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Nothing Lasts Forever
Flyers Edged by Expansion Thrashers
The Flyers, who hae been dominant lately
came into last night's game against Atlanta with
a 6-0-1 unbeaten streak. They had been great on the
power play, climbing to first in the league and good on the
penalty kill- in the top ten. They were also making good decisions
with the puck and their passing accurate. What happened
last night in Atlanta was simply poor execution of
all of the above. The Flyers weren't able to handle the puck and
seemed rusty after two days off from play. The Thrashers,
on the other hand, rebounded from a 5-3 loss to Washington
on Wednesday to beat the Flyers 1-0. The game's only goal
was scored by Dean Sylvester against Flyers backup goaltender
Brian Boucher, who was solid and made some valuable saves.
The Flyers had a lot of chances and ample time to tie the game.
But Daymond Langkow, who has been poor in the goal scoring
department lately, missed the net several times in the third period.
The worst was when he had a rebound and Atlanta goaltender
Norm Maracle was lying on his back with the net completely open.
Langkow fired it over the top of the net.
Maracle was nothing short of superb in the game, stopping
everything the Flyers threw at him. Despite outshooting
and outchancing Atlanta, the Flyers couldn't beat him. These
stats are misleading, as they sometimes can be. The Thrashers
were the better team. They were more aggressive and
used their legs more than the Flyers the entire game and
covered the Flyers' big guns excellently.
Jagr the Only Choice for the Hart so Far
Pittsburgh Right Wing Jaromir Jagr is the only candidate
for the Hart Trophy so far this season. Given to the player
adjudged to be most valuable to his team, Jagr has
proven his value to the Penguins. Provided he stays
healthy, Jagr will win the Art Ross trophy as the league's
leader in scoring. He has run off with the scoring lead
so far this season with his closest competitor, Mark
Recchi of the Philadelphia Flyers, 16 points behind.
Jagr's service to the Penguin's has not only been solid.
He has carried the financially strapped franchise to the
playoffs for at least the last two seasons.
With the firing of Pittsburgh coach Kevin Constantine,
Jagr can only start to put up better numbers. Under
the new head coach, Herb Brooks, Jagr has more offensive
freedom which means more scoring opportunity. Jagr is, of course,
one of the best finishers in the league, if not the best.
Jagr was vocal about his frustrations with Kevin Constantine's
defensive system which didn't give Jagr the freedom he
needed to perform his stunning talent. But, take it from
me, Jagr has his heart set on the Hart, and it doesn't look
as if someone will take it from him.
