Flyers' preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins is tonight.
Peter Forsberg won't play vs. Pittsburgh, or tomorrow night at home against New Jersey. Honestly, I wish he'd sit out all but the last couple preseason games. Captain that he is, the team really doesn't need him to be wholly fresh and ready for Game #1, especially coming back from injuries to both ankles. The most important thing is that he can keep up with the speed and motion of practice and scrimmages, not that he's busting off the bench like an angry mustang, ready to lead the troops from the first second of action.
I'm happy the NHL is scheduling more preseason games away from teams' home or minor league affiliates' home. The AHL's abandoning of so many former tiny-market Atlantic Canadian and American cities opens up a world where these die-hards can see top-flight action at least once or twice a season before the Q and the O return to the ice.
It wasn't that long ago that the league would throw in a random match-up in a random location, as when the Flyers played Detroit in Orlando in the early 90's. Even though it makes me cringe that the league will throw only a small bone to Quebec and Winnipeg, having the Avalanche and Coyotes play in their former homes, it's at least comforting that the Home Office hasn't totally written off these cold-weather hockey hotbeds in favor of sunny Southern climates where interest is tepid at best.
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