Broad Street Hockey

Join us tonight at 9 ET on Rink Side Radio

2010-03-15T23:44:46Z

Join us tonight at 9 ET on Rink Side Radio

It's an action-packed show tonight on Rink Side Radio, the official radio show of SBN Hockey. We'll talk about the Versus-DirecTV break through, as well as the cavalcade of dirty hits that took place around the league over the weekend.

Steven Pepper from Japers' Rink will join the program to discuss today's suspension of Alex Ovechkin. Should be fun. The call-in number is 646-595-2440, so let your voice be heard on the live program.

Monday evening news! Versus back on DirecTV; Ovechkin suspended two games

2010-03-15T21:26:20Z

After a ton of legal wrangling that has gone on for all of this hockey season, Comcast-owned Versus and satellite television provider DirecTV have finally (!) come to an agreement. Seriously, this time. Like, both companies announced it and everything.

Here's DirecTV:

DIRECTV and Comcast have reached an agreement to return VERSUS to the DIRECTV programming lineup today. Versus should be up on Channel 603 no later than 7PM ET/4PM PT.

And here's Versus:

DIRECTV and Comcast have reached an agreement to return VERSUS to the DIRECTV programming lineup today. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VERSUS will return to the same DIRECTV programming packages it was in at the end of August 2009.

It's happening. Tonight. Everybody can watch New Jersey vs Boston together, now. Hooray! The Flyers aren't on Versus again until the playoffs (knock on wood).

In other news, the NHL suspended Alex Ovechkin two games for his hit on Brian Campbell. Over at Japer's Rink, they're all tinfoil hatty, with J.P. saying such things as:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: these hits (Ovechkin's, Steve Downie's, Matt Cooke's, etc.) are Rorschach tests; people see what they want to see in them, be it a chance to critique the game, promote a hero by unfairly ripping apart a "villain," or what have you. Me? I saw a two-minute minor for boarding. Apparently Colin Campbell (whose son, incidentally, will face the Caps tomorrow night in Sunrise) saw it differently.

There's an arguable point in there somewhere I think, but it's all quickly lost in that ridiculous theory spouted there at the end. The fact of the matter is that yes, Matt Cooke's hit was much, much worse than the one Ovechkin put on Campbell. At least initially. In the end, both players are likely out for the year so from that perspective they are the same hit.

In any event, it's simple. There's a rule on the books for hitting from behind. There is no rule currently on the books calling what Matt Cooke did illegal. Period, end of discussion.

Rangers' Dubinsky shows lack of respect by breaking cardinal fighting rule

2010-03-15T15:30:16Z

There are a certain set of rules when hockey fights break out that are just not broken. The most obvious of those rules? Once you've beaten your opponent, you don't continue to throw punches while they're down and defenseless on the ice.

Brandon Dubinsky of the New York Rangers broke this cardinal rule on Sunday during his fight with Mike Richards.

Richards obviously loses the fight decisively, likely due to forgetting (or choosing not) to tie his jersey down. Dubinsky was able to get it up over Richards' head, coloring him defenseless to the fists flying towards his face. That's Richards' fault and only his fault, and for this reason only, Dubinsky should not have been inclined to stop the fight.

But there's a point in the fight where Richards goes to throw a punch in return and never makes it. Instead, he falls to his knees and the linesmen jump in to stop the proceedings. From this point, when Richards is down and the fight is over, Dubinsky chooses to let his fists fly toward the defenseless Richards.

Even if the Flyers captain wanted to return fire, ignoring the fact that his jersey was over his head, he was unable to because he was in the clutches of the officials. Yet there Dubinsky continued to pound away. One, two, three.

These two players do have a bit of a history, but that's really no excuse for Dubinsky's antics on Sunday. After all, Craig Rivet and Dan Carcillo had a history back on November 27 at the Wachovia Center. They fought twice in that game, and on the second go around, Carcillo beat Rivet pretty decisively. As he pounded Rivet into the ice, he laid up on one final punch as Rivet fell to the surface, opting not to throw it thanks to Rivet's vulnerable position.

But after the fight was over, Rivet rolled Carcillo over and threw a cheap shot at the Flyer who was lying on the ice before mouthing a few words and skating off. It's bush league stuff, and you can see it after the jump.

This stuff doesn't happen too often against the Flyers, but one thing you'll notice is that the Flyers are never, ever guilty of this crime. Not any time recently, at least. In fact, I'd urge anybody to go through the archives and find one fight this year where a Flyers player continued to throw punches at an opponent while that opponent was down.

I searched the full archive of the Flyers two most prolific fighters, Ian Laperriere and Carcillo, and one theme was evident throughout. That theme: a healthy dose of respect. Take a seat and watch a few videos, won't you?

Here's Ian Laperriere in the last game before the Olympic break, going toe-to-toe with Montreal's Ryan O'Byrne. O'Byrne slips a little bit toward the end of the fight, and Laperriere holds back his final punch to make sure that it's actually the end of the fight.

Remember Carcillo's fight with Shawn Thornton at the Winter Classic? In it, Carcillo showed off the same level of respect for his opponent. Instead, you can actually see Danny's hand cocked back and ready to pounce on Thornton when the Bruin falls to the ice. Carcillo slowly takes it away, showing his palms at one point to say 'I'm done.' It's respect.

Finally, in the mother of all fights where Carcillo really could've put a hurting on his opponent, we come full circle with the Rangers and the Marian Gaborik tilt. As Gaborik falls to the ice, Carcillo clearly and obviously pulls up in an attempt to not injure the Rangers star player. Respect.

Of course, it's easy to sit here and pick a few fights from the catalog and show off examples. I watched as many as I could by going to the two guys who fight the most for the Flyers; two guys that have completely different reputations as respectable players in the NHL. Because of that, I think it was a fair way of doing this.

In the end, though, the point remains the same. The fact of the matter is that Brandon Dubinsky lacked a modicum of respect for his opponent on Sunday. It's a basic violation of the rules in hockey fighting and it deserves a spotlight. Hopefully next time Richards and Dubinsky face off, the Ranger will have a little more dignity.

