I'm going to try to produce more of these blogs in much shorter fashion. I know a lot of you have grown accustomed to me writing gigantic 800-1,200 word blogs, but I'm going to try and run a trial on making some smaller ones with less contest. Maybe it will produce more blogs themselves as opposed to giant ones. Well, here it goes.

The Philadelphia Flyers are in a bit of a pickle here tonight. Playing at Buffalo with the series tied at 1-1, the Flyers are looking to earn at least a split in Buffalo. Yet, they are trying to do so and win the series without their best player — Chris Pronger. Playing in his place is journeyman Danny Syvret. I mean, the Flyers are doing an OK job without Pronger, as he's only played in 50 games this season. Philly is 2-1 against Buffalo this season when Pronger starts, but I don't see him playing in this series, especially if they win tonight.

In net tonight will be Brian Boucher, who essentially came on in relief in Game 2 and earned a 5-4 win over the Sabres. I think he's good enough to give the Flyers a win tonight, even on the road. He hasn't faced the Sabres yet this season, apart from his play in the second game of the series. 

What worries me about Philly is their finish in the regular season. We talked at length on the podcast daily about how they were priced at good lines ranging from +115 to -120 on most nights. Whether or not the oddsmaker's were ahead of us on their collapse down the stretch is beyond me. Maybe the Flyers just didn't play that well, lurching to a 9-9-5 finish over their final 25 games.

I was impressed, however, on how the Flyers played in against Buffalo last game. I don't think this team will score five goals per game, but I think a rejuvenated lineup tonight with Boucher between the pipes gives them a nice edge. If you can get this team at a positive price, I think it's a good move. I think both Claude Giroux and Danny Briere can give us a nice push tonight.

I'm expecting a solid effort from the Flyers tonight and with them as an underdog price-wise, I think it's a good move to take them.