ORANGE C.R.USHER

273 penalty minutes in the Portland / Providence AHL game last Saturday: the game summary is a riot act.

1 - PRO Glenn, 4:46 - Interference , 2 min (PP)
1 - POR Carter, 8:31 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
1 - POR Rome, 12:56 - Charging , 2 min (PP)
1 - PRO Pelletier, 17:46 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
2 - PRO Krejci, 2:10 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
2 - PRO Lashoff, 6:51 - Cross-checking , 2 min (PP)
2 - PRO Reich, 10:38 - Fighting , 5 min
2 - POR Rome, 10:38 - Fighting , 5 min
2 - PRO Curry, 18:53 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
3 - PRO Reich, 0:05 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Konopka, 0:05 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Thompson, 2:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Glencross, 2:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Moran, 8:08 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
3 - PRO Reich, 10:38 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Reich, 10:38 - Game misconduct - Third major (20.4), 10 min
3 - POR Thornton, 10:38 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Brookbank, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Brookbank, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - PRO Curry, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Curry, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - PRO Glenn, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Glenn, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - PRO Packard, 10:52 - Instigating , 2 min
3 - PRO Packard, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min (PP)
3 - PRO Packard, 10:52 - Misconduct - Instigating (47.10), 10 min
3 - PRO Rabbit, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Rabbit, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - POR Glencross, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Glencross, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - POR Konopka, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Konopka, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - POR Leighton, 10:52 - Leaving the crease , 2 min
3 - POR Parenteau, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Parenteau, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - POR Salcido, 10:52 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Salcido, 10:52 - Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
3 - PRO Pelletier, 14:53 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Brent, 14:53 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR St. Jacques, 15:50 - Slashing , 2 min (PP)
3 - POR Rome, 16:27 - Roughing , 2 min (PP)
3 - PRO Kalus, 19:06 - Instigating , 2 min (PP)
3 - PRO Kalus, 19:06 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Kalus, 19:06 - Game misconduct - Instigator (last 5 min.) (47.11), 10 min
3 - POR Miller, 19:06 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Leach, 19:14 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Zinger, 19:14 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Ferguson, 19:14 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Thornton, 19:14 - Fighting , 5 min
3 - PRO Served By Thompson, 19:49 - Bench minor - Unsportsmanlike conduct , 2 min (PP)
3 - PRO Served By Thompson, 19:49 - Game misconduct - Obscenity (40.5 (ii)), 10 min

It reads more like junior hockey with all the fighting. Did the fans realize they were going to get more boxing on ice than hockey?

Impressive.

Philadelphia Flyers and Iowa Stars tonight!

Joni's not playing tonight, as he is still sick and has a "sore hip flexor". Well, I will cover for him -- that is, I'll dress in his jersey.

--------

To summarize:

1) Flyers scored early.
2) Flyers blew the lead, went late into the third down 2-1.
3) R. J. Umberger scored yet another amazing clutch goal to tie it up. Flyers were staring at at least a point out of this game with six energized minutes left.
4) Shortly after Umberger's miracle goal, Mike Rathje gave Paul Kariya an early Christmas gift, turning the puck over to him and allowing him to pass to Erat -- and score Nashville.
5) Flyers lose 3-2.

I think my heart broke a little when that happened, but I might be wrong -- can't tell over the boiling disgust masking everything else. I believe I heard the crowd boo Rathje every time he touched the puck following his fatal mistake. You know what? First part of last season, he was pretty good. Then he got hurt. And since then, he can't do much right. Solution, PLEASE. He alone gave that game away. The announcer: "There is no hole big enough for Mike Rathje right now."

BAH!!! Without that, I'm certain the Flyers at least would have gone into overtime, if not won the game. They played pretty well, stayed with a statistically far better team, and lost on a pathetic rookie-type turnover. It's sad. SAD SAD SAD.

Oh, and can't forget to point out that Simon Gagne is the world's worst breakaway artist. Recall the other night when he hit the post twice with the goalie totally down and out of position? Tonight he had it all to himself, breaking away and everyone cheering and outrageously happy because Golden Gagne was going to give us a goal and it was going to be soooo wonderful!

Clang.

Yeah, he hit the post.

Now, listening to the third period of the Iowa Stars / Chicago Wolves game. Apparently the Stars led 2-0 and then blew it in spectacular fashion, allowing 4 unanswered goals. Tobias Stephan sounds like he's been watching a little too much Robert Esche*(rebounds, rebounds, REBOUNDS!). Down 4-2 now in the third .... Junior Lessard is not playing, having injured himself before the game, per the announcer. Definitely notice that, no?

Short-handed empty-netter for the Wolves in the closing couple minutes, and the Stars spent the last of it short-handed on a roughing penalty. Wolves win, 5-2. Ugh.

Bad night for hockey in the House of Crusher, no?

--------


*Had surgery recently, is out 2-4 weeks. Will anyone miss him? He hasn't played much lately anyway.

Nearly a week's worth of hockey to catch up on.

I was in Minnesota over the holiday and considered going to the Wild/Coyotes game on Friday, seeing as I was near Minneapolis and the game was in the afternoon, but as events unfolded I wasn't able to. (The Wild won, 4-0.) In the meantime, the Flyers were playing Columbus, in Philadelphia. Ken Hitchcock was hired as the new coach of the Blue Jackets, and so it was his first game as new head coach, and happened to be against the team that he was just fired from. Interesting. I looked at the standings and saw that it was a game between, what, the two worst teams in the NHL (record-wise). Ugh -- it is sobering to see the Flyers comparable to the Blue Jackets. Now, I was away and had no access to a Philadelphia news source, and so had only the St. Cloud Times to give me the news on Saturday -- Flyers won, 3-2, and though it sounds like it was another just-barely win, hey, it's a win. It was finally a win at home, too -- six in a row lost before that.

Now I'm at a computer and can check out the news from the game from a Philly perspective:

The Flyers twice blew a lead. What? NO WAY.

Foppa played despite lingering soreness in his back and the problems with his right foot/skate: scored a power-play goal.

Mike Richards, not the one recently under fire for an outrageously racist diatribe, scored his first goal (since March 11!!!) and what a good time to score -- the game-winner. (Joni assisted!)

On Saturday, I got home late in the evening and in time only to listen to part of the third period of the Flyers/Canadiens game (taking place in Montreal). There was action, but the announcers did not tell me the score until I had been listening five minutes or so -- though I admit I was not expecting what they eventually said: Flyers up, 3-2. (I'm used to the Flyers being swallowed by the Canadiens, only to be spit back up and stomped on.) So I spent the rest of the game with my heart stopped, waiting for the bad thing to happen (seeing as it almost always does when I start listening to a game in progress), but Niittymaki was a star, and then -- wooo!!!! -- Simon Gagne scored a shortie with two-some minutes left in the game to make it 4-2 and basically ice the match for the Flyers. Another game that went for the Flyers the way it usually goes for the other team. And another two-in-a-row for the orange and black, and beating Montreal in Montreal is no mean thing.

