Flyers Weekly Fly-By: Seeds 1-4, Pick Your Poison

Doesn't this sound familiar. For once in a lifetime, the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia Flyers are in similar situation as March begins to wrap up.

Unfortunately, those situations are not at all glamorous.

Sure, both teams are most likely playoff bound and the team's will get at least two home games worht of playoff revenue and teasing the fans that their contenders. Heck, maybe we'll see an upset or two and get treated to May hockey or basketball.

But, in all likelyhood, the playoffs will just be an example of the inconsistency and ineptitude of the these teams.

It appears that the injury bug has officially caused the Flyers demise. Down to just Brian Boucher in net and without Jeff Carter due to a broken foot for the rest of the regular season, the Flyers looked utterly lost, confused and without much effort they skated through three terrible losses the last three games. Now, it seems as though in any case the Flyers are playoff bound, but what awaits them are really, really good hockey teams. With the Flyers having a 97% chance of being a 5-8 seed according to playoffstatus.com, this leaves us four real possibilites for opponents in the first round. None of them are pretty.

Washington is by far the best of the East. Though they have lacked the poise to advance past round two the last two years, they have an explosive offense led by the immortal Alex Ovechkin and Alez Semin, along with a top defense led by Mike Green. There only real hole is goaltending,. which even so can get hot as we saw from Seymon Varlamov last year. Outside of an early season fulke 6-5 win, the Capitals have dominated the Flyers in 2010. Beware.

New Jersey has been a team the Flyers have beaten a lot this year. They lead the series 4-1 this season, but don't be fooled. The Devils offense has been revamped with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk and of course, this team is always defense first. And, if all else fails, they will always be a contender with Martin Brodeur in net.

Buffalo is another team that is very defensive but very good at it as well. Ryan Miller is coming of age as a goaltender and guided the Sabres to the conference finals last season. Buffalo has had the Flyers number as well this season, winnign 3-1 the season series.

And then there's Pittsburgh. This team is known all to well to Flyers fans as the team that eliminated them the last two seasons. The Penguins are led by the infamous Sidney Crosby, they have Evgeni Malkin for support, they're the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and simply, they're awesome. They lead the season series 4-1 so far in 2010.

So go ahead Flyers fans, pick your poison.


Studs and Duds This Week

Philadelphia 3, Dallas 2
Stud: Scott Hartnell- He seemed to suddenly wake up as of late and had clutch 3rd period goal that broke a 2-2 tie in the third period. Kudos to Hartnell for actually playing to his potential.

Dud: Chris Pronger- Nearly blew the whole lead with 30 seconds left with a very, very, VERY studpid cross-checking penalty. Use your head, Chris!

Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 2
Stud: Nik Antropov- This guy was a beast, he fought off defenders all night, was peppering the net with shots, and ended up as the first star with a goal and an assist.

Dud: Bryadon Coburn- Pathetic, absolutely patheitc. A -3 in the box score doesn't even justify that he left men open in the slot all night and was caught a couple other time. Terrible defensive play.

Atlanta 3, Philadelphia 1
Stud: Ondrej Pavalec- Holy smoke, I knwo most of the Flyers' shots weren't great, but 44 saves is crazy good regardless of how good the chances were. Hats off to the Thrasher youngster.

Dud: Braydon Coburn- He really likes to suck against his former team. Again, a -2 doesn't do his terrible play justice. Essnetially a repeat of the night before.

Ottawa 2, Philadelphia 0
Stud: Brian Elliot- Not quite as impressive as Mr. Pavalec, but a shutout is a shutout and Elliot did what he had to do with 26 saves.

Dud: Officiating- I could rant about no heart, blah, blah, blah, but how about Ottawa's Andrei Volchenkov doing whatever he wanted last night without getting a call. And what the hell's up with the 19 minutes of penalties to Gagne??? Cut me a break, this was NOTHING like the Carcillo incident against the Capitals in December.


My Flyers Picks This Week
Things are really collapsing around the Flyers right now. A tough schedule waits this week and should prove how poor this team really is playing, if you STILL ahven't figured it out yet, that is. Thta being said, at LEAST give them a win tomorrow against the not so hot Wild. Then a bad weekend with losses to Pittsburgh and New Jersey.

