The anticipation of the “Keystone Clash” as Comcast SportsNet is calling it was dulled Thursday night by the news of Kimmo Timonen’s blood clot in his left ankle, but the Flyers and Penguins faced off Friday night to put an end to the speculation and finally drop the puck on the Eastern Conference Finals. The physical battle that will surely preview the rest of this war was won by the Penguins They have the 1-0 series lead after a 4-2 victory Friday night.

Especially with the absence of Timonen on the Flyers blue line, this series was thought to be a big offensive war, and they proved it early with a combined five goals in the first period. Petr Sykora struck first at 6:19 with the assists coming from Ryan Malone, and clearly the Penguins best player, Evgeni Malkin. Not long thereafter, Mike Richards evened it up at one apiece when he banked the puck off the chest of Marc-Andre Fleury for a nifty goal and the equalizer for the time being. Richards struck again ramming home the sixth or seventh rebound that resulted from a big scrum in front of the Penguins net at 12:50. The Penguins captain would answer the Flyers tallies with a goal of his own at 14:11 as he very smartly played the rebound that resulted from a rare Biron mistake as he vacated the net trying to play the puck. Crysb Crosby put the puck in between the legs of Marty Biron to tie the game again. Despite having the better period period, the Flyers struggled once again to get the puck out of their zone in the final moments. With merely 6.5 seconds to go in the first period Malkin wristed the puck behind Biron. The Flyers were flat footed in their own zone to end the period for a change.

In the second, it appeared that perhaps the officiating would not be as bad as many Philadelphia faithful expected. Brooks Orpik absolutely laid out Scott Hartnell in what looked like a very good and clean check, but the call was holding on Orpik who got a hold of Hartnell until he was ready to upend him. On the Flyers power play, the puck was in the Flyers end far too much, as they were unable to get anything set up. To refute the Hartnell check, Mike Richards laid out Evgeni Malkin with just as big of a shove into the boards. Malkin lay down on the ice in a Crosby like fashion but eventually was able to regain his footing to receive a home run pass from Sergei Gonchar. Malkin then wound up from 15 feet away with a slap-shot that beat Biron. There was no Flyer to be found to stop Malkin’s breakaway chance. That was the only goal of the second stanza. The majority of the period was spent head hunting as there was only a combined 13 shots in the period.

The Flyers had to come out desperate to start the last period of the game. They didn’t have the sense of urgency they needed to make a comeback. There was more of the pace of the second period with the attempt more focused on trying to win the physical battles, something that was pretty even all game. The Penguins were happy to dump and chase against the Flyers who rarely got offensive pressure. They didn’t have as many turnovers in the third, something that foiled them in the first two periods, but they weren’t able to both improve defensively and offensively. They looked rather dead in the final period.

Surprisingly, there were only four penalties in the game. Even more surprisingly, there was only one against the Flyers. There were multiple opportunities for the orange and black to be shorthanded for actual rule infractions, something that was not necessarily the case in the first two rounds. The Flyers were unable to capitalize on their opportunities however, going 0 for 3 on the man advantage. Their power play really never got a chance to set up and looked more like the terrible power play unit they had in the horrendous 2006-07 season.

The Flyers clearly didn’t show up tonight and lost by two in a half-hearted effort. If the Flyers can come back with a better effort throughout the rest of this series the game will have a much different tempo, and we will see a much more competitive Finals match-up. The Flyers have now lost game one of each of their three series and allowed four goals each time.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Evgeni Malkin - 2 goals, 1 assist
2. Mike Richards - 2 goals, 6 hits
3. Marian Hossa - 1 assist, +2

Photo courtesy: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen will be out indefinitely due to a blood clot while blocking a shot in game 4 against Montréal last round. With game 1 tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, Steve Coates said on Comcast SportsNet, he doesn’t expect Timonen to return at any point for the remainder of the playoffs.

Timonen is easily the Flyers best defenseman, shutting down Alexander Ovechkin in the first round and the Kostitsyn brothers along with Alex Kovalev in the second round in Montréal. His absence leaves the door open for Lasse Kukkonen or Jaroslav Modry to make a return to the lineup.

