head up to hit the head and grab another drink. I get lightly booed by some dude on the concourse, but so far that's been all. I guess it's not fun to boo a girl who is all by herself and doesn't push back.

7:04 pm Anthems. The Flyers fan behind me asks if I can lean forward so he can take a picture of my Kovalev shirt with his cell phone and send it to his friend. I guess so dude, but can't you just take it without asking me? And maybe not during the Star Spangled Banner? A little respect, dude.

7:07 pm Gametime. Ugh. Flyers score right off the bat, and right in front of me. This is not going to be fun.

7:?? pm It seems like the Flyers score again in like 30 seconds, but after watching the replay at home, I know it was about another 8 minutes between the first goal and the second. It really seemed much quicker than that, and really took the wind out of the Habs fans sails.

7:38 pm Well that was interesting. Habs lead 3-2. That was unexpected, and now I really fear for my life. Especially since the last goal was Kovy and I am in a Kovy shirt. Eek.

Intermission. I head to the ladies room and attempt to find some food, but damn the lines are long. I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you that I never stand and cheer for goals. Not even during the playoffs. I'm just not that kind of girl. I think this self-restraint will come in handy tonight. All night, I've been trying to figure out which will be worse for me: A Habs loss or a Habs win. Which one will get my ass kicked more?

Second and third periods: Maybe it's the OJ & tequila, or maybe this post is too long and I am losing interest, but not much memorable happened from my standpoint. The Flyers fan behind me was a little obnoxious, but not towards me. Lots of pucks hit the glass right in front of me, but since I'm a pro, I didn't flinch. It seemed like in the third period, the Flyers had scoring chance after scoring chance.

I went into jinxed fan mode late in the third when it was all tied up. I had my feet up on the boards during the third, and even though it was getting uncomfortable, I couldn't change position for fear it would jinx the Habs. I also desperately needed some lip balm, but since I hadn't put any on all period, I couldn't put any on. These are just two of my superstitions....usually they don't manifest themselves until the playoffs, but I guess we're getting close to that, eh?

Anyhow, you know how the rest of the game goes....Habs win, I make it out alive. The only trouble I had on the way out was when I was waiting for Rod to come out of Fan Gear. I was standing against the wall, checking my email, and some douche comes up behind me and yells "CANADA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" right in my ear. Um, thanks dude, I'm American, but okay.

All I can say is please baby Jebus, don't let the Flyers and the Habs meet in the playoffs. Although baby Jebus, I do need both of them to make the playoffs, so I guess they will have to meet again at some point, but yikes, that will be trouble for me.

I added a few more pictures to the Habs set on flickr...

Kova-love!

Thankfully, Kovalev would not make direct eye contact with me...

I'm not gonna lie, I love that the Habs won. They didn't deserve to win, and if I had been cheering for the Flyers, I would have been pissed to lose like that after that bullshit call on Upshall.

Sitting behind Halak was a bit unnerving as shot after shot came my way. How many times did Gagne skate down the ice unimpeded and just fire one at Halak? Too many times for me to keep track.

I'll post more tomorrow, I'm gonna go watch the game and see just how bad the Habs sucked.

Pictures from warmups here, if you're interested.

Happy Kovalev Day!!!

Fuck it. I was trying to be all neutral so the Flyers faithful wouldn't hate on me, but screw that. I've been looking forward to this game for two months now, and damn it, I'm gonna stop acting like I'm not excited.

Go Habs Go!

So I guess there is a game today or something...

This picture pretty much depicts my torn alligence.

If you don't know by now where to go for Habs and Flyers updates, then you are beyond help. Check out the usual suspects.

I will be at the game tonight, front row right behind Halak 2x. Look for me. I'll be the one in the Habs shirt. I'll send some pictures and maybe an update from the game. Just ya know, to prove I'm still alive.

Apparently, there are other things going on in the hockey world besides the Habs coming to town today:

• Don't look now, but the Panthers are right behind us in the standings. What?! Also, Jay Bo to Philly may be in the works. But what will we have to give up? I'm sorta okay with losing Lupul, but not with losing Coburn. Let's hope if Homer is going to do this, he does it soon so we can sleep at night.

• Ah, all is right in the world. Brodeur returns, my hatred for the Devils is reignited. Actually, it's more like fear. Stupid donut eating goalie. And man, I know the Avs looked bad, but the Devils looked good. I actually slept through the second period and most of the third, but honestly, do we have to play them on Sunday? Let's just give em the two points and call it a day. That way, we can focus on prepping for the two remaining Panthers games we have this season. Until we meet them again in the playoffs.

Um, let's see, what else is going on? Oh yeah, Habs vs. Flyers...tonight at 7pm. Wish me luck!

Marty Biron wants me back. Flyers win.

Oh Flyers, you keep trying to win me back. It's starting to work.

Every game has playoff implications, and you're starting to play like you know it.

I was enjoying last night's game, up until the point where they had a "Great Goalies in Flyers History" montage on the jumbotron. They showed all the greats, and threw in a couple shots of Marty. It was heavy on the Hextall, of course. Then at the end, they cut to a shot of Hextall in his box, waving and smiling.

*clank*

The last time we had a tribute to Hextall, we lost to the Caps in amazingly shitty fashion. So now, with 8 minutes left in the game, I go into jinxed fan mode. I flip out and say "great, now we're going to lose." I was so pissed that they showed Hextall that I sulked and pouted for the rest of the game. This, my friends, is what happens when you care about a team. I HATE CARING ABOUT A TEAM! It's so stressful! I want to go back to the days of not caring whether or not the Flyers lose. I don't like being invested in what happens to them, it hurts too much.

Even when they win.

Damn you Flyers!