Division Champs!
Finally. Finally the bullshit regular season is over and it's time to play some real hockey.
Lavs:
The whole reason why we played the 82 games, was to get an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup.
The Flyers will play the Sabres on Thursday. No time has been announced (assuming 7 or 7:30).
Couple of thoughts:
– The switch: Apparently, the Flyers have one. They came out of the gate hard, scoring two goals in under a minute. They were then outscored by the Islanders, 4-1. The switch turns off as quickly as it turns on. The important thing will be keeping it "on" during the playoffs. When the Flyers play up to their capability, they might be the best team in hockey.
– Hartnell: Came to play last night. That second goal – the one where he lifted the stick, stole the puck and shot it over DiPietro right passed his god-awful circa 1992 style mask – was a thing of beauty. That's what players and coaches are talking about when they say "work hard." More of that, please.
– Mezzy: That wrist shot is going to win a playoff game in overtime. Book it.
– Briere: He is ready. The play where he caught an Islander from behind (I forget who and I'm too lazy to look it up) was another one of those "work hard" plays that had been sorely lacking of late. He is going to approach Roy Halladay levels of psychosis during this series with his former team. For real, Giroux is going to be tucking the kids in for a few weeks while Briere sharpens the couple's pool cues and tapes them inside of the false thumbs in his hockey gloves.
– Goalies: Something tells me either Bouche or Leighton (the horror) is going to see a lot of time in the playoffs. That is all.
– Lavs again: Tell me you wouldn't play hockey for this guy.
You're gonna wake up tomorrow, there will be a different atmosphere. It's playoff time.
– Mike Richards: Decided to wear his trademark Rednex Rebellion hat during post game interviews, instead of the Division Champions cap everyone else on the team was wearing. Nice.
Video of Lavs presser… after the jump. It is highly recommended you watch this before every playoff game. I'm going to listen everyday before I lace up my slippers and sprint to the basement. The man could inspire a chimp to casually place feces in the trash.
