Bruins v. Flyers LIVE!

Here we are on a frigid evening in the northeast, ready to watch some physical hockey between the Boston Bruins (42-12-9) and Philadelphia Flyers (33-18-10) at the Hub of Hockey.

The Flyers come to Boston hoping to end a two-game skid, while the Bruins are hoping to bounce back from their 4-3 OT loss to Washington on Saturday afternoon. If you remember, Tim Thomas was asleep at the wheel when Alexander Semin blasted it by him from 80 feet away. Yes. Eighty feet.

The B's boast a rather sexy 21-4-5 record at the TD Banknorth Garden, but they are just 4-1-4 in their last nine here. It was also the Flyers who beat the Bruins last month which led to Philly going on a nice little win streak.

Some Bruins notes before we get started:

Matt Hunwick will be playing left wing tonight. He played there Saturday, recording a pair of points and looking fairly good for someone out of position. During yesterday's practice he skated on a line with Marc Savard and Phil Kessel. I like this, I like it a lot.

The Bruins and Flyers are both rumored to be interested in Derek Morris, along with any other living, breathing rearguard the NHL has to offer. (Except Hal Gill.)

Milan Lucic is once again a scratch, as he was on Saturday. Remember that beatdown he gave Mike Brown? His hand is still recovering.

Claude Julien and company are looking for a bigger performance out of David Krejci tonight after he missed a goal and then coughed away the puck to Ovechkin on Saturday. It wasn't his best day, but there's plenty of confidence that he'll be back to usual.

Lastly, tonight is the first night of Jack Bingo~! During the game as Jack Edwards says certain phrashes, I will get to mark an X off on my bingo board. I'll post the finished board at the end of the blog, after the game.

There is great satisfaction in placing the first X right through Jack's yellow-toothed grin.

Pregame

Jack gives us a fascinating fact. In a 24 game span earlier this season, Savard and Kessel combined for 23 goals and 40 assists.

That's absolutely disturbing. Then again, you've got to think that Hunwick is gonna have a ton of fun playing with these two.

First Period

Oh my god, Manny Fernandez is in net against the Flyers?

19:20 - Andrew Ference and Scotty Hartnell are already at it, trading a couple of punches, but the gloves don't come off.

18:48 - Scottie Upshall absolutely crushes poor Matt Hunwick at center ice.

17:12 - Joffrey Lupul sent to the box for a hook on Wideman.

Couple of long shots and forced covers at either end of the ice thus far, but nothing truly threatening.

16:00 - Chara kills Flyers captain Mike Richards. He doesn't care who leads the NHL in short-handed goals much.

15:11 - Bruins have a couple of chances toward the end of the power play, including Kobasew snapping a shot wide from the slot. Bruins were very sharp with their passing and maybe should have scored.

13:43 - Michael Ryder sent to the box for a trip. Flyers have been atrocious on the power play latelty. It was ugly against New Jersey this weekend.

11:43 - Bruins have now killed 9 of 10 penalties with Michael Ryder sitting in the box.

Come on Jack, we need some of your ridiculous catchphrases.

8:40 - Bergeron loses an edge going into the corner and is absolutely leveled by Carle.

Still no major chances from either team. There's a lot of physical play that's making this a joy to watch though.

8:06 - Niittymaki makes the first huge save of the night. Bruins cycle it around well and it skips to Krejci to the right, has a writer destined for the top half of the net, Niitty in full butterfly extends with the glove. As Jack said, "LARCENY!"

7:26 - Another Bruins power play as there's too many men of the ice.

5:35 PP GOAL 1-0 Bruins - Quick puck movement, the Bruins move it around the umbrella and Patrice Bergeron beats a well out of position Niity for the goal. Just as I was about to groan to Casey in IM about Bergeron and PJ Axelsson being on the same power play line...

Chara and Savard credited with the assists. Savard has been such a catalyst on this home stand.

