Four-for-Four: The Hope Springs Eternal Edition

FLYERS

Feb 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Brayden Schenn (10) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

SHAKING OFF THE RUST

The Flyers didn’t exactly get off to the post-Olympic start they probably wanted to. The 7-3 final against one of the Western Conference’s elite clubs was an eye-opening experience for the Orange-and-Black.

Far too many times this season, when matched up against a premiere team in the NHL, the shortcomings of the Flyers end up costing them in the form of an embarrassing loss. Good hockey teams are strong on the blue line and, frankly, the Flyers are kidding themselves if they think they can continue to get by with the despicable group that takes the ice.

There has not been a Stanley Cup Champion without a strength on the back end since the Carolina Hurricanes in ’05-’06. While the organization appears to be addressing their deficiencies in the draft, finally, young defenseman often take time to bring up through the pre-NHL ranks.

There are those that still clamor for the team to construct a package that would yield Shea Weber in a trade. The captain of the Nashville Predators was among the best players at the Olympics and at just 28 years old, the gargantuan defenseman would immediately step in and jump to the top of the ‘best player on the team’ list.

While I remain in the category of people that would personally saw off one of my fingers for Weber’s services in Philadelphia, acquiring him is a pipe dream that just will not die. For a bit of reality, Flyers fans, just accept the fact that the Nashville organization has no interest in trading away a player that they’ve already paid $26 million in signing bonuses. For now, the team might just have to wait and see what prospects like 1st round pick Sam Morin turn out to be, because they are not going to acquire Weber, ever.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

The only member of the Flyers to receive a medal at the 2014 Olympics in hockey was Kimmo Timonen, who received a bronze medal for team Finland.

As heartwarming as it was to see Timonen win a medal, he did not exactly shine in Finland’s final game against the U.S., despite the team winning. In fact, he almost single-handedly gave the Americans a chance at their only goal of the game.

Nicely done, Kimmo. Nicely done.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE?

After filling in for Steve Mason after the Flyers starter was blitzed by San Jose on Thursday night, Ray Emergy was forced to leave the game and Mason had to finish off the contest.

Normally, the Flyers are excellent at frustrating fans and the media with their ‘upper body injury/lower body injury’ diagnoses. To hear the Flyers coach explain a situation like this is somewhat telling. After watching his effort against the Sharks, is it possible that Emery was mailing it in? For a team to make a goalie change back to their starter after switching to the backup is very rare in hockey. Considering the team had no sort of explanation for the extent of Emery’s injury, it will be interesting to see how the organization addresses the situation in the coming days.