Prediction markets are becoming a useful tool in determining future events, whether they be elections, to geopolitical actions.  Essentially, it allows people to invest according to their individual research, opinions, etc, while developing an overall consensus on market performance.  The more players, the more accurate it becomes.

It’s typically better than a poll because shares can be bought or sold, allowing the market to track team performance and adjust accordingly.

So here it is… invest wisely!

Market Link

I finally figured out what’s been nagging me. No. Not the fact the Rangers weren’t good enough. Besides, they have a snake running the asylum who will probably push Sean Avery out the door while failing to address the glaring holes on a soft as vanilla custard team.

It’s just that these playoffs have totally sucked ass. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the one series that’s completely drawn you in as a fan? Nowhere!

Sure. There’s been a couple of close comebacks in the first round and that neverending Game Six between the Sharks and Stars with Dallas finally prevailing on their captain Brenden Morrow’s shoulders with maybe the hockey Gods looking down. Unfortunately for those Stars, maybe they should’ve put San Jose away earlier cause that was the last ounce of strength they had. Detroit has owned them even without Johan Franzen. Who still thinks Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are soft and can’t be relied upon in crunch time? Guess there won’t be anyone questioning that dynamic duo anymore.

What about the Flyers? What the heck happened to them? Apparently, playing Carey Price and Montreal was nothing like playing Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury and the rest of the Penguins. How awful has this series been? Let’s see. I didn’t bother to watch the first seven minutes and when I flipped it on for a score, there stood another reason to flip back to TNT:

Penguins 2 Flyers 0

I knew right there I didn’t have to bother turning back. The game and series were over and the Flyer fans dressed in orange may as well have started puking at what they were watching.

Face it. These NHL playoffs have sucked beyond incomprehensible belief. It doesn’t help that Versus the All Pens Network has covered it about as badly as humanly possible. There was yet another glaring mistake during last night’s Wings’ 5-2 win over the Stars in Game Three. Somehow, the production truck confused Datsyuk with Zetterberg giving the Swede a goal instead of the playmaking Russian pivot who posted his first career playoff hat trick. They look nothing alike.

Did the network bother to correct the graphic? Nope. Instead, Doc Emrick was there to announce Pavel’s sixth trying to save face. Why? Cause he’s the only one who even tries during these telecasts. Ed Olczyk has become a bland boring analyst with little to say much like that dreadful studio intermission show hosted by the boring Bill Patrick with Brian Engblom and Keith Jones. I miss Bill Clement! How freaking sad is that?

I’m not the only one either. If you want good coverage, you can still hear him, Sam Rosen, Dave Strader, Joe Micheletti and Billy Jaffe on NHL Radio with Joe Tolleson and Dave Maloney hosting. The level of energy’s better and their intermission coverage totally dwarfs the NHL’s National TV Network. Word of advice. Watch the NHL Network. They have much better stuff before and after games. It’s the only sane thing going for this league which badly needs more exposure.

You know that infamous quote from The Sixth Sense where the kid says to Bruce Willis’ character:

“I see dead people.”

Yes. That quote. Well, it applies to a network who can’t be bothered unless they’re showing 9,000 shots of Mario Lemieux or another 12,000 of Crosby. Dead people have actually put in more energy than what those intermission segments have become. Nobody wants to see stale analysts with little to say. Where’s the balls? Why can’t these guys take a stand? Even after Mike Ribeiro’s slash in response to Chris Osgood’s sneaky butt end, NOTHING! They just smiled. Could there be a little emotion?

In some aspect, I actually feel for the Flyers cause it hasn’t been a fair fight. They lost top two defenders Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn and that couldn’t happen for John Stevens’ club to stand a chance.

Finally, I did happen to catch the Pens’ third goal after flipping back just in time to see another brilliant turnover by rookie Steve Downie. Is he a moron? It was bad enough that his lazy play cost his team Game Two. Word of friendly advice to the rook. You don’t pass the puck to Malkin at his blueline with no teammates around and expect to get away with it. Not shockingly, it took Malkin and linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone a few seconds to score and send the sea of puke home. It was a nice ride. Too bad for them the fat lady has already begun rehearsing.

One other thought based on what I’ve seen. What the heck happened to Daniel Briere?

If it’s true that these playoffs have been a letdown, then the league desperately needs a great Stanley Cup Final between the Pens and Wings. They must put on a good show because really. … nobody will watch. These are the best two teams left who possess the most skilled skaters with excellent supporting casts to go with it. So, you have to believe it should be interesting.

Personally, I believe in Detroit. They always seem to have the puck and are killing opponents in the faceoff circle. However, you can’t discount Pittsburgh. Especially with the size and skill they got at center. Jordan Staal really has gotten overlooked. He’s been a beast in all facets. He’ll probably see a lot of Datsyuk next round.

Who do you prefer? A team with experience and some youth mixed in well equipped who just stifles opponents? Or a younger team with the top two talents in the game who can impose their will on games along with an underrated supporting cast.

I’m still taking the Red Wings. They need to win this series for many reasons. One of which that this might be their last shot with that group even though a few of their core will be around a while. Because the Penguins shall only get better. Can a team really win with Chris Osgood in net? He hasn’t lost yet making Dominik Hasek into the NHL version of Wally Pipp. Is this some sort of twisted joke?

No. Only about as much as that crazy dream I had where me and my brother saw Martin Brodeur at a bank out at the Mall and he got all miserable when the talk centered around Sean Avery. No. It wasn’t even forced. But the sour puss look was worth every penny.

Maybe there is some truth to my mind as nuts as it’s become lately. Regardless, I sure hope the Stanley Cup Final isn’t a total bore. Please give us something. 

In case anyone forgot and it would be quite easy to considering how much time off there was between Rounds 2 and 3, there was hockey played last night in Motown where the Red Wings used three power play goals in a 4-1 Game One victory over the Stars in the WCF.

For the naysayers who don’t want to believe in the Wings just cause of who they played (didn’t realize that’s how it worked), they’re legit and proving to be more than a one trick pony as Dallas found out. Four different goalscorers not named Datsyuk or Zetterberg did the trick for top seeded Detroit with former Devil blueliner Brian Rafalski getting the party started on a five-on-three. Then Johan Franzen continued his torrid pace showing no rustiness by getting to the front of the net and deflected home his postseason leading 12th for a 2-0 lead after one.

Veteran Tomas Holmstrom also screened Marty Turco a bit illegally scoring in the paint where the Swede’s made his living. Before Dallas captain Brenden Morrow snapped Chris Osgood’s shutout bid with 1:07 left in the second, Valtteri Filppula got the Wings’ fourth putting the contest out of reach as they stopped the Stars’ early road success by taking Game One 4-1 at The Joe.

Entering last night, Dave Tippet’s club was a perfect four-for-four in the first two games of Rounds 1 and 2 in victimizing the defending champion Ducks and Sharks both from their Pacific division. Just maybe Detroit’s a step up in competition unlike what’s been sold because they feasted on the Preds and Avs. Couldn’t have been because they’re actually good? Nah. Why even give a team credit when it has proven to be very equipped to bring Lord Stanley back to Michigan?

The Wings have excellent skaters who can beat you a number of different ways. Whether it’s the skill and finesse of Datsyuk and Zetterberg or the grit and determination of Franzen, Holmstrom along with underrated secondary help Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson, Mike Babcock’s Original Six club has the right mix to go all the way.

It should be tougher starting with Game Two where the balanced Stars should be sharper getting back to their defensive style. They’d be wise to stay out of the box where Detroit did most of their damage going three-for-seven. The Stars took the collar in four chances.

The Wings outshot them 31-21 making it a manageable night for Ozzie, who stopped 20 shots in improving to a perfect 7-0 since taking over for Dominik Hasek. Detroit also had the puck a lot winning 35-of-56 draws which played right into their puck possession attack.

Coming into this series, there was a lot to like about Dallas with Turco playing lights out and deadline pickup Brad Richards (2-9-11) performing up to expectations. With Morrow continuing to lead his hockey club and Sergei Zubov back healthy on the blueline, the Stars have a chance to comeback and reach their first Cup Final since 2000. They’ll need outstanding efforts from their best players along with point leader Mike Ribeiro (3-11-14), Stephane Robidas plus veteran champion forwards Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen.

The problem is that Detroit can more than match them up front with a very balanced attack duly noted above. The Red Wings also could have the edge on D with team captain Nick Lidstrom headlining it with Rafalski and emerging physical standout Niklas Kronwall, who with two assists raised his team-leading helper total to 10.

If Osgood continues his reemergence in net, it’s hard to see the Stars prevailing. They would’ve been wise to finish off San Jose earlier instead of requiring an ungodly seven more periods.

I don’t feel they’re overmatched but kind of see Detroit winning in six to advance to their first Final since winning it all back in 2002 when yours truly had a stint in Bristol, Connecticut.