3:40 - Wideman sent to the box for a high stick. Flyers have come back fierece since the Bergeron goal, strong on the forecheck and creating chances in the B's zone. This penalty kill will be a decent to test of Manny's mettle. Depending on if Philly has figured things out while up a man.

2:01 - While the Flyers are on the power play, it's important to show a graphic telling us that they have yet to allow a short-handed goal this season.

:46 - You've got to feel bad for Manny when he can't even clear it out from his own trapezoid.

And we're through one period, the Bruins up a goal. They're showing good energy and even better intensity. The Flyers are matching that intensity, plenty of great hits. There's certainly a good amount of vitriol between these two teams and it'll be great to see the gloves drop sooner than later.

Also, what gives Jack? The closest you come to with any phrase is "Larceny" but the box on your damn board is "Grand Larceny." My assumption is I can't count it and I won't. So after one period, the only thing that has an X over it is Jack's face. Smirking at me because he refuses to say any of the phrases on this board.

2nd Period

18:30 - Hunwick looking solid on that left wing tonight. As I suspected he would.

18:11 GOAL 1-1 - Scottie Upshall ties it at one! Savard looking to pass and goes tape to tape onto Upshall who skates in alone and beats Manny under the right arm.

Looks like Savard never saw Upshall coming. Upshall snaked through traffic and just got to the puck as if it were intended for him.

16:19 - Yelle and Bitz crashing the net as Niity covers it. Hartnell comes in from behind and knocks Bitz head first into the crossbar.

13:50 - Nice work by the B's, Krejci works it around the back of the net, Wideman takes a slap shot that deflects all around, falls to Blake Wheeler who can't get the backhander up high enough and Niitty is able to save and cover.

13:03 - During the pause in play, Chara knocks Hartnell to the ice with a quick rabbit right, Coburn tries to get involved and the refs are there to break it up before it goes too far. This was after Hartnell took Bitz into the crossbar and then left his feet to take out Ryder.

So Chara's in the box for roughing and delay. Hartnell's in the box for a couple of minutes as well. Flyers back on the anemic power play. The Bruins outshot the Flyers 1-0 on the last Phily power play.

11:55 -Fernandez "fungos" it out of the air. That's close enough to "Mid-Air Fungo Job" for me. Let's mark us our first X since Jack's face.

9:35 - "D to D for Stuart." Another X. Jack is on a roll!

8:42 - Expert left wing Matt Hunwick into the box for a high stick. Time for another Flyers non-power play.

6:30 - The Flyers are once again killed off, despite Mike Richards creating a couple of chances for his side. They can't snap off the pass, or a Bruin is there to tangle up the puck before it gets to Manny. Yet another good kill for the B's.

5:13 - Hartnell takes about 15 steps into Michael Ryder in front of the Flyers bench and is right called for boarding. It's a B's power play.

4:26 - Jeff Carter (first mention!) skates in two on one and Manny stops the wrister.

2:36 - Bitz rings the iron and the puck falls straight down! Niitty doesn't see it, but falls back onto it for a cover. So close to a Bruins lead here.

Brickley's mic has died. Jack Edwards is alone. I am scared.

After two periods, shots are dead even at 17. I've got the feeling the Flyers got the best of that period, they seemed more physical (maybe mostly Hartnell) and they seemed to have more energy. The Bruins played intensely, but there seemed to be some lethargy sinking in on them. Bitz's ringer off the post was their best shot along with Wheeler's backhand.

Savard has given the puck away a couple of times, including Upshall's goal. Let's see the turnovers and sloppy play cut down, bring up the tempo and get the lead back.

Intermission grammatic fun with Mike Millbury: "They need to stay physically without crossing the line."

Third Period

19:47 - Random, I think tech guy comes on the air a bit, and then says "I gotta get back to my Jack Bingo card." Jack Bingomania is sweeping the New England area. Catch it!

Now say the damn phrases, Jack.

18:18 - Wing to wing! Jack gives me hope.

