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Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell will be keeping an exclusive blog right here on philadelphiaflyers.com. Follow Hartnell and the team's journey in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs with this behind-the-scenes look from the veteran left wing.
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Saturday, May 17
4:14 p.m.
Coming back here for Game 5, it’s nice to know that we can beat these guys. Everyone’s been saying that they are unbeatable and they had an easy first couple of rounds, and we just have to make it tough for them. We did that in the first period of Game 4 when we were able to jump out to a 3-0 lead, and we have to do it again tomorrow night.
We know that Pittsburgh hasn’t lost at home yet in the playoffs and we know it’s going to be a tough task, but with Kimmo getting back out there, it makes us better. He’s smooth with the puck and great on the power play, and his presence will be felt on the ice and in the dressing room. He’s a pretty emotional guy, and I think it took a lot out of him not playing these first four games.
Right before Game 4, actually, Kimmo sent me a text that said “If we win, I’ll be back in the lineup on Sunday.” He told me not to tell anyone, but I kind of spread the rumor around to the guys and you could just feel guys puffing out their chests and joking around a little bit more and took some of the pressure off. Hopefully it will have the same effect in Game 5.
We want to keep it physical and hopefully we can frustrate the Penguins. They were punching and stuff after the whistles, and I think I heard Sidney Crosby say that that is not their game, and they have to use their speed and skill. We have a lot of speed and skill in our dressing room too, along with some grit. If we play that gritty style of Flyers hockey we should be alright. If you can get their guys rattled like we did and slapping their sticks after the whistles and always whining to the refs, it’s a good thing for your team.
Wednesday, May 14
1:10 p.m.
I think everyone is disappointed in our play up to this point. I think we know as a group that we can play a lot better, play a lot stronger, be more physical and not make the mistakes we’ve been making and make this series go right down to the wire. I think we still honestly believe that. That’s the mood right now. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll come in fresh and excited to get out and play. You can’t win four in one day, but we can sure win one and that’s our focus.
We’ve done a good job of keeping things loose all year. We’ve also been a pretty streaky team all year long. We won a bunch early, then lost some, and lost 10 in a row in March, and then came back and the last few weeks in the season we were great again in getting into the playoffs. The last series against Montreal we won four in a row, now this series we’ve struggled a little bit, and now we’ve got to win four in a row again. You can’t do it in one game like I said, but we can get the ball rolling.
Today we made some changes for practice this morning, and I was on a line with Mike Richards and Danny Briere. Richie is a great player and he’s having a great series. He’s done everything well all playoffs long, and hopefully we can just use our grit and speed and skill in getting in there and make some stuff happen. We’ll push hard into their zone and hopefully get a goal or two.
The crowd has been behind us the whole year long and we were fired up at the start last night, which made it all the more frustrating when people were leaving early because we were down 4-1. We definitely want the crowd to just be themselves again tomorrow night because there’s no question we feed off of that energy and that awesome atmosphere.
Saturday, May 10
2:45 p.m.
It was a weird phone call on Thursday when Kimmo called me. I was just getting ready to go to the flight, and he said he was done for the year. Those were his first words, and I was like, ‘What?’ I was totally confused with the whole thing, and it’s just sad to hear. It’s a guy that has played almost every game for us, he’s our best defenseman out there most nights, the quarterback of the power play and he’s always playing the last minute of every game. We have to move on, though. We have a lot of guys that can step up and take that role of his. Kimmo did make the trip out here though, and it’s just nice to see his smiling face around the dressing room. It gives the guys a lift, I think.
We had a team dinner on Thursday night, which is always nice to get the guys together the night before a game. During the year you don’t get that chance too often. You hear some jokes, we watched the Western Conference game on Versus, and just hung out. The guys are more of a close-knit group than we have been, and it’s awesome to see. I think good things are going to come from that.
