Saturday, February 28, 2009

Traitor's Diary: Habs vs. Flyers

5:46 pm I arrived a bit earlier than usual, so I took a few minutes to take a couple shots of tequila from my flask. I put my Flyers shirt on over my Habs shirt, because I want to be able to get my camera in without being hassled.

6:04 pm The best part was the walk from the car to the Center. I saw a fair number of Habs fans, and for some reason, that made me smile. A few of them were stopping to take pictures along the way, which also warmed my heart. How cute! I really wanted to take off my Flyers shirt and join them in spirit, but I also really wanted to get my camera in.

6:12 pm I get in with no trouble, and head to the ladies room to make my transformation. Off comes the Flyers shirt, revealing the Kovalev shirt underneath. Yikes!

6:15 pm I make it out of the ladies room alive, but this is definitely uncomfortable. I need a drink for sure, so I had to the AT&T Pavillion.

6:16 pm I ask for a margarita, but I am told "we don't have margaritas." I get a tequila and orange juice instead. I wonder if the barkeep thinks I am from Montreal when she gives me the bullshit about margaritas, because I have had many a margarita from this very bar. Whatevs. I've got my drink and I head back to my seat for warmups.


6:20 pm I down my drink (man OJ and tequila goes down so smooth) and get ready for warmups. There are a couple of Habs fans right behind me, and I really wish I spoke French, so I could understand what they were saying. A Flyers fan asks them if they are local or if they came down from Montreal. They tell him they came by bus, which took them about 11 hours. Sheesh! I hope they're not turning around and going right back!

6:29 The boys come out for warmups. I take pictures. Kovalev is a total slacker during warmups. He leaves the ice a full 7 minutes before any other player. What a prima donna! I then remember that there are other players on the team and take some pictures of them too. I remember EP's request for pictures of Halak, and snap a few for her.

6:46 pm Warmups are over, so I head up to hit the head and grab another drink. I get lightly booed by some dude on the concourse, but so far that's been all. I guess it's not fun to boo a girl who is all by herself and doesn't push back.

7:04 pm Anthems. The Flyers fan behind me asks if I can lean forward so he can take a picture of my Kovalev shirt with his cell phone and send it to his friend. I guess so dude, but can't you just take it without asking me? And maybe not during the Star Spangled Banner? A little respect, dude.

7:07 pm Gametime. Ugh. Flyers score right off the bat, and right in front of me. This is not going to be fun.

7:?? pm It seems like the Flyers score again in like 30 seconds, but after watching the replay at home, I know it was about another 8 minutes between the first goal and the second. It really seemed much quicker than that, and really took the wind out of the Habs fans sails.

7:38 pm Well that was interesting. Habs lead 3-2. That was unexpected, and now I really fear for my life. Especially since the last goal was Kovy and I am in a Kovy shirt. Eek.

Intermission. I head to the ladies room and attempt to find some food, but damn the lines are long. I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you that I never stand and cheer for goals. Not even during the playoffs. I'm just not that kind of girl. I think this self-restraint will come in handy tonight. All night, I've been trying to figure out which will be worse for me: A Habs loss or a Habs win. Which one will get my ass kicked more?

Second and third periods: Maybe it's the OJ & tequila, or maybe this post is too long and I am losing interest, but not much memorable happened from my standpoint. The Flyers fan behind me was a little obnoxious, but not towards me. Lots of pucks hit the glass right in front of me, but since I'm a pro, I didn't flinch. It seemed like in the third period, the Flyers had scoring chance after scoring chance.

I went into jinxed fan mode late in the third when it was all tied up. I had my feet up on the boards during the third, and even though it was getting uncomfortable, I couldn't change position for fear it would jinx the Habs. I also desperately needed some lip balm, but since I hadn't put any on all period, I couldn't put any on. These are just two of my superstitions....usually they don't manifest themselves until the playoffs, but I guess we're getting close to that, eh?

Anyhow, you know how the rest of the game goes....Habs win, I make it out alive. The only trouble I had on the way out was when I was waiting for Rod to come out of Fan Gear. I was standing against the wall, checking my email, and some douche comes up behind me and yells "CANADA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" right in my ear. Um, thanks dude, I'm American, but okay.

All I can say is please baby Jebus, don't let the Flyers and the Habs meet in the playoffs. Although baby Jebus, I do need both of them to make the playoffs, so I guess they will have to meet again at some point, but yikes, that will be trouble for me.

