I Need Some Oxygen

By: Patrice L. Leonard

I’ve given my heart a moment to slow back down to a healthier pace. Having just watched what I feel to have been one of the most highly entertaining games of the year for the Flyers, I feel as though I’ve been through the ringer. And I didn’t’ even play the game. I can only imagine the emotion those players felt tonight. They always seem to downplay a game like this. Make no mistake though, this game meant everything to them.

Philadelphia lost the game in a shootout. The sheer fact that this game had to go to a shootout just shows us that the correct teams are fighting tooth and nail for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. This contest had everything you could possibly want in a match-up between bitter rivals.

Determination was evident from the get go from both the Rangers and the Flyers. You could see it all over the players’ faces, from superstar all the way down to the back-up goalies. There was a hunger for victory so obvious I had to raid the fridge.

Robert Esche had a superb game, which included one of the best saves of the year. I’m not just talking for the Flyers; I’m talking in the NHL. He took on Jaromir Jagr one on one and beat him. Not just beat him, but slammed the door. Total and complete denial. I was saying, “Wow!” for at least five minutes afterward. He has certainly stated his case for starting in the playoffs.

Peter Forsberg was a monster out on the ice. He played defense to such a level that the Rangers didn’t know what to do or how to shut him down. The bodies were flying courtesy of Denis Gauthier and Branko Radivojevic. Martin Strakka probably won’t see straight for weeks. Brian Savage was back in the line-up which added an extra grit factor. Michal Handzus was, well, Michal Handzus. Mike Richards has proven that he is one tough customer. He’s fought in the last two games. This time he dropped the gloves against Halleweg, the very same Ranger who injured R.J. Umberger the last time these two teams met. Coincidence? I think not. Sweet revenge it was.

I’m painting a pretty good picture here but the truth is the Flyers lost this game. Oh, yeah, they still got one point out of it. They are still three points behind the Rangers in the Atlantic. Both teams have equal games left in the season. Every game counts. We don’t need home ice in the first round of the playoffs, but it would be an asset. What concerns me more is who our opponent would be if we end the year as the 5 th seed. I don’t know anyone who would welcome games with the Buffalo Sabres.

Our boys played with hearts on their sweaters tonight. It just wasn’t enough. It does get hard to look at these guys after a loss like this, after an effort like this. They look defected, as if they don’t know that there just wasn’t much more they could have done. They were successful in containing Jagr which was there one Achilles’ heel in the past six games against him. They kept him quiet and a non-factor, except for one assist. You would have thought that once they accomplished that feat, all else would just fall into place. Honestly, the same effort on a different day and the Rangers won’t have a chance.

I felt like I could have used a shot of oxygen when the winning shot went in tonight. My pulse was racing with excitement, emotion, disappointment. Anyone whose pulse wasn’t racing too, well, you just don’t’ have a pulse then do you?