17:38 GOAL 2-1 Flyers - Simon Gagne! Andrew Alberts blasts it from the point and Gagne makes a beautiful deflection, knocking it onto the ice and under Manny's glove.

16:36 - I don't know if it's the Flyers being "physically" without going over the line wearing on the B's, or if they don't care that much at the moment.

14:40 - "Ference bangs him." We'll take it as an X for "he bangs him."

14:17 GOAL 3-1 Flyers - Former Bruin Mike Knuble! The Flyers making things happen with the chip in. Worked down behind the net, pushed out in front to Knuble in the slot who fires it past Fernandez.

Not looking good for the B's now.

13:03 - Hartnell sent to the box. Shocking. Bruins need to score a goal here.

9:20 - Nothing doing for the B's. Lots of sloppy passing. Flyers not doing so much either, game has gotten mired down a bit. Seems as if the Flyers are out to simply kill off the last nine minutes here.

6:51 - Coming a bit to life now, the Bruins force a face-off to Niitty's right.

4:48 - Flyers just hanging back in layers and dumping it over the heads of the Bruins and taking their sweet time. Bruins are showing some urgency in the offensive zone however, they need to put more shots in on Niitty, but the Flyers are actually looking strong in defense for a night.

4:28 - Kobasew being sent to the box for an ultra-rare holding the stick penalty. I'd say things are looking dire now.

3:35 PP GOAL 4-1 Flyers - Simon Gagne's second! Bruins trying to create chances even short-handed, Richards has it back in the zone, slips it across for Gagne, Manny has already dived in the opposite direction and Gagne simply puts it past him.

1:53 - Brick surmises that the Flyers simply wanted it more in the third period. I agree wholeheartedly.

1:30 - Jeff Carter sent to the box for hooking. The Bruins looking for three goals int he last 90 seconds.

:41.7 PP GOAL 4-2 - Stephane Yelle! Mark Stuart rips a terrific wrister from the point, deflected perfectly and in by Yelle.

That's all the Bruins are going to get though. In a game where they performed extremely well in the first period, fairly well in the second, they completely and utterly gave up in the third. They were overpowered and outmatched by the Flyers over the course of the last 25-30 minutes of the hockey game and certainly didn't deserve any points with their effort tonight. Like Brick said, Philly showed that they clearly wanted this more.

It's almost as if the Bruins didn't show up on the ice in the third. There were chances here and there, but the Flyers defended well, collapsing and layering themselves, not letting the B's get anything through.

What started as a sparking homestand with a dozen goals in two games, has now seen an OT loss and a listless third period in a 4-2 loss to the fourth place Flyers.

I'm sure Claude's going to have some harsh words for his boys after this one. They started to look more like they did in that woebegone road trip than they did just a week ago.

How'd Jack Bingo go? Not so well, Jack disappointed us all and audio difficulties throughout the third period made it difficult. Here's the board anyway:


Jack's gotta do better for us against the Coyotes on Thursday.

2/19 - Live Sabres v Flyers

Tonight's game promises to be an interesting one as the Flyers aim to complete the true NY sweep after beating the Rangers and the Isles this weekend. This is an important stretch for Philly - 9 of their next 12 at home.

Biron gets the start against his old team, not a surprise. Let's see if he can build some confidence off those victories.

PERIOD 1

Early action is end to end, ending with an Upshall break down the wing and a slapper that is gloved by a sprawling Ryan Miller.

18:40 - First penalty of the evening, Paille goes to the box on a hook.

Not a very threatening man advantage, couple of near chances but the puck spent too much time in the wrong end. 1 shot.

12:06 - We reach our first media timeout. Terrific chances for both teams, but the Sabres have picked up their aggression since the penalty. Their D-men are pinching often and giving the Flyers breaks - one team is going to capitalize eventually.

11:26 - Gagne is robbed on the back post after a terrific feed from Richards - great save by Miller.

