And Another One!

The Philadelphia Flyers have won three straight games, as they knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, 2-1.

Brayden Schenn scored both goals for the Flyers and goalie Ray Emery stopped 30 out of 31 shots he faced. Schenn was interviewed after the game having this to say,

"Obviously, we're working on trying to put some wins together right now and playing pretty sound defensive hockey. We're waiting for our opportunities to score and right now we're scoring when they're there, so we have to keep it going."

Say whatever you want about the Flyers start, which was 1-7. The team is now, 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have collected points in five of their last six games. Flyers are now, 9-2-1 at Consol Energy Center since the arena has opened. Sean Couturier played shut down defense on both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which really seemed to frustrate Malkin, as he threw some cheap shots on Couturier's face. Head coach Craig Berube was very pleased with the win,

"I like the fact that we grinded the win out. We played the night before and did a lot of the little things right tonight."

Another little fun fact. Remember the brawl? The one that people said was so disgusting and disrespectful to the game of hockey and the city of Philadelphia. Well the Flyers are now, 4-1-1 since that brawl and it seems it has sparked this team to another level. They are now playing much more sound defense, winning all the puck battles and winning the battles along the boards. To top it all, they have now scored 14 goals since the brawl, which was missing to start the season.

Next up for the orange and black, the Winnipeg Jets. Another tough road game for the boys, but if they go out and execute the way they have been on this winning streak, they will be just fine.


CroJack

Showing Improvement

The Philadelphia Flyers got their second straight win, beating the Ottawa Senators last night 5-0.

This was a very good win for the orange and black. Ottawa were coming off a 3 game winning streak and got their number one goalie back between the pipes, which ended up being his and their first shutout lose of the season.

Jake Voracek netted 2 goals and goalie Steve Mason got his first shutout victory and recorded 24 saves on the night. Needless to say these two were the Flyers top performers in this game. Matt Read had this to say after the game,

"We got back to the basics," said Reader, who had the Flyers' first goal Tuesday, on a beautiful wrap around. "The first month we tried to do things when we didn't have them and now we're just keeping things simple by getting pucks deep and getting pucks out when we have to and winning puck battles along the boards. "Those little things turn into victories."

Vincent Lecavalier and Brayden Schenn also scored for the Flyers and captain Claude Giroux recorded 2 assists. Goalie Steve Mason was very pleased with the team effort in this game.

"This was an extremely sound effort all around and from a defensive standpoint we didn't give a lot up."

Next up for the Flyguys, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the dreaded rivals. The Flyers will be traveling to Pittsburgh and in recent years the Flyers have played very well on the Penguins home ice. They will look to build off that and the last 2 wins to fuel them into another victory tonight. It will be a tough game no doubt, the Penguins are a good and very sound team.


CroJack

Freddy "The Fog" Shero

"Win today, and we walk together forever." One of the most repeated and talked about quotes in sporting history, was thought of by the late and great Fred Shero. He had written this quote on the dressing room blackboard for inspiration to the players heading into game six of the 1973-74 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Philadelphia Flyers ended up winning and thus the series against the Boston Bruins, becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

Fred Shero was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday in Toronto and many believe it was a long time coming and he was very deserving of it. Accepting the award was Ray Shero, Fred's son. Fred passed back in 1990, he was 65 at the time of his death, but his legacy has lived on through the players that he coached and his innovation on the beautiful game of hockey. "Freddy was a genius behind the bench," said former Flyer goalie Bernie Parent. "If Freddy didn't coach, he would have made a good psychologist. He made us believe in ourselves. He made us believe in the system."  Bobby Clarke was also in attendance for Shero's induction, having this to say prior to the ceremony, 

"The only thing I can think of was that people on the committee thought he was responsible for the mayhem that the Flyers caused in those days. He never was. You'd never see much anger in Freddy. 'Take the body. He had that line, 'shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor,' but I never heard him ever mention fighting or hitting people or stuff like that. Most of that was brought on ourselves as players, I guess."

Fred Shero will forever be immortalized in the game of hockey and now, the Hall of Fame. "People said he was ahead of his time," his son said. "Maybe he was an innovator. Maybe it was because he was video before most. Or maybe hiring the first assistant coach in 1972, Mr. Mike Nykoluk." Whatever it is, Freddy will always be loved in the city of Philadelphia and loved by fans of the game he loved so much.


CroJack

Who wants a mustache ride?

The Philadelphia Flyers got the offense going on Saturday when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 at home.

Claude Giroux, sporting his bright red mustache, played like a madman the whole game and it paid off for him and the team, netting his first goal on the season and his first in 21 games, in the third period. Eric Cartman's nightmare came true because ginger's apparently do have souls and are real, Scott Hartnell also netted a goal during the win at home. He had this to say after the game,

 "It's great," Hartnell said. "We didn't hear a boo all night here at home, first time in a long time. Our efforts haven't been great at home and we wanted a big effort 60-minute game and that's something we did tonight. We have to continue that and carry that forward."

The team played very well together and it seemed they had it all figured out for that game. Granted, the Oilers are not that good of a team, but are a very well disciplined fast paced team and it was good for the Flyers to get a much needed victory. Moving forward Giroux was happy of his play and made clear what is expected,

"It was obviously a lot of relief," Giroux said. "To see all the boys on the bench being happy too, I think that was really fun. But you know what, it's a big win for us. And we go on the road now, and we've got to get on a roll here."

A few side notes before the game started on Saturday. There was a lot of trade rumors flying around on Friday and early Saturday morning between the Oilers and Flyers. Jordan Eberle, 23 year old RW for the Oilers, was mentioned heavily in those rumors. Names attached to the trade rumor on the Flyers side were, Giroux, Simmonds, Coots, and Luke Schenn. Thankfully none of those rumors came to fruition and those players were still in the orange and black come game time. Well, maybe Luke Schenn can go, he has been a turn over machine all season long, and the Flyers do have depth on defense. Lastly, Ilya Bryzgalov made some noise this Saturday, when he signed with the Oilers. Many thought they might start him immediately against his former team, but that did not happen. "I'm not afraid of anything-except bear, but bear in the forest." Yup, that guy.


CroJack

What's next for the Flyers?

Friday morning, another depressing loss for the Philadelphia Flyers and the fans of this city after last nights 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers are now 1-7 to start this season and are now off until next Thursday, when they face another rival, the New York Rangers. What has to happen next for the Flyers? Does there need to be a trade? A major move in the management? Or,  bring up some young guns?

We all have seen that the goalie situation isn't really a situation at all anymore. Steve Mason has stepped up his play this season and has pretty good numbers thus far, besides the win:loss ratio. He has posted a 2.37 GAA and a .923 SV%. Every night that he has started in net, he has been the Flyers best player, but continues to get no help. The problems rest heavily on the offense. They have still yet to manage a 3 goal game, which places them as the only team in the NHL not to do so this season. Looking at this offense, they seem out of sync, absolutely no chemistry on any of the lines. The defense has had some holes yes, but they are much improved from last season. The defense can only do so much, when the offense musters only 1 goal. Good news from last night, they scored a powerplay goal! All joking aside, head coach Craig Berube, needs to practice heavily on the special teams.

Does there need to be a trade to shake things up? Perhaps that is the only option to get this team going. There is some speculation going around that the Flyers are interested in sharp shooter Thomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres, among other teams as well. Maybe it's time to part ways with Scott Hartnell, he has been injury prone as of late and has not produced much of anything. Also, we have depth on the defensive side, for once. Braydon Coburn and Andrej Meszaros are also two potential trade bait options, that maybe a team will have interest it. Erick Gustafsson has played very well, since being called up to take Mez's spot. They also have Oliver Lauridsen waiting in the wind to be called back up. He played well last season, when the Flyers had all those injury problems. What in the world happened to Claude Giroux? Who would have thought after 8 games, he has no goals and only 3 points. Maybe the pressure of the captaincy is getting to him? Maybe they should remove it, and see how he reacts to it? Tough questions to answer, but something needs to be done.

