Fan vs Fan

Friday, April 30, 2010

Flyers Bruins Preview

We here at Down Goes Spezza are happy to provide you with an analysis of the upcoming second round playoff series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins.

Season Series:

Flyers: 2-1-1

Bruins: 2-1-1

What the FUCK?!?! That’s right; both teams “won” the season series

Gary Bettman, what the fuck happened? Fix this now please and thanks, ok?

Five Signs the Flyers will win this Series:

5. With Gagne, Carter, Lappy, Leighton, and Emery all out, the Flyers have a well rested roster of youthful kids.

4. Brian Boucher is on the same stuff that made Ray Emery good in 2007

3. Brian Boucher decided not to choke in the postseason

2. The Flyers employ a dynamic defensive system of shot blocking and positioning, but when all else fails, Chris Pronger maims opposing players

1. Because there are 7 signs the Flyers will win the Stanley Cup in 2010

Five Signs the Bruins are going to lose this series

5. Marc Savard has decided he likes the vacation time

4. Zdeno Chara faints from lack of oxygen that high up

3. Hmm, maybe the fact that the Flyers “won” the season series

2. Correction the Flyers “won” the series in games played in hockey arenas

1. Tuukka Rask just got informed that he is a rookie

The Official Down Goes Spezza Game by Game Predictions:

Game 1 in Boston

Flyers 3
Boston 1

Game 2 in Boston

Flyers 2
Boston 3


Game 3 in Philly

Flyers 1
Boston 0


Game 4 in Philly

Flyers 3
Boston 1


Game 5 in Boston

Flyers 0
Boston 2


Game 6 in Philly

Flyers 3
Boston 2

That’s right, I got the Flyers in 6.

It’s also important to note Gagne should be back for game 5 or 6 and hopefully Mike Leighton will be back as well, because, you know the Flyers goaltending's been more crippled than someone who turns their back on Ovechkin. Seriously, even Stephane Auger can't 'get' this many people. Yes, I'm burying that joke into the ice, like someone racing Marian Hossa on a possible icing call.


PS: Neither team can possibly pull off a Capital choke job in this series.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Quick Predictions on the non-Flyers 2nd round Playoff Series

After going 50/50 in the Game 7s, we here at Down Goes Spezza have decided to take a look at the other playoff series. So, here we go.

Western Conference:

#1 San Jose vs. #5 Detroit

Quick Pick: San Jose drops the series in 6 games after a reporter accidentally walks up to Joe Thornton and asks him “how do you feel about these playoffs?”

#2 Chicago vs. #3 Vancouver

Quick Pick: Vancouver pulls this one out in 7 after Niemi accidentally swallows another puck only to drop it into his own net.

Eastern Conference


#4 Pittsburgh vs. #8 Montreal

Quick Pick: Jaroslav Halak continues to be red hot and the Habs D continues to shut down. Stephane Auger decides that it’s time to “get” Crosby the Crybaby and therefore it’s Habs in 7. By get, we mean actually call Crosby for Diving


#7 Flyers vs. #6 Boston

Tomorrow’s post will give a detailed analysis of this series.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Game 7 Preview #2: Habs at Caps

In part two of my entries on Game 7s in the first round, we look at the Eastern Conference, Habs and Captitals.

So we have the 8th seeded Habs looking to upset top ranked President’s Trophy winning Washington.

Like it was done for the Coyotes/Wings, Down Goes Spezza has all you need to know.





Canadiens:

Pro: Have a set of skilled dynamic forwards who know how to move the puck around the offensive zone

Con: All of whom are less than 5 feet tall

Pro: Have set of strong leaders with playoff experience including Stanley Cup Winners Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez among others

Con: Also have Hal Gill, a free agent once signed by John Ferguson Jr. of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Pro: Will play game 7 in Washington, free of rioters who might try to set the team bus on fire.

Con: Will play game 7 in Washington, free of Belarusian mobsters who may try to make the Capitals disappear



Capitals:

Pro: Have a blue line anchored by Norris Trophy nominee Mike Green who is known for offensive playmaking abilities make him a threat to score at any time

Con: Have a blue line anchored by Trophy nominee Mike Green who is known for defensive playmaking abilities that make the other team a threat to score at any time

Pro: Captain Alex Ovechkin is an incredibly talented scorer who’s known for his ability to bat the puck out of mid air

Con: Coupled with his pitching ability, Ovechkin may be jumping ship to the Washington Nationals

Pro: In a gift to the team to prepare them for the playoffs, Captain Alex Ovechkin had “too hot to handle” sticks made for every player on the team

Con: Sticks were promptly used to start bonfires in post-game riots after game 6 in Montreal leaving the team with sticks that are "slightly warm" instead




Who’s going to win?

