It's really pick your poison tonight in Pittsburgh.
Chris Lee: Arguably the most hated ref in the NHL, wildly inconsistent, sometimes will call anything & everything and bring the game's flow to a grinding halt and other times he lets them play for 95% of the game but then will call 2 chincy plays on top of each other and reward a 2 man advantage late in the game or OT.
Steve Kozari: always hated this guy. He's the NHL's "good little soldier" You can always tell if a memo has been circulated the day of a Kozari reffed game. He is so singularly focused on looking for one specific infraction that he misses ridiculously obvious calls. He's also the type of referee that I despise, the "Even-Up" Ref. Like Kerry Fraser before him, there is a large degree of narcissism to his style of officiating and with him, what is a penalty in the first might not be in the 3rd and vice versa.
Timmy Peel: The most frusturating of all offiicials to watch. Peel is actually a great referee, one of the league's best. The problem I have with Peel is that he is regularly duped by embellishments, players tucking sticks under the arm pits, defensive players shoving forwards into the crease. I'd like to believe that an official reviews game film and says "fool me once, shame on you..." but this guy continually gets the proverbial wool pulled over his eyes by the same plays, same players over and over.
Francois St. Laurent: As stated above.
My fear for tonight is what happened to Rinaldo in Pittsburgh on the last game of the season.
Pittsburgh's "D" is ridiculously soft. The turning point of game 1, for me at least was when the Flyers established their fore-check. Martin, Michalek, Lovejoy and Engelland all looked so panicked and overwhelmed by Philly's fore-checking pressure.
A relentless, intimidating and physical fore-check can be completely nullified if the ref, in his mind, deems a hard Rinaldo check a major penalty or a Talbot stick check a hooking call.
The most frustrating dimension of being a Philly fan has always been when a referee essentially coaches the team by determining what percentage of Flyers hockey is acceptable and allowed on a given night.
That being said, the beauty of this team, the size and speed of our wingers will always find a way to establish the fore-check and pound the "D"
Pittsburgh had no answer for the fore-check, none. As this series continues to intensify and get more physical, it only favours the Flyers more and more.
We will win game 2! and we will go back to Philly with a 2-0 series lead!
I am thinking since we are the "bad guys" of the NHL and the Pens are the golden boys, maybe Friday the 13th is luckier for us?
Here's to hoping.
Everyone make sure you wear the same clothes as Wednesday.
Also, I changed from NBC to CSN (didnt know it was on CSN) after the first period - so I intend to uphold that tradition.
I am way too superstitious.
So am I which is why after the first I took off my Flyers jersey to switch it up and it seemed to work... Going to see if I just don't wear it we can start off nicely.
So am I which is why after the first I took off my Flyers jersey to switch it up and it seemed to work... Going to see if I just don't wear it we can start off nicely.
So before all the Eagles fans jump on me, let me start off with an explanation...
I grew up in a Giants/Flyers household. My dad grew up in Newark across from where the Giants practiced - thus he became a Giants fan as a kid. He moved to South Jersey in the 60's when the Flyers came into the NHL and became a Flyers fan.
Anyway, I too changed after the first period into the same Giants tee-shirt I wore for every single playoff win this year, and ultimately the Super bowl win.
So, I will be wearing the Giants shirt for the Flyers game tonight. Sorry, just felt I needed to justify my "lucky" shirt to all the Eagles fans.
That being said, the beauty of this team, the size and speed of our wingers will always find a way to establish the fore-check and pound the "D"
Pittsburgh had no answer for the fore-check, none. As this series continues to intensify and get more physical, it only favours the Flyers more and more.
Eh I think if more penalties are called we will be more successful. The pens just don't run an effective pp with Crosby. Least not as effective. Flyers have good
Pp guys. Don't worry just knocked on wood
The other side of the "slow start" coin is that there have been many games where the Flyers exploded out of the gate and couldn't bury their early chances. Their game went downhill while the opponent took control.
I am not to concerned about the refereeing I think Lavy and Torts did a good job of bringing attention to the bias toward the Peguins and I do not think the league wants to look like a bunch of idiots.
On the flip side, if the Flyers are getting the short end of the stick they will be more motivated with the us against the world mentality.
Eh I think if more penalties are called we will be more successful. The pens just don't run an effective pp with Crosby. Least not as effective. Flyers have good
Pp guys. Don't worry just knocked on wood
during the first intermission to calm myself down