8:37 - Wow. Giroux just laid a beautiful drop pass for Timonen on the 2 on 1 but Miller forces Kimmo out wide and Giroux can't slam the puck in as its laying near the crease. This was all after the Sabres had tremendous pressure, but their pinching gave up yet another odd man rush.

7:18 - GOAL! 1-0 PHI - Flyers take the lead! Richards grabs it off the boards, fires it to the net and Metro is there to tip it by Miller, who was in solid position.

2:18 - Biron stands tall in net and breaks up a chance for the Sabres after a poor giveaway by Asham. Stuck his glove right in front of Gaustad's stick. Good play, Marty.

:42 - Things are heating up as Hartnell and Hecht almost get into it in the corner. Two strong opportunities for Buffalo and now they'll go on the powerplay as Hartnell goes to the box for roughing.

END 1ST PERIOD

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Interesting period we had here in Philadelphia. Reminded me of some of the recent Sabres/Flyers playoff series .. back and forth action, odd-man breaks, speed up and down the lineup. Difference is that this time the Flyers have the speed to match. Upshall/Giroux/Powe are flying around, they really look like they enjoy playing together.

This game can go either way - Sabres will return with 1:18 of powerplay time on fresh ice, and we'll take it from there.

PERIOD 2

18:40 - PP over, couple of chances for the Sabres but nothing too troublesome.

16:44 - GOAL - 1-1 - Spacek scores from the slot on a shot that trickle through Biron's pads. A chance that the Flyers shouldn't have allowed - but a goal that Biron should have had.

11:03 - GOAL!! 2-1 PHI - WOW. What incredible forechecking! If you want a sense, the Sabres announcer just said - "the longest spell in your own end of the rink this season for Buffalo". The Richards line just kept plugging away and just when it looked like the Sabres would clear, Gagne stopped it - found Richards, who found Coburn, who put a beauty by Miller.

9:47 - Powe takes a hooking penalty. No complaints, he earned it.

GOAL 2-2 - Spacek scores on a ripped shot on a delayed penalty - so the Sabres tie it and they get another powerplay to boot. Alberts to the box. Ouch.

5:57 - GOAL! 3-2 PHI - You better believe Richards has done it again. Flyers take a 3 on 1 up the ice, turns into a 3 on 2 and Richards takes an excellent pass from Timonen and slips it by Miller for the lead!

Savvy play by Timonen to put that puck on the net. I figured he'd drop it back to the uncovered man but he threaded it to Richards and Miller was caught off guard. The score is starting to reflect the back and forth nature of this game - though the Flyers need to stop taking bad penalties.

1:18 - Richards line generates another great chance but Mike takes the penalty for goaltender interference at the end of their shift. Rivet gave him a nice shove in the head, fans don't like it. Sabres get another late powerplay.

:31 - GOAL 3-3 - Roy finds a loose puck in the crease and shoves it under Biron. Another soft goal, and a huge one in the late stages of this period. Flyers are going to be upset going to the locker room after being able to take back the energy from those penalties.

END 2ND PERIOD

Nothing has changed so far in the first five minutes of the third. Chances for both teams - Flyers forechecking very well, Sabres using speed to break wide and get opportunities. Two dubious no-calls on Sabres have the Wachovia Center in arms.

9:00 - The Upshall line gets a huge chance! They are really continuing to be noticeable in every game that they play together. No goal comes of it but they may be able to turn the play in the Flyers direction, as Buffalo has been controlling of late.

7:18 - Flyers get a powerplay chance after Miller makes a couple of key saves. Lydman to the box. Hooking.

6:09 - GOAL!! 4-3 PHI - Gagne picks up a loose puck behind the net, finds Knuble in the crease, and he slams it home for the lead! Such a steady influence on the PP this year, Knuble.

Flyers keep up the pressure - that powerplay really woke them up.. thank you Lydman.

4:11 - And now the Flyers have used their timeout. They'd just iced the puck - so Stevens must have wanted to rest the guys stuck out there.