Monday Morning Fly By: Recaps, Ovechkin, and Downie

2010-03-15T12:48:44Z

More photos » Kathy Kmonicek - AP

Browse more photos »

Today's open discussion thread, including your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news and notes...

Last night's NHL scores... NY Rangers 3 - Flyers 1; WAS 4 - CHI 3 (OT); COL 5 - DAL 3; NAS 3 - LA 2; NYI 4 - TOR 1; PHX 3 - ATL 2 (SO); PIT 2 - TB 1; MIN 4 - STL 2; ANA - SJ; VAN - CGY
Recaps of yesterday's loss: [BSH] [NHL.com] [Blueshirt Banter] [CSNPhilly] [Inquirer] [Daily News] [DelcoTimes]
Photos from yesterday's game: [Philly.com]
Quotes regarding Laviolette's decision to sit Ville Leino and Darroll Powe for Arron Asham and Riley Cote: [Daily News] [DelcoTimes]
A photo taken right after Chris Pronger beat Cristobal Huet. [NHLFlyers]
The Phantoms played three games this weekend, losing 5-4 in OT to Hersey on Friday [PostStar], beating Providence 4-0 on Saturday [PostStar], and finally beating Wilkes-Barre Scranton 2-1 in OT on Sunday. [PostStar]
Jacob De Serres stopped 28 of 31 shots as Brandon clinched the division title with a 9-3 win on Friday night. [Luber's Lounge]
An update on Danny Syvret: [PostStar]
Alex Ovechkin was ejected from his third game this season... [SBNation]
...But won't receive an automatic suspension (and probably not any suspension). [Puck Daddy]
An argument for AO to get two games: [From the Rink]
Steve Downie went after Sidney Crosby, and even made Travis defend Crosby. [BSH]
If you don't follow us on Twitter, shame on you. But you need to see this. [BSH]
Lastly, a pretty fantastic Bruins commercial: [Puck Daddy]

Steve Downie, still an embarrassment

2010-03-15T06:39:55Z

As a Flyers fan, it's easy to hate Sidney Crosby. In some cases, though, it's also pretty easy to look right past that hate and see the stupidity, the irresponsibility and the lack of everything that is good in an action by another player, even if that action serves as a detriment to Crosby and the Penguins.

Situations like the one that former Flyer Steve Downie put the Penguins star in on Sunday afternoon are ones that absolutely, positively need to be removed from the sport of hockey.

The two were skating along the boards in the Tampa end after Crosby had just passed the puck across ice. Downie was on Crosby's tail, and he slowly tangled his leg with Sid's, bringing the Penguin down to the ice. On closer review, Downie clearly and deliberately lifted his leg, placed his knee behind that of Crosby and pushed. As the two reach the ice, Crosby's leg bends backward in a way legs simply aren't supposed to bend.

That's kind of a rough screen grab, but Crosby's knee is bending to the side here. He's not just in a kneeling position.

For maybe the first time ever, FSN Pittsburgh broadcasters Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey actually got this one right. (Of course, it's a pretty easy call, but I digress.) It's clear intent to injure on Downie's part. There's literally zero reason for him to do this play in this situation, let alone any situation. The puck is 90 feet from the scene of the crime.

There's an argument here for trying to send a message. Downie was going after Crosby after he took exception to a Brooks Orpik hit on Steven Stamkos earlier in the game. There's no video readily available of the Orpik hit from what I can tell, but from watching it on rewind via NHL Game Center, I can tell you that the Orpik hit was more of a case of a guy finishing his check than it was a clear intent to injure.

Should Downie have gone after Crosby if he felt the Stamkos hit was over the line? Certainly. But going after Crosby means laying him out cleanly in along the boards with a clean hit, not popping a ligament in his knee with one of the dirtiest of dirty plays that exist in the sport.

If Downie got a 20 game suspension for his hit on Dean McAmmond, one that was ruled intent to injure, he deserves double that sentence in this situation. He's a repeat offender. He's a reckless idiot. He's an embarrassment to hockey.

Flyers give in to Avery's hijinks, lose to Rangers 3-1

2010-03-14T22:12:08Z

More photos » Kathy Kmonicek - AP

Browse more photos »

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [New York Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

He was a healthy scratch in the Rangers last game, but on Sunday, Sean Avery ran all over the Philadelphia Flyers while leading his team to a 3-1 victory at Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Overrated Arena (seriously, what's the aura around that place? Just because it's NYC? Please...).

Avery drew two penalties, scored two goals and was a plus two. On each of his 19 shifts, he genuinely pissed off the Flyers. He got under their skin. He pulled a Sean Avery, and the orange and black gave in. Scott Hartnell dropped his gloves and looked goofy when Avery kept his firmly on his hands. Braydon Coburn took a penalty late in the third thanks to the impetus, Avery. Dan Carcillo was visibly bothered by Avery as well.

He did his job and the Flyers couldn't keep cool. He was the difference, and for a Flyers team in the position that they're currently in, that's absolutely unacceptable. Philadelphia went into MSG today and controlled the game from the outset, scoring an early goal on the power play. Michael Leighton came up strong in goal and things looked to be set.

Then, Avery started his crap and it all snowballed from there. It's unacceptable. They let one player completely change the course of this game. One player who has no business doing something like that.

As a result, the Flyers miss out on a prime opportunity to put some distance between themselves and seventh-place Montreal. They also miss out on a chance to gain ground on fifth-place Ottawa. Meanwhile, the Rangers are now just one point out of the final playoff spot and just five points behind the Flyers, believe it or not.

Blame fatigue, blame Amtrak, blame whatever. None of it matters.

It was a chance to put a dagger through the heart of the team from New York. Instead, the Flyers let Avery take a jab at theirs. After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the afternoon.