Obviously the loss of the Flyers’ best defenseman is good news for Evgeni Malkin who was basically designated as the assignment for Timonen. In his absence, veteran defensemen Derian Hatcher (who is really more of a Crosby guy) and Timonen’s defensive partner Braydon Coburn will have to step up and take the load on the blue line in stopping the Penguins’ big three of the aforementioned Crosby, Malkin, and Marian Hossa.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images via Flyers website

10 million dollars is a lot of money. That almost sounds stupid it’s so obvious, but in the world of sports where players sign deals for over 100 million dollars seemingly every year, 10 million seems like chump change. But make no mistake about it, this is an exuberant amount of cash. And in this particular case of Ryan Howard, the money becomes even more as it is tied for the largest arbitration agreement in MLB history. The Phillies and Howard talked back and forth all off-season trying to get a deal done. The Phillies offered 7 million, Howard wanted 10. He got 10. Even though this was the first time the Phillies had been defeated in an arbitration hearing (previously 7-0), it eventually set in that this was probably a good thing. Nobody wanted the big man coming into the year angry at the organization following a 47 home run, 136 RBI 2007 season.

Howard was one of those players who somehow, someway, never got boo’ed. There are so few athletes, especially in Philadelphia, who receive applause no matter the situation. He struck out a record 199 times last year, and the crowd was still on his side. Can you think of a Philadelphia sports star that hasn’t been boo’ed? McNabb, yea right. Mike Richards, take a look at last year. Andre Iguodala, all you have to do is listen during the home playoff games this past year. The only player I can think of is Chase Utley; a man who has consistently hit over .300 in his short career, plays the game hard, and is known for his gritty determination and study of game film.

Why was Howard in the clear? Well, look at what he did in his first full season in 2006:

.313 average - 182 hits - 58 HR - 149 RBI - .659 slugging

Those numbers are off the charts and those numbers are what drove Jim Thome out of town. There’s no doubt that Thome was a great player and still is, but the opportunity to acquire a quality outfielder when we had young Ryan Howard waiting in the wings was too much to not bite at. So the deal was done and Howard, along with Utley and Rollins, had become the face of the Phillies franchise. He was our deep threat, our big man, and our MVP. That was 2006 though, this is a far different 2008.

Here’s Howard’s stats for last season in 2007 and his current stats in 2008:

2007:

.268 average - 142 hits - 47 HR - 136 RBI - .584 slugging

That’s a drop of 45 percentage point in his average, 40 less hits, 11 less long balls, 13 less RBI, and his slugging percentage went down 75 percentage points.

2008 (35 games):

.163 average - 20 hits - 6 HR - 6 RBI - .333 slugging

There’s no need to add up the drop in all his offensive categories, anyone can see the intense decline. Perhaps the most interesting thing is when people say, ‘the weather’s warm, he’s about to come around.” Phillies fans are still waiting and he hasn’t come around at all. This is a big man, a slugger, who hit .313 just 2 years ago. Now, it’s understandable that his average would dip a bit: pitchers know him now and understand where to pitch and when. But shouldn’t Howard’s learning curve started too? This year he’s struck out 49 times, on pace to shatter his own record, and there’s nobody to blame but himself. He looks fastball on so many out pitches, and misses it. He is unable to check his swing when he sees a slider coming through the zone, and ends up reaching for a ball way outside. Pitchers are hammering the ball inside and will continue until he proves he can lay off swinging at bad pitches or getting jammed.

I’m not saying to give up on the big man, that’s ridiculous. I’m not saying that he can’t turn it around this year; if he can get his average to what it was last year around .260, if you throw in his power numbers, that would be just fine. But he has to raise that average .100 points and he has no power right now. Can he turn it around? Yes. Does anything in his swing make me feel like he’ll turn it around? No.

Was 2006 a flash in the pan? That remains to be seen in the years to come. Heck, was 2007 a flash in the pan? Just 6 HR and 16 RBI mid way through May doesn’t cut it. Hitting over 30 points under the Mendoza line doesn’t cut it. Watching him hit has become predictable and frustrating for Phillies fans and I’m sure Howard himself. He’s going to continue to be pitched inside and with off speed pitches until he proves he can hit again. Until he proves anything, there’s no reason why this first baseman is immune to boo’s anymore.