It seems the Capitals turned their backs on the series after going up 3-1. And of course, whenever something turns it back on the Capitals, Ovechkin promptly runs it into to the boards effectively destroying it for weeks to come. On the other side, Halak’s followed the tradition of Habs goaltenders started by Carey Price of smoking. Habs take game 7, then promptly get destroyed in the next round when Halak's fire goes out.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Some Thoughts on the Upcoming Game Sevens of the First Round

With the game seven’s upcoming I find it necessary to share my wisdom about Game 7’s. See, the idea that Game 7 can be won via home ice is kind of a myth, it’s basically one game, but without 50/50 odds. Luckily for you, we here at Down Goes Spezza have the ways to tell who’s going to win the first round Game 7’s. Up today is the Coyotes and Red Wings, tomorrow we have the Habs and Caps. So, here’s the low down on the Coyotes and Red Wings, look for a post tomorrow outlining the Habs and Caps.


Don’t worry, I won’t turn my back on that series, Ovechkin might run me into the boards if I do.


Red Wings at Coyotes


Red Wings Analysis:

Pro: Have a habit of winning playoff series

Con: May be curious to feel what it’s like to drop out in the first round for a change

Pro: Have a future Hall of Fame goaltender in Chris Osgood

Con: He isn’t starting

Pro: Had 9 Olympic caliber players on their roster

Con: None of whom won a gold medal


Coyotes Analysis:

Pro: Have a roster of unknowns which make scouting the team impossible

Con: Have a roster of unknowns makes it hard to find your teammates

Pro: Have a loyal fan base who partakes in the great “white out” tradition

Con: Have to play game 7 in one of the most hazardous cities in the USA as ice cannot survive in Phoenix, Arizona.

Pro: May be relaxed from enjoying the warm summer weather that Phoenix has.

Con: Team may need time to find a vacation spot before leaving Phoenix, welcome to Loser City.




Who’s going to win?

Real easy to see, the Coyotes have this one in the bag mainly because Gary Bettman loves it when failing small market southern teams in the USA come in and destroy powerful storied NHL franchises.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Caption Contest 1


Ok, time for some fun. You write the caption! Go forth and be awesome fearless Down Goes Spezza readers.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Top 10 Most Memorable Flyer Facial Injuries

With Ian Laperriere going down with yet another case of “using face to block incoming shot” I find myself feeling the need to post a list of 10 memorable facial injuries in hockey. Some will be memorable because of the player involved, others for the situation. All of these will be significant for reasons given in the explanation; all of these involve the Flyers in some way, so sit back, relax and enjoy.

WARNING: Some of the videos are graphic in nature, watch at your own risk.

The Top 10 Most Memorable Flyers related Facial Injuries:


10. Matt Bradley [WSH] gets his face pounded in by Dan Carcillo on December 5, 2009


Why I like it: Carbomb landed a bomb on Bradley’s face. Oh yeah, and because this night was the first date between Down Goes Spezza and his lovely girlfriend.



9. Trent McCleary [MTL] blocks a Chris Therien shot with his throat Jan 20, 2000.

Why I like it: Well, I don’t like it, it’s a shame that McCleary’s career was ended by that shot, but that being said, it is a wake-up call to the NHL to make throat guards mandatory. There’s yet to be a fatality from something like this, and let’s keep it that way.



8. Stephane Auger [Ref] takes a puck off the face on December 5, 2009.


Why I like It: Well, it seems like someone had enough of Stephane Auger being out to get him. Oh yeah, and DGS and his lovely girlfriend were hanging out together. Luckily for Auger, being blind is not a reason to retire as an NHL referee, just ask, Kerry Fraser




7. Pat Dapuzzo (Linesman) gets cut by an errant Steve Downie Skate on February 9, 2008


Why I Like It: A brawl ensued and Dapuzzo got in to break it up. Got a little Lappy in you?



