Blog Roll

Written by Fran
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 15:17
Tonight during the second Snowmageddon of the week, we have the second meeting between the Flyers and Devils. In Monday's dramatic game Mike Richards, Kimmo Timmonen and Michael Leighton all helped the Flyers overcome a 2-0 deficit and win 3-2. Jeff Carter's crushing hit and JVR's amazing indivual efforts also contributed to the thrilling comeback. What does tonight have in store for us in Newark? Looking out my office window, it looks like a lot of drinking. The Devils are in a bit of a tailspin, but that much talent won't be losing for long. After dropping a frustrating game in Philly, look for New Jersey to bear down a lot harder than they did in the 2nd and 3rd period on Monday. New Devils winger Ilya Kovulchuk still doesn't have a goal, and that my fellow Flyers fans, should scare you a bit. How long can this guy go without burying one? The Flyers did a poor job of maintaining discipline on Monday, taking too many penalties early in the game. Not only did that kill any Flyers mojo they were trying to cook up, it also gave a very potent power play lineup tons of ice time. A big thing Philly can do is to keep disrupting the Devils offense. Poke check your little heart out Kimmo. Stick check like nobody's looking Matt Carle. Anything to frustrate and already frustrated team will help the Devils to beat themselves, but keep it in between the lines. For the Flyers, I don't think I'm in the minority when I say that I want to see Giroux and JVR get more ice time. When all hope was about lost Monday night, these two, along with a solid Aaron Asham, really carried the Flyers offensive load. It was JVR who woke the team up with a great individual effort. Although it's not fair to make the two young guns carry the load, it is always exciting to see them flying around the ice. Anytime Giroux touches the puck good things seem to happen. I hope their effort and energy is again contagious and both play a solid game. Rabbit should be buzzing a bit, playing in front of family and friends. I'll also be watching Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell and Danny Breeze...praying to the Snow Gods to wake them out of their mid season slumber. I'm not sure they'll all play well tonight, but man alive, that's a lot of cash to dish out to 3 guys who are scoring as much as Andreas Nodl. So does anything from Monday carry over tonight? Does Dan Carcillo exact any revenge on the kidney shots he had to take? Does anyone on the Devils care enough about Anssi Salmela enough to chirp Jeff Carter? Does Michael Leighton keep up the solid play? I don't know. What I do know is that I have stockpiled enough hot dogs and Labatt Blue to last me until Sunday. Talk about a great night to hit the couch and cheer on the Orange & Black. Let's Go Flyers. Add comment (0) Hits: 172

Where Are They Now? Everywhere.

