Flyers acquire Walker, 4th-round pick, magic beans for Gagne

We knew for the last two weeks that Simon Gagne was actively being shopped by GM Paul Holmgren.

What we didn’t know, however, was he’s been taking lessons in bargaining from Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk fame.

Holmgren dealt Gagne today. To Tampa Bay, who was long-rumored to be a dark-horse in the Gagne trade talks. What did Holmgren receive in return for the Flyers icon?

D Matt Walker, Tampa’s 4th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft, and presumably a bag of magic beans.

WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?

Walker is a 30-year old defenseman who cannot possibly be any better than Oskars Bartulis. He’ll be our reserve defenseman and used to spell O’Donnell.

THAT’S IT!?!??!?!?!?!?

No Jonathan Quick. No Jonathan Bernier. No prospects of any kind.

I can say, without speculation, that this is the worst trade the Philadelphia Flyers have made in the 18+ years I’ve been following the team. Danny Markov for Justin Williams is NOTHING compared to this farce.

We all knew Philly wasn’t a good town to it’s sports icons. We let Brian Dawkins walk. We traded Donovan McNabb and Allen Iverson. We’re about to wave goodbye to Jayson Werth.

Aside from what this team did to poor Rod Brind’Amour, I thought the Flyers were the classy franchise of the town, the one that could rise above the treatment given to other star players on other Philadelphia franchises.

Poor cap management, horrible signings and trades that make Ruben Amaro look like a genius, however, put the handwriting on the wall for the longest-tenured Flyer.

Gagne will no doubt make a fine addition to Tampa’s lineup. Playing on a wing with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis will give Tampa a top line that, when healthy, is one of the best in hockey.

As for the Flyers, well, at least they’ve got that oh-so-important depth on the blue line now. And Jody Shelley.

The search for a franchise goaltender will continue for the Flyers. But for a team that was two wins away from claiming Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2010, they have taken massive steps backwards this off-season, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Hope those magic beans work out for you, Paul.

Tags: ashamed to tag myself in this post I'm so disgusted, Christian Ingram, franchises in decline, Philadelphia Flyers, Simon Gagne, terrible trades, ugh

Kovalchuk sweepstakes ends. Let the Gagne bidding begin!

It’s been almost three weeks since the NHL FA signing period began, and it took this long for the NHL’s biggest prize to be locked down.

After 19 days, endless negotiations/rumors and an entire holdup of the trade market, Ilya Kovalchuk has finally come to terms.

Kovy’s suitor? The same team that traded for him just before the deadline last season: The New Jersey Devils.

Details on Kovalchuk’s contract cannot be confirmed at this time, but NHL sources have let it slip through Twitter that his contract is likely worth over $100M over an astounding 17 years. If accurate, this would make Kovy the owners of the 2nd-longest contract in NHL history, a mere three years shy of Rick DiPietro’s record-setting 20-year deal.

In terms of the Flyers, this massive signing means three things. Obviously it means that Kovalchuk will be staying in the Atlantic Division for the long-term future, which isn’t exactly a great thing for us. The caveat of this, however, is that the Devils are going to be in hardcore salary dump mode for the next month or so. Zach Parise is rumored to be moved to make room under the cap, and to be honest, I’d rather them hang onto a one-dimensional sniper like Kovalchuk than a two-way center who can score and kill penalties like Parise. Kovalchuk doesn’t fit the Devils’ system at all and it will be interesting to see how they try to work him into their offensive and defensive schemes, especially the latter.

Finally, this signing means the rumored Simon Gagne deals can, at long last, come to fruition. Now with L.A. out of the Kovalchuk Sweepstakes, they will likely push hard for Gagne, at the very least to replace the scoring they’ll lose when Alex Frolov inks elsewhere. The rumored return for Gagne is Justin Williams. There are likely to be more players involved in this as well (Scott Hartnell? Please?), but if we’re not getting back Quick or Bernier, I consider this move a gigantic flop. We have Zherdev to (supposedly) replace Gagne. What do we need another winger for? Are we going to trade Williams for Danny Markov again?

Yes, I’m still bitter about that.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are also in on Gagne, though they could only offer a package of picks and prospects. It’d be a straight salary dump for the Flyers, and while that is what they need to do after re-signing Dan Carcillo, it doesn’t improve the team. Trading for Quick or Bernier (preferrably the latter) does.