Paille had a terrific shot from the slot that Biron was able to shrug aside - Philly maintains the slim lead with another icing.

Furious action! Sabres had a pileup in front of the net but the whistle never blew as the puck trickled across the crease - then the Flyers come the other way with a 2 on 1 but the pass is just out of reach, and play settles down as we approach the 2 minute mark.

1:09 - Miller has gone to the bench, puck finds its way to Biron's glove. Ryan will stay on the bench and we've got 6 on 5 action to finish this up. It's fitting that the game comes down to this - both teams have played well and it's been a pleasure to watch.

And Buffalo takes their timeout so Lindy Ruff can draw up a play.

:42 - GOAL! 5-3 PHI - Richards takes the puck away at the point, slips to center ice and fires the puck into the empty kitchen. That's points on all five goals for Richards, 2+3. Hell of a game.

:9 - GOAL! 6-3 PHI - Miller stays on the bench, Powe steals a puck at the point, streaks up the left boards with his Princeton speed and deposits the puck.

FINAL SCORE - PHILADELPHIA 6 - BUFFALO 3

Well, the final score doesn't tell you how close this game was, but that's merely the result of two empty netters. Can't blame Buffalo for giving it a shot. They ended up outshooting the Flyers 42-38, but can't overcome a late penalty by Lydman and the ensuing PP goal by the Flyers.

Biron let in a couple of soft goals, but he did make 39 saves to his credit. He looked worried at times, but wins will build his confidence, and he certainly wasn't awful.

Powe robbed Richards the chance of being involved on all of Philly's goals - but a five point night is still very impressive.

The NY sweep is complete! Next up: Pittsburgh comes to town on Saturday, fresh off a win over the struggling Canadiens.

Flyers, Rangers Running Diary

The reeling Rangers take on their Atlantic Division foe, the Philadelphia Flyers. These two teams are separate by 1 point in the standings and a Rangers win can jump them from 6th to 4th in the standings while the Flyers still have 2 games in hand.

1st Period
20:00
Prucha in today over Aaron Voros. Renney looking to jump start the offense a little with the move and also likely trying to show off Prucha before the trade deadline.

19:30
Scramble out in front of the Rangers net and Hank is already sprawled out onto the ice. It's never a good sign when your goalie is on his stomach with 30 seconds into the game.

16:00
Hartnell picks Betts' pocket behind the net and feeds Lupul out front. Hank stones him.

15:00
Rangers still have yet to put a puck on net. The Flyers look like a team who all went to bed early last night and were well rested. The Rangers look like they were all drinking until 3:00am and didn't get up until about 45 minutes ago.

13:00
1st break of a pretty calm/sluggish/boring game. Doc Emrick's voice has yet to raise to its normal excitable level. The fan's don't even seem that into the game. We need Colton Orr to just start fighting people to get a pulse back into MSG.

12:00 (GOAL)
Hank allows a weak rebound to the side and tries to dive onto the puck. Powe gets to the puck first and Powe feeds Claude Giroux in front with ho goalie in net. Helen Keller could've scored on that one.

9:30 PP
Rangers have the first man advantage of the period off of a trip by Gagne. This is the opportunity the Rangers need to capitalize on in order to get the crowd back into it and to tie up the game. Rangers 1-26 on the pp since the All Star break.

One minute into the PP and the Rangers are having trouble establishing possession in the Flyers zone. The crowd is booing them, and rightfully so. Philly has a shorty opportunity on a slapshot from the blueline. The PP is over and each team has registered one shot on goal.

7:00 PP
Cluade Giroux outhustles Michal "If I play bad enough they can't trade me" Rozsival and draws an interference penalty. Flyers are playing Tic- Tac- Toe with their passes with Hank making a great save on Richards from Knuble. Penalty killed.