Now to the other series which begins later tonight with a 7:30 start time at Mellon Arena. The Battle of Pennsylvania should be a fun filled series with lots of edge to it. These two teams don’t like each other. There were a couple of games during the regular season which saw lots of penalty minutes and fisticuffs. So, expect it to be very physical as well as entertaining due to the kind of aggressive fast skating teams both the Flyers and Pens have.

The Flyers got some bad news as top defender Kimmo Timonen is expected to miss the series due to a blood clot in his ankle. They were really depending on the very overlooked Finn D to see a lot of Malkin and Crosby. How John Stevens replaces him is beyond me. Maybe he’ll pair Braydon Coburn with the physical Derian Hatcher.

Team captain Jason Smith will have to be a beast in this series. I figure he’ll see a lot of Crosby while Hatcher and Coburn have their work cut out for them against Malkin. Stevens also could opt to move up Lasse Kukonen to pair with Coburn while sending out Hatcher with Smith to work over Sid the Kid. Randy Jones is decent.

Obviously, with no Timonen, the edge goes to the Pens, who boast superb offensive skating power play tandem Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney while also being able to send out the rough Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill. Plus Rob Scuderi, who always seems to fly under the radar. He’s real smart and plays his position well leading the Pens with a plus-seven rating during a postseason run which has seen them win eight of their first nine. Kris Letang also is a very good skating D who is solid overall.

When you assess that Pitt blueline, there really aren’t any glaring weaknesses. They can skate, jump into the rush and pinch in, take out the man making you pay a price while moving the puck effectively. While Malkin, Crosby, Marian Hossa along with a big talented forward crop which includes Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora and Jordan Staal all can hurt you offensively, it’s that D which has really been making a difference.

In order to have a chance, the Flyers must use their attacking cycle to make that defense work in its end. The Rangers just weren’t a fast enough skating team to exploit it. Philly has more capability featuring veteran offensive leader Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Montreal killer R.J. Umberger (8 of 9 goals in Rd. 2).

The supporting cast of Mike Knuble, Vaclav Prospal, Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell and the speedy Scottie Upshall have enough speed, size and grit to nullify the Pens’ attack. They must get in on the forecheck and disrupt Pittsburgh. Get in the face of Crosby and hit pest Jarkko Ruutu every chance they get. Also, playing Malkin physical will fluster the talented Russian. Hossa also doesn’t like being hit.

There’s little doubt that Martin Biron has been the best goalie in the first two rounds standing on his head to steal Game Seven over Ovechkin’s Caps and totally outplaying rookie Carey Price last round. He’ll need to be even more brilliant. Marc-Andre Fleury has played well for the Pens but is prone to bad rebounds. Shoot low on him and attack the net.

Even without Timonen, I see the Flyers making this one interesting. Their forwards are plenty good enough. They must win the battles down low and keep the Pens in their end. If it turns into a track meet, they won’t be able to win.

I still say this goes seven but figure a late marginal new NHL phantom hook will help the Pens advance making everyone except the hypocritical city of Pitt shake their heads in disgust.

A Pens-Wings final would work wonders for NBC. Crosby, Hossa and Malkin versus Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom.

One final thought on the subject of the long layoff. Why the semifinal round couldn’t start on say Tuesday and Wednesday is inexplicable. Even the NBA doesn’t have this kind of ridiculous delay between rounds. They start their next round quickly not waiting for a long series to finish which is how it should work. Instead, our league is intentionally dragging things out catering to NBC, who cares more about silly horse races even when one tragically is murdered in their precious Derby than about our game.

What a disgrace.

By show of hands, who had the Flyers going to the Conference Final four wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final in 11 years? I doubt there were many takers. Though our newest Flyer supporter would beg to differ since he did accurately predict Philly to eliminate the Canadiens. That it took one less game speaks to just how well they played.

If Martin Biron is playing great, then R.J. Umberger is on a roll. He absolutely owned the Habs scoring eight goals in the series to hike his goal total to nine. It was almost as dominant as Johan Franzen’s nine in a sweep of Colorado. Sad fact. The Avs totaled nine goals.

Back to R.J. How in the world didn’t the Canucks or Ranger get this guy signed? You’re telling me they couldn’t have used a solid all around two-way center who is an outstanding skater with a deadly shot? Did we mention he’s a relentless forechecker? Umberger has emerged from a fourth liner to a second line player who’s now getting big minutes and flourishing. Kudos to overestimated Philly coach John Stevens for the wise move. Early in the series, you could see that the kid’s speed was giving the Canadiens fits.