Last night wasn’t our best game in a long time. We struggled, and didn’t get pucks in deep, and didn’t finish a lot of our checks. I think we let Marc-Andre Fleury off the hook a little bit trying to be too cute and not bearing down on the net and shooting and driving towards the net. We just have to get back to what works, not turn the puck over, and I truly believe that we can beat these guys.
We’re in a position that we have been in before. We lost both games in the first two series, and although it would be great to win both games in the other team’s rink, we haven’t done that. Tomorrow, we’ll be looking for the split and we’ll be disappointed if we don’t get it. No one is giving us a shot and we’ve been the underdogs all playoffs long, and I think we’re going to feed off that.
Wednesday, May 7
12:33 p.m.
This time of the year, every game is so mentally tough as well as physically tough on our bodies. After the big win in Montreal on Saturday, it was nice to have Sunday off. I didn’t do a whole lot, other than hang out at home and enjoying the nice weather here in Philadelphia. It’s nice to get away from the game for a day.
Monday, we came back in and had a great practice and a skate at the end, just getting back into it. Yesterday was another day off, and it was a great time to go golfing, which I actually did the last two days. My wife Lisa and a couple of the guys went up to Pine Hill, including Scottie Upshall, Patrick Thoresen and his brother; Ryan Parent and Steve Downie. I’d say Upshall is the best, and my wife Lisa can hang along with the guys, too. She shot second best, I think. It was all of our first rounds so we were all a little bit rusty. Yesterday it was a five-some; me, Lisa, Downie, Parent and Mike Richards came along this time. I shot a 95 the first day and an 82 the second, which I think is pretty good for the first two rounds of the year. It’s nice for two reasons; we’re playing golf while we’re still in the playoffs, and we get to enjoy the beautiful weather on a great course a bit before getting back into the games. These next couple days will be a time to get mentally back into it, working hard in practice and on a couple key things we’ll have to do against Pittsburgh. We can’t forget to have fun during these times though, too.
The break between games you can look at a couple ways. We’ve been playing pretty well so it kind of sucks to have some time off, but at the same time, a lot of guys are banged up. This time of year, I’m sure all the teams are banged up to a point. It’s nice to have a few days between games to refresh our bodies. At the same time, we sure don’t want to lose that swagger and confidence that we’ve had up to this point, too.
Pittsburgh is going to be a battle, there’s no doubt about it. We don’t like them and they don’t like us. It’s going to be a hard series, and I think we have to take the time and space away from their top guys. I think the biggest key for us, though, is being disciplined and staying out of the penalty box. That’s easier said than done, but if we do those things we’re going to give ourselves a great chance of being successful.
Sunday, May 4
12:20 a.m.
Right now it’s a great feeling, there’s not much else to say. There’s plenty of smiles on the guys’ faces as we head home here. With all of the battles that we all go through and all the hard work, it’s all paid off for us so far. It’s exciting knowing we’re going to the Eastern Conference Finals, and whoever we face we know it’s going to be a battle, but there’s no question this team is prepared to face whatever is thrown our way.
Montreal is a skilled team, but we really stuck to our game plan and that’s why we were able to have success. We were a defense-first team, and we always made sure we had a third man high in the offensive zone so we could limit their offensive attacks and transition game. We were out there blocking shots and doing whatever it took to win, and I think that was easy to see if you were watching the games. Everyone really stepped it up, and that’s why we’re in the position we are in right now.
It’s definitely going to be nice to have some time off before the next round starts. I’m sure tomorrow is going to be an off day, and we’ll all take advantage of getting away from the rink. It will be a day to relax, and I’m sure I’ll turn on the tube to watch a period or two of the Rangers-Penguins game. It’s a nice feeling knowing we don’t have to come right back and battle tomorrow night in what would have been Game 6, because the Canadiens did have a great squad and that’s why they were the top seeded team in the conference.
Thursday, May 1
3:20 p.m.
