Ice Hockey: Philadelphia Flyers

Originally posted by Osobad28
im not gonna lie i didnt think esche was this kind of goalie but i have been proven wrong obviously....he has done nothing but play superbly in net and if philly continues to play this way were gonna have a flyers/red wings final just like in 1997

Naw...Flyers/Sharks.

There's still alot of great hockey left and I hate to look ahead, but I would love to see the Flyers matchup with the Red Wings OR Sharks in the Cup finals. We still have to beat Toronto twice more and sure as heck cant look past the Tampa Bay Lightning who have been awesome all season and now Khabibulin has really stepped it up.

I also don't think its a given that Tampa will get past the Canadians.
Unless Belfour stands on his head....the Flyers will beat Toronto. It looked the Flyers were pushing them around at will.

How has "Rags" been playing for the Flyers. I hated to see him leave the Sharks. He and Rats made a great duo.

Originally posted by nyeff
I also don't think its a given that Tampa will get past the Canadians.
Unless Belfour stands on his head....the Flyers will beat Toronto. It looked the Flyers were pushing them around at will.

How has "Rags" been playing for the Flyers. I hated to see him leave the Sharks. He and Rats made a great duo.

Good point, although the Lightning absolutely dominated them in the first 2 games allowing only one goal total.

The Flyers have Belfour flustered already, they are crowding his crease and crashing the net and getting in the Eagle's head. The Flyers are a very physical team and are frustrating the Leafs, I think we'll see an all out war in one of these games, especially with Brashear and Domi chasing each other around. Pretty ironic they both scored last game.

"Rags" Ragnarsson has played solid defense for the Flyers and even had the game winning goal for the Flyers in game 1 vs the Leafs. He usually isn't too flashy but always solid, if you dont hear his name called during the game, that is because he is just doing his job. At the time I didnt like the trade either because I liked Danny McGillis but Rags is solid and McGillis is on Boston now.

*crosses fingers for Flyers-Sharks Stanley Cup*

there is no way the sharks would be the wings 4 times. I just dont see that happening whatsoever. Therefor it will be a flyers/wings final or a lightening/wings final. The lightening are on fire and are very dangerous.

Originally posted by Osobad28
there is no way the sharks would be the wings 4 times. I just dont see that happening whatsoever. Therefor it will be a flyers/wings final or a lightening/wings final. The lightening are on fire and are very dangerous.

I think it is the other way around. No team can beat the Sharks 4 times this year. It hasn't happened all year. There is a reason why the Sharks had 104 points,finished 1st in their division, and 2nd overall in their conferance,they are that damn good. And no team has taken them seriously this year. That has come back to bite those teams in the butt. They destroyed the Blues,they are dominating the Avs(3-0) and should finish off the Avs tomorrow. It looks like this series might be easier than the 1st round series for the Sharks. They could end up well rested for the finals.

Rags will give the Flyers solid defense. And very few worries. Every now and again he has a brain fart,but the are few and far between.

[Edited on 4/27/2004 by nyeff]

the avs have zero defense...they are purely an offensive powerhouse with a mediocre goalie. The sharks have a good enough defense and goalie as to where they are perfectly fit to dominate the avs. Detroit will sweep the sharks when the time comes. im calling it here first.

I believe the Wings/Sharks split their season series. The Wings owned the Sharks the 1st time they met. The Sharks beat them the rest of season. The refs gave the Wings their 2nd win.
Wings are to old,slow and do not have the depth the Sharks do. Patty,Cheecoo,Korky,Smith and the rest of the Sharks forward will be skating circles around the Wings D.
Sharks will win in 5.
You heard it hear 1st.

[Edited on 4/27/2004 by nyeff]

Hey, nice to see you back around Osobad!!

Sounds like you might be looking past Calgary a bit who just won tonight to go up 2-1 in the series. I think the Wings will bounce back but I also think that it will go 7 games and Kiprusoff seems to be the hotter goalie right now, you never know.

Those Lightning are looking really impressive. I hope the Flyers win tomorrow night to grab a 3-0 lead in the series against Toronto.

You are right PA, we should not overlook the Flames just yet. I do believe the Wings will come back and win the series,but it won't be easy. The Wings are just too old. And the Flames are coached by Sutter, he loves a strong defensive team that hits hard. The Wings will be hurting after this series.

I really hope I get chance to was Philly tonight. Next to the Bruins they are my favorite eastcoast team. I love there style of play. Hard hitting D, and forwards that love to crash the net. I have been impressed by Esche as well. I think he was the "find" of the year.
With any luck, maybe one of the Phillies forwards can plant Belfour into the boards. Just for $hits and giggles.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson will miss the rest of the playoffs after breaking his left index finger in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Ragnarsson was scheduled to have surgery on Friday afternoon. He played just three shifts Thursday night in Philadelphia's 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning that put the Flyers behind 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.