Boondoggles and Blame
When a team is armed with mediocre netminding, it’s up to the rest of the group to pick up the slack. The Flyers were a picture of this in last year’s playoffs, using defense to prop up career backup and AHL goalie Michael Leighton all the way into the Stanley Cup Finals.”-Ryan Bright, Philadelphia Sports Daily
Ironically, that is an excerpt from an article titled “Don’t Blame the Goalie.” Hah. It is truly tragic how the Flyers roster was gutted in the offseason. So much so that in 82 games they could not prop up either one of their goalies, both so very much better than Leighton, to
one
single
shutout.
#sarcasm
Excellent Visitors
Game Day supplies. I know the Orange & Black was not brewed for the Flyers, but it serves the purpose.
Red Wings @ Sharks, WCSF Game 1, April 29, 2011
Well that went well. It seems that the Sharks almost always play well against the Red Wings. Maybe it’s like siblings- the younger will always be trying to out do the elder, no matter how much success the younger has had. Similarly, the elder will always begin by underestimating the younger.
For his birthday, Benn Ferriero got the game winning goal in OT, with help from Red Wing Brad Stuart. That wasn’t a very nice present from Brad to Mike. It was Red Wings coach Mike Babcock’s birthday too, as Randy and Drew told us several times during the game. It made me want McLellan to start Kent Huskins on Wednesday. Wednesday is Husky’s birthday. (more…)
Occam’s Razor
Just because everyone male is growing playoff beards doesn’t mean we should put away all our razors.
The Leightont haters proposed several reasons for Leighton being demoted to fourth goalie in the depth chart after Game 6. Mostly they just said he was lame.
It would appear that he is, after all, lame, in the most literal sense of the term:
It is the most likely scenario. To think he is the least competent goalie on the Flyers roster, you have to think Laviolette is an idiot, Holmgren is a fool, and Leighton is a head case. Sure, I see lots of ninnies suggesting the first two but I don’t think I’ve ever heard even a whisper of the last. No matter what I have or have not heard, injury is simply the most likely explanation for what has occurred so far.
Of course the Leightont haters will not buy this story, because they are ninnies. Stubborn ninnies.
Poor Leights, it’s such a long road back. Maybe he should give Emery a call.
Numerology, 2011
According to my fledgling prognostication system, the first round of the 2011 NHL Playoffs could not have worked out better. On first glance, that makes me nervous. I’ll try to be reasonable and not read too much into it.
My system was 100% accurate last year, much to my horror, after the first round. The year before, it would have picked all but one of the post-round one series winners.
The year before that, the system would have only picked one right, and the year before that, it was 100% wrong. (more…)
Never Happy
It’s entirely ridiculous to be distraught about a total stranger being distraught about doing badly in a game. I know that. I don’t care. I am still unhappy about this little story on Leights going missing. The article called it AWOL. Whatever you call it, his location was in question.
They say they found him. They say they talked to him. Officially, they say he never went missing, and the more communicative “they” is but an unnamed source. Later last night, Holmgren called the whole thing simply untrue. Today, Leighton’s agent concurred: not true. Thank you, PH and L’s A. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, what with the feeling sad and the feeling happy over the Flyers win in Game 7.
I know I sound a little crazy, but if it were not for the emotional engagement of observers, I doubt professional sports would exist. If it were just about the stats, people could monitor mosquito behavior and have as much fun doing it. No, it is all about the emotion and the knowing that others feel it too. (more…)
Eprologue, Righting Wrong
Well, I said my goodbyes to the Flyers’ season during the last game so I guess I don’t have to do that again. I’m a little confuddled about the fact that I have been mostly wrong about so many things in this post-season. Not that I should be right, but if I know I’m wrong, then I anticipate the opposite of what I think, will I still be wrong, making what I first thought right? It’s confusing, I’m befuddled. (more…)
Seven-ish
I thought Nitty should start, but Nemo did fine.
I was very certain the Sharks and Kings would go to seven. I didn’t know before the game, I didn’t have any inkling about it. But by the time the 3rd period was under way, I was fairly certain I would see seven.
Turned out that there were seven goals in the game. The Sharks got four of those. I’m going to have to learn to read my signs better. Maybe I was remembering that number seven that was behind the goal in the Flyers Game 6. Maybe that’s what had me confused. (more…)
petshark 