Do people really think that Pizza Hut lasagna is that good that it can fool actual Italians? Are there Pizza Hut's in Italy where Italians go when they don't feel like making good food? There is no way those commercials are filmed with hidden cameras.

Also, the NBC heads up Poker championship is coming soon. I only mention that because they showed Vanessa Rousso in the commercial and she is quite hot.

Return from the commercial and NBC shows that the Flyers lead shots 9-7. There is no way the Rangers have 7 shots on goal.

1:30 (PP)
Naslund draws a penalty for boarding where parent trips and goes into the boards with Naslund behind him. Bad call in my opinion but from the ref's point of view, he has to make that call.

0:10
Hartnell erases the Flyers PP by knocking the stick out of Daniel Girardi's hand. Dumb penalty. This will give the Ranger's a power play about 40 seconds into the period for 1:20. No need to worry for the Flyers fans though, because if the Rangers can't score with 2:00 of power play time, taking away 40% of that will be a near impossibility.

The NBC studio crew just ripped http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/1844 and Drury a new one for having no heart or fire since donning the Broadway Blueshirt. I couldn't agree more. Someone has to light a fire under these guys and mild mannered Tom Renney doesn't seem like the one who can do it. I think Renney is a good coach, but these guys need someone like Keenan to strike the fear of God into them, rather than someone to coddle their feelings.

2nd Period
19:30 PP
Jeff Carter trips Staal going through the neutral zone. Now a 5-3 PP. Paul Mara actually puts a shot on goal. Glove save by Biron due to the lack of traffic in front.

SHORTY GOAL
Mike Richards feed from Coburn off of a blocked shot and Richards flies by the entire Rangers defense and beats Hank top shelf. 2-0 Flyers.

Gagne breakaway where he is hauled down from behind with inexplicably no call. The Flyers have had more scoring opportunities down 2 men than the Rangers up 2 men. The crowd vociferously lets the know how they all collectively feel. I waiting for some sarcastic Ranger's fans to start bringing white towels to the game just to throw them in.

15:00
Renney does his normal "Lets ruin any chemistry we could possibly have" tactic by changing up the lines. While I understand he needs to do something to try and find a line combo that works, there is no cohesion on this team at all. Haven't heard Doc mention Gomez or Zherdev yet this game. Are they even playing?

13:00 Goal 3-0
Mark Staal leave his defensive post to try and help out on a double team out in front. Puck trickles to where Staal should have been and Matt Carle roofs it.

12:00 Goal 4-0
Cue Valiquette. Hank allows a weak wrap around by Glen Metropolit where the puck is thrown across the red line and ricochets off of Hank into the net.

11:00 Goal 5-0
That was quick. Let me just say its rough to keep a running diary of a game where 3 goals are scored only a 2 minute span. Claude Giroux flies by the entire Rangers team and feeds a somehow wide open Mike Richards in the slot. The Flyers have scored 3 goals on 3 shots and I'm waiting for Mirimax to cast Hank in the next Friday the 13th movie. He already has the hockey mask and will kill people by bludgeoning them with his stick. The entire Rangers defense will be the first to be killed.

9:00
I wonder what will happen first, the firing of Renney or the signing of Avery. I think Sather has to give Renney the rest of the season with Avery, but if Sather doesn't pull that trigger, a change has to be made on the coaching staff.

7:00 Goal 5-1
Rangers show some signs of life. Callahan hustles into the corner on the forecheck and beats the rest of the Flyers to the puck. He feeds Korpikoski out front and Lauri sneaks one by Biron down low through traffic. (Note: this traffic was created by the Flyers defensemen rather than the Rangers screening)

6:59 PP
Colton Orr immediately challenges Riley Cote off the faceoff and Cote doesn't take the bait. Orr gets a 2 minute crosschecking penalty and a 10 minute unsportsmanlike conduct. Way to kill the life in the building Colton.

5:00 PP
After a successful penalty kill, the Rangers have an energy boost. This energy leads to a little hustle with the puck and a Claude Giroux trip. Good to see some life in what's left of the crowd in Morgue Square Garden but in all likelihood, this is too little too late.

