Yeah gotta admit it's hard to resist the temptation to cram a few game references into a series of crappy fire metaphors. Snuffed out the Flames? Smothered them?

So what do you all think—is it fortuitous that the Flyers are the first team to face Calgary since a weekend trade shook up both the Flames and the Maple Leafs in a huge way? Or will it suck to be the first team to face a group of guys trying to impress their new team, coaches, and management?  For analysis on what each team got, particularly who won and lost in the deal, check out this post at Puck Daddy. In its simplest terms, regarding tonight's opponent, the trade amounted t…

Plus/Minus is one of my favorite NHL stats. For a long time, it was fairly unique to hockey, but now it's become an important indicator of a player's two-way impact (which is to say his overall impact) in other leagues like the NBA.