6. Colton Orr (NYR) knocks out Todd Fedoruk on March 21, 2007


Why I like it: I don’t like serious career threatening injuries, but Orr did to Fedoruk what the rest of the NHL did to the Flyers as a team that year, enough said.


5. Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnnson and Mark Recchi take sticks to the face compliments of Martin Havlat. (2003, 2004). (Sadly no vids of these could be found)

Why I like it: Because revenge is pretty freaking sweet.

Wait my bad, something’s wrong there. What could it possibly be?

I think that there are three possible problems here.



4. Brian Boucher makes a save with his mask, May 24, 2000.


Why I like it: Bouch breaks his mask stopping a puck off a Scott Gomez slapper. Nice



3. Ian Laperriere blocks a shot against the Buffalo Sabres with his jaw on November, 27, 2009


Why I like it: Lappy took a shot off the face, lost 7 teeth, broke his jaw, needed 100+ stitches to close up the wound, and came back to play in the same game. (Note: Lappy takes the shot off the face about 2:00 into the video)




2. Bernie Parent’s Career ending eye injury, February 17, 1979.


Why I like it: Again, I don’t, but this ended the career of the greatest Flyers goalie of all time. Bernie, you delivered cups to this beautiful city, and for that, I thank you, your career ended far too early.




1. Ian Laperriere blocks a shot with his right eye against the Devils on April 22, 2010


Why I liked It: Lappy’s block kept the energy up as the Flyers made short work of the Devils to oust them in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Flyers 3, Devils 0

Flyers 3 Devils 0

Flyers win series 4-1

10 years later, Brian Boucher puts the Devils to rest.

Enough said, and now, what have we learned...


The Flyers are a force to be reckoned with.

Down Carter, down Gagne, losing Lappy, and Boucher pitches a shutout, Claude steps up and plays the game of his life. The Flyers move on and the league better watch out.

Lappy's ok, and thankfully, Lappy's planning on wearing a shield from now on.

All in all, great series, great result, bring on the next opponent, probably the Capitals...this will be interesting as the lovely girlfriend of DGS is a Capitals fan who's originally from the DC area.

With that, peace out...more to come soon on the rest of the first round series.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Uh-oh

Just got word from the Flyers, no Gagne, no Carter tomorrow night.

This spells trouble for the Flyers, look for Leino and one of the call-ups to be in the line up.

My picks for line combos:

Carcillo-Richards-Briere
Hartnell-Giroux-JVR
Leino-Powe-Asham
Laperriere-Betts-[Nodl/Kalinski/Laliberte]

the D will remain the same, and Boucher will be in net again.


Also: since both Gagne and Carter play the PP and PK, this is how those units should look

PP1

Up Front: Carcillo-Richards-Giroux
Blue-Line: Pronger-Timonen

PP2
Up Front: Hartnell-Briere-JVR
Blue-Line: Carle-Coburn [though expect Pronger to play the whole 2 minutes]

PK1
Up Front: Betts/Lappy
D-men: Pronger/Carle

PK2
Up Front: Richards/Hartnell
D-Men: Timonen/Coburn



My opinion here is that Homer's playing this one safe, losing in NJ isn't that important with Game 6 back in Philly.

Keep rocking the Orange


EDIT:
Gagne's out 3 weeks, Carter's out 6, this is NOT good. Hopefully the rest of the team can pick it up though. Flyers have depth, and that helps.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Flyers 4 Devils 1,

Game 4 has gone final...

Flyers 4, Devils 1

Flyers lead series 3-1

Well, in short, after an early game PK issue, the Flyers finally got on track and dominated the Devils to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the best of 7 series. For any fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs who may be reading this blog, I will pause now so you can look up what "playoffs" are.

What we learned:

Ilya Kovalchuk doesn't fit in the Devils system.

Seriously, even when he scores, he doesn't seem like he is helping his team. Kovi doesn't seem like a team player, and in a system that stresses discipline like the Devils, he doesn't fit.

Martin Brodeur isn't that good anymore.

I've been saying this for years. Brodeur was made by the D in front of him. Is he one of the top 5 of all the time, maybe, top 10, surely. But right now, in 2010, Brodeur is nothing special. As my blogging idol Mr. Down Goes Brown would put it, Brodeur might be as fat as Kyle Wellwood.
Don't believe me, you should.

The Flyers are finally playing to their potential.