Written by Ryan
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 09:11
Last night in 6th place Tampa Bay's 19 shot 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks Martin St. Louis scored an insurance goal with less than 5 minutes to go. And Steve Downie earned his 20th assists on it, thus passing Scott Hartnell in total point production this season at 31 points in 56 games. And he even has two less minors than the league-leading Hartnell. Hartnell's making $4.2M this year. Downie? $600k. Anyway, the point of this post is not to berate Scott Hartnell, although he clearly deserves it, but seeing that the Lightning were above us in the standings got me thinking how I originally thought Steve Downie had gotten the shit end of the stick last year, but maybe he sees leaving the Flyers as moving onto greener pastures. Maybe a lot of players do… Mike Knuble (Capitals 1st East) is tied for 25th in goals in the entire league this year in just 47 games. If he hadn't broken his finger he might have put up the highest goal total of his career. Hell, playing with OV he still might. Dainius Zubrus (Devils 2nd East) has had moderate success since his three years in the Orange and Black. He continued growing into himself as a member of the Canadiens and then became a legitimate scorer as a member of the Caps. Although he's been underwhelming as a Devil he, at least as of Monday, is now on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and his team looks poised to make a Cup run. There's not much that needs to be said about The Amazing Fedotenko (Penguins 4th East) except that he won a Stanley Cup in Tampa and then another one in Pittsburgh. And has helped kill the Flyers dreams on the way to both. While Ottawa fans certainly don't love him, Alexandre Picard (Ottawa 5th East) has to be enjoying his team's recent 12-1 run. The young D-man is still only 24 and primed to see his most NHL action yet this season. He has 14 points in 44 games. Steve Downie's not the only former Flyer on the Lightning (6th East). The Fridge has landed ahead of us in the standings after stops in 3 Western Conference towns. And the Lightning aren't even asking him to stick his face against Colton Orr's fists. They went out and bought a Zenon Konopka for that. Les Habs are only 1 point ahead of us in the standings but Glen Metropolit has enjoyed significantly more success as a centre than a center. In 54 games with the Canadiens this year Metro has 11 goals and 11 assists. Before the Flyers tried to send him through the waiver wire after game 55 he had 4 goals and 11 assists. Below us in the East: Bruins 9th East - Mark Recchi won the Cup in Pittsburgh before he came, won in it Carolina after. Rangers 10th East - Vinny Prospal ahs actually had a bit of bad luck in regards to the Cup. The one season he wasn't on the Lightning in 7 years was the one they took Lord Stanley. In an even steven level of personal fortune (literally) he was bought out by the Lightning of this 4 year $3.5M deal through 2012 and is also making $1.1M as a Ranger this season. Hurricanes 14th East - If you're not familiar with Rod the Bod's story turn your computer off and go build and bang a snowman. Over to the West… Patrick Sharp and his Chicago Blackhawks (2nd West) look to make a serious run at the Cup this year with the 3rd most points in the league. Sharp as become an elite NHLer on an elite team. Although Randy Jones (Kings 4th West) can't seem to stay healthy he seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch in the West. In 27 games with the Kings Jones has better than a point every other game with 14. We all know what a great season Scottie Upshall (Phoenix 5th West) was having before he tore his ACL. His numbers should be good enough to see him get what he's always wanted this offseason - paid. Daymond Langkow (Calgary 7th West) was part of a strong Flyers squad in 1999-2000 and since escaping banishment to Phoenix has been part of a strong yet enigmatic Flames club. If the Flames can get their house in order for the playoffs they have a team and goaltender that could go a long way if hot. Outside looking in in the West: Kim Johnsson's 11th place Wild have 1 more point than us and Steve Eminger's 12th place Ducks have are right with us at 61. R.J. Umberger's enjoyed great personal success since he left, which is why he had to go. And…Ryan Potulny, if you'll allow me to stretch, is establishing himself as an NHLer and stole two points and three hours of sleep from me last week. So there you have it. I wonder what all of these players look at there time in Philadelphia as. A source of great pride? A city with great fans? A place they're glad to have escaped? There are plenty of players who left and fell off the charts (Big E) as well, but a lot of players do seem to strike gold after they skate their last home game at the Wach. Add comment (15) Hits: 317

OKT, We Wish We Could Have Seen You Fight More

Written by Ryan
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 17:38
You may have noticed that as of yet we've failed to address the departure of OKT and the arrival of Ville Leino. That is because, as is custom when a Flyer gets traded, we were in mourning for OKT's Flyers career, but we are now prepared to speak and have drafted this statement: If this Ville Leino escapade doesn't pay dividends, and all we did was give up one of our few draft picks for another low risk, no reward chump like Lukas Kaspar, Krys Kolanos, Jason Ward, Ossi Vaananen, or Glen Metropolit, then we are going to iShit all over the place. Can't we ever get lucky? Damn. I desperately want to see this in some top ten about the most lopsided trades ever, but I don't think that's going to happen. A - because of these skates he thought he could wear last year: B - because he took #22, which he should just know not to fuck around with (where were you on that Settlemyer?) C - because his outbreak (break out?) year was when he put up 77 points in the FNL. Mika Pyorala once put up 45 points in the FNL. And since those respective years they've each spent time putting up Jared Ross numbers in the AHL. But I'm holding out hope that this was one of the stupidest trades Ken Holland ever made. The kind that makes him sit on the toilet and curse himself. And I want to see what we've got starting tomorrow night. Whereas other teams are said to have two first lines I think we might have three second lines. SO let's see Ville on one of them. I like Arron Asham as much as the next person with an Eskimo fetish but he could use a game in the press box, if only to cheer up Riley Cote. I want to see Leino - Giroux - van Riemsdyk tomorrow night in New Jersey. And I want to know that they all shared a room tonight in Newark to bond. I want those things. Badly. Add comment (1) Hits: 174

Canada Still Highest GPA, US Good at Taking Tests

Written by Ryan
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 13:09
Not all of the Top 50 Scorers in the NHL will be in action this Winter Olympics, basically because Canada is limited to 20 skaters. What do I mean? What I mean is that the freaking NHL is dominated by high scoring canucks. Of the top 50 scorers in the NHL here's the breakdown by country and points: Canada - 1,403 USA - 366 Russia - 356 Sweden - 303 Czech Rep - 104 Slovakia - 69 Slovenia - 62 Finland - 51 Poland - 47 Now I'll be the first to admit that this stat has absolutely no statistical (as in the college class) significance when not weighed by player, but it's still fun to look at. Over the years there have seemingly been a number of occasions to point at the decrease of Canada's death grip on the NHL, and the sport of hockey in general. But I have to admit that the boys up north are still uncontested when it comes to the number of top level talents in the sport. While over the years the superstar dynamic has shifted so as to included players from Russia, Sweden, and Slovakia, but no country can even come close to matching the depth of talent coming from the US's taiga top hat. Last draft almost 50% of the players drafted were from Canada. In 2008 it was over 57%. In '07 just under 50%. Of the more than 20 countries that represent the National Hockey League. The percentage of actual players in the league seems to be mirroring the draft so I can't really see any sign at all that Canada's dominance will truly be dominated even in the next couple decades. Which is probably why I wondered if I lived in the wrong country yesterday when I saw 6 NCAA Basketball buzzer beaters on Sports Center (not Centre) ranked above Ovechkin's Sunday afternoon 4 point game on the weekend's Top 10 Plays. Yeah we can beat them in the '96 World Cup, yeah we beat them in the World Junior Tournament that just passed, yeah we smoked them 6-5 in the World Baseball Classic last March, but Hockey is their sport. And it will continue to be even after we beat them at Olympics in a week and a half. Add comment (6) Hits: 179

Flyers Win Day Game

Written by Ryan
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 08:01
Well that was just about as surprising as Montel Williams and the Progressive lady both slamming 5 Hour Energy Drinks and making a commercial where they bang and talk about premium financing. After almost two periods of leaving fat rebounds in front of Marty Brodeur and loose pucks in our own high slot James Van Rhymestein energizes the Wach, and the Flyers bench, with a snapper that beats Monsieur Le Big Mac and Harntell and Carter follow up with a tally of their own. And the Flyers come back from two goals down for the first time all season to send Ilya and the Devils on a two game skid. Very, very surprising. The Flyers killed off 16 powerplays, allowed 1 powerplay goal, scored 1 powerplay goal, allowed a short-handed goal, and killed a guy - all on special teams. What a night. I bet you anything Zenon Konopka sees that box score today and breaks something when he realizes Daniel Carcillo earned 10 minutes the easy way. And yes, that was a dive. Don't even kid yourself. He does it all the time, which is pretty much the only thing I don't like about him besides his weak play on the puck when it comes around the boards. But just like Carcillo dove so did Zach Parise with less than two minutes left in the game. An NHL forward knows he's going to get pressure from behind along the boards. When one of the strongest lower bodies in the game crumples like paper cup after being bumped by Kimmo Timonen that's a dive. And a Redneck. There were about 7,439 embellishments in last night's game and I'm sick of it - old time hockey, Eddie Shore. Not shaking your hand when you get slashed or throwing your head back like JFK when you get high sticked. "The refs force them to do it." Bullshit. When you get hit in the chin with a stick your head moves back - they see that. They don't need the scream and the arm flailing. The checking to see if your face is still on. Sorry to be such a downer but all the lame shit has Rabbit so scared out there that the poor kid can't keep his head still during an interview. He's rattled! The Flyers have 3 games until 80% of them get 2 weeks off. We just proved we can beat the Devils and the Canadiens are standing between us and going into the break in sole possession of 6th place in the East. And getting us back to that 7 more wins that regulations losses mark I've been looking for since we were 12-5-1. Add comment (0) Hits: 172

Flyers Gameday: The Battle of Bon Jovi

Written by Fran

Monday, 08 February 2010 13:36

Tonight the streaky Flyers being a home and home with the New Jersey Devils. If you count the two games between the division leading Devils, and the two games between the Canadiens (who are 3 points ahead of us in the East), this last week before the Olympics is quite possible the most important 4 game stretch of the season. After finishing off what looked to be a "lay-up" road trip with two embarrassing loses, the Flyers return home to host Ilya Kovulchuk and the Devils on a nationally televised game. (With Keith Jones doing play-by play)

The Battle for the Turnpike always brings out the best in these two clubs. Sure, the Devils-Rangers and Flyers-Penguins get top "rival" billing, but no other team in the East the type of history that the Flyers and Devils do. Sadly, most of that history is New Jersey schooling us through the 90s and 2000s, but hey...whose counting? I just need to say the name 'Scott Stevens' and I can hear everyone who ever bought an Eric Lindros jersey shudder. Throw in the best goalie of all time who always plays us, and there you have the roots of Philadelphia's New Jersey Devils complex. A team that more should be modeled off of. They are never bad. Even in recent years when they were supposed to drop off, supposed to get worse, they've maintained a great core, solid leadership, wingers who can score more than once in 10 games (I'm looking right at you, Scott Hartnell & Simon Gagne) and a solid defense. Its ashame they play in New Jersey, more specifically in Newark where their fan base is next to nothing. Mainly due to the crazy expensive seats at 'The Rock', even obtaining Ilya Kovulchuk last weekend didn't guarantee a sell out on a Friday night against an Original 6 opponent. Just sad that a great team can't fill their own barn unless its against the Ranges. So with Kovulchuk added to the list consisting of Patrick Elias, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus and Jamie Langenbrunner. Holy smokes. Right now, I don't think the Devils are as good as the Caps, but you do not want to give either team any chances on the powerplay. Playing catch up with New Jersey never works, so if you're going to the box for a stupid penalty(I'm looking right at you, Scott Hartnell) then for godsake, take someone with you. One area the Flyers can exploit is the Devils suspect defense. Sure Marty is in net, but their #1 blueliner, Paul Martin is on the shelf and they just shipped Johnny Oduya to the Thrash. The Flyers will have to beat Colin White and Bryce Salvador, something they should find some success in.

Eric Lindros was a fucking giant. Also, fuck Scott Stevens.

Speaking of success, there hasn't been much of that recently for Philly. They are shooting a lot, and playing solid defense, yet nothing is showing up on the scoreboard. A streaky team mired in an offensive slump does not translate to much. But all year, it's been a small change or a lucky bounce to break out of the slump. Maybe it happens tonight, against a familiar opponent. It's probably hard to get pumped to play Cal Clutterbuck and the Wild, but against those turds from upstate New Jersey, how can they not get your blood boiling. The Powerplay looks lifeless and alot of the offensive zone rushes look to be two guys waiting for the puck handler to do something, instead of contributing to the play. I can't say that they look lazy, and the back checking is there, but the transition game is too set in its ways. When you have a complacent hockey club, you have problems. Until everyone decides to awake from their slumbers, you're going to have a lot of head scratching when the Flyers are in the Devils zone. I think a big game from Powerhouse is in order. I'd say I'd like to see Scott Hartnell do something positive, but I just don't think the guy has it this year. Maybe Jeff Carter shoulda slept with his wife to get Birddog to show some passion out there. (And I'm not talking about "crosschecking a goalie" passion...I'm talking about Scott Hartnell from the last NY Rangers game passion) So my question to you, Flyers fans, is who do you think breaks out of the slump first? Is it a sighting of Danny Breeze? Richie, Carts, Gags? Our young kids can and should only do so much. Only one way to stop being streaky, and thats to give 100% every night.

So we have the most important week of Flyers hockey starting tonight. Against a great rival and great hockey team. So much talk about the Flyers playing down to opponents, well I expect them to play up tonight. 8 points to get this week, which will decide so much in the hunt for the Cup. Mondays suck, but the suck is a bit less when it's Flyers-Devils. Fuck David Puddy. Let's Go Flyers.

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Flyers Gameday: If I found my way to Minnesoter

Written by Fran
Saturday, 06 February 2010 11:32
Tonight the Flyers take on a rookie goaltender and the Minnesota Wild. If you have survived the snowpocolypse up until now and the raving lunatics are not trying to break your front door down for your stockpile of chilli and shotgun shells, then tonight at 8, you got yourself a date with Jim Jackson and company. With that 1-0 loss still stinging, the Flyers will look to end this short road trip on a positive note. If the Edmonton game proved anything, its that this Flyers team loves playing down to opponents and that capitalizing on chances early in the game is extremely important. The Wild are a decent team and will be fighting for the playoffs all year. Unfortunatly for them, their #1 goalie Niklas Backstom has a bad back and will miss some time. This means the rookie Anton Khudobin gets the start tonight, his first ever. What that means is still up in the air. Does this Flyers team approach a rookie goalie the same way they approach the Oilers? Does the Wild grit their teeth and bear down the way the Flyers did for Leighton? Do the Flyers bring the pressure and dominate the first 30 minutes and get a comfortable lead on a suspect defense? How do special teams come into play. Flyers.com has some great stats about Philly's powerplay success and woes this year: When the Flyers score a power-play goal, they're 23-9-2; when they don't, they're 5-15-1. When they allow a power-play goal, they're 12-17-2. Yikes. So the first time that maniac Cal Clutterbuck tries to behead Simon Gagne, we better capitalize. Aside from the dynamic Clutterbuck (who would be a better Scottie Upshall in Philly) keeps your eyes peeled on ex-Blackhawk Martin Havlat. The twitter machine, along with Captain Mikko Koivu will be the bulk of the offense tonight. Guillaume Latendresse has a wicked clapper so watch for him to be a much better version of Scott Hartnell. Derek Boogaard is like a green and red shark in the Minnesota water, and probably won't have a dance partner since Rockin' Riles doesn't dress anymore. Is Carcillo crazy enough to drop 'em against the 6'8 boogieman? That being said, a Lappy-Clutterbuck fight could be epic. For the Flyers, I bet Razor Ray will man the pipes tonight. Some home and homes loom and tonight's game will get Emery ready to battle the whole week before the Olympic break. Reports were out there that his groin was a bit sore, so keep your eyes on that. I don't mean 'stare at his dick', I just mean, watch his play....and get your mind out of the gutter. Flyers and Wild don't have much history or share a style of play. I think this will be a tight game with the opportunities coming on the power play. Simplify everything. I swear, this team sometimes seems stuck in the Peter Forsberg era. Shots from the point and then clean up the junk. That's what I want to see on the power play. (Let Giroux do his thing, obviously) If I'm Lavvy, I don't play Hartnell on any special teams tonight...I'd also kick him down to the third line, where this season, he belongs. On the blueline, the Flyers have been solid for 6 straight periods. Minnesota has a slightly better offensive punch than Wild of years before so they won't be comfortable with 2 goals. Shut down their top line and make a suspect 2nd & 3rd combo's beat you. Shutout against the worst team in the league was pretty shitty. "But its not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get it, and keep coming back. That's how winnings' done." I want to see this Flyers team main the Wild. Destroy them. Sweep the leg. Fucking fuck their fucking fuck up. It'll be hard for them to get "up" against the Wild, but a good team, a playoff team should be able to prove to themselves and their fans that they can bounce back from embarrassing finishes. I'll be happy with a win, and nothing else. "The Call of the Wild" my ass. Jack London would get white fang'd by Carcillo. Let's Go Flyers. Add comment (1) Hits: 150

Big Saturday at Flyers Goal Scored By…

Written by Ryan
Saturday, 06 February 2010 07:52
If you're sitting around like a wet turd and it's between noon and 2PM put on BBC America. England vs. Wales in rugby on the opening day of a pretty cool tournament that lasts about 6 weeks. Quick and Dirty: Rugby is the exact same as North American football except you can only lateral and you can punt as often as you'd like, which comes in handy when you're pinned in your own end or if you think you can get to that punt before the other team. If you think the NFL is about field position you ain't seen nothing yet. Bbbbbaby you just ain't seen nothing yet. Turnovers in your own end lead to scores for the other team, so sometimes it's better to let the opposition muck around in their own 50. Oh yeah, another difference - each player will play 80 minutes, or if they're taken out that's it for them - no "subs." A little different than the average NFL player's 88 minutes of actual play a season. As far as hockey goes bar rugby at noon does not bode well for a Flyers sighting in a town where they're not the home team. Probably have to watch the Rangers get BFed by Ilya. That's if I'm still alive. My one word of advice for you, and I'm sure Fran will cover this in the gameday (YOU BETTER FRAN YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!) - watch out for Monsieur Cal Clutterbuck tonight. (Excuse me, I'm working on my temper. I rented Anger Management staring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler and planned on watching it but my FUCKING DVD PLAYER WOULDN'T....sorry, again.) This is he: This is God's day. God made me and God made beer. Enjoy it. ps - of the top 4 sports in the US is this an accurate account of the game day alcoholics? 1. Football 2. Hockey 3. Baseball 4. Tennis Baseball probably would have an edge but I consider having your games outdoors during the summer cheating. Of course everyone's going to be drinking Bud Light Limes. People who are operating on cancer patients drink Bud Light Limes all day in the summer- that's why it's called the summer." Add comment (0) Hits: 140

