Friday, September 29, 2006
Gee, we've made it past the first thirty seconds without the Capitals scoring. Very promising!
And so far Esche hasn't allowed a goal though has had to make some big saves. So far I haven't really heard any great attempts by Flyers (we are at only 4 shots), but while they can't win if they don't bag a goal, at least the puck is staying out of their own net, for now.
...
Ooh, Brashear is playing tonight, which I know now because he's got a roughing penalty. Sounds like he's going to do for the Capitals the same thing he did for the Flyers last season -- just about nothing but take stupid penalties. Too bad the Flyers didn't make anything happen during the power play.
Guess I should be OK with it being 0-0 at the end of the first. The Flyers turned it on a little bit at the very end there, but nothing went in.
Intermission here. News out of philadelphiaflyers.com is that the cortisone shot seems to have done some good, and Niitty will be practicing again Tuesday. Word is that he can't hurt the injury any more by playing (which I suppose I don't understand, but then, as I mentioned before, I'm not that kind of doctor, so that's no surprise), and if that is the way it is, that's pretty good news. It just seems too good to be true, though. I suppose that it all will remain to be seen. With any luck (?) he'll be able to play well, but, in the same way I always worried about my knee while running even when nothing gave any indication that it would hurt again, I'll worry that Niitty's hip will go out again. (My knee did, but that's a story for a different blog.)
By the way, I am tired of two things: 1) Announcers continually referring to "the new NHL." 2) Announcers referring to the "big and slow" Philadelphia defense corps. (Not "corpse" like it was at times last season.)
Ok, second period underway.
So far 11 minutes with no shots by the Capitals. Hm.
Flyer down on the ice. Who is it? Gauthier. Announcers can't tell just what happened. He and Ovechkin collided. They think maybe he "had his bell rung." The news will get to them at some point no doubt. They are reporting he is being helped down the tunnel, which doesn't make it sound very good at all.
Flyers have had 4 power plays in a row, 6 in the game so far, and haven't converted anything. Though the Flyers have made some shots, it really doesn't sound like they have much cohesion at all, but at minimum they haven't let the Caps get anything done either. Shots on goal have about evened up, since the Caps haven't had much of an opportunity this period. There is another -- possible double-minor (as in, two Caps with one minor each) for the Capitals. -- Nice! 5-on-3 for the Flyers 2 minutes!
I will interrupt myself now and point out that the way the primary announcer for the Capitals pronounces "draw" as "drawl" really has started to irritate me.
Joni is really, really trying, but keeps getting denied. Alas. 5-on-3 is done with nothing but, what, at least 5 tries from Pitkanen.
That's all for the second. Intermission time again.
16 seconds in, Jeff Carter shot -- boooo denied. By the way, Gauthier hasn't returned, as far as I can tell.
Another penalty by Brashear, another PP for PHL ...... what do they do? Allow shorthanded attempts and totally waste the opportunity; additionally, they grab a penalty themselves and go short a man.
Fortunately nothing bad happened. Still 0-0.
Well after a long list of fantastic saves by Esche, the Capitals scored even-strength with very few minutes left in the game (less than four). Disappointing. Can't be too furious after the save-after-save I just listened to, but man, how bitter.
That's that. I feel a little less irritated by this loss than the 6-1 loss on Tuesday -- our playmaker wasn't out there, neither was his favorite pass-to guy, and Esche was way, way, way, way better. Way. Way.
Update: Iowa Stars won tonight 4-2 over Peoria. Nice!
And so far Esche hasn't allowed a goal though has had to make some big saves. So far I haven't really heard any great attempts by Flyers (we are at only 4 shots), but while they can't win if they don't bag a goal, at least the puck is staying out of their own net, for now.
...
Ooh, Brashear is playing tonight, which I know now because he's got a roughing penalty. Sounds like he's going to do for the Capitals the same thing he did for the Flyers last season -- just about nothing but take stupid penalties. Too bad the Flyers didn't make anything happen during the power play.
Guess I should be OK with it being 0-0 at the end of the first. The Flyers turned it on a little bit at the very end there, but nothing went in.
Intermission here. News out of philadelphiaflyers.com is that the cortisone shot seems to have done some good, and Niitty will be practicing again Tuesday. Word is that he can't hurt the injury any more by playing (which I suppose I don't understand, but then, as I mentioned before, I'm not that kind of doctor, so that's no surprise), and if that is the way it is, that's pretty good news. It just seems too good to be true, though. I suppose that it all will remain to be seen. With any luck (?) he'll be able to play well, but, in the same way I always worried about my knee while running even when nothing gave any indication that it would hurt again, I'll worry that Niitty's hip will go out again. (My knee did, but that's a story for a different blog.)
By the way, I am tired of two things: 1) Announcers continually referring to "the new NHL." 2) Announcers referring to the "big and slow" Philadelphia defense corps. (Not "corpse" like it was at times last season.)
Ok, second period underway.
So far 11 minutes with no shots by the Capitals. Hm.
Flyer down on the ice. Who is it? Gauthier. Announcers can't tell just what happened. He and Ovechkin collided. They think maybe he "had his bell rung." The news will get to them at some point no doubt. They are reporting he is being helped down the tunnel, which doesn't make it sound very good at all.
Flyers have had 4 power plays in a row, 6 in the game so far, and haven't converted anything. Though the Flyers have made some shots, it really doesn't sound like they have much cohesion at all, but at minimum they haven't let the Caps get anything done either. Shots on goal have about evened up, since the Caps haven't had much of an opportunity this period. There is another -- possible double-minor (as in, two Caps with one minor each) for the Capitals. -- Nice! 5-on-3 for the Flyers 2 minutes!
I will interrupt myself now and point out that the way the primary announcer for the Capitals pronounces "draw" as "drawl" really has started to irritate me.
Joni is really, really trying, but keeps getting denied. Alas. 5-on-3 is done with nothing but, what, at least 5 tries from Pitkanen.
That's all for the second. Intermission time again.
16 seconds in, Jeff Carter shot -- boooo denied. By the way, Gauthier hasn't returned, as far as I can tell.
Another penalty by Brashear, another PP for PHL ...... what do they do? Allow shorthanded attempts and totally waste the opportunity; additionally, they grab a penalty themselves and go short a man.
Fortunately nothing bad happened. Still 0-0.
Well after a long list of fantastic saves by Esche, the Capitals scored even-strength with very few minutes left in the game (less than four). Disappointing. Can't be too furious after the save-after-save I just listened to, but man, how bitter.
That's that. I feel a little less irritated by this loss than the 6-1 loss on Tuesday -- our playmaker wasn't out there, neither was his favorite pass-to guy, and Esche was way, way, way, way better. Way. Way.
Update: Iowa Stars won tonight 4-2 over Peoria. Nice!
I am hopeful that tonight we won't see a repeat of last night's waste-a-three-goal-lead ... and even more, I am hopeful that we don't see a repeat of Tuesday's appalling 6-1 loss. Flyers against the "Crapitals" again, in DC.
Updates in the paper regarding our Niittymaki: going to Nashy, having a cortisone shot, will see if it takes and is the magic potion that turns the trick so that #30 can man the goal, play at 100%, and bring glory to Philadelphia. He's there today, so, we nosy fans may know the story before the weekend starts.
Apparently Simon Gagne also is going to have a cortisone shot today by this same physician, in the hip he had surgerized over the summer. I didn't realize it was still causing problems -- he scored two goals last night so it must not trouble him all that severely.
