NEW Flyers jersey information leak?

Reader John D. sends in the following (who will as well become a contributor for the Flyers on this blog, you interested? Shoot me an email over at bbrblog@gmail.com, now back to the topic!)

Thanks John for sending this in, really appreciated.

But folks, take it for what it's worth, John didn't get this from the team directly, so it's hardly a done deal, just a rumour.

Thought I'd let the hockey world know some inside information about the
Flyers new jerseys that will be out next year. I was at the Flyers main
practice facility today (in Vorhees, NJ) and will be for the rest of the
week. On my way out, I was talking to the staff, and we were discussing
the new jerseys coming out in the fall.

Apparently, there will be a complete overhaul of the Flyers jerseys and
it will be released on September 14th. No one, even the staff, even
knows what it will exactly look like except for this clue (thanks to the
skate shop staff): "You know what the Buffalo Sabres wore last
year...Yeah, it's like that."

Next year, the Flyers will be sporting 2 new jerseys - a black and a
white model. There will be NO THIRD JERSEY next year. When there is
one though, it will be an orange one. It is most likely going to be
released after this upcoming season or the season after that.

I hope I helped! I know it's not much information, but thats all there
is right now. I'll give regular updates when I get them.

John will also be given updates once he joins in officially on this blog!

-The Detroit Red Wings signed former Blues captain Dallas Drake to a 1-year contract worth just above league minimum at $550 K.
Drake is still effective, even at his current status, and for that price, he may just turn out to be a bargain, much like Yannic Perreault was last season with the 'Yotes.

-Speaking of em 'Yotes, Phoenix has signed former Flyers forward, Mike York to a 1-year deal.
York will net $1 millon over the course of next season before being eligible to hit the UFA market once again.
York's career has slown down big time after a few succesful seasons with the Islanders, he was dealt mid-season to the Flyers, along with defenceman Alexei Zhitnik (later passed on to Atlanta) for centre Randy Robitaille and poitman Freddy Meyer,

How slow, you ask?

I think a downfall from 53 points with the Isles in 2005-2006 to just 21 points in two-half campaigns with New York and Philadelphia is more than enough cause for concern.

-Among other news, the Stars picked up tough-guy Todd Fedoruk today, signing the enforcer to a 1-year/$850 K contract likely to drop the gloves on more than a few occasions next year.
The Canucks agreed to terms with defenceman Aaron Miller on a 1-year contract, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

--BBR

Game 7: Dallas @ Vancouver

Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks will host the Dallas Stars in what promises to be an epic game 7.

The words "game seven" sometimes there is a pit in your stomach or the hair stands up on your neck.

In a game 7 situation, every shot, save, rebound, penalty, dump in, line change and many other things will be magnified. It is a time where the best players have to be great, and unlikely heroes emerge.

In a game 7 situation, all the players will leave it all on the ice. Tomorrow is guaranteed for only one team. The team who wins will celebrate for a few hours before traveling to their next destination, with almost no rest. The team who loses, will sit and wonder what else they could have done.

As close as this series has been, both teams are deserving to win. Vancouver took 3 of the first 4 games, including 2 overtime games, one of them being the 6th longest game in NHL history when Henrik Sedin scored in the 4th overtime. Taylor Pyatt scored the winner in game 3, and an old guard for the Canucks, Trevor Linden, scored late in game 4 to give the Canucks 2 wins in Dallas. The Canucks won their 3 games, each by one goal. Roberto Luongo has quieted skeptics, in his first playoff series in his seven-year career.

Dallas put in a big effort to win game 2 in Vancouver, and then stellar perfomances by Marty Turco have put the Stars in position to complete the come back. He has quieted his critics for now. Dallas won all of their games via the shutout, including a 1-0 OT win on a goal by Brendan Morrow in Vancouver.

So let us sit back and watch this game 7, the only one of the first round. The entire hockey world will consume one of the greatest nights in sports. The intensity of game 7 are unmatched, and this one will be no different.

Mike Ribeiro falls for Trevor Daley...

This is good.

That's a pic of Ribeiro and Trevor Daley "celebrating" their Game 2 win over Vancouver, they look awfully close do they not?

He also said he was "happy" the Canadiens were not in the playoffs earlier this week, looks like he's having fun in Dallas...you know what, this come to mind now, it's funny because I read a rumour suggesting that Ribeiro was available and the Habs were going to try and get him back in the offseason...

Yeah...RIGHT!

Look where Daley's "let" his hand go...

I was right about Ribeiro being caught with a man!

"Let's wait until tomorrow when Mike Ribeiro gets caught with a man..."

You're staring at Henrik Sedin, then all of a sudden: a Slim Fast bar appears...

Some television viewers who stayed up late to watch Dallas' first-round playoff game against Vancouver might have missed Henrik Sedin's fourth-overtime goal.
The game was televised on Versus, and the network said Thursday it received reports the game was switched to an infomercial during the last overtime.

That "infomercial" part cracked me up, and I'm still cracking up while writing this now.

Imagine staying up 'till 3:00 AM and...there's Sedin in front of Turco, you're on your feet, he's about to let it go...and...you drop your beer in the process, you look down and pick up that all-important Molson Ex bottle...you immediately swivel your head towards the television screen...and...you see a limited time offer on Slim Fast bars...

Wow, imagine being a Stars fan and missing out on that all important moment, or, even worse, a Canucks fan missing out on Henrik potting one and giving you the winner while you sulk on the phone arguing with miss Bradshaw on how the infomercial caused you to grow an ingrown toenail, and, she advises you of an infomercial on now that could you help treat that.

My little story just cracked me up too...

8:03 PM: The Rangers lead the Thrahers 2-1, the Wings are on top of Calgary 2-0.

-Take a look at this...

Okay, now I'm having too much fun.

The playoffs have started...

Marty Turco works out at General Motors place right in front of the nicely-designed zamboni

STARS vs. CANUCKS
Game 1; VAN leads 1-0

1st
05:06
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
08:35
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
16:13
BIEKSA, K. : Interference - 2 min

3rd OT
03:16
BIEKSA, K. : Hi-sticking - 2 min

Now, count how many penalties our friend Kevin Bieksa took last night and you will know how many overtimes the Canucks and Stars played last night at General Motors Place in Game 1 of their series.

Yes, they played 4 overtimes, it was the 6th longest game in NHL history.

Marty Turco actually played a decent game, and made 51 saves in a losing 5-4 cause to the Northwest champions.
His counterpart, Roberto Luongo, made an astonishing and mind boggling 72 saves in his first ever career playoff game, a new record.

And the one to end it all, was Henrik Sedin, who at 18:16 of the fourth overtime, picked up a pass from (come on, guess)...Daniel Sedin and put the puck through the legs of a tired Marty Turco, to give the Canucks a one-game lead over the Dallas Stars.

Ladislav Nagy scored his first playoff goal in nearly a decade, his last one dating back to 1999 when he was still with the Blues.
I was too tired to watch this game last night, first I watch Ottawa cream Pittsburgh, then I watched the Sharks top the Preds, I think that was enough playoff hockey for me.
------
PENGUINS vs. SENATORS
Game 1; OTT leads 1-0

It was all Senators from the start.
As I tuned on to CBC to watch another Canadian team other than my Canadiens, I actually wanted the Sens to make (isn't it about time?) a serious run to win the Stanley Cup.

They sure looked like Cup contenders to me against the tough but inexperienced Pittsburgh Penguins in their first game last night, pounding them 6-3, although it was never close.

Jeremy Roenick, on TSN last night, put it best:
Sidney Crosby looks like a 19-year old out there.

That's all you need to know on how the Penguins played last night; most of their players had yet to skate on playoff ice let alone win a playoff game, their loss wasn't too unexpected.
Marc-Andre Fleury looked shaky in the first period, allowing two goals in the first eight minutes of the game, one that he should've stopped against defenceman Andrej Mezaros.

It didn't help the Scotiabankers were chanting his name "FLEUUUUURRRY!" continuously. (Habs fans may remember the last playoff series before the lockout, when the Habs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Bruins and it was all because of literally speaking, the fans who didn't stop abusing poor Raycroft...RAYYYYYYCCRRROFT!" )

Fleury settled down after, but in the third period, the Sens already had a 6-1 lead and many grumbled at a call that disallowed Sidney Crosby's goal in the second period, that would've put the game in realistic reach for Therrien's Pens, but no, it was waved off and I agree, Crosby went to the crease, the rebound went off Ray Emery and right to Crosby's legs who slid the puck in the goal as he was skating towards him.

Maybe it was a bad call, but from the angle I saw it, I wouldn't have ruled it a goal either.
Jocelyn Thibault played the last 5 or so minutes of this contest and it's likely he will start Game 2 for the Pens.

The Pens had something like 6 straight powerplays in the last ten minutes of the game, had they converted on 2 or 3, they could've made a serious run to tie the game.

Sidney Crosby scored in vengeance but it was no use as the Pens fell to the Sens 6-3 at Scotia Bank Place last night.

Daniel Alfredsson played a wicked game, the guy had like 15 shots on goal last night (it's probably not that) and played like a real captain.

-------
SHARKS vs. PREDATORS
Game 1; SJS lead 1-0

Just a quick recap for you...Jonathan Cheechoo left the game and blew his right knee out, after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Scott Hartnell in the second period.

The Sharks still ended up winning despite blowing a 4-2 lead.

Patrick Rissmiller picked up a nice pass from Pat Marleau and snapped it by Tomas Vokoun to give the Sharks a 5-4 OT win, sorry 2OT win.

Our friend Craig Rivet scored on a 5-3 for the Sharks and even had an assist.
Mike Grier, Milan Michalek and Matt Carle scored the other goals for San Jose.

Rookie Alexander Radulov and JP Dumont scored twice for the Preds who drop game 1 to the Sharks.

-------


WILD vs. DUCKS
Game 1; ANA lead 1-0

Here we go, my Wild were in Anaheim to take on the Ducks.

The game wasn't particularly exciting, but nonetheless, the Ducks prevailed 2-1 over Minnesota.
With about 5 minutes to go in the hockey game, Dustin Penner swiped at a puck supposedly under Nicklas Backstrom in the crease and buried it behind a fallen Nicklas Backstrom with a Kim Johnsson on him.

"I watched the replay and I was sure it was under me and nobody saw the puck," Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom said. "Of course, you're going to get the puck out from a goalie if you slash at it with your sticks.

"I don't know if he stopped the puck or whether he was right on top of it or if it was under the pad," Lemaire said. "He waited a bit and they whacked the puck right in."

Hmm, I learned this in pee wee, when the puck is under the goalie for 2 seconds, a whistle is supposed to be blown, I guess it wasn't this time Jacques.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere didn't play for the Ducks, Ilja Bryzgalov (their hero last year in the playoffs) started and made 24 saves.
Giguere's newlyborn son had a condition that could keep him blind in his right eye, however, fortunately, a specialist told the Ducks' goalie and his wife that he will have sight in that eye.

"We felt that the emotional roller coaster Giguere has been on, it was more beneficial to let him get his feet underneath him," said Randy Carlyle after being asked why Giguere didn't play.

Teemu Selanne and Pavol Demitra scored the other two goals of the game, a game that was relatively speedy and creative, but low-scoring.
I especially liked Demitra's goal, he took a slap shot 15 feet from Bryzgalov and the puck was just wired over the goalie's glove.
Hey, ya sure that wasn't Brian Rolston (remember his shootout slapper on Luongo?) ?
------
And there's your first playoff recap, I hope I'll be able to post after every game...

Tonight, the Sabres take on the Islanders, should be an interesting game; the Devils take on the Lightning, boy that'll be fun to watch; the Thrashers play their first ever post-season game against the Rangers and the Wings will host the Calgary Flames.

Drumroll...Three-way tie...damn!

Andrei Kostitsyn, the new "AK" in town, scored this nifty one which proved to be the winner, in the shootot as the Canadiens beat the rival Leafs 3-2 last night at the Bell Centre...

The Canadiens and Maple Leafs both faced off yesterday at the Bell Centre in Montreal with the teams both needing points to advance in the ever-toughening Eastern Conference standings.
Before the game, the Canadiens sat in 11th place with 76 points, 2 behind the 8th spot Islanders and 1 behind the 9th spot Leafs.

Now?

Now they sit in a sticky three-way tie with the Islanders, who lost big in Florida yesterday, and the Leafs.

It was a fun-filled game for the most part.

Alex Kovalev came back into the lineup and played well partly on the 4th line and near the end of the game, on the 3rd.

Francis Bouillon dropped them...again, he did too against Atlanta a few games ago and got his *insert word here* kicked badly, against our favourite guy, come on, guess who?
He did alright against Darcy Tucker, landing him a few punches to the head and getting some back. The winner? Definitely Bouillon.
The two landed 5 minute majors to end the first period and returned in the second.

The 1st period was more or less end-to-end hockey, with both teams gaining momentum they forced each other on defence constantly, there was none of this "New Jersey Devils" crap.
The forecheck and body was on and there were shots on net.

Jaroslav Halak FINALLY gave the Canadiens some kind of goaltending, playing great, making key saves for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge and keeping his head up all game long.
He also kept his head up when in the same period, Leafs captain Mats Sundin attempted a wraparound and the young Slovakian shut the door.
Sundin's reaction was one of the many let go by the referees last night, who did a pretty horrible job in this department.
He just lifted his stick under the chin of Halak and pushed his mask up, RIGHT NEXT TO THE DAMN OFFICIAL, Andrei Markov amazed of the no-call, yelled at the official during the play.
He made 37 saves including big ones on Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker in the shootout.

"I thought he played really, really well, especially in the third period when Toronto came out strong," said coach Guy Carbonneau, who went with Halak after a bad outing by David Aebischer in a 6-3 loss in Pittsburgh on Friday night. "They got the puck to the net with traffic, so he had to make some big saves."

Andrei Kostitsyn, who's finally showing his potential the Canadiens drafted him to be, scored the first Canadiens goal of his abbreviated season, slipping it through the legs of Andrew Raycroft and a helpful screen Hal Gill on a left-wing rush from the Belarusian youngster.

"Let's settle down and don't push him," said Canadiens captain Saku Koivu of Kostitsyn who also had a goal in regulation and in the shootout. "He's a young, very talented player working his way up to the NHL."

Darcy Tucker had a bad night and must've taken on at least 7 hits.
He did not seem like the offensive force he should be and for some reason, was never in front of the net! Probably because he was afraid of getting hit by Mike Komisarek, who had a solid game as well and laid down a few nice body checks too.

I don't know, but I'll always be there if he wants to play physical," said Bouillon of Tucker "That's the kind of game I like to play in - so intense and physical, but with good hockey at the same time."

Saku Koivu had a good game and got his 60th point of the season by putting his 19th goal of the season behind Raycroft, backhand style, in the 2nd period of play.
This is Koivu's 3rd 60-point season and hopefully, he will continue to do the same each game.

Nik Antropov really surprised me.
I know of alll the criticism the kid takes for not being good enough but hey, he can hit and skate! He doesn't have much of a shot, but I was surprised at him putting the body on that often, it's even more surprising he's a European! (no pun intended)

Pavel Kubina is still not worth the money he's getting from John Ferguson Jr.
His goal was a lucky bounce off Chris Higgins in the 3rd to tie the game at 2 and send it to extra frames. He should be a superstar, but, he's not, and he's a HUGE waste of $5 million a season.
Despite his injuries, he should be doing a lot better.

Too many Leafs fans in the Bell Centre uhhh, it was paining to hear them scream go Leafs go along with pissed Habs fans go Habs go to give go Laffs go!

Yanic Perreault played a good game, however, he's better than a 4th line centre.

Sheldon Souray had a few braincramps last night...and imagine, he's like -20 and he has 23 goals this year, what if he didn't have all those goals? -33? -40?
God...

Kyle Wellwood is a good player. I like him a lot and he's very dangerous, the most creative passer in the game today, he set up Kubina with a nice back pass to tie the game in the 3rd and scored himself the other Leafs goal to tie it up in the first, finishing a pretty passing play.

Andrew Raycroft played how the Leafs want him to play. Ok, he'll give up the occasional softie, but all-around, he kept his team in the game.

Mike Modano scored twice liked I predicted a few lost posts ago...he's now 1 goal away from becoming the all-time American-born top scorer and a pass to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Stephane Robidas was taken off on a stretcher after a cou-cou play by the seemingly over zealous Jordin Tootoo.

Eric Brewer pushed the Oilers' streak to 10 in a row, scoring 2:04 into overtime against his former team in a 3-2 Blues win. One more loss and the Edmonton Oilers will tie the franchise record of 11 losses in a row, set 13 years ago.

Mike Comrie honored his mother, who died of breat cancer when he was just 10 years old, and used a pink stick in honor of her in a 3-2 Senators win over the falling Flyers.

Martin Gerber got the start in net against Philadelphia and Dean McCammond and Wade Redden also helped out Comrie with pink sticks...

Brendan Morrison scored a shorthanded goal against the Wings to give them a 4-1 win in a crucial matchup in the West. Roberto Luongo made 32 saves.

Chad LaRose scored twice as he switched to center in a 7-2 mauling of the New Jersey Devils which put Carolina in the 7th spot and solidified its chances of an encore playoff run.

Dave Lewis was not pleased as the Bruins lost 7-0 in MSG, humiliating the coach and the players. Tim Thomas gave up 3 goals on 15 shots and Lewis put waiver claim Joey MacDonald in.

"Excuses are for losers," Lewis said. "We looked slow, weak, soft and
intimidated."

Updated standings
Playoff Push

Going to the Bulldogs-Cruch game at the Bell Centre today, boy, can't wait!

Mike Ribeiro sex scandal got him traded from Montreal?

From Francois Gagnon's blog, a respected Montreal journalist, translated from French.

When Mike Ribeiro made a 'dishonest' (probably sex) proposal to a girl of a member of the upper staff of the Canadiens, he was traded away. In his case, it was perhaps the last straw... But that doens't explain why the the Canadiens gave away their second line center for a defenceman who is not able to play regularly with a team desperate on defense...

Very interesting, though, a little exaggerated I find. No way Ribeiro was traded only for that, if he even was or maybe this is just a load of crap, but Ribeiro's soft play during the previous season, his inconsitency and his bad attitude cost him his job in Montreal. Gagnon is also exaggerating about the trade, as Montreal was lucky to get a player in return for Ribeiro, rather than a draft choice. Janne Niinimaa may not be the defenceman he was in New York, Philadelphia and Edmonton with Dallas, but Bob Gainey knew what he was doing.
He was dumping a whining, underachieving and fan-frustrating forward in exchange for a veteran defenceman, who's maybe lost his hockey sense after a potentialy drastic surgery he endured.

But anyhow, Janne Niinimaa is a good guy, and when he plays, he tries his best; I'm not saying he's played well this year, far from that, but he's helped Montreal when needed during injuries to Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Bouillon, and Andrei Markov.
The bottom line is: Janne Niinimaa is a different player than Mike Ribeiro; he tries hard, something Ribeiro NEVER did, and he's a good guy in the lockeroom, certainly not Ribeiro's style either.

I'm not convinced that's what happened though...

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

8 scouts last night at Kings-Avs game...

Over at the Denver Post, Terry Frei just reported 8 teams (rumoured to be Chicago, Vancouver, St. Louis, NY Rangers, Dallas, Boston, Columbus and Tampa Bay) were in attendance for last night's Kings-Avalanche game).

The possible shoppings from both teams are believed to be:

Brent Sopel: Los Angeles is rumoured not to want a mountain of players for him, most likely a mid-round draft pick. Sopel can be an affordable option for teams wanting to bolster their blue line. He is also more affordable than Sheldon Souray.

Aaron Miller: Might attract some attention for teams in need of depth...

Ossi Vaananen: With the injury to defenceman Jordan Leopold, Vaananen's chances of being dealt have likely diminished, unless the Avs make a same position swap and trade Vaananen for another defenceman.

Ken Klee: Klee is aging quickly and he has not been as effective this season as he was with Toronto and New Jersey last season. If he is dealt, he will be for at best a mid-late round pick for teams seeking depth.
Don't look for teams to sacrifice much or trade any young players such as New Jersey did (Aleksander Suglobov)last season.

Ian Laperriere: Slight drop-off from last season, Laperriere is a checking centre with a light offensive side.