Atlanta gets Downied.

Downied - a term used by the cult following of Steve Downie to describe, killed, destroyed, hurt, or even diagnosed with a deadly illness.

The reality of this phrase is that it proves, even to those that use the term, that Steve Downies reputation precedes him. Downie tied the game up tonight in the second period with a goal that honestly, I did not see.

My sister was busy giving birth all day today so I had to fulfill my obligations as an uncle to visit the new addition. Luckily she is cute and it was worth it.

From the point of the game I did see though, Downie was very much in line. This may come as a shock to some, but part of Downie making it in the NHL will be controlling his temper. Outside of his outbursts he is a very clutch hockey player with more heart than most teams have let alone one player. He does not do anything exceptionally well, but he seems to be very coachable, and while he may better himself, he will never truly change his game. This is very refreshing for us as Flyers fans and exciting to boot.

In addition to Downies solid, and controlled, play the rest of John Stevens Phantoms successfully made a big impact tonight. Carter was just 5 seconds away from breaking the Flyers record for fastest back to back goals. This fact is incredible considering he netted 2 in just 13 seconds. More importantly another young player is developing his game at the right time. Scott Hartnell turned all the little things he does into a 3 point with a short handed goal and 2 assists. Seeing Hartnell get rewarded for his consistently solid play is nice as a fan that notices Scott in a positive way on a nightly basis regardless of whether he shows up on the score sheet. I am not just saying that because his wife is hot either, but for all the Hartnell bashers out there, when you piss and moan about him not scoring . . . he really is.

Nitty put up another solid performance tonight, but will more than likely get a break Thursday. He is the hot hand right now, but both goalies have been playing well so I expect to see Biron against the Rangers. But, for the love of God, John Stevens if the game goes to a shootout PUT IN NITY. A cold Nity in a shootout is better than a statuesque Biron.

Cote also put up a solid performance in tonights victory, proving more and more that he deserves his spot on the team. He knows he role, worked hard to get there, and loves every second he gets on the ice, and seemingly ever 5min he gets in the box. 12 fighting majors on the year and he was pretty pumped after this one. After delivering a crushing blow along the boards, he delivered a few more in the form of left hands to Thornburns face. Belted out a Rick Flair "Woooooo!" and left the ice high fiving teammates and Atlanta fans as well. Usually I have this underlying hate for people that walk around loving their jobs, but with Riley it is different.

My overall evaluation of this win would be Textbook. They did everything you need to do in hockey to win on the road. Weather the storm, open it up when things settle down, and lock it back down when you get the lead. Kudos to John Stevens for coming with the right plan, and the players for executing.

My Jerry Springer final thought would be:

Is there any way we can get Clement in the booth as a permanent fixture?