This started off as a Philly pride piece. I was going to talk about how proud I am of the Philadelphia Flyers and their season. I planned on dissecting how the play of Danny Briere and Jeff Carter was amazing and that Mike Richards’ ability to not only coexist, but even bond, with Chris Pronger shows that he’ll continue to be a great captain for the foreseeable future. My plan was to even go on a limb and say that I wasn’t upset about us losing, that just getting there was enough. After waiting over 24 hours this article should still largely echo those sentiments. That being said, never in my entire life have I wished so hard for someone to close their legs.

          No seriously, Michael Leighton, why will you not just shut your legs? I feel like I’m a dad on “16 and Pregnant” right before Prom. I’ll grant you that some of the saves you made were ridiculous. Yes, we were out shot in several circumstances and poor play on defense and power play did not help, but hasn’t anyone ever mentioned to you that your butterfly leaves a gaping five hole? If only every girl I’ve ever dated had the same issue (the leg closing one, not the poor butterfly mechanics).

          The most frustrating part is that you were a Chicago Blackhawk. Patrick Sharp took every opportunity to make us regret letting him go. Even Patrick Kane played like he had some pent up rage over how we treated his fellow No. 88, Eric Lindros, (I’m not sure of anything the city of Philadelphia ever did to Dale Earnhardt Jr.). You however played with no sense of urgency. While Antti Noemi was over there rolling around on the ground stopping everything that came at him high, which was where he was supposed to be weak, you consistently could not stop low shots flying 80 mph at your crotch. 

          I’m not dropping this entire thing on your shoulders and I don’t agree with you getting pulled twice in favor of Brian Boucher when the game was already lost. That type of move doesn’t show any faith, and paints you as fragile. They definitely did not do you any favors. As I’ve mentioned I’m not psyched about our power play, and Pronger did take penalties at the most inopportune times but these are issues that can be fixed. A play off goalie is the bedrock of a team. While they may not win the most Conn Smythe trophies, they’re the player you invariably remember.

          Years from now we won’t remember all the goals they scored; we’ll remember all the ones we didn’t. The worst part is, I don’t have an obvious answer. Last year I was calling for Jose Theodore from the Washington Capitals but with two years and two chokes I’m not sure he’s the answer. He’s more of an answer to the platoon of existing goalies we have. It’s because of you and because of Jeremy Roenick’s commentary, “I made it once, everyone and lost. Everyone said not to worry about it, that we’d get back next year, we never did” that I can’t drum up a lot of enthusiasm about next year.

The hits just keep on coming for the Flyers, losers of five in a row and eight of their last ten.

Sunday the Flyers found out that they would be without the services of forward Dan Carcillo for four games, as he was being suspended by the league  for a fight during the team’s matchup against the Capitals over the weekend. Monday they headed over the border and suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. They returned home Tuesday to prepare for a game at home against the New York Islanders to find out that starting (sort of) goalie Ray Emery had been placed on injured reserve.

Carcillo was issued 29 minutes of penalties Saturday night for a retaliatory cross check and supposed sucker punch on the Capitals Matt Bradley.

After receiving a high stick by Bradley, Carcillo retaliated with a cross check and then dropped his gloves to fight. Bradley appeared to drop his glove, indicating that he wanted to fight, and Carcillo knocked him out with a right hook to the face. One punch and the fight was over.

Referee Stephane Auger gave Carcillo two minutes for cross checking, two minutes for instigating, five for fighting, a ten minute misconduct, and a game misconduct. He didn’t give Bradley any penalties.

“Everything happened pretty quick, I saw him drop his gloves, so I started punching him,” Carcillo told CSNPhilly.com after the game.

“He kind of came at me the shift before. He was talking to me before. I thought we were going to fight. I don’t know why he waited so long to drop his gloves.”

Here is video footage of the fight. Make your own judgement.

The suspension was expected, but is certainly not welcomed by Carcillo and the Flyers organization. General manager Paul Holmgren issued the following statement regarding the suspension:

“Decisions come down from the league…do I agree with them all? No. I certainly do not agree with this one. We do not have a lot of recourse in this situation. Dan will serve his suspension, and we will move on.”

