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Here comes da' Ray Emery bandwagon, DE • United States • 15 Years Old • Male
As wild and crazy as this game was today, the Flyers had a chance to win this game. Down 3-1, the Flyers battled back to tie the game at 4, but late in the third period, a costly mistake ended up hurting the Flyers. Marty Biron went out of the net, way out of the net for that matter, and misplayed the puck. Sidney Crosby was there to get the puck and score the game winning goal as the Pens defeated the Flyers 5-4 today. This was a back breaker, because the Flyers fought so, so hard to get this game tied up at 4, but a play like that is so deflating that you really don't know what to say. Obviously, we all know that Marty is not the best puck handling goalie in the league, but you just can't do what Marty did, just let your defenseman get the puck.

In the first period, Joffrey Lupul got the scoring started, as he scored his 17th goal of the season at 10:31 into the period. Lupul should be the next Flyer to reach 20 goals, barring an injury. About a minute after Lupul's goal, enforcers Riley Cote and Eric Godard dropped the gloves and threw some good punches. You can literally mark it down that these two will drop the gloves every time these two play, and Riley won this fight today. The Flyers had a lot of energy in the first period, and they were getting some nice scoring chances against Marc-Andre Fleury.

Doesn't it just really annoy you when a team gives up goals in the beginning and end of periods? Well it really annoys me because the Flyers did so early in the second period. Just 21 seconds into the period, Sidney Crosby scored his 21st goal of the season to tie the game at 1. Giving up goals has been a problem for both teams this season, and it showed right there. Later on in the period, Evgeni Malkin scored a power play goal to give the Pens a 2-1 advantage. Jeff Carter was in the penalty box for cross checking when Malkin scored. About five minutes later, former Flyer and current Flyer killer Ruslan Fedotenko scored to give the Pens a two goal lead. In this period, the Flyers were just terrible, they didn't get the puck to the net, and they let the Pens have it their way.

The third period was a different story though. With the Flyers shorthanded early on in the period, Mike Richards did it once again. He scored a shorthanded goal to cut the Pens lead to 3-2. It's like every time Richie gets the puck in a shorthanded situation, you can bank on it being a goal because Richie has done this regularly. Here is the amazing stat. With Richie's shorty today, it was his 7th shorthanded goal of the season, tying the Flyers record for shorties in a season. Richie should be able to break the record sometime this season, eh? Three and a half minutes after the shorty from Richie, Braydon Coburn tied the game at 3 with his 7th goal of the season. The fans at the Wachovia Center were buzzing after that goal. However, that Fedotenko guy burns us again. Rusty scored his second goal of the game to give the Pens a 4-3 lead. You thought the Flyers were done, eh? You're wrong because Mike Knuble scored his 21st goal of the season to tie the game at 4. The way this period went, it looked as if the Flyers were going to win this game because they had the game in their own hands, but unfortunately, a bad play was the difference in this game. Late in the third, Marty Biron was coming way out of his net to play the puck, but it came back to bite him because the puck went past him, and Sidney Crosby was there to get the game winner, his second goal of the game. This is where Marty needs to just let the defenseman play the puck. It's very unfortunate that the Flyers have to lose in this fashion because of the fact that the game winning goal they gave up shouldn't have went in the net, plain and simple.

Game Summary
First Period
Scoring
PHI- J. Lupul(17), Asts: S. Hartnell(22), J. Carter(26) 10:31 Flyers 0-1
Penalties
PHI- S. Hartnell, Cross Checking 2 min 1:09
PHI- K. Timonen, Roughing 2 min 1:20
PIT- J. Staal, Tripping 2 min 2:27
PIT- E. Godard, Fighting(major) 5 min 11:48
PHI- R. Cote, Fighting(major) 5 min 11:48
Second Period
Scoring
PIT- S. Crosby(22), Asts: R. Fedotenko(13), E. Malkin(59) 0:21 Tie 1-1
PIT- E. Malkin(27), PP Asts: P. Sykora(20), S. Gonchar(2) 7:14 Penguins 2-1
PIT- R. Fedotenko(12), Asts: P. Dupuis(8), S. Crosby(54) 12:09 Penguins 3-1
Penalties
PHI- J. Carter, Cross Checking 2 min 5:44
PIT- E. Malkin, Hooking 2 min 14:19
PIT- E. Malkin, Unsportsmanlike Conduct 2 min 14:19
Third Period
Scoring
PHI- M. Richards(23), SH Asts: Unassisted 3:07 Penguins 3-2
PHI- B. Coburn(7), Asts: M. Carle(12), M. Richards(36) 6:37 Tie 3-3
PIT- R. Fedotenko(13), Asts: S. Crosby(55), P. Dupuis(9) 9:50 Penguins 4-3
PHI- M. Knuble(21), Asts: M. Richards(37), S. Gagne(31) 14:25 Tie 4-4
PIT- S. Crosby(23), Asts: P. Dupuis(10) 17:25 Penguins 5-4
Penalties
PHI- S. Upshall, Tripping 2 min 2:14
PIT- P. Dupuis, Hooking 2 min 9:57
PIT- S. Gonchar, Roughing 2 min 15:11
PHI- S. Upshall, Slashing 2 min 15:11

Goalies
Pittsburgh Penguins
#29 Marc-Andre Fleury(W): 23 Saves on 27 Shots
Philadelphia Flyers
#43 Marty Biron(L): 22 Saves on 27 Shots

THREE STARS OF GAME(Wayne Fish- Bucks County Courier Times):
1. #87 Sidney Crosby PIT
2. #26 Ruslan Fedotenko PIT
3. #18 Mike Richards PHI

Next Flyers game: Tuesday night @ Washington Capitals 7pm CSN-HD
Filed Under:   Flyers   Richie   Biron   Pens   Crosby   Malkin  
February 21, 2009 5:58 PM ET | Delete
he has Crosby coming in on him with the 2 dmen behind him so he tried to beat sid to the puck.. which he did.. the throwing of the puck tho.. thats what I dont understand...
February 21, 2009 6:06 PM ET | Delete
I listened to the postgame of Stevens on the radio during my ride home from the game. Apparently if Biron tried to freeze the puck that far out of the net, its an automatic penalty. That's why he tried to flip the puck back to a defesemen. Regardless, Biron shouldnt have been that far out in the first place.
February 21, 2009 9:59 PM ET | Delete
It wasn't just Biron. He gave one away. If you listen to Richards after the game he said he gave 2 away himself. If I were Marty at that point, I would have taken the penalty.
February 21, 2009 11:31 PM ET | Delete
you have to take the penalty...tossing the puck blindly behind you is not the smart move. Biron lost another one. Will someone pleeeeease, tell Homer to get a top notch goaltender...
February 22, 2009 12:19 AM ET | Delete
Biron is a moron. Take the damn penalty. Why would you blindly toss the puck behind your back when you are that far from the net. He really made me sick watching that. He again costs the flyers a point himself. I know goalies are supposed to make a big difference in a game but they are normally supposed to help you win. I don't see how anyone on that team has any confidence in him because i know i don't.
February 22, 2009 9:09 AM ET | Delete
I agree it was a stupid play. Why wouldnt he toss it into the corner, not center ice? I was at the game, the place was going nuts. Also, we have atleast 8 chances in the crease that could have been buried and we missed the net. We need to pull it together. Hopefully Holmgren makes another great deal.
February 22, 2009 10:06 AM ET | Delete
Biron sucks.
February 22, 2009 10:06 AM ET | Delete
Biron is officially my least favorite roster Flyer
February 22, 2009 5:25 PM ET | Delete
he didnt need to slide out anyway because dupuis isnt a threat and he barely had control of the puck he could have a made a poke check closer to the net
February 22, 2009 6:45 PM ET | Delete
Dupuis isnt a threat? wasnt it Dups who from the boards in OT beat nitty high glove side on a weak shot? hell Riley Cote could be a threat with a possible breakaway
February 22, 2009 6:45 PM ET | Delete
I believe it was the 1st game against the pens this year
February 22, 2009 7:48 PM ET | Delete
It was an exciting game but you gotta play smarter at crunch time.
February 23, 2009 2:11 PM ET | Delete
I agree with everyone about the Flyers needing a #1 goalie. Biron is a backup and nothing else.
February 23, 2009 4:56 PM ET | Delete
Apontello, I agree. I've tried to be as patient as I can be with Marty and Niitty, and I like them both, but to get to the promise land, we need the rock between the pipes. That is what is holding us back. The offense has been great, our defense has played well, but our goaltending is inconsistent. I'd like to keep Niitty and go out and get another goalie, maybe a cheap solid goalie with lots of potential(Josh Harding, RFA at end of season). Josh Harding will get an offer from someone, maybe the Flyers should look into that.
February 24, 2009 10:25 PM ET | Delete
It's not about the goalie. Hockey is all about TEAM Defense. That means forwards, defensemen and goalies. Just look at how great Biron was last year during the run, until Kimmo and Coburn went down. Both goalies on the Flyers are fine for a playoff run. Hell the way they have been going lately they could swap guys back and forth. The playoffs are about balanced scoring and team defense. Look at the teams that win. Last year Detroit does not win if Franzen doesn't carry the 2nd line during the playoffs. With Danny coming back the Flyers have the most balanced offense in the league, there is not a team that can boast a better top 9 rotation. On defense, they are deep with a nice top 6 and a nice 7th player that can be plugged in anywhere. In goal, I prefer Nitty, but there is not much difference between the two.
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