If You Ask the Stars - It's Babcock

Please check out my latest post, written exclusively for Flyerdelphia.

Many thanks to Brian Startare and Kevin Durso!

Oh What A Night

The word "Tuesday" is derived from Old English and Middle English words meaning "Tiw's Day" - the day of Tiw, the god of single combat, victory, and heroic glory in Norse mythology.  

Seems fitting for what went down across the NHL last night!

Single combat?  I'm going with the massive right punch Ryan White landed on Eric Boulton's face in the first period last night.   

Victory?  Easy.  Our Flyers continue to play spoilers in thrilling fashion.  Even better:  the Senators.  Nothing could be more fun for a fan of the Orange and Black than seeing Fleury's dejected skate to the bench following Mark Stone's OT goal.

Or reading this from the article "Collapse Continues!" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, about the Pens:

It was a pathetic performance by a team that doesn’t seem to have much interest in making the playoffs. The postseason is within reach. But this is a team that doesn’t appear greatly interested in reaching it.

Heroic glory?  Two words:  Brayden Schenn.  What a stunner. What a bad goal.  I almost felt sorry for Halak.  Almost, but not really. 

Putting aside that we won't be enjoying a post-season, the biggest loser in Philadelphia last night was Lynne Abraham. (Don't worry, she's ok.)

Some stats for your consideration:

Mark Streit has 51 points on the season.  Claude Giroux is the top ten for points (72) and assists (47). Jake Voracek is 3rd in the NHL with 81 points, and Steve Mason also sits in the 3rd with his .928 SV%.  Not to mention that Simmer was on pace for 30+ goals before breaking his leg on March 25th against the Hawks.  (And of course, B. Schenn stepped up his game to earn the NHL's second star for the week ending April 5th.)

As Sarah Baicker tweeted, the Flyers look like the best bad team ever.  If we keep all of this talent around and find a coach who clicks with players, I really believe we can make it to the playoffs next season.

But in the meantime, I'll be counting down to the Flyers/Senators match up on Saturday, though I'll be sad to see the season end.  

Do you think the Flyers should tank if it means keeping the Pens out of the playoffs?  

The Sunshine State

I know a lot of people are either on spring break this week or at least dreaming of warmer climes, so I thought I'd recap a Panthers/ Flyers game I attended with my mom over Thanksgiving 2013.  

We were visiting family in Florida and I bought tickets for Club Red at the BB&T Center.  They were so cheap at the time, the Panthers were pretty terrible, and the Flyers were coming off a 6-0-1 run where they scored 27 goals.  (Seems unbelievable now!)

Anyway, the Flyers lost 3-1 with Wayne Simmonds scoring the lone goal for the Orange and Black.  

I will never forget how many Flyers fans were there - likely transplants or folks visiting for the holiday - and how empty the seats were - they even put tarps over a whole section in an attempt to downplay the lack of bodies in the seats.

Also - there were cheerleaders and a loud cat roar every time the home team scored a goal.  Could you imagine cheerleaders in the stands in South Philly?  They barely held on to the Ice Girls this season!

Fast forward to today where the Panthers were more in the hunt for a wildcard spot than the Flyers - and now our team is merely "playing for pride" ... Sigh.

Overall it was a fun experience going to Sunrise but it's always strange watching a game in enemy territory.  Nothing as bad as MSG though - stay tuned.

Looking for a breakout game for Jake tonight against the Pens.  Jeez, I hate Pittsburgh.