I can't believe the Flyguys have only won one game this preseason. I remember last year when they were kicking azz in the preseason (yet, I suppose I shouldn't forget, lost the season opener.) It's depressing. As Ed Moran says in the Philadelphia Daily News today, "Good thing this is only the preseason because the Flyers have not been good."
Now then. There is more hockey than the Philadelphia Flyers, and I don't mean the rest of the NHL. On Monday of this week, in what would be nearly a mirror image to the Flyers/Capitals game, the Phantoms crushed the Calder Cup champion Bears 6-3. (Did I not just say something recently about the differences between the relative "goodness" of AHL teams and the NHL parents? I'm all for the Phantoms returning to being awesome, but I'd prefer it wasn't at the expense of Flyers awesomeness, if you see my point.) The purple, black, and orange have a final preseason game on October 1 against those East Coast Admirals from Norfolk (which I distinctly recall being pronounced not as "Norr-folk" during the playoffs in 2005). (That reminds me I wanted to see if the Phantoms play the Milwaukee Admirals this season. Excuse me while I check. .... No. I didn't think so, but I wanted to be sure.) And the real season begins for them on the 6th with a game against Norfolk, at home (in the Wachovia Center -- whee!). Too bad that our Philadelphia Hockey Adventure couldn't start Friday so that we could have grabbed the season openers for both clubs.
And in the AHL West, tonight the Iowa Stars continue their short preseason with a game against Peoria. They lost ("fell," according to iowastarshockey.com -- how cute) on Tuesday in Peoria 7-3. They play tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday, and the regular season opens on the 7th in San Antonio. Unfortunately, I cannot promise I will remember to send good thoughts their way that evening, as I will be pretty tied up good-thought-wise at the Wachovia Center. I think the Stars are going to have a decent season. Dallas sent Lessard and Eriksson back to Iowa, and they should contribute nicely.
I'll listen to the Flyers/Caps game tonight. You'll see my update then.
Updates in the paper regarding our Niittymaki: going to Nashy, having a cortisone shot, will see if it takes and is the magic potion that turns the trick so that #30 can man the goal, play at 100%, and bring glory to Philadelphia. He's there today, so, we nosy fans may know the story before the weekend starts.
Apparently Simon Gagne also is going to have a cortisone shot today by this same physician, in the hip he had surgerized over the summer. I didn't realize it was still causing problems -- he scored two goals last night so it must not trouble him all that severely.
I can't believe the Flyguys have only won one game this preseason. I remember last year when they were kicking azz in the preseason (yet, I suppose I shouldn't forget, lost the season opener.) It's depressing. As Ed Moran says in the Philadelphia Daily News today, "Good thing this is only the preseason because the Flyers have not been good."
Now then. There is more hockey than the Philadelphia Flyers, and I don't mean the rest of the NHL. On Monday of this week, in what would be nearly a mirror image to the Flyers/Capitals game, the Phantoms crushed the Calder Cup champion Bears 6-3. (Did I not just say something recently about the differences between the relative "goodness" of AHL teams and the NHL parents? I'm all for the Phantoms returning to being awesome, but I'd prefer it wasn't at the expense of Flyers awesomeness, if you see my point.) The purple, black, and orange have a final preseason game on October 1 against those East Coast Admirals from Norfolk (which I distinctly recall being pronounced not as "Norr-folk" during the playoffs in 2005). (That reminds me I wanted to see if the Phantoms play the Milwaukee Admirals this season. Excuse me while I check. .... No. I didn't think so, but I wanted to be sure.) And the real season begins for them on the 6th with a game against Norfolk, at home (in the Wachovia Center -- whee!). Too bad that our Philadelphia Hockey Adventure couldn't start Friday so that we could have grabbed the season openers for both clubs.
And in the AHL West, tonight the Iowa Stars continue their short preseason with a game against Peoria. They lost ("fell," according to iowastarshockey.com -- how cute) on Tuesday in Peoria 7-3. They play tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday, and the regular season opens on the 7th in San Antonio. Unfortunately, I cannot promise I will remember to send good thoughts their way that evening, as I will be pretty tied up good-thought-wise at the Wachovia Center. I think the Stars are going to have a decent season. Dallas sent Lessard and Eriksson back to Iowa, and they should contribute nicely.
I'll listen to the Flyers/Caps game tonight. You'll see my update then.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
While I was at dinner, we were at a place that had a bunch of TVs on. Through the first period of the Flyers game, they were rolling the scoreboard across the bottom of whatever sports channel they had on -- so I saw that it was 1-0 Phila at the end of the 1st. Then they changed the channel and I couldn't follow the rest. I got home and checked nhl.com, but their scoreboard has everyone at 0-0, so that was unenlightening, so I went to espn.com (usually my last source of hockey news) and I am entertained by their box score report.
Less so by the final score -- 5-4 Devils, a shootout loss for the Flyers. Still, not quite so lopsided, so easier to take, I guess.
Anyway, they report the "penalty detail" like so:
14:36 Colin White: 2 Minutes for Holding Simon Gagne
I'd take two minutes in the penalty box in order to have held Simon Gagne.
And then the shootout detail, so dramatic!
Scott Gomez shootout attempt against Robert Esche with a Wristshot results in a SAVE!
But the details of those details are sad. Jeff Carter threw the puck over the net (for a MISS!) and Forsberg's shot was blocked too. Devils only needed one to go in, and one did, and that was it, I guess.
Less so by the final score -- 5-4 Devils, a shootout loss for the Flyers. Still, not quite so lopsided, so easier to take, I guess.
Anyway, they report the "penalty detail" like so:
14:36 Colin White: 2 Minutes for Holding Simon Gagne
I'd take two minutes in the penalty box in order to have held Simon Gagne.
And then the shootout detail, so dramatic!
Scott Gomez shootout attempt against Robert Esche with a Wristshot results in a SAVE!
But the details of those details are sad. Jeff Carter threw the puck over the net (for a MISS!) and Forsberg's shot was blocked too. Devils only needed one to go in, and one did, and that was it, I guess.
SUPER EXCITEMENT: Won the tickets to the home opener, so along with a coworker/friend, I will be at the Flyers v. Rangers game on October 7, a few rows behind the Flyers' bench. Does it get any better than that? (Ok, row 3, but I wasn't that lucky, or that crazy to shell out that much. These were $150 per, not too bad, considering tickets for the row directly in front of ours are selling for $249, and tickets five rows behind us are going for $295. Ouch!) Tickets arrived today. Hotel and plane tickets booked. We're good to go -- the only thing missing yet is my new Pitkanen orange third jersey. And it's scheduled to arrive any day. Fingers crossed it gets here by next Friday. The white Pitkanen jersey is bad luck for the Flyers (that is, both times I've worn it to Flyers games, they've lost, though it seems to be on the other hand great luck for the Phantoms. I have worn it to more than 15 Phantoms games and they have yet to lose while I am there wearing it), so I'd like to test the metaphysical abilities of a new jersey at this game.
AWFUL NEWS TEMPERED BY HOPE: Antero Niittymaki may not need surgery at this time and may get cortisone injections that will "calm the hip" and allow surgery to occur after the season is over, which means he could play. On the surface this would appear to be so utterly fantastic -- but it means he's still actually playing hurt, right? And that may not turn out all that great, make things worse, whatever. It might just be better to fix it now, take the two months or whatever, and put paid to it. I will reserve judgment, though, not being that kind of doctor. I can say, however, that if Niitty doesn't "need" surgery right now, and can play, it's a ray of goaltending hope.
TONIGHT: Flyers v. Devils at 6:30 CDT. I won't be home but it's not like I could listen to it anyway. I'll see the damage when I get back from a work dinner. According to the Flyers board at hfboards.com, these guys will dress for Philly:
Sanderson, Gagne, Cullen, Dimitrakos, Carter, Richards, Calder, Umberger, Forsberg, Knuble, Kapanen, Robitaille, Kane, Nedved
Pitkanen, Hatcher, Rathje, Baumgartner, Jones, Gauthier, Meyer, Jonsson
Esche, Houle
with Esche starting in goal.
Good luck, guys. Show me the loss to the Caps was a huge anomaly. Squash the Devils.
YAY!
AWFUL NEWS TEMPERED BY HOPE: Antero Niittymaki may not need surgery at this time and may get cortisone injections that will "calm the hip" and allow surgery to occur after the season is over, which means he could play. On the surface this would appear to be so utterly fantastic -- but it means he's still actually playing hurt, right? And that may not turn out all that great, make things worse, whatever. It might just be better to fix it now, take the two months or whatever, and put paid to it. I will reserve judgment, though, not being that kind of doctor. I can say, however, that if Niitty doesn't "need" surgery right now, and can play, it's a ray of goaltending hope.
TONIGHT: Flyers v. Devils at 6:30 CDT. I won't be home but it's not like I could listen to it anyway. I'll see the damage when I get back from a work dinner. According to the Flyers board at hfboards.com, these guys will dress for Philly:
Sanderson, Gagne, Cullen, Dimitrakos, Carter, Richards, Calder, Umberger, Forsberg, Knuble, Kapanen, Robitaille, Kane, Nedved
Pitkanen, Hatcher, Rathje, Baumgartner, Jones, Gauthier, Meyer, Jonsson
Esche, Houle
with Esche starting in goal.
Good luck, guys. Show me the loss to the Caps was a huge anomaly. Squash the Devils.
YAY!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
I tuned into the Washington Capitals' live feed, and was greeted with the commentators chatting about Niittymaki having hurt his hip and possibly needing surgery.
WHAT?
As it happens, they were not just talking out of thin air; Niittymaki hurt his hip in practice today and they will know soon if he will need surgery. That would keep him out many weeks--possibly two months.
Disastrous.
So, I started to log into Blogger to cry about that, and while I was doing that, the game started, and nine seconds in, the Caps scored.
Eyes rolling, I typed in my password.
Then, as I started writing my little paragraph, the Flyers equalized (yay Forsberg, from Pitkanen and Gagne!!). Already 1-1 and 14 minutes left in the first period. Hey, despite the Caps having scored so quickly, it's already more exciting than the game was on Saturday.
Some interesting tidbits about the game: Boyd Kane is on the ice with his former team playing against his former club. (Follow that?) And the Flyers dumped Donald Brashear over the summer and the Caps picked him up; haven't heard his name yet so I don't know if he's dressed for the night or not.
Caps scored again, 2 out of 6 shots so far. Esche needs to get a grip. Apparently he was not supposed to play today, then Niitty got hurt, so he got thrown in, but given that Esche is supposed to be a seasoned professional, that shouldn't have rattled him too badly. At least, not in a bad way. To take some of the heat off Esche (tough for me?) it sounded like Hatcher and Rathje were out together; I don't know, reports have it that Hatcher has gotten a little faster and "better" since last year, and Rathje isn't playing on one leg like he did for a lot of the last part of last season, but I'm not sure I like the way a Hatcher/Rathje D pairing sounds. They're huge dudes and can form a pretty opaque barrier with their size, but a Rathje/Pitkanen kind of pairing gives some mobility.
Did you like that, me trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about?
Still listening.
Gauthier made a hit on the Caps' Klepis. Ovechkin and Richards exchanged some physical commentary. I am informed that Brashear has not dressed, and the commentators are wondering what it would have been like to have him available to police. AO can't take care of himself? Poor baby. ("Who would have thought, coming in here tonight, we'd be seeing Ovechkin's first North American fight?" asked one of the announcers.) Didn't see it, hope Richards gave it good. (Bloodthirsty? Me?)
Still in the first period, seems like a penalty fest. Nedved reserved himself a spot in the bin by holding. Only a few seconds -- what's happened here? "Pitkanen pulled down" but -- somehow another penalty against Phila, Caps 5 on 3. BAH!
What the? Puck through Esche's legs, Caps up 3-1. Announcers have him looking very indecisive on that shot, should-I-go-up-or-down, got caught in between. I'm starting to pray for the end of the period. Trying not to allow myself to invest too much into this preseason game.
Another fight! Hatcher throws his man down.
That's it for the first. I'm posting this for now, will be updating as it goes on. I know you can't wait.
Second period!! Immediately, a Cap chose to try to get Richards to fight. Richards declined, and the Cap got a triple (!) minor and was tossed into the box for six minutes. Could the Flyers do anything with that?? No, and the crowd is making sure the PP unit knows they're disappointing. Another penalty gave 'em 5-on-3. The first 7-some minutes of the period, Flyers on PP, and NOW THE CAPS SCORE SHORTHANDED.
[insert string of blistering language]
Four goals on thirteen shots.
Get that piece of Swiss cheese OUT OF THERE. He just allowed a FIFTH GOAL. I know I told myself not to invest too much into this game, but this is just disgusting -- and worrisome. This is not the Pens beating the Phantoms ... this is the CAPS beating ACTUAL FLYERS.
Ok, Esche, having been "victimized" by the five goals, is replaced by Houle. Can't possibly go any worse, can it? Come on, Flyers. Won't the Caps be demoralized when the Flyers come back to win??
Houle made what sounded like a great save, so is already earning his position. Ooh, another one. Here it comes, the comeback starts with good goaltending .... What, I can't have optimism?
Well, 30 shots to 18 Phila. Can't believe the score. Caps will have a 5-on-3 when the third period starts with three Flyers in the box. [sigh] Posting, will try to distract myself during the intermission, somehow.
Third period. What is there to say? Hatcher -- poor mistake, led to a sixth Washington goal. SIX. Five unanswered goals. Arrrrrrgh!! I don't know why I am still listening. People are leaving the game.
Ok, now that the announcer is musing that the Flyers might miss the playoffs this year I just don't think I can take anymore. We'll see tomorrow how this finishes. That's right. I'm giving up.
WHAT?
As it happens, they were not just talking out of thin air; Niittymaki hurt his hip in practice today and they will know soon if he will need surgery. That would keep him out many weeks--possibly two months.
Disastrous.
So, I started to log into Blogger to cry about that, and while I was doing that, the game started, and nine seconds in, the Caps scored.
Eyes rolling, I typed in my password.
Then, as I started writing my little paragraph, the Flyers equalized (yay Forsberg, from Pitkanen and Gagne!!). Already 1-1 and 14 minutes left in the first period. Hey, despite the Caps having scored so quickly, it's already more exciting than the game was on Saturday.
Some interesting tidbits about the game: Boyd Kane is on the ice with his former team playing against his former club. (Follow that?) And the Flyers dumped Donald Brashear over the summer and the Caps picked him up; haven't heard his name yet so I don't know if he's dressed for the night or not.
