Strong start for the Flyers

I still can't quite get around the fact that it's fall, the NFL and college football have been in full swing for weeks, and now it's hockey season. Where does the time go? At any rate, the Flyers began the 2009-10 season with 2 fine road wins. Last night's 2-0 win at Carolina was followed by tonight's 5-2 win at New Jersey. Beating Martin Brodeur and the Devils has been difficult over the years, so to get 5 goals off him (in his 1,000th career game, no less) is very nice. And if the info I'm getting from the post-game show on TV is correct, it's the first time in about a decade that the Flyers have started a season with two wins.

Prior to the season I was skeptical about the additions of Chris Pronger (due to his age and how much he'll count against the salary cap) and Ray Emery (due to his various team-disruption issues). But the Flyers' retooled defense, anchored by Pronger, looks much more secure than it has in recent years, and Emery has been very strong. These two games don't exactly end my skepticism. After all, Pronger is still getting up there and there's plenty of time for Emery to self-destruct. But so far, so good.

The Flyers start the home portion of their schedule with games on Tuesday and Thursday against two Eastern rivals, the Washington Capitals (featuring the awesome Alexander Ovechkin) and Pittsburgh Penguins (featuring the whiny Sidney Crosby). If anyone has extremely inexpensive (or better yet, free) tickets for me, please get in touch.