If you’re going to go deep into the postseason, your best players must be your best players. Night in and night out, Daniel Briere has earned his hefty paycheck by scoring big goals. His power play winner the other night as it turned out was Montreal’s last gasp. Sure, they led 3-1 and had it going their way until a less confident looking Carey Price let in a couple of more soft ones to suddenly put his team in a 4-3 hole entering the third. Speaking of which, might Guy Carbonneau’s questionable decision to bench his 20 year-old rookie have hurt the No.1 goalie even more? Or was there something else bugging him? What was wrong with his glove hand? It sure wasn’t the glove cause they tried a new one and it was the same brutal result. Another story for another day. 

Props also go out to the Montreal fans for how they cheered their guys at the end of the game. That final minute was really cool. You probably wouldn’t see that in a lot of other arenas. They weren’t supposed to be in this position and were picked by many including by myself to finish near the bottom of the East. Maybe that was the problem because the expectations suddenly went from making the playoffs to winning the Northeast and people including again yours truly thinking they could actually go to the Cup.

Or perhaps Canada really is hexed after all.

The Flyers have played rambunctious hockey and deserve to be where they are. They have been a fun team to watch. That’s not very easy to say for a rival fan but it’s the truth. They have attacked and been rewarded. It helps that they got tireless forwards like Umberger, Briere, Mike Richards and the fast emerging Jeff Carter.

What the Philadelphia organization learned in the worst season in franchise history was that if they retooled by pawning off Peter Forsberg, they could compete. Was it a bit poetic that Scottie Upshall would wind up with the series clincher? He was part of what came back. Just wait till Ryan Parent develops and we’ll really be laughing at that trade. Well, the rest of the Atlantic won’t.

Neither are they about former Preds Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell fitting in as key cogs on a team which looks poised and deep enough to actually do this. Yes. I’m saying they can win the whole thing. That might be bad news for them.

How do you think Kevin Lowe feels about giving away Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith for the overrated Joni Pitkanen right about now? That Braydon Coburn pickup for Alexei Zhitnik was also a theft. The Vaclav Prospal trade also ain’t looking bad either.

Has there been one bad deal new GM Paul Holmgren made? My god. Simon Gagne’s career is likely over and it suddenly doesn’t matter because that’s how deep they really are. Mike Knuble can still play also. Funny how my Dad nailed that one indicating that he thought the ex-Ranger could become a 25-30 goalscorer.

The Flyers are even getting mileage out of old school defenseman Derian Hatcher.

You have to give them a lot of credit. They almost didn’t make the playoffs but got hot at the right time. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.

Congrats to them on their run thus far. They’ve earned it.

Dear Versus Network,

Apparently, your hockey researchers didn’t get a high school diploma. Once again, you’ve sunk to a Titanic level failing miserably at providing relative statistical research.

The gross error of actually having the audacity to put up that it was the Philadelphia Flyers first Conference Final appearance since 1997 was the final nail in the coffin for how truly pathetic your network is. Have your researchers ever heard of Google? Word of advice. Next time, look it up!

Furthermore, any knowledgable hockey fan knew that the Flyers had been to the Conference Final in 2000 and in 2004. By providing such egregious errors, you did an extreme disservice to your production talent and the NHL as a whole.

It is humiliating to have such an irresponsible network which obviously doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Due to such an inexcusable mistake, you insulted everyone’s intelligence and proved yet again that you are not worthy of airing these games.

Many observers celebrated the day ESPN stopped covering hockey. The question is are those people satisfied with such awful coverage and inaccurate facts.

As an individual who was a former NHL researcher in Bristol, we would never get such facts wrong because we always had each other’s backs.

There’s something very wrong with Versus that they’d allow Dave Strader to announce that as fact because the goofs in the production truck weren’t doing their job. The Flyers weren’t in the Stanley Cup Final! Apparently, winning eight games now gets you there.

It is a complete disgrace how our game is covered by you. NHL Radio does a much better job.

Signed,

One appalled hockey fan

Don’t call it a comeback!  At least rapper L.L. Cool J wouldn’t.

Who says you can’t comeback from the dead? History tells us that this is THE YEAR for another remarkable 0-3 comeback to win a series. 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. 1975 New York Islanders. 2008???

That’s the growing question because there are two Conference Semifinal series which could be going that route. I honestly thought the Stars had it at 2-0 up with a period left from setting up an old style WCF against Detroit. When Dallas captain Brenden Morrow scored from a bad angle on Evgeni Nabokov with 55.3 left in the second, I ASSumed  that would take the wind out of the Sharks, who never seem to win on home ice against those Stars.

