Can we finally say it?

[phillyfiend]

Has one goaltender come from the ashes and established himself as number one again?

We shall see. However, in Birons last 8 games he has won 6 of them and only allowed more than 3 goals once. He is starting to look like that goaltender we had at the beginning of th eplayoffs last year.

[Dr Dan Stantz]

There's no question.

Biron is the number one. He has solidified himself and earned his spot now.

It also helps that the organization clearly has no faith in Nitty. He had an amazing stretch, and then one bad game, and he gets yanked and hasn't seen much time since. He will leave this summer to be a starter somewhere else. We're going to regret that, too.

That said, Biron has looked like the goalie of last year's playoffs for a while now. He needs to keep this up and be able to steal us some games when necessary.

[el_duderino]

I saw this written somewhere else, and I tend to agree. Biron is a good goaltender, meaning he'll keep you afloat and have a number of solid performances. But he's much more prone to bad games, and even a bad stretch, as compared to the top tier goaltenders. That's not to say we can't win with him, but it will take a bit more effort and luck to get it done.

I'll agree with Dan's point that, for better or worse, Nitty is likely gone this off-season. Of course, Biron was the one on the market at the trade deadline (due to his inconsistent play at that time), so it might depend on what deal Homer can get for either one. Still, I'd be surprised if both are around come next September.

[phillyfiend]

IMO they did not treat nitty too well. They yanked him too soon. They never let him try to build momentum or for the guys to have faith in him. I would have liked to see him try, full out, for the starters postion. however, i think it is too late at this point.

[Dr Dan Stantz]

According to a report from the Flyers STH Town Meeting yesterday, supposedly Homer was asked about our goalie situation for next year and basically said Marty's agent is asking for way too much money... saying he's "still Marty Biron not Marty Brodeur even though he outplayed him this week"... but the interesting note, is that supposedly Nitty's hip has never, and will never heal. That many teams were asking about Nitty at the trade deadline, and Homer couldn't, in good conscience, trade him since he was damaged goods.

Take this all with a grain of salt, though, as it does seem odd to me that Homer would release this information.