steal_your_faceoff

"All Geeked-Up for the Deadline..."

Newtown Square, PA • United States • 45 Years Old • Male

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo - Flyers Preseason 07

Translated from Italian it actually reads The Good, the Ugly and the Bad. Linguistics notwithstanding, Clint Eastwood's performance in the starring role in this 1966 spaghetti western, directed by Sergio Leone, is far and away the best Western ever made. Period. End of Sentence. It is in my personal top 3 favorites and forever enshrined Clint Eastwood as one of the baddest (and coolest) men in all of film.

I know you want to hear it. I know this haunting tune is running through your head, just about....now
http://www.soundamerica.c...av&tname=goodbadu.wav

I don't know about you, but when I hear that it makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. TMI, I know.


The scene of the mexican standoff at Sad Hill Cemetery between Blondie (Clint), Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) and Tuco (Eli Wallach) might be my favorite scene in all of moviedom and one of the best directed.

Thanks for indulging me. On to hockey. After a 5-0 victory against the Rangers, the Flyers lost 3-1 to a determined Devils team who showed grit and toughness - just what you would expect from the team from up the Turnpike.

The Good:


Simon Gagne picked up another point last night on a beautiful pass from behind the net to Danny Briere, who potted his first goal of the preseason. Briere and Gagne (and Knuble, as well) have begun to create some visible chemistry together. Gagne seems to be in a real groove in the preseason and a fast start by #12 might help further gel this line into one of the more deadly in the league.

The Bad:
The Bad just has to be the save that backup goalie Frank Doyle (who?) made on an attempted roof shot by Simon Gagne in front of the net with just 27 seconds left after a a key faceoff win by Mike Richards. Gagne was shaking his head at the bench looking up at the replay as Doyle stacked the pads and denied Simon a game tying goal. He was truly robbed. Tough luck on a great effort by Mr. Doyle - there is your 15 seconds of fame.

The Ugly:
Flyers agitator Steve Downie (5'10" 189 lbs) had an impressive showing in a fight against 6'6," 226 pound Rangers RW Hugh Jessiman, where Downie pummeled a guy who had more than 7 inches on him in height,. However, then came the The Ugly

After Jessie Boulerice had two rather decisive victories against Cam Jannsen when the Flyers played the Devils the last on September 17th, Boulerice was flattened as he took a one punch knockout from the right hand of Rangers' RW Colton Orr. Jesse got off a few quick punches before the right from Orr sent him to the ice. To his credit, Boulerice got up quickly.

Boulerice may have seen better days as an enforcer and it looks to be between he and Riley Cote - who has fought four times this year and done well - for the job as the new sheriff in town. My money is on Cote as the enforcer and Eager/Downie as the Pests who can play. Downie does not make the team, in my opinion, but I do like what I have seen out of him in his willingness to get dirty, score goals and play with intensity. Both Downie and, fellow 1st rounder, Claude Giroux have bright futures within the Flyers organization...just not this year. Where Downie brings the spit, Giroux brings the polish as he has shown flashes of brilliance in his play during and after the Summit Series and into the preseason with the Orange and Black.

Thanks for reading The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

SYF

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment.