Well, not having their top two players really hurt the Senators last night. The Flyers just flat out beat them, convincingly, 6-1. The only way the Senators could score last night was when three players on the Flyers fell down on the play. Chalk up another win for Niittymaki, another goal for Scott Hartnell, and another point for Steve Downie. And oh yeah, chalk up a win for Riley Cote. He really beat down Brian McGrattan.
Speaking of that fight, I really think that was the tone setter for the game. McGrattan wanted to send his message to the Flyers, and he found a willing combatant in Cote. I think Cote really surprised him. These two players have had conversations in warmups in each of the past two games against each other, so this has been boiling for awhile. Cote gave up 4 inches to McGrattan, but he stood really tall and took down one of the better fighters in the league. Cote played a great game, maybe the best game I've ever seen him play. He first of all set the tone for the Flyers after the fight, and during the course of the game finished his checks. John Stevens even rewarded him with some powerplay time at the end of the game, and he made a great deflection pass to Scottie Upshall for a goal.
The power play, yes, that has been good. They are now at a 25% clip, putting them in first place in that category. Both the first unit and the second unit have been great. And maybe the second unit has actually been better.
This game was supposed to be all about Steve Downie. Well, he did record an assist and made a great move for a nice scoring chance that also drew a penalty. That's 8 points in the 8 games since his call up. He's been producing on that red hot line with Hartnell and Richards.
The Flyers are a scary team. They've got three lines that can put the puck in the net, an absolutely killer powerplay, shorthanded scoring threats, and just an overall physical team. The Flyers play the Devils on Tuesday night. This is a huge game to say the least. The Flyers have as many points as the Devils and Penguins, but have a game in hand. But if they lose to the Devils, it could be a huge mental loss. They've struggled against the Devils this season, no question about that. If they win Tuesday, they should have no problem beating the Crosby-less Penguins Thursday night. This is a huge week for the Flyers in the division. If they win each of their next two games, they can start putting some distance between themselves and the second place teams.
Flyers continue their roll over the Senators
Posted on: January 21, 2008 11:41 am
Edited on: January 21, 2008 11:42 am
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Posted on: January 21, 2008 4:36 pm
Flyers continue their roll over the SenatorsFlyers are on a roll, 10-1-1 in their last 12 if I'm not mistaken. Last night they handled the Sens pretty easily. They were out shot again, but Nitty through together a nice game. It seems whoever is in net for us this year (him or Biron) they get the job done, and goaltending has been a strong point this year as opposed to one of our weakest positions the last few. Cote had a big W against McGrattan. Although Cote has lost a bunch to the true heavyweights, he always puts a real fight together. Just sock em boppers when he drops the gloves, and that's real fun to watch. With what happened the last time against the Penguins and the Laraque Biron incident, should be very interesting as far as fights and physicality are concerned on Thursday. After last year, I would love to hand it to the Penguins again, and I think we can, especially with them not having Crosby. But first thing is first on Tuesday, we just can't beat the Devils lol. Been a great past couple of weeks with the Flyers, and now that my football year is over it's all about the Flyers now. |
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Posted on: January 21, 2008 4:37 pm
Flyers continue their roll over the Senatorsbut Nitty through together a nice game. |
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Posted on: January 21, 2008 6:03 pm
Flyers continue their roll over the SenatorsI saw a stat today about Gagne and his last few games against the Devils. He's at over a point per game clip in those games. That should be big for us. |
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Reputation: 99
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Posted on: January 22, 2008 2:46 am
Flyers continue their roll over the SenatorsHopefully, he has been over a point a game since his return. I'm pretty sure he's had at least 1 every game since his return, and a few multiple point games in there so I know he's definitely over a point per. |