Official Pens vs Flyers thread

Here's one point I will make about the Malkin hit on Briere.  Was it a penalty that was missed?  Yes.  Was it dirty?  No.  TSN.ca has footage of Jason Smith punching Crosby away from the puck in last night's game that also wasn't called.  Was that a penalty?  Yes.  Was it dirty?  No.  These teams are hitting each other every chance they get, and sometimes they're crossing the line.  But that's hockey, especially among rivals.  Sometimes penalties are being called, and sometimes they are not.  Inconsistent?  Yes.  But NHL officiating has been inconsistent since at least 1980 ... that's when I started watching hockey.  It was probably inconsistent before then, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

The second point I would make.  People like to talk about the Penguins diving ... well, Briere has that reputation too from his play with the Coyotes, Sabres and now the Flyers.  In one of the games against the Canadiens, he got hit in the right shoulder and grabbed his head and went down to the ice.  The second that the ref called a penalty, he bounced right back up and was ready for the PP.  For all I know the same ref that called that game was the same ref in last night's game ... the NHL tends to use the same rotation of officials at this point of the season.  So, if the ref didn't actually see the elbow, but he saw Briere on the ice holding his head again, perhaps he thought, "I'm not falling for that again."  Just a thought.

And btw, I don't think Stevens is classless at all ... he's just trying to get that "next call" for his team.  Every coach does that.  In fact, Scotty Bowman was probably the best all time at doing that.  The one thing I would say to Stevens though is that he's saying Briere should be getting calls.  Well, I understand that he's upset about the missed elbow on Briere, but Briere has been a no show so far in this series.  The way you draw penalties is to have the puck on your stick  or drive the net and consistently create opportunities in the other team's zone.  Neither Briere nor Prospal has been doing that.  Now Richards is another story ... he has been great.  If I was Stevens, I would try to get the officials to notice when Richards has the puck and his getting hooked or held because he is creating chances.  If anyone on the Flyers would be drawing penalties it would be Richards, Briere isn't doing anything to draw penalties through two games.

I agree crow,

Briere has been non-existent...the Sabres fans warned us this would happen the farther along in the playoffs we got, and so far they have been correct.  Outside of Richards, Upshall, and Carter none of the other forwards have been doing a good job carrying the puck...briere's whole line has been non-existent and im wondering if maybe they shouldn't try and get prospal the puck more coming out of the zone and have him and briere switch roles, because briere is coughing up the puck more than IronCity coughs up erroneous statements.

You really are a clown. The fattest city in America? Yeah, that was a scientific survey. And I'm sure Pittsburgh is the most livable city in America. (What does that even mean, most livable?) It's called SELLING MAGAZINES. Do you happen to notice these magazines that put out these lists change from year to year? Sporting News rated Philly North America's best hockey town in 2006. The next year, it wasn't. Why? Do you think cities all of a sudden slim up from one year to the next or get safer or more dangerous from one year to the next? I want you to think about that. Don't just fire off some smartass remark. Think about the stupidity of these magazine surveys, one of which you've been talking about for two days now.

Plus, there's plenty of fine-looking women in the Illadelph. (Personally, even if the survey were somehow accurrate -- not that that is possible -- I could care less if the guys are fat asses. Makes my chances all the better.) I'd venture to say there are more hot chicks in Philly than in P-burgh.

"Once again, the minute you write on a cbssportsline thread isnt the minute you start following a team."

I never said it was. For all I know, you wore a Mario Lemieux onesie when you were an infant. Don't really care, though. You made the point that no Flyers fans were posting last night when the Pens were up early. I pointed out the FACT that a guy who didn't even have an account until Saturday is mocking fans for not being active enough on the message boards.

So what exactly are you disputing about what I said?

But I don't really care. Be/c you won't see me on one of these things during any game, no matter if my team is kicking ass or getting its ass kicked. Between beer runs, packing up the bong and going outside for a smoke, I've got plenty going on when I'm watching a game to get on here to respond to some moron like you.

See. I can agree with a Pens fan -- for the most part. I feel the same way as you do about penalties and the NHL, my friend. The refs are always going to be inconsistent. Just call it evenly. I would hope by series end -- which hopefully now won't be till game seven -- the teams' PP are within 5. If it's any more than that, something's wrong.

Do you think there were no examples of Pens players punching or slashing or hooking Flyers players away from the play, as you say Smith did to Crosby? Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure. There's no "SidCam" equivalent for the Flyers. Let me ask you this. TSN's camera caught it, but did a ref or linesman?

I think the reason Flyers fans are so pissed about what happened to Briere is it happened right in front of an official. And, as natedogg, pointed out, you guys now have an established history of taking head shots at our Stars. If Hatcher did the same exact thing to Malkin or Crosby in the same exact spot, do you think it's not going to get called? Let me answere that. Of course it will get called.

Yup. It's called gamesmanship. All coaches bemoan lacks of calls in their favor or "poor" calls against them. It's all about hoping the refs take the comments with them to the next game. Not to talk NBA, since I know P-burgh people don't know what that is, but Phil Jackson is a master of such gamesmanship.

And you're right. Briere is killing the Flyers so far. But, with the games in Philly, I'm sure Stevens will take advantage of having the opportunity to put his guys on the ice last and get him away from Malkin. That was one thing the announcers commented on during the game last night that I actually agreed with -- Malkin's size is causing serious problems for Briere.

(I don't know but I'd be willing to find out!)"

Yeah, man. Now you're talking. ANARCHY!!! ANARCHY!!! Hunter-gatherer state. Survival of the fittest. I'm in. Sign me up. Enough with the erosion of our rights to freedom while the politicos pad their pockets.