Ouch!

Derek's Journal: October 24th, 2009. Tonight, a Panther died in Philadelphia.

Too soon?

It was my intention to update this blog after every game, but like David Booth's flight back to Florida, things got delayed. Before I enter the Jungle and discuss the Fun and Games, I do want to say that I wish Booth a hasty recovery. You never want to see a player go down in that fashion. It was absolutely frightening. We'll get to that later. For now, on with the show!

What were we talking about last time? Inconsistency that Marion Gaborik's groin would be proud of, suspect defensive coverage, and blown leads? Something like that, right? Well ten games into the season, the Flyers sit at a poultry 5-4-1. Somewhere a Philadelphia fan is ripping up their planned parade route.

Hey John. Happy belated 3-year Head Coaching Anniversary; what are your two-cents?


Oh, my apologies. Need us to slow down? No problem, Captain Calm.

Last Thursday, the Flyers returned from their second five day hiatus of the season and hosted the Boston Bruins. With the Winter Classic looming, this game provided "Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition" type intrigue.

However...

Imagine walking to your stoop in the morning. Your Columbian Roast shooting wispy slices of steamed morning to the sky, the orange and black robe tightly entrenched around your body. You reach your hand down to pick up the sheer brilliance. Sorry Obama, but this is Nobel worthy...and then you see it.

Instead of women dressed in dental floss, the banana smile of Dale Earnhardt Junior is staring back at you. NASCAR Illustrated?! AHHHH, THE HORROR!

That basically sums up the Boston game. Hype followed by Dale Earnhardt. The pregame buzz was more exciting than the actual contest. Now, the Bruins came into town more banged up than Rihanna before the Grammies. Ouch. No Savard. No Lucic. Tim Thomas on the bench. Second game in as many nights. Easy victory for the Orange and Black, right? Not so much.

Sloppy play in the first, score tied at one. More sloppy play in the second, score tied at three.

Enter Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.

With a career-high two assists in the second frame, he came out punching in the third. Literally. After an Emery save early in the period, OKT got tangled up with Trent Whitfield behind the Flyer cage. And then like Tom Cable on his defensive assistant, he unleashed a series of vicious rights to Whitfield's head. Decision: Tollefsen.

The rest of the game went scoreless, which meant the dreaded shootout. The Flyers sent out Briere, Richards, and Gagne and they all missed, failing to lift the puc...wait, what? Stevens put young Claude "Girouxsberg" Giroux in? AND he scored?

Run to your nearest liquor store and purchase one of those scratcher lotto tickets, RIGHT NOW. If the Flyers can win a shootout, hell, even YOU can win the lottery. What's next, a Buffalo Bills Superbowl victory? Okay now I'm dropping things a little too far down the wishing well. A lottery win is more realistic.

The following game saw the Florida Panthers come to Wachovia. With an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Cats the week before, the Flyers were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Coincidently, Mike Richards was also playing with David Booth's head on his shoulder.

Okay, I REALLY need to stop with the Booth jokes. It was a stomach twisting scene. With the Flyers up 3-1 in the second period, Richards prowled through the middle like a frat boy at "Two-Dollar Beer Night" (Come on, I had to sneak a party joke in. Those Center City boys be crazy!). He found his man of coverage, and laid a devestating shoulder check. David Booth, the recipient of said devestation, immediately lost consciousness. Look for yourself:





Horrible, horrible play. But honestly, there is no one to point your finger at.

Was it a scary hit?

Yes.

Was it a hard to watch?

Yes.

Was it a legal open ice check?

Yes.

There was no charge. Richards kept his elbow tucked in and lead with the shoulder. It wasn't from behind. It was simply a hockey play gone wrong.

You have to take into consideration the speed of the game. This all happened faster than Pauly Shore's fall from grace. I've heard people say, "What a dirty scumbag, he aimed for the head."

I've also heard echoes of, "Booth shouldn't have turned his head, he was admiring his pass."

Well to both of those people, I say...False.

If Booth didn't turn his head, Richards would have made contact with his head. This is evident from the video. However, Booth only swilveled to get a glimpse of the oncoming freight train. There is no one to blame.

David Booth has been released from the hospital, which is fabulous news. I'm sure I speak for the rest of Flyerland when I say, "Get better soon, pal."

The Flyers went on to win that game 5-1. Holy winning streak, Batman!

And then, just like a TV star hassling with deadly aquatics, things went a-ray.

Two straight losses. Wee! All aboard the John Stevens thrill ride!

A putrid effort earned the Flyers a 4-1 loss against San Jose (speaking of deadly aquatics).

Note to Boucher: You are NOT a Shark anymore. I mean seriously, was he purposely letting some of those goals in?

"Hey Jumbo, just tell the boys to shoot from behind the goal line, I'll take care of the rest...by the way, any chance you can buy me a steak from Henry's when we come to town?"

Holy toledo. Now, I am one of the biggest Boosh fans out there, but he HAS to be better.

Man, I really need to update this more often. Novel length blogs are like blown two-goal leads... Dammit.

So yeah, for the gist of the Washington game. Just looked up there. ^

Let's face it. Verizon is a hell of a building to play in, and all things considering, the Flyers put forth a decent effort. But these blown leads are becoming a joke.

Speaking of jokes, what caused the downfall of the 2009 Florida Panthers and the 2000 Presidential Election?

A jacked up Booth.

BA DUMP, CHHHHHH!

And you wonder why I'm stuck blogging?

Next up on the menu: The Jon and Kate sage of our beloved coach.

In closing, I will say this. Instead of calling out your backup goaltender in the media, you should probably be giving more direction to this fellow.




Till next time!