In case you were wondering, the last time the Thrashers beat the Flyers was Nov.18, 2005 (15 meetings ago), and the last time they beat them at Philips Arena was Dec. 21, 2003 (10 home meetings ago).
I really feel like they have a better chance tonight. The whole Niittymaki jinx is gone, this team is the best version of the Thrashers to ever take the ice, and the Flyers are seriously banged up. A little birdie told me that Daniel Briere won’t be playing, Gagne is still out, Ross, Betts and Powe are all hurt, and so is Tollefson (though Ross is on the ice for warmups as I write this).
Raise your hand if you know anything about Jon Kalinski, Andreas Nodl, Mika Pyorala and Oskars Bartulis. I’d be lying if I said I’d ever heard of any of them before today, but they’re all going to be in the Flyers lineup tonight and Nodl is the only one of the four that saw NHL action last season.
Tonight’s game isn’t being televised locally, so feel free to stop by the chat/liveblog where I’ll be pointing out whatever tidbits I can from the press box. This should be a good one and I have a few predictions.
- Eric Boulton will drop the gloves with either Carcillo or Cote (more likely Cote).
- If the Thrashers score first they’ll snap their streak against the Flayers, and it’ll be the biggest goal of the this season so far.
- Someone is going to have a multi-goal game for the Thrashers. I’m calling Kovy, but the Magic 8-Ball is mirky on that one.
haha! did boulton tell you he was feeling irascible today? great call about the fight!
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Not liking the call of Armstrong’s hit. Armstrong gets jumped after his hit and gets 5 minutes for fighting, its ridiculous. The original charging call is fine but I don’t like the fact the Philly now gets 3 minutes of PP time (ATL: 5 for fighting, 5 for charging/ PHI: 5 for fighting, 2 for instigator= 3 PP minutes for Philly)
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John Anderson had some comments about it after the game. Watch his press conference.
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Excellent game vs an Eastern conference opponent who’s going to be challenging us for our spot in the post-season.
Hey, and 34 SOG is a solid defensive effort for us.
Moose is amazing. He’s going to make Waddell beg to get him back to mentor Pavs. Glad he got the shutout. He earned it.
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Dang, Ben! 2 for 3 on the pre-game prognostications! Good call, great game, except for that crap call against Army.
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