Shutout the Shootout

Get rid of the shootout. There it is, I'm just going to put it out there and say it. The NHL shootout flat out sucks. It's fun during the skills competition, but it's no way to end an NHL hockey game. Teams battle for 60 minutes of regulation and the game is ended by a one-on-one? One shooter, one goalie? The culmination of all the checking, power plays, penalty kills, fights, great saves, great shots, near misses, and odd man rushes ends with two players? There's so much that goes into a hockey game and to end it that way is no way to do it. You don't see an ending like this in any other major sport. Baseball doesn't end with a one-on-one, just the pitcher and the hitter, one pitch, try to get a hit. No. Basketball doesn't end with a game of one-on-one. No. Football doesn't end with a one-on-one, one halfback, one linebacker, tackle the guy with the ball before he scores. No. So why does hockey do it? It's gimmick to try to get fans, and it diminishes the game.

A game should end with one 20 minute overtime, 4-on-4. Overtime playoff hockey is the most exciting thing in all of professional sports. A goal could happen at any moment. Why not bring a piece of that into the regular season? If the game is still tied after the 20 minutes, the game ends in a tie, each team gets one point. "A game can't end in a tie! It's not right! There has to be a winner and a loser!" No, there doesn't. Hockey lasted for decades with the tie and people freak out at the mentioning of a tie when I bring it up. Each team fought as hard as it possibly could and the teams were matched up so evenly that no team was better. That's exciting hockey.

I know a lot of people think that losing the shootout may lose the NHL fans, well then so be it. If you only like the NHL for the shootout, you don't like the NHL at all. 4-on-4 overtime is as fast paced and exciting as it gets and if you can't appreciate the skill in a 4-on-4 overtime, there's something wrong with you.

Consistently Inconsistent

The 2009/2010 Flyers season has been the epitome of a roller coaster thus far. Just look at these stats.
Starting at the beginning of the season...

10/2-10/6--> 3-0-0
10/8-10/16--> 0-2-1
10/22-11/18-->9-3-0
11/20-12/21-->3-13-1
12/23-1/12--> 9-1-1
1/14-1/28--> 3-4-0
1/30-2/1--> 2-0-0
2/3-2/6--> 0-2-0

The Flyers are undoubtedly the streakiest team in the NHL. You never know what you're going to get on any particular night. They may score 7 goals in one game against an elite goaltender, then score 1 goal in two games against two rookie goalies (one playing for the worst team in hockey). They need to start playing (particularly scoring) with some consistently if they want to make the playoffs, let alone advance in them.

Maybe a trade is the thing to solve this problem. Bringing in new and fresh players sometimes changes the way a team competes on a nightly basis. But there isn't a lot of cap room for Paul Holmgren to make a trade though (the lack of cap room is partially his fault by the way). The Flyers are taking a 1.5 mil. cap hit on a player who isn't even in the organization (Randy Jones). Simon Gagne is getting payed 5.25 mil. this season and has only scored 6 goals (Bobby Clarke contract).

The trade of OKT and a 5th for Ville Lieno does little to nothing to help improve this team. It remains to be seen if Holmgren can/will make a significant trade before the March 3rd deadline. All the Flyers can do until then is survive the back-to-backs with the Devils and the Canadiens and hope they can win with more consistency after the Olympic break.

Dan Carcillo: A Love Story

"Dan Carcillo is a good player who happens to be tough and aggressive. We think he can play in our top nine. The fans are going to love him."

When the trade for Dan Carcillo was made last season there weren't many fans who agreed with with Paul Holmgren's statement. He traded fan-favorite Scottie Upshall and second round pick in 2011 for Carcillo, and it upset a lot of fans. Even during the 2008-2009 season, the fan's sentiment did not change much on Carcillo. He was taking "stupid" penalties and not producing offensively (no goals, 4 assists, and a -2 in 20 games). But things have changed this season.

In 2010, Carcillo is playing like the player Paul Holmgren brought him here to be. He's not taking stupid penalties nor taking penalties at the wrong time. He's being a pest, an agitator, a pain in the ass. He is doing his job well and getting under the skin of the opposing team. Carcillo is the ultimate fighter as well. As opposed to Riley Cote who will fight anyone at anytime but, more often then not, get his butt pummeled in the process, Carcillo fights the right guys at the right times and usually comes out with blood on his knuckles, not on his face. I really like the way Dan has played the game this season. He plays with a high level of intensity and has shown bit of a scoring touch as well.