What had I missed? A goal by Sami Kapanen that was all Finnish -- Jussi Timonen and Joni Pitkanen assisted. A goal by Knuble, and Gagne's first as well. Flyers had it 3-1 before Saku Koivu brought it close. A lot of great saves by Niittymaki, too, apparently (headline in the Inquirer's Sunday story: Niittymaki gives Flyers a victory) with a "magnificent 29-save performance." (Montreal should have had five goals in the first period but led just 1-0 at intermission thanks to Niittymaki's diligence.)

Flyers don't play again until Wednesday, against Nashville. Looks like their starting goalie, Tomas Vokoun, will likely be out (hand injury?); you'd think that would maybe give the Flyers a little boost, but this season's history shows it doesn't take a star goalie to keep the Flyers out of the net.

The Flyers are 4-2-1 in the past seven games, which is a respectable record, really. Too bad all those game prior to it drag their record down. At least they aren't the last in the NHL anymore -- today, the standings have them at 27th (fourth from the bottom). A win on Wednesday would give them their first three-game streak of the season, and would make me pretty smiley Thursday. (And shouldn't that be good enough reason for them to make a stellar effort and win?)

Last week in my AHL:

November 21: Iowa Stars win against Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, 3-2. Goals by Barch, Sertich, and Polak -- with assists by Lundqvist and Lessard (so there you go).

November 22: Close result at Syracuse, 3-2. The Crunch had 31 shots to the Stars' 16 (!). Goals by Sertich, Ardelan, and Scalzo (Lessard assisted, so there you go again.)

November 24: Loss to Rochester, 5-2, despite 35 shots on goal. Connor and Sertich scored, but Lessard had no point -- the announcer's observation held.

November 26: Versus the Wolves, in Chicago. Chicago have been called the Monsters of the Tollway, but Iowa handled them easily, with a 6-3 win. Lessard had no points!

Iowa plays in Chicago again on Wednesday.

On the East Coast, the Phantoms had a win over Albany on the 24th (4-2) and a loss to Norfolk (booooo, 7-5).

I was envious of the hockey coverage that the newspaper in Minnesota gave -- all kinds of high school and college hockey, a long story on the Wild game, and tidbits about the other NHL action. Even in Philly, where people do actually care about hockey, it's restricted generally to the Flyers and sometimes blurbs about the Phantoms, and that's about it. And, of course, around here we get only the briefest mention of games. I wish hockey were more closely followed around here.

And for now, that will be the hockey report out of Iowa City.

May I mention that I cannot believe I have to listen to the Flyers game via Senators audio broadcast? Clicking on the Flyers feed link gave me WIP programming that was just chitchat and promises of a Sixers game in an hour. Then it was mentioned the Flyers game is being broadcast on WPHT 1210 AM. So I went to that website and registered for the online radio, only to get the announcement that they are unable to provide the current programming. COME ON!! I don't want to listen to the Flyers lose through the eyes of the opponents!!!!

0-0 as yet thanks to Niitty.

Oh, now clicking on the Flyers feed gives me -- the Ottawa feed.

BOOO.

Very late in the first, the broadcast mysteriously switched to the Philly feed. And, Umberger scored a reviewed-but-allowed-to-stand garbage goal, and the Flyers lead 1-0 at the intermission. WOOO!!

....

And, in typical Flyers hockey, they had a 2 goal lead which they blew. They got a point, though, managing to force the game into overtime, which they then blew with 20 seconds to go.

Seriously. How in hell's name do they manage to lose so many games so close to the ends of periods? That's, what, fourteen goals given up at the end of a period? (I'm including this overtime goal, I don't know if the previous thirteen do.) If I had the energy (after being disappointed here again I don't!) I'd look up how many games they've lost in the closing seconds. Instead, I'm going to go to bed. Awww, Flyers. You were so close.

P.S. I'm so tired of hearing about Gagne having a hundred years' time and a hundred free yards of ice to score, and miss. Or how he put it into the goalie's pads. Generally, I'm so tired of hearing him have the best, easiest opportunities to score and fail. I wish I got paid almost a $5 million to not score goals.

Forsberg is going nowhere, but is depressed that a solution to his foot problem is eluding him and doctors. He is questionable for tonight's game after hitting the boards during the Penguins game on Monday (his back is bothering him). I guess I don't understand...he was so good in the Anaheim game after getting a new brace for his skate boot. It only worked once?

Last night, though I didn't listen to the game, the Iowa Stars played in Milwaukee. They appear to have won, 3-2. Goals were scored by Barch [assists: Lundqvist, Ellis (that's two games in a row the goalie has assisted!)], Sertich (from Lammers and Barch), and Polak (from Lessard and Ardelan). What the radio announcer said last Friday night stands: when Lessard doesn't get a point, the Stars lose (Saturday). He assisted last night, and the Stars won. Lundqvist got a point, too. Since the result of the game was better than Saturday, maybe he didn't break his stick and throw the remnant down in front of him.

Stars play again tonight, at Syracuse. Iowa now three points behind Chicago and Omaha (22 to their 25). That string of losses hurt, at least in the short-term. I think they have felt the absence of Eriksson and Petersen, but they obviously can win without them. Let's hope they figure out how best to compete with these two great guys helping out the parents club(s).

The Flyers play tonight, too -- Ottawa at Philadelphia. I will go out on a limb and say Ottawa wins, especially likely if Forsberg can't play or if his foot is rolling all over the place making it hard for him to skate well (but my "on the other hand" prediction will be Flyers 2-1 with goals by Gagne and Sanderson).

Forsberg being dealt within the next 24 hours?

No one knows whether or not to believe this dude.

I choose not to.

Recent hockey stuff:

Friday night, I listened to the Iowa Stars/Hamilton Bulldogs game online. It got a little confusing for brief moments, because three former Stars were playing for Hamilton: Zach Stortini, Dan Jancevski, and Patrick Traverse. The Stars built up a nice lead and then nearly blew it. They held on, but only barely, to win 3-2. This broke a losing skid.

Saturday night, the second matchup in Des Moines. We had our seats just at the inside end of the Stars' bench. I had a metal strip right in my view, where pieces of plexiglas were held together; it meant I had to lean to one side or another depending on which side the action was on. Still, I had good-looking Stars forwards right in front of me for a lot of the game.



