Hockey Notes.

I'm not that surprised that the Flyers pulled the plug on Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke so quickly. Clarke woefully misjudged the new NHL and the Flyers defense looks absolutely hopeless. When you are anxiously awaiting the return of Derek Rathje you are in big trouble. I think Hitchcock got fired due to his association with Clarke. And you can be damn sure Clarke was forced into his resignation. Although Carke is a complete asshole he has been a hell of a good GM over the years. But he won't get another GM anywhere. He's that big a jerk. As for Hitchcock, I expect him to take the rest of this year off and be coaching somewhere else next year.

With Saturday nights 8-1 win over New Jersey the Senators, and more specifically Jason Spezza, showed exactly what there problem is. They get all pumped up and run up the score when the other team has an off night but can't win close games. I have never been sold on Spezza and this game was a typical performance. He is the classic example of a guy who is going to get three points in an 8-1 win or 7-3 loss but is always going to go pointless in a 3-2 loss with no shots on net.

The Sabres have to be the most fun team in the NHL to watch. It's hard to believe but they look like they have even more speed than last year. They are the most exciting to come out of Buffalo since the chicken wing.