10 million dollars is a lot of money. It’s also a lot of money to waste.

photo from daylife.com

During the Stanley Cup Finals last season, America got a taste of Don Cherry. Now the colorful (seriously, check out the man’s wardrobe) hockey commentator is joining ESPN for the remainder of the 2008 playoffs. The former coach and player will donate his ESPN earnings to the Humane Society (In all seriousness, that’s pretty cool). He will continue to work for CBC and Hockey Night in Canada. Cherry joins a laundry list of hockey “experts” at ESPN who are picking against the Flyers (for a change). Only John Buccigross picked the Flyers to win in the first round against the Washington Capitals, and only Barry Melrose picked them to win in the second round against the Montréal Canadiens. No official word from ESPN yet on Don Cherry’s picks for this round, but if they are indeed paying him, I’m sure he’ll be picking the Penguins and the Red Wings.

Photo courtesy: Uncleweed on Flickr

EASTERN CONFERENCE

2. Pittsburgh Penguins versus 6. Philadelphia Flyers

Dave: This may not be what the NHL had in mind, but fans know this is going to be a phenomenal series. These bitter division rivals are going to be a lot of fun to watch. This will surely be a physical series with two teams that are very similar. Marty Biron and R.J. Umberger are red hot for the Flyers and they will have to continue their stellar play in this series. The Penguins have balanced scoring, but so do the Flyers. There is no one player to focus on in this series, it will have to be great team play. Philly will try and avenge last season going 0-8 against Pittsburgh while a young Penguins team will look to advance so they can finally put “Sidney’s First Stanley Cup Final” in Crosby’s baby book. PHILADELPHIA in 6

Jeff: This will be a great match-up between in-state rivals that absolutely hate each other. Great matchups all around: Sidney Crosby/Daniel Briere, Ryan Malone/R.J. Umberger, Gary Roberts/Scott Hartnell, Georges Laraque/Riley Cote, Marc-Andre Fleury/Martin Biron, Evgeni Malkin/???, Marian Hossa/???. Sidney has been contained pretty well in these playoffs, but how the Flyers are able to slow down Malkin and Hossa will be the key to this match-up. The goaltending on both sides shouldn’t be the problem, so look for the team who is able to capitalize on the other’s mistakes and penalties to win the series. I see Pittsburgh ending Philly’s Cinderella Story in the “City of Brotherly Love” and sending the Philly faithful silently to the exits and over to “The Bank” for baseball season. PITTSBURGH in 6.

Aaron: A lot of people are going to pay attention to Crosby and Malkin but Pittsburgh is deceptively deep. Not to mention Fleury who has been maybe the best goalie in the playoffs so far. The Flyers have played underdog all year long and will certainly be in that role again. Philadelphia needs a lot of things to go right. They need to contain Crosby and Malkin effectively like they shut down Ovechkin for the most part. They need Biron to play beyond his limits like he has been doing, and they need their hot streaks to continue (Briere, Umberger). This is going to be a great series and probably a long one. I picked against the Flyers verse Washington and Montreal and they won those series to my happy surprise. I hope they prove me wrong again because I think Pittsburgh has one too many weapons rolling along right now. PITTSBURGH IN 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Detroit Red Wings versus 5. Dallas Stars

Dave: I haven’t been doing so well in the West. I slept on Dallas not once, but twice. I’m not making that mistake again. Marty Turco was on fire last night in a game 6 victory for the Stars. Detroit took care of Colorado convincingly with the sweep, but Dallas is a better team by far. I think Dallas’ offense can match Detroit’s and with Sergei Zubov back on the blue line, the Stars have an ancient but good defenseman like Nicklas Lidstrom. This series will come down to goal tending and Marty Turco looks damn good. DALLAS in 7

Jeff: These two heavy weights will be very interesting. How will Dallas matchup with Detroit? Detroit looks posessed, how they are playing, as they disposed of the Avalanche very quickly. Too quickly if you look back at what “experts” were saying. Detroit has depth at every position, but if Chris Osgood stumbles along the way, Detroit’s Cup dream could end very quickly. But, I just don’t see that happening. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and now JOHAN FRANZEN (of all people) should be able to collect their points in a hard fought series. DETROIT in 6

Aaron: I said it before the start of the conference semi’s, the playoffs are all about who’s playing hot at the right time. Dallas finished the regular season so strong and it’s translated into 2 impressive series wins. Detroit has so much firepower and their big stars are scoring a lot of goals, but they faced inferior opponents to this point. This is a David verse Goliath series, people are looking past what the Stars have done. But I’m going to stick with my pick of Dallas. Turco is finally having a fantastic playoff run after years of early round struggles and this team finds ways to win from lots of guys in that deep lineup. DALLAS IN 7