What do you think, Flyer fans? What are you (realistically, of course) looking for in return for Simon Gagne?

Tags: Christian Ingram, Divachuk, Philadelphia Flyers, please god get us a goaltender, Simon Gagne, still hating the Markov trade, trade rumors

The Simon Gagne Quandary

“Should I stay or should I go?”

If that song isn’t on Simon Gagne’s mp3 player after the last week or two, I’d be stunned.

Gagne has been the subject of so many trade rumors, even Jeff Carter would say it’s excessive. The longest-tenured Flyer on the roster, Gagne has a full no-trade clause in his contract, which has one year and $5.25 million remaining.

It was reported last week that the talented winger had been asked to waive his no-trade clause, presumably after the Flyers spent themselves into a corner with the addition of Meszaros, Shelley, and O’Donnell coupled with the re-signing of Michael Leighton. Philly is over the cap, and that’s before the rumored signing of Nik Zherdev and the possibly re-signings of Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe.

Yikes. That’s a pickle that even the kids from The Sandlot would have a tough time solving.

The solution, it seems, is to trade Gagne. I would argue it makes more sense to deal Carter, as the Flyers are stacked at center and lack depth on the outside. However, Gagne is likely to be let go after this year, even if he offers the Flyers a substantial hometown discount. He also has substantial trade value at the moment after his massive performance in the 2010 postseason.

So, the question is, do you deal Gagne or not? Conflicting reports have surfaced on whether Gagne would waive his no-trade clause. It was first reported he would, but a few days ago Gagne said on french TV that he has not agreed to waive it.

The rumored suitors for Gagne’s services are the Ducks, Kings and Maple Leafs, with Boston in the mix as well. The Flyers are rumored to receive either W Bobby Ryan, G Jonathan Quick, D Tomas Kaberle or G DTim Thomas, respectively, from the teams involved.

To me, the Gagne/Kaberle deal makes zero sense. The Flyers already have the best and most expensive blue line in hockey, so adding another piece there makes no sense, unless a Timonen trade is imminent. Bobby Ryan and the Ducks are rumored to be at an impasse on contract talks, and the Cherry Hill, N.J. native might take give the Flyers a small discount to play for his boyhood-favorite team if they are able to acquire him.

Nice as that may sound, it still doesn’t solve Philly’s cap issues. Neither does the deal for Thomas, especially since Thomas is 36 and has multiple years left on his $5M/year contract.

Which brings us to the L.A. Kings. All off-season they have matched up best with the Flyers in a trade. Dean Lombardi, Ron Hextall and the rest of the Kings’ brass has great respect for the Flyers organization and wouldn’t hesitate to match up with them in a deal. It also appears L.A. is likely to (inexplicably) lose out on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, as it seems Kovy will either stay in New Jersey, take the massive 10-year/$100M contract from the Islanders, or pack his bags and head to the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg and their newest signee, former Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

Losing out on Kovalchuk will hurt L.A.’s plans to upgrade on offense, something they desperately need to do if UFA Alexander Frolov walks, as he seems destined to do. They also have a logjam at the goaltender position, with youngster Jonathan Bernier favored by the franchise over current (and also young) starter Quick.

A Quick/Gagne swap would make sense for all parties. The Kings would gain offensive firepower at a price that won’t keep them from re-signing youthful stars like Drew Doughty while turning the franchise over to Bernier, something they are looking for an excuse to do. Meanwhile, Philly would not only gain nearly $4M in cap space, but they’d also acquire a potential franchise netminder, something this town hasn’t had in 20 years.

This trade makes far too much sense not to go down. Plus if the Flyers do indeed sign Zherdev, as rumored, then they may not even lose much offensively. Lastly, it will give Gagne something he deserves from the franchise he helped support for the last decade: a chance to win even if it’s not with the Orange and Black.

The way out of the Simon Gagne Quandary is to use him to acquire Jonathan Quick. I will personally consider anything less than a deal of this caliber a total failure, a much bigger one than coming up short against the Blackhawks last month.

Tags: Christian Ingram, finally (maybe) a goaltender, off-season, Philadelphia Flyers, Simon Gagne, trades

Shelley, Meszaros, O’Donnell join Flyers

Aside from the Michael Leighton signing, which I went into great detail on last time, the Flyers made some other big moves last week at the opening of the NHL’s Free Agency period.