Details on the injury to Emery were not immediately known Tuesday, other than it being a lower body injury, but according to CSNPhilly.com, it is believed to be either his groin or his hip. The injury could be the cause of Emery’s recent woes in net, including a 5.36 goals-against average and .814 save percentage in his last five starts.

Update: Sarah Baicker of CSNPhilly.com is reporting that Emery has suffered an abdominal injury and that it may require surgery. Holmgren will address the media before tonight’s game against the Islanders.

More details to come…..

Saturday was a tough night for Philly sports.

Peter Laviolette’s debut as the new coach of the Flyers was not exactly the first impression he was hoping to leave the faithful of the Orange and Black. It was a debut that will leave a bitter taste in his mouth for some time to come. And it started immediately.

The Washington Capitals struck in the first minute of the game, as well as on five of their first 17 shots on their way to an 8-2 win. All without star Alexander Ovechkin.

The firing of coach John Stevens was supposed to be a wake up call for the reeling Flyers; a jolt to jump start a run back up the Eastern Conference standings. Instead the Flyers looked as bad as ever. Goalie Ray Emery continued to struggle, having his worst outing of the season. He allowed five goals before being replaced by backup Brian Boucher midway through the second period, giving him a 5.36 goals-against average and .814 save percentage in his last five starts. Boucher did not fair much better, allowing three goals of his own.

It was not entirely Emery’s fault, as the Capitals were gift wrapped a nine-minute power play. After receiving a high stick by the Capitals’ Matt Bradley, Dan Carcillo retaliated with a cross check and then dropped his gloves to fight. Bradley appeared to drop his glove, indicating that he wanted to fight, and Carcillo knocked him out with a right hook to the face. One punch and the fight was over.

Referee Stephane Auger gave Carcillo two minutes for cross checking, two minutes for instigating, five for fighting, a ten minute misconduct, and a game misconduct. He didn’t give Bradley any penalties. The Capitals scored three goals during the power play, effectively ending the game.

The game was the worst debut for a Flyers coach in team history, who are losers of seven of their last eight.

In Charlotte, the Sixers did not fare as poorly as their Wachovia Center roommates, but still found themselves on the wrong end of the box score. Despite leading most of the game, including a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Sixers lost on a Raymond Felton layup with 4.7 seconds left in the game. Andre Iguodala missed a jumper at the buzzer and the Sixers lost their ninth straight game.

It’s been a tough week in Philly, with off-the-court news dominating the excitement as the Sixers announced the signing of Allen Iverson, who expects to make his debut Monday night at the Wachovia Center against the Denver Nuggets. The firing of Stevens and subsequent hiring of Laviolette dominated much of the news on Friday. Throw in the singing of Placido Polanco by the Phillies, and there has been little discussion of the play on the court/ice.

Both the Sixers and Flyers are rapidly heading farther and farther down in the standings. The Sixers are tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference with the New York Knicks, barely ahead of the 1-18 Nets. The Flyers are last in the Atlantic Division, and are also tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Both teams look to rebound Monday night. The Sixers take on the Nuggets at home in Iverson’s debut and the Flyers head across the border to face the struggling Montreal Canadiens.

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Consider your suffering eased, I have returned. After a month and a half hiatus, I am back at Hot Stove Philly, and you may all now breath a collective sigh of relief. Woo. Good.

Unfortunately, it seems I may have returned to the Philly sports world with little to be excited about. The Phillies season is over. The Eagles are inconsistent at best, and embarrassing at worst. The Sixers make the Eagles look good. The Flyers are the best thing going, and they’re in fourth place in their division. Could it be possible that the Phillies’ off season is the most interesting thing in Philly sports right now?

As the kids say today, wtf mate?

Despite another incredible season that saw the Fightins get to their second straight World Series, they were clearly outmatched by a superior Yankees team. The Bronx Bombers had better hitters, better starting pitching and a better bullpen. Hard to win when under those circumstances.

The series put into sharp contract the glaring holes that need to be addressed by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and his team this off season. Now that they’ve let Pedro Feliz go, the team’s first priority is a starting third baseman, with Mark DeRosa, Adrian Beltre and Chone Figgins the top three contenders on the Phillies’ list, or so we assume.

The Phillies’ next priority has to be the bullpen. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported today that he believes Detroit closer Brandon Lyon would be a great fit in Philadelphia as a late inning set up man and emergency closer, should Brad Lidge decide to relive 2009 next season. Olney believes that “perhaps the best of the guys who might be OK coming in as a set-up man, and he’s coming off a solid season in which is posted a 2.86 ERA for the Tigers, allowing just 56 hits in 78.2 innings, with 57 strikeouts.”

There are several holes in the bullpen that need to be plugged, and the bench, that was so good just a year ago, needs a thorough rejuvination. The hot stove is heating up with free agency set to begin in just four days and it looks to be a particularly interesting one for Amaro and the Phils.

Across the street at Lincoln Financial Field, Andy Reid and the Eagles are headed in quite the opposite direction, as they find themselves loser of two in a row after falling to the San Diego Chargers Sunday 31-23.

The Birds have looked great at times this season (Carolina, New York) and awful at others (Oakland, Dallas). Their once heralded offensive line has been anything but, a result of the plague of injuries that has besought the group like a pack of demons. The defense as a whole is not much healthier. At least they have an excuse for playing lousy.

The offense? Even with a healthy Brian Westbrook (if you can ever call him that anymore) and Desean Jackson to start the game, the Eagles struggled to put points on the board, failing to get the ball in the endzone until the fourth quarter. That’s including three trips inside the Chargers 10-yard line in the second and third quarters. Kicker David Akers was a little too busy yesterday.

The reason? Donovan McNabb. Andy Reid. No O-line. None of the above. All of the above. Take your pick. The Eagles are uninspiring this season after what has to be one of the most exciting and hopeful off seasons in recent team history. Did I mention I hate training camp?

Luckily for the Eagles, the Sixers are even more uninspiring. Unfortunately for the Eagles, nobody cares about the Sixers so everyone is still talking about the Birds.

The Sixers are not living up to their offseason expectations either, which is pretty impressive considering how low those expectations were to begin with. The team is averaging 28.43 fans a game. Elton Brand, who is supposed to be the team’s best player, and is at least the team’s most expensive player, doesn’t play in the fourth quarter. Their center of the future, Marreese Speights is reportedly out until January with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. They are, once again, the worst three point shooting team in the NBA. And they’ve won just four out of their last five games, their lone win coming against the 0-10 New Jersey Nets. And yet, thanks to an incredibly mediocre Eastern Conference, the Sixers are in third place in the Atlantic Division, one game back of the 5-5 Toronto Raptors. There’s a lot of basketball left to played and the Sixers have a great chance of being one of the many teams that will make the playoffs, so there is still hope that they will yet again miss out on a meaningful draft pick.

The Orange and Black are pretty much the only thing left to be happy about in Philly right now, winners of seven of their last 10. They are tied for the second best record over that period in the Eastern Conference with the surging Buffalo Sabres, topped only by their rivals up the Turnpike, the 14-4 New Jersey Devils, who have lost just once in their previous 10 games.

The Flyers boast the best goals for/goals against ratio in the NHL, scoring 1.44 goals for every goal they’ve allowed. They’ve scored the tenth most goals in the NHL with 59, and have allowed the third fewest in the league with 41.

Chris Pronger has been everything he was promised to be and more. He is second in the NHL with a plus minus rating of 13 and was named the league’s “nastiest and most intimidating” defender by The Hockey News. And according to the Philadelphia Daily News, he was named “the ‘best corner man,’ for winning puck battles along the boards. Pronger also figured in the discussion for ‘best shutdown defender,’ ‘best first passer,’ and honorable mention for ‘best point shot.’” He currently has a six-game point streak, recording seven assists and nine points and is second on the team behind Jeff Carter with 17 total points. Oh, and the Flyers have the NHL’s best power play unit, in large part thanks to Pronger.

Rookie winger James van Riemsdyk has also been everything he was hyped to be, coming into Monday’s game against the Devils fourth on the team in points with 15. He trails Carter, Pronger and captain Mike Richards. Not bad company for a kid not two years removed from the draft.

So while the Eagles and Sixers leave us wanting much, much, much more, the Flyers are worth watching, and the Phillies’ off season will be one filled with intrigue and ainticipation as we march to February and the start of Spring Training.

We apologize for our hiatus here at Hot Stove Philly but promise to bring you all the latest breaking news and commentary that you have come to love from here on out.