SCHEDULE
GAME 1 - @ PIT - Fri May 9 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
GAME 2 - @ PIT - Sun May 11 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
GAME 3 - @ PHI - Tue May 13 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
GAME 4 - @ PHI - Thu May 15 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
*GAME 5 - @ PIT - Sun May 18 - 3:00pm - NBC
*GAME 6 - @ PHI - Tue May 20 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
*GAME 7 - @ PIT - Thu May 22 - 7:30pm - VERSUS
*if necessary

POINTS ON THE PENS
This inexperienced team has really learned on the fly throughout the post-season and shown they can be successful. The Penguins got hot right before the home stretch of the NHL’s regular season and got the division title as they were three points better than the New Jersey Devils. The road to the conference finals hasn’t been quite as difficult for the Penguins as it has been for the Flyers. They swept the lowly Senators who struggled all season after their hot start to the 2007-08 campaign. Then the Penguins beat the New York Rangers in five games when they got a little bit more of a fight out of their opponent.

The Penguins defense was suspect throughout the regular season, but improved in the playoffs. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been good, but hasn’t had to be great because of the improved blue line. He has only had to make 240 saves so far in the playoffs, thus his impressive goals against and save percentage. The test for the Flyers will be shutting down the star-studded Penguins offense. Evgeni Malkin is always dangerous. So is Sidney Crosby when he isn’t laying on the ice whining for penalties. Trade deadline acquisition Marian Hossa had only eight points going into Sunday, but he scored twice in game 5, so the Flyers will have to look out for him as well. Another headache is sure to be on the way for Kimmo Timonen.

KEYS TO THE SERIES

Officiating

The biggest key to this series could be the special teams for the Flyers. If you thought the officiating was bad last series against Montréal, just wait until you see how the NHL officials have been trained to protect Crosby and Co.. The Flyers have been shorthanded 57 times this post-season. Who was the next worst? Surprise, surprise, it was the Penguins last opponent, the New York Rangers with 54. The Flyers have allowed 13 power play goals so far in the playoffs so they definitely want to improve there.

Goaltending

The hottest goalie hands down in the NHL is Marty Biron. The Flyers have to use this to their advantage, but can’t rely on him to win every game. He can’t stay this hot forever, and the orange and black will have to continue their efforts they put forth in game 5 against the Canadiens to pick up Biron, rather than count on him to pick up the rest of the team.

1.76 GAA / 8 wins / .940 SV% / 220 saves *stats entering Sunday’s game 5 win
2.72 GAA / 8 wins / .914 SV% / 361 saves (best in NHL)

Physical Play

This will again be a very physical series, but unlike the Washington and Montréal series, these two teams flat out hate each other because they’re division opponents. We haven’t seen a fight yet in the playoffs and I wouldn’t be surprised if Riley Cote made an appearance in this series to reinforce the physical presence for Philadelphia.

Experience

Critics have noted time and again that this is a young Flyers team and noted their inexperience, but look at how little experience the Penguins have. Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury (perhaps the three most important players for the Penguins), have not seen third round action in the NHL. Danny Briere has been there three straight seasons, and Kimmo Timonen, Jason Smith, and Jim Dowd all have a lot of experience to bring to the table.

If nothing more, this series will be a ton of fun. The physicality was there against Montréal, but this series will take it up a notch. Look for Hartnell, Upshall, and Hatcher to really mix it up against the pesky Penguins.

SCRATCHED UP

Pittsburgh

Max Talbot C Day-to Day Foot

Mark Eaton D Injured Reserve Torn ACL

Philadelphia

Mike Knuble RW Day-to-Day Torn Hamstring

Simon Gagne LW Injured Reserve Mild Concussion

PREDICTION

Flyers in 6. The Flyers physical play will wear down the stars on the Penguins offensive front. If the Flyers can continue to balance their scoring and have goal-tending like they did in game 5 (good but not fantastic), they will win this series.

In depth NHL playoff coverage coming up this week.

THE SEASON SERIES

Wed Nov 7, 2007

Flyers win 3-1.

Sat Nov 10, 2007

Flyers win 5-2.

Tue Dec 11, 2007

Flyers win 8-2.

Thu Jan 24, 2008

Flyers win 4-3.