And to be honest, watching them on the bench was more interesting than the game, which the Stars did not seem very keen on playing well. Hamilton completely outplayed the Stars at almost every point, scoring three times before the Stars could even net one. The last two minutes of the game were really the most riveting, as the Stars tied it up (Kris Barch, who fought twice in the game and was tossed into the penalty box for extended periods of time, scored the second) and did all they could to get the third, but just ran out of time and luck. Stars lost by one. Boooo.

I know that my teams can't win every game, but it's really disappointing to watch them lose while I am there, having had to drive a long time to get there. It's doubly disappointing when the loss is so useless -- if they had played even half the game the way they played the last few minutes, the outcome would probably have been entirely different. There were plenty of options and the Stars were victimized by the post and outstanding saves, but in between those bright moments was some pretty poor hockey. Passing was bad, vision seemed bad, I don't know.

We bought tickets today for the next home game, which isn't until December 2 (six away games in the meantime). We called and asked for the exact seats we want: sectino 104, row C directly behind the bench, but a couple down from where we were last Saturday so that the metal stripe isn't right in front of us, and we will be a little more directly behind the Stars' bench. WOO!

Because the Flyers were still out on the West Coast, their game didn't start until 9:30 p.m. CST. I got home from Des Moines in time to tune into the last 10 or so minutes of the game. I was a little hopeful, you see, because the Flyers had done pretty OK the prior two games. I would have even been OK to tune in and hear them losing if it were close, but it wasn't close. They were losing 6-1 to San Jose. I had no idea what had gone on in the game. For some reason, though I clicked on the Flyers feed, I was getting the San Jose feed, and they were just chatting away, obviously not having much to pay attention to because the Sharks were just having their way on the ice. Apparently Esche started, let in 6 goals on something like 18 shots, and was yanked. Niitty was in when I tuned in and when I heard the score I just crossed my fingers and hoped that it hadn't been him letting past so many. Naturally not. I don't get it. Esche had a pretty decent game on Tuesday against Anaheim. How can he turn around and suck the suckage so dramatically his next game?? Good grief.

And now I am listening to the Flyers lose to Pittsburgh at home. I tuned in late, and the Penguins were already up 2-0 (one goal by Crosby, who apparently has the Flyers' number, the other by LeClair when Pitkanen was off in the box for interference). A third goal is being reviewed -- now I am told it was waived off. The net came off before it trickled past. Poor Malkin, denied his tenth NHL goal. A huge break for the Flyers. Come on, guys, SUCK IT UP AND PLAY.

Well, they blew the big break and let the Penguins score just as the period was closing. 3-0 at the end of 1.


Second period. Flyers actually scored, Gagne off a deflection of Joni Pitkanen's shot (denying Joni his first goal!). Immediately Crosby scored again.

I can't stand it.

Another Penguins goal. Damn it.

Third period, Flyers down, very depressing. Well, in the Kings game they were down in the third and came back to win ....

There is an ad for booking a club box for a future Flyers game. "Looking for a place to have a private party?" the ad goes. Hey, if the Flyers keep playing like this, you won't need a club box -- a lower bowl seat will probably have many empty neighbors and will be private enough.

Extremely late in the third: Flyers scored, 5-3 (Freddy Meyer's first of the season). Pitkanen his third assist of the night.

That's that. The Penguins have won the first four games of a season against the Flyers for the first time in history. The Flyers are really setting a lot of terrible records this year. BOOOOOOOO.

The most exciting game of the season. Well, to be more accurate, the most exciting third period, because the first two, despite a goal apiece, were not exactly the most interesting to listen to. I did consider going to bed, but the score was too close, and oh my, am I glad I didn't.

Briefly:

The Flyers scored first in the first, and went into the intermission ahead.

LA scored in the second to tie it, and at the second intermission, the score was 1-all.

In the third, the Kings scored to go ahead, and then they scored again almost immediately on a delayed penalty -- but the goal was disallowed, apparently because it deflected in off of a Flyers defenseman (Picard). Technically -- technically? -- on a delayed call, the play should be whistled dead when the team that got the penalty gets control of the puck ... but I doubt Picard "had control" so I think the Flyers dodged a missile on that call.

But the Kings scored again anyway because Joni was too involved in the offensive play and when LA got the puck, he was too far up. After that, LA seemed to have the game in hand at 3-1.

But then, oh my god. Gagne scored to bring it within one. For the first time I had real hope the Flyers might actually pull out a tying goal, even though they were in the last half of the period (you know, a time when excellent things happen for other teams, but not this one). Not just, you know, the kind of hope you have for your team no matter how poorly they are doing while knowing that what you are hoping for isn't really going to happen. The real kind.

And it happened. R. J. Umberger scored. Not even a minute after Gagne.

So I thought that at minimum we could go to overtime, though I winced any time LA got the puck and moved it anywhere.

And then R. J. Umberger scored again, so very quickly, only two and a half minutes, after his first that I felt actual shock when it happened. My hands -- I'm so melodramatic, unintentionally -- went to my mouth and I stared at my computer screen. Flyers up, 4-3, after having gotten themselves into one of their usual holes. It was almost completely unbelievable. I would not have believed it, had I not listened to the unbelievable happen last night. Yet there it was. With only about 5 or 6 minutes left, the Flyers were winning.

The last of the game was the most exciting moment of hockey this year (not counting the 13-round shootout I saw in person, but that only trumps tonight because I was at the stadium for that one): the Kings had their goalie pulled and the Flyers never really got a chance to do anything about that empty net, because they were too busy trying to keep the puck out of their own. I don't know how the Kings did not score in the last minute, Nitty had blocked but the puck was still loose and everyone was jamming away, and Forsberg -- FORSBERG, who apparently plays any position at any time it is needed -- made a save and thereby saved the game for the Flyers. The play stop with about seven seconds left, Hatcher with a penalty, and on the ensuing faceoff all the Flyers had to do was control it and it would be over. However, they did not control it, and the Kings had another chance, but Joni blocked it and that was it --

FLYERS WIN WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hot damn again.

Two in a row.

The real Flyers are emerging. Keep it up.

