Aaaahhhh!

Dear Gentle Readers,

Personal crisis: Not over. Is that a problem? Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it is. In terms of today, nope.

First Things First

BIG thanks to D.L. for the gift of today's Battle of Pennsylvania tickets to me and co-worker Justin. Additional thanks to Justin's wife, E., who is cool enough to let him attend today's game as well as the mid-March Rangers game to which D.L. gave us tickets. Both of you are awesome!

Justin: You did a good job today. I wish we had been able to see a Richie v. Cindy throw-down like the one I saw last season. That would have made the game even better, although the fight in the audience was interesting.

What I Learned Today

Dear Hockey,

It's true, my life has been stress-filled lately. I have totally taken our relationship for granted. I haven't been contributing. I'm sorry.

I know that I cannot go two-plus months without seeing a live game again. If for nothing other than my own mental sanity, I have to be surrounded by an electrifying audience, watching the guys pound each other, and seeing goals scored in real time.

It felt so good to be at the game today, in spite of the loss. (More on that later.) My February is so much better now.

Battle of Pennsylvania Face-Off

This isn't going to be anywhere near as detailed as other post-game posts because I didn't have my paper for taking notes. Oh, and I committed to just watching the game. So, here goes...

Marty, Marty, Marty. You are banned from harem considerations if that happens again. What was that? Why did it seem like a good idea?

'Cause from 116, 17, 8, it looked like an eight year old goalie really wanted to touch the puck outside the crease and trapezoid and then butterfingered it right to an opposing player so that the NHL Spokesbot could bury it in the net you abandoned when the game was tied - again - in the late stages of the third period.

Lups, Richie, Cobie, Knubs: Thank you for those goals. I loved each one. Way to work the score board and keep us in the game.

Annoying Yinzers who tried to steal Shawn's spotlight: I'd love to rip you really good but I think you heard enough at the game. And probably after it, too.

Kerry Fraser: Creative as always, though not nearly as interesting as in his helmet-less days. Does he still buy Aqua Net in bulk?

Fighting dudes in the stands who upstaged the game that was in progress: Whoa! A couple of somebodies need to take a few chill pills. Jeez! It's just a game. Okay, a hockey game, but a game nonetheless.

Promising to be a good fangirl from now on,

Flyers.Femme

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Phone Booth = Hell

Bell Centre Spectre

C'mon, you knew it couldn't last. Besides, we don't (usually) beat the Habs at home, or ever, unless it's not a play-off game (recently).

Congrats to Asham and Coburn (harem represents!) on tonight's goals.

Semi Off-Topic

Suppose you received a substantial reward for a job well done, in the amount of more than $500 and less than $1000 (taxes already deducted). Since you don't have debts to pay off with it and the economy sucks, what do you purchase with it?

Leave your fun thoughts in the comments.

Deciding what to do for tomorrow's holiday luncheon at work,
Flyers.Femme
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Sundry Items

This One Will Be All Over the Place

1. Didn't get enough of voting with the year's elections (Canada or the U.S.A.)? There's still time to help me choose which two December games I'm going to attend.

Plus, there's always voting for the All-Star Game. This year, I'm advocating for Braydon Coburn write-ins.



2. My hockey open house is December 12. Invitees, the rules are as follows:

• I provide the food, entertainment, and locale.
• You bring contributions for the beverage table.

Don't live in Philly? There's always next year. (No, the invitation is not limited to Flyers fans. It's really just an excuse for me to throw a party at that time of the year.)

3. Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter: You are THIS close to making the cut for the 2008-09 Hockey Harem.

Ciao!
Flyers.Femme
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Scheisse

Literally, that was my thought on hearing, seeing and reading about the puck Coburn took to the face last night. (It equaled the reaction to the one Sami took earlier in the year.)

Best wishes for a speed recovery, big guy! I would say that my permanently displaced jaw flared up today just for you, but I believe it had more to do with the crappy weather than sympathy.

Buckle Down

I didn't take notes during the game, largely because I ended up sitting next to Tina. She's nice and knows hockey every bit as well as her boyfriend, a former hockey player. We talked, found common ground on several points and made snarky comments in those moments that were just too painful to watch. (That "we" includes the boyfriend, too.)

The one outstanding positive of last night's game was Riley Cote's first NHL goal. Welcome to the club, Riley.

First Period

I loved the first period. It was exciting, high energy and seemed to last longer than the usual twenty minutes. Kovalev scored, but so what? That's what he does for the Habs. Of course, Richie put one in short-handed and that's what he does for us.

Things that made me want to scream:

Begin's hit on Tolpenko. I like Denis! We'd just gotten him back from a separated shoulder and time spent with the Phantoms. Now he's out with a mild concussion. (The second one of the home-and-home since Downie's out with one also.)

Vandermeer's mental lapse. Requires no explanation at all.

I wasn't too disappointed with the score at the end of the first.

Second Period

The second period seemed to start off with a bang, thanks to Coby's goal in his first game back from the Pain in the @$$.

Things that made me want to scream:

Cary Price. Kid is on his game and that's on fire right now.

Five power plays that don't result in a goal. Four of them were consecutive. Everyone was thinking too hard or telegraphing the shot by taking too much time to line it up. Oh, and Briere was mincing in and causing everyone to slow down.

Creating a 5-3 penalty kill. Self-explanatory when playing anyone, but particularly the Habs.

Third Period

Frustration City. Niitty made some amazing saves throughout the night.