Sun Feb 10, 2008

Penguins win 4-3.

Sun Mar 16, 2008

Penguins win 7-1.

Wed Apr 2, 2008

Penguins win 4-2.

Sun Apr 6, 2008

Flyers win 2-0.

Okay, so they haven’t closed out their series against the New York Rangers, but the Flyers have finished off the Montreal Canadiens. It didn’t look pretty early Saturday night, but the Flyers really found their momentum in the second period to put the Habs away in game 5. Carey Price started in goal for Montreal, but his confidence was no where to be found once R.J. Umberger got the initial goal for the Flyers.

On the power play (surprise, surprise) Tomas Plekanec scored at 4:29 as he deflected a Patrice Brisebois shot past Marty Biron who still came up big for the Flyers despite the early goal. At 10:20 R.J. Umberger answered with a goal of his own. The goal didn’t look pretty live, but when the replay came up, it was evident that after Umberger was crosschecked to the ice following his initial shot, he tipped in his own rebound past Carey Price. Alex Kovalev scored again to put the Habs on top at 11:28 when he positioned his skate to deflect a Maxim Lapierre offering through the five-hole of Biron.

In the second stanza, Chris Higgins scored at 8:15 from the side boards. It was the first goal of the playoffs that looked like Marty Biron had a reasonable change at stopping it. It was a goal that looked like it could have been stopped if the goaltender had the right angle, something Biron struggled with at times during the regular season. With the Flyers down two, a real leader had to step up to get his team back into it. That leader was Mike Richards. He tried to grab the puck out of mid-air so he could play it in front of the net, but he merely deflected the R.J. Umberger offering, and although inadvertently, put the puck past a helpless Price. The goal of course was under review, but the NHL rulebook sets the record straight.

Disallowed Goal - A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player
who bats or directs the puck with his hand into the net. A goal cannot
be scored by an attacking player who bats or directs the puck and it is
deflected into the net off any player, goalkeeper or official. When the
puck enters the net on a clear deflection off a glove, the goal shall be
allowed.
–NHL rule 67.6

Replays show that Richards had no intent of deflecting the puck past the Montreal net-minder. The Flyers weren’t done yet, as R.J. Umberger decided that for his 26th birthday he wanted a shit-load of Tastycakes. Umberger scored his ninth goal of the playoffs, second goal of the game, and third point, for his second case of Tastycakes in less than 20 minutes of play. At 17:00 the Flyers took their first lead of the game when Scott Hartnell took a slap-shot that rang off the right post and past Carey Price. As the Flyers headed to the locker room for the second intermission it seemed as though the night might be over for the confused, rather rejected Carey Price who was pulled in game 3 and backed up Jaroslav Halak in game 4. But when Guy Carboneau flipped the coin during intermission (that’s the only reasonable way we can assume he picks his goaltender based on what he’s done this series) the price was right.

In the third Montreal came out firing, not wanting to end their season in front of their home crowd (they already endured one riot at home after a game 7 win over Boston). At 2:13 Andrei Kostitsyn, of the Kostitsyn brothers whom have been so acclaimed during Versus’ coverage of the NHL playoffs, fired a wrist-shot through the legs of Kimmo Timonen and past Biron. About half way through the period, Danny Briere had a breakaway and went low stick-side on Price who stretched his pad out and made the save, surely gaining some of his confidence back.

At 16:56 it was officially crunch time and the Flyers were still going hard. Jeff Carter fired a wrist-shot from the high slot and Scottie Upshall deflected it behind Price to give the Flyers the 5-4 lead. The Flyers were able to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief, but never let up. With the Canadiens pressuring deep in the Flyers end the orange and black were able to hold them off and Mike Knuble put the puck in an empty net at 19:10 to end it.

The Flyers went from the worst team in hockey last year to the Eastern Conference Finals. For the first game in the series the Flyers played better than Biron rather than the other way around. The Philadelphia Flyers will advance after defeating the number 1 seeded Montreal Canadiens, to the Eastern Conference Finals. They wanted vengeance, and although they have only tasted that vengeance, they are not done yet.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. R.J. Umberger - 2 goals 1 assist
2. Scottie Upshall - game winning goal
3. Mike Richards - 1 goal 1 assist

Photo courtesy: The Canadian Press

First it was Ryan Howard. Then it was Jimmy Rollins. Now it seems as though Chase Utley doesn’t want to wait until the end of the season to make his MVP campaign heard. The Phillies’ second baseman is playing unbelievably at the plate these days with staggering numbers in almost every category.

