Sorry I needed time to calm down

I was so excited for the Flyers last night. It was the first game I would be able to watch since getting back to Syracuse and we were playing the Devils. Plus, I was going to watch the game with a New Jersey fan. I thought it would be awesome to snap our four game losing streak against the Devils, take first place in the Atlantic, and rag on my NJ friend (who happens to be one of my roomates).

Well, anybody that watched the game understands it pretty much was the opposite of what the Flyers had been doing well recently. Our performance explains why I was in no mood to post my reaction last night. I was given false hope in the first period when we got up 1-0 and then again when we took a 2-1 lead. Long story short, we gave up five power play goals and lost 7-3. What happened to our momentum coming in to this game?

Our special teams were horrible. Yeah, we got two power play goals ourselves, but our penalty kill was maddening. Everything the Devils threw on net went in. Their guys were wide open in the middle of the zone. We didn't put any pressure on them. It was too easy.

What happened to Nittymaki? He came in with so many solid performances under his belt, but he got plastered. Are the Devils really THAT much better than everyone else we've played? I mean, we beat the Senators pretty handily, but we got our asses handed to us by New Jersey (again). Why is this team so unbeatable for us? Better yet, why is Brodeur unbeatable for us?

This was a disappointing game. A letdown, perhaps. Especially in front of the home fans. When you get three goals against Brodeur, you have to win. I would just like to think things will be different the next time we play them (of course I've been hoping for that for a while now). Still, no reason to panic. We're still playing well in January and hopefully we will keep it going.

- Good fight from Riley Cote, and good job by Steve Downie against David Clarkson. Whether it was illegal or not, it always gets the crowd going when you cut somebody in a fight.
- Can't blame Knuble or Richards for this one, they did their job against Brodeur.
- We gave up 5 power play goals. WTF.
- I'm beginning to reconsider my earlier prediction that the Devils won't win the division. They're damn good. But are they THAT much better than us?
- 26-16-5, 57 points, back to 3rd in the Atlantic, 2 points behind NJ.

We're sixth in the conference currently. It may not be a bad thing to be the 6-seed this year, given that slot will go up against the Southeast winner, who probably won't be a strong team. Flyers have to recover for a Crosby-less Penguins team tomorrow, and then face the dead-last Kings. Then we get the Rangers at home next Thursday. We should do well in this home stretch. Celebrate for now...we don't have to play the Devils again until March 28!

-ajd