Philadelphia Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators 11/6/2008

Pregame.
Paul Holmgren says he’s tired of seeing the Philadelphia Flyers’ fannies as the opposition careens towards Martin Biron. So much so that he sat down with Brendan Shanahan the other day to talk contract.

Bobby Clarke brought his skates to the Flyers’ practice yesterday to offer some pointers on face-offs. He communicated that it’s all about attitude, wanting the puck more than your opponent does.

I think it’s safe to say that Holmgren and Stevens are serious about motivating the Philadelphia Flyers to improve their game. And frankly, what I’d like to see tonight is some fire. The whole discrepancy between the season tagline “Hungry for More” and the way this team plays has been beaten to death, so I won’t exacerbate that problem here.

Let’s just say that Scott Hartnell looks like a man on a mission every time he steps on the ice. He goes to the net, battles hard, and shows spunk regardless of the situation. When he doesn’t score, he bangs his stick on the ice. Some might call that poor sportsmanship; I call that passion.

Hopefully, his desire will infect this team. Otherwise we could be in for a long, frustrating season.