Is Paul Holmgren to blame? Maybe. He did put this group together and they have done nothing but under perform. This team, like I stated before, has no chemistry. They are missing passes and the shots seem to go 6 feet wide, left or right. Maybe it is time for Holmgren to realize that bringing in players in their 30's in not the best option, example Vinny Lecavalier, but he did perform before getting injured. As far as the young talent is concerned, they have not stepped up, and doesn't look like they are going to step up. I hate to say it, but knowing Holmgrens' past he may try and move Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn, to get players in their late 20's and early 30's, he desperately wants to win now and it looks like Ed Snider is pushing him into some of these signings and trades that have been made lately. Or, maybe Paul has punched his last ticket? Their was talk when Ron Hextall came back into town, that he would be replacing Holmgren. Hexy did a great job in helping the Los Angeles Kings put together a Stanley Cup winning team, and they still continue to compete and win games.

All in all this team needs to make something happen in the week they have off. If they want to get this city's fans behind the team again, there needs to be a change, be it trade, management switch, or bringing up the young guys, it has to happen now. There is no excuse for not attempting to do anything in this time off to get this team better. The next two games are against divisional rivals in the Rangers and Islanders, which will be tough tasks if nothing is resolved. I still fully support this team, but it is getting very hard to be happy about upcoming games, based on their performance in this season and the last.



CroJack

Crybaby Crosby and Penguin Fans

Tonight the Philadelphia Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins in a divisional match up that will surely not disappoint. The Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, is probably the most hated sports figure in all of the NHL and in Philadelphia for good reasons. Only people who do not see this are the Penguins fans, who think he is God's gift to the world.

Everywhere Crosby goes he is booed more than any other man in hockey. People say it is because he is the best in the sport, which to me is not true, in my opinion his teammate Malkin is much better. The reason why he is hated more than any other player is simply because he runs his mouth, hides behind his teammates, and he is protected by the league. Yes, Crosby has won fights, but he only goes after those that never fight, example Kimo Timmonen, in recent memory. He is hugely protected by the officials. During any game that he is in, if he is checked cleanly, he will complain, bitch and moan all the way to the bench, and he will get the call. Referees in this sport for some reason think they are slick, but it is clear, especially when the Penguins play the Flyers. One thing that he always seems to get away with is flopping. He flops more than LeBron James, which is a tough task in itself.

Penguins fans are an absolute joke, and the ones that live around Philly, are front running fair weather fans. The Penguins, if people remember, went bankrupt twice and had barely any fans during those times, even the ones that lived in Pittsburgh.  In 2003-04, they had the lowest attendance average in the entire NHL. From 2002 to end on the 2006 season, the Penguins were terrible, finishing in last place multiple times, with the attendance down, and obviously missing the playoffs. The 2004-2005 NHL season, was a lockout, so that helped the Penguins stay out of the basement, and the following draft they received Crosby, which was their 2nd time receiving the first overall pick in 3 seasons. Then in 2007-2008, once they started winning again the fans came out of the woodwork. Claiming that they were always loyal, but seem to forget the dismal years that the team has had. Then came the 2008-2009, second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup finals and the first championship since the 1991-1992 season . During the 08-09 season fans were popping up in cities all over the country, and the amount around the Philadelphia area tripled.

This game tonight is huge for the Flyers, if they hope to get back to winning ways. It will not be an easy game, but one that is winnable. Let's not forget Fleury does not seem to show up against the Flyers in recent years and hopefully that will be an advantage for them. Penguins fans will be in the building, pretending they have always been fans, Crosby will flop and hide, and the referees will be bias towards the Penguins, but all in all the Flyers know the importance of this game and will go out and leave it all on the ice.


CroJack

Depressing Start

Another disappointing game for the Philadelphia Flyers, as they lost 3-2 on Tuesday to the Vancouver Canucks.

They started the game with great pace and poise and it looked as though from the beginning, that this game will be the breakout they have been waiting for. But, when the horn sounded and the boo birds started, the Flyers have fallen to 1-6-0. There was one big bright spot in the game, as Tye McGinn, the 23 year old 2nd year man, notched 2 goals to bring his total to 3 on the season. Sadly, the only player on the team with that many goals on the season. Fun fact, the Flyers are the only team in the NHL, to not have recorded 3 goals in a single game.

