In the old days of battle, enemies would often send letters across enemy lines to signal retreat, surrender or (I can only hope) trash talk. Seeing as how SBN is a network of blogs and we just so happen to have a cross-state rival so well represented on here, I figured it was only right to tap into the atavistic approach to war time correspondence. I now give you the latest letter from Travis over at Broad Street Hockey. Be sure to check out my letter to Flyers fans over at BSH.
Dearest Pittsburgh,
I know you're all on your high horse these days, and really, it's understandable. We all thought your Penguins were dead and gone, and now that they've made the playoffs, it's easy to comprehend why you all feel so invincible. But, while you all (and seemingly everybody else) are confident your team is headed to the second round, rest assured that our Flyers are going to have something to say about that.
I got in to a discussion with a few hockey fans at work the other day on the subject of who you'd rather have, Crosby & Malkin or Richards & Carter? Putting away the hatred I have for your flightless birds, it's really a tough question. Of course, the Pittsburgh duo are magnificent scorers, two of the best in their generation. Meanwhile Richards and Carter put up the numbers while bringing a ton of other skills to the table, the most glaring being superb play in their own end.
As it will play out in this series though, these four will simply cancel each other out. It's going to come down to the rest of the offense, and boy do we have it. Six 25 goal scorers, not including Danny Briere or Claude Giroux who didn't play the entire season. Keep those two on your radar or you're going to be blindsided with dispair.
Our goaltending? I'll admit it, it's our biggest concern. Everybody this side of the Mason-Dixon Line knows that. But with Marty Biron, it's all about focus. Come playoff time, the man can focus. He's the reason we beat Washington and Montreal last season, and despite what I've read from some Pittsburghers, he wasn't the reason we lost to you.
I firmly believe that it would have been a drastically different series with Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, and Simon Gagne in the lineup. I don't think there's any denying that, either. This year, if for no other reason, things will be different because both teams are healthy heading into the series. I suppose that's the benefit of playing so early on in the postseason.
It's gonna be a dogfight. We'll see you tonight.
Travis
Broad Street Hockey