“They’re a team that likes to play physical. If they think they can bully you around, they’ll use that to their advantage. We’re going to make sure, first of all, that we establish our physicality in the game.” — Blues coach Andy Murray

Two of the highest penalized teams in the league tonight. Two of the top five teams in fights. It could be a circa 1970 West Division battle in St. Louis tonight.

“I considered returning to the Avalanche, but they are struggling (losing six of their past seven) and I didn’t want to take any space under the salary cap. I didn’t want to return to the Flyers after all my foot problems the last time I was there.” –Peter Forsberg, via Toronto Sun

Thank you, Peter. If he ever does get 100% healthy, I’d love him as a Flyer again. But we all know, and it looks like he does too, that it’s probably not going to happen.

Of course, I got some valuable experience because it was my first season in the NHL, my first playoffs. We started the playoffs very well, but it didn’t happen for us against Philadelphia. We just didn’t score enough. Last season during the regular season, we were the best team on power play, and I think we won a lot of games because of that. But in the playoffs we couldn’t score as often as we did in the regular season. Maybe that’s why we lost to Philadelphia, because we certainly weren’t weaker than them. Quite the opposite.
– Sergei Kostitsyn, via Puck Daddy

Didn’t score enough, Sergei? 19 goals in 7 games against Boston. 13 goals in five games against the Flyers. Sixth out of 16 playoff teams in goals per game. 33 total goals in the playoffs, which ranks fifth… that’s tops out of all the teams that exited in the second round. But nevermind that fact that you’re flat out wrong, if you’re saying is that you lost because you didn’t score enough, well that means you’re the weaker team.

You’re an idiot. Go back to getting dropped by Tim Thomas.

“His skills are something you’re born with,” said Flyers enforcer Riley Cote, who is in his second season as Carter’s road roommate. “It’s a blessing, a gift. I’ll never have what he has. He’s built to score.” –NHL.com

Would you have expected Cote and Carter to be roommates?

“I see too many kids going the wrong way. They don’t have the respect or the know-how to treat the sport - even Sidney Crosby. You see him bitching, whining and crying. He’s supposed to be the poster boy of our league and yet every time he gets hit, he’s grimacing and complaining to the referees. Veterans teach the kids the right way to play.”

Hat tip to NHL Fanhouse. Again, JR better come work for CSN Philly when he retires. That is if TSN or ESPN doesn’t scoop him up first…

Jeremy Roenick Calls Out Sidney Crosby (NHL Fanhouse)

I once sat next to John Buccigross at a Quinnipiac hockey game. Given that QU is in Connecticut, just 30 minutes from Bristol where ESPN is headquartered, it’s pretty much the only competitive hockey close to ESPN. So, Bucci brought his sons to the game. I didn’t want to talk to him during the game because I was afraid of bothering him (regretable, I should’ve at least said hi, but whatever), but I could tell that he has a passion for hockey. It comes out in his weekly column on ESPN.com, and in this week’s column, it’s clear he feels Flyers fans share that same passion.

In terms of passion and priorities, no American city can probably match any of the six Canadian cities. But, as I’ve written in this space many times, I believe Philadelphia is the premier hockey city in the United States in terms of the personality of its fan base. I think it’s the most loyal, passionate and supportive. A big reason for this is that the Flyers are a five-star organization in terms of how they treat players and chairman Ed Snider’s desire and passion to win.

The Flyers had a bad stretch in the early ’90s, but other than that, they have always had good and spirited teams. It’s just a very interesting vibe when you see a Flyers game in person. You can feel the fans’ presence make its way down to the ice.

St. Paul, Minn., certainly would be among the top cities because it is the epicenter of hockey passion in the United States. Nowhere is the culture of hockey participation greater than Minnesota. It is practically Canadian in that regard. From an NHL fan standpoint, fans there have bought every ticket to every Wild game despite not having a face of the franchise and playing a style that is, well, pretty boring. But I’m gonna give Philly the nod because the Flyers have been around longer and their history has been so compelling and interesting.

I’m not buying into this whole Capitals-Flyers rivalry thing quite yet. I find it cute that they’re trying so hard to get us to hate them. Isn’t Bruce Boudreau adorable? This whole thing is just so one-sided. We’ve got an Atlantic Division to worry about, silly Caps.

Regardless however, this quote from Jeff Carter is pretty damn funny (not to mention accurate).

The most startling turnabout was the atmosphere in the arena. Throngs traveling from Philadelphia usually match the home fans in noise if not in number, yet for the first time in memory the Flyers faithful were a minor blip when compared to a playoff-intensity Capitals crowd that sold out the building for the sixth straight game. Last year on this date, Washington had exactly one sellout for the entire season.

“They’re starting to get some fans now, I guess,” Philadelphia center Jeff Carter said. “We can’t buy all the tickets.”