One of the team’s main goals was to upgrade the last defensive pairing following the shortcomings of Ryan Parent/Lukas Kraijeck/Oskars Bartulis in the postseason. After failing to ink Dan Hamhuis (who eventually signed with Vancouver) to fill that role, they were at least able to accomplish that goal.

How well they accomplished it, however, remains to be seen.

After signing veteran defenseman Sean O’Donnell, the Flyers dealt with first-time GM Steve Yzerman in Tampa Bay. Philly sent their second-round pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft for defenseman Andrej Meszaros. And his $4M cap hit. While he put up decent numbers in Ottawa a few years back and played on a very underwhelming Lightning squad, Meszaros is widely-regarded as being overpaid amongst those in NHL circles.

Just what we need, right? Another guy who likely won’t live up to his contract.

That said, the Meszaros/O’Donnell pairing will indeed take strain off Pronger/Carle/Timonen/Coburn, as Mezsaros can certainly eat minutes. The Flyers paid a hefty price, but they did accomplish their goal.

It wouldn’t be a Philadelphia off-season, however, if we didn’t overpay someone to come in and rack up penalty minutes. Well, Paul Holmgren made sure the goon role will never go unoccupied for the Orange and Black, signing Jody Shelley for three years at $1.1M a year.

To do exactly what Dan Carcillo does. And exactly what we try to keep Riley Cote from doing.

Now we have Carcillo (who has recently filed for salary arbitration), Cote and Shelley on the roster to “agitate” a.k.a. take unnecessary penalties, not to mention the ones Scott Hartnell and our defensemen will amass. Considering the Flyers didn’t have a need here and still haven’t figured out a goaltending solution that everyone can be comfortable with, was this really the best way to spend $1.1M a season?

Or has it marked the end of Simon Gagne’s tenure in Philadelphia?

We’ll address those rumors shortly. For now, however, all is not well in Flyerland after the first round of free agency activity.

Tags: Christian Ingram, free agent frenzy, Philadelphia Flyers, Philly is doomed to never have a legit backstop, what the hell Holmgren

Leighton re-signed, fan base weeps

Yesterday was the first official day that free agents could sign with new teams.

The Flyers not only signed some free agents, but they also retained some of their own players.

They just weren’t the moves the fan base wanted.

At the end of the day, Arron Asham and one of Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe are likely to be cap casualties, made expendable by GM Paul Holmgren’s opening day moves.

Homer’s first move came one day before the UFA period opened, as he re-signed UFA goaltender Michael Leighton to a two-year contract worth 1.55 million a year. This understandably upset many of the Orange and Black Army, as they feel Leighton’s unraveling in the Cup Finals is the reason the Stanley Cup is making the rounds of Chicago’s gay pride parade rather than hanging out in the broad street area. They have a legit gripe, as Leighton’s five-hole was open more than than an Arizona State girl’s. Coming into the season with the same goaltender tandem that didn’t get the job done last season is not the way to send the message that your team is able to get over the hump.

The other moves we’ll delve into in greater detail a bit later, but let’s just say the fans have more reason to be pissed than a loose-legged goaltender.

Tags: Christian Ingram, free agent frenzy, Philadelphia Flyers, Philly is doomed to never have a legit backstop, what the hell Holmgren

Flyers granted window to negotiate with Nabokov

Ever since Pelle Lindbergh’s tragic death, the Flyers have sought for a netminder the franchise can trust to carry them towards the Stanley Cup.

Yesterday, GM Paul Holmgren may have gotten close to attaining that goal.

The San Jose Sharks have reportedly given permission for the Flyers to negotiate with pending UFA goaltender Evgeni Nabokov before he hits the open market on July 1. If the Flyers are able to sign Nabokov before that date, Philly will ship a 2011 seventh-round draft pick to the Sharks. In the event they are unable to, as we all saw with Dan Hamhuis over the weekend, there will be no charge, so to speak, for this window.

Other blogs are debating about whether or not Nabokov is the answer for the Flyers in net. Many say it reminds them of the dreadful John Vanbiesbrouck acquisition. Still more can’t help but have flashbacks of *shudder* Roman Chechmanek.