Last Week 2-2
Season 26-22

Thurs. vs Minnesota WIN
Sat. at Pittsburgh LOSS
Sun. at New Jersey LOSS


It's Happy Time!!!
Happy 29th Birthday Ron Hainsey- Flyers fans saw solid play from this Atlanta Thrasher defenseman this past weekend and he scored on Sunday. Hainsey started his career in Montreal and moved on to Columbus before going to Atlanta.

Happy 36th Anniversary Ken Hodge- On this day in 1974, Hodge became just the third palyer in NHL history at the time to record multiple 100 point seasons, joining Boston teammates Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr. Crazy how rare 100 point seasons were back in the day.

Happy Trails Darcy Tucker- Your suspended yet again for a vicous hit from behidn during a game against the Kings this week. To be honest, I didn't knwo you were still around, so I guess this can also be a welcome back to the press Darcy.


Around the NHL
Atlantic- In huge news this week, the Flyers lost Jeff Carter for 3-4 weeks with a broken foot. The Flyers are thankfully in a great position to go to the playoffs, when Carter will return, but in the meantime the Flyers are offensively going up a river without a paddle. Carter has been most of the offense recently and will be sorely missed.

Northeast- My beef on the Ottawa game last night. For one, who does Volchenkov think he is taking runs at players. And two, why didn't he get 5 minutes for a hit from behind. Heck, he didn't gety anything, jsut 2 for roughing for the scrap with Gagne, who got a slew of ridiculous penalties. The game was a joke and not just because the Flyers suck.

Southeast- The Atlanta Thrashers' playoff chances are dwindling, but man withotu Kovalchuk they have proved they're still a team willign to make the postseaosn. A bad loss to Boston last night may have cemented their fate, but this is a team that is playing hard and will do so until the end I'm sure.

Central- It doesn't look like we'll actually have a Red Wings-less playoffs this year. After upsetting the Penguins on Monday, Detroit was able to edge ahead of Calgary for the 8th spot in the Western Conference. I'd rather see Calgary in, but Jimmy Howard is playign great in goal for the depleted Wings.

Northwest- Now my take on the Tucker hit. I may be steaming from Volchenkov the other night, but they were VERY similar hits. And yet Volchenkov gets nothing done to him??? Cut me a break, there's no way that should happen in an NHL tryign to cut down on hits like this.

Pacific- Here's something that I thought of and was followed up by Puck Daddy on Yahoo yesterday. If the Phoenix Coyotes win an improbable Stanley Cup, does Gary Bettman get his name on the Cup since the NHL owns the team? That would sure be amusing, but always would be a first in modern pro sports to see. I'm kinda rooting for the Yotes in a sentimental way.


What To Watch This Week
Wednesday- Pittsburgh at Washington 7:00 NHL Network
One more time in the regular season, it's Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Penguins-Capitals is oen of the best rivalries today, why wouldn't you watch?

Thursday- Phoenix at Nashville 8:00 FS Tennessee
This could be a preview of the ultimate small-market first roudn playoff series. Don't be surprised to see these teams hook up in round one. Also don't be surprised to see the Coyotes take a run at the Pacific Division title.

Friday- Minnesota at Detroit 7:30 Hockey Night on Yahoo
The Wild are on the brink of elimination, while the Red Wings are clinging by dear life onto the 8th spot in the West. This is a game with a lot of playoff implications on the line.

Saturday- Vancouver at San Jose 10:00 CSN California
A possible playoff preview? Almost definitely as the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the West duke it out at the HP Pavilion.

Sunday- New Jersey at Philadelphia 7:00 Hockey Night on Yahoo
The Devils are playing for the Atlantic Division title, dueling with the Penguins and will need a win in Philadelphia if they want any piece of it. Fortunately, the Flyers are sucking (didn't you know?)

Monday- Buffalo at Boston 7:00 Versus
The Sabres will be in the process of locking up the Northeast Division title at this point, but the Bruins will still be fending off Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East. Again, a game with a lot on the line.

Tuesday- Phoenix at Vancouver 10:00 Hockey Night on Yahoo
This will be fun. The young but ferocious Coyotes get a playoff primer north of the border as they meet a Stanley Cup contender in the Canucks.