Well, the great Flyers run hit the proverbial brick wall yesterday.  Less than three minutes into the game the Pittsburgh Penguins asserted themselves as the team that was not going to be beaten when Ryan Malone scored on a deflection off his skate.  Flyers fans (ok, me) watched in horror and shock as five more went into the net.  Then that sense of relief as the final seconds ended a miserable game.  Was a 6 to nothing loss what I expected?  No.  But, finishing so poorly last season, then seeing the Conference Finals this season - that gave me hope for next year.

But as I sit here and look back at who was not in this years playoffs, three names pop into my mind.  Simon Gagne, who has been out forever since his season long battle with concussions.  First on Oct. 24, he missed very little time, and may have returned too soon.  Then again on Nov. 7, he went down, and missed 26 more games.  Then on Feb. 10, in his first shift, yep you guessed it.  Concussion.  Now it's looking like he may be done through training camp, but that's a long way off.  Frankly, I would be surprised to see him wear the orange and black again.  I would miss him, he's done a lot for the organization, and is a top notch player when he's healthy.

Then there is Braydon Coburn, who took one nasty puck to the face.  Add in that at the same time, Kimmo Timonen was out with a blood clot for the first four games against Pittsburgh.  These two were our top two defensemen in the first two playoff match-ups against Montreal and Washington.  Missing them may have been the nail in the coffin for the Flyers.

But there is hope for next year!  Claude Giroux, the Flyers first round pick in 2006 (22nd overall) just won the Guy Lafleur Trophy (MVP of the QMJHL Playoffs), and has already spent a few games with the Flyers.  So he should be on the pro club starting next year!  The bad news is that Philadelphia will have to cut some salary, as there are others that could be coming up to the NHL as well.  So, consider this a crazy prediction:  Mike Knuble, Vaclav Prospal and Simon Gagne may be gone.  Heck, I'd almost be willing to predict that one of those three WILL be gone.

Anyway, despite the poor showing in game five (losing 6-0 is never a good showing), I am very happy to see what the Flyers accomplished this season.  On top of that, the team is looking good for next year - just need to sign Jeff Carter!