These discussions, unfortunately, are irrelevant. If the Flyers were going to move a big contract (Carter/Hartnell/Briere/Timonen/Gagne), it likely would have happened on draft day. Friday came and went with the same roster still in place though, meaning the prospects of acquiring a Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier or Cory Schneider are a bit more grim.

The reality is that the Flyers are the only legit contender who is in the market for a starting goaltender. Well, us and the Sharks, and since they’re the ones who are letting Nabby walk, I don’t see them getting involved in the bidding.

If Nabokov wants over $4M a season, I’d prefer the team not sign him. We have better uses for that cap space. But, considering the market for goaltenders is expected to be weak, in the event he’ll sign cheaply for two years to try and bring a cup to the Wachovia Center, we should be ok with that.

This is a team trying to build off the momentum of the 2009-2010 season. If Chris Pronger and Co. and make Michael Leighton and his whore-esque five-hole look like Patrick Roy at times, what can they do for an established goalie like Nabokov?

So long as this doesn’t prohibit us from making another move needed to shed cash and lets us lock up both JVR and Giroux after this season, I’m all for it.

Tags: Christian Ingram, finally (maybe) a goaltender, off-season, Philadelphia Flyers, trades

Preds, Flyers swap defensemen

Yesterday the Philadelphia Flyers sent 23-year old defenseman Ryan Parent to the Nashville Predators in exchange for the right to impending UFA (unrestricted free agent in puck-speak) Dan Hamhuis.

I could spend time going over what Hamhuis’ strengths and weaknesses are, but that’s already been done (thanks, Broad Street Hockey: http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2010/6/19/1526304/dan-hamhuis-from-a-nashville). That said, this trade has larger applications.

Considering the Flyers merely acquired a week and half’s worth of negotiating rights with Hamhuis, much in the same way Calgary did last year with Jay Bouwmeester), the trade itself isn’t the focus. The big picture, of course, is whether or not they can lock Hamhuis up. If we can’t, sure we get a seventh-round selection, but we also sacrificed Parent for nothing.

If we are able to come to terms with Hamhuis, it likely will mean the end of Braydon Coburn in Philadelphia. Coburn, a restricted free agent, would cost north of $2M to sign, and that’s at minimum, especially after how he performed in the playoffs.

If both Hamhuis AND Coburn are signed, it will likely be a precursor of a bigger move. With those two, Pronger, Carle and Timonen on the blue line, the Flyers would indeed have an embarrassment of riches on defense, but it would come at a hefty cost. Considering how much the Briere and Hartnell contracts, among others, have the Flyers right up against the ceiling of the salary cap, something would have to give.

That something, if the rumors are to be believed, would be Jeff Carter and his $5M salary. Carter would bring a sizable return alone if he is dealt, but if he’s packaged with, say, Matt Carle or Kimmo Timonen, it’ll accomplish multiple goals.

Such a trade would not only involve a massive return (such as Tomas Vokoun, Jonathan Bernier and a great pick/prospect haul), but it would also shed anywhere from $8-11+M off the salary cap. This would be a huge coup for the Flyers if they can pull it off. It would allow them to keep their young nucleus (JVR/Giroux/Leino) together and give them something they haven’t had in years: room under the salary cap.

Any chance you can throw in Hartnell if such a deal goes down? Cause I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in this city who wouldn’t be on board with that.

Tags: Christian Ingram, more defense = more gooder, off-season, Philadelphia Flyers, trades

Playoff Retrospective

In the days since the Flyers fell at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, there have been many detractors who have been loudly voicing their displeasure at the team’s failure to bring home Lord Stanley’s hardware.

Those are the people who need to be forcefully shown the exit to the Flyers bandwagon.

Negative Nancies, you kind is unwanted here. This is not a team who deserves scorn or bitterness for not being able to seal the deal. Nay, this is a hockey team who came within a lazy Olli Jokinen shootout chance of missing the playoffs entirely.

Not only did the Flyers make the postseason, they flourished once there. Sure, they took advantage of a very lucky series of events in the elimination of the Penguins and Capitals, but this Flyers team still had to defeat three opponents to reach the Stanley Cup Finals at all.

First, they had to oust the New Jersey Devils, champions of the Atlantic Division. The Devils even upped the ante prior to the playoffs, making a deadline deal for impending free agent/goal-scoring diva Ilya Kovalchuk to bolster their offense.