4:00 Penalty
Mark Staal erases the PP with boarding Powe. Rangers are now 1-30 on the PP, a stellar 3%

3:00 Penalty
During the 4-4, Scott Hartnell trucks Valiquette from behind leading to a goalie interference. Rangers have 20 seconds of 4-3. With Biron on his back and the puck trickling out into the slot, Naslund lets the puck jump over his stick and misses and opportunity to make this 5-2.

1:00
Dubinsky and Hartnell drop their gloves and go at it after shoving around the net. A couple good punches thrown but none really landed. They hug each other and Duby wrestles Hartnell to the ground. Bascially a stalemate. Personal side note: I was tied in PIM going into today in fantasy, and Hartnell has 9 thus far. Other side note. Rangers now 1-32 on the PP.

3rd Period
Seeing how this is a blowout, the 3rd period will more be musings than a running diary.

After Prucha making a nice move off of the faceoff and creating a great scoring chance, why doesn't he play every game and leave Voros on the bench? Voros is a wannabe tough guy and scorer (a la Ryan Getzlaf) but is really neither. He adds little value if he isn't parked out in front of the net and even then the contribution is minimal. Prucha at least gives the illusion of a threat.

The Rangers either don't practice at game speed or have players that tire easily because often their passes are just one step out in front of the intended target. This leads to way too many turnovers.

When fighting, there is no point punching the other guy's helmet repeatedly (Paul Mara). These helmets are made to withstand slapshots from frozen pucks. Now Mara is getting X-rays in the locker room.

The Rangers next two games are against the Blues and Islanders. If those two teams can't jumpstart the Rangers offense, their season may be over.

Allegedly the Rangers have put up 30 shots with 10 minutes left. What the NHL needs to do is come up with a stat for the percentage of shots that are actual scroing chances. While I realize that technically all shots are chances to score, the Rangers have relatively few scoring chances considering they have 30 shots.

Prucha to Redden to Zherdev for the goal. Zherdev great job on the redirect. 5-2 Flyers.

The Prucha Duby Zherdev line is flying around the ice and wreaking havoc. Let's start with this line on the ice tomorrow night and see what happens.

Yet again another disappointment for the NYR. The stars of the game has to be Mike Richards for his back breaking goal, Biron for saving 35 shots, and Claude Giroux for simply single handedly outhustling the entire Rangers roster.

Live from the Holiday Inn

Part of me was very glad I wasn't able to access the site during the game. The inside of the Wachovia Center was bleak and troublesome. The game started out innocently enough, but the lack of urgency on the Flyers first two powerplays spelled doom for the rest of the night. The Flyers outplayed the Sens for many stretches of the game, but couldn't get a bounce to save their life. Niitty wasn't to blame. The defense wasn't entirely to blame. Nothing the Flyers conceived came to fruition. They outshot the Sens, outworked the Sens, but when the chances came, Brian Elliott positioned himself well, or the pucks simply missed the net.

This is the kind of loss you have to write off in the course of a long season. A team that's low in the standings, hungry to make their mark and dent some playoff hopes. It's not so easy for me to write off, though, seeing as this is the only game I'll attend in Philadelphia unless they qualify for the playoffs (and even then, there's no guarantee).

I'm baffled by what happened. Harmless shots from the Senators trickled in all night. They played a decent game, but they were lucky to be in advantageous position for most of the evening.

Good to see Richards and Upshall back but no one on the roster was overly impressive. The only player that needs singling out is Randy Jones, who had an awful game both offensively and defensively. He was chasing and fighting off the puck for the course of the game, and broke up a ton of chances that might've given the Flyers some life.

Every time they seemed to have a spark, the Sens answered. Suppose this is just one of those games.

I have a few pictures from tonight but nothing extraordinary. As soon as my e-mail complies I'll get them posted. Have a good evening.