Because you only look at this website while you’re at your desk job, by the time you see this post tomorrow (today to you) you’ll already know that the USA put a whoopin’ on Team Canada last night (err, tonight–whatever). Point is, the prospect of a gold medal on home ice for the Canadian people would be about as wonderful to them as when France shut out Brazil to win the World Cup in Paris in 1998. An uninspired performance last week against Switzerland aside, the gold medal favorite, Canada, will face its first real test from an American team that is as good a bet as anyone to grab an Olympic medal.

Tonight’s game is a rematch of the 2002 gold medal game won by Canada in Salt Lake City in 2002. The ‘02 Canadian team featured only one Flyer, Simon Gagne, while the American team had 2 Flyers, John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick. Both Flyers playing in tonight’s game will skate for Team Canada and they are Chris Pronger and Mike Richards.

Pictured above is Team USA’s starting goalie, Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. Because one of the best goaltenders in the history of hockey will be about 190 feet away in the person of Martin Brodeur, a significant chunk of the U.S. hopes will rest on Miller’s shoulders. The Canadian roster features an abundance of scoring talent; Rick Nash, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley headline the Canadian forwards so Miller and his defensemen had better be sharp. For whatever it’s worth, I think they will be and I’m predicting a 3-2 American victory.

Insert any NHL team name in front of the words “Extinguish Flames” and I’ll bet that headline has been run more times than “John Daly Found Drunk Outside Local Hooters.” That’s probably because the Flames have been stomped out quite frequently as of late. They’re 1-7-2 in their last 10 games and prior to their 6-1 win against abyss-plain Province rival, Edmonton, on Saturday, they’d lost 8 in a row.

The Flyers haven’t lost in Calgary since 2001 and last night’s routine 3-0 shutout was no exception. Two goals by Mike Richards and one by Claude Giroux rounded-out the scoring for the orange and black. Ray Emery recorded a shutout on a piss-poor 18-shot perfomance by the Flames.

It’s probably no surprise the Flames stink. They had just traded all-world defenseman Dion Phaneuf and forward Fredrik Sjorstrom and were skating with a lame-duck Olie Jokinen who was rumored before the game to be all-but traded to New York. Sure enough, Jokinen is a Ranger as of today making the appearance of Calgary writing-off the season a reality. While Jokinen’s uncertain status may have contributed to the 2 points the Flyers gained last night, the trade has a long term downside for the Flyers: Jokinen is a bona fide offensive stud (though his numbers are down this year) and now he’s a blue shirt. With the Rangers and Flyers only separated by 2 points in the Atlantic, New York just got better which will make the final 2 games of the Flyers’ western road trip against Edmonton and Minnesota all the more important.

The Latvian Olympic hockey team has been announced and defenseman Oskars Bartulis will be on the roster. This is news because apparently he plays for the Flyers. As exciting as this is, he’s not the only Flyer who will be taking part in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Mike Richards and Chris Pronger will be playing for Team Canada (presumably under very little pressure to win gold with the Olympics on native soil) and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen will be in the red, white and blue for the Norwegian team while Kimmo Timonen will suit up for the Finns.

The U.S. roster will be announced on Friday, though Brian Boucher and James van Riemsdyk are the only American-born Flyers, so don’t expect any orange and black representation on Team USA. As disappointing as this may be, if you’re blue about it just think about what an honor it is to have Oskars Bartulis on the Flyers and you’ll be merry in no time.

The Flyers are 3-11 in their last 14 games. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, part of that disgraceful record has to do with the fact they’ve played a brutal schedule. 7 of those losses came to teams that are either first or second in their divisions and 3 of the losses came to 3rd-place teams. In short, they haven’t exactly been playing a lot of patsies (though 2 of their 3 wins were against the Islanders).

None of this excuses a pathetic performance from a team that many thought would contend for the Cup this season. During this 14-game skid, the Flyers have been outscord 26-49. Neither the off-season addition of Ray Emery nor Chris Pronger has proven to make them any better than they were last year. And the Flyers nominally-powerful scorers have done little this year; the highest-ranked scorer on the Flyers is Mike Richards. His 26 points are good for 49th-place in the NHL.

Last night’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Penguins was a good indication of how far removed from the League’s elite teams the Flyers are. And that game put the issue of the Flyers personnel into stark contrast with one of the NHL’s best rosters. Offensively, the Flyers don’t have anyone as good as Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Defensively they don’t have anyone as good as Sergei Gonchar. And their goaltender (whoever that may be) isn’t as good as Marc-Andre Fleury. With the better part of the season remaining, the Flyers need to start looking at making some moves on their bench, not just behind it.