The Flyers dispensed with these new super-charged Devils in five games.

From there, Philadelphia faced Boston, a team that owned them all season, shaming them in March at the Wachovia Center after coming from behind to topple the Flyers in January during the 2010 Winter Classic. Boston dominated the injury-riddled Orange and Black early, going up 3-0 and looking to break out the brooms before Game Four.

Simon Gagne returned like a phoenix rising from the ashes, scoring an overtime game-winner that turned the tide of the series. Even after falling behind 3-0 in decisive Game Seven, Philadelphia rallied on the back of Gagne. His goal late in the third proved to be the difference as the Flyers took the series 4-3, becoming only the fourth team in professional sports history to win a series after going down 3-0.

Next in line was Montreal, the Canadian giant-killer. Having taken out the Caps and Pens in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion, the Habs were hoping their Cinderella story could overcome Philadelphia’s.

They were sorely mistaken. The other shoe finally dropped for miracle goaltender Jaroslav Halak, as he finally looked mortal enough for the Flyers to dominate the Canadiens. Both home and away, the Orange and Black took it to Montreal, only dropping a lop-sided Game Three to win the series 4-1. This was a series in which journeyman Michael Leighton posted three of his four postseason shutouts, the best in the postseason.

Finally, we catch up to the present as Philadelphia faced off against the Blackhawks of Chicago. The Hawks were widely predicted to either sweep the Flyers or take the Cup in five games. Coming off a sweep of top-seeded San Jose, confidence in Chicago was obviously high in the media.

The Flyers were not deterred. Despite the suddenly mortal Leighton looking lost in net, the Flyers offense struggling for consistency and the defense having occasional brain farts, they still would not die.

Claude Giroux scored in overtime in Game Three to take the contest for Philadelphia, a precursor to a disguised rout in Game Four, a contest made close only due to Scott Hartnell taking stupid penalties. Essentially, him being Scott Hartnell.

All the while, Hartnell and his linemates Danny Briere and Ville Leino were setting the world (and Chicago goaltender Antti Niemi) on fire. Briere set the Flyer record for points in a season with 30 (12 G, 18 a) while Leino did the same for an NHL rookie in the playoffs.

In the end, however, the Blackhawks depth was too much for even this seemingly-enchanted squad to overcome. Even in defeat, however, there is nobility. The Flyers, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, proved they were not a fluke. They showed everyone that not only could they hang with the best in the league, but they could win as well. While rival franchises made deadline moves for guys like Kovalchuk and Jokinen, it was the Flyers’ teamwork, their skill as a unit that got them to the next level.

Well, that and some fantastic Chris Pronger-related defense.

There is plenty more that could be said regarding Philadelphia’s remarkable playoff run. Much time could be spent discussing the emergence of Claude Giroux as a true playmaker in the NHL, the gutsy performance of captain Mike Richards, the grueling ice time put on the shoulders of the top-four defensemen, and so on to infinity.

But this isn’t a team defined by individual stories. This group is joined by their ability to work hard and pick up for each other. There are no selfish guys like Kovalchuk on the roster; there’s no room for that sort in this locker room. The Flyers succeeded because they, as a unit, refused to go gently into that good night. No matter how they were written off, who was missing from the lineup, or what the odds were against them, this team simply did not care. They stared elimination in the face and made it (and Boston) blink first.

Don’t lament or mourn the plight of the 2009-2010 Philadelphia Flyers; cherish the memories they gave you and the effort they put forth for us all.

There is a billboard in Atlantic City (sponsored by the Borgata) that, beneath a Flyers logo, reads “Thanks for letting us all have a little fun this season.” That should be the attitude of any true fan of this franchise.

If it isn’t, please promptly exit the bandwagon, because you aren’t fit to be a part of this team’s fan base.

Ian Laperriere essentially gave his brain for this team. They least they deserve is our respect in return.

The Philadelphia Flyers are not only your Eastern Conference Champions, but they proved that they are winners. Winners deserve the highest level of praise for a job well done, even if they don’t always win.

That’s something all of Philadelphia should think long and hard about. After all, we don’t want Mike Richards to become Donovan McNabb.