Questions to Answer

Do emotions actually spill over today in the aftermath of the Gaborik incident, or do the Rangers realize that they should've done something weeks ago and that the statute of limitations is clearly up on this 'offense'? Not really. Jody Shelley's presence in the lineup didn't mean anything. Nor did Riley Cote's.
Can Henrik Lundqvist keep his team in this game today? Lundqvist wasn't challenged much, and he even looked a little shaky early. The Flyers failed to take advantage, however.
All joking about the Rangers impotence aside, their top line of Gaborik, Jokinen and Prospal can actually put some pucks in the net. Can the Flyers successfully shut them down? Those three were invisible. Avery did the scoring.
Will Carcillo fight Shelley? Nope.
Can Michael Leighton duplicate his stellar Saturday performance? Leighton was fine today. He'd probably like to have Avery's second goal back, but he was fine today. The Flyers lack of offense was a bigger problem, but as mentioned, the inability to stay away from Avery's bait was the biggest issue.

Comment of the Day

Oh jeez. Gotta be careful not to overwork him.

>> Ben Feldman, on Cote's heavy first period workload

Game 68, Preview and Game Thread: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers

2010-03-14T18:30:17Z

#6 Philadelphia Flyers (36-27-4, 76 pts) at #9 New York Rangers (30-29-9, 69 pts)
Madison Square Garden - 3:00 PM ET - New York, NY
TV: CSN Philly HD, MSG HD
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 204
This is the open game thread.
Get the New York perspective at Blueshirt Banter

It usually takes about 90 minutes to get from Philadelphia to New York. Last night, it took the Flyers about seven. Thanks to a reeee-diculous storm that battered the Delaware Valley and the Jersey shore which caused power outages across the Garden State, the Flyers had to get off their NY Penn bound Amtrak train in Metuchen and take a bus the rest of the way to Manhattan.

Of course, the team managed to get food delivered to their stationary train while waiting things out.

Now safely in New York, today's game should be fun, huh? It's the first time these two teams have met since Dan Carcillo beat up Marian Gaborik, and it's clear that revenge is really the only thing on the minds of the Rangers.

Sean Avery has been a healthy scratch. Not today. Tough guy Jody Shelley will be the Rangers 'answer' from a physical stand point. Look for him to challenge Carcillo at some point during his three minutes of ice time, while Danny will likely shrug him off and go assist a Mike Richards goal.

There's no honor in that, you know?

Meanwhile, what the Rangers really should be doing is focusing on not being a bad hockey team. They're three points out of the last playoff spot, and with a loss to the Flyers today, they could really dig their hole a lot deeper. It's a huge game for them. For the Flyers, it's a huge game as well, as they continue to ride the emotional high from Saturday's thrilling 3-2 win over Chicago.

Michael Leighton is in goal again today after a spectacular performance a day ago. He'll be challenged by an offense that's much, much worse that Chicago's. New York sucks.

After the jump, lineups, questions, and our in-game discussion.

Flyers Line Combinations

Gagne - Richards - Carcillo
Briere - Giroux- Hartnell
van Riemsdyk - Carter - Leino
Powe - Betts - Laperriere

Pronger - Carle
Timonen - Krajicek
Parent - Coburn

Laviolette wouldn't tip his hand on any lineup changes from yesterday, saying that 'everyone will take warmups.' No ****, man.

New York Line Combinations

Prospal - Jokinen - Gaborik
Dubinsky - Anisimov - Callahan
Prust/Avery - Christensen - Drury
Shelley - Boyle - Lisin/Avery

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Redden (lol) - Gilroy

Not sure where Avery fits in there, but my guess is he replaces Prust or Lisin.

Starting Goaltenders

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Michael Leighton	32	1731	17	8		80	2.77	873	793	.908	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	59	3393	27	23		140	2.48	1718	1578	.919	2

Questions to Answer

Do emotions actually spill over today in the aftermath of the Gaborik incident, or do the Rangers realize that they should've done something weeks ago and that the statute of limitations is clearly up on this 'offense'?
Can Henrik Lundqvist keep his team in this game today?
All joking about the Rangers impotence aside, their top line of Gaborik, Jokinen and Prospal can actually put some pucks in the net. Can the Flyers successfully shut them down?
Will Carcillo fight Shelley?
Can Michael Leighton duplicate his stellar Saturday performance?

Today's game is on CSN Philly and 610 WIP. New York sucks. Join us here for the in-game discussion, and as always, LET'S GO FLYERS!

MOST AWESOMEST GAME EVER!?!?! FLYERS BEAT HAWKS 3-2

2010-03-13T21:10:36Z

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

Wow.

This game was scoreless through two periods, but even then it was awesome. These are two fast, offensively tilted teams, each of whom had a hot goalie to steal several goals along the way. A 4-on-4 late in the second period led to about fifteen odd-man rushes in each direction. And though no goals came of it, a tone of awesomeness was set.

Simon Gagne opened the scoring early in the third on a pretty (and possibly accidental?) feed across the slot from Daniel Carcillo. But a bogus goalie interference call on Danny Briere put the Blackhawks on a power play soon after, a power play which Kris Versteeg eventually converted on.

Marian Hossa, best known for being the brother of Dinamo Riga star Marcel Hossa, scored on a high bullet through a screen, beating Leighton stick side, and things looked bleak. But Scott Hartnell of all people, whose struggles have been documented below recently, scored a beautiful, gritty breakaway-type goal to tie things up with two minutes left, which was awesome.

And as if the comeback goal by a struggling fan favorite to send the game to overtime and secure a point wasn't enough, it was about to get even better. With two seconds left, Chris Pronger joined the rush and tapped in a beautiful Claude Giroux pass with 2.1 seconds left to give the Flyers a regulation win.

Bedlam ensued, and continues still.

While the late goal scorers will get all the ink, and largely deservedly, most of the credit for this win should go to Michael Leighton. Against a high-powered Chicago offense that averages about a dozen goals a game, Leighton was rock solid. He stopped 39 of 41 shots, and had no real chance to stop either of their goals. After getting pulled and looking generally mediocre on Thursday, this outing should hopefully silence some skeptics, at least in the short run.

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [Chicago Reaction]

[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

Some parting thoughts, in bullet form:

Once they develop the technology, I'm going to get an animated GIF tattoo of that last goal.
Some of my absolute favorite moments in recent Flyers history have ended with Cristobal Huet breaking his stick over the crossbar after letting in a game-winning goal. Mike Knuble's 2OT winner in Game 4 against the Caps might have been more memorable, but wow, this one was awesome too.
I'm very glad I got to do this recap. Not as glad that the game I bought tickets for was the Bruins game and not this one.

After the jump, questions answered, a comment of the day, as well as so! many! more! exclamation! points!

Comment of the night:

W T F!!!! OH MY GOSH! AWESOME! --flyrsfrk05

Questions to Answer:

Does Michael Leighton bounce back after a rough Thursday? Yes!!!
Does everybody else bounce back after a rough Thursday? Yes!!!
Will Scott Hartnell continue to be snakebitten and useless? No!!!
Has the Olympic bubble burst yet, or will Patrick Kane get any positive reception from the American Flyers fans? Unclear!!!
Over or under eight total goals? These aren't teams that are very fond of defense... Under eight!!! But it was a quality over quantity situation!!!

Poll

Best game of the season?

Game 67, Preview and Game Thread: Chicago Blackhawks at Philadelphia Flyers

2010-03-13T17:30:05Z

#2 Chicago Blackhawks (44-17-5, 93 pts) at #6 Philadelphia Flyers (35-27-4, 74 pts)
Wachovia Center - 1:00 PM ET - Philadelphia, PA
TV: CSN Philly HD, WGN HD
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 205
This is the open game thread.
Get the Chicago perspective at Second City Hockey

Peter Laviolette was visibly upset with the way the Flyers played against Boston on Thursday night, so heading into today's game against one of the most dynamic teams in the league, he's decided to change things up a bit.

Three new lines. Some players benched. Some inserted into the lineup. But, go figure, same goaltender.

There are two schools of thought here: you can start Leighton because you want to play the guy who isn't rusty against the high-flying Hawks. That's fair, if Boucher didn't play on Thursday night. He played almost a full period, enough to shake off the rust. He deserves a shot, and he'll likely get it on Sunday against the Rangers. He should've had that shot today.

But anyway, since it's not happening let's talk about the other lineup changes. Arron Asham sits, Ville Leino is in. The second and third lines are completely blown up, while the top line of Dan Carcillo, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne will be the same. That makes sense, really, since they were the only trio to have a decent game on Thursday.

Pssst, don't tell the Daily News that, though.

Simon Gagne moved to Mike Richards' line with Dan Carcillo.

Do'h.

Laviolette spoke a lot on Friday about getting back to the basics, and playing with unfamiliar partners is a good way of doing so. The biggest concern is that experimenting in that department against one of the elite teams in the NHL is a dangerous risk.

Chicago is good defensively and obviously potent offensively. The Flyers offense will have to, you know, do everything the opposite of Thursday. They'll have to attack the puck in the corner, show some desire to actually win a puck battle, and just cross the blue line with some energy. The most important thing, however, is that they have to do everything in their power not to be the Blackhawks. They're not a high-flying, pass-the-puck-around-as-much-as-they-can-for-a-pretty-goal team, so they shouldn't try to act like one. Again, it's just keeping things basic.

Defensively, all six guys need to be better tonight, because none of them were particularly good on Thursday. There's a ton of room for improvement and against these Blackhawks, it better come within the first five seconds of the game today.

This won't be an easy game, and if the Flyers don't show up from the get go, it's going to be an ugly one. In that case, remember that the Phils are on channel 17.

After the jump, line combos, starting goaltenders, and a few questions to answer.

lines, goalies, questions coming shortly... wanted to get this up asap because my internet is touchy today.

Questions to Answer:

1. Does Michael Leighton bounce back after a rough Thursday?

2. Does everybody else bounce back after a rough Thursday?

3. Will Scott Hartnell continue to be snakebitten and useless?

4. Has the Olympic bubble burst yet, or will Patrick Kane get any positive reception from the American Flyers fans?

5. Over or under eight total goals? These aren't teams that are very fond of defense...

A Look at Scott Hartnell's Struggles

2010-03-13T00:15:17Z

More photos » Charles Krupa - AP

Browse more photos »

Everyone knows Scott Hartnell is struggling. After watching Tuesday's game from the stands, it became even more clear that he knows he's struggling. Add in the benching in Thursday's game, and it all adds up to a big slump.

The numbers tell a pretty bleak story: 1 goal in 20 games, 3 goals in 39 games, 0.18 goals per game (down from 0.37 last year), 1.95 PIMs per game, and a minus-2 - the first time he's been in the negative since the lockout.

With the way this season has progressed - the entire team struggling - it's important to put Hartnell's struggles in context. The problem is that Hartnell has spent nearly 80% of his even-strength ice time with at least 2 of Jeff Carter, Danny Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, and Claude Giroux. Because of this, his assists per game are at a career high.

So, where's the context? For that, we turn to Gabriel Desjardins' BehindtheNet even-strength stats. After the jump, check for Hartnell's rank among forwards with at least 40 games played in each category.

First, the common ones:

	GP	G	A	P	P/M	PIM	Minors
Hartnell	65	12	25	37	-2	127	45
Forward Rank	5th	6th	4th	5th	11th	3rd	1st

The scariest part of that table is what isn't there. Hartnell leads the team with 45 minor penalties. Dan Carcillo is in second place with 25. The only player in the NHL with more minors is Steve Downie, who has 50. Outside of that, everything else seems to be in line, save the plus/minus numbers. It's when you get deeper that things better reflect Hartnell's struggles.

First, we should look at who Hartnell is on the ice with.

	Rating	QualComp	QualTeam	Corsi QoC	Corsi QoT
Hartnell	-0.07	0.032	0.067	-0.502	3.246
Team Rank	9th	7th	3rd	11th	1st

Rating is Hartnell's plus/minus relative to the team. Looking at both the standard and Corsi measurements for who's on the ice with Hartnell show essentially the same thing: Hartnell is playing against average- to below-average competition with some of the best teammates. Despite this, his Rating is near the bottom of the team. That is depressing enough, but it gets worse.

	G/60	A1/60	A2/60	P/60	GFON/60	GFOFF/60
Hartnell	0.31	0.92	0.54	1.77	2.54	2.36
Team Rank	11th	3rd	2nd	5th	6th	7th

Here is where we see just how important it is for Hartnell to be playing with top-notch linemates. Over 82.5% of his even-strength points are coming from assists. Obviously, some if not most of this could be the result of hard work and good passing. The high primary assists would point to that. But our eyes deceive us. More likely is that Jeff Carter and Danny Briere are capitalizing on their chances, unlike Hartnell. Taking a look at Carter's goals show that he has a propensity for putting the puck in the tiniest of spots, not that he's putting pucks into empty nets created by teammates' passing skills.

But all of that is stats vs. eyes argument that will never fully be settled. So, like I've said before, it's important to use both. And from my perspective, Hartnell's high assist rate is more the result of his teammates than his passing skills.

	Taken	Drawn	Taken/60	Drawn/60	BS A	BS F	BA/60	BF/60
Hartnell	22	18	1.7	1.4	34	20	2.6	1.5
Team Rank	1st	3rd	1st	5th	4th	6th	6th	7th

Lastly, some good news-bad news. Here's where most of the complaints regarding Hartnell come from. As mentioned above, he takes a ton of penalties - second most minors in the league. These numbers differ from the official NHL.com ones from above, but the point is still being made. There are only three other Flyers that Desjardins has taking more penalties than they are drawing - Carter, Gagne, and Laperriere. The three of them combined have 39 minors, according to NHL.com, still lower than Hartnell's 45.

There isn't much to say about this other than the fact that it's unacceptable. Any way you spin it, it's bad.

On the other side of the chart you see his blocked shots. BS A stands for shots Hartnell has fired that have been blocked by the opposition, while BS F is those that he has blocked himself. Again, these numbers differ from those at NHL.com, but the point is clear. There is no problem with the blocked shots, as he's right around team-average.

Conclusion

Everyone knows Scott Hartnell is struggling. A lot of us have known it for quite some time. Most other people are only beginning to notice, mostly due to the fact that Hartnell's assists have been steady all season. But his struggles go far beyond not being able to put the puck in the net.

He's taking far too many penalties and his defensive game is nothing to write home about. Add to that the fact that the Flyers are paying him $113,513.51 for every point he has scored so far this season ($350,000 for every goal, higher than the $282,608.70 for every Danny Briere Goal), and he has had a bad season.

None of this is to say that he's a bad player, of course. But when you are struggling to put the puck in the net, you need to help your team out in other areas. Hartnell (statistically) is doing that by getting assists, but he's not helping his team defensively - the team gives up more goals at 5-on-5 when he's on the ice than when he's off - nor is he staying out of the box. The best solution would be for Hartnell to start scoring again, but the easiest would probably be for him to stop taking penalties and shore up his defensive game.

Friday Morning Fly By: An extension for Leighton?

2010-03-12T16:38:25Z

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news and notes...

Last night's NHL scores... Bruins 5, Flyers 1 - TOR 4, TBL 3 (OT) - STL 2, NYI 1 - CAR 4, PIT 3 (OT) - CBJ 2, ATL 1 - MTL 5, EDM 4 - DET 5, MIN 1 - COL 3, FLA 0 - CGY 2, OTT 0
Recaps of the loss from NHL.com, the AP, us, CSN Philly, Delco Times, Inquirer, Daily News, Stanley Cup of Chowder, and The Boston Globe.
Paul Holmgren is thinking about offering a contract extension to goaltender Michael Leighton. [Delco Times]
Scott Hartnell was benched in the third period last night, but Laviolette won't single him out and Hartnell doesn't even know if he was benched because he was double shifted for the final seven minutes after sitting for nine. [CSN] ...
... here's the time-on-ice chart. [NHL]
Did Carcillo go too far last night in pushing away the linesman? I know my initial reaction was, 'well, there's a suspension.' [ProHockeyTalk]
THN ranked fan-bases by those most-worthy of the Cup. We're only 11th. Feign outrage... now. [THN]
JW talks no-trade clause. [Hockey Or Die]

Flyers embarrassed by Bruins (or did they embarrass themselves?), lose 5-1

2010-03-12T03:39:27Z

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

4 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Michael Leighton, (49) pats his replacement Brian Boucher (33) after Leighton was pulled in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 11, 2010, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [Boston Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

Because Ben, Travis, and I were at the game tonight, we're doing a recap by committee. As the first one home - but sick - I opted to simply answer the questions.

There will be more to come, whether it be later tonight or tomorrow.

Travis' take: I'm gonna leave this short and to the point, because there's really no sense in laying out how bad the defense was tonight. Or how inept the offense was in simply crossing the Bruins blue line. Or in.. ah, screw it. Ms. Benes, a little help please? What was your opinion on tonight's game?

Ben's take: Elaine speaks adequately and articulately on the matter, and I can't really top her way with words. But I will say that this was one of the worst games, quality wise, that I have ever seen in person. Not just for the Flyers, because the Bruins weren't really all that great either for most of it. I thought it was bizarre how twice a player whose team had the puck in the offensive zone initiated a fight, and I thought it was bizarre how sleep deprived that guy who does the TV timeout entertainment looked. Speaking of him and his wares, if you have any inclination to buy one of those "O'Van Riemsdyk" shirts, save your money. There are much better t-shirt options in the pipeline, I can assure you.

In happier news, I saw two Seidenberg Deutschland jerseys at the game tonight, which was fairly surreal. I also saw what appeared to be a Danny Syvret practice jersey, which somebody theoretically paid money for. Or they stole it out of his bag, one of the two.

Geoff continues below with the questions...

Questions with Answers:

Will Leighton allow the typical one-weak-goal-per-game tonight? Well, there were certainly a few bad goals, and a few close calls, but I'm not sure if any were at the same level. That isn't to say he played well though, because he didn't.
How will Boston come out? Do they look even more determined in the aftermath of losing Savard? The Bruins didn't have many shots in the first 10 minutes, but they quickly took over the game. Outside of about 2 minutes to start the third, the game was entirely Boston.
Can the top line of Richards-Gagne-Carcillo keep up their hot play? They played well, but not good enough. Richards didn't do too much, Carcillo is probably going to be suspended, and Gagne had some really bad luck.
Carter has nine goals in nine games. 10 in 10? Yes.

Like I said, this is short, but we're all tired and I'm sick. Ben and Travis probably aren't even home yet, so have at it in the comments.

Game 66, Preview and Game Thread: Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers

2010-03-11T21:46:39Z

#8 Boston Bruins (29-24-12, 70 pts) at #6 Philadelphia Flyers (35-26-4, 74 pts)
Wachovia Center - 7:00 PM ET - Philadelphia, PA
TV: CSN Philly HD, NESN HD
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 206
This is the open game thread.
Get the Boston perspective at Stanley Cup of Chowder

As the Boston Bruins stroll into town tonight, get ready to witness a team at a crossroads. They're a team dangerously close to falling off the playoff map, potentially without their best defenseman, and rattled at the prospect of losing their best, arguably their only scorer for the remainder of the season.

Obviously, Marc Savard won't be playing tonight, and without him, the Bruins season-long question of "where does the scoring come from?" gets even more magnified. But as mentioned, these Bruins are at a crossroads. Do they use the Savard injury as the excuse for why they fell apart down the stretch, or following the lack of suspension to Matt Cooke, do they use it to generate an us against the world mentality?

There's no mistaking that tonight is a huge game for the Bruins. It's the same for the Flyers though too, of course, who enter the game with a chance to make up some ground on the teams ahead of them (depending on other outcomes, obviously).

The Flyers have played well against the Bruins all season long, winning at home on a gorgeous Claude Giroux shootout winner in October and on the road amidst all the losing that went on in the middle of December. Of course, the Winter Classic was a different outcome, but Philadelphia owned that game until the final minutes, really.

Michael Leighton will start in goal tonight across from Boston's Tuukka Rask.

After the jump, complete lineups, a few questions to answer and our in-game discussion.

Flyers Line Combinations

Gagne - Richards - Carcillo
Briere- Carter - Hartnell
van Riemsdyk - Giroux - Asham
Powe - Betts - Laperriere

Pronger - Carle
Timonen - Krajicek
Parent - Coburn

Boston Line Combinations

Sturn - Bergeron - Recchi
Wheeler - Krejci - Ryder
Lucic - Sobotka - Satan
Paille - Begin - Thornton

Hunwick - Seidenberg
Stuart - Wideman
Penner - Boychuk

No word on Chara, game-time decision. He missed Boston's last game.

Starting Goaltenders

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Michael Leighton	30	1640	16	7		74	2.71	807	733	.908	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Tuukka Rask	30	1706	14	8		61	2.15	829	768	.926	3

Questions to Answer

Will Leighton allow the typical one-weak-goal-per-game tonight?
How will Boston come out? Do they look even more determined in the aftermath of losing Savard?
Can the top line of Richards-Gagne-Carcillo keep up their hot play?
Carter has nine goals in nine games. 10 in 10?

Ben, Geoff and I will all be at the game this evening, so enjoy the open thread without us. CSN, WIP, you know the deal. LET'S GO FLYERS!

Could the Flyers catch Ottawa? New Jersey? Buffalo? ... Pittsburgh?

2010-03-11T16:55:52Z

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

We're looking up now, but will we be much longer?

Browse more photos »

Is it possible, that just three months after the playoffs seemed like an impossibility, that the Flyers could wind up in fifth place in the East? Or fourth? What about third? Or even second?

Some of those are very reasonable possibilities. Others, not so much. But the more you look at it, the more it seems that sixth place probably isn't the Flyers destiny. At the very least, it's in their hands.

Let's take a look at each of the teams that are currently ahead of the Flyers in the standings. Washington won't be caught unless they lose every game the rest of the season, a highly unlikely proposition. Let's start at the bottom with the other team from a nation's capital, the Ottawa Senators.

Many consider the Sens a fluke team. They had a nice lengthy winning streak a few weeks back that propelled them up in the Eastern Conference race, and riding two mediocre goaltenders seems to be working for them at the moment. But when all is said and done, the Sens are four points ahead of the Flyers right now having played two extra games. If the Flyers are to win those games in hand, they'll sit tied with the Sens, and if you add that the two teams play one more game against each other on March 23, it becomes even more possible to catch them.

Ahead of the Sens, the Sabres sit tied with New Jersey at 81 points. They've gone through a rough patch recently but seem to be breaking out of it post-Olympics, winning three straight. It's all up to Ryan Miller for them, and considering that he's, um, unbelievable, Buffalo is in good hands.

Then there's the Devils, who have completely fallen apart since even before the Olympic break. Sure, they had a nice 6-3 win in New Jersey last night, but on the whole, they've gone 7-12-2 since January 14. Things are not going well, and you could even call last night's game a bit of a weird one considering there was virtually no defense on either side of the puck.

So, you have a reeling Devils team sitting seven points ahead of Philadelphia right now. If they continue to struggle, the Flyers can certainly catch them. They'll be helped if they can win the one remaining game between the two teams on March 28. If they can manage that, it's just a five point gap the rest of the way. That's manageable, especially if New Jersey continues their lengthy slump into April. Much stranger things have happened.

Catching Pittsburgh would be one of those much stranger things, for example. Is it possible? Yes, it certainly is. Will it happen? Likely not. Here's why: Pittsburgh is currently up 10 points on the Flyers, but we do have another game remaining against the Pens. If they can scratch two points out of it, they also have a game in hand over Pittsburgh. That's four points made up right there, and if making up five on the Devils is possible, making up six on Pittsburgh is as well. But, that's the major difference.

New Jersey is seriously slumping to the point where fans dont have answers, while the Penguins have just one loss in their last ten games. In other words, they're red hot and it's not likely they'll be caught.

The Flyers should focus on New Jersey. That means passing Ottawa and taking the fourth seed. It's more than possible, really. As Philly fans, we're kind of inherently negative. But you know what? This is reason for some optimism. The two teams ahead of the Flyers are playing mediocre-to-downright-poor hockey, and there's no reason that our team can't catch up.