Chase is often seen as one of the hardest working players off the field. You always hear whether it be on the telecasts or on SportsNite pieces about how dedicated

Utley is to his game and spends so much time reviewing film of the pitcher he will face next. That hard work is paying off early for the Fightin’s. As of Friday night’s game, Utley leads the majors with 12 home runs. The next closest is Lance Berkman of the Astros with 9. He is tied for third in the majors with Chipper Jones with a .364 average at the plate.

Utley is tied for second in the majors with 27 runs, and first in total bases with 91. The next closest there is Derrek Lee with 77. Utley’s work ethic off the field is apparently contagious, because Pat Burrell is also turning it up early this season.

Burrell makes $14 million this season and is looking for a new deal. He says he wants to stay. Burrell is in a contract year and trying to impress the Phillies front office. He isn’t doing too bad so far. Pat the Bat leads the NL with 28 runs batted in, and is fourth in the majors with a .452 on base percentage. He is second only behind his teammate Chase Utley (.771) in the major leagues with a .690 slugging percentage.

Those two early MVP candidates are picking up the slack for the Phillies batting lineup. They have been without lead-off man Jimmy Rollins since April 8. Reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins has only played 12 games this season. He has been on the DL with a left ankle injury. Reports say J-Roll could return to the Phillies this Thursday.

The injury bug hit the second hitter, Shane Victorino, on April 12. He returned to the starting lineup on May 1. Although he hasn’t been injured, Ryan Howard hasn’t played like the Phillies know he can. Howard leads the majors with 42 strikeouts. He had 199 in 2007 and it looks like he could beat that record in 2008 if he keeps it up with his .176 average.

Burrell and Utley have been the stars thus far as the Phils have gotten off to one of their best starts in recent memory. They now sit atop the NL East with a record of 17-13.

Photos courtesy: blogs.phillynews.com, Dave Isaac

Tonight the dream the Sixers were chasing came to end. In a must win game 6, the Pistons showed everything they had in a 100-77 blowout at the Wachovia Center. Detroit will move on in these playoffs as the Sixers season comes to an end. Tonight’s game was a dismal one, there is no denying that. There’s also no denying that the Sixers ran into a better basketball team in the Pistons. But after digesting this loss, with months until camps get started for next season, I felt an immense amount of pride for this basketball team. On a night when everything went wrong, it’s time to give props where they are due to the Sixers; a team nobody believed in, and a team that proved critics wrong time and time again.

It’s been written and spoken about how the Sixers were 18-30 in early February, and how their season was over after a loss to Atlanta. They were written off, forgotten, and eyes turned to next year. But one group of guys never gave up, the Philadelphia 76ers team and staff. It was a frustrating season early to say the least, but to go 18-5 after their 18-30 start is something to marvel at. This team was picked to win 25 games, maybe 30 with luck. What’d they do? They won 40 games and took 2 playoff games from the number 2 seed Detroit Pistons. That’s called never giving up. That’s called determination and finding an identity.

Up to that February date on which the Sixers dropped to 12 games under .500, the season had been a roller coaster of emotion coupled with inconsistency. Long time president Billy King, fired. Sixers long distance shooter Kyle Korver, traded. Talks of Andre Miller being dished to another team. Everything bad that could have happened, did happen. But somehow, someway, Mo Cheeks get through to these kids. Somehow, the message was hammered home, the message every athlete should play with: if you go out there on game night and play to your maximum level of potential, good things are going to happen. It’s very fair to say that good things did happen to this team.

So they were 18-30 and finished with 40 wins, but how’d they get there? How about a comeback win over the Wizards? How about a solid performance to beat the Mavericks? What about that 40 point thrashing of arch rival New York (not as impressive, but just as sweet)? What about wins over Orlando, on the road in Phoenix, on the road at Detroit, coming back from more than 20 down on the road against Chicago, beating the defending champion Spurs, and beating league best Boston at their place? These were character wins and season defining wins. The Sixers had a seemingly impossible road to the playoffs facing western conference powerhouses and top teams in the east. But they won, and they continued to win. With each new win came renewed confidence that this is no joke. Also with these wins came a new identity as a run and gun team. This team wasn’t just winning games, they were playing fun basketball too.

