Goonblog Bringing the Noise

As I sit here in the office, in what feels like 95% humidity regarding the storm clouds threatening rain and looking at the Scarlet Tanager in my back yard, I can only think of one thing. Hockey. Granted that can be said of pretty much everything I do, but today as I sit and enjoy my day off, I have hockey and metaphors on the brain.

The lack of physical play from the Flyers on Saturday kind of surprised me, and much like the threatening clouds outside, I think there will be a storm inside the Garden tonight like none of have seen in a while. Forget for a second that most of the Goonblog staff will be on hand for said event, that is a storm of a different kind, and let’s focus on the two teams on the ice for a moment.

This is a series that harkens back to the roots of Old Time Hockey. The orange and black of the Broad Street Bullies, vs. the black and gold of the Big Bad Bruins. There is a lot of bad blood between these two clubs, and I expected more of a physical tilt on Saturday. What we got instead, was an up and down affair in which the Bruins won a thriller in OT from the stick of Marc Savard. An ending that could have easily been a pitch for a new Disney movie about a plucky young group of hockey players that refuses to go down without a fight. It was a great game to be sure, but the feeling was it shouldn’t have gotten that far, and there was just enough of a physical snarl to it to set up a real slugfest in tonight’s pivotal game 2.

Saturday was not totally without a physical element. Mark Recchi, the Recchasaurus as it were, had his helmet knocked off twice. There were plenty of hits, and plenty of dirty looks, I just expected more scrums after the whistle, and maybe even a fight. Perhaps the flow of the game had something to do with it. Tuukka seemed content to stop play whenever he could, and when the game did get going, Philadelphia spent a good deal of the game trying to claw their way back in. Boston on the other hand, did indeed follow a good bit of their blueprint for success, and got in on the fore-check when they could. Like I said, it wasn’t a bad game, or a non physical game, I just expected a bit more snarl.

Tonight should be a horse of a different color to be sure. For starters, the Goonblog Staff is taking a field trip, so it’s gotta at least be a cool spot to be eh? Secondly, I think Philly may feel like they let one slip away on Saturday, both on the scoreboard, and on the penalty sheet. Thirdly, and this could be the most important, I expect the return of Shawn Thornton tonight. With the Marco Sturm injury, that re-opens a spot for Thornton, and it may give the Flyers an incentive to gain a competitive advantage by starting a fight with the seasoned Boston enforcer. It should be a great tilt tonight in Boston. If you are looking for the Goonblog team, just follow the noise. I’m sure we’ll be around there somewhere.