Maybe it's the Flyers of the mid-70s tributary mustache he's sporting, maybe it's his no holds barred approach to interviews (see: "I was pretty much licking my chops" when asked about getting to fight NY Ranger Marian Gaborik), who knows? Carcillo has certainly upped his game this season and Flyers fans can only hope it continues and takes them into the playoffs.

FSN Pittsburgh: An Utter Embarrassment

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=513444

When an NHL referee wants to review a play because he wants to be sure that the correct call was made, the play gets sent up to the "War Room" in Toronto to be analyzed by NHL professionals. And when this happens, shouldn't these "NHL Professionals" get every possible angle, view and camera shot available? Well according to the producer of FSN Pittsburgh, only angles and shots that benefit the Penguins will be sent.

How can the people who review NHL goals not have every single replay of the goal (or non-goal)? How is it possible that the producer of the television station who is shooting the game has the ability to withhold a certain replay? Simon Gagne shot a puck towards the net that was under goalie Brent Johnson's pads and it was inconclusive on the ice whether the puck had fully crossed the goal line or not. So to be sure the correct call was made, referee Don VanMassenhoven sent the play up to Toronto to be reviewed. Well with the replays that were given to them, the people in Toronto decided that there wasn't enough evidence to show that the puck completely crossed the goal line (it looked like it was in from the replays I saw, but that really doesn't matter). The final score of this game ended up being 7-4 Flyers and the goal really didn't matter in the end. But what if it had? What if the final outcome of the game would have been different had this goal counted? What FSN Pittsburgh did was completely embarrassing and irresponsible. To withhold a replay to benefit the station's home team is an absolute joke and makes a mockery of the whole NHL goal review process.

I really hope something like this never happens again. And if it were my team's TV station preventing the NHL from making the right call, I would have to question the integrity of the station and of my team. Who is to say FSN Pittsburgh hasn't been doing this for years? It's a real shame that something like this happened, a real shame.

The Steroid Era, an Era

To the surprise of just about no one, Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids during his home run record breaking season of 1998. During that year, he and Sammy Sosa had one of the greatest record-breaking battles of all time. That year McGwire ended the season with 70 home runs and Sosa with 66, both smashing Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs set back in 1961. During the 1998 season, the baseball's steroid era was in full swing and no one knew who was using and who wasn't. And the people who are saying that McGwire shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame or that he should have an asterisk next to his name in the record books or that his numbers should be stricken from history completely, need to look at the bigger picture.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, a large number of Major Leaguers were using performance enhancing substances of some kind. And who is to say that the pitcher Mark McGwire hit a home run off of wasn't using roids? It's going to be damn near impossible to get the name of every steroid user during that time period, it just won't happen. So Major League Baseball should treat the steroid era in baseball just like any other era. The steroid era is no different from the dead-ball era, it's just a period in baseball where numbers were skewed. Baseball shouldn't go on pretending that steroids didn't happen in baseball. They did and it's a shame. But there should be no asterisk or stats stricken from the record books because a certain player was found to have used steroids. It should be treated as if it were a level playing field and MLB can finally put this dark period behind itself.

The Airing of Grievances: Part II

Apparently I will be going to the Penguins vs. Flyers game on Thursday, December 17th. The Flyers have been playing like an AHL team for almost a month now, going 2-10-0 in their past 12 dating back to November 20th. While the Flyers have been slipping and sliding their way through November and December, the Pens have gone 8-2-1 during that span earning a tie for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and one point behind Washington for the best record in the East and the NHL overall. Obviously two teams at completely different ends of the spectrum with one team flying high and the other simply trying not to drown. A head coaching change has done little so far and it seems as if trades and player movement are on the horizon for the Flyers (but that's for another post).

Now when I go to the game on Thursday there won't be much talk at all amongst the fans about how poorly the Flyers have been performing or what it's going to take to change things. No, most of the talk will be about how Pittsburgh got lucky last year with second tier players and with a captain who would much rather dress up as Miss Coco Peru than check a competitor into the side boards. And this is what upsets me. Now I'm as big a Crosby hater as they come. I despise the very essence that is Sidney Crosby. And I love when you can clearly hear the "CROSBY SUCKS" chants through the TV and radio broadcasts and have participated in a few chants myself. But this is not at all the time to be cheering hatred for the opposing team or it's players.