One of the biggest catalysts to this unbelievable season was the play of Andre Miller; the captain of the ship. Miller enjoyed his best offensive season ever in the pros, averaging 17 points per game. But he was more than a scorer, he was a leader in all phases of the game. He averaged over 7 assists a game, always knowing where his teammates are on the floor. His quiet demeanor off the court was put aside to a fiery competitor on the floor. The young guys looked up to him and learned from his non-stop effort in all 82 games. Whenever the Sixers needed a bucket, a pass, or energy, it was all Miller.

What of Sami Dalembert? He was given a big contract a few years back that some thought he didn’t deserve, but looking back now, who else would you rather have in the middle? A 7 foot monster in the paint who had his best season on defense, blocking shots and creating havoc in the paint. He averaged a double double, 10 and 10, for the season. Iguodala developed his long jumper too, averaging over 19 points per game.

But perhaps the biggest story is Mo Cheeks confidence in playing the young guys. Jason Smith, rookie. Thaddeus Young, rookie. Lou Williams, 2nd year player. Rodney Carney, 2nd year player. It’s almost fact that the majority of coaches in the league wouldn’t dare play these guys as much as Coach Cheeks did. But through trust came results. Rodney Carney had a fantastic second half, finally finding his shot. Lou Williams took every piece of advice from fellow point guard Mo Cheeks and upped his game big time: his scoring went up 7 points from a year before. Jason Smith was a mystery to fans and the team alike on what his skills would translate into in the NBA. But he developed a sweet jump shot and provided a great deal of energy and ability to run the floor. What can you say about Thaddeus Young that hasn’t been said already? This 19 year old kid averaged 3 points early in the season in little minutes on the floor. At the end of the year? 11 points per contest. Pure athleticism, pure energy, a sweet jump shot that only got better, a high basketball IQ for a rookie, and always willing to learn more. The sky is the limit for this young man.

This summer should be an active one for the Sixers without a doubt. Ed Stefanski and the front office have a lot of decisions to make. What happens with Iguodala, a restricted free agent? What happens about the decision to keep Andre Miller? Will we get a needed big powerful forward to play the 4 (hello Elton Brand!)? What happens in the draft? There’s an unbelievable amount of questions to answer this summer and they will be in time.

But as for right now, in this moment, appreciate what this team gave Sixers fans this year. Philadelphia is known as a football town, but it is so full of rich basketball tradition. From producing NBA players, to the Sixers history, and down to the Big 5 college match-ups, Philadelphia is a basketball hotbed. The 2007-2008 Sixers team gave the fans something to believe in and we rode it until the end. They play fast, they play hard, and they play with heart. There’s nothing more valuable to Philly fans than effort, and this team breathes effort in every game. While tonight’s playoff exit stings, be proud of this group; they went above and beyond what anyone thought they could accomplish. Nobody knows what the future holds for this team, but if you build off what happened this year, it’s going to be more exciting times for this franchise and its fan base.

CONGRATS ON A FANTASTIC SEASON

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One team had all the momentum coming into tonight’s game 5. That team was not the top seed Montreal Canadiens, who trail the Flyers in the series 2-1 and have an official goalie controversy. Despite speculation by some that Montreal is unfairly getting all the calls, it’s the underdog Flyers that have been getting the job done when needed. Also, remember that these are the same Canadiens who were taken to 7 games by Boston in the first round, but there was no time for a sigh of relief. The only mistake the Flyers have made was coughing up game 1 late in the 3rd and overtime. Since then, the Flyers took game 2 in Montreal and held off a late attack to win game 3 in Philadelphia. The result for Montreal? Unrest. Carey Price who started these playoffs so fantastic was out, and backup Jaroslav Halak was in.

The first period started out with the Canadiens flying all over the ice. The fourth line, who started the game for Montreal, was attacking in the Flyers zone and made the first minute and change look like a power play. But Marty Biron, who has played absolutely stellar hockey as of late, stopped the shots that Montreal peppered on goal early on. Those who thought that there was a conspiracy to make Montreal win this series got a strong backing for their case 5 minutes in, as Richards would get called for boarding. However, as the Flyers have done with each Montreal penalty, aside from the 5 minute major, it was a quick kill. Do the conspiracy theorists want more? Kukkonen was called for rouging a few minutes after the first man advantage had been killed off. He certainly gave a good jab to the back of the Canadiens player, but usually in the playoffs, a scrum right in front of the net is just that: a scrum. Philadelphia however killed this power play as well, with some more spectacular saves from Biron.

After a period, the Flyers were being out shot 14 to 7. The best chance of the period for either team may have been Jeff Carter’s shorthanded breakaway on which Halak stood tall and made the save. Philadelphia had little attack time in Montreal’s end the entire period, while the Canadiens spent a majority of the opening frame cycling the puck on the boards deep in the Flyers end. The Flyers penalty kill was fantastic again, and the star of the period was Marty Biron. But Philadelphia needed more sustained offense, more shots to test out Halak, and needed to stay the hell out of the box.

The second period began with a roar from the Philly faithful. No, it wasn’t for a goal, but finally a penalty on Montreal which would lead to the Flyers first man advantage of the game. This was a fantastic opportunity created by the hard work of Danny Briere, but over a minute and a half of attack time did not lead to a goal.

The Flyers, who had played the majority of this series with the lead, was still all even with the Habs. But a penalty on Koivu minutes later proved costly. The result? The fourth straight game with a goal for R.J. Umberger. After floundering the first half minute of the power play, the Flyers charged into the Montreal zone led by Briere. Daniel Briere swung the puck across to Umberger who wristed a shot into the net. Halak was low and ready for the shot, but it still got by him.

Montreal was given a golden opportunity to seize back momentum just seconds later as they were awarded another man advantage. A new power play for the Habs and the same old result, no goal and more spectacular saves from Biron. Marty had been having another sensational game to this point, and this kill was no different as he stopped shots from all over the ice. The Flyers had been having trouble getting shots on net the past few games and the series as a whole, and more than 11 minutes into tonight’s game they had just 10. The Canadiens already had 27 shots on goal as they were the faster team and certainly more aggressive on offense thus far. The Canadiens ended up out shooting the Flyers again this period by a count of 14-10, and led in the game 28-17. But the Flyers had the lead where it counted after 2 periods of play, the difference being Umbergers power play tally. Philadelphia was now just 20 minutes away from a 3-1 series lead.

The Flyers had played sub-par 3rd periods so far this series for the most part, allowing Montreal to dominate play and Marty Biron had bailed them out. This was not the case tonight as the Flyers came out aggresive and closed the gap in the shot differential. Following yet another killed penalty, this time a holding call on Umberger, Philadelphia had another jump in their step. About 7 minutes into the period, Prospal carried the puck into Montreal’s end on a harmless looking 2 on 2. His slapper rang right off the post; sighs from the crowd. The rebound went right to the trailer Scott Hartnell who fired it into the back of the net; the Wachovia Center erupted. With 13 minutes left the Flyers were playing fantastic hockey and had a 2-0 lead. But the Flyers were not sitting back after taking a 2 goal lead, as halfway through this final period the shots were 6-3 in favor of Philadelphia.

Just as Flyers fans were sitting back with a smile, the trend of Montreal crawling back into games returned in a big, big way. With 7 minutes left to play, Josh Gorges scored off a won faceoff. Just 37 seconds later Saku Koivu netted a wrister to tie the game, 2-2. The Wachovia Center was in a silent fear. But after a dumb penalty by Begin, the Flyers made the most of the power play. Daniel Briere, playoff leader in goals, added another one off the rebound. Just like that, the Flyers were back up 3-2 and the crowd was going absolutely insane. With 3 minutes to go, the Flyers would try and cling to that potential game winner. The Canadiens pulled Halak with just over a minute left and this time there were no late game heroics from Montreal. Umberger added his 2nd of the game with 1.4 seconds left on the empty net to seal the deal.

So the Flyers were up 2-0 in this game. They gave it all up fast, and then Briere saved the day. Philadelphia is now up 3-1 in this eastern semi-final match-up, and have pushed the Canadiens to the brink of elimination. Game 5 will be in Montreal on Saturday.

If this is how Montreal fans celebrate a ….FIRST ROUND WIN….

…I’m just not sure how well they’re holding up seeing their team go down 3-1.

Aaron’s 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Marty Biron - 36 saves on 38 shots

2. Daniel Briere - 1G, 1A

3. R.J. Umberger - 2G

photos from flickr: steve trapini, van murph, and flyers.nhl.com