The Flyers are playing like the team they were hyped to be back in September. And they're doing in front of Brian Boucher. Jeff Carter finally came out of his scoring funk and Dan Carcillo continued to wreck the Devils with his scoring touch. Yeah, I'm on the Carcillo bandwagon now, and I missed Upshall for a while after his trade.

Peter Laviolette knows how to use a timeout

He drew up the play that led to the goal that put the game out of reach. The Devils are in trouble, and all the pressure is on them. Now Lavi needs to keep outcoaching
the Devils so the Flyers can wrap this up on Thursday.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Paul Holmgren's Offseason Agenda Item 1

It's come to my attention that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is already out searching for goaltenders for the 2010-2011 season. See it turns out, that in the huge celebration following Carbomb's game winning OT goal last night, Paul Holmgren left his laptop unattended. During the post game party, my DGS SuperSpies got a glimpse of what Homer was up to during the game. In order to avoid detection, they created a video describing the event.

Flyers Offseason Plans

Needless to say, Homer's plan seems a little desparate.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Flyers 3, Devils 2

Game 3 goes final:

Flyers 3, Devils 2 OT

Flyers lead series 2-1

Game 4: at Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Tuesday @ 7pm



A nail-biter right to end with a dude named Carbomb grinding out a GWG. I smell an upset here.

What we learned tonight:

With all due respect to my blogging prophet Mr. Down Goes Brown, I think it's safe to say that Ilya Kovalchuk is officially harder to find than Lee Stempniak in Toronto. Ilya's been shut down by the Flyers defense. Also, Martin Brodeur's stopped a lot of shots, but in the end, he's human and beatable.

The Flyers can in fact win for Brian Boucher, contrary to what the regular season showed us. With this momentum, the Flyers are moving ahead and since they won in OT, I think they've seized control of this series. With that, to the rest of the NHL: WATCH OUT! Philly is finally playing the Cup contender they are.

Come on Flyers! More to come from me after Game 4

Friday, April 16, 2010

Flyers/Devils Thoughts

Devils 5 Flyers 3
Series Tied 1-1

Game 3, Sunday 6pm EDT in Philadelphia

The Flyers played well tonight, but the Devils seemed like the hungrier, albeit, undisciplined team. Props to Brian Boucher keeping the Orange and Black in it til the end. Now, to not dwell on the past, let's see what we learned.

Ilya Kovalchuk may have gotten the piano off his back with the empty netter, this could make things dangerous for the Flyers if he finds his game.

Claude Giroux is the real deal, once again, another game filled with crazy dekes and great passes, Giroux is an elite playmaker in the making

Brian Boucher and Marty Brodeur are sure making this seem like 2000 again. Luckily for the Flyers, the big, game changing d-man in the 2010 edition of the rivalry is Chris Pronger, and he wears orange. [Side plus of not having Lindros around either]

Game 3:

Another close one, these great teams should go 7, and I got the Flyers taking it.

Until next time, this

Seven Signs the Flyers will win the Stanley Cup in 2010

Yes, I know, the Flyers supposedly don't have a shot this year, that's what all the experts are saying, well guess what. That's what the Flyers want you to think, because secretly, they have a plan to win it all. It's a 7 step plan, and here it is:

Seven Signs That the Philadelphia Flyers Might Win the Stanley Cup this year:

1. Came up with a new defensive strategy centered along the idea of Dan Carcillo getting acquainted with the other team’s leading scorer

2. If the above fails, Chris Pronger comes to the rescue

3. In order to prevent the other team’s shooters from finding patterns in the Flyers goaltending, the Flyers dressed a different pair of goalies every game.

4. The Flyers did NOT sign Marion Hossa this past offseason

5. Implemented new pregame strategy of broadcasting recordings of Mike Richards speaking into the other team’s locker room to put them to sleep before every game

6. Had their diverse goaltenders bond over the element of shared trips to the hospital for MRIs

7. Told Brian Boucher it’s 2000 again

The Introduction

While surfing the internet recently, I came across one of the more interesting blogs ever in the history of hockey Down Goes Brown. That being said, as a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, I find that I too am in a sense of despair as Philly hasn't seen a cup since the 1975. So, here I am, ready to vent out all my frustrations, and share a bit of humor at the same time.

Later tonight, I'll post updates and thoughts on the Flyers 1st round matchup with the Devils.