Friday, November 02, 2007

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Flyers, November 2nd

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

Didn’t we just do this yesterday?...Well, we’re doing it again today, because…THE FLYERS ARE COMING TO TOWN!

And you know what that means…uncouth Flyer fans…

“Yo!...Peerless, who you callin’ uncouth?”

Rocky?...Well, here is one of Philly’s favorite sons come to pay us a visit. Rocco, what’s going on?

“Hey, I just wanted to come to see how youse guys were gonna hold up against our Flyers.”

Well, what about them…what do you think of them so far?

“They’re great!...you should see dese guys hit. It’s like me’n Creed way back, remember that?”

Sure do, Rocky…what about Martin Biron?...he’s been a “rock” himself in goal.

“Hey, Peerless…you’re a funny guy, ya know? But this Biron – I think he’s really Marty Barone…you know, an Italian guy – he’s great! Flashin’ those pads…catchin’ those pucks…he’s got a better glove hand than that Clubber Lang guy. Geez…top-ten in wins, goals-against, save percentage…youse can’t do no better’n that.”

Speaking of Clubber, these Flyers still don’t seem to have the look of the old “Broad Street Bullies” teams…

“Hey…dese guys can hold their own, if ya know what I mean…seven fights in 11 games…and that Riley Cote has three already!”

You think he and Donald Brashear might have a go tonight?

“Hey, I’m lookin’ forward to it. Brash has the big left hand, but Cote is a real fireplug…kinda like I was…he just keeps punchin’”

How about Daniel Briere…he’s been the “good” free agent signing so far, it seems.

“Hey…I don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout ‘free agents’…nuthin’s free where I come from, ya know?...but this Briere, he’s a tough kid, even though he’s got that baby face.”

If you were to tell Caps fans who to look out for, who would you pick?

“Hey, Peerless…you don’t telegraph your punches when you’re in the ring, ya know what I’m sayin’?...but I’m thinkin’ the Caps oughtta be lookin’ out for Jeff Carter. He’s got six goals in 11 games so far, and he’s had three in five career games against the Caps.”

Well, Rock, what’s up with Simon Gagne?...he took that shoulder from Jay Bouwmeester a few games back and hasn’t been seen since.

“Yo, did you see that hit?...It was like that Russian guy I fought…Drago. Gagne’s been dizzy ever since. He’s been takin’ dese tests up in Philly…memorizin’ names and stuff like that…and he’s showin’ up about as punch-drunk as I was after I pounded Tommy Gunn into the front of a bus. He's dumber'n Paulie, ya know what I'm sayin'?”

Is he going to play tonight?

“I dunno, ya know?...he’s seein’ kinda slow, like when a guy throws a punch, and you’re still seein’ it, but he’s already hit ya, ya know?”

I think I do…so Rock, you seen this Ovechkin kid?

“He’s great!...I saw that hit he had last year…when he put that guy through the glass in Colorado?...geez, he hits harder than I do!”

That’s sayin’ somethin’, Rock…

“And he’s fast too…like Creed. Ya blink, and he’s either already hit ya eight times, or he’s around ya makin’ ya look foolish, ya know?”

So what do you think, Rock?...I’d guess you’re picking Philly to win tonight, eh?

“Hey, I dunno, ya know?...they lost three o’ their last four, and got beat pretty good in a couple, know what I’m sayin’?...and they’re not a great road team, either…they’re in the middle of a long road trip.”

Eight games, isn’t it?

“Yeah…Flyer fans are gonna forget how ta boo, ya know?”

Sure Rock…what’s been going on?...you guys have a horse show or something up there?

“Nah…worse…they had friggin’ Disney on Ice…I wanna stuff a left hook in Nemo’s face, already, ya know?”

I know, Rock…I get that feeling whenever I see another picture of Sidney Crosby…

“Yeah…me too…”

For the Caps, the object is to stop the bleeding. They’ve already endured a four-game losing streak in the early part of the season. Starting in on another streak just isn’t part of the plan. The Flyers present the kind of opponent the Caps should match up well against. They are good – so they will get the Caps’ attention – but not so good as to render the Caps uncompetitive. And, the Flyers are 3-4-0 on the road. Although Brent Johnson would seem to be the pick in goal tonight, given the pattern so far this year, his record against the Flyers is not pleasant to consider: 2-5-0, 4.78, .852.

Olaf Kolzig’s won-lost record isn’t really any better (12-18-3), but his GAA is respectable (2.63), and his save percentage is very good (.912). However, he did have that incident involving his knee last night, and while he finished the game soundly, one doesn’t know what might have transpired overnight. Nevertheless, the Caps have shown an ability to skate with just about anybody, and this is one of those “olde tyme” rivalry games that will get the blood up.

Caps 4 – Flyers 3.

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