Flyers Quick Hits 10/12/2008

• To all those fans who are still ranting and railing about Sarah Palin dropping the puck for the Flyers’ season opener, visit blogsearch.google.com and search for “philadelphia flyers.”  Please explain to me how that much publicity - especially on non-hockey focused blogs - hurts the Flyers or the sport of hockey.  I still say this was a genius move by Shawn Tilger and the rest of the Flyers’ media staff.
  
• The Rangers looked absolutely fantastic last night.  During the postgame show, Bill Clement pointed out that Tom Renney’s club consistently plays as a unit, whether they’re on defense or offense.  They certainly produced a tight game against the Flyers.  Almost makes me wish Mats Sundin would sign there and mess up the chemistry.
• Speaking of Bill Clement, I love that Comcast SportsNet added him to the game presentation team for the home opener.  I truly feel he’s one of the best hockey color guys in the business, head and shoulders above Versus’s Eddie Olczyk.
• Simon Gagne scored what may become his most important goal of the season last night.  The winger has looked slightly hesitant when entering corners, and he isn’t quite flying around the ice as he can when his confidence levels reach 100%.  But he showed a willingness to enter the crease despite heavy traffic, always with his stick down ready to direct a pass towards the net.  Scoring a goal in a major situation can only help Gagne in his quest to prove himself a healthy contributor to the team.
• Randy Jones will be out longer than expected with a serious hip injury.  This could prove a huge blow to the Flyers’ already-weakened blue line.  I am not a Jones fan by any stretch of the imagination.  However, he is an NHL quality defenseman with enough experience to be trusted the average NHL offense.  Meanwhile, Lasse Kukkonen and Steve Eminger need to play as though they actually want to be in the NHL rather than with the Phantoms.  Too many nights off from those two will land the Flyers out of the playoffs once again.