What can you say about the Philadelphia crowd and people that come to the games? They have a lot of attitude, a lot of bark to their voices and they really got us going. Anytime you have fans like that behind you a hundred percent of the time, it’s a great feeling and everyone’s positive. It was definitely a big help with these past two wins at home.
We know the fourth game is the one that is always the hardest, especially after our last series went all the way to seven games. I don’t think we want to repeat that, and we’d like to close out as fast as we can. Montreal is a tough building to play in, and you know there’s a lot of hype up there too, so they’re gonna give us the best game we’ve seen all series. We’re just going to have to match that.
Today we had a complete off day from the rink. It's nice not having to go to the rink, and you can just have a nice breakfast at home and do the stuff you’ve been waiting to do when you’ve had a day off. I’ve always spent a few hours at the rink every day for awhile now, so I’m just hanging out at home basically and just catching up on some rest. I'm not going to anything with the hair this time, but I Tivo’d LOST on TV so I’m probably going to watch that tonight.
Tomorrow we have practice at 10:30. It should be a good practice, and everyone should be rested up from the day off and should have a good attitude as we fly out at 2:00 to Montreal. It’s going to be Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night and it’s going to be our biggest game of the year, and everyone knows that. We’re gonna have to be ready to roll come puck drop time.
Sunday, April 27
12:45 a.m.
I think our mindset going into Montreal, in the hostile environment up there, was that a split would be pretty good for us and give us the home ice advantage the rest of the series. It kind of slipped away from us in Game 1, but in Game 2 we really showed a lot of character in coming back just like we did in round one against Washington. We really battled right to end tonight, stuck up for each other, scored some key goals and didn’t get the crowd as fired up as they were before.
It was tough going into that first game, after playing games six and seven against Washington in back-to-back nights and then flying to Montreal the very next day. It was a bit tiring on our bodies, especially going into overtime there in that last game. It was hard mentally, too, as well as physically. But, like I said, we showed lots of character here in Game 2. We’d certainly love to be up 2-0 in the series, but those are the breaks. Regardless, we feel pretty good about ourselves right now.
Tonight I was back with Vinny and Danny, and I have to say it’s a real pleasure playing with them. They are really good players, and have a lot of skill, so I just try to muck it up in the corners and give them as much room to operate as I can. It worked out well tonight on Danny’s goal so we’ll just have to keep going at like that. It doesn’t matter who is playing with who though, really. You just have to work hard every night and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.
Tonight the plan is just to get back home and have a good sleep. I don’t know yet what the plan is for tomorrow, but it will be important to recoup and get ready to go for Game 3 in front of our home fans, who have been awesome so far.
Wednesday, April 23
2:35 p.m.
Last night was, well…what a feeling. To win that series in the fashion that we did, we really came through in the end with flying colors. It took more than 60 minutes to do it, but we were all just so happy, of course. It’s the first playoff series that I’ve won in my career, so it’s pretty special to have the confidence to know that you can do it.
The train ride back last night was fun. We were joking around about some certain plays in the series, and watching the score of the San Jose-Calgary game. We threw the cards around a little bit, and just had a good time. It would be strange to think that right at this moment our season could have been over, because we want to keep on going as long as we can. So, you celebrate for a little bit, but now we have to focus on Montreal.
Last night I didn’t really sleep all that well. My heart was still racing, just thinking about some of the things from the game. It took a few hours to get to sleep just because of how happy I was, but I’ll rest up tonight and get ready for tomorrow night’s game.
Today I managed to have a little fun. When I woke up this morning we found out the team plane was delayed a little bit. Joffrey Lupul was going to get his haircut, so I told him I would go along and see if they would straighten my hair just for a joke. When I got to the plane everyone thought it was a wig that I was wearing, so it’s just kind of a fun thing and guys are having some laughs at my expense. I think once I get my hair wet again though, she’ll go right back to being curly.
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Editors note: to see Hartnell's new look, 
click here).
