NHL
Don’t blame the majority of Western conference hockey fans for not paying too much attention to the rest of the playoffs. Of the four teams that remain, (Anaheim, Colorado, Edmonton, and San Jose), three teams have a lack of legitimate playoff goaltending, defense, and experience. This can be disputed of course, but if you take a closer look, you’ll see why Western fans are looking away.
How does one describe agony exactly? As Philadelphia fans, we should have that description on the tip of our collective tongues. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Was there any real good that came from this past Flyers season though? Nothing that can fill up this article.
by Matt Wells
We’ve been through 82 regular season games. 16 teams will be playing hockey this postseason. Only the best of the best will survive.
We’ve gone through a season that featured the retirement of Mario Lemeiux and the fantastic seasons of rookies Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
Now, it’s time for postseason hockey. Let the games begin!
Two young men from Canada just over 20 years ago came into the NHL within a four year span and absoloutely destroyed their competition. The torch was passed from stars like Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr to Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, giving these two soon-to-be superstars the responsibilty of taking hockey to a new level with astonishing skills and enormous expectations.
Every team needs a goon. You know, that guy who skates as well as a five year old figure skater and scores only when a far more talented player makes a nice deflection in front of the net. The goon’s job is not to score goals, his job is to annoy the other team and take stupid penalties (i.e. Donald Brashear). The goon is as much a part of hockey as the ice they skate on.
I am allowed to bash the Flyers. I am allowed to bash the Flyers because I am a Flyers fan and that is what we are brought up to do. If the team wins 2-1, we bash them for not shutting out the other team. If they win a playoff series 4-1, we fume because we feel that sweeping a team is the only way to show superiority. A player can score five goals one game, but screw up the next, and suddenly he is the most hated man in the City of Brotherly Love. With all this said, I am going to bash the Flyers and I’m going to do it well. Why? Because this is what I’ve been brought up to do.
The New NHL: in like a lion (shootouts, more scoring), out like a whimpering, kicked little puppy dog (the ready-to-explode gambling scandal). While Wayne Gretzky is busy wiping the sweat from his brow, let’s review the “first half” of the NHL season up to the Olympic break. First, the Eastern Conference (hey, we got a bias to keep up here!).
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have announced that they will be dropping the “Mighty” from their name for the 2006-2007 season. So why does that matter?
Flashback to last month. The New Jersey Devils were struggling mightily, alternating spots with losing teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Their coach, Larry Robinson, resigned due to health problems. At the end of the month, one of the Devils’ better scorers, Alexander Mogilny, was placed on waivers and subsequently demoted to the AHL. It was indeed looking bleak for a franchise with 3 Stanley Cups under their belts. Some were thinking it was time for the Devils to pack it in.
About a month ago, Team USA GM Don Waddell chose the roster for the US Olympic Hockey team for the Winter Olympics. Three goaltenders were chosen to represent the United States: Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders, John Grahame of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Robert Esche of the Philadelphia Flyers. To me, there was one glaring omission: Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres.