Two Miscues Upend Maple Leafs

By HOWARD BERGER

OTTAWA (Oct. 30) - There wasn't much to choose from on the weekend, as the Maple Leafs were involved in a pair of one goal games: a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday, and a 3-2 loss to the Senators here in Ottawa on Sunday.

The game at Scotiabank Place turned on two plays. The decisive goal, which put Ottawa ahead, 3-1, at 7:08 of the third period was a fluttering shot from 35 feet that Jonas Gustavsson should have been able to handle blind-folded. Instead, the volley from the right-wing boards by Senators rookie Kaspars Daugavins hand-cuffed the Toronto netminder and proved to be the winning goal. "Yes, of course, that's a shot I should stop any night," Gustavsson admitted after yielding Daugavins' first NHL tally.

Even more bizarre was the play that tied the match, 1-1, late in the opening frame. Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson was off for cross-checking when Ottawa freshman David Rundblad gobbled up a loose puck to the right of the Senators net. At the same time, Colin Greening of Ottawa somehow snuck behind the Leafs defense pairing of Luke Schenn and Dion Phaneuf. Rundblad rifled a 135-foot pass that Greening accepted behind the Toronto players and sped in alone on Gustavsson, scoring with a wrist-shot to the glove side.

"The game changed after that," said Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "We were leading, 1-0, and controlling the play pretty well until that goal. It lit a candle for Ottawa and they played well the rest of the night."

Clarke MacArthur, after a slow first couple of weeks, is suddenly clicking. He had both Toronto goals against the Senators and has scored four times in the past three games.

Leafs resume this three-game road trip in New Jersey on Wednesday, and play at Columbus on Thursday.

My photos, below, from a day (and night) here in Ottawa:

ON THE CLIMB OUT OF TORONTO EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON, I GOT A COUPLE OF NEAT IMAGES AS THE AIR CANADA AIRBUS-320 SKIRTED THE SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO (ABOVE AND BELOW). BOTH PHOTOS SHOW THE ROGERS CENTRE (WHERE BUFFALO AND WASHINGTON WERE PLAYING AN NFL GAME); THE C.N. TOWER, AND THE AIR CANADA CENTRE (AT FAR RIGHT IN EACH PICTURE).

ANY PERSON HAVING LANDED AT OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS LIKELY FAMILIAR WITH THE WATER-FALL DISPLAY (ABOVE) IN THE BAGGAGE-CLAIM AREA.

AS ALWAYS, FANS OF THE SENATORS AND MAPLE LEAFS FILE INTO SCOTIABANK PLACE (ABOVE), 90 MINUTES BEFORE THE 7:30 P.M. PUCK-DROP.

VIEW (ABOVE) FROM BEHIND THE ZAMBONI ENTRANCE PRIOR TO PRE-GAME WARM-UP.

THOUGH HE HAD A QUIET NIGHT AGAINST THE LEAFS, TORONTO NATIVE JASON SPEZZA (ABOVE) HAS BEEN PLAYING TERRIFIC HOCKEY FOR FIRST-YEAR COACH PAUL MacLEAN, SCORING AT MORE THAN A POINT-PER-GAME CLIP.

A CROWD OF 19,522 WAS ON HAND FOR THE LATEST BATTLE OF ONTARIO.

LEAF TEAMMATES CONGRATULATE CLARKE MacARTHUR AFTER HIS FIRST OF TWO GOALS AGAINST OTTAWA. MacARTHUR HAS FOUR GOALS IN THE PAST THREE GAMES.

CENTRE COLIN GREENING (ABOVE) WAS A FORCE ALL NIGHT FOR OTTAWA. HIS BREAKAWAY GOAL - OFF A 135-FOOT PASS BY TEAMMATE DAVID RUNDBLAD LATE IN THE FIRST PERIOD - TIED THE GAME, 1-1, AND CHANGED THE NIGHT'S MOMENTUM, ACCORDING TO LEAFS COACH RON WILSON.

SECOND-YEAR PRO ROBIN LEHNER (ABOVE) MADE HIS FIRST START OF THE SEASON IN GOAL FOR OTTAWA, WHICH WORE ITS THROW-BACK JERSEY AGAINST THE LEAFS.

PUCK IS BEHIND LEAFS GOALIE JONAS GUSTAVSSON (ABOVE), AS SENATORS CELEBRATE CHRIS NEIL'S RE-DIRECTION AT 7:59 OF THE SECOND PERIOD - A POWERPLAY MARKER THAT GAVE OTTAWA ITS FIRST LEAD OF THE NIGHT [2-1]. NEIL GOT HIS STICK-BLADE ON A ONE-TIMER FROM INSIDE THE POINT BY DEFENSEMAN ERIK KARLSSON.

THOUGH IT WAS A FAIRLY TAME MATCH, TEMPERS DID FLARE A BIT IN THE SECOND PERIOD (ABOVE) WITH LEAFS DEFENSEMAN MIKE KOMISAREK GETTING SOME RUDE TREATMENT.

OTTAWA PLAYERS GATHER AROUND COACH PAUL MacLEAN (ABOVE) AFTER LEAFS CALLED TIME-OUT IN THE LAST 90 SECONDS OF REGULATION.

LEAFS PLAYED THE LAST MINUTE-AND-A-HALF WITH JONAS GUSTAVSSON ON THE BENCH FOR AN EXTRA ATTACKER (ABOVE), BUT DID NOT THREATEN TO TIE THE MATCH. THE SCOREBOARD AT SCOTIABANK PLACE (BELOW) TOLD THE FINAL STORY.

LEAFS' TWO-GOAL MAN, CLARKE MacARTHUR, TALKS WITH TORONTO SUN HOCKEY GURU MIKE ZEISBERGER (ABOVE) AFTER THE GAME, OUTSIDE THE VISITORS' DRESSING ROOM.

When Gary Bettman Cuts Himself, Does He Bleed

By HOWARD BERGER

NEW YORK (Oct. 28) - A sage, hardened veteran of the media that covers the National Hockey League warned me, in no uncertain terms, about attempting to write the blog you have just started to read - one that ventures to portray Gary Bettman as a credible, upstanding member of the human race.

"Forget about it... you will be annihilated," my well-meaning mentor cautioned in reference to the NHL Commissioner of the past 19 years. "Public opinion will swallow you whole."

As another NHL lifer - Cliff Fletcher - might say in this situation: "Public Shmublic."

Not even a dash of trepidation accompanied me to NHL headquarters here in Manhattan earlier this week; in fact, I couldn't wait to discuss the topic of portrayal with the league's No. 1 figure. Trekking northward for 15 blocks on 6th Ave. (better-known here as Avenue of the Americas), I came upon the unassuming office tower - between 46th and 47th St. - that encompasses the NHL's nerve-center in a sprawling, 15th-floor arrangement. Security in the building, and on the NHL level, is such that President Obama would be turned away if not for an official invitation. A comparative slug like me induced a thorough character review; two pieces of photo-identification, and a phone-call to Bettman's trusty aide - Frank Brown - who saw a live image of his beleaguered guest from a web-camera before sanctioning further movement.



THE SPOTLESS, MIRRORED LOGO (ABOVE) THAT GREETS A VISITOR TO THE NHL'S NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS.

Moments later, Brown - sportingly attired, as always - escorted me through a dizzying labyrinth of hallways, whereupon we arrived at the Commissioner's office. Perusing one of the innumerable documents that cross his desk each day, Bettman warmly greeted his Canadian visitor, who could not conceal astonishment. The Commissioner's lair, though modestly decorated, is roughly the size of the main airport terminal in Regina, Saskatchewan. Windowed on two sides, it offers a northward view up cab-infested 6th Ave.; past the famed Radio City Music Hall; ending at the south perimeter of Central Park.

Along with an enormous desk and matching bureau, it has two seating areas: one comprised of a round, wooden table with four chairs; the other, more inviting, a black-leather couch; two lounging seats and a rectangular coffee-table. Proudly displayed on the table is a large book entitled Canada's Olympic Hockey History: 1920 to 2010, authored by Andrew Podnieks and personally signed to Bettman by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.



NHL COMMISSIONER GARY BETTMAN RELAXES IN HIS SPRAWLING, NEW YORK OFFICE, WHICH PROVIDES A NIFTY VIEW UP 6th AVENUE (BELOW) TOWARD SOUTH BOUNDARY OF CENTRAL PARK.



My motivation for requesting this audience - generously arranged by Brown on short notice - was simple: in more than three decades of following the NHL for radio and print, I have never been exposed to an individual that has taken as merciless and ceaseless a pounding as Gary Bettman. Overwhelmingly, this condemnation - devoid of even trace-levels of balance - has hailed from north of the Canada-U.S. border, where hockey and its components are viewed possessively. Often, it has crossed the line toward personal assault - the Commissioner's modest height spawning frequent mention - and has occasionally been wrought with an anti-Semitic undertone; Bettman, like sporting counterparts David Stern and Bud Selig, is Jewish.

Moreover, a man that has held the NHL's top position longer than anyone except Clarence Campbell is liberally portrayed as a thin-skinned dolt; defensive and insincere; blatantly devoid - as an American - of passion for the game and its affluent history, while possessing a fatal commitment to apathetic hockey markets in the land of his birth.

Tendering this depiction to Bettman induced a brief moment of howling laughter - mostly, I sensed, from its bare-faced offering; bluntness he may not have previously encountered in eye-to-eye communication. Still, it phased him in no other way.

"You cannot do this job unless you have thick skin and balance in your life," Bettman said, refuting one of the aforementioned charges. "I understand who I am; what I'm doing, and why I make the decisions I do. If you don't like them, I'm sorry. That's life. I've always understood that when you have a high-profile position, people are going to be for you or against you... there's not much middle ground. Those who make personal attacks don't know me. If they write that I'm short - now there's a bulletin - or I don't have model good looks, what am I going to do? I am who I am and I'm comfortable in my skin.

"I've got a great family," Bettman continued. "I've been well-educated; I've got many great friends; I live a terrific life in which I get to do what I love every day, and so if people want to be critical, they'll be critical. The people I work for - who decide on my employment - obviously are comfortable with what I'm doing. I work extremely hard and get enormous satisfaction from the things we do here on a daily basis. I get satisfaction from working with terrific people. If others want to say nasty things about me, or boo me, let 'em. Nobody is above criticism and you just go with the flow. As long as you believe in yourself and make decisions for the right reasons, that's good enough."

What Bettman finds more of a challenge is the manner in which criticism has effected his family. "When my kids were younger, I had to help them develop insulation on my behalf," he admitted. "I tell my wife and kids today 'you're not allowed to Google me.' They've been in arenas where I've been booed and my guess is, when they were younger, it was a little disconcerting... not because of the noise of the booing, but because they love me. But, when they see that I'm fine it with, they understand, over time, it's no big deal."

Bettman has been a lightning-rod on both sides of the border - and probably always will be - for his leading role in the canceled NHL season of 2004-05. Fact is, he promised incoming and re-located franchises (Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, Minnesota, Carolina, Phoenix) he would ultimately obtain a salary cap ("cost certainty" is the preferred phrase); he was vehemently upheld in that pursuit - for better or for worse - by several of the most influential senior governors in the league (notably, Jeremy Jacobs of Boston), and his yearning to dethrone Players Association director Bob Goodenow - while intensely personal - also yielded near-unanimous support at the ownership level.

The Commissioner's blueprint - beyond limiting payroll - assured that no corner of the American pro sporting map would be without the game. The potential for attracting a truly national arrangement with any of the big U.S. television networks - a mostly futile exercise for the NHL since the mid-'70s - required blanket involvement from coast-to-coast: a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained concept. Neither Bettman nor the owners deserve condemnation for such a plan; none of the "big three" sports south of the border - football, baseball or basketball - would thrive as national TV properties without similar infiltration. And though clubs in several of the newer hockey markets have lost substantial money (deficits exacerbated by near-collapse of the world economy in 2008), the league, as a whole, is flourishing.

The NHL has capitalized on the eruption of digital technology, thereby limiting its strict reliance on TV endowment. At the same time, the league's contract with NBC - originally devoid of a rights-holding tariff - has evolved into a 10-year arrangement worth roughly $2 billion. That may be peanuts by NFL standards but it yields more than twice the annual return of the previous hockey contract. Cable-TV exposure has been effected by severing a relationship with sports monolith ESPN and Bettman may privately wish he had done that one over.

Still, the league - with its digital properties and Center-Ice TV package - is providing fans greater exposure and access than ever before. It has its own TV and radio network, and its annual outdoor game in the New Year - the Bridgestone Winter Classic - has become a staple of the Bettman regime, attracting both hard-core and casual fans (the Rangers and Flyers play this season, on Jan. 2, at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia).

None of this, however, seems particularly relevant among the vast majority of those who cover the game north of the border. Bettman could eradicate famine and plague; he'd still be viewed as a know-nothing shrimp. It has evolved, at times, into a battle of media one-upsmanship: "I can trash the NHL Commissioner better than you can." As far as Bettman is concerned, let 'em rip.

"Like I said before: I look the way I look; I'm the height that I am; if I'm an American and some people in Canada don't like that, I'm sorry. Although," Bettman countered, "I get, by and large, extremely warm treatment and a very good reception everywhere I go in Canada. I've spent a lot of time there and have many good friends who live in Canada. I have the utmost respect for the country and its leading role in game of hockey. I have educated myself about Canadian culture and the political and business environment. I'm not one of these Americans who thinks Canada is the 51st state. I know it isn't.

"For my 50th birthday (in 2002), my wife made arrangements for us to take seven couples away. You know where we went? The Canadian Rockies. I think I understand the passion of hockey in that country. The fact that people in the United States may also be passionate about hockey doesn't diminish the game, nor should it diminish the game in Canada. That people in the United States love something that is so special and important in Canada gives respect to this game and its birth-place. I think hockey is Canada's gift to the world."

Bettman's detractors north of the border often refer to his defensive posture in radio and television interviews. The Commissioner does tend to get his back up when challenged, yet rarely is he asked a question in a way that doesn't put him on the defensive. "When I'm being interviewed, I don't create the environment," Bettman said. "I'm merely a guest. So, if the environment being created for me is pleasant and cordial, you can assume the interview will be pleasant and cordial. If the environment is hostile and attacking, you respond as best you can.

"There are people who have interviewed me that think the appropriate thing to do is try and score points. To them, I've always thought 'good luck.' Frankly, I don't care if they try to score points with me. If they're doing it about the game, that's another matter. I am a fierce defender of the game. I don't like to see the game attacked when it shouldn't be. I don't like to see the life's work of our players, and the people charged with putting on these games every night, diminished or portrayed negatively when it shouldn't be. So, I'll defend this game with every ounce of energy I have.

"I'm happy to be the lightning-rod," Bettman continued, displaying raw emotion for the only time during our hour-long interview. "If that can deflect negative attention from the game and the owners, I'm fine with it. I'm a lawyer by trade. To me, it's all about the client. My clients are the teams and the sport. That's my view of the world... it's the way I was trained."



BETTMAN ON THE CHARGE THAT HE IS TOO DEFENSIVE WHILE BEING INTERVIEWED: "I'LL DEFEND THIS GAME WITH EVERY OUNCE OF ENERGY I HAVE."

Bettman has chosen to no longer make his annual playoff appearance on Hockey Night In Canada with host Ron MacLean. Though Bettman and MacLean are at the apex of their professions, those television moments brought out the best in neither man. MacLean often tried to cram an hour's worth of topics into 10 minutes and Bettman rarely allowed him to finish a question. In the end, it proved of little merit.

"I have absolutely nothing against Ron; he's a good man and he's popular across Canada for a lot of good reasons," Bettman said. "My problem, again, was related to the game. I felt our TV segment was creating a distraction in the middle of the Stanley Cup final. It got to be a bit of a circus and people were talking about that rather than the game. It became a spectacle and - to be honest - people, for years, were telling me to stop [going on]. I want the attention at that time of year, in particular, to be on the players and the game.

"Again, it's nothing personal. I have always valued making myself as accessible as I can to the media. In Canada, I go on with [CBC news anchor] Peter Mansbridge when I'm asked; I go on with George Strombolopoulos when I'm asked. It's much more about the environment created, and the timing."

No environment in hockey is as bizarre, or disrespectful, than the moments, each spring, when Bettman is on the ice presenting the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Stanley Cup. Or, trying to present both above the hoots and cat-calls from those in attendance. Unfortunately for the Commissioner, the Stanley Cup has been won by the visiting team each of the past four years (Anaheim, in 2007, the last club to win at home), exacerbating whatever hostility the fans feel toward Bettman.

"When I'm presenting the Cup, it's not about me - it's about the team receiving it," Bettman said. "When I'm presenting the Conn Smythe, it's not about me, it's about the player. And, that's who I feel badly for. That player and the winning team have worked so hard for their accomplishment that it may detract from what should be a terrific moment.

"That said, I think most people, at this point, have begun to look at [the booing] as a bit of a joke. When Tim Thomas came up in Vancouver [to receive the Conn Smythe] and Zdeno Chara came over [for the Stanley Cup], we were all joking about the noise. For me, it's no big deal. I've done it enough times now and I know that TV can pick up what I'm saying, so I just talk. People in the arena, if they're booing and they don't want to hear it, that's fine.

"I don't remember being booed in Carolina or Anaheim [the last two occasions in which the home team won the championship]," Bettman said. "In fact, Philadelphia [when Chicago won the Cup there in 2010] wasn't that bad. The Flyers' fans were pretty respectful. I walked out - they booed - then it got quiet when I started to present the Cup."

During our chat, Bettman swore he doesn't mind being the "villain" - especially the "villain" associated with the lost NHL season of 2004-05. Though the lock-out certainly didn't have the economic impact Bettman and the owners envisioned, he still contends it was anything but a fruitless exercise - the season-long pause enabling those within the sport to enact some fundamental change.

"Most people that communicate with us tell us the game is much better than it was before [the lock-out]," he said. "Would the game have changed for the better if we had played that season? I'm not so sure. I get that reaction more than I get grief for what happened.

"Look, in essence, I'm the equivalent of a politician. Public figures get criticized. And, just so you understand that I'm not delusional about this: Do I think people boo me just because that's the same thing they do to a governor, or a premier, or the President? No. There are some people that genuinely don't like me and the job that I do. I'm fine with that. I don't expect that everyone will approve of me.

"As long as the people that employ me are satisfied - and the game is growing at the rate it should be - that's good enough... and it always will be."

No Hockey, Just New York (Mostly From Above)

By HOWARD BERGER

NEW YORK (Oct. 26) - For my money, there is nothing quite so exhilarating, weather-wise, as a perfect autumn afternoon. Combine such conditions with one of the great cities on Earth and spontaneous things happen. Tuesday was one of those days.

I took a late-morning train from Philadelphia to New York (with a brief stop in Newark) - embarking in the heart of Manhattan at Penn Station, directly beneath Madison Square Garden. After a one-hour work appointment on 6th Ave., I walked back to my hotel and was struck, as always, by the majesty of the Empire State Building - since Sep. 11, 2001, the tallest structure, once again, in this canyon of towers. Soaring toward a perfectly-blue sky - its southwest facade baked in late-afternoon sun - New York's most famous landmark was too inviting to pass by. As such, I made my first trek to the 86th-floor observation level since early in 1990 - both this city and its Toronto-based visitor having changed rather dramatically in the interim.

I was quickly reminded that you don't simply walk into the Empire State Building and board an elevator to the top. First, you fall in behind the 300 or so others that have chosen the same activity. You slowly wind your way toward an airport-type security system and are instructed to virtually dis-robe before passing through the metal detector. Then you join the ticket line, whereupon you approach, roughly one-half hour later, a window to purchase the $22 observation-level fare. Line-up No. 3 is to board an elevator to the 80th floor - for reasons that are not explained, a transfer-point in the massive building to the next and final line-up: a lift that delivers you the remaining six stories to your destination.

Upon arriving at the observation deck, you instantly realize why you've just invested an hour to get there - the results of which are displayed in my photo-images below.

A 75-MINUTE TRAIN RIDE FROM PHILADELPHIA TO NEW YORK BRIEFLY STOPS IN NEWARK (ABOVE), WHERE THE PRUDENTIAL CENTER (HOME OF THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS) SITS BENEATH THE DOWNTOWN INSURANCE BUILDINGS. EMBARKING FROM PENN STATION IS A BIT CONFUSING, DESPITE WHAT APPEARS TO BE GENERALLY GOOD SIGNAGE (BELOW).