I added a few more pictures to the Habs set on flickr...

Friday, February 27, 2009

Kova-love!

Thankfully, Kovalev would not make direct eye contact with me...

I'm not gonna lie, I love that the Habs won. They didn't deserve to win, and if I had been cheering for the Flyers, I would have been pissed to lose like that after that bullshit call on Upshall.

Sitting behind Halak was a bit unnerving as shot after shot came my way. How many times did Gagne skate down the ice unimpeded and just fire one at Halak? Too many times for me to keep track.

I'll post more tomorrow, I'm gonna go watch the game and see just how bad the Habs sucked.

Pictures from warmups here, if you're interested.

Happy Kovalev Day!!!


Fuck it. I was trying to be all neutral so the Flyers faithful wouldn't hate on me, but screw that. I've been looking forward to this game for two months now, and damn it, I'm gonna stop acting like I'm not excited.

Go Habs Go!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

So I guess there is a game today or something...

This picture pretty much depicts my torn alligence.

If you don't know by now where to go for Habs and Flyers updates, then you are beyond help. Check out the usual suspects.

I will be at the game tonight, front row right behind Halak 2x. Look for me. I'll be the one in the Habs shirt. I'll send some pictures and maybe an update from the game. Just ya know, to prove I'm still alive.

Apparently, there are other things going on in the hockey world besides the Habs coming to town today:

  • Don't look now, but the Panthers are right behind us in the standings. What?! Also, Jay Bo to Philly may be in the works. But what will we have to give up? I'm sorta okay with losing Lupul, but not with losing Coburn. Let's hope if Homer is going to do this, he does it soon so we can sleep at night.

  • Ah, all is right in the world. Brodeur returns, my hatred for the Devils is reignited. Actually, it's more like fear. Stupid donut eating goalie. And man, I know the Avs looked bad, but the Devils looked good. I actually slept through the second period and most of the third, but honestly, do we have to play them on Sunday? Let's just give em the two points and call it a day. That way, we can focus on prepping for the two remaining Panthers games we have this season. Until we meet them again in the playoffs.

Um, let's see, what else is going on? Oh yeah, Habs vs. Flyers...tonight at 7pm. Wish me luck!

Marty Biron wants me back. Flyers win.


Oh Flyers, you keep trying to win me back. It's starting to work.

Every game has playoff implications, and you're starting to play like you know it.

I was enjoying last night's game, up until the point where they had a "Great Goalies in Flyers History" montage on the jumbotron. They showed all the greats, and threw in a couple shots of Marty. It was heavy on the Hextall, of course. Then at the end, they cut to a shot of Hextall in his box, waving and smiling.

*clank*

The last time we had a tribute to Hextall, we lost to the Caps in amazingly shitty fashion. So now, with 8 minutes left in the game, I go into jinxed fan mode. I flip out and say "great, now we're going to lose." I was so pissed that they showed Hextall that I sulked and pouted for the rest of the game. This, my friends, is what happens when you care about a team. I HATE CARING ABOUT A TEAM! It's so stressful! I want to go back to the days of not caring whether or not the Flyers lose. I don't like being invested in what happens to them, it hurts too much.

Even when they win.

Damn you Flyers!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

I'm really trying not to be excited.

Game? What game? Oh is there a game this week?

Four more days!!! I'm trying to contain my excitement, but it's pretty difficult. I'm trying to play it cool, all nonchalant, like..."Oh, yeah, I guess there is a game or something this week."

First up is tomorrow night...I may get to watch part of the game. It's on at the same time as the Flyers game (of course), and so I may have to watch it on the little non-HD tv. Probably the person who pays the Comcast bill should get dibs on the TV for the Flyers game. One game starts at 7 and the other at 7:30, so that will help with the watching conflict.

Other than that, I don't have much to say, because if I really started saying anything, it would sound like this "kovyhabsfridayOMGkovalevkovalevkovaliciouskovelovekovyhabshabshabsfour moredaysOMG" or some such nonesense.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Programming note...

Kovalev suits up for the big week ahead...


Yeah, so....this week will probably be heavier than usual on Habs/Kovalev stuff. Habs are in town on Friday night, and I will be counting down the days.