Tags: Christian Ingram, eff bandwagoners, Philadelphia Flyers, Stanley Cup Playoffs

Flyers’ backs against the wall after harrowing 7-4 defeat

Coming into Game Five at the United Center in Chicago, most analysts (and this blog) felt that momentum had shifted solidly towards the Philadelphia Flyers.

Well, looks like we can scratch that.

The Flyers were outplayed up and down the ice in Sunday Night’s Game Five loss. The Blackhawks were more physical, had more time of attack, and capitalized on the Flyers’ mistakes in the same way the Orange and Black were able to do to Chicago in Game Four.

Scott Hartnell’s penalties stood out as the most egregious offenses of the evening. One in particular, his charging elbow to the back of the head of a Blackhawk defenseman, looked like it had more place in a UFC cage fight than on a hockey rink. The ‘Hawks scored on the ensuing penalty, once again making the goal difference insurmountable.

To the Flyers’ credit, they never gave up. After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, they battled back to scored of 3-1, 4-2, 5-3 and 6-4 before finally falling 7-4 on the evening. Ville Leino was the biggest bright spot for Philadelphia, as he created plays in space and made dazzling moves with the puck, especially his toe-drag wizardry that allowed Simon Gagne to make it a 6-4 game late in the third period.

Another Flyer clearly off his game was Chris Pronger. The defenseman, who many thought had a shot at being the Conn Smythe winner if the Flyers took home the Cup, was on the ice for six of Chicago’s seven goals. The one he wasn’t on the ice for? He was serving two minutes in the penalty box at the time.

The best thing Philly can take away from last night’s defeat is that hope is not lost. The Blackhawks played their best hockey so far in these Stanley Cup Finals while the Flyers looked lost. Even then though, the ‘Hawks couldn’t choke the Flyers out. They kept hanging around, making a game of it when it clearly should have been a blowout. This “never say die” attitude has become Philadelphia’s calling card this postseason. If they came back from being down 3-0 against Boston without Jeff Carter or Ian Laperriere, they can mount a counter-offensive against the Blackhawks, especially with Wednesday’s Game Six being held at the Wachovia Center.

The time for error is over. Philly cannot afford to make any more mistakes, as one more loss means Chicago skates away with Lord Stanley’s Cup and the Flyers head home as 2010’s nice little story. Error-free hockey is what it will take over the next two games, should the Flyers be able to force a Game Seven in Chicago. Pronger, Mike Richards and Co. will have a lot of work to do in the days leading up to Wednesday to prepare their team for perfection.

Tags: Christian Ingram, Dustin Byfuglien just looks like an asshole, elimination game, Philadelphia Flyers, Stanley Cup Finals

A tale of two cities, pt. 1

Following Game Two’s nail-biting 2-1 loss, the Philadelphia Flyers entered the Wachovia Center on Wednesday Night a team on a mission. They would not be swept by the Chicago Blackhawks. They have worked too hard and too long to fold quickly to anyone, even the best of the West.

They didn’t disappoint.

The Flyers followed the same cardiac arrest-inducing format that has worked well for them in the 2010 Playoffs, fighting back time and again before finally netting an overtime goal off the stick of Claude Giroux for a 4-3 victory. Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino also scored for Philadelphia, the latter tying the game mere moments after Chicago had taken the lead on a Patrick Kane breakaway goal.

On a night where many stars shone bright, perhaps none stood out more than Hartnell. Generally written off by fans after an underwhelming 2010 regular season, the jew-fro’d forward stepped his game up a great deal. Not only did Hartnell score himself, but he also set up Briere’s goal with a marvelous no-look pass while falling down. The Hartnell-Briere-Leino line is the hottest thing the Flyers have going, so don’t be surprised to see them get even more ice time in Game Four

Michael Leighton was solid in goal for the Flyers, not allowing any softies (Ben Eager’s Game Two goal) and making big saves when called upon. The Blackhawks had ample power play opportunities, but once again came up short. So far, Chicago has yet to record a power-play goal in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.

The series, now 2-1 in favor of Chicago, will resume tonight in Philadelphia where the Orange and Black will look to tie it up and shorten the Finals to a three-game set. With the way the Flyers have played the last two contest, there’s no reason to think they can’t.

Tags: Christian Ingram, Philadelphia Flyers, Stanley Cup Finals, What up hockey analysts?