John Stevens was fired on Friday by the Flyers. In four seasons behind the Flyers bench, Stevens was 120-109-34 and his playoff record was 11-12. True, these numbers aren’t stellar but they aren’t terrible either. Stevens took over in ‘06 with a team that was historically awful, posting a record of 21-42-11. In his next two seasons he took the team to the playoffs, reaching the Conference Finals in ‘07-’08 and getting bounced last year in the first round by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

His replacement is the fiery Peter Laviolette, most recently of Versus TV coverage fame. The upside to this hiring is that Laviolette has a Stanley Cup under his belt (2006 Carolina Hurricanes) and his career winning percentage is 21 points higher than Stevens’ (.562-.541). And maybe most importantly he’s known to be a hot-tempered coach with lots of personality, something Stevens lacked in the way Andy Reid lacks a clear throat.

While Laviolette has 7 years of coaching under his belt, the only season he won a playoff series was the year the ‘Canes went all the way. His teams missed the playoffs in 4 of his 7 years and he was bounced in the 1st round twice while with the Islanders.

The bottom line for the Flyers is that they’re not as good as 9 other Eastern Conference teams right now. Their scoring has cooled: they’ve scored 8 goals in their last 5 games and have been shutout twice during that stretch. And their goaltending is, once again, in flux: of the 9 teams ahead of the Flyers, 7 of them have starting goalies with lower GAAs than Ray Emery (the Islanders’ Dwayne Roloson and the Senators’ Pascal Leclaire are worse) and 7 of them have goaltenders with better save percentages than Emery (only Leclaire and Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury are worse).

If the players continue playing below their collective ability, the Flyers won’t be any better off with Laviolette. Of course, merely the act of changing leadership often times is enough to turn it around. With rumors swirling that Mike Richards will lose his captaincy to Chris Pronger, there’s a lot more than simply the head coaching that needs to improve if this team is going to realize its potential.

After discussing the issue of concussions and the long-term damage done to football players like Brian Westbrook, we thought we’d extend the conversation to hockey. As the Dave Schultz celebration at Monday’s Flyers game reminded us, South Broad St. has been the headquarters for brain damage in the NHL for the past 30+ years. Hits like the one Mike Richards applied to David Booth of the Florida Panthers are exactly the kinds of things the NHL needs to cut down on. We’re not going to say the hit was overtly dirty (though Richards did receive a game misconduct for intent to injure) but it certainly was borderline. Either way, what was going on in Mike Richards’ mind is immaterial compared to what was/was not going on in David Booth’s as he lay on the ice.

As in the case of football, hitting is an integral part of the game of hockey. The NHL deserves credit for making strides to protect its players and the integrity of its product by slowly enacting rule changes that reward skill play as opposed to the style of hockey that was on display at the Spectrum in the 70’s. But more needs to be done.

Hits like the Richards one and the hit on Chris Drury by Chris Neil from a few years back are examples of plays that are not blatantly dirty but still have devastating effects on the recipients. Taking the hitting out of hockey is the last thing we’d advocate. And again we’re not necessarily saying Richards’ hit was dirty, but going forward hits like the one Richards delivered should be punished in a draconian fashion. Players initiating contact with an opponent’s head using their shoulder or any part of their arms should be suspended 10 games for a first offense.

The beauty of contact sports is the gracefulness that exists in the context of violence and chaos. This will always be the reason people watch and play games like hockey and football and why boxing is the “sweet science.” But there has to be a limit in terms of what players of all ages are allowed to endure for the sake of theirs and our entertainment. Continuing to condone and facilitate what we now know to be life-threatening violence for the sake of amusement says a lot about who we are as a society. And while these elements of risk will always be inherent in our more ferocious sporting endeavors, we have a responsibility to the participants and to our own social fabric to limit the amount of damage that is done.

The Flyers take their show on the road tonight to tangle with the 9-2-1 Buffalo Sabres. Having grown up in Buffalo, I can assure everyone that the mood there surrounding an early-season game is nothing like the mood of a town two days removed from a World Series and two days before a huge rivalry football game. Nope, there’s not much to do in Buffalo other than play hockey, ski, drink Labatt Blue and watch the Sabres. A Friday night at HSBC Arena in Buffalo is an event, kind of like going to the prom all over again except there are way more Canadians with mullets.

