The Hockey is Upon Us

First preseason game for the Flyers underway at Wachovia Center.

Martin Biron gets the start against Kevin Weekes. No way Brodeur is going to see any action any time soon.

Simon Gagne does not dress and neither does Danny Briere, but Messrs. Carter and Richards don the uni.

Prospects Claude Giroux, Andreas Nodl, Steve Downie, Matt Clackson, Sean Curry, Jon Kalinski and Darroll Powe make their debuts.

Ossi Vaananen also dresses for his Philadelphia debut and re-introduction to North American hockey.

*************************************************************
Steve Downie scored twice, along with Richards and Scottie Upshall in the Flyers' 4-1 win.

Biron played two shutout periods while Max Ouellet made his triumphant return to the Philly nets by giving up a goal in the third.

In response to Eklund's question asking how many goals Downie will have to score before people forget about "...you know..."

It's not about goals. It's about time, and how far Downie is willing to go every minute of the remainder of his career to focus his anger and passion, to mold himself into a viable NHL player.

My bet is that, because he's not going to be anything but a high-energy third-line player with some goal-scoring ability for the balance of his playing days, those incidents will crop up any time he levels an opposing player legally and that player crumples to the ice.

He alone is responsible for the damage, and neither he nor anyone else can blame the media for framing him in an unflattering light. Only he can do what he has to do to lessen the impact of his past actions, and frankly, it will take a lot to do so.