Has anyone seen Danny Briere this weekend? Seriously, I am not sure I witnessed #48 out on the ice in Games 1 or 2. Did he have a single good scoring chance in either game? Even when he was bad in the second half of the season, he still made plays while on the man advantage. So far in this series, he's not even noticeable while on the power play. Hopefully, when the Flyers get home and have the last change, we can get better matchups for Briere and he can make more of a difference.
By the way, where was the Penguin Killer tonight? Did RJ Umberger make the trip to the Igloo. I didn't notice him at all.
However, as bad as Briere has been, he has not been as bad as the Versus broadcast. They are absolutely brutal. The announcers, Joe Beninati and Darren Eliot, are flat out killing me. They bring zero emotion to the game, miss things over and over, fail to show key replays, and give the game the general feel of a preseason matchup instead of the league semi finals. This series is crying out for Gary Thorne and Bill Clement or Doc Emerick and JD (yes, I realize he's not available), but instead we're given a couple guys that sound like they are auditioning for the WNBA. Overall, I'm totally depressed watching these games and it's not because we've lost two straight.
The refs were pretty bad tonight, but fortunately they were bad both ways. I still can't figure out how the video ref couldn't determine that was a goal late in the first period. The Hatcher penalty that led to the Pens' second goal was brutal. He played text book defense and somehow the refs found a penalty. The Briere goaltender interference penalty was pure and utter bullshit. I'm still shaking my head at that one. All in all, the refs didn't lose the game for the Flyers tonight or in Game 1.
The Flyers have lost the first two games because of the loss of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Cobourn tonight. If you take the top two defensemen off any team, they are going to struggle to the point where they look like an entirely different team. That's what we're seeing now. They miss these two guys tremendously. The other defensemen are stepping up admirably in the defensive zone, but other than Randy Jones, they are adding nothing offensively. It is downright frustrating to see how this team is changed due to injuries.
Finally, I'll throw in a few positives. Mike Richards is a stud. A complete stud. He is a winner. He just needs a little help. Jeff Carter had a goal tonight, but we need more from him on a shift by shift basis. I also like the way Scottie Upshall is playing. His speed, grit and effort are noticeable on just about every shift.
With the series heading back to Philly for Game 3 on Tuesday, the season comes down to the next game. I just pray that our gritty, gutty Flyers have another victory or two in them. I'd love to see this series extended.
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