With the way the Flyers have been playing recently, the fans need to be chanting "LET'S GO FLYERS" and show their support for the team they say they love. Stop being so concerned with the opposition and show your own team a little support. I'm not saying not to boo the Pens when they enter the arena or not to throw a mustard-drenched hotdog at a Pens fan wearing a Malkin jersey. Let the Penguins and their fans know you're there, but let them know by cheering loudly and wildly for your own team. And if the Flyers get ahead early, then you can throw a little "Crosby Sucks" in there, but not until then. If the Flyers go down a goal early or it's tied going into the second period, don't chant "CROSBY SUCKS." It just shows Pittsburgh and their fans that you hate the Penguins more than you love your Flyers, and that's not the way it should be.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? I Don't Think So.

December, for a college student, is far from the most wonderful time of the year. It is quite possibly the most stressful and mentally draining time of the year. Final exams and papers are piling up faster than you can even imagine and instead of seeing jolly, smiling faces around campuses you see exhausted, miserable students with blood coming out of their eyes. The Christmas season definitely changes when you leave home and go to college. Instead of counting down the days until winter break with a red and green construction paper chain, you have a daily planner counting down the days until you can sleep again without having visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in your head, handing back your exams and papers with Cs, Ds and Fs on them and laughing in your face while they do it. There is no mistletoeing and no hearts will be glowing for a student with four exams in a three day span. And the only "tales of the glories" being told will be of that one semester where your friend passed all of his exams and only contemplated dropping out of school twice. The holiday season isn't the greatest time for any student, plain and simple. Work begins to pile up and it gets a little overwhelming. The only thing a student can do if force their way through it, study their ass off and promise themselves that it'll be over soon and that next semester will be better, no matter how empty those promises may be.

Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Not So Much

After the first game of the Flyers' November road trip, they have been playing absolutely dreadful hockey. They are 1-6-0 since beating the Kings on November 18th (literally a day before my Flying High post) and currently have a three game losing streak. They haven't scored a goal is seven straight periods and when they get on the power play, I'm scared that the opposing team is going to get a shorthanded goal rather than being excited about the possibility of scoring. There have been glimpses of quality play this year, but the team just hasn't been consistent enough to keep it up. It's time for changes to be made.

1) Fire John Stevens and Co.
The John Stevens era has been quite a roller coaster ride. He became head coach of the team, taking over for Ken Hitchcock, during the worst season in Flyers history. During his first full season as coach, he took the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals where they eventually lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. And in 2008/2009 the Flyers had a first round exit this time, courtesy once again of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And the beginning of the 2009 season hasn't gone quite as planned either. There is so much talent on this team, and for them to be 10th in the conference and playing at a level like this is unacceptable. The players know it, the coaching staff knows it and the fans know it. I just don't know if the current coaching staff is the right one to fix the team's problems. It may be that Stevens has lost control of the locker room or maybe his system (if you can call it a system) just isn't working. Or maybe it's both? A change may really jump start this team and set them in the right direction. It worked for the Pens last year, why can't it work for the Flyers too?

2) "C" is for change
I believe that if a coaching change is made, Mike Richards should be relieved of his duties as captain. He hasn't shown that he is mature enough to be the captain of an NHL team. Now, when he was officially named captain I was all for it. He shows, on the ice, that he is a leader and will do whatever it takes to will his team to victory. But there's more to being a captain than on ice performance and attitude. A lot of what it takes to be a captain is shown in the locker room. A captain should take responsibility for his team and prove to his teammates that on and off the ice, this team is his team, and no one's going to mess with that. Chris Pronger has shown this year why he was a captain of the Anaheim Ducks. He has taken responsibility for the Flyers poor play and has stated that on ice changes will be made or there may be personnel changes instead. I'm not saying to make Pronger captain right now or this season for that matter, it just may be something to think about.

If something, anything, isn't changed this team could be in for a tough season. I hope they don't need to make any changes and they can turn it around like this never happened and make me sound like an idiot. It might me a personnel change like Pronger said, but whatever it is, it needs to happen soon or this losing streak could turn into 2006/2007 really fast.

The Pittsburgh Penguins: Futility Wins Championships

During Game One of the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was quoted as saying that the Pittsburgh Penguins were a model NHL franchise. A model franchise. That means that he thinks that the Penguins are an exemplary franchise that other NHL teams should model themselves after. Does Mr. Bettman know anything about the league he currently runs? Apparently Gary was living under an NHL rock for every year before the 2007 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a model for futility and, before the 06/07 season, consistently ranked in the bottom portion of NHL attendance figures. It might be wise to show Penguins fans, NHL fans, and the league commissioner how the Penguins won the 2009 Stanley Cup.