As for Montreal, it’s going to be a battle. We haven’t had much rest, but they went to a Game 7, too. They haven’t been waiting, or chomping at the bit for us to get there. They have a lot of skilled players and a great young goalie in net, but we just have to do some of the same things we did against Washington like getting the puck deep and getting traffic on the net. If we leave it all on the ice, we’ll have another feeling like we did last night.
Sunday, April 20
12:20 p.m.
Yesterday, having an afternoon game is a little different. You wake up and have your pre-game meal and there’s chicken, pasta and steak and all that stuff, but it’s pretty tough to eat that at 9:00 in the morning. So, I had a little breakfast and just went straight to rink after that, which was a little bit earlier than usual. I had a really good warm-up and stretch and got ready for the game.
There was no surprise to us that they were going to come out hard and initiate instead of react to what we were doing. I think we did a good job weathering the storm, but they were pretty relentless the first 40 minutes. Once we realized we had to fight back a little more, we played pretty solid in the third period, killed off some big penalties and were just a break away from tying it up and getting it to overtime. But we couldn’t quite do that, and now that the game is over you move on and focus on Game 6.
Today, we had a team meeting, a little bit of video, a stretch and a workout. We had a little bike ride, too, just to get your body recovered from the long Game 5 and the double overtime game before that. You just want to recoup, and we’ll have a pre-game skate tomorrow to get the legs fired up and ready to blast off in Game 6.
Today, for the rest of the day, I’ll probably catch whatever game is on this afternoon and tonight. I probably won’t watch them all, but I’d like to catch a period or two. It looks like a nice day, so I may go for a bite to eat downtown.
Tomorrow, we’re going to be fired up. Their backs are against the wall, but we definitely don’t want to let it go to Game 7 in their building. It’s going to be a battle, and we know it, so we’re going to be fired up, like I said. We’ll have our home crowd behind us, and we’re going to need every ounce of energy in that building to help us out and get off to a good start.
Thursday, April 17
11:25 a.m.
Yesterday we had a little bike ride and a workout. It was more a day for recovery from Tuesday’s game. After practice I went home and I actually ended up going to the Phillies game against Houston. We had some great seats and had a good time, and after that I headed home to my place in the city and watched some of the playoff games on TV before shutting 'er down around 11:30 or so.
The crowd Tuesday was amazing. We fed off of it early, and it just kept getting louder and louder as the game went on. It really climaxed when Richie got that penalty shot goal, and they were just going bananas. Sometimes I don’t think the fans really realize how we feed off of that energy, but we definitely do and it was pretty cool. I loved the whole sea of orange. It was awesome. I’d love to see us keep doing that the rest of the playoffs.
Our line so far this series [Hartnell, Danny Briere and Vaclav Prospal] is really just keeping it simple and we’re having success. We’re getting pucks to the net, and if it’s not me in front of the net, it’s either Danny or Vinny. We’re just trying to take the goalie's eyes away, and we’re capitalizing on our opportunities. That’s the main thing, and it’s what we need in the playoffs. But it’s not just our line; it’s all four lines that are working hard and getting chances.
Tonight, Washington is going to be a determined hockey club. They certainly don’t want to fall down 3-1, and it’s going to be a battle out there. We have to keep keying on their big guys like we have been all series and take this fight to the bitter end.
Monday, April 14
12:20 p.m.
All that can be said about the game yesterday was that it was a huge win by us and a big performance in net by Martin Biron. He stopped all their shots and made some really great saves, especially early in the game. Everyone played hard together, and it was nice to see everyone pulling the same way.
We went down there to D.C. for a split, and if we would have gotten two it would have been great, but we still accomplished what we wanted to do. After the Game 1 collapse, coming in and doing what we did in Game 2 was huge. There were lots of smiles and lots of jokes going around on the train ride home, so that was a good time. At the end of the day yesterday it was nice to get home, because you’re so tired after playing that hard for sixty minutes. I just tried to get some rest and get ready for Game 3.