Things that made me want to scream:

The best display of consistent inconsistency in the NHL continues to be the officiating by the referees, something I think all fans - regardless of team colors - can agree on.

We'll see what happens on Tuesday against Ottawa. I'll be present for the Sharks game on Thursday.

Until then, have fun hockey fans!

11/20 Sens v. Flyers

Flyers subtitle: We'd really like more of the same
Sens subtitle: We're really tired of losing and we may have Alfie back

I'm looking forward to tonight's game even though I won't be in attendance. I wanted to be there. I tried to make myself buy a ticket. In spite of the fact that my employers actually do observe the MLK holiday, I just couldn't suck it up enough to deal with a cab from Center City on a Sunday.

So, guys, sue me.

I'd dearly love to see us win at home against the Sens. I'd also like to see huge plays by everybody on the ice. One baby, tiny, yet HUGE hiccup: We're playing at home and we kind of suck there right now.

But, I'm game for this game. I mean, who wouldn't be, what with Downie in the line-up and the Sens in town?

Pre-Game Update

I'm going to rub this in a little more because it keeps me entertained. Headed in to tonight's game, here's the tally in the Official (Unofficial) Points Race, brought to you by Nadine of Flyers.Femme:

All-Star Richie: 21 G + 31 A = 52 (+/- is 14)
Tiny!Briere: 19 G + 26 A = 45 (+/- is -12)

First Period

Awwwww, no Alfie for the Sens. Of course, Heatley is also out while recovering from a separated shoulder. (Ouch! Those hurt and are annoying.)

Niitty in net for us. Ref talks to Downie, so the convo means "walk away and let the other teams' guys visit your lovely away sin bin."

Coby scores! Cote kills McGrattan(shoulder). Hartsie + Cartsie, 2gether 4ever!

Second Period

Scottie truly comes back from that ankle sprain tonight by putting one on the board. Umby nets one shortly thereafter.

Am I the only one who feels Sami's frustration? He's the new Scott Hartnell since his knee sprain. Plenty of hard work and chances, but nothing going in the goal. Of course, he also makes tons of big plays for us by stopping the other teams' guys. Oh, and he's not afraid to take on the big guys (like Chara the Giraffe).

Breaking news: Hockey Harem Shake-up

No, I'm not removing or demoting Sami. Jonesy and Richie are being promoted. Marty is demoted. Niitty is being added. (Goalies are my favorites, remember?) Don't ask for a reason. I don't have or need one. ;p

Third Period

Gerber's out. Emery's in.

Samiiiiii! And it was short-handed. Woo-hoo! (Thank you, God, for hearing my prayer. I totally called that one!) [jumping up and down, shouting for joy]

Scottie works his second one in on the power play. Vandermeer takes on Donovan.

End of Game Update

I am one happy Flyers fan tonight!

Five different guys put six on the board. Three of them hadn't netted goals for quite some time. (Coburn in 18, Upshall in 14, and dear Sami in 34. Flyers TV guys: Please interview those three. We haven't seen and heard them in some time.)

We beat the Sens again. Okay, Alfie and Heatley weren't there. Don't rain on my parade! It pushed us into a three-way tie for first in the Atlantic with...

1. Lucifer's little minions: We play them at home on Tuesday. They like to beat on us...and for some reason we let them do it. Of course, Jersey Marty is like a brick wall and robs everyone all the time.

2. Cindy-less Pens: Hurry up, Thursday! I can't wait to watch the latest installment of the 2007-08 Battle of Pennsylvania live.

12/11 Pens v. Flyers

All of you Gentle Readers not of the Flyers or Pens persuasion, have fun reading the penalty summary for this one. It's a blast!

Cindy Who? (And I don't mean The Grinch.)

Pens, schmens. Look, the Battle of Pennsylvania is really a battle this year. (Last year, not so much.) Thankfully, the skirmishes are all going our way.

Besides, we really needed a home win.

Highlights of the night:

• Malone and Gator wait an incredible 20 seconds to have their own personal rematch. (Matching 5 minute fighting majors)
• Joffrey Lupul earns six points for the night, which included a hat-trick. (Just goes to show, Lups didn't like the trade to Edmonton all that much.)
• RJ Umberger, proving that good Pittsburghers play for other teams, decides he wants a hat-trick as well (complemented by two assists).
  
• Lasse's in! Hatch's out! (Yikes. Please, not the just-fixed knee.)
• Crosby limited to two second assists. He also up-ends my HBF #1, the goalie, and gets to skate free. (Crowd chants "Crosby Sucks!")
• Laraque, Roberts, and Letang like the Philly away team sin bin so much, they decide to make repeat visits or to obtain double minors in order to spend more time there. In fact, Crosby is one of only a few Pens who didn't sit a spell there! (And he should have.)

Cartsie and Hartsie, 2gether 4ever. Just to keep things interesting, they fulfill the fight wishes of Whitney and Armstrong during the third. I bet Coach Stevens had fun juggling the lines for the remaining six minutes or so.

The only thing missing from this game, in my completely biased opinion, was a Sami goal. I'm hurting for one of those. I'm sure he's saving up for Saturday's game against his old team, the 'Canes. (Though it would be nice for him to bang one in on the Habs on Thursday!)

Official (Unofficial) Points Earned Race: Richie has three assists. Tiny!Briere has one. New totals are 34 for Richie and 32 for Briere.

Final Score: Flyers 8, Pens 2