Flyers Flying High on a 3 Game Win Streak

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…the city of brotherly love…a city of sports…a city with dedicated fans; with the Phillies out of the playoffs and the NFL Eagles playing terrible, it was time for a boost for the city.

Last night was the home opener for the revamped Flyers squad. They played against the Stanley cup runner up- Vancouver Canucks.   This was the chance to show off all the new players to the EXTREME Philly fanatics!

Boy, did this Flyers squad not disappoint! There were moments of suspense filled through out this game. Dumb penalties taken after plays or the Sedins both scoring goals each to try and surpass the Flyers…and although both teams looked sluggish at times the final score ended up being 5-4 in favor of the Flyers. As posted earlier that this is a new squad to be led offensively by Claude Giroux;

Well he has stepped up and earned 3 points (1G, 2A), Captain Chris Pronger with 2 points (1G, 1A), James Van Riemsdyk with his first goal of the season, Jakub Voracek with his 2^nd Goal of the season and Andrej Meszaros scoring the game winner in the 3^rd period. Yet this Flyers squad only peppered Luongo with 27 shots with 5 goals against…

The Canucks were not to bad themselves but seem to not have shaken off the jitters of falling short to winning the Stanley Cup.

This home opener win was important for the Flyers Franchise, it not alone made it 3-0-0 for only the 11^th time in franchise history, but this team is giving hope back to a sports city that loves its games and loves to be known as some of the most rabid fans out there!

By Justin Stephani

HOPKINS, CANUCKS AND THE END OF THE WORLD !!!

Last night was bound to be different.  Just like the "rest" of the world, anything was expected as the clock approached 6 PM.  For weeks the internet was buzzing with doomsday  predictions from the founder of FamilyRadio.com.  Luckily for everyone from New Zealand to Hawaii, the 6 PM deadline came and went and the biggest winner of the night turned out to be the entire planet.  When the clock struck 6 PM last night and the earth didn't open up and swallow up my couch, I got ready for a week of sports spectaculars. 

With "disaster" firmly us, Bernard Hopkins showed everyone that anything is possible.  He managed to battle to a new championship  by beating Jean Pascal in Montreal.  The victory was convincing and the crowd in Montreal seemed stunned when Hopkins was declared World Champion at the age of 46.  By becoming World Champion , Hopkins became a boxing legend "again" and he will be revered like of George Foreman who became World Champion at the age of 45.

The NHL playoffs are still at the top of the watch list for us, this week.  The Bruins and the Lightning are locked in a death match swinging back and forth.  We still like Boston to come out on top to eventually face the Canucks for the Cup.  Tim Thomas is the key for Boston and he is going to have to buckle under and shut down the run and gun Lightning offence.       

The Vancouver Canucks are back at it and managed to smash the Sharks back into their place on Sunday with an afternoon victory.  Niemi has been doing his best to imitate Brian Boucher all series long.  The goaltending for the Sharks has been sad and it is starting to affect the team as a whole. The firepower from the Sharks is in short supply and the Canucks seemed poised to make an appearance in the final.  Sami Salo and the Sedin twins are producing as expected and the Canucks freight train is firmly on track.  These guys are going to be tough to stop.  These guys are starting to look like a team of destiny.

VANCOUVER AND FLYERS FALL IN CUP PLAY - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Saturday was another day of surprises in the Stanley Cup playoffs.   Both games played yesterday saw the favourites fall by the wayside with stunning loses. 

The Flyers were first to go down with a crushing lose of 7-3 to the Bruins.  Boston jumped all over the Flyers and never let up.  Every half decent shot found the back of the net for the Bees and Philadelphia was half hearted in trying to stop the melt down.  Tim Thomas was not nearly as good as he was against Montreal so there is hope for the Flyers for the rest of the series.  The power forwards for the Flyers can only do so much though;  the Flyers will need net minding to compete.

Vancouver was both lucky and unlucky in yesterday's match up with Nashville.  They were lucky that someone else than the Sedins' showed up and unlucky that the Sedins' didn't show up.   The Canucks led by Luongo played a strong defensive game and looked like they were going to sneak out of the building with a 1-0 victory.  The Preds kept up the pressure and just before the end they managed to tie it 1-1 and that set the stage for OT and a 2-1 win for Nashville.  This victory could be a momentum changer.  Vancouver seems help bent on doing things the tough way.  They let Chicago back into their series and now they seem ready to do the same for Nashville.  Vancouver's coaching staff needs to wake up the stars on the Canucks and get them scoring goals.  Vancouver was #1  in scoring during the season.  They need to go back there if they want to win the Cup.

The pendulum is definitely in favour the Bruins and the Predators in their respective matchups.  Their opponents will have to redraw the battle plans to keep up.  Stay tune because this will be interesting to watch.  Expect the unexpected in the 2011 Stanley Cup race.

  

THE BRUINS BULLDOZER KEEPS ROLLING ALONG AND CRUSHES THE FLYERS

The Black and Gold tidal wave which swept aside the Canadiens slammed into the Flyers in the first game of their post season series.  The Bees are on fire and the Flyers were just thumped 7-3.  Boston's attack made the Flyers look stupid.  The Flyer goalie merry go round was spinning on high when Brian Boucher was blown apart and his replacement could no better.  Horton, Campbell and Marchand are leading a team that is making a credible case for a run to the end.  It will be interesting to see if Philadelphia can wake up.  Today they looked tired.  Briere and the boys could be hitting the gold links if they don't wake up.  The Bruins can match the Flyers on size and firepower.  This could be ugly if there isn't a 360% turn by Philly. 

The Canucks and Preds should put on a good show for those of you who are going to tune in tonight.  Both these teams are very well balanced and a blow out is unlikely.  Luongo has tightened up his game and the Canucks are going to be tough to beat.  The crew from out West is carrying the hopes of a nation on their shoulders.  These guys have stared elimination in the face (vs the Blackhawks) which makes them game ready for just about anything the Predators can dish out.  Nashville is going to need some big plays tonight to shake up their opponent.  I don't think guys like Kessler, Higgins and Lapierre are going to let that happen.   If the Sedins come to life, it could make life very hard for Barry Trotz's men.  The Canucks look like a team of destiny and destiny should turn into a hand grenade for Nashville.

Henrik Proving His Name is Sedin and not Semin

In many ways, Washington Capitals sniper Alexander Semin has a lot in common with the Vancouver Canucks' Sedin twins. They're all red-headed, they each make their livings lighting the lamp (which is also red), and as a result they're also each insanely rich. However, it's still hard to picture Semin being able to score this goal, as Henrik did outwaiting New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur on Monday night. For starters, as evidenced by his lack of success in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens last playoffs (44 shots, 0 goals), he seems to lack the wherewithal to actually show up during crunch time. Coincidentally, Semin is also tied with the twins' former linemate Markus Naslund in terms of career shootout percentage with a relatively woeful 32.26%. Just a little food for thought pertaining to a guy whose star fell faster than fellow-Canuck Alex Burrows like a ton of bricks when the referee's watching. A glimpse into the future perhaps for the Cap?