This morning on the way to the rink, I caught on the radio that Marty had a baby girl. I actually didn’t know it was supposed to be this soon that he was supposed to have a baby. It is good for his family, it’s a healthy baby girl and I’m really happy for him. I’m sure it’s nice for him to get away and spend time with his family today.
As for today, we had a bike ride and a stretch and an optional skate. Much of the day was just getting our bodies recovered from blocking shots and just being generally sore from the two games. It’s safe to say we’ve got some bruises here and there, and I’m sure Washington does too. It’s just nice to get off the ice and get them healed up and we’ll be back to work tomorrow.
Saturday, April 12
1:45 p.m.
It was a little bit of a disappointing loss last night, but as soon as we left the rink we started thinking about practice today and refocusing on what they did to us there. I had a good sleep last night, and was able to have a good practice today and have some fun. We watched a little bit of video before practice as well, to go over what happened yesterday. We just have to learn from our mistakes. It’s a long series, and now we have to win one tomorrow. That’s what we came down here to do, was to get a split.
We were all kind of scared for Patrick yesterday. We didn’t know if he would need surgery or not and there were rumors going around, but at least now he’s back at the hotel resting up. Hopefully he’ll be able to suit up for us tomorrow or again soon. But we’re all definitely relieved to hear that he’s going to be fine.
The rest of the day today we’re going to have a quick bite to eat after practice, and then there’s another team meal set up for around 6:30. The guys are all going out together which is great to see. We have a lot of camaraderie in this dressing room and it’s a great sign. Then we all have to make sure we get a good night’s sleep for the 2:00 game. We’ll get to the rink nice and early, tape up the sticks, and get ready to beat them here in Game 2.
Friday, April 11
12:15 p.m.
The train ride down yesterday was like any other train ride. We threw around the cards and played a little bit of poker for about the hour and a half. It was me, Jimmy Dowd, Marty, Jason Smith, Timonen, Richards and Hatch. We checked into the hotel and got to relax a bit before a 6:15 bus took us to a nice team dinner last night. I had a nice salad, and an ol’ filet mignon, with potatoes and veggies. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but we got a chance to joke around a bit and everyone is pretty loose. We went right back to the hotel after that and I watched a couple of the games on the tube on Versus.
This morning, we had a good morning skate at the Verizon Center at 11:00. Guys are loose and focused. I sense a little bit of nerves, but we’re more excited to get the series underway. Everyone else has started and we’re the last one, so guys are itching to get that first period underway.
This afternoon we’ll go back to the hotel and have a pregame meal there. Everyone eats something different, but I’m strictly a chicken and pasta guy. Maybe I’ll have a bowl of soup, depending on how it looks. And, I’ll have one scoop of ice cream after the meal.
After that I’ll shut it down for about an hour or two. I’ll grab a little snack and get to the rink and get focused, warmed up, and get ready to beat the Capitals.
Wednesday, April 9
2:35 p.m.
In practice the last couple days, we’ve just been working on our system play a little bit, and getting it fine-tuned for Friday night. We want a big start, so we’re just getting our legs and conditioning up, getting out there and having fun, too. You can’t forget about having fun, so it’s a good mix between being serious and having a good time.
It’s definitely nice having four days off. We’ve had some banged up bodies, like every team does throughout an eighty-two game season. Just having that little break, getting guys rested, and just refocusing on Washington what they do, is nice to have.
Right now the team morale is very good. We’ve always had a good sense about this team from Day 1. We had a great start, a couple rough times, but we’ve pulled through with flying colors every time. Especially last weekend – we put together a couple shutouts, and some very good team games. We just need to carry that into Washington. We know what they can do, and if we play any way close to the way we did this past weekend, we should be a tough team to play against.
Tonight we’re just going to focus on getting our rest. You’re going to give one hundred and ten percent every time you’re out there this weekend, so you get your rest, and your hydration, and try to get yourself prepared. I think the other NHL series’ start tonight, so I might catch a game or two on the tube, but other than that I’m just going to relax at home.
