Day 8 - Naslund Still Thinks Canucks are Better

Wow. Last night's game was incredible to watch. I thought it was going to be another close one when Vancouver controlled the puck in our zone for the first 8 minutes, but then Randy Jones threw one on net and Jeff Carter was there to put the rebound home - way to go to the net Jeff. I don't even think that I had reseated myself yet when I saw Richards moving in and find the open passing lane to RJ Umberger on the back door - the first of many great passes last night. Obviously things were going to settle down when Vancouver got a power play goal... but then Briere almost single-handedly put the game away, and Loungo on the bench.

The more I see Briere the more I'm impressed with his speed and grit. He just has a way of making things happen. He's got this team confident, and the fans excited.

The obvious hot topic is Jesse Boulerice. I think he was a little to eager(get it? see what I did? He's also a player on the Flyers!) to get something started - to earn his keep. This is a "tough guy" who's on the cusp between the Phantoms and Flyers, and his job is to mix it up. Obviously it was a cheap shot and "there's no place for plays like that in the NHL", but I'll be very interested to see how many games he gets. I was saying 10 last night, and was glad to be informed this morning that Bill Clement agrees with me (when we woke up together), but Colin Campbell is out to scare these guys straight. The play is comparable to Chris Simon's double with Ryan Holliweg's head only in that it was a stick incident. A cross-check is a legitimate penalty, where as there is no designated amount of time you sit in the box for tomahawk chops - so I think 10 games will do. Campbell might go for 3 seasons if Downie is any indication.

I rather enjoyed seeing Ben Eager pull the old "oh no I'm going to run into the goalie!" Too bad M. Cooke ended up closest to him, he wanted no part in the scrum, but when it comes to fighting and girls Big Ben rarely takes no for an answer.

Some designations, because people like this sort of stuff:

Flyer of the Game: #48 - I know Richards had 4 points, which was great, but Briere stood out every shift.
Player I Didn't Know Had Two Assists Until Looking at the Box Score: #6
Player You Know is Good Because You Hardly Know He's Out There: #28
Post Game Quote of the Game - "I reacted in a bad way the wrong way" - I've read this 17 times and still can't figure out where the pause comes in this sentence.
Cross Check to Ryan Kessler's Face of the Game: #36
Team Player of the Game - #21 - when there's a scuffle he always comes flying into the screen gloveless.