Ruff says Flyers played like "idiots"

Oh happy day. The Flyers were elminated in their playoff series against the Sabres.

In game 2, the Sabres kicked the stuffing out of the Flyers, 8-2. The Flyers seemed preoccupied with getting revenge on Brian Campbell for his great open ice hit on RJ Umberger. Never mind that the hit was completely legal and clean - the Flyers had it on their minds they were going to retaliate.

The money quote from Ruff:

"Use a different word if you want, but I thought they did," Ruff said. "The more they acted like idiots, the more we wanted to play."

What did the wonderfully classy Ken Hitchcock have to say? (for the obtuse, or any Flyers fans reading this, please note my dripping sarcasm)

"That's Lindy's opinion," Hitchcock said. "I've seen his teams do the same thing. So he ought not to talk about that."

He took just one more question and then stomped off like a little baby, swearing and crying that Ruff should mind his own business. See the article from NHL.com for the complete write-up.

So Coach Hitchcock basically admitted to the thuggery - "I've seen his teams do the same thing". This is exactly what the NHL needs to avoid, in my opinion. In the playoffs, you want to see speed, skill, hustle and grit - not guys delivering forearm shivers like Hatcher did (if you want that, go watch Ultimate Fighting Championships).

Of course, the best part, from the Pittsburgh perspective, is that the Flyers are getting beat up and Hitchcock is crying. Great that they didn't make it through to the second round!!