Kit Kat Killers
Gimme a break. Gimme a break. break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar!”
Is there ever such a thing as a bad break? Whether you’re breaking off a candy bar, taking a an extra long lunch break, or breaking the Devils in the playoffs, it all sounds great. Ask students what their favorite thing about school is, and you’re like to get any, or all, of the following answers: lunch break, spring break, summer break, winter break, and/or Thanksgiving break. Too much work to do? Come on boss, gimme a break! We are a society of people that loves to kick back? And why not? Don’t we work hard so that we can enjoy life? But is every break really that good?
Remember what happened the last time that the Flyers went on a break after playing well? Think back to last February, and the Winter Olympics. Heading into the 17 day break, we swept a home and home against the Devils and Canadiens. At that time, New Jersey hadn’t become a total embarrassment (The team, not the state. The state has always been a POS). We came back from 2-0 deficits twice against them. The Habs too were a solid team. But after taking time off, we only won 6 out of the 16 games played in March. We followed that up with a 3-3 April, and you know how the playoffs went.
This year, it’s a bit different. We went into this break as the 2nd best team in the NHL; last year we were 6th in the East heading into the Olympics. And although we more than just a solid grasp of a playoff spot right now, there’s still more than half a season left to play. And unlike last year, we’re a much more consistent team. This time around, all the big names we have on paper are playing up to their potential and filling the score sheets.
However, the schedule coming out of this break isn’t very easy. The Flyers will head west to take on Vancouver, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Detroit before they come back to probably destroy the Devils. So that’s 3 of the top 4 seeds in the West, and a feisty bunch of quackers that beat us earlier this year, in our house. But let’s take it one step at a time. Tonight, we’re finally back on the ice against the Canucks. They’ve got the twins, they’ve got some youth, and they have one of the best regular season goalies in the league. The last time we beat them was 2008. Since then, they have an undefeated record against us: 1-0-0. Want more meaningless streaks? Ok: We haven’t lost in Vancouver since 1989, playing a total of 14 games. That’s pretty impressive, actually.
Going into tonight’s game will be similar to the San Jose game 3 weeks ago. It’s an unfamiliar, but very talented opponent. But we can win this game: I’m pretty convinced that we’re the deepest and best team in the league, and can only be stopped if we don’t show up. They key, of course, will be stopping the twins. Our secret weapon: Kimmo Timonen. Here’s the logic: the Sedin’s are Swedish, Timonen is Finnish. He’s going to unleash the fury on them. The rivalry their countries have is something unfamiliar to us. But let’s put it in context: Pat’s vs Geno’s. Think about it. Let it process. Allow it to sink in. Now do you understand? Yeah, thought so.
One other thing the Flyers have going tonight, compared to last year. We didn’t have all of our top players playing during this break. They relaxed. They rested. Now, it’s time to put in some work.
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