An Open Letter to Ian Laperriere

When I think about it, I'm not really surprised that you might do anything to keep playing hockey. You’ve always done anything and everything for your team, your team mates. For the game of hockey. You love the game and the game has been very good to you Lappy.

But enough is enough. The injuries and their severity are piling up. Man, you have got to start thinking very, very hard about hanging ‘em up. Just do it now. Don’t wait around for the symptoms to clear up. Don’t visit doctors till you hear what you want to hear. You’ve had a long, great career. You’ve shown us all what it’s like to have heart. To play for the love of playing. You’ve won the awards that don’t make the most news but that make the most difference.

When you came back to the playoffs last year I thought you were a hell of a tough guy. And you are, everyone says so. Maybe too many people. You don’t need to prove it to anyone anymore Lappy.

You've become a fan favorite in every town you played in.  We all love you and your enthusiasm for hockey.  I don't know a single fan in town that wanted you to leave.  We would love to see you play hockey as long as possible. 

But.

Do what's good for you.


-From the Point

Bandwagon Hopping – Let’s Go Flyers!

The Hawks have too many guys with goalie numbers that aren’t goalies. It’s weird to see all those jersey’s in the 30’s range skating around out there. I’m pretty sure there is something fishy going on. Might involve a plot!

You may find me a despicable sports fan. The worst kind of all. Showing no loyalty except to the almighty “W” of winning. But the age of free agency is now and is the players can move and change their loyalties. Why can’t I?

In my post HERE I explained why I was on the Hawks wagon. But frankly I still can’t stand coach Q. I naturally root for ANY goalie (Niemi) to overcome the poor goalie-handling of the Stache. And I do like Dustin Byfuglien.

But it just isn’t enough.

Not when Ian Laperriere is on the other team.

Yep. That’s it. One guy is all it takes. The right guy. A guy like Lappy.

If Lappy has played in your town you understand. And I know there are other guys in this league that have that kind of following. But this is the guy that has played in my town and I’m more of a loyalty guy than is probably good for me. But that’s the way I am.

Sure, this “fan” is hopping wagons. I can see why people do it. But lets get something straight here. I’m an Avalanche fan through and through. This is just the fickle post-season machinations of an emotionally scarred Colorado fan.

-From the Point

Flyers VS Bruins

         VS        

Frenchy
Here we have a classic match. The Flyers beat out the Devils, a team I was worried would actually get to the Stanley Cup finals, to get here. I just didn’t think the goalie match up was a fair one but Brian Boucher played great and pulled out the win. As for the Bruins, I predicted that they would beat the Sabres, didn’t really have reason for that, guess I got lucky.


These teams split their meetings this season at two a piece. They are pretty even if you look at their regular season numbers but a lot has changed for both over the course of the season and in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bruins lost Marc Savard, their best forward, on March 7th and they’re getting him back for game one. Glad to see the team pick up the slack while he was gone but having him back is huge. They have guys like Recchi, Satan and Bergeron to help out up front. Let’s not forgot the big Chara in the back. Try getting around that guy, I bet he can poke check a puck that’s 7 feet in front of him. And last of all, I’ve been really impressed with how well Rask has played and kept his composure. Being a rookie and playing that well, this guy looks like the real deal. The Bruins did allow the least goals against during the season and he’s a big reason why. But, even if he does fall apart, the Bruins would have to go to their back up, a guy called Thomas, the Vezina winner last year. That’s quite the back up.

The Flyers played really well against the Devils, beating them in 6. Pretty darn good! Only problem now is they lost three really good forwards. They lost Carter for the season, Gagne is out for 3 weeks so we probably won’t see him again and it looks like Lappy is out for the rest of the season. Let’s all bow to Lappy, the guy is one tuff SOB. To go down and take a puck to the face like that for the second time this season, wow! The only real scorer they have left is Richards and the guy can’t do everything himself. The Flyers do have Pronger in the back but I’ve never believed he was ever that good. Looks kind of slow to me and I’ve seen him make mistakes; don’t see that changing at this point. And, the Flyers have had problems with the goaltending situation all season long. Boucher played amazing in the first round but I don’t see him playing that well for a second straight series.

I’ve got no choice here to go with the Bruins, not really based on how well they played during the season or in the playoffs, but because they get Savard back and the Flyers are just to beat up at this point.

Bruins in 6

From the Point
In the first round I didn’t pick either of these teams. Frankly not too many people did. But I give Frenchy credit for picking Boston in the first round.


As I’ve said before I think the goalie can make all the difference in a series and Boucher is making that difference right now. But look how cold Halak went in game one of the second round. So is Boucher going to let his team down in round two?

Boucher is sporting a 1.59 GAA and a 0.940 SV%.

Rask has a 2.18 GAA and a 0.927 SV%.

Boucher is tops amongst all goalies in this playoff season so far. But stats don’t always tell the whole story. This will be a battle of two hot goalies. Rask is the untested rookie and Boucher is a guy that has never played a whole season anywhere. This season is no different, he wasn’t brought in as the starter and yet here he is leading this team through the playoffs. Which one will maintain this pace and which one will crumble?

This is likely to be a bloody battle. A battle of the giants on the blue line. I think it’s pretty clear that the league will let star players get away with just about anything in these playoffs so if things get ugly don’t be surprised to see Pronger and Chara get a little chippy early. Both will try to set a tone for their teams.

This series is a bit of a toss up but I’ll give the edge to the Bruins for the same reasons that Frenchy does. Though I wouldn’t mind seeing this one go all the way, seven games with these two teams are bound to be big entertainment!

Bruins in six

Lappy's Teeth, or the lack of...

Here's Lappy trying to do a commercial and the lack of teeth is probably not helping much!


Maybe it might have been a little easier if his new teeth hadn't been stolen!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Posted: 12:37 p.m.

By Tim Panaccio
CSNPhilly.com

Ian Laperriere doesn’t believe in the tooth fairy.

But he’s certain there is a teeth thief out there somewhere.

Seems seven of his teeth that form two bridges were stolen en route to Philadelphia.

“They must have thought they had gold in them,” Laperriere said at the morning skate, as the Flyers prepare for Thursday night’s game against the Rangers.

“I’m so angry. The box came and it was empty. When you’re 20 years old and you lose some teeth, it’s OK, now you look like a hockey player. But when you are 36, it’s not so cool.

“Who’s going to wear them? They’re not going to fit anyone except me.”

Recently, Laperriere had a mold taken in Haddonfield, N.J. He needed a bridge and new teeth because of the puck he took to the face on Black Friday against Buffalo in November. He lost four teeth on that shot.

“The mold were taken in Haddenfield then sent to Los Angeles and for some reason, the teeth made a stopover in Louisiana,” Laperriere said, adding that’s where officials believe the teeth thief struck.

“They were making me a new bridge. When I get done playing they will screw it in. For now, I could take another shot at my face, so I need two bridges. One on the top and one on the bottom.”

Late last week, Laperriere got a call from trainer Jim McCrossin.

“Jimmy tells me last Wednesday or Thursday, I got good and bad news for you,” Laperriere said. “The box is in. But you’re teeth aren’t there. They stole them. Are you kidding me? A tooth thief. They took seven teeth.

“The company that sent them felt bad. They put a rush on them and we had to make a new mold last Friday. Hopefully, they come in next couple of days.”

For now, there’s a huge gap in Laperriere’s mouth even when he’s not on the ice.

“Who would steal teeth?” he asked ? “Sometimes they put gold in them to make them stronger. People were probably hoping they had gold in them. They didn’t.”