I woke up this morning and looked at the Internets and saw that I had not dreamed the astonishing 7-4 win; it was true, it was real, and the headlines are grin-inducing groaners (grin-inducing because anything about this game should make a Flyers fan smile, even lame headlines!!):

Philadelphia Daily News (always good for a sad pun) has on their back cover: FLYERS ON QUACK
Their story's headline: "Flyers' Anaheim-lick maneuver"

On NHL.com: "Not all they're quacked up to be"

On espn.com's NHL site: "Philly in the blanks"

si.com: "On the menu: Duck" (The article is titled: "Say what? Last-place Flyers wallop Ducks 7-4 to end losing skid")

In, what, 16 shots last night the Flyers scored 7 goals, where Anaheim struggled to hit 4 in 41. This is a complete reversal of fortunes, where normally (this season) the Flyers are the team tallying outrageous shots-on-goal totals with disappointing results, while apparently shutting down opponents, limiting their scoring chances, yet allowing numerous goals. It would be easy to look at the stats and think someone had just been cruelly fooling with us and switched names.

You should look at some of the video of the goals last night. The announcers were falling over themselves in amazement at Peter Forsberg's incomparable deftness in twisting away from defenders in the corner, coming around behind the net, and then, la-la-la, better than an Olympic gold medal figure skater, twirls and, almost without looking, making it look as though he didn't even have to think about it, shot the puck as he was turning, and it went up, and over, and in.

You should look at it.

It really is as awesome as the announcers made it sound.

The other goals are really pretty, too. It was all exactly the kind of game I have waited all season to hear; the one where the Flyers just sound like they're supposed to sound (not counting the second period, when they sounded like they have sounded most of this season).

Tonight the Flyers will take on the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings were not estimated to be the Flyers' toughest opponent of the three they shall visit out west, but, of course, since the Flyers are the team scraping the bottom of the NHL barrel, it's not like they could even begin to look past them. Even having beaten the NHL's arguably best team (seeing as Buffalo got beat last night, too, by Ottawa!!) there is no way whatsoever the Flyers can sit back and smile all smug with themselves. They have the longest road to realistically hoping for the playoffs, and the Kings are the next stone in that road.

Unfortunately the game doesn't start until 9:30 p.m. CST. I will listen until it's not worth cutting into my sleepage. If that means I listen all the way to the end, so be it. If they play well like last night, I'll welcome the sleep shortage. If they return to their sucky-suck ways, well, nighty-night. (I was way, way tired this morning, not getting to sleep until 1. I had to read a while before going to bed, which, as usual, didn't make me all that tired; instead, I got into the book and had to finish it. Suddenly, it was 1 a.m.)

Go Flyers.

-----

There is an article in the Des Moines Register today about Iowa Stars forward Joel Lundqvist. Among the hockey stuff discussed, it was mentioned that he's engaged. Alas! Well, it's not much longer until he finds himself in Dallas, anyway, I suppose, and, with me being a Flyers fangirl, it's not like we are especially compatible. And, his brother plays for the Ranjerks. That's never going to work out. (Listen to me!) No, seriously, there is an article about him and his brother, and he is one of the Stars' star forwards, so, you know. I wonder what the .1% difference is between Henrik and Joel; must be Henrik's goalieness. Joel has been given an "A" since Toby Petersen was called up to Edmonton (and in yesterday's Register, there was a blurb about how Edmonton's coach is pleased with Toby's NHL performance ... doesn't sound like he's coming back to us any time soon), and he likes "the nice clothes, but not as much as [Henrik] does."

I like to read about the people behind the hockey, not just the stats and results. So I like this kind of article.

Now, the first period of the Flyers/Ducks game is about to expire. I am having to listen to the Anaheim feed because when I tuned into the Philly one, it was some basketball talk. I barely want to even mention it, but

OH MY GOD.

Flyers are winning.

And not just winning.

They have scored FIVE GOALS and Anaheim only two.

THEY ARE BEATING ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN THE NHL 5 to 2.

I may regret it, but I couldn't keep quiet about it another second.

UPDATE: Just before the third period. The WIP stream is up so I am listening to the Flyers' feed now. (I tried it during the intermission. It was great to hear the Flyers' announcers replay the goals. I haven't felt this buoyant listening to a Flyers game in a long, long time.) The second period, the Flyers didn't do all that much, reverting to their usual inability to clear the puck out of their own zone and they didn't get much of a chance at the goal (outshot 13-2), but only allowed Anaheim one more. Score: 5-3. I am so nervous any time Anaheim gets the puck. Esche is in goal and he has made very few mistakes as far as I can tell, in fact has made some good saves; but I don't have to tell you that he makes me nervous, too, do I? Third period up, starting with 43 seconds a man down. Go Flyers. Come on.

UPDATE, shortly into the third: Oh my god, again. Picard scored his second goal. It's the Flyers' third power play goal of the night. It's 6-3. [Gagne just now almost scored again!! What the?!] THIS IS THE FLYERS I KNEW THEY COULD BE.

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

Sami Kapanen scored again. The man has the FLU. And has scored 2 goals.

7 to 3.

I'm ... I'm in shock. (But the good kind.)

Ok. Flyers gave up a power play goal to Anaheim. It's 7-4 with about 7 minutes left. I wish I could relax, but I have memories of Philadelphia trashing 3 goals leads ...

Dang, Flyers outshot 40-16? Did I hear that right??

IT'S OVER.

FLYERS WIN 7-4

The first time this season the Ducks have lost at home, and the worst team in the NHL handed it to them!!!!

Hot damn.

HOT DAMN!!

After such a brilliant start to the season, the Iowa Stars are sliding backward. They lost last night in terrible fashion, 8-2, to the Chicago Wolves, who presently have the league's best road record (winning 9 of 10 games). I didn't listen, so it's not my fault. When I saw the score on the AHL website, I immediately closed the website in horror.

The Des Moines Register tells me about the game, which was played in Des Moines.

Five of the Wolves' goals came on special teams, including two breakaway short-handed scores...

The Stars...are currently in their longest stretch ever games without earning a point. (Four regulation losses in a row.)

Iowa Stars have slipped to third in the West Division, with 18 points (record: 9-6-0-0).

There wasn't much good to be told in the article. "It was a clunker," [Iowa coach] Allison said.

The Stars play again on Friday against Hamilton, who just beat Omaha last night 5-0. Yikes! Hamilton's record is 7-6-0-1 coming into the game Friday. It ought to be a nice and even match-up. Hamilton stay in Des Moines for Saturday's game, which I shall attend with my dad and hockey pal / coworker J.

And the Phantoms are playing right now, losing 3-1 to Syracuse. The same Syracuse that has a 2-10-0-1 record, beating a decent Philadelphia Phantoms team (7-6-1-0)? Good grief. (Even the Flyers have won more games than Syracuse.) It's only the end of the first, though; the Phantoms have plenty of time to correct this monstrous result.

Speaking of monstrous results, remember that the Flyers are playing Anaheim tonight. I don't know if I'm going to be home to listen to the game -- I might be going to an Iowa women's basketball game tonight. Maybe they'll do better without me agonizing half a continent away as I listen. When I didn't wear anything Flyers, they lost; when I wear a jersey, they lose; there is nothing I can do, it seems, apparel-wise, to help. So I have on a Flyers t-shirt underneath the Iowa hockey jersey I am wearing. And as I work on a manuscript, because I tend to pull on my hair while reading intently, I have on a Flyers cap, to stop me from doing that. Silly unconscious habits. And silly supersitious stuff. I feel better if I wear something Flyers-related on game days.

Another Philadelphia loss last night. 3-2 to the Penguins. I think the game was winnable, but a little bit of lazy defense, mixed with some out-of-position defense, Hot Tasty Turnovers, and some awesomely bad refereeing helped seal it for Pittsburgh. Before anyone starts scoffing about how easy it is for the losing team to blame the refereeing for the loss, let's look at the end of the game, where the score was bound up at two apiece.

Some messing around at the boards, where Freddy Meyer does some questionable facewashing of Crosby. Why the referee doesn't call that is a mystery.

Crosby 100% overreacts and tries to send Meyer back to September by throwing him into the boards. The referee stares at this, perhaps thinking he is at home, on his couch, watching some pay-per-view Ultimate Fighting match, and fails to make a call.

What should have resulted from this party: a whistle, a penalty for each, and resumption in play, 4-on-4. The remainder of the game may or may not have included another Penguins goal. (It also may or may not have included another Flyers goal. We shall never know.)

Instead: play does not stop, and then Malkin scores with two minutes left, killing the Flyers.

And I knew when Malkin roofed that thing, it was over. Flyers goals are so painfully acquired and, sadly, so few and far between, that I figured the likelihood of another one was small. My feeling was cemented when Pitkanen hooked and was sent to the bench, meaning that the last precious 1:10 of the game would be spent penalty-killing. And then, Meyer threw caution to the wind and his shoulder into Colby Armstrong, knocking him back to September, and Ryan Whitney decided that wasn't to be tolerated and his response got him slapped with "instigator" and "fighting" and "misconduct". Derien Hatcher inserted himself into the fray too, and ended up with five for fighting. (Freddy ends up with a charging call, when by all accounts it should have been an interference call, but whatever. The Flyers were done.)

In the last dying seconds, the Flyers had a heartbreaker of a chance after a faceoff near the Pittsburgh goal. Of course it never finished, with Mike Knuble slapping the rebounded puck right back into Fleury's legs. Behind the action, though: Crosby appeared to fall after the faceoff, was on his knees when he took a fired puck in the chest; he crumpled to the ice. Play continued around him. On his hands and knees, he looks around, then gets up to join the play in time to slash Sami Kapanen across the back of the legs when the game is already done. Then we were treated to replay after replay of Crosby taking the puck in the chest, crawling around forever, then getting up when he realized no one was watching his baby theatrics, and the announcers were drooling all over him: Whoa, look at that, what a trouper, selflessly taking a shot like that, and what god damn fortitude he showed, getting back up and joining the play even though he must have broken six ribs by valiantly blocking the lasered puck!!! A hero for the Penguins! There has never been a hockey player with such dedication, such grit!!

Get a hold of yourselves, men. I mean, I'll admit Crosby has talent, even though I despise him, but for God's sake!! He fell after the faceoff. He happened to be in the way when the puck was shot. Then he got up and hit someone from behind. I don't see how that deserves the skatelicking and fawning adulation he got for that. Incredibly-biased-TV-announcers: if you are so in love with Sidney Crosby, just ask him out. You never know what he might say.

Anyway. The Flyers were inconsistent last night and lost. They did have a little more luck this game, though. The first goal came when Randy Robitaille appeared to be passing to Gagne near the net, but the puck instead banked off a Penguin's stick and trickled happily through Fleury's five-hole and over the line. WHEEE! And the second goal, while not exactly a fluke, came after Mike Richards battled and battled to keep the puck despite being tossed around by at least two Penguins; he desperately flung it across to Sanderson, who happened to be in the right place at the right time (WHAT? A Flyer in the right place and the right time???) and chucked it in. The puck was in, and J. and I were up and dancing before Sanderson even realized he had scored. Richards crossed; Sanderson shot; the puck was in; we saw it and celebrated; Sanderson tried to look around the other Flyer by the net; he saw it had gone in; he lifted his arms in jubilation. Good stuff, because then it was tied 2-2.

The Penguins' goals came from Flyers' mistakes and were shots that Niittymaki, going down like a good butterfly goalie does, couldn't get, because they rocketed right over him. It would have been wonderful if he could have pulled amazing saves out of thin air, but the fact was his team crumbled crucially and let the Penguins have their way with him. I doubt any goalie would have had much of a chance. (But we'll never know that, either.)

Still: the Flyers didn't roll over and die, and they didn't lose by four or six goals, so it wasn't a totally disgusting situation. I can hope they continue to improve.

They play Anaheim on the West Coast tomorrow. Anaheim's right behind Buffalo in the standings. All I can do is hope the Flyers continue to improve. If they could hold Buffalo to overtime, they can hold Anaheim too, right? Theoretically?

Afternoon update! Todd Fedoruk's traded back to Philly!

Flyers gave up a draft pick in 2007.

They call Fedoruk "the Fridge" and I watched him play in a lot of games when he was with the Phantoms during the lockout. I was sorry they traded him away in the first place, but what can you do? Maybe he can provide a spark and some good stuff will happen. At least some guys already on the team have played with him before so it's not like a stranger is moving into the house.

I was in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday for a Badgers hockey game.



I felt very out of place without wearing something red, and anyway, there is no shame in wearing a Wisconsin Hockey t-shirt (they were NCAA champs last year, both men and women). But, as a girl who grew up in Iowa, in the home of the University of Iowa, a Hawkeye girl by birth, I felt a little scummy wearing something for a rival school.

Oh well. Not that scummy.

The Badgers reminded us way too much of the Flyers -- when they would finally hammer shots at the goal, they never would go in. It was frustrating to watch. Denver pretty much outplayed Wisconsin, though eventually the Badgers got a grip and scored a few. There were many, many power plays in their favor but just could not get the puck in the net. They would hang out at the perimeter, pass, pass, pass ... nothing. Denver scored early on a power play themselves; they tossed it around at the edge a bit then tried a sweet cross-ice pass through the traffic in front of the net, and that surprised the goalie and the puck went in the other side. I didn't know why the Badgers didn't at least try a similar move -- getting the puck close to the net can have some good results, certainly will have better chance at being good than keeping it out at the edge, doing passing drills. The game was tied at the end of regulation, 3-3, and they very nearly got out of it with a tie, but with under 15 seconds left Denver scored and it was over.

I knew that UW is crazy about its hockey. I have a friend who did his graduate studies there and would go to hockey games while he was in Madison, and he told me that they could get really loud and wild. And I've been to Philly games where fans get pretty riled up and excited, so I expected something along those lines. But these kids in their section, they're loud and they're constant and they have their rituals that are really quite a lot of fun to hear and see. That's one thing about the AHL/NHL games I've gone to, there are things you yell and things you chant but it is nothing like these guys. The kids sit behind one of the goals, where the Badgers shoot twice, and chant "SIEVE!" at the goalie (which might have been a more stinging epithet had the visiting goalie not made some really outstanding saves) -- and when the Badgers do score, there is a gesture and "SIEVE!" shout that the entire crowd gets into. Late in the game, the students started chanting "STAND UP OLD PEOPLE" (clap, clap, clapclapclap) which was funny, yet nettling. (I'm not that old.) And during power plays, the pep band drums away and the kids yell "POWER! PLAAAAAAAAY!" and have arms gestures for that too, and then jump and wail all through the entire power play. (Too bad I don't have audio for you.)

Anyway, the point is, I wish that I had had the opportunity for hockey fun like that when I was in college. I wish that the crowds at the games I go to would get into the spirit like that more often. I suppose they shift and change too much to really get consistency like that. Yeah, there are season ticket holders, but they are scattered around the arena and in between you have the riff raff like me, showing up for occasional games.

We got back from the game late and then turned on ESPN so that we could look at the ticker at the bottom for the results of the Flyers/Sabres game. Earlier in the evening, I made two predictions: a right-hand prediction (the one I actually thought would happen) and a left-hand prediction (the one I would prefer to happen). My right-hand prediction was the Flyers would lose 5-1. The left-hand prediction was a 3-2 win. And, I said, goals would be by Richards, Pitkanen, and someone random like Alexandre Picard.

We had to wait through a seemingly-endless list of college football results (I have never even heard of half of the schools whose scores were listed) and then junk about the NBA and MLB before the ticker rolled around to the NHL. And then we were treated first to current results: the Flames were tied with the Canucks, the Wild were losing to the Kings, and then games that were finished: Leafs over Canadiens, 5-1, Caps over Ranjerks, 3-1, etc. The Flyers' score was the last one. When I saw it, my hands went to my head and I grabbed fistfuls of my hair and I wailed, "OH MAN!" (Seriously. I need to work on my reactions.)

The Flyers lost, sure. But in overtime. 5 to 4. I couldn't believe it. It was not the mega-upset I had in my fancy pipe dreams, but it was still amazing given factors such as the Flyers' pathetically poor scoring, pathetically poor defense, and pathetic 9-1 loss last time. Yeah, it was a loss -- but a loss that garnered a point -- but it was not a deadening, numbing blowout loss -- the Flyers stayed with the Sabres for three periods and into overtime!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!

In the morning, we got a newspaper and could see more details. J. looked at the paper and asked me to guess who had scored the goals.

I went half and half as far as safe guessing. "Gagne with two, Pitkanen, and Richards."

No, she said. "Robitaille. With two."

Wha?

"Umberger."

Ok, cool, it's about time he made his presence known.

"Picard."

HA!! My predictions were pretty way-off, but the left-hand prediction had at least that much in it. His first NHL goal also happened to be the first Flyers goal by a defenseman this season.

The Flyers even led a couple times in the game. I suppose we have to point out that Ryan Miller is out and Biron was in net -- but Biron isn't a goalie to sneeze at (though with the Flyers it hasn't really mattered who the opposing goalie is) -- and Maxim Afinogenov was also out, one of Buffalo's top men. But a horde of other Sabres were still in the game, and the fact that the Flyers were not trounced out by the end of the first period says a lot about what this team CAN ACTUALLY DO if they JUST GET TO IT AND DO IT.

However, the usual blah blah blah, they have to stop taking stupid penalties. The too-many-men bench minor at the very end of regulation (which seems questionable, given reports I've read) led to a Sabres power play that spilled over into the overtime in which Briere scored almost immediately to seal the game for Buffalo. Without that stupid penalty, who knows what might have happened? Guess you can't go around with a bunch of what-ifs. Just don't let it happen again.

Tonight: Flyers vs. Pens at Pittsburgh. It's on Vs. so I will be camping out watching it. So far we are 0-2 against these guys (who, like the Flyers, are not the team they were last year, but in the opposite way), with the 4-0 season opener loss and the awful 8-2 killing while I was in Mexico ... but maybe the guys will hold onto whatever it was that kept them in the Buffalo game and maybe we'll get two points tonight?

(I saw a guy wearing a Malkin jersey while at the Badgers game. I considered cross-checking him, but he was about three times my size, and it's not like I could say "Dude, I'm a Flyers fan, Penguins suck" and have it mean anything meaningful right now. He'd laugh in my face. "Penguins suck?")

Oh, last tidbit about the Flyers. In the Courier Post online the last line in the article in which Umberger says "Flyers need to play with an attitude" Chuck Gormley reports that with Denis Gauthier out for 10-12 weeks recovering from surgery he will have to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, "Alexandre Picard is expected to eat up most of the ice time, but the Flyers might also have interest in hard-hitting defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, who is playing for the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford."

I will spit if that dirty turtle plays for the Flyers. I never want to see him in the orange and black. I don't want to see him in the orange and purple, either. Leave him at Hartford. Heck, leave him in the dumpster. I don't care if he could single-handedly turn the defense problems on this team around; I was of the opinion, last year, after watching him in a few games, that he is pretty despicable, and isn't worth it.

Tickets purchased for the Iowa Stars/Hamilton Bulldogs game, Saturday November 18. We're in the row behind the benches again -- this time, we are pretty sure that our seats have us behind the Stars' instead of the visitors'. WOOHOOO!!! Do I take a sign in Swedish for Our Man Joel Lundqvist?

The difference between last season and this was summed up at the beginning of an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning. It started out with shiny nostalgia, and then it was all taken away when it reminded you of this year's tragedy-in-progress:

You can look it up: It was Jan. 19 last season. On that date, the Flyers lost their 11th game, in Boston. They were first in the NHL's Atlantic Division that night with 64 points. Right now, they are dead last in the Eastern Conference with seven points, having suffered a numbing 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders last night at the one-third-empty Wachovia Center.

And last night's loss is their 11th of this season.

I had gone running and missed the first few minutes of the game, but tuned in just in time to hear lackluster play and the Islander's first goal. The announcers, late in the game, gave the turning point of the game (which was sponsored by some company) as one of the Islander's later goals (I think the third), but I honestly think that it was the first goal, just as it is in every game -- the Flyers can't seem to get a handle on anything once the opposing team gets on the board. And when that happens in the first period, it makes for a long, long game. And then, when the Islanders scored again -- in the first period -- I didn't have the feeling that the Flyers had a lot of time to make up for it. I just saw two more periods of bad luck, of bad play, and more chances for the Islanders to score.

Simon Gagne scored late in the third period to at least deny Rick "Yet Another Mediocre Goalie Made to Look Like Roy" DiPietro a shutout, and immediately after that the Flyers jammed at a puck that very nearly made it 3-2, but no ... of course not. And then there was only 1:30 or so left in the game, so all of the faded, threadbare hope entirely dissipated. If only the Flyers had played the entire game the way they played those last four minutes or so -- who knows, maybe the score would have been reversed. Oh, and not been turnover machines and made silly mistakes on which an opposing team (one that doesn't even have to be like Buffalo) will capitalize.

Maybe it's funny that I still have hope for them, but it's true. I just hate it when I hear the other team score first, because recent history shows that the games are not kind to the Flyers when that happens. Also, I remember a few games early on when the Flyers were playing well -- the game we were at, for example (despite its having been a loss) and the game in Madison Square Garden where they dominated the Rangers ... a few following games were at least close! Most of the men on the team are the same men that played on last year's awesome team. I can't understand why it's not coming together for them this season, but I try not to give up hope that it will. Some day, the article in the paper will not include the same-old, same-old like this:

"We've been down 3-0 in the last three games at home," said captain Peter Forsberg. "We're not getting any breaks. It's tough right now, we're not playing good enough to win games. It's been game after game. (In the Daily News; bold my emphasis.)

Flyers are 3-11-1. Saturday, they play Buffalo. I hate it, but I'm actually a little glad I am not going to be home to listen to the game. I'll regret it if they pull off an upset of Jovian proportions, but as it looks now, I'm going to be happier being in Madison watching the University of Wisconsin Badgers hockey team playing Denver.

I wasn't even cheered by looking at the Iowa Stars scores intermittently during the Flyers game -- they were down 1-0 the first time I looked (playing against Houston, in Des Moines), then were down 3-1 when I looked again. The last time I looked, they were still down 3-1. When I got to work this morning, J. said when she last looked, they were at 3-2. So I thought they might have come back to win...but they didn't. According to the Des Moines Register, Vojtech Polack feels if they'd just had a few more minutes, they'd have managed. Alas, the clock ticks away and ends at 60 minutes. Iowa Stars are now 9-4 -- still a respectable record, no doubt about it. And play against Houston again tonight, still in Des Moines, a second game of a fiver at home.

Phantoms play tonight too -- a home game vs. Bridgeport. The Flyers made a trade with Tampa Bay this week -- Daniel Corso for Darren Reid -- a "position trade" because "we feel that between the Flyers and the Phantoms we are sort of overloaded with centers." (From phantomshockey.com.) Uh, really? (On the Orange and Black board, where this information was posted, someone followed it with a graphic of Captain Obvious. It was hilarious.) Reid probably playing tonight? Phantoms are 5-6-1-0, the Sound Tigers (the Islanders' farm team ... hope the Phantoms fare better than their "parents" did) are one point ahead of Philly in the standings. Ruzicka is back in the Phantoms' lineup, which is good news for them, given that he was their top scorer before he was called up. (He is still #23 on the AHL scoring leaders list, with 5 goals in 4 games.)

Want a surprise?

Too bad.

Flyers lost to Toronto, 4-1.

First period: awful. Leafs in control, Flyers doofuses. But the Loafs only scored once.

Second period: awesomeness. Flyers in domination mode, but somehow continued in their abject-failure-to-score mode. Well, they did score once: Ben Eager put it in the net. I don't want to take anything away from Ben Eager, but when Ben Eager is scoring your only goal of the game ... well. The Flyers had 17 shots on goal to the Leafs' 3. It's so very depressing when out of 17 shots, only one gets in the net.

Third period: more evenly-played, though not because the Flyers collapsed. At 7:18 Toronto scored again, damn it, and then later with less than four minutes to go, they scored again, and I knew that was the death knell. I was pretty sure that the second Leafs goal was sealing the deal, because if they Flyers could only score once up until 4 minutes to the end of the game, it is unlikely they'll score again. Only other teams get the magic miracle last-minute knotter; not the Flyers. But when that third goal went in, I knew it was over. No way were the Flyers hitting two in the last three minutes. And they didn't. In fact, they pulled Niittymaki, and the Leafs potted the empty-netter. Bah.

I guess by then I was just shaking my head and feeling sorry. It wasn't a disgusting rout, and the Flyers did play pretty awesomely in the second period (and Niittymaki was making some outstanding neck-saving saves), but even making 41 (FORTY-ONE) shots on net, they could only get ONE GOAL. How is it that, no matter what, the Flyers make any Joe Goalie look like Patrick Roy???

Let's see, some news: Jeff Carter has a broken bone near his ankle and will be out something like six weeks. I'd say this was disastrous, but he's been relatively invisible this season (to be fair, he's certainly not the only one, and not the worst of the invisibles, either). Still, a bad thing to have a man out, one who we could only hope would finally find his scoring touch....man, if only the others would too.

Flyers up against the Islanders on Thursday. Please, please, beat the Islanders.

Rumors about possible trades this week abound. It's in the papers and on the message boards. But Forsberg will not be on the table. (Phew!) And according to some reports, neither will the core of the Flyers' youth (Carter, Richards).

Tonight's game against the Maple Leafs -- I am amused by the posters on the Orange and Black board who have all kinds of confidence in the Flyers based on prior trashings of the Leafs by the Flyers. My favorite included a comment about "recent years." What about the most recent year, last year, where the Loafs took 3 of 4 meetings?

Again, I'm not going to make any predictions. OF COURSE I'd like a Flyers win over my former favorite team, but naturally I won't bet the farm. I won't even bet a cookie. Well, maybe I'd bet a cookie. I'm looking forward to listening. If the Flyguys just play real hockey for an entire game, they will have a chance. But the way it sounds, not all of them seem to be very interested in that. Maybe tonight they'll finally get a grip? GO FLYERS. (My coworker/pal J. asked me if I would go home and put on my Maple Leafs jersey for the game. I said I hadn't lost that much faith in the Flyers.)

Yesterday's Iowa Stars game didn't end up the way I would have liked; a 4-1 loss in Peoria. Not a bad road record: 3-1. They still have the top spot in the division because Omaha didn't play last night. At 18 points, the Stars are still hovering around the top of the AHL.

There is a story about Joel Lundqvist on the nhl.com AHL Update, talking about his hockey relationship with his brother, speculating on what it will be like when (not if) Joel plays in the NHL, and ends up facing Henrik.

Selfishly, I'm glad the Dallas Stars are good enough now that they don't need to dip into their AHL pool. Toby Petersen was recalled by Edmonton, and I have my fingers crossed that at minimun, Lessard, Eriksson, and Lundqvist finish out this season, at least, in Iowa. (There are plenty of other good guys that I don't want to see make the upward transition yet, either, but these three come to mind right away.)

And lastly, the Phantoms won last night 4-1 over Hershey. WOOO!

While in Mexico the only hockey-related stuff I saw was one night, a guy wearing a Luc Robitaille Kings jersey ducked into a corrugated-metal shack near our hotel; another night, there was a guy wearing a cheap-looking Keith Tkachuk Coyotes jersey. I didn't have a chance to check scores at my leisure, but having checked them now that I have returned, it doesn't appear that I would have wanted to see much of what the Flyers were doing.

Saturday the 28th (October): Loss, 8-2 to PITTSBURGH. I can't stand it.

Monday the 30th (October): Win, 3-0 over Chicago. I'm pleased they won a game, especially one that was on television, so everyone could see the Flyers not losing. However, with all the injuries the Blackhawks have sustained lately (losing Handzus for the season, Havlat out, etc.) it isn't quite the same as having shut out Buffalo, is it?

Thursday the 2nd (November): Another loss to Tampa Bay, 5-2, a game in which Forsberg apparently saw red and was slapped with misconducts and penalties that ended up booting him from the rest of the game.

I got home the night of the 3rd, which meant I could have listened to the game last night, but I went out bowling instead. I didn't miss anything but yet another Flyers loss, 5-3 to the Capitals. I was reading the Philly newspaper this morning, about the game, and I realized that I have started to skim without interest the things the players say after the game. It's always the same. "We weren't playing good enough." "We're frustrated." "It's tough.*" I suppose there are only so many diplomatic ways to put yourself down to the press who are going to write bad things about the way you played anyway. They also offer sad tidbits like "The loss ended a 16-game undefeated streak by the Flyers against Washington in Philadelphia. It was the Capitals’ first win at the Wachovia Center since January 31, 1998." And before Esche was pulled after four goals against in the first, he's left with ... wait for it ... a GAA of 5.23 (!!) with a record of 1-3 (that win was the Chicago shutout). Niittymaki stanched the bleeding by allowing only one other goal, and apparently helped kill off a long 5-on-3. However, I'm not going to sit here and Esche-bash and Niitty-worship, because Niitty was in net for those other bad losses. And you can't really beat the goaltender about the head when your defense is standing around and allowing stuff like this:

"Washington was not done when Chris Clark skated around Joni Pitkanen to spring a two-on-one rush. Clark fed Ovechkin for the second-year Russian’s second goal of the game with 59 seconds remaining."

And, you know, the ever-disastrous "bounce" reared its ugly head too.

The only bright spot -- if you want to see one -- is that the Flyers outshot Washington 36-19. That's the story of the Flyers season, it seems: hammer the goalies with a thousand shots, get one in. Allow the other team to take ten shots, let 6 in.

So, then, onward with the Flyers' season tomorrow. A game in Toronto. Toronto handed Buffalo its only regulation loss last night. The Leaf Nation must be still hungover from that accomplishment. I don't have any evening plans so I suspect I'll listen to the game. I'm actually looking forward to it, no matter how the Flyers play, as I have missed The Hockey.

Now, there is the AHL stuff. It's much less depressing, really. Since I last hockey-blogged (and reported the Stars' first loss), the Iowa Stars played four games:

10/27, against Omaha (in Des Moines): loss, 2-1 [goal scored by Jared Nightingale (who?)]
10/28, against Chicago (in Chicago): overtime win, 5-4 (goals by Green, Hacker, Lessard, Sertich, and Conner; a game high in PIMs, it looks; and sounds very exciting: "After starting the American Hockey League season with six straight wins, the Iowa Stars were seconds from a third straight defeat on Saturday night. But Iowa got the tying goal skating 6-on-4 with four seconds left in regulation, and then scored 1:02 into overtime to beat Chicago 5-4.)
11/3, against Milwaukee (in Milwaukee): overtime win, 3-2 (Lundqvist with the game-winner!!)
11/4, against Omaha (in Omaha): decisive win, 3-0.

So, the Iowa Stars have lost only two games so far this season, are 9-2 and at the top of the division, second in the conference only to those Rochester punks (10-1). Yeah, only an eighth of the way into the season, but it's not looking like a fluke for the Iowa Stars. They are playing a third game tonight, in Peoria. It was quite a road trip for them this weekend, playing first in Milwaukee, then trekking all the way back across Wisconsin and Iowa to Omaha, and now back across Iowa to Peoria. (Whoever scheduled that was a dolt. Wouldn't it have been far more economical to play in Miwaukee, then Peoria, then Omaha? Poor environment, cringing as she watches needless 10-hour bus trips pollute her skies.)

And also, the Phantoms (in grand Philadelphia tradition, not going all that well either):

Oct. 28: Loss to Grand Rapids, 6-2.
Oct. 29: Loss to Hershey, 4-1.
Nov. 3: Another ugly 6-2 loss, this time to Albany.
Nov. 4: Win over hateful Wilkes-Barre/Scranton -- Phantoms wooooo!! Two goals were scored by Petr Nedved (it's nice to see that he can actually play. In the Inquirer there was a sarcastic comment about "a hot Phantoms prospect, some kid by the name of Petr Nedved." Then: "Seen much of that kid, fans?" In fact, no. Which was part of why he was sent down. Remember?)

Playing tonight vs. Hershey. Go Phantoms. Beat those 2006 Calder Cup champions.

Non-pro hockey tidbit: the University of Iowa club hockey team played last night, at the arena in Cedar Rapids where the Rough Riders play. I went to see a Hawkeyes game last year, when they played at the rink in the mall. I tried to not be disappointed, but as you know I am very spoiled by my pro hockey viewing history. The visiting team was terrible. I don't even think I stayed for the whole game. Anyway, I was told they were playing yesterday, but the results are not posted. Looking at the schedule, there are games I could see, later in the season. It might be OK. They are free, at least, when they play in the mall. Free hockey? In town? Yes please.


*You want to know what's frustrating and tough? Being a Flyers fan right now. Seven points, last in the NHL. [sobs]