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Tonight at 7:30(!) the Flyers take on the Islanders in what will probably be another boring game of hockey.  I’m sorry.  I’m not trying to lose any of you right off the bat, but c’mon…it’s the Isles!   This is the fifth time this year these two teams will play, and three of those games ended in a 2-1 victory for Philly.  The Flyers have won all four meetings so far against the Islanders and a young team that is slowly on the rise will need a brilliant effort to match up against a well rounded Flyers team.  The Flyers are playing good hockey right now.  After a good February, the team will look to keep climbing the standings, and distance themselves from the logjam at 8th place.  I have to admit something to you three people reading this….but are you, how do I put this…”excited” for the game tonight?  I am not.  I am considering going to the gym instead of watching the game.  Did you read that?  I’m thinking about going to a place filled with hairy, gross people wearing too little clothing all jamming out to Lady Gaga on the Top 40 station they play at my overcrowded smelly sweat room of a gym. Maybe it’s because it’s the Islanders, but I think it’s bigger than that.  After watching a somewhat exciting Buffalo game, then a downright snoozer of a Maple Leafs game, my anticipation for tonight isn’t sky high.  Playing the Isles certainly increases the odds that the Flyers will be victorious, but I’m not really into watching Flyers hockey just for the sake of being rewarded with a victory (I’m not Pavlov’s dog…er, I mean a Penguins fan).  I’m looking for story lines, match-ups and individual battles.  That being said, my focus tonight is on Steve.  Steve Hartnell. It’s the only story line our MSM is scribing today and its about Steve’s inability to put the biscuit in the basket. (And yes, he’ll be “Steve” until he starts showing us why he makes so much “Scott” money)  Harts is in a tough place and one of FGSB’s favorite skaters needs to bust out of this funk, and soon.  We’ll see if playing a less than stellar defense and maybe a Marty Biron can help shake the cobwebs from his silly orange haired dome.  If he doesn’t, how long until Ville Leino gets sloted in over a guy making over 4 million this year? For the Isles, it’s tough going right now.  They haven’t won on the road all year against the Atlantic, except for the Rangers.  Their last road win came a month ago.  Wunderkin John Tavares has dropped off, going through a late season slump similar to JVR’s in December.  But the Isles do have a few playmakers, keep your eyeballs on Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson as these two guys along with sneaky ex-Flyer Richard Park will try to provide some offense for this club.  The Islanders blue line is a mess so anything less than barrage of shots from the orange & black will be considered unfinished.  I look for the Flyers to carry all the play tonight.  For better or for worse.  Quite simply, they can come out and rip out the Islanders jugular, or they can sit back and play laissez-faire hockey and let a young, sometimes dangerous team hang around the way they let the Leafs. Is tonight’s game a blockbuster of a heavyweight fight?  No, of course not.  It’s one game in a long season.  It’s against an opponent who is not as good as you.  That is a fact.  What we have here tonight is an opportunity to stay mentally sharp and to start some new storylines.  Maybe it’s Giroux’s dazzling top cheese in the 2nd period.  Or it’s Asham’s triple TKO of Kohn, Shremp and Comeau.  It could be Lappy scoring a Carcillo, or a Carcillo blocking a Lappy.  And maybe…

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