NEWLY-RENOVATED MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (ABOVE) HOSTED THE 1980s ROCK GROUP DURAN-DURAN ON TUESDAY NIGHT.

THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING (ABOVE) RISES TOWARD A PERFECT MID-AUTUMN SKY.

THE FAMILIAR SECURITY BACK-DROP (ABOVE) AT THE 5th-AVENUE ENTRANCE TO THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.

FROM 86 FLOORS UP, A VIEW OF THE EAST RIVER (ABOVE), SEPARATING MANHATTAN FROM THE BOROUGH OF QUEENS ON LONG ISLAND. RECTANGULAR STRUCTURE ON LEFT SIDE IS THE UNITED NATIONS BUILDING.

THE OLD MET LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING, AT 200 PARK AVE. IN MID-TOWN MANHATTAN, STANDS OUT IN THE ABOVE PHOTO, WHICH LOOKS NORTHEAST TOWARD QUEENS AND LaGUARDIA AIRPORT.

NEW YORK'S CANYON OF SKYSCRAPERS IS DWARFED (ABOVE) FROM THE OBSERVATION LEVEL OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.

THE ABOVE VIEW LOOKS DUE-NORTH TOWARD CENTRAL PARK (DARK PATCH OF TREES IN MIDDLE). ON LEFT IS THE HUDSON RIVER, WITH THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE - CONNECTING FORT LEE, N.J. TO UPPER-MANHATTAN - IN THE DISTANCE. THE NEW MET LIFE BUILDING IS AT LOWER-LEFT IN PHOTO.

A BARGE WINDS ITS WAY ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER (ABOVE), CLOSE TO WHERE CAPTAIN CHESLEY SULLENBERGER MIRACULOUSLY LANDED HIS CRIPPLED USAirways A-320 IN JANUARY 2009, MAKING INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES. THE AIRCRAFT, HAVING DEPARTED MOMENTS EARLIER FROM LaGUARDIA, STRUCK A PATCH OF CANADIAN GEESE ON ITS CLIMB-OUT, DISABLING BOTH ENGINES. DETERMINING HE DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT GLIDE-TIME TO REACH  ANY OF THE AIRPORT RUNWAYS IN THE AREA, SULLENBERGER DITCHED THE POWERLESS JETLINER IN THE HUDSON WITHOUT INCURRING A FATALITY OR SERIOUS INJURY.

THE 34th STREET (OR NORTH) SIDE OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN JUTS OUT FROM BEHIND ITS ACCOMPANYING OFFICE TOWER (ABOVE).

ACROSS THE HUDSON RIVER - THREE MILES WEST OF MID-TOWN MANHATTAN - IS THE MEADOWLANDS SPORTS COMPLEX IN EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. A TELEPHOTO LENS AND A BIT OF LUCK ENABLED THE ABOVE IMAGE OF MET LIFE STADIUM: HOME TO THE NFL'S NEW YORK JETS AND GIANTS. A HOWLING EASTERLY WIND, 86 STORIES ABOVE THE CITY, PRESENTED QUITE THE CHALLENGE WHILE STEADYING FOR THIS PHOTO.



FOR REASONS THAT NEED NOT BE EXPLAINED, THE BIGGEST CROWDS ATOP THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING ARE THOSE THAT GATHER, THREE AND FOUR-DEEP, TO PEER SOUTH TOWARD THE FORMER SITE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS. JUST MORE THAN A DECADE AFTER "9-11", A NEW TOWER RISES FROM GROUND ZERO (ABOVE... CLOSER LOOK BELOW) - CONSTRUCTION CRANE SOARING SKYWARD. ON RIGHT OF THE ABOVE PHOTO, IN NEW YORK HARBOR, IS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. IN THE BACKGROUND IS STATEN ISLAND

SETTING SUN GLIMMERS OFF THE SOUTH FLANK OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING (ABOVE AND BELOW) - PHOTOS TAKEN FROM 5th AVE.

I'VE BEEN TO NEW YORK ROUGHLY 40 TIMES IN MY LIFE AND HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THE ABOVE DUO, STROLLING ALONG 5th AVE. BETWEEN 