So to my shock when I flipped back, there was Jeremy Roenick being interviewed following a third which saw his team rally to tie it on goals by former MIA duo Milan Michalek and Brian Campbell. Joe Pavelski completed the stunning turnaround when he cashed in on a blatant Dallas turnover and beat Marty Turco top shelf 65 seconds into sudden death.

Just shocking. This was another one of those quick OTs which was already over by the time I flipped back on Versus. Btw…this network really sucks. They didn’t even bother showing replays and their postgame show was what? Five minutes. I understand production talent stay but come on. Could they at least try to have a 10 or 15 minute segment before dumping out?

It’s almost as bad as the New York papers. That Game Four hero Jaromir Jagr actually got a back page on yesterday’s Daily News was one of the most cool things ever. Way to step up! Boo to the New York Post who’d rather fantasize about meaningless April baseball. What would you expect from a tabloid who employs killjoy tandem Kevin Kernan and Phil Mushnick. That the latter is from my neck of the woods is an embarrassment.

Anyway, kudos to the Sharks for picking themselves up off the mat laying it all out there even if they did get quite a bit of luck and help from two video replays which went their way. Both happened to be no goals against Morrow, who should’ve had a hat trick and a five-game series victory for his team.

He really got jobbed on the first one. Even Neil Smith was beside himself at how they could actually conclude that was a “kicking motion.”

Unbelievable. Still, the Stars should’ve finished it. This could comeback to haunt them. Now, they better wrap the series up in Game Six at friendly American Airlines Center back in Big D. Would you chance going back to a crazy Shark Tank (HP Pavilion- just another lousy corporate bs name) for a suddenly deciding Game Seven situation?

If that happens, they’re toast. Just the way I guaranteed a Ranger victory the other day, I’m doing the same here. If it goes seven, the Stars will not win. Book it!

You know. With all the comeback talk and playoff history, etc. (2004 Boston Red Sox) the Sharks’ second straight win can only be used as even more positive reinforcement for the Rangers, who still trail the Penguins 3-1 with the vital Game Five back at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon at 2 ET on NBC.

The only difference is the Sharks know that they’ll have the fans if it gets to Game Seven. So, how am I viewing this as a Ranger fan? This is what I tell my team, who fought so valiantly to stay alive in winning Game Four 3-0 thanks to marquee performances from Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist.

“We took the first step winning on home ice. One win in Pittsburgh tomorrow and we’re going back home the next day where the Garden will be rocking. No way are we losing that!”

This team has played well on the road. They certainly were right with the Pens in the first two games. They know full well they can win there.

The strategy is the same. Play 60 minutes leaving it all out there while channeling the emotions. Discipline will be key. That means like the other night, staying out of the box and taking the play to the Pens. When they attack, they’ve been good. That’s the best defense against an explosive offense. You got to play to win. The Rangers did that on Thursday. Do it once more and we got the Game Six I also promised.

I realllly BELIEVE! Judging from some of the player quotes along with Tom Renney, so do they. They know they can do this. That gives me hope. The inspired dominance of Jagr and a revitalized Lundqvist also give me plenty of ammunition.

Now there’s also another team who needs to start believing later tonight instead of deceiving their fans and a sudden new Flyer fan. I never thought I’d see the day Brian Sanborn would actually be waving orange and black pom poms!

Well, he always did take a liking to the green and white of the Eagles.

The Flyers do have former Sabres Daniel Briere and <gulp> emerging Conn Smythe candidate Martin Biron. Wow. Words I never thought I’d utter about a Flyer netminder.

Truthfully, Brian (grosek18- there’s a long comical story behind that name) nailed most of the points already at why the Habs find themselves in a 3-1 hole with a must win Game Five at Bell Centre tonight.

Biron has stolen three games. The Flyers really shouldn’t be playing right now because Lord Biron if I may call him that stoned the Caps in Game Seven. There never would’ve been a Joffrey Lupul sudden death power play winner on a cruddy call. That’s life. Biron saved his team’s bacon. R.J. Umberger’s also been playing like a beast.

Truthfully, I don’t remember Biron ever being this good. I have to think if the Canadiens continue to dominate play and shots, they’re eventually going to get to him.

Why on earth Guy Carbonneau didn’t start rookie Carey Price in Game Four is beyond me. He got you that No.1 seed and home ice. You don’t bench him for a guy who’s hardly played. It was one of the worst coaching decisions ever. Especially in that situation.

