So far, so average. At 5-4-1, the red-headed step children of Philadelphia sports started out focused and sharp this season with an opening day shutout, but then lost their Ritalin, got juice all over their lips and started playing in the dirt.
They played like two games all month with this stupid schedule and lost some chemistry. They played just twice in an eleven-day period and used the down time to go on a boat trip in south Florida for team bonding purposes.
I don’t think it worked. I’d prefer if they practiced together, you know, on a hockey rink. Sailing and fishing do not translate to wins.
But whatever, it’s only the first month of the season, and the Flyers always make the playoffs. Mike Richards is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, on pace for an 80 point season. Chris Pronger looks big. Claude Giroux is the best puck-handler I’ve ever seen and Ray Emery looks like he can win games in the NHL -- he’s very athletic. Further, the powerplay is looking very strong, and the Flyers penalty killing is tops in the league.
The down side is that Kimmo Timonen is a minus ten, Simon Gagne is hurt again, and Coach John Stevens can’t put lines together consistently. They can’t close out games right now, they blow leads, and you just can’t do that…on television.
LET’S GO FLYERS!
Special thanks to guest writer Rich for the post.
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