The Buffalo News has a great piece today about the different styles played by the Flyers and the Sabres. The 12 regular forwards for the Sabres have recorded 73 points this season and the 12 Flyers forwards expected to dress tonight have 72. The major difference is that the Sabres’ lines have much more balanced scoring distribution. In Buffalo’s case, their top line has accounted for 37% of scoring. The next 3 lines have scored 31.5%, 17.8% and 13.7%. In the Flyers’ case, their top two lines of Richards-Hartnell-Giroux and Carter-van Riemsdyk-Laliberte have accounted for 44.4% and 41.7% of their 72 points. The checking and energy lines of Pyorala-Powe-Asham and Betts-Carcillo-Laperriere have accounted for only 9.7% and 4.2% of forwards’ scoring.

What does this mean? In the Sabres case, it means that Lindy Ruff has put together line combinations that stress constant pressure as he has less top-heavy scorers with which to up the goals production. With Thomas Vanek in one game and out the next with injury, Buffalo doesn’t have guys like Richards and Carter who will tally 40 goals in a season. In the Flyers case, it means they come at opponents with very different styles depending on which line is on the ice. They’re comprised more like an early 80’s team: big guns up front and two genuine grit and energy lines down low.

Another thing to watch for tonight is the goaltending matchup of Ray Emery and Ryan Miller. Miller has started 10 games and is 9-1 with a 1.7 GAA, a .941 save percentage and 2 shutouts. He ranks 1st in the NHL in save percentage, 2nd in goals against average, 1st in shootout save percentage, 1st in shutouts and 1st in winning percentage. As good as Miller has been, Ray Emery has consistently played well throughout this season and has under his belt one of the great multi-player goalie fights in NHL history against Buffalo. Expect Emery to be fired-up for the game as his days in Ottawa produced an intense dislike between himself and the Buffalo fans.

To close, a spot of Buffalo Sabres trivia. Who is the only player in NHL history to win a playoff series on an overtime, shorthanded goal? And what goalie yielded it? A hint? Both players will be playing in tonight’s game. For the answer click here.

The great thing about being in touch with the sports scene in this town is getting to bear witness to the doomsday hysteria that spreads like a pack of hemhorroids once something goes wrong. If it’s the Eagles who lose a game, you can bet your shore house that Donovan McNabb will get the blame and it seems now that the Flyers are out, Marty Biron is the scapegoat.

Philly.com is currently tickling the ivories of the great Marty debate. Suggestions that the series would still be going on if Biron were a “shut down” goalie are running wild and despite scant mention of the fact that Paul Holmgren handcuffed himself by overspending on scoring, the real problem this team has is they’re dreadfully outmanned on the blue line. Timmonen and Coburn are the only legitimate pairing this team fields. Say what you like about the person manning the nets but when the shot totals are consistently in the mid-30s, there are only a few guys capable of “shutting down” opponents.

Like Eagles fans who blame McNabb for every loss and suggest it’s time to turn the page, Flyers fans seem to think management is going to snap its fingers and Ken Dryden or Roberto Luongo will instantly materialize in the orange and black. Sorry, Eagles fans, John Elway and Peyton Manning aren’t available and to Flyers fans: Marty Biron is not the best goaltender in the League but even Luongo or Brodeur will break down when constantly peppered by Malkin and Crosby.

It’s easy to put the blame on the most high-profile guys, as if sports always unfold as the great individual leader taking control of games and willing his team to victory. Playoff success, in any sport, is a result of each unit on the team playing to its highest level. When it doesn’t work out, scrutinizing the reasons why becomes more difficult that simply blaming the one guy you think “underperformed.”

In the Flyers’ case, where were Jeff Carter’s 46 regular season goals in this series? Where was the scoring push from Gagne and Richards? Where was the sense of professionalism in maintaining a 2nd period, 3-goal lead in Game 6? Where was Daniel Carcillo’s good sense to walk away from Maxime Talbot right before he tried to get his team fired-up with a fight? Lots of questions to answer, but I’ll tell you for sure the simple response is not to blame Biron.

So the talk, of course, is not the pondering of why the Jay Bouwmeester trade didn’t work out or which defensemen are on the market this offseason (or why Luca Sbisa didn’t show his promising face). Talking about defensemen isn’t sexy, much in the same way offensive lineman don’t elicit a Pavlovian response like receiver talk does. So now the chat is about goalie replacements: Craig Anderson, Scott Clemmensen (two young, part-time goalies), Manny Fernandez and Nikolai Khabbibulin (seriously?). The talk should be about getting the defensive house in order and finding out where the real leadership is going to come from on this team.