Bri, Carbonneau deserves to get trashed for it. It was irrational. We’re talking about their next franchise goalie. It was a mind boggling decision to say the very least. If they still had Cristobal Huet, fine. Jaroslav Halak? Was he kidding? And no. You don’t fire a Jack Adams candidate unless your name is the Buffalo Sabres and it’s Ted Nolan. God. Only Buffalo.

So, what do the Canadiens need to do to stop this Flyer hot streak? Get to Biron. The sooner, the better. They’re going to have overwhelming support with arguably the loudest fans in the game. A couple of early goals and that place will be bedlem.

The best players also have to be the best players. That means Price, who is back in net tonight must be good. A few good saves early could set the tone and let his teammates know he’s going to be there.

Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei and Sergei Kostistyn and Chris Higgins better come to play. They haven’t had great series. I’ve seen an awful lot of heart from their team captain Saku Koivu, who can’t be 100 percent. It’s time for those other big name forwards and also defenseman Andrei Markov to step up. Power play specialist Mark Streit has also been quiet. He needs to pick it up.

When I look at the list of guys I put out here, it tells me that Montreal is very equipped to comeback from this deficit. They have one of the fastest skating teams in the game with tons of skill to go with it. 

One offensive explosion can change the entire mindset of that dressing room.

What’s the formula? Win on home ice tonight. Get one in Philly and then back home for a winner or golf Game Seven in that building. What also shouldn’t get lost is that the Habs were one of the best road teams this season tying with Detroit for the second most wins (25) on the road.

Want to know who was first? The Sharks with 27. Pretty ironic considering what they’ll be aiming for tomorrow night.

Say it with me loud with feeling:

Don’t Stop Believing!!!!! ;-)

As the final buzzer sounded in Philadelphia last night and the Flyers took a stunning 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the “anointed” 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens (at least in Montreal, because they feel it is their birthright to win it if they are towards the top), I was smiling. Now some of you who know me might be thinking it makes perfect sense, as a Sabres fan of over 25 years, it is easy to dislike the Habs and seeing them lose gives me great joy.

But this was a bit different: I was not smiling at the joy of seeing the Habs lose, but more at the fact the Philadelphia was winning. Wait, what in the world is this? I am smiling for a team that the Sabres have played 5 times in the playoffs since 1995, and have had wars with, and how in the world can I take joy in a city that has some of the most obnixious fans on this planet?

The answer is…yes.

Why you ask would I EVER root for the Flyers? Maybe it is the Sabres Connection: Martin Biron was a Sabre for 10 years, and had some nice moments with the team, but was never really given a chance to prove himself as a clear #1 goalie. When the time came for that, the sabres were frankly not that good, and Biron was decent. Enter Ryan Miller along with the influx of talent, and the Sabres took off and Biron was regulated to a backup role again.

Biron was a ‘good solider’ during this time, and even after Biron subbed for Miller when he was injured in 2006-2007 and won 13 straight starts, Biron went back to the bench and never complained. For that I always commended him, and was happy that he was given a chance to show his skills in Philadelphia.

And now that Biron is having a fabulous run for the Flyers, I am happy for him. Happy that now he was given the chance to be a starter, a REAL chance. Happy that his team did not panic and trade for a goalie at the deadline in typical Philly fashion. Happy that Biron has shut up the skeptics and morons that call 610 WIP in Philly lambasting Biron.

Another reason is Danny Briere. You may ask yourself, he left for greener pa$ture$, why would you like to see him succeed? Why? Because the fact Briere has netted 14 points so far in the NHL Playoffs, including a league high 8 goals, is a slap in the face to Sabres President Larry Quinn, who really plays the big hand on the issues surrounding the poor negotiating tactics of Quinn and his asylum in Western New York.

So I say “good for you Danny and Marty” and shove it right in Quinn’s face. Maybe Quinn can take a look at the Flyers and think what could have been, as the Sabres sit on the outside looking in.

When one sits back and thinks about how humans communicate, it truly is amazing how many different languages there are in the world. But there comes a time when certain phrases or words can be translated through several languages.

Now you might be wondering when looking the title of this article, this phrase must apply? Be truthful, it probably does not, and you sit here wondering ‘What in the world am I trying to get across (unless of course you took French in high school and ACTUALLY paid attention!)

Before we provide the translation of the phrase above, let’s provide a quick thoughts about the Philadelphia Flyers / Montreal Canadians series thus far:

1. Fragile Confidence? So it appears Guy Carbonneau will not name a starter in net for Game 4, does he honestly expect us to believe that little used Jaroslav Halak will be between the pipes tonight? I say not a chance, as we all know Habs management might be feeling the pressure of trading away Cristobal Huet and putting too much trust in phenom goalie Cary Price too soon. Expect to see Price front and center tonight.

