Ottawa Senators fans know this feeling all too well.
When Martin was leading the Ottawa squad from 1996 to 2004, fans got used to their team getting the living shit kicked out of them every night by teams like Toronto who knew Martin didn't like the rough stuff - or the rough players. That trend has followed Martin to Florida.
The Flyers bitch slapped the Panthers last night in Philly, both on the scoreboard and on the face. Guys like Derian Hatcher and Steve Downie did whatever they wanted to the Panthers and Downie even injured Rostislav Olesz at the end of the second period with a vicious hit off the faceoff. Somewhere John Paddock, Downie's biggest fan, is smiling in his secret Flyers pajamas.
What's even more pathetic is that the two players who fought back for the Panthers were the likes of Olli Jokinen and Richard Zednik, while Nathan Horton and Ruslan Salei picked up roughing minors. The Panthers are not the type of team you take with you to a back alley knife fight. Unless you want to commit suicide.
Knowing Martin, those guys could find themselves benched for getting a penalty in the first place.
You just know that scrappers like Anthony Stewart and David Booth would have loved to go out and knock a few heads around but Martin as usual is simply living by the scoreboard.
Sometimes standing up for yourself in an over the top manner is worth two or three wins in the NHL. At least other teams aren't dying to play you tough in the future.
To top it off, we have the all-time weakest excuse/explanation from a hockey player after losing a game, courtesy of Panther Radek Dvorak:
"I know we showed some desperation the last 40 minutes, we came back and lost by one goal, but everyone will tell you, it's tough to come back from a 4-1 [deficit]," said winger Radek Dvorak. "At least we showed the last 40 minutes, we can play. So hopefully we will wake up … because this is not good enough, guys."
No guys, it's not good enough. Not even close.
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