Back Where They Belong

After a one year hiatus, your Philadelphia Flyers are back in the playoffs and I am happy. To me, there are very few things in sports better than a hotly contested NHL playoff series. Let's hope we have one upon us. I think we do. Both teams play fast and loose, which usually translates to pretty exciting hockey. Plus, both teams play with a degree of physicality, which should make things pretty interesting at each stoppage of play.

There are a few keys to the series, but the biggest key is not what you think. Sure, the Flyers' ability to defend Ovechkin will play a huge role in the series, but I think biggest key is which Mar-TAN BEE-ron shows up. Will we get the guy that played very beginning and very end of the season, or the guy that played from December to February? If we get the "good" Mar-TAN, I think the Flyers can win in 5 games. If not, this series will be a struggle with the Flyers likely losing.

I expect big series from Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell. I also expect either Carter or Briere to have a decent series as well. I also want to see how Braydon Coburn holds up playing against AO. That should be an interesting matchup.

As for an official pick, I'll stick with what I had yesterday. Flyers in 6.

With the start of the Masters upon us and the Phils getting into the swing of things, we have one of the best weekends of Philadelphia sports. Enjoy it, guys.