2. A New Playoff Memory For Umberger?  Flyers forward R.J.Umberger’s playoff career is most remembered for the shocking hit he took from then Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell in a series against the Sabres in 2006. Despite being overshadowed by some of the bigger names on his own team, Umberger is making new playoff memories and has been an underrated force for the Flyers, scoring 5 goals in 10 playoff games thus far.

3. “The Other Goalie”- Cary Price has received much of the attention going into this series, but it is the Flyers Martin Biron who has stepped up front and center and is making all the big saves.  A trade that was questioned towards the end of the season, the Flyers acquistion of Biron from the Buffalo Sabres last year is looking better by the minute. Kudos to Biron, who was a great team guy in Buffalo after Miller arrived and became a backup, for getting his chance and making it count.

So what shall we expect tonight?

From a Canadiens perspective, the first goal is critical. Along with that, it is important that Price makes a few saves early in this game, to get his confidence back and try to shake off the brutal 2nd period he endured in Game 3.   The Habs need the power play to be sharp, and especially be careful with a guy like Mike Richards on the ice, who is for my money the most dangerious shorthanded player in the NHL today.

For the Flyers, continue the momentum. Let’s be fair here, this series could easily be 3-0 Philly and taps would be playing in the streets of Montreal. The Flyers need to have that killer instict tonight, and with the return of Mike Knuble tonight, that should give the Flyers even more of a boost.

Oh, and before we go, I forgot about the French title above. Translation? A Must Win For The Habs Tonight. Any french speaking people reading this blog? Do not expect much more French from me, I did fall asleep in class in high school!

It’s a day later. A bit early at that as the latest rainstorm gets ready to hit. It should be pretty heavy today. Maybe I find that a bit ironic considering my team’s plight at this collective moment.

After a nice leisurely drive and walk to the historic Conference House out near the water yesterday, I was able to clear my head. Here are some random thoughts which have been flying around:

-The Rangers attempted 31 shots (five more than a perimeter oriented total) which never hit the net yesterday. Nine were missed and 22 were blocked by hustling Pens who sacrificed their bodies at every turn. By contrast, Pittsburgh only had nine shots blocked while another nine were missed. A huge difference. If they’re to get back in this beginning tomorrow, the Blueshirts need to reverse that trend and play with the same intensity. Pitt showed they wanted it more.

-As usual, Sean Avery made a nuisance of himself with the outcome decided drawing the ire of Hal Gill while engaging Marc-Andre Fleury. By that time, I’d already turned it off. Too little. Too late. He was invisible and notably didn’t have a strong Game One. Isn’t about time the agitator stopped living off strong first rounds?

-Christian Backman was again shaky. He was very weak in the first game responsible for the Pens’ second goal. There was also an instance where he should’ve one-timed the puck but waited and got it blocked which drew criticism from Pierre McGuire. Right on point. Tom Renney needs to think long and hard about scratching him and bringing back Marek Malik. Big Bird might get blamed for plenty but if he’s paired with Paul Mara, that’s an upgrade. Unless Backman’s finding offense, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

-Find me one network studio analyst getting paid top dollar who has the balls to tell it like it is instead of kissing Sidney Crosby’s ass. No backbone. I don’t know what’s worse. The ridiculous lengths Canadian backer McGuire and former coach Ed Olczyk (biASSed much?) went to or Brian Engblom waving the No.87 pom poms on Martin Straka’s soft penalty where the baby face dropped like he was shot.

-Watching Henrik Lundqvist before during a postgame interview wasn’t too reassuring. He might’ve said all the right things but body language told a different story.

-I touched on it briefly but it’s time for Tom Renney to grow a pair and demote Brendan Shanahan to the fourth line. He just is too slow and is really hurting Avery and Scott Gomez. Especially if he’s going to play Petr Prucha because less than five minutes just won’t cut it. If they’re not elevating Prucha, then Fredrik Sjostrom is plenty good enough a skater and solid defensively to be moved up. Why not try Prucha and Shanahan with Blair Betts? This would give the team a different look and much better balance to go head to head against a very deep Pens’ team.

-With another great third period last night totally outclassing the Sharks to go up 2-0 on the road, Dallas has done little to make me think otherwise. That they’re the most complete Western team left and certainly look on a collision course with the Red Wings.