Kovalchuk to Have Teammates

Written by Ryan
Friday, 05 February 2010 08:28
If you don't know by now and you're finding out here I guess you were pretty drunk last night and that makes me a news source. But in truth I have to credit Sam Rosen because he's the one who told me during a wild(ly entertaining) Capitals-Rangers game last night. Through the television in case you didn't pick up on that. Ilya Kovalchuk is a Devil. He and some guy called Ben Walter are sharing #17 on the Devils roster currently. Something tells me Ben should look into a new number. Chances are you've been having one of two responses to this news, or possibly both alternating: 1. Why couldn't he go to the Western Conference? 2. If you want to win you have to beat the best. But seeing as I'm a blogger I have a more developed brain then you, and the only thing I've been thinking is 'Why not become a Devils fan?" Seriously. There's always plenty of seats at games, they're featured in one of the more famous Seinfeld episodes of all time, and I can't even name one of their defensemen off the top of my head except for Paul Martin and Scott Stevens. ……. It feels like Kovalchuk just arrived in the Eastern Conference. He's obviously been here the whole time but now his presence is going to pose as a problem. In the East there's Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, and Kovalchuk. In the West you have the two Sedins doing dirty things to each other. No comparison. But I can't imagine that Kovy's going to stay in NJ. I might just be biased because I'm from there and now live in New York, but where is he even going to stay for the rest of the season? In Tony Soprano's basement? There's just nothing up here but Newark and the only thing that won't get you stabbed in Newark is staying the Prudential Center. So maybe he'll live there I guess. With the type of money he turned down from the Thrashers (over $11M a year) he's going to need to get at least that much to save face and not make it look like he was just trying to escape Atlanta (which he was) come the offseason. But that kind of money means he has to go somewhere that's not currently up against the cap, or won't be next year, and therefore probably isn't a top contender for the Cup, which I wonder even interests him that much. But a growing team that will definitely have room for him in a decent hockey market is the Islanders. Time will tell. For now the Rangers went out and got SkullFace and the Devils just got Kovalchuk. No one is going to beat us single handedly but both teams are a little better than they were last week. Now all we need is for the Penguins to bring in Scott Neidermayer, the Isles to replace Brendan Witt with Sheldon Souray and Ray Whitney, and the Flyers to trade Scott Hartnell for Dominic Moore and the universe will be aligned. Add comment (4) Hits: 211

Phantoms Maroon Needs to Keep Plugging Away

Written by Ryan
Thursday, 04 February 2010 12:02
It had already been a rough year for Phantom sophomore Patrick Maroon. From October 16th through December 26th, 24 games, he didn't' score a single goal. Over two full months. After putting up a very impressive line his rookie season with the Phantoms in 2008-09 with 23 goals and 31 assist in 80 games it looked like only a matter of time until the 6'4 Maroon would be standing in front of the net on the Flyers 2nd powerplay unit, doing what Scott Hartnell should be doing and Mike Knuble used to. But he now found himself in the proverbial slump. For Maroon to see any time with the Flyers this season he would have most likely needed to be on a 40 goal pace with the Phantoms, if not 50. But he kept working and playing hard and was actually still getting in on scoring chances, with assists filling the void where some of his goals should have been. But a guy like him needs goals, not Jared Ross numbers. And right when he scores goals in back to back games in late December he gets run from behind during the middle of a seemingly harmless everyday hockey scrum. Check it out: The play actually doesn't look that malicious. The Rats player looks like he was jumping in to grab Maroon, and that's actually what he claims too. Just a little too hard. But regardless of the opposing player's intentions Maroon was unconscious for 10 minutes, and that hit probably caused Paul Holmgren shuffle his Maroon card even further back in his AHL call up deck - which incidentally serves as a prospect trading deck when you turn it upside down. But you can only control what you can control, right? And maybe that's what Maroon's thinking these days, after having already seen how dark things can get for a young forward hoping to taste that NHL french roast. Maroon scored two goals in his return to the Phantoms on January 27th and netted his 7th of the year last night against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 loss. If you stretched his year to date performance out over 80 games he would stand to finish with 16 goals and 47 assists this season. Which would be a significant increase in points overall at the cost of actually scoring less himself. As it stands he's currently second in team scoring with a Phantoms team that is .500 and has a little over 30 games left to go in the season. If he goes on a tear Maroon could possibly be in consideration for a spot, if only occasional, on the Flyers squad next year. Up front expiring contracts are hard to come by. Betts has to be resigned, Asham probably not. Powe's definitely going to be a Flyer next year, Carcillo maybe. But all Maroon can do about all of it is to keep scoring and pile those points on. Whether it's in a Flyers uniform or not he'll hit the NHL ice at some point in the not so distant future. There will always be teams that suck. If this were 2006-07 he'd be on the Flyers Saturday night in Minnesota. Add comment (0) Hits: 154