Aside from Marc-Andre Fleury’s stellar performance in Game 4 of the Flyers-Penguins series, this play has to be the most frustrating for Flyers’ fans to swallow. Or maybe the icing on the turd cake is that the Flyers’ only goal came from Daniel Carcillo. Either way, the frustration has to be mounting for the fans. The Flyers accomplished everything they wanted to in the stats department (out-shooting Pittsburgh by a whopping 46-26, taking fewer penalty minutes and out-hitting the Pens) except for the proverbial only stat that matters.

The Flyers aren’t out of it by any means and the team knows this. Mike Richards said after the game “I thought we did everything well except put the puck in the net.” In hockey, you just have to keep crashing, keep pushing and eventually it will go your way. That’s really been the story of Games 2-4; there’s no reason for the team to feel like they’ve been dominated and while the fans may be in despair, I’ll bet dinner that the Flyers know they’re still in it: a win in Pittsburgh in Game 5 puts the pressure solely on the Penguins’ shoulders as they’ll have to come back to Philly and try to prevent the nightmare of a forced Game 7. Excepting Game 1, the series has been incredibly tight so the Flyers don’t need to feel they’re being outplayed. A bounce here, a Jeff Carter goal there, a stellar Martin Biron performance; the Flyers just have to win Game 5 and they’ll see the coastline.

And just to put any stupid homer comments to rest, the Crosby goal was a good one. It hits his stick and trickles in off his arm though there’s no directing motion on the part of Crosby’s arm or glove and the puck is in the back of the net before the net comes off its moorings. Marty Biron said after the game “it’s a dangerous play when you’re sliding in both feet first toward the goalie. I don’t like that.” Well, like it or not there’s no rule against crashing the net. Here’s to hoping Biron has more to like after Game 5.

ANOTHER THING: If the NHL officials and broadcasters would stop saying “good goal” I would be much obliged. There is one kind of goal: a goal. There is also something known as “not a goal,” but there is no such thing is a “good” goal. Either it’s a goal or it isn’t.

What I like about this photo from last year’s playoff series between the Flyers and Pens is that this kid spelled “Fleury” wrong. If illiteracy were fostered by bees and cows then Western Pennsylvania would be the land of milk and honey. Unfortunately for the Flyers, it’s the land of offensive ineptitude, bad goaltending and absurd penalties.

Last night’s performance against Pittsuburgh showed one of two things (and both are quite likely the scenarios that will define this series): one, the Penguins are head-and-shoulders above the Flyers or two, the Flyers just don’t seem to have the mindset to get the most out of themselves. After fumbling away the chance for home ice against the Rangers, the Flyers played another game where they ceded control of the pace of it and played the entire game in chase mode.

As ususal, Martin Biron faced more than 30 shots (he’s not getting a pass from me on that count this time; the first three goals against were simply bad fundamental positioning on his part). He was outperformed by Marc-Andre Fleury who, in fairness, didn’t face much in the way of a spirited Flyers attack (27 shots against, two hit posts by Mike Richards) but still made the stops he needed to. The Flyers were almost doubled-up in faceoff wins, losing that contest 38-21, a stat that goes a long way in explaining their inability to set up in the offensive zone or control play defensively. But the stat that will haunt them the most if it continues is the penalties.

Of course we shouldn’t expect the team that led the NHL in penalty minutes to change its stripes completely, but the cost of constantly being in the box is that it nullifies the team’s ability to do anything but play from behind. While Pittsburgh only scored one power play goal (Crosby’s in the first), the Flyers’ 35 PIM kept them on their heels and ruined any opportunity for a sustained push. And in case you were wondering, Pittsburgh only sat for 15 minutes.

To make matters worse, John Stevens resorted to that Neanderthal Hockey League mentality late in the third when he reverted to “message sending” mode by turning an embarrassing performance into a show of pre-Cambrian thuggery. For the effort, Scott Hartnell’s only shots landed in the game were to Penguins’ faces. Not surprisingly, Daniel Carcillo will be meeting today with the NHL brass because of his actions against Maxime Talbot.

Perhaps there’s a brand of hockey fan that likes to see his team flub its way through a game and then attempt to lay the groundwork for the next game by turning it into an MMA match. Then there’s fans like me who like to see my team win by playing smart and utilizing their offensive skill. After watching last night’s Flyers performance, perhaps the description I gave of myself makes me a Penguins fan.