I will be going to the game, and have a grrrrreat front row seat to see all the hot Kovy action. I will also be wearing my Kovalev shirt to the game. Yes, I know that for some of you this means I am a traitor. I'm okay with that, sort of. I never really planned on liking the Habs as much as I do, but I do and there's not much I can do about it.

Frankly, I'm happy that the Habs have renewed my passion for hockey, because for some reason the Flyers just weren't doing it for me this year. I'm sure that could change at any moment, but for now I'm on a bit of a Habs kick and we'll just have to work with that.

So stay tuned, even if you hate me and the Habs. At the very least, you'll get a first hand account of a Habs fan/Flyers season ticket holder getting beaten up by Flyers fans!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Marty Biron makes me cry. Flyers lose.

What the hell was Marty doing coming out to play that puck? I need to watch the replay, but I am afraid I will gouge my eyeballs out of I do that. This was the kind of play that leaves me speechless. Kristin=stunned.

Everything started off okay. I had great lower level seats behind Fleury. I realize now that part of my loss of Flyers love this season has to do with my shitty season tickets. Those seats just absolutely suck. I end up spending half the game being annoyed by my seats and have trouble enjoying the game. Lower level seats increased my enjoyment of the game by about 75%. Seriously.

First few minutes of the game were nice and chippy. I could watch that Hartnell cross check on Gonchar over and over again. Loved the shorty by Mike Richards in the third. I almost had a little love for the Flyers again. But then Marty went and effed it all up. Screw you Marty!

Anyhow, I just went to youtube to find a clip of Marty's mess, but ended up watching Kovalev videos. So I guess you're on your own if you want to relive the nightmare...

Nah, just kidding, I found it.

Kovalev goes to the doctor, gets a bad haircut.

Marie-France Coallier/THE GAZETTE

Okay, I know that the Tits circus was in full swing yesterday, but am I really the only who noticed that Kovy talked about a trip to the doctor and having blood work done?

I thought I heard him mention it in his presser yesterday, but with his accent and with the fact that I was only half paying attention to what he was actually saying, I sorta thought I imagined it. (That happens to me a lot.)

I finally found an article that touched on it, but only mentioned it as a matter of fact, not a jumping off point for speculation. Here is an excerpt:

Kovalev revealed that he’d seen a doctor to determine why he’s lost weight since training camp and underwent blood tests, which “found a few things” he said, but declined to elaborate.

“I was eating well, but somehow I just kept losing weight and losing energy, and I didn’t feel like myself,” Kovalev said.

Is it just me, or is that a concern?

Friday, February 20, 2009

Oh great, we meet the Pens again.

He really wants to be your friend!

For some reason, I was convinced that the last time we played the Pens was December 13th. I had to go back and check the blog, and it turns out we had a sucktastic loss on January 13th. I sorta blocked it out because it was such a bad game. We even left early, which is something we never do.

Anyhow, I don't know what to say about tomorrow's Flyers game. We're 1-3 against the Pens this season. That doesn't bode well. I'm not gonna post my picture of Iceburgh in the oven, because that didn't work last time. Maybe a picture of Kovalev will being the Flyers some luck? I predict 2 power play goals for Gonchar, and a bloody nose for Scott Hartnell.

I actually have good lower level seats for tomorrow's game...woohoo! Sadly, come 3pm I will be obsessively checking the Habs score.

Every day is like Christmas!

Careful kid, someday he'll crush your dreams!

First off, let me start by saying thanks Flyers for beating the Buffaslugs. It was a good game for Mike Richards fans, with his 2 goals and 3 assists. I hadn't realized we had such a hatred of Buffalo fans, but I was quickly reminded by the Flyers fans in our section every time a Buffalo jersey entered. Also, when Buffalo scored, it sounded like we were in Buffalo.

Sadly (for the Flyers fans who read this), I spent most of the game watching the out of town scoreboard. Pens 1, Habs 0. 1-1. 2-1. 2-2. 3-2. 3-3. Okay, you get the point. I was excited to see the Habs keep tying it up. Unfortunately, once it got to 5-4, they never tied it up again.

Gonchar. Gonchar, Gonchar, Gonchar. The past few years, you have been a Flyer killer, always putting up a goal when we least wanted you to. Now we meet again as you take down the Habs. I love having you on my fantasy team, but please stop killing my real teams.

I came home after the game to catch up on any Kovalev news, and lo and behold, more drama out of Montreal. Big news story today with criminal charges! I woke up early like a kid on Christmas to see what all the buzz was about. So far, all I can say is meh. Who hasn't hung out with the local drug kingpin. That's your big news? We'll see.

