Pens v Flyers (L 2-8)

W.O.W. I am stunned. What a loss. And yes, I missed it. My power was out from 4:00pm until 1:40am. Let's just say I wasn't all that thrilled with Penelec. And let me tell you - using the XM radio to try to create a good recap just doesn't work out all that well, so I scrapped those plans pretty early on. On the plus side, I did get to see a clip of 41-year-old Gary Roberts taking 23-year-old Ben Eager to school on CNN Headline News this morning. They were amazed that a man nearly twice the age of his opponent could destroy a kid like that. (They don't know GR very well, do they?) And as the fight was shown, anchorwoman Robin Meade told the kids at home, "Don't act like that. There's no need for this kind of behavior." Whatever. Just remember, these people don't pay attention to the NHL unless there is a dirty hit, a horrific injury, or a fight. They clearly don't know anything at all about hockey.

Anyhoo, the Flyers pwned the Pens HARD. Here's a recap from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari you can check out. The most notable details come in the first few paragraphs:

The game was over, but -- those 156 minutes' worth of penalties that had been assessed over the course of the evening aside -- the hostilities were just beginning.

First, Philadelphia coach John Stevens accused the Penguins of being totally undisciplined after they received 81 penalty minutes in the third period of the Flyers' 8-2 victory at the Wachovia Center last night. [snoop: Hey, Stevens - the Penguins are undisciplined?! Exactly HOW MANY of your Flyers players were suspended this season? Those that live in glass houses should probably not cast stones, jackass.]

When his Penguins counterpart, Michel Therrien, was informed of Stevens' charge, he launched a caustic retort, pointing out that the Flyers had dispatched their No. 1 power play while holding a five-goal lead in the third period.

The look on his face pretty much sums up last night's game...
(Click to enlarge.)

And when Therrien's postgame session with reporters ended, Flyers knuckle-dragger Ben Eager (0 points, 60 penalty minutes), whom Therrien passed in a corridor outside the Penguins' locker room, said to him, "You're a joke."

Therrien offered a two-word comeback, only the second half of which -- "you" -- is suitable for public consumption.

Consider the rivalry re-ignited. Not that it had been particularly dormant before last evening.

"Everyone knows there's one here," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. "But it seems like it's escalated each game."

You stay classy, Ben Eager. Perhaps he was taking out his frustrations from being humiliated by Roberts on Therrien, but that was wholly inappropriate and disrespectful. If you want to get a little retribution for this incident, head on over to ThePensblog.com for details how you can get in on the Photoshopping action. (You'll also find a good recap there, as well.)

UGH. Hopefully the Pens can just shake this ugly loss off and focus on beating the Ottawa Senators. They come home to the Mellon to face the Senators on Thursday. GO PENS!

(cross-posted to The Battle of PA)