Let's first look at the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins. During the early years of the Penguins, their ownership sought to relocate the team because of problems making money. This could have possibly been due to the fact that the Pens average attendance during the 1970s was about 9,700 in a stadium with an average capacity at the time of 14,200. And during the 82/83 and 83/84 seasons the Pens had average attendances of 8,408 and 6,839 respectively, in an arena with a capacity of 16,033. The average NHL attendance during this time period was hovering around 12,000 per game. Yea, but that was a long time ago, right? Well the Pens won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. And attendance spiked, as it should when a championship has been won. But from the years 2001 to 2007 (excluding the 2005 lockout season), Pittsburgh ranked in the bottom 3rd in NHL attendance including 2004 where they ranked dead last in attendance. I'm not going to say that the fans only show up when the team is winning (fair weather fans and the definition if it), but... Just for something to look at, during the 2006/2007 season the Philadelphia Flyers were the worst team in hockey. They ranked 7th among NHL teams in attendance. This is why, once again, there was another threat to relocate the team. There was no fan base. But Mario Lemieux saved the team from being relocated to Kansas City and kept them in Pittsburgh.

In order to win a championship a team needs a little bit of luck, right? Well the Pens draft picks from 2002-2006 were a little more than luck. Starting in 2002, the Penguins had the 5th overall pick (Ryan Whitney); in 2003, the 1st overall pick (Marc-Andre Fleury); in 2004, the 2nd overall pick (Evgeni Malkin); in 2005, the 1st* overall pick (Sidney Crosby) and in 2006, the 2nd overall pick (Jordan Staal). That's five straight years with top five picks and four straight with top two overall picks. I suppose that's what happens when you're a terrible team for a long time. But the 2005 draft was a little different from the others. The Pens had had the 2nd overall pick the year before and chose Evgeni Malkin. And the very next year, without even playing a game during the 2005 season, they received the 1st overall pick. No conspiracy, just really lucky.

Now I'm not commenting on the overall quality of the Penguins now. They have a very good team and rightfully so. If they weren't the best team in the NHL with five straight top five picks, they don't deserve to be in the NHL. And they have a large fan base now which is to be expected after a team wins a championship. But where were these fans but a few years ago and why weren't they supporting their team and doing their job to try to keep their team in Pittsburgh? It took five top five picks to bring the fans back to Mellon Arena. Other franchises have fans no matter how well or how poorly their team is performing. I'm not going to get into the Sidney Crosby debate, that's for another post but the Pittsburgh Penguins are NOT a model franchise, Mr. Commissioner. They're actually the exact opposite of how an NHL team should operate itself.

Flying High

Well it's been a long time since the last post, but school has kept me busy and extremely stressed at the same time.

The Flyers have been playing on a different level as of late. They're 12-5-1 through 18 games, not too shabby. With a 3-0 start, spirits were high, until they faced the Pens for the first time. They hit a little rut after that but have been playing basically lights-out hockey for the past 2+ weeks. Beating some top-notch teams and handling the inferior teams with ease. The rut at the beginning of the season was due to new additions and new positions.

The addition of a new netminder is always going to take some time to get used to. Every goalie is a little insane in their own respect, and it takes time for the position players to get used to their new goaltenders extent and type of insanity.

When a team adds a top-tier D-man like Chris Pronger, it takes time to get acquainted to him as well. He is in a way, like the quarterback of the team and when you get a new leader of your defense and powerplay, chemistry doesn't just happen overnight.

But the Flyers are running at full throttle now and players that weren't seen last year are making a huge impact. James vanRiemsdyk is second among NHL rookies in scoring and leads the team with 4 game-winning goals. Defenseman Matt Carle is playing out of this world right now alongside Pronger. I guess playing with a future hall of famer is going to improve anyones game. The Flyers are 10-1 with faceoff machine Blair Betts in the lineup, which just goes to show that when you win faceoffs, you aren't forced to play back on your heels. Also can't forget Ray Emery. He's been playing phenomenal between the pipes so far and shows no signs it's going to stop.

The biggest liabilities on the beginning of the year were surprisingly, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. Kimmo was consistently the best and most reliable defenseman for the Flyers since he's been here, and it was just a matter of time before he got back on track. It was sort of the same thing with Coburn. We had grown accustomed to his good play and seeing him struggle was sort of shocking. But not that they're both on track it must look like trying to get through a brick wall when it comes to scoring on this team.

Here's to a good west coast trip! Let's go Flyers!