Anyhow, I do agree with this article that bringing Kovalev back now is a bit early. I think another game or two would have been better. Just as long as he plays next Friday!

Oh, and thanks to my upstairs tivo for sucking and not properly changing the channel to record the Habs game. I'll never see the look on Gonchar's face as he crushes the Habs dreams of a win!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Habs start winning streak!!!

Well, not really, but in my mind they won that game. They appeared to play really well and hold their own against an outta control Ovechkin and the Caps.

Is it my imagination or were all three Montreal goals on the powerplay? Nice to see someone besides the oppotion score on the Habs powerplay.

Is it my imagination, or are the Caps really good? They seem so fast!

Is it my imagination, or is Ovechkin and the hype surrounding him getting to be a bit much? Was his goal last night really that fantastic? Wow, crashing the net and the puck went in...groundbreaking stuff really. Seems like a lot of hype for the goal, but that's all anyone's talking about today. Goal of the year? Really? *barf*

Is it my imagination, or are Caps bloggers saying Theodore played like crap and that is the only reason Montreal scored at all?

Is it my imagination, or does last night's 60 minute team effort signal the death knell for Kovalev in Montreal?

Is it my imagination, or am I in love with the Habs? I feel queasy and want to punch someone after reading all these Caps bloggers recaps. I think that more than anything is a sign of true love.

Is it my imagination, or am I totally ripping off Number31's rants? Yeah, I better stop now.

I will be at the Flyers game tonight rooting for the Flyers to beat Buffalo....but only so Buffalo stays below the Habs in the standings. I'm one messed up fan.

Oh, and here is my favorite Ovie clip. The one where he dives like he's been shot, draws the penalty, then comes out to play on the powerplay. Tool.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

AK gets a vacay...rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic...


Wow. I go to work for a few hours and all hell breaks loose on the Habs front.

Alex Kovalev gets a few days off. Little Tits gets sent down to Hamilton. Nice to see that management is making moves but let's hope the guys get the picture, or it's all for naught.

Monday, February 16, 2009

not much to say....

Sorry for a few days without posts! I was stuck in the boondocks of CT, busy with family obligations. I missed the last two Flyers games. Of course, the Flyers won both, so maybe I should just not watch them anymore. Hmm.

Sadly, I did not miss the last Habs game. I won't talk about that, other than to say Poor Jaro. Maybe I should stop watching the Habs so they can string together a few wins?

The big news over the weekend of course was Michel Therrien getting the boot. The question now is who is next: Renney or Carbonneau? The Rangers and Habs are both technically still in playoff contention, but to watch them play you wouldn't know it. Do you have to be out of the playoff race before you get the boot?


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Flyers can't buy a goal, the curse of the starter, and Gator returns

Well okay, technically, they bought 2 goals, but man, getting anything past Elliott was a challenge. Looks like maybe that Sens coaching change might work out okay for them. Might have to pick up Elliott for my fantasy team.

Flyers did not look bad. However, watching the Habs may have skewed my view of what a good game looks like. Really though, they had lots of chances and just weren't able to capitalize. A few turnovers here and there (I'm looking at you, Jones and Carter) but overall, not bad at all.

Oh wait. I forgot about the 5 goals that the Sens scored. Look, no way was Nitty gonna get the W tonight. It's the curse of being the starter. Too much pressure and it gets into your head. Nitty actually looked solid for most of the game, and most of the goals he let in were just bad breaks. Well, except for that last one where he was totally out of position. I'll have to watch the replay and see what the hell happened there.

I tell ya though, start calling Marty the #1, and Nitty will spring back into form just fine.



Best part of the game (well second best really) was seeing Gator again. I missed him back in December, so tonight was my first time seeing him since he left us. He was scruffalicious as usual and still looks like a Flyer to me!

Best part of course, was seeing Jess and Soph, because not only do they rock, but they shower me with gifts at every opportunity. Yay! Tonight's haul was a Valentine's card with a picture of Gator rocking the fu manchu, a big Tits card, and a half naked picture of Kovalev. Wait...what?

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...


Wow. Just....wow. Every time I think this team has reached their low point, they prove me wrong. These guys aren't scoring, and they aren't getting any bounces going their way. Two, maybe 3 of the goals last night were just bad bounces. Poor Carey. Is he okay? He looks so sad out there.

I was thinking the other day that this slump is like the Flyers 10 game losing streak back in February last year, but that's not quite right. Even though the Flyers lost 10 in a row, they never looked this bad in doing so. A lot of their games were close and well played, they were just never able to close the deal. These Habs just aren't playing well.

They did seem to spring to life a bit after that second goal in the third period, and had a decent last 10 minutes of the game. That gave me some hope, but I'm sure it's false hope.

The Oliers annnoucers were soooooooooo annoying. You would have thought Plekanec actually shot Grebeshkov in the knee the way they saw it. They made it seem like the police would be arriving at any moment to cart him off to jail. Sheesh.

When will they hit rock bottom?

Oh, right....some Flyers updates

1. Praise Jebus, Nitty gets the start tonight. And wait, now he is our starter? Fine by me.

2. The return of Gator!!! Well, not really news for anyone but me and Slightly Saucy, but something to look forward to during warmups.

3. The return of Richie and "on the go" Upshall. Nice.

4. My ulcer is starting to percolate with the impending return of my arch-nemesis. Only 2 more weeks until Broduer returns. Just in time for a matchup with the Flyers. Anyone wanna buy my Devils tickets?

See ya at the game!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Maybe this picture of a puppy will cheer you up?


Dear Habs,

I kinda don't even really know what to say any more. My hopes were high with Jaro in net, and jeez he made a lot of great stops, but with 41 shots on goal, you can't really blame him for the loss.

Y'all seem to have some issues going on right now, among them that once you fall behind you can't get anything going and then you sorta give up. I hear ya. I had a crap day at work today too and just kinda skated around waiting for it all to be over.

I hope things get better for you soon, because slogging around like that for the next two months is gonna suck...

Love, Kristin

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Dear Habs,

Great! Now you go and embarrass me in front of my friends. I was enjoying a lovely day at IPB Manor, filled with cheese and presecco and cats and hockey, and you had to go and ruin it! This is the last time I take you anywhere!

Love, Kristin

Friday, February 6, 2009

Dear Habs,

You make it so hard for me to love you. You tease me with a win, then push me away with a loss. You show me some love with a strong first period, then go all limp in the third. If I wanted to be treated this way by a hockey team, I would still be with the Flyers. Get it together boys!

Love, Kristin

Thursday, February 5, 2009

I got nothing

You can't see it here, but he has a Chris Pronger card in his pocket...

I started to write a post yesterday before the Flyers/Bruins game. But really, what was there to say? It was my first game in person since the Pens game on January 13th, and frankly, I had enjoyed my time away from the Wachovia Center. Three blissful weeks of not having to drive an hour in traffic and not having to pay 12 dollars for parking. Sounds like a freaking vacation to me!

I quite enjoyed the first period last night. Tim Thomas made some unbelievable saves early on, and showed the Flyers it was going to be tough to get one past him. Rod found the first period boring, but I guess that's how it goes when nobody scores any goals. I was just happy to get out of the period tied at zero!

I was confused by the choice of putting Metro with Knuble and Gagne. I mean sure, Richie was out with the flu, but how about putting Giroux up there instead? But what do I know...

You know things are bad when Kukkonen is playing forward.

The highlight of the game was meeting up with Soph and Jess, who came bearing gifts for me. Sadly for the Flyers, one of those gifts was a Chris Pronger card. The Flyers record when a Chris Pronger card is at the game is 0-3 now. We got Prongered!!!!!

Next up for the Flyers, the Broons at home. I'm sure that will be an easy one...

Next up for me, the Habs at Buffalo. Crap, I gotta find the link for streaming it online....

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Uh oh, a Flyers game tonight!

Gosh, the Flyers have been out of town for what seems like ages. The last time they played at home was January 21st, and I skipped the game due to work. That means the last game I attended was the loss against Pittsburgh on the 13th. Good times.

Up next, the Broons, in the first game of a home and home.

God, why on earth am I up at 7 in the morning? It's my first day off in 6 days and I'm up at the crack of dawn? I need to get back to bed...

Okay, back now. I don't really know what to expect tonight. The Flyers have been a touch inconsistent lately.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Dear Habs,

Please stop sucking. I want to see a game that doesn't make me cringe.

Also, if you could please stop getting injured that would be great too.

Love, Kristin