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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Whole Lotta Stuff

Part the First - Finished games stuff

All good streaks come to an end, it just sucks when that coincides with Cindy Crosby being in town. *Shudder*

In a bit of a confession: I admit to perpetrating a small but significant amount of harassment toward my co-worker Justin about the Leafs game. Seriously, he's a Philly fan in everything but hockey...and he has to pick Toronto for that. *Shrugs*

By now you know that stats just aren't my thing - even just reading them - because they have, um, numbers in them. Well, did I read it wrong yesterday, or do Jeff Carter's 29 goals push him back up to the top of the list again? (My eyes have been a little glazed over lately because of all the sound-editing I've been doing.)

Part the Second - Thank you, Jesus!

Thanks to dropping the game last night, the Flyers are not the division leaders any more, which I think is fantastic. The guys don't have to win the division...let some other team expend itself on that honor. I'll settle for the team squeeking like last year and running deep into the post-season, in the hopes of appropriating some good Philly sports mojo in order to win the FPOW conference.

Part the Third - Best Christmas Presents

Truly, the best present I received over the holidays was two weeks away from here with my family and the dog. We like each other. We can hang out together and not kill everyone.

But if I have to pin down my top three Christmas presents, they are:

1. Tickets to two games! Come and see me and co-worker Justin (assuming his wife lets him out of the house) at these games:

• Feb. 21 Battle of PA match-up. Section 116.
• March 14 vs. Rangers. Section 222A.
  

2. Two Flyers gift cards worth $75! Hello, Fan Gear Store? Yeah, see you February 21 and March 14.

3. Flyers Christmas tree ball! All I can ever find at the stores near me are Eagles and Phils ones. Thanks, Holly, for getting me this...you'll see it at next year's open house.

And for Extra Credit

My request for suggestions on what co-worker Kristin and I should see and do in Montreal in June is - actually - open to people other than the Four Habs Fans. Feel free to leave yours as comments, a tweet, or drop me an email.

Psyched!
Flyers.Femme
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I Want Evidence

Thank you, God!

It's a proven fact that Cindy Crosby is not old enough to grow a good Playoff Beard. The attempt was just painful to look at these past two months.

I want photographic and video proof that it's been shaved off!

Oh Dear God!

The 2007-08 season is over. Now what am I supposed to do?

As I pointed out early in my hockey blogging, thank God for Youtube.com and pray for August to roll around.

Although, since I'll be Sami-less, I guess I'd better do some Finnish hockey players research.

Get Nadine a New Finn!

It's true, I'm lost without Sami. (Thirteen years - season played before draft to retirement - is a long time!) So, I'm taking nominations for my new favorite Finnish player. Suggestions will be accepted from anyone. Please include:

• Name
  
• Vital stats
• Position (bonus points for goalies)
  
• Team, and
• Why I should pay attention to him, particularly if your suggestion isn't Kimmo Timonen (who should have been captain), Lasse Kukkonen (who was featured on my Happy New Year card and makes me smile for no apparent reason) or Antero Niittymäki (who probably has the best post-hip surgery flexibility for a goalie I've seen in, well, forever).

Psst! Pittsburgh

Scary but true factoid: If you want to beat us, bench Cindy!

That's right. We won the regular season Battle of Pennsylvania this year (5-3). And you know what? We generally won when Sid the Kid played. See, it's a trend:

11/07 in Pittsburgh: Flyers win with Sid
11/10 in Philadelphia: Flyers win with Sid
12/11 in Philadelphia: Flyers win with Sid
1/24 in Philadelphia: Flyers win without Sid
2/10 in Pittsburgh: Pens win without Sid
3/16 in Pittsburgh: Pens win without Sid
4/02 in Pittsburgh: Pens win with Sid
4/06 in Philadelphia: Flyers win without Sid

Qué interesante, ¿no cierto?

You know who really gives us trouble? Evgeni Malkin.

(Semi cross-posted to HLOG as "Sacrilege for The Burgh")

[5/06 Note: Thanks, Blogger, for your regular nightly failure that ate my corrections. Argh!]