-If deadline pickup Brad Richards continues to perform, that’s going to be one hell of a trade for them especially if the former Conn Smythe winner delivers the hardware.

-How about that no-look reverse setup Sergei Zubov made to Mike Modano for the winner? Not bad for the veteran Russian blueliner’s first game back!

-How good is Mike Ribeiro. You don’t think Montreal wants a do over on that one again?!?!?!?!?!

-One other thing on that series. If the Sharks don’t comeback to make it at least interesting, when does Ron Wilson finally take some heat?

-Peter Budaj better be in net for Colorado tonight. Peter Forsberg would help too.

-He’s gotten plenty of criticism for his wretched play in Game Two. Think there’s just a tad of pressure on 20 year-old rookie Carey Price later tonight?

-If Martin Biron keeps this up, who says he can’t backstop the Flyers to a Stanley Cup? He’s been brilliant. They shouldn’t even be playing. That’s how good he was against the Caps with it all on the line in Game Seven last week.

-It’s Evgeni Malkin and not Crosby who’s been the best player for the Pens so far. He just has dominated in all facets. So while everyone’s getting on their knees for Sid the Kid, it’s his better overall teammate who continues to get overlooked.

-I get that he was sticking up for his star player but Michel Therrien was completely out of line ripping Renney before Game Two. At no point did the affable Ranger coach ever complain about Crosby offering essentially no comment. Instead, you heard plenty of teammates defend Straka. The same thing the hypocritical Therrien was doing.

-Color me impressed with Tyler Kennedy. This grinder has been very strong on the boards. Ditto Pascal Dupuis which comes as no surprise that the “other player” in the Marian Hossa deal has performed well as he has had better success (2003 Wild).

-I had it in my preview and so far it’s held true. Rob Scuderi is undervalued.

-Are Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler secondary scorers anymore? Both Franzen (Calgary Game Six OT anybody?) and Filppula were good last year. Hudler finally developed and is playing well. Ditto for defensive stalwart Niklas Kronwall. Amazing how the Winged Wheel continues to find hidden gems in the draft. Their scouting staff is as good as anyone in the league. It’s high time they got more recognition!

-Finally, I love Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg but they shouldn’t be up for the Selke. John Madden was a deserving pick but there are plenty of other worthy candidates. Mike Fisher, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Richards all come to mind.

Seven was a lucky number to open a pair of Conference Semis last night. Both first games between the Flyers-Canadiens and Avalanche-Red Wings totaled that exact amount of goals with each winding up 4-3 for the home team.

Montreal used some late dramatics getting an Alex Kovalev power play goal with under 29.3 seconds to play in regulation and a Tom Kostopoulos winner 48 seconds into overtime to comeback and stun Philadelphia 4-3 at an electric Bell Centre to steal Game One.

The Flyers led the game 2-0 and 3-2 but had a break go against them when Mike Richards was sent to the box for tripping Kovalev with a little over 60 seconds to play. His knee collided with the smooth skating Russian as he made a move falling to the ice. AK27 struck off a faceoff win, sneaking a wrister past Martin Biron short side to force sudden death.

It wouldn’t take long to decide as Andrei Markov kept a puck in and forced Biron to kick out a rebound right to Kostopoulos who put home a second attempt for his third of the postseason sending the Habs to a huge win in a game they didn’t deserve. That’s the playoffs in a nutshell where if you get a break, sometimes it’s all you need.

The Flyers will try to bounceback in Game Two tomorrow night.

In Game One of a Western Conference semi between old rivals Colorado and Detroit, the Wings answered a Paul Stastny goal with four straight getting two from unsung hero Johan Franzen in chasing a flu-ridden Jose Theodore. Speaking of bounces, they got a couple including a seeing eye Dan Cleary shot which deflected off a maze of players past Theodore for a 2-1 lead.

Franzen neatly deflected home a power play goal and also came through by finishing off a three-on-two cross ice feed to put the home team up three. But the Avs didn’t go away as John-Michael Liles beat Chris Osgood short side and Milan Hejduk finished off a beautiful passing play from Stastny to cut it to 4-3 with a period left.

In the third with five minutes left, Hejduk nearly tied it but his shot which had Osgood beat rang off the left post. The Detroit netminder didn’t see a lot of rubber but made his biggest save with 8.3 seconds left robbing Liles on the doorstep to preserve the win.

Tonight, the other two Conference Semis get going as the Rangers visit the Penguins and the Sharks play host to the Stars. Both can be seen on Versus with coverage at 7 ET.