The Flyers played very well for the first 2 periods, going into the 3rd with the lead. The 3rd period has been one of the weak spots for the Flyers this season, and it was again a problem. The Canucks scored a goal at 7:31 into the 3rd period to tie the game at 2-2. The game winning goal came at 17:35 into the 3rd period and crushed the Flyers hopes of getting a point out of this game. Craig Berube, the newly appointed head coach of the Flyers, who are now 1-3 after the switch, had this to say after the game, "We're kind of sitting back and waiting for something bad to happen." Well Berube, something did.

The captain of the team, Claude Giroux, was seen hunched over after the game in utter disappointment, skating off the ice. During a post game interview he had an interesting comment, "We are getting better every game, that's how we all look at it. It's a fact," Giroux announced. "If anybody knows anything about hockey, they'll know we played a good game tonight. We played our best game, and it's a good thing coming right now." Well, anybody who knows anything about hockey will know that a game is 60 minutes and the Flyers only showed up for 40 minutes, which has become the norm with this team in recent years.

The Flyers need to shake this lose off because this Thursday marks a pivotal game for the Flyers as they host their bitter rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are off to a hot start at 5-1-0. If they hope to get this season back on track and get this team back in playoff contention talks, then this game on Thursday is a make or break for them. As Giroux stated, "We'll start winning games here soon, and when we will, we'll be back in the playoff race." Here's to hoping for good things to come.



CroJack

Flyers Criticism

Since the firing of Lavy, the Flyers have faced heavy criticism from the "fans" of this city and various media sources.

Starting with the sports media, that seems to swarm to every single word this teams says, like a flesh eating virus. They seem to think they know all the answers and have all the right questions. The one that bothers me the most is the, " this team hasn't won in 40 years, what do you plan to do about it?" As if that question holds any water, because to me that is the only thing they can say to this team, who has been to 6 Stanley Cups since '75 and numerous playoff runs, but they lose because of the "culture" not because they got out played, sorry I forgot. This city's media thrives on negativity towards the Flyers or any of the major sports teams here. Let's say the Flyers do win the cup, be it this year or the next, the media will neglect it. "Oh, one cup since 75' isn't that impressive, "what do you plan to do next year?" Even when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, the next year they were talking like the last championship was years ago. The media here loves to promote negative attention towards the teams in this city, day in and day out.

My favorite would be the "fans" of this team. They claim to love this team, yet criticize and critique in their own minds what should be done. I myself am guilty of this from time to time, but I have knowledge of the sport and understand the reasoning behind it, except Bryz, no words for that. "Paul Holmgren needs to go after getting rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards." This phrase pains me when I hear it. People who actually have knowledge about hockey will realize that it was a smart decision, because of the off ice antics and the lack of production from Carter, after he collected his money from the extension. "Holmgren handed the Kings the cup." All I can do it shake my head at this one, in most cases. Little do the "fans" know, the Kings were on their way to a great year. The roster was stacked, Justin Williams, Kopitar, Brown, Doughty, oh and that guy in net, who single handedly won the cup for the Kings, Jonathan Quick. Oh, and the Blue Jackets handed Carter to the Kings, FYI gang (had to use a Coatesy word). The flyers in return have some very exciting young talent, of whom can become stars. Simmonds, Schenn and Voracek alone have made immediate impacts.

Karlo Radolovic (CroJack)

Flyers 10/11/13

Tonight marks the second game for the Flyers new head coach, Craig Berube. The Chief, has already implemented a new system which is completely different from the dump and chase of Lavy. You can clearly that see in the game against the Panthers. The first game was not pretty, but a win is a win. He and the team have now had two full days of practice to implement his system. This won't be an overnight change by any means, but from that first game on Tuesday, this team looks very different. Tonight they have the Phoenix Coyotes, who are coming off a win from last night against the Red Wings ( Flyers next opponent on Saturday ). So, here's to hoping they are tired and worn out from that game and the travel, and let the Flyguys go out and get a much needed win, for the fans, this city and themselves.

LETS GO FLYERS!!!!

Karlo Radolovic (CroJack)