Remember earlier when we said we wanted Ray Emery to fight Ryan Miller? That Miller’s a total jerk, and a whiny little petulant baby, and we highly dislike him? Okay, well that’s still true. But his teammates inflict enough pain upon him. Miller faced 46 shots tonight, and well … that’s a lot of rubber.
It looked kind of rough through the first 25 minutes or so tonight. Buffalo held a 1-0 lead and actually looked pretty dominant in the possession department before the Flyers completely took over. They were in complete control from about the middle of the second period on, and they never really let off the gas pedal. It’s nice to see.
Some more thoughts on tonight’s 4-1 Flyers win…
* Matt Read was great tonight, as evidenced by his two goals of course. Really, though, the two goals were just evidence of how great the third line is playing. A lot of it seems to be the result of Steve Downie’s presence. Remember during the preseason when we were wondering how the Flyers would fill the third line wing? Well, Downie’s acquisition has given them an answer, and the trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup is pretty evident. The Flyers are a better team when they have four lines that can roll, and that’s what they have right now.
* Steve Ott is a piece of shit. He’s the best in the NHL at being a piece of shit, but he’s a piece of shit. I don’t know how a team that employs Ott, Patrick Kaleta and John Scott ever gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials, but it happened in the third period tonight. Luckily, the Sabres took a dumb penalty minutes later and Vincent Lecavalier gave the Flyers some insurance, making the score 3-1 on that power play. But still. Steve Ott is a piece of shit.
* What more can we say about Ray Emery? Sure, the Flyers controlled play for most of the game, but Buffalo still put 30 pucks on net. Not an easy feat for Emery tonight, and it didn’t even seem to phase him. Dude has been unreal, even if not as good as Steve Mason.
If you’re keeping track at home, the Flyers have passed the Islanders and Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division with tonight’s win. They play the Isles on Saturday night in the final game of this three-game homestand, too. Carolina and the Rangers are still playing as of this writing, but the Flyers could pass both of them in the standings as well if they each lose in regulation. If the Kings beat the Devils in regulation later as well, they’ll be a point out of third with a game in hand.
It’s early to think about the playoffs, but at least being within striking distance of a playoff spot means the Flyers are relevant. And with the way the Flyers have been playing in the last week and a half, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be relevant in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.
Comment of the Night
I’M RUNNING OUT OF MATT READ PUNS
>> PraiseMartyMoose
