Sand-dune-sea-of-sand

Perhaps this is the view from the Flyers locker room?

The nearest beach to Montreal is 180 miles away, so how did a bunch of sand get outside the Flyers locker room causing several players to have skate problems during yesterday's game? 

Mike Richards had to have his skates sharpened five times in game 4… that's exactly five times too many.  Sand scratches skate blades, which causes player to lose their edge when they try to cut or turn. Yet somehow, it found its way to the rubber flooring outside the Flyers locker room.

How desperate does a team (or likely a passionate Canadiens staffer) have to be to tamper with the opposing team's skates? 

As we noted last week, a writer from the Montreal Gazette said the Flyers organization basically encourages the abusive behaviour of their fans.  That was in response to the Flyers showing a Broad Street Bullies video…

Well what sort of behavior does cheating encourage?

There is nothing bigger in Montreal than hockey, evidenced by the fact that fans rioted last week when Les Habitants beat the Penguins in the SECOND ROUND.  This is not sport, it's a way of life up there. It's important enough to cheat… and to take retinal scarring pictures like this.

Two unnamed Flyers players told Anthony Sanfilippo of the Journal Register:

“I don’t know where it came from, but it was definitely getting in our skates. To have that many skate problems in one game is rare, no, more than rare, it’s unheard of.”

Maybe the Flyers should return the favor and remove the rubber padding outside of the Canadiens locker room for game 5, but then again, it's probably not necessary since the Habs have failed to score in three of the four games in this series.  And what good did "sandgate" really even do yesterday?  The Flyers won 3-0.  Perhaps the sand saved it from being 7-0?

Lame Canadians.

Read more at MyFoxPhilly.com.

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.