Since January 1, the Flyers have earned 33 points in 25 games. New Jersey has just 22 points in that time. Buffalo: 25. Pittsburgh: 31. The orange and black are playing just as well as these teams are right now at the time it matters most, so why can't game one of the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals be at the Wachovia Center?

Thursday Morning Fly By: Cooke goes unpenalized, GM's look to change that

2010-03-11T16:19:27Z

More photos » Frank Gunn - AP

6 days ago: Boston Bruins right winger Mark Recchi (28) celebrates teammate Patrice Bergeron's goal during first period NHL hockey action against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday March 9, 2010.(AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn)

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... BUF 5, DAL 3 - NJD 6, NYR 3 - WSH 4, CAR 3 (OT) - CHI 3, LAK 2 (OT) - PHX 4, VAN 3 (SO)
Previews of tonight''s game with the Boston Bruins from NHL.com, Sports Network, and The Boston Globe. Check out our SBN buddies at Stanley Cup of Chowder.
No BSH Radio this week, sorry. Trivia will be included in next weeks show, as well.
The Bruins are still furious about the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard. [Globe]
Meanwhile, Arron Asham still contends that Cooke is a gutless punk. Not in as many words, but you know. [Delco Times]
Cooke won't be suspended, and unfortunately, it's the right call. I totally agree here, sadly. [Down Goes Brown]
Here's a look at both sides of the argument, however. [From the Rink]
General managers voted unanimously yesterday to put a rule in place that would ban headshots... unless they're delivered from the front. [SBN]
A fascinating look at the situation: should we treat head shots like high sticking? [SBN]
Leighton will start again tonight. [Flyers] Thoughts on starting a 'FREE BOOSH' campaign, anyone? Similar to this... [Japers']
Offensive dominance via goal scored percentage. Look at the second list... [Behind The Net]
A quantified look at the Flyers' deadline screw-ups. [Puck Prospectus]
How a U.S. Senate candidate in Oregon stole the Columbus Blue Jackets' logo. [Puck Daddy]
T-SHIRTS! If you have any Flyers-related t-shirt ideas, let us know in ze comments.

Villanova fans: Welcome 'The Nova Blog' to SB Nation

2010-03-11T00:22:19Z

Villanova fans: Welcome 'The Nova Blog' to SB Nation

If you're a fan of Villanova athletics, there's a second home for you here on SBN. Chris Lane and his comrades have jumped on board at their new digs, The Nova Blog. They join SBN after providing excellent Nova coverage at their old digs, I Bleed Blue and White.

Wednesday Morning Fly By: Recaps, GM Meetings, and Cavemen

2010-03-10T15:59:30Z

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

Today's open discussion thread, including your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... Flyers 3 - Islanders 2; TOR 4 - BOS 3 (OT); CGY 4 - DET 2; NSH 2 - ATL 1; MTL 5 - TB 3; FLA 3 - MIN 2 (SO); VAN 6 - COL 4; OTT 4 - EDM 1; CLB 5 - ANA 2
Recaps of last night's win: [BSH] [NHL.com] [Lighthouse Hockey] [Daily News] [Inquirer] [The700Level] [CSNPhilly] [DelcoTimes]
Photos from last night: [Philly.com]
Apparently Dan Carcillo required 27 stitches to close the cut on his leg. James van Riemsdyk needed "about the same on his chin." I thought he got hit on the hand... [CSNFlyer]
The GM meetings led to a few stories. Here's one showing what ideas are being floated: [Puck Daddy]
Obviously, headshots are being widely discussed. [Daily News] [CSNPhilly]
And there was an example of one last night when Ryan Whitney cross-checked Chris Neil in the neck. [Puck Daddy]
Another story on the Flyers' fourth-line. But Laviolette doesn't like numbering them. [Inquirer]
Remember that picture of Carcillo as the Geico Caveman? Here's video from the Winter Classic, where Carcillo shows evidence and proclaims both he and Ray Emery went as the Caveman for Halloween. The caveman also had something to say to Scott Hartnell. [The700Level]
Speaking of the Winter Classic, don't expect one in Yankee Stadium any time soon. [SB Nation]
From Monday night's game, Marty Turco had a pretty funny reaction to Alexander Semin's shootout attempt. I believe that's him laughing. [Puck Daddy]
Stats time! Who are the biggest under- and over-achievers in Corsi numbers this year? [Behind The Net]
Looking at points percentage for forwards - the number of points a player gets as a percent of goals scored while they're on the ice. [The Copper & Blue]
And for defensemen. [The Copper & Blue]
Who will the Flyers likely face in the playoffs? How about Buffalo or New Jersey. [Puck Prospectus]
Interesting quote regarding Sami Kapanen's brother. Rather than repeat it, we'll just link to it. It's definitely not appropriate. Or accurate. [euroflyers]
This day in history: The Flyers drop 11 on the Penguins in 1985. [The700Level]

Injuries scare, but Flyers storm back for 15th straight win over Isles

2010-03-10T04:22:58Z

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

6 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Simon Gagne, from right, celebrates with teammates Claude Giroux and Mike Richards after Gagne scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Tuesday, March 9, 2010, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 3-2. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [New York Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

Michael Leighton looked shaky. The team looked lazy. The opponent looked the opposite. Lukas Krajicek caught a puck in the face. James van Riemsdyk took a puck to the finger. Dan Carcillo left the ice with a knee injury.

The story of the first period. Luckily, the Flyers wouldn't let any of this dictate the rest of the hockey game.

Krajicek returned. JVR returned. Carcillo returned, and the Flyers completely took over the second half of the contest at Wachovia Center on Tuesday night before leaving with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders. If you haven't heard, we officially own the Islanders with 15 straight wins. Unfortunately, that's basically equal to having hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean.

Down 2-0 in the second period, the Flyers decided to wake up, and for literally almost the rest of the hockey game, they kept the puck in the Islanders end. It was a complete contrast from the start, with a ton of puck posession, a ton of shots and a tired Isles defense.

Jeff Carter capitalized on this pressure just two minutes after Kyle Okposo put the Isles up two. It continued for the rest of the period, with the Flyers getting their chances but not capitalizing. That would change in the third, however, thanks in part to the lack of discipline displayed by the Islanders.

Mark Streit was called for boarding with 13 minutes left in the third, and on the ensuing power play, Mike Richards would feed Claude Giroux in the slot for a beautiful goal to tie the game. As Giroux cut to the net, he was impeded by Sean Bergenheim, who was whistled off for high sticking. Nothing would come of that man advantage, but the Flyers would quickly be up a man once more.

Trevor Gillies, the goon called up by the Islanders specifically for this game, got a little too physical with Scott Hartnell behind the play. He was called for boarding, and on this version of the Peco, the Flyers put together a work of art. Matt Carle started things with a gorgeous zone keep, and he would dish the puck down the boards where it would be picked out of the air by a glove-less Giroux. Giroux then cut to the middle and passed the puck over to Simon Gagne, who would bury the game winning goal behind Dwayne Roloson.

After the jump, questions with answers, a playoff race update and the comment of the night.

Questions With Answers

Does Michael Leighton put in another solid outing? The first goal aside, tonight was another serviceable outing for Leights. It wouldn't hurt to work on the rebound control, though.
Can Dwayne Roloson prove to the Flyers that they should've gone out and picked up another goalie at the deadline... like, I don't know... him? Roloson was very solid all night long, but I don't know if his play was much better than Leighton's.
Tavares has two goals in four games against the Flyers. Does he break his loooooong funk tonight? Of course he did. What did you expect? An young star on a division rival NOT scoring on the Flyers? Pleaaaaaaase...
What's the point cushion in 6th place for the Flyers at the end of the night, and are they any closer to Ottawa when it's all said and done this evening? Full playoff picture update below.

Tonight's Playoff Race Update

		GP	PTS	Tonight	gms left vs
2	Pittsburgh	66	84	didn't play	1: at PIT 3/27
3	Buffalo	64	79	didn't play	none
4	New Jersey	64	79	didn't play	1: vs NJD 3/28
5	Ottawa	66	77	at EDM later	1: at OTT 3/23
6	Philadelphia	65	74	win vs NYI	-
7	Montreal	68	72	win vs TBL	1: vs MTL 4/2
8	Boston	65	70	OT loss vs TOR	1: vs BOS 3/11
9	NY Rangers	66	67	didn't play	3: at NYR 3/14, 4/9; vs 4/11
10	Atlanta	65	66	loss vs NSH	2: at ATL 3/20; vs 3/21
11	Tampa Bay	65	65	loss vs MTL	none

Comment of the Night

I swear, if the Islanders ever beat the Flyers, the sky is probably going to turn purple like on Lost when they didn't push the button.

>> Ben Rothenberg, via text message

Game 65, Preview and Game Thread: New York Islanders at Philadelphia Flyers

2010-03-09T23:06:16Z

#14 New York Islanders (26-31-8, 60 pts) at #6 Philadelphia Flyers (34-26-4, 72 pts)
Wachovia Center - 7:30 PM ET - Philadelphia, PA
TV: Versus HD, TSN 2 HD
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 205
This is the open game thread.
Get New York reaction at Lighthouse Hockey

Who own dee Isles? We own dee Isles. 14 straight games, 14 straight wins. It's the most dominant current stretch of wins that one team holds over another, and we'd like to see it continue once more. Not so fast, though. The Isles have called in their secret weapon.

Here's Lighthouse Hockey:

When the Islanders last played in Philadelphia, they called up Trevor Gillies for his second-ever NHL game on his 31st birthday, and Scott Gordon used the enforcer for an entirely predictable six shifts and 3:16 of ice time, none of it coming after the mid-way point of the second period.

[...]

I'm not going to rehash my rant about the pointlessness of employing players whose sole purpose is to fight (er, sorry, "protect"), but I just don't see how calling Gillies up for tonight's game helps much. Gordon doesn't skate his enforcers much (and I don't think he should), and though their implied "puttin' on the foil" presence on the bench may provide the confidence of security for the other Islanders, I've yet to see evidence of that helping gain wins. Improved special teams -- now that would help garner wins.

Yeah, one of these days we'll be able to write a preview without mentioning the goon the other team has called up for the game. Hopefully. Sigh.

Anyway, hockey: the Islanders have fallen off in the last few months, basically playing themselves out of contention for a playoff spot. One reason why? Rookie phenom John Tavares has completely fallen off the map. He's without a goal in his last 17 games and he has just one goal in his last 27 games.

I bet Chris Pronger got in his head.

After the jump, line combinations, starting goaltenders, and questions to answer this evening.

Flyers Line Combinations

Gagne - Richards - Carcillo
Briere- Carter - Hartnell
van Riemsdyk - Giroux - Asham
Powe - Betts - Laperriere

Pronger - Carle
Timonen - Krajicek
Parent - Coburn

New York Line Combinations

Moulson - Tavares - Park
Bailey - Nielsen - Okposo
Comeau - Schremp - Jackman
Tambellini - Weight - Sim

Streit - Gervais
Kohn - Hillen
Meyer - Reese

Starting Goaltenders

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Michael Leighton	29	1580	15	7		72	2.73	782	710	.908	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Dwayne Roloson	41	2374	20	14		116	2.93	1247	1131	.907	1

Questions To Answer

Does Michael Leighton put in another solid outing?
Can Dwayne Roloson prove to the Flyers that they should've gone out and picked up another goalie at the deadline... like, I don't know... him?
Tavares has two goals in four games against the Flyers. Does he break his loooooong funk tonight?
What's the point cushion in 6th place for the Flyers at the end of the night, and are they any closer to Ottawa when it's all said and done this evening?

Note the 7:30 start time tonight. The game is on Versus and 610 WIP. Join us here for the in-game discussion and LET'S GO FLYERS!

HBO Sports says its documentary on the 1970s Flyers (BROAD STREET BULLIES) will debut May 4.

2010-03-09T22:19:51Z

HBO Sports says its documentary on the 1970s Flyers (BROAD STREET BULLIES) will debut May 4.

-- Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch