The Flyers did it yesterday. They got a win on the road and knotted the series up at one apiece. And, it is all because of Martin Biron who did the Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde routine when he shut out the Capitals. And, John Stevens even intimated that he might yank Biron if he didn't have a good game on Sunday.
I was shocked to see him play at this level yesterday. Never did I think the Caps would win yesterday. There was something just...different about the Fly guys yesterday. They played like they were not going to allow the Caps in the game at any time as opposed to playing hockey's equivalent to the "prevent defense" on Friday night.
Biron earned his third shutout in four games. I am still not sold on him. Of the two shutouts at the end of the season one was against a Penguins team that didn't put their best foot forward. The Jersey game was a good win though. So, that's two shut-down performances in four games for Biron.
Now, if they come to the Wach and he plays like this again I'll start to become a believer. Yesterday was a hell of a start. The Flyers typically need games to be high scoring in order to win and their defense rarely has stepped up. On Sunday they did their part.
And, Biron certainly did his.
It's a brand new series now as the Flyers tied it up and head to Philly. This is what it's all about. The Wach will be rocking on Tuesday night. It's been two long years since we've had playoff hockey and we'd all like to forget that series against Buffalo when Danny Briere put on a sweater for them.
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Sixers falling apart
Meanwhile, there's another playoff team in town who is leaking oil and alarming rate.
Since the Sixers clinched a playoff spot in Atlanta over a week ago, they have lost 3 of 4 games and are just 3-5 over their past 8 games.
For them to lay a turd against the Pacers on Friday night is a complete joke. There's no reason in hell for them to put up less than 80 points against a Pacers team coached by Jim O'Brien. Jim O'Brien is a poor man's George Karl and couldn't coach a bunch of cockroaches on how to defend a loaf of bread from invaders. He has to be the worst defensive coach in the league and has made a career out of dismissing offense for defense and yet he is somehow employed by the Pacers.
And, then the Sixers laid down in the 4th quarter against the Wizards on Saturday night-the same team they are supposed to be competing with for the 5th/6th seed. And, they executed their shots as poorly as they've done at any point this season.
Looks like they blew their wad when they went 19-5 during February and March. Now they look like a team that is just tired and confused.
I don't even see them winning a game in the first round with the way they're playing. They'll likely play Detroit now and it will be a sweep.
Don't get me wrong, it's a nice step for this young team to take, but it's also disappointing to see them crawling into the playoffs like Clint Eastwood's "blondie" character crawled through the desert in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."
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