Hey Canno...

[Wulfran]

WTF is with your Flyers and the cheap shots? First was Downie on McAmmond and now Boulerice on Kessler. Philly gunning for a record on most 20+ game suspensions in a season?

[Canelek]

Will be more suspensions than wins! I hear there are inquiries to acquire the Hanson Brothers.

[Chidoro]

He ended up getting 25 games. So while I don't think his hit was as awful's as Simon's (whom I'm pretty sure had his suspension end last night while his team was getting schalacked by Toronto), the punishment is the same. I really hate the stick shit so I'm glad he got what he got. I mean, how irritated do you have to be to do that when your team is up 6-1 at the time of the incident.

[Canelek]

It is very lame and that was deserved (punishment). I am afraid my Flyers have a long ways to go.

[Wulfran]

I'm an Isle fan so I'm a bit biased but at least the Simon hit was reactionary. He got cheapshotted by Hollweg, Hollweg came back when he got up and he swung.

Boulerice skated in from near the blueline to deliver a crosscheck to the face of someone who took a run at and missed a teammate. Nick Kypreos (former Leaf, Ranger and 'Hawk, now analyst for Rogers Sportsnet up here) said it was one of the most stupid plays he's ever seen someone make... and its hard to disagree.

I still think if the refs would have pulled their heads out their asses and called a penalty on Hollweg for the hit from behind, Simon wouldn't have been in a position to take his swing. I still think Simon deserved his suspension for doing it but in context I don't see it as severe, and I see it as a failure of the league's officiating, much like I view the Bertuzzi incident: Moore headhunted and sidelined Naslund (Vancouver's best player) for over a month, the NHL did nothing and the Canucks roster, not just Bertuzzi, wanted payback and lots of it.

In the end though, with both Boulerice and Downie, I'm glad to see the NHL taking steps to crack down on the headhunters. These guys are sitting for a good quarter of their season and they know if there is a next time it will be more... and so does everyone else. I love hard hitting hockey: the contact is what makes the sport, but there's got to be some respect for the other guy to ensure these hits don't endanger someone's life.

[Canelek]

Conversely, 5-1 is a pretty good start w/ back to back shutouts.

[Canelek]

59 pts and tied for 1st heading into the break. It has been a solid effort after the NHL gave stern warnings (and suspensions). They look fantastic and just beat the pens for the 4th time this season.

Nasty crosscheck sent Downie head first into the boards....nasty stuff, but certainly no worse that what he had inflicted on others early in the season....still uncalled for.

[Gonzoie - Luclin]

Im proud the way the Flyers have bounced back from last year so nicely. John Stevens has really been impressing me.

I look forward to meeting some of the new Flyers ( Briere mainly ) Feb 24th at the Flyers carnival!

[Canelek]

Sweet! That should be a good time! Briere has been fantastic this season, as most of the guys have. It is amazing that they are where they are considering they were a fucking joke from day 1 last season.

[Gonzoie - Luclin]

Sweet! That should be a good time! Briere has been fantastic this season, as most of the guys have. It is amazing that they are where they are considering they were a fucking joke from day 1 last season.

Been going to it for 3 years now. Even had tickets to get pictures with Forsberg last year, but he got traded right before the carnival. Did get to go to his last game when we stomped on the red wings, which was probably our best game of last year. Stevens adapted the Flyers to the new style of play. They are a much faster team now and have been working strongly together. Every line seems to have its good week it seems.

The way hockey is now i don't think you could take a team like the '95 Flyers and have them get to the stanley cup. Thats how drastically i think some of these new rules and players have changed hockey. But, i admit, i do love hockey and always will.

[Canelek]

Sucked losing Forsberg, but obviously that is mitigated with their play this season (especially of late). Didn't he sign up with the Swedish team last week?

[Wulfran]

Forsberg was washed up by the time he got to Philly. He had (has?) a lot of talent but the NHL game left him with a lot of nagging injuries, especially the back. The Flyers did well to dump him at the trade deadline last year and get some return for him. Briere is a fantastic player. The Sabres have to be a little rueful about the season Briere is having: everyone said Drury was the guy Buffalo had to sign and while they were all worried about his big new deal with the Rangers, the Flyers stole the guy thats actually earning his money in Briere. Don't get me wrong I love what Drury did in Buffalo too but when you look at Briere with the Flyers, and Drury with the Rangers, there is only one team that got a good bang for the free agent bucks they spent... and they play on Broad Street not Broadway.

And I agree with most of the pundits that I've seen that Big Georges should get 5 games for the stupid hit he put on Downie last night That kid is going to be a lightning rod for a while I think...

[Canelek]

Yeah, he is going to take his share of cheap shots (and the one the other night certainly was a cheapie) for a while. the kid has talent, that is for sure though!

And you are right about Forsberg--while it was neat to have such a big name on the roster, an aging rental player, even Forsberg, was not the future of the team.

[Canelek]

I do not think that The Flyers are going to get into the playoffs when their last 2 points in the last 10 games came via OTLs. =/

They looked great for a while though! I think they may be somehow linked to the Portland Trailblazers.

[Wulfran]

Way to early to write em off. They have a decent team and while they look a lot less daunting than they did earlier, all it takes is another hot streak and they go from goat to contender again.

[Trek]

With Richards, Gagne and Lupul out, I dont see how they can make a run at the end...

[Canelek]

Oh hell, man! I have been a fan for over 20 years. Even when they are ass (re: last year) I still watch when I have the chance. One of the things that really sucks though is that there is no local NHL team, which is retarded. At least in LA I was able to catch them at Staples Center when they were in town...TONS of Flyers fans in LA!

Hopefully, they will be able to rally and make the top 8.