Despite losing their preseason opener to the Detroit Red Wings, the Flyers have a lot of positives to take away from the outing.

First and foremost, their top prospect, James van Riemsdyk looked real good, scoring the Fly Guys only goal.

In the second period, van Riemsdyk broke down the boards and fired a shot at Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard. The shot hit off Howard’s stick and slid into the net, for van Riemsdyk’s first goal with the Flyers.

“The defense was looking at [Jeff] Carter and [Scott] Hartnell, trying to take away the two biggest scoring threats,” he said. “I just snuck away and got a lucky shot in.”

The goal was impressive considering the start that van Riemsdyk had to the game. During his first shift of the game (his first NHL game mind you), he was unable to keep the puck on his stick. He was called offsides two shifts later on a breakaway.

“I was pretty excited,” van Riemsdyk said. “I tried to take a little nap before the game, but I was tossing and turning.

“It was a pretty surreal feeling, looking across at guys like [Nicklas] Lidstrom and those guys you see in the Stanley Cup finals.”

He was nervous, and wasn’t perfect by any means, but he had a solid game, all things considered.

“He did a couple of good things with those high-end plays around the net,” Flyers coach John Stevens said. “I think he was probably a little nervous and anxious coming into his first game.”

The game was a chance for several of the team’s younger players to get some NHL ice-time under their belt, as captain Mike Richards, Kimmo Timonen, Simon Gagne and a few other regulars sat out for rookies like Joonas Lehtivuori, Oskars Bartulis and Mika Pyorala.

One veteran who did not sit out was newcomer Chris Pronger, who played a team high 26 minutes, largely as a result of the Flyers’ inability to stay out of the penalty box. The 15-year NHL veteran blocked six shots and led the Flyers’ penalty kill team, holding last season’s top power-play team scoreless on seven opportunities.

“Pronger was great,” Stevens said. “Unfortunately, killing so many penalties he got a lot of time for the preseason, but he is a power-play guy and a penalty-kill guy. He is a great addition to the team.”

Not everyone at Joe Louis Arena thought that Pronger was great, however. Everytime he touched the puck, boos rained down from the crowd.

“It was good,” Pronger joked. “I don’t know what I did to them but it was nice to know the fans appreciated me again.”

Another veteran newcomer had a good game as well, as goalie Ray Emery saved 23 of the 25 shots he faced in two periods of action. The outing is especially impressive when you consider that the Flyers were shorthanded for a quarter of the time Emery was on the ice. Brian Boucher played the third period and allowed one goal on 10 shots

Former Flyer John LeClair will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

The former Legion of Doom member spent 16 years in the NHL, 10 of them with the Flyers. He was the first American-born player to record three consecutive 50-goal seasons in the NHL.

“My playing days in Philadelphia were great, as were the fans,” LeClair said. “Obviously, I enjoyed most of my success when I was a member of the Flyers. It was a great time and a great time in my career. When I think back at hockey I think I am most associated with the Philadelphia Flyers.”

In 10 seasons (1994-2004) with the Flyers, he had 333 goals and 643 points, seventh on the club’s all-time goals and points lists. In addition to three consecutive 50-goal seasons, LeClair broke the 40-goal mark in five consecutive seasons (1995-2000) and finished in the top 10 in league scoring four times (1994-95, 1996-99).

He registered 406 goals and 413 assists for 819 points in 967 career games and was a member of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champion team. He was traded the next year to the Phillies, a team he says he did not expect to have such success with.

“I was just hoping to get my career back on track so I could stay in the NHL for a little while longer,” LeClair said. “As things progressed obviously I had some success. A lot of that success was due to my teammates and being part of a great team. I was fortunate enough during my playing time here in Philadelphia to be a member of some really good teams and with team success I enjoyed a lot of individual success.”

LeClair was a member of the famous Legion of Doom line with Eric Lindros and winger Mikael Renberg that went to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings.

“Playing with those two guys was probably the biggest break I got in my career,” LeClair said. “Eric was by far the best player in the league at that time. When you are playing with the best player, he is only going to make you better and you are going to get a lot more opportunities to do things. My other linemate, Mikael, never got as much credit as he deserved. He was a tremendous player in this league.”

LeClair was also a two-time Olympian with 34 career points in 31 games with Team USA, including 22 goals.

According to Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Flyers have been told that they will play the Boston Bruins on New Years Day in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston.

According to Moran’s sources, the decision will probably not be announced until July 15, as the league is holding the news very close to its chest.

Earlier in the week, reports were indicating that the Washington Capitals would be taking the ice, but that seemed to change midweek. The Flyers have been unofficially told that they will be the choice.

The Flyers are expected to announce the signing of goalie Ray Emery on Wednesday.

The deal is reportedly for one-year, worth $1.5 million.

A news conference with Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren will be held tomorrow at the Flyers’ practice facility in Voorhees, N.J.

Emery is 71-40-14 in 134 games played with a goals against average of 2.71 in three seasons with the Ottowa Senators.

According to Tim Panaccio of csnphilly.com, the Flyers’ are poised to sign Ray Emery as their starting goalie for next season.

While Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren declined to confirm the report, several general managers at the Stanley Cup Final consider the matter a “done deal” says Panaccio.

“We’ve had conversations with his agent [J.P. Barry] about a lot of things,” Holmgren said. “But I’m not going to comment on our internal discussions of players.”

Nevertheless, Barry has confirmed the deal to CSN.

“We have been talking several weeks now,” Barry said. “Paul has done due diligence on Ray. I’m hopeful it will lead to a contract.”

Emery has had a turbulent career in the NHL. In his first season, 2005-2006, he set the record for wins to start a career as a member of the Ottowa Senators. However, the next season the Senators brought in Martin Gerber to compete for the starting job with Emery. Gerber eventually won the starting position, but was sidelined in mid-November due to his poor play.

On Saturday, February 10, 2007, Emery was suspended three games from the NHL for striking Montreal Canadiens forward Maxim Lapierre in the face with his stick after Lapierre crashed into Emery’s net^.

Twelve days after serving that suspension, Emery was involved in a fight with current Flyers’ goaltender Martin Biron, who was then playing for the Buffalo Sabres. After fighting Biron, Emery turned his attention to Andrew Peters, the Sabres’ enforcer. As a result, both goalies received game misconducts and Emery received two five-minute fighting majors. In total, Emery wound up with a total of 22 penalty minutes (two five-minute majors for fighting, a two-minute minor for leaving the crease, and the 10-minute game misconduct) for this altercation.

During the 2007-2008 season, Emery saw significantly less playing time and repeatedly took out his frustration on coach John Paddock during practice. In December of that season, Emery was sent home by Paddock after claiming he was sick. However, this came just one day after Emery broke his stick by slamming it on the ice in frustration over his lack of playing time. The incident fueled rampant speculation of whether the Senators would trade Emery.

Senators’ general manager Brian Murray let it be known that he tried to trade Emery that year, but could not find any takers for the firey netminder. That season Emery was fined for repeated tardiness, and got into altercations during practice with teammates Brian McGrattan and Chris Neil.

On April 18, 2008, Murray announced during a press conference that the Senators would not “have him back” the next season. On June 20, 2008, the Senators put Emery on waivers and he became a free agent.

Emery has also been involved with off-the-ice controversey as well. In September of 2007, he was involved in a incident of road rage against an Ottawa resident. Emery claimed the man cut him off and is just bitter that he lost the “war of words”. The main claimed that Emery threatened to kill him, and feared for his life after being forced to stop when Emery blocked the road with his Hummer.

In March 2009, Emery was charged with stunt driving under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act after being caught speeding in excess of 50 km/h over the speed limit of 100 km/h.

Despite all the trouble that Emery caused the Senators, Murray believes Emery deserves a second chance.

“Philadelphia has always had great teams, it’s a very good organization, and they certainly treat their players first class,” Murray said. “I think Ray, or whoever went there, falls into the groove a little bit. Ottawa was the same.

“He went to Russia, and from what I understand, he had a very good year. He’s young. He certainly has ability.”

Emery is 71-40-14 in 134 games played with a goals against average of 2.71. Playing for Atlant Mytischi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) last season, Emery posted a 2.12 goals against average and .920 save percentage with a record of 22-8.

Emery is still technically under contract with his Russian team, and cannot sign with the Flyers until July 1.