Caps scored again, 2 out of 6 shots so far. Esche needs to get a grip. Apparently he was not supposed to play today, then Niitty got hurt, so he got thrown in, but given that Esche is supposed to be a seasoned professional, that shouldn't have rattled him too badly. At least, not in a bad way. To take some of the heat off Esche (tough for me?) it sounded like Hatcher and Rathje were out together; I don't know, reports have it that Hatcher has gotten a little faster and "better" since last year, and Rathje isn't playing on one leg like he did for a lot of the last part of last season, but I'm not sure I like the way a Hatcher/Rathje D pairing sounds. They're huge dudes and can form a pretty opaque barrier with their size, but a Rathje/Pitkanen kind of pairing gives some mobility.
Did you like that, me trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about?
Still listening.
Gauthier made a hit on the Caps' Klepis. Ovechkin and Richards exchanged some physical commentary. I am informed that Brashear has not dressed, and the commentators are wondering what it would have been like to have him available to police. AO can't take care of himself? Poor baby. ("Who would have thought, coming in here tonight, we'd be seeing Ovechkin's first North American fight?" asked one of the announcers.) Didn't see it, hope Richards gave it good. (Bloodthirsty? Me?)
Still in the first period, seems like a penalty fest. Nedved reserved himself a spot in the bin by holding. Only a few seconds -- what's happened here? "Pitkanen pulled down" but -- somehow another penalty against Phila, Caps 5 on 3. BAH!
What the? Puck through Esche's legs, Caps up 3-1. Announcers have him looking very indecisive on that shot, should-I-go-up-or-down, got caught in between. I'm starting to pray for the end of the period. Trying not to allow myself to invest too much into this preseason game.
Another fight! Hatcher throws his man down.
That's it for the first. I'm posting this for now, will be updating as it goes on. I know you can't wait.
Second period!! Immediately, a Cap chose to try to get Richards to fight. Richards declined, and the Cap got a triple (!) minor and was tossed into the box for six minutes. Could the Flyers do anything with that?? No, and the crowd is making sure the PP unit knows they're disappointing. Another penalty gave 'em 5-on-3. The first 7-some minutes of the period, Flyers on PP, and NOW THE CAPS SCORE SHORTHANDED.
[insert string of blistering language]
Four goals on thirteen shots.
Get that piece of Swiss cheese OUT OF THERE. He just allowed a FIFTH GOAL. I know I told myself not to invest too much into this game, but this is just disgusting -- and worrisome. This is not the Pens beating the Phantoms ... this is the CAPS beating ACTUAL FLYERS.
Ok, Esche, having been "victimized" by the five goals, is replaced by Houle. Can't possibly go any worse, can it? Come on, Flyers. Won't the Caps be demoralized when the Flyers come back to win??
Houle made what sounded like a great save, so is already earning his position. Ooh, another one. Here it comes, the comeback starts with good goaltending .... What, I can't have optimism?
Well, 30 shots to 18 Phila. Can't believe the score. Caps will have a 5-on-3 when the third period starts with three Flyers in the box. [sigh] Posting, will try to distract myself during the intermission, somehow.
Third period. What is there to say? Hatcher -- poor mistake, led to a sixth Washington goal. SIX. Five unanswered goals. Arrrrrrgh!! I don't know why I am still listening. People are leaving the game.
Ok, now that the announcer is musing that the Flyers might miss the playoffs this year I just don't think I can take anymore. We'll see tomorrow how this finishes. That's right. I'm giving up.
SUPER EXCITEMENT. I may be going to the home opener on October 7.
LESS EXCITING. A group of men wearing Flyers jerseys lost 2-1 to the Pens on Sunday. (Most of the names you'd associate with the Flyers had the night off, apparently. And then Pens still can only win by one goal. Tsk.)
RATHER EXCITING. Another preseason game tonight I hope to be able to listen to -- Flyers vs. Capitals. I look forward to the regular season when I can either 1) watch games on NHL Center Ice or, in the event that I cannot have DirecTV, 2) listen to the games from a Flyers perspective, when NHL radio will broadcast WIP's feed again. I'm sure that even with Center Ice, if I can watch Flyers games, they will not all be from the Flyers perspective, but watching with other announcers talking will be better than listening with other announcers talking.
LESS EXCITING. A group of men wearing Flyers jerseys lost 2-1 to the Pens on Sunday. (Most of the names you'd associate with the Flyers had the night off, apparently. And then Pens still can only win by one goal. Tsk.)
RATHER EXCITING. Another preseason game tonight I hope to be able to listen to -- Flyers vs. Capitals. I look forward to the regular season when I can either 1) watch games on NHL Center Ice or, in the event that I cannot have DirecTV, 2) listen to the games from a Flyers perspective, when NHL radio will broadcast WIP's feed again. I'm sure that even with Center Ice, if I can watch Flyers games, they will not all be from the Flyers perspective, but watching with other announcers talking will be better than listening with other announcers talking.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
The Ottawa Senators have my thanks for broadcasting tonight's game online using Windows Media Player and not some useless popup player that cuts out all the time. Unfortunately, though, the game is not, so far, very interesting. At the end of the first period here, we're 0-0 with barely any good chance for either side.
Forsberg is playing tonight. It's still "just" the preseason, but it would be fantastic if he could do something outrageously amazing to set the tone for October.
While waiting for the game to resume, I'm skimming other hockey news: Phantoms beat the Lowell Devils today 2-1 (shootout win). First goal was scored by defenseman David Printz, and the winning goal -- the only goal in the shootout -- by Matt Ellison. It would be nice for the Phantoms to pull a good season out of the hat this year, and at least make the playoffs this time. It was so disheartening to see them struggle so much after such a brilliant Calder Cup season. Monday they play another exhibition game against the 2006 champs, Hershey. Good luck there. (How is it the best AHL teams have some of the worst NHL parent teams? Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were awesome last year, while Pittsburgh just tanked; Hershey the Calder Cup champs, while the Caps scraped around near the bottom of the NHL barreltoo.)
Interruption -- second period JUST started and 30 seconds in, Pitkanen scored, from a "bad angle" and off the goalie into the net. WOOOOO!!!! GO #44!!!! And now the Flyers on the power play. Excellent developments.
End of second: Ottawa scored once, then the Flyers scored again (Hatcher). Orange and black lead 2-1. Still not all that thrilling a game, but I am also kind of working on some other stuff, so maybe I am not paying as close attention as I could be and perhaps I am missing details. However, I may not be paying that close attention because it's just not that nail-biting. Hm..... It would be different if I could be watching.
Third period: two goals have been scored by Ottawa. Ottawa up 3-2. Look. I know that there are several factors that can lead to opposing teams scoring goals (and these last two were power play goals, so there is that to consider), but the bottom line is that the goalie let the puck in. Guess who is in goal tonight? (With "real" players in front of him this time?) Not Antero Niittymaki. Not Martin Houle. (I really am not going to give Esche the benefit of the doubt much this season, I think. I don't think he's the worst goalie in the world, but I pretty much thought most of the season last year Niittymaki should have been the starter, and Esche is going to have to prove to me he's better than Niitty, and so far, he's not doing it.) The announcers told me just now that two spectators were escorted from the arena, one wearing an Ottawa jersey, one wearing a Binghamton jersey; "Probably saved their lives," they said. Oh come on. They might have ended up with bloody noses, but killed? Way to exaggerate.
Ooh, Gagne tied it and now almost right away another power play for Phila.
...
Are you kidding me? Shorthanded goal for Ottawa with only a minute or two left in the game. Do we have anyone in goal? (Gee, listen to me. The season hasn't even started yet.)
But the Flyers got another power play, Esche is on the bench (might as well be, no? SERIOUSLY. Listen to me.).
Joni really tried there ... keeping the puck in the game ... trying a shot ... but .... 3 seconds left ... and .... Flyers lose 4-3. Grraah!
(Guess the game got interesting there toward the end, after all.)
Forsberg is playing tonight. It's still "just" the preseason, but it would be fantastic if he could do something outrageously amazing to set the tone for October.
While waiting for the game to resume, I'm skimming other hockey news: Phantoms beat the Lowell Devils today 2-1 (shootout win). First goal was scored by defenseman David Printz, and the winning goal -- the only goal in the shootout -- by Matt Ellison. It would be nice for the Phantoms to pull a good season out of the hat this year, and at least make the playoffs this time. It was so disheartening to see them struggle so much after such a brilliant Calder Cup season. Monday they play another exhibition game against the 2006 champs, Hershey. Good luck there. (How is it the best AHL teams have some of the worst NHL parent teams? Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were awesome last year, while Pittsburgh just tanked; Hershey the Calder Cup champs, while the Caps scraped around near the bottom of the NHL barreltoo.)
Interruption -- second period JUST started and 30 seconds in, Pitkanen scored, from a "bad angle" and off the goalie into the net. WOOOOO!!!! GO #44!!!! And now the Flyers on the power play. Excellent developments.
End of second: Ottawa scored once, then the Flyers scored again (Hatcher). Orange and black lead 2-1. Still not all that thrilling a game, but I am also kind of working on some other stuff, so maybe I am not paying as close attention as I could be and perhaps I am missing details. However, I may not be paying that close attention because it's just not that nail-biting. Hm..... It would be different if I could be watching.
Third period: two goals have been scored by Ottawa. Ottawa up 3-2. Look. I know that there are several factors that can lead to opposing teams scoring goals (and these last two were power play goals, so there is that to consider), but the bottom line is that the goalie let the puck in. Guess who is in goal tonight? (With "real" players in front of him this time?) Not Antero Niittymaki. Not Martin Houle. (I really am not going to give Esche the benefit of the doubt much this season, I think. I don't think he's the worst goalie in the world, but I pretty much thought most of the season last year Niittymaki should have been the starter, and Esche is going to have to prove to me he's better than Niitty, and so far, he's not doing it.) The announcers told me just now that two spectators were escorted from the arena, one wearing an Ottawa jersey, one wearing a Binghamton jersey; "Probably saved their lives," they said. Oh come on. They might have ended up with bloody noses, but killed? Way to exaggerate.
Ooh, Gagne tied it and now almost right away another power play for Phila.
...
Are you kidding me? Shorthanded goal for Ottawa with only a minute or two left in the game. Do we have anyone in goal? (Gee, listen to me. The season hasn't even started yet.)
But the Flyers got another power play, Esche is on the bench (might as well be, no? SERIOUSLY. Listen to me.).
Joni really tried there ... keeping the puck in the game ... trying a shot ... but .... 3 seconds left ... and .... Flyers lose 4-3. Grraah!
(Guess the game got interesting there toward the end, after all.)
Friday, September 22, 2006
Once home last night, I happily went to the Devils' website, clicky-clicked on the links to listen live, and realized immediately it was the same player as WIP uses. Which meant I couldn't listen, because my stupid dialup had it skipping out every ten seconds for ten seconds and under no circumstances was that at all tolerable.
Times like these I curse Qwest and their lack of serving my residence with DSL.
Anyway, the Flyers yanked out a win over the Devils, 2-1, with powerplay goals by Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne. I looked at video of these goals; in the first, it seemed as though Mike Richards did all the work, and Carter just tipped it in, being in the right place at the right time; the second, Gagne was also in the right place at the right time to chase down a bouncing puck, turn it around and just wing it past a skipping goalie into the net. (Pitkanen assisted -- with Carter, giving the latter two points on the night, and so far these two games he has figured hugely in the results. He's a monster! WOO!) Nice! Niittymaki minded net for two periods, shutting out twenty shots, and Martin Houle let in one of seven in the third.
Another home game on Saturday vs. the Sens; maybe they have an online feed that won't irritate the heck out of me.
And the "upper-body injury" to Malkin turns out to be a dislocated shoulder. From the way that crash looked, I suppose it's a surprise that's all it is, though I'm sure it's still not that good. He probably won't be out long, though there is some debate as to whether he'll be ready for the opener October 5 -- against, yes, you know who -- Philadelphia.
In other hockey stuffs: Phantoms lost their preseason exhibition to the Lowell Devils (Lowell formerly the Lock Monsters) 6-5, with all five goals being scored by a different guy (Meloche, Potulny, Slaney, Voce and Ellison). Looks like they play Lowell again this evening in NJ. Iowa Stars don't play a game until September 26 when they start their preseason against Peoria, at Peoria. Their home preseason game, on the 29th, we had considered going to, but we have the Iowa Microscopy Symposium going on that day and we wouldn't be able to leave work at 4-4:30 in order to get to Des Moines in time for the opening face-off. This disappoints us, so we consoled ourselves yesterday by buying tickets to the first home weekend game in October, on the 14th -- we got some hot seats, section 103 (right of center as you face the ice), about 5 or 6 rows up. We usually end up in this section, but this time, quite a lot closer. It's what happens when you buy your tickets earlier than a few days before the game.
Well, that is only three weeks away. "Only."
Ooh, it occurs to me that maybe I will be able to watch Iowa Stars games too, the ones that are sometimes broadcast on a cable channel* ... I will be so very disappointed if I can't get DirecTV in my apartment.
*I apparently plan on doing nothing over the winter except sitting at home watching hockey.
Times like these I curse Qwest and their lack of serving my residence with DSL.
Anyway, the Flyers yanked out a win over the Devils, 2-1, with powerplay goals by Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne. I looked at video of these goals; in the first, it seemed as though Mike Richards did all the work, and Carter just tipped it in, being in the right place at the right time; the second, Gagne was also in the right place at the right time to chase down a bouncing puck, turn it around and just wing it past a skipping goalie into the net. (Pitkanen assisted -- with Carter, giving the latter two points on the night, and so far these two games he has figured hugely in the results. He's a monster! WOO!) Nice! Niittymaki minded net for two periods, shutting out twenty shots, and Martin Houle let in one of seven in the third.
Another home game on Saturday vs. the Sens; maybe they have an online feed that won't irritate the heck out of me.
And the "upper-body injury" to Malkin turns out to be a dislocated shoulder. From the way that crash looked, I suppose it's a surprise that's all it is, though I'm sure it's still not that good. He probably won't be out long, though there is some debate as to whether he'll be ready for the opener October 5 -- against, yes, you know who -- Philadelphia.
In other hockey stuffs: Phantoms lost their preseason exhibition to the Lowell Devils (Lowell formerly the Lock Monsters) 6-5, with all five goals being scored by a different guy (Meloche, Potulny, Slaney, Voce and Ellison). Looks like they play Lowell again this evening in NJ. Iowa Stars don't play a game until September 26 when they start their preseason against Peoria, at Peoria. Their home preseason game, on the 29th, we had considered going to, but we have the Iowa Microscopy Symposium going on that day and we wouldn't be able to leave work at 4-4:30 in order to get to Des Moines in time for the opening face-off. This disappoints us, so we consoled ourselves yesterday by buying tickets to the first home weekend game in October, on the 14th -- we got some hot seats, section 103 (right of center as you face the ice), about 5 or 6 rows up. We usually end up in this section, but this time, quite a lot closer. It's what happens when you buy your tickets earlier than a few days before the game.
Well, that is only three weeks away. "Only."
Ooh, it occurs to me that maybe I will be able to watch Iowa Stars games too, the ones that are sometimes broadcast on a cable channel* ... I will be so very disappointed if I can't get DirecTV in my apartment.
*I apparently plan on doing nothing over the winter except sitting at home watching hockey.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Not too much said in the news today about yesterday's game ... Malkin's higher-ups are keeping what happened to him close to the vest, so all you read about is an "upper-body injury" -- what is this, the playoffs?
I have read some funny stuff on boards, though. Someone mentioned that the Pens might have a chance at the playoffs this year, thanks to how good Malkin looked. A reply was, "LeClair won't let this happen." ("A Flyer for life!" someone added.) And then someone said, and I paraphrase somewhat, "And they did only barely beat the Phantoms last night."
Being anti-Penguins, it was, to me, uproarious.
So we'll pretty much let last night's game slide into the past, and look at tonight's instead. A home game against the Devils, who have lost the last two games against the Rangers. (Last night, 0-2; Tuesday night, 1-3; ok, they did win on the 17th, but that was against the Bruins, so who's counting). I have again stooped to look at their website to see if I can listen to a streaming broadcast ... and it looks like I may be able to. Whee! Of course I will have to join the game in progress as it is my usual dinner-at-the-folks' night, and I don't pass up chances to not have to cook for myself when it's "only" the preseason.
According to Mr. Panaccio's blog, the ice will be marred by the skates of Knuble and Gagne tonight, (centered by Cullen), and Joni will see some ice time as well. Niittymaki in goal -- backed by Houle. A couple bigger cannons out there tonight as compared to last night. I won't bother making any predictions because no matter what the Debbies' record is, like the Pens, they can make the Flyers look bad at any given meeting.
I have read some funny stuff on boards, though. Someone mentioned that the Pens might have a chance at the playoffs this year, thanks to how good Malkin looked. A reply was, "LeClair won't let this happen." ("A Flyer for life!" someone added.) And then someone said, and I paraphrase somewhat, "And they did only barely beat the Phantoms last night."
Being anti-Penguins, it was, to me, uproarious.
So we'll pretty much let last night's game slide into the past, and look at tonight's instead. A home game against the Devils, who have lost the last two games against the Rangers. (Last night, 0-2; Tuesday night, 1-3; ok, they did win on the 17th, but that was against the Bruins, so who's counting). I have again stooped to look at their website to see if I can listen to a streaming broadcast ... and it looks like I may be able to. Whee! Of course I will have to join the game in progress as it is my usual dinner-at-the-folks' night, and I don't pass up chances to not have to cook for myself when it's "only" the preseason.
According to Mr. Panaccio's blog, the ice will be marred by the skates of Knuble and Gagne tonight, (centered by Cullen), and Joni will see some ice time as well. Niittymaki in goal -- backed by Houle. A couple bigger cannons out there tonight as compared to last night. I won't bother making any predictions because no matter what the Debbies' record is, like the Pens, they can make the Flyers look bad at any given meeting.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
610wip.com: I think they are playing an interview with Mike Knuble? But I can't be sure because the stream keeps cutting out every ten to fifteen seconds, and it is incredibly difficult to follow anything with ten to fifteen second gaps every ten to fifteen seconds. It doesn't seem to me as though they are playing the game, unless I have hit it between periods, which I doubt, because I've gone back a couple times in a stretch of time longer than 20 minutes.
So .....
I even stooped to go to the Pittsburgh site, to see if they had a link or notice as to where a person might hear an audio broadcast of the game. They had a "Listen live!" link. So I clickied. And got some random Pens/Leafs game from, presumably, last season. Huh?
On the Penguins' site, the scoreboard says Pens 2, Flyers 1, with 1 period down the hatch. But nhl.com's scoreboard has nothing -- not a single remark! -- in the Flyers/Penguins section. So who the hell knows what the hell is going on in Moncton.
I am stooping even deeper to looking at the Penguins' message board on hfboards.com to see if there is some mention of audio broadcasts. ... where I am reaching the conclusion that there aren't any, and I'm just not going to get to listen to this game at all.
Oh, well it looks like the Flyers are now down 3-1. Who is that in goal, again? Oh, right. Robert Esche. (Though, to be fair, maybe it's who's in front of him playing D. Maybe? ... [crickets] I don't know, I don't get to listen.)
More later. ....
End of 2nd. Flyers have tied it up 3-3 with goals by Cullen and Richards (to go with the one by Carter). Sounds like Penguins Malkin and LeClair crashed together on the ice and Malkin's at the hospital (so is Mark Recchi, but I don't know what happened to him). Now, I'm not in any way fond of the Pens, but I have to feel bad for this kid, after the huge dramedy that has been his trip from Russia to Pittsburgh, to go out in his NHL debut with a hurt arm/shoulder? Who knows how severe it is; maybe it won't be that awful. What a piece of bad luck.
Update: Hot damn, the internet is a crazy place. You can't listen to a broadcast of the game, but someone will immediately post on YouTube the Malkin/LeClair collision for you to look at. Eek.
Ok, game over, Pens won 5-4. We'll see what people have to say, tomorrow.
So .....
I even stooped to go to the Pittsburgh site, to see if they had a link or notice as to where a person might hear an audio broadcast of the game. They had a "Listen live!" link. So I clickied. And got some random Pens/Leafs game from, presumably, last season. Huh?
On the Penguins' site, the scoreboard says Pens 2, Flyers 1, with 1 period down the hatch. But nhl.com's scoreboard has nothing -- not a single remark! -- in the Flyers/Penguins section. So who the hell knows what the hell is going on in Moncton.
I am stooping even deeper to looking at the Penguins' message board on hfboards.com to see if there is some mention of audio broadcasts. ... where I am reaching the conclusion that there aren't any, and I'm just not going to get to listen to this game at all.
Oh, well it looks like the Flyers are now down 3-1. Who is that in goal, again? Oh, right. Robert Esche. (Though, to be fair, maybe it's who's in front of him playing D. Maybe? ... [crickets] I don't know, I don't get to listen.)
More later. ....
End of 2nd. Flyers have tied it up 3-3 with goals by Cullen and Richards (to go with the one by Carter). Sounds like Penguins Malkin and LeClair crashed together on the ice and Malkin's at the hospital (so is Mark Recchi, but I don't know what happened to him). Now, I'm not in any way fond of the Pens, but I have to feel bad for this kid, after the huge dramedy that has been his trip from Russia to Pittsburgh, to go out in his NHL debut with a hurt arm/shoulder? Who knows how severe it is; maybe it won't be that awful. What a piece of bad luck.
Update: Hot damn, the internet is a crazy place. You can't listen to a broadcast of the game, but someone will immediately post on YouTube the Malkin/LeClair collision for you to look at. Eek.
Ok, game over, Pens won 5-4. We'll see what people have to say, tomorrow.
Ready for Game Action. Tonight's preseason game is being played in Canada.
The lineup includes a lot of guys who are going to be fighting for a roster spot. Lots of last year's Phantoms (some of whom saw some NHL action thanks to decimating injuries on the Flyers), e.g. Randy Jones, Alexandre Picard, Riley Cote, Matt Ellison, Stefen Ruzicka, Martin Houle*. Also young guy (and hothead) Steve Downie. Esche in goal. No Forsberg, no Gagne, no Pitkanen (resting the knee), no Knuble.
NHL radio isn't going to stream broadcasts until the regular season, but 610 WIP is supposedly airing the game. I don't know if I will be able to listen through their website -- I tried once last season to connect through the site, and instead of the game it was some other show -- but their site says "CLICK HERE to listen to WIP live!" so ... perhaps. I will try tonight. So, if I can listen, I'll report. Fun! Otherwise I'll have to wait to read about it and then just report what I've read. Less fun.
*The first time I saw Martin Houle play was in a Phantoms vs. Bears game, and he was swiss cheese. Jamie Storr replaced him at the start of the second period. Phantoms were down 1-4 but came back to tie, get through overtime, and Storr totally stoned the Bears throughout and the Phantoms ended up winning in the shootout. At some point someone wearing an Houle jersey came up into the stands near us. "Who's that?" K. asked. He meant, Who is Houle? I said, "It's the goalie." K: "Oh." Me: "They sent him up here after pulling him."
The lineup includes a lot of guys who are going to be fighting for a roster spot. Lots of last year's Phantoms (some of whom saw some NHL action thanks to decimating injuries on the Flyers), e.g. Randy Jones, Alexandre Picard, Riley Cote, Matt Ellison, Stefen Ruzicka, Martin Houle*. Also young guy (and hothead) Steve Downie. Esche in goal. No Forsberg, no Gagne, no Pitkanen (resting the knee), no Knuble.
NHL radio isn't going to stream broadcasts until the regular season, but 610 WIP is supposedly airing the game. I don't know if I will be able to listen through their website -- I tried once last season to connect through the site, and instead of the game it was some other show -- but their site says "CLICK HERE to listen to WIP live!" so ... perhaps. I will try tonight. So, if I can listen, I'll report. Fun! Otherwise I'll have to wait to read about it and then just report what I've read. Less fun.
*The first time I saw Martin Houle play was in a Phantoms vs. Bears game, and he was swiss cheese. Jamie Storr replaced him at the start of the second period. Phantoms were down 1-4 but came back to tie, get through overtime, and Storr totally stoned the Bears throughout and the Phantoms ended up winning in the shootout. At some point someone wearing an Houle jersey came up into the stands near us. "Who's that?" K. asked. He meant, Who is Houle? I said, "It's the goalie." K: "Oh." Me: "They sent him up here after pulling him."
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The first tickets of February 2007's Great East Coast Hockey Adventure were purchased yesterday -- Philadelphia Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals, on 2-18-07. We've got ice-row seats in section 225, on the end where the Phantoms shoot twice. Price (with exorbitant fees): $41.40 apiece.
Still on the list: tickets for the piece de resistance and main point of the journey, Flyers vs. Rangers at Madison Square Garden on the 17th; tickets for Flyers vs. Bruins at the Wachovia Center on the 19th. We have a feeling that we're not going to be very close at MSG, as my browsing and assumptions seem to point to what I would consider good seats as being very expensive, as in, way, way more than I should consider spending on a single afternoon's session of entertainment, even if that entertainment is Flyers/Rags hockey at Madison Square Garden. So we have decided that we'll get what we can reasonably get for the MSG game, and squander the big bucks on as great a pair of seats as we can get at the home game on the 19th. (The disparity in our price decisions almost makes it look like the focal point is the Bruins game. Technically, the reason we are going is because the 17th is my coworker / fellow hockey fan's birthday, and she wanted to go to the Rangers/Flyers game on that day. Just because we're going to pay more for the game on the 19th doesn't mean it's more important. We've just weighed our options. Say we have $200 to spend on one set of tickets. Are we going to spend that $200 on not-very-great seats at an away game if we could get much, much cooler seats at the Wachovia Center, the Home Ice for my orange and black boys?)
(Plus, of course, plane tickets and arrangements for accomodations. The GECHA is going to be flamingly expensive. Unless, by some miracle, I have gotten a new job and live out in Flyersland again, which will remove my need for airfare, and all need for arranging accomodations entirely. Fingers crossed, as usual.)
Ok, tomorrow the Flyers have their first preseason game, vs. Pittsburgh. Looking forward, of course, to reading about it, if it's not available for listening to. APPARENTLY Evgeni Malkin will make his NHL debut, despite recent rulings that he violated his Russian contract, etc. Exciting stuff, what? In spite of being one of the damn-dead-last-worst teams in the NHL last season, the Penguins still managed to give the Flyers hell on several occasions. WHY? I know it's just the preseason, which barely matters, but squash 'em, Flyers. Please.
One of last night's preseason games was between Dallas and Atlanta, and featured two goals by Iowa Stars alum Junior Lessard, both assisted by fellow I-Star Loui Eriksson. It'll be great for them if they can bump up to the NHL, but it would be better for Iowa if they didn't. (Selfish, selfish. I'd like the Iowa Stars to go farther than playoffs round one this season.)
So, today is September 19 -- Joni's Day. Apparently he had minor knee surgery in Finland in August and isn't taking full part in practices yet, as, according to Philadelphia Inquirer writer Tim Panaccio's blog, "he has some mild discomfort in the knee." Also reported that it should be fine for the season. Hope so. (I bet he doesn't play tomorrow. In that case, he should come here and go out for pizza with us tonight. ... Miksi naurat??)
Still on the list: tickets for the piece de resistance and main point of the journey, Flyers vs. Rangers at Madison Square Garden on the 17th; tickets for Flyers vs. Bruins at the Wachovia Center on the 19th. We have a feeling that we're not going to be very close at MSG, as my browsing and assumptions seem to point to what I would consider good seats as being very expensive, as in, way, way more than I should consider spending on a single afternoon's session of entertainment, even if that entertainment is Flyers/Rags hockey at Madison Square Garden. So we have decided that we'll get what we can reasonably get for the MSG game, and squander the big bucks on as great a pair of seats as we can get at the home game on the 19th. (The disparity in our price decisions almost makes it look like the focal point is the Bruins game. Technically, the reason we are going is because the 17th is my coworker / fellow hockey fan's birthday, and she wanted to go to the Rangers/Flyers game on that day. Just because we're going to pay more for the game on the 19th doesn't mean it's more important. We've just weighed our options. Say we have $200 to spend on one set of tickets. Are we going to spend that $200 on not-very-great seats at an away game if we could get much, much cooler seats at the Wachovia Center, the Home Ice for my orange and black boys?)
(Plus, of course, plane tickets and arrangements for accomodations. The GECHA is going to be flamingly expensive. Unless, by some miracle, I have gotten a new job and live out in Flyersland again, which will remove my need for airfare, and all need for arranging accomodations entirely. Fingers crossed, as usual.)
Ok, tomorrow the Flyers have their first preseason game, vs. Pittsburgh. Looking forward, of course, to reading about it, if it's not available for listening to. APPARENTLY Evgeni Malkin will make his NHL debut, despite recent rulings that he violated his Russian contract, etc. Exciting stuff, what? In spite of being one of the damn-dead-last-worst teams in the NHL last season, the Penguins still managed to give the Flyers hell on several occasions. WHY? I know it's just the preseason, which barely matters, but squash 'em, Flyers. Please.
One of last night's preseason games was between Dallas and Atlanta, and featured two goals by Iowa Stars alum Junior Lessard, both assisted by fellow I-Star Loui Eriksson. It'll be great for them if they can bump up to the NHL, but it would be better for Iowa if they didn't. (Selfish, selfish. I'd like the Iowa Stars to go farther than playoffs round one this season.)
So, today is September 19 -- Joni's Day. Apparently he had minor knee surgery in Finland in August and isn't taking full part in practices yet, as, according to Philadelphia Inquirer writer Tim Panaccio's blog, "he has some mild discomfort in the knee." Also reported that it should be fine for the season. Hope so. (I bet he doesn't play tomorrow. In that case, he should come here and go out for pizza with us tonight. ... Miksi naurat??)
Friday, September 15, 2006
Well, since training camp started today, it's sort of like the season's getting going, so maybe I will just start a-posting here again.
Stuff:
1) Keith Primeau at last retired. You just had to know it was going to happen. I really have no sensitive feelings on the issue. I was not paying much attention to the Flyers during the 2004 season, and he played very little last year before he went out for the duration, so I have no emotional ties to this guy as a player. But as for not wanting to be a "distraction" what with wondering when (if) he might be able to play again, well, the whole situation certainly was that, with so much speculation last year about coming back for the playoffs, all summer long with tidbits about possibly going to Finland to train, would he be back in time for training camp, etc. Too bad for the guy to have to put an indefinite end to a career that meant everything to him, of course. But the Flyers can now move forward. (And tried, on one front -- offer sheet out for a Canucks player, reportedly annoying people left and right, but in the end the Canucks matched and it fizzled.)
2) Training camp opened today. I haven't read much about it yet from people who have the opportunity to attend. (There is a camp blog by new Flyer Kyle Calder at the Flyers' website. It doesn't say too much, but then, I didn't expect it to dish, really.) Apparently Phantoms who want to make the big team and concrete NHLers mixed for practice. See, if I could have gone to Philly this weekend, maybe I could have arranged to be at one of the practices and given a way cool and fun report of my own. I'm bummed. I've never gotten to go to a practice. I never realized a person could, until way way too late. Though even if I had known, back when I lived out that way, it's not like I could have gone anyway, seeing as I had no practical mode of transportation to and from the training facility. Oh well.
3) Five days until the first pre-season match! Flyers vs. Pens on Wednesday, September 20! It's not on TV as far as I know ... maybe it will be broadcast online. It's so exciting to see the "Upcoming schedule" at the left of the Flyers' website having games that are in the very near future. Sure, they're not "regular season" but it's better than what we've had since the crash-and-burn of Game 6 on May 2.
4) Individual tickets for the regular season are scheduled to go on sale tomorrow, September 16, at 10 a.m. EDT. I got an email today, though, telling me that as a valued Flyers customer, I was offered the opportunity to purchase tickets early using a promotional code. Well, Coworker J. and I have our plans to go to the Flyers vs. Bruins game on February 19 as part of our Great East Coast Hockey Adventure next year, and we were hoping to get some great tickets by buying early. (Having never tried to purchase Flyers tickets except through Stubhub, I thought maybe there would be a good chance of getting something decent ... after all, my Phantoms hockey online-ticket-purchasing experiences went exceedingly fantastically when I snapped tickets up as early as I could, so why not this time?) Well, the only seats it would offer me were in sections 107 or 119, which are the very ends behind the goals, and in rows 20-something. In my opinion, these are not that great. So we passed on making our purchase now, and will check Stubhub in the future for better seats. (I got seats two rows behind the Leafs' bench in March for $100 apiece, as you might recall. We might get so lucky again?)
5) Joni Pitkanen's birthday is on Tuesday. Tuesday happens to be half-price pizza night at the Airliner. So we're going to go out for Joni Day. (Actually it's just a flimsy excuse to hang out and eat stuff that's bad for us. Not that we really need one, but it is good to have justification for stuff like that sometimes.)
6) Speaking of Pitkanen, about a month ago I ordered a customized third jersey with #44 on it. The order said 4-6 weeks for delivery. It's getting to be about time when I can expect it any day. Hope it arrives before opening night on the 5th. Even though I obviously will have nowhere to wear it except to the lab, where no one will be surprised or probably even notice that I show up in a new hockey jersey, I have plans to be kitted out in it. (There really is more in my life to worry about than whether or not I'll get to wear my new Pitkanen jersey on opening night. But so what? This isn't the place for that.)
Stuff:
1) Keith Primeau at last retired. You just had to know it was going to happen. I really have no sensitive feelings on the issue. I was not paying much attention to the Flyers during the 2004 season, and he played very little last year before he went out for the duration, so I have no emotional ties to this guy as a player. But as for not wanting to be a "distraction" what with wondering when (if) he might be able to play again, well, the whole situation certainly was that, with so much speculation last year about coming back for the playoffs, all summer long with tidbits about possibly going to Finland to train, would he be back in time for training camp, etc. Too bad for the guy to have to put an indefinite end to a career that meant everything to him, of course. But the Flyers can now move forward. (And tried, on one front -- offer sheet out for a Canucks player, reportedly annoying people left and right, but in the end the Canucks matched and it fizzled.)
2) Training camp opened today. I haven't read much about it yet from people who have the opportunity to attend. (There is a camp blog by new Flyer Kyle Calder at the Flyers' website. It doesn't say too much, but then, I didn't expect it to dish, really.) Apparently Phantoms who want to make the big team and concrete NHLers mixed for practice. See, if I could have gone to Philly this weekend, maybe I could have arranged to be at one of the practices and given a way cool and fun report of my own. I'm bummed. I've never gotten to go to a practice. I never realized a person could, until way way too late. Though even if I had known, back when I lived out that way, it's not like I could have gone anyway, seeing as I had no practical mode of transportation to and from the training facility. Oh well.
3) Five days until the first pre-season match! Flyers vs. Pens on Wednesday, September 20! It's not on TV as far as I know ... maybe it will be broadcast online. It's so exciting to see the "Upcoming schedule" at the left of the Flyers' website having games that are in the very near future. Sure, they're not "regular season" but it's better than what we've had since the crash-and-burn of Game 6 on May 2.
4) Individual tickets for the regular season are scheduled to go on sale tomorrow, September 16, at 10 a.m. EDT. I got an email today, though, telling me that as a valued Flyers customer, I was offered the opportunity to purchase tickets early using a promotional code. Well, Coworker J. and I have our plans to go to the Flyers vs. Bruins game on February 19 as part of our Great East Coast Hockey Adventure next year, and we were hoping to get some great tickets by buying early. (Having never tried to purchase Flyers tickets except through Stubhub, I thought maybe there would be a good chance of getting something decent ... after all, my Phantoms hockey online-ticket-purchasing experiences went exceedingly fantastically when I snapped tickets up as early as I could, so why not this time?) Well, the only seats it would offer me were in sections 107 or 119, which are the very ends behind the goals, and in rows 20-something. In my opinion, these are not that great. So we passed on making our purchase now, and will check Stubhub in the future for better seats. (I got seats two rows behind the Leafs' bench in March for $100 apiece, as you might recall. We might get so lucky again?)
5) Joni Pitkanen's birthday is on Tuesday. Tuesday happens to be half-price pizza night at the Airliner. So we're going to go out for Joni Day. (Actually it's just a flimsy excuse to hang out and eat stuff that's bad for us. Not that we really need one, but it is good to have justification for stuff like that sometimes.)
6) Speaking of Pitkanen, about a month ago I ordered a customized third jersey with #44 on it. The order said 4-6 weeks for delivery. It's getting to be about time when I can expect it any day. Hope it arrives before opening night on the 5th. Even though I obviously will have nowhere to wear it except to the lab, where no one will be surprised or probably even notice that I show up in a new hockey jersey, I have plans to be kitted out in it. (There really is more in my life to worry about than whether or not I'll get to wear my new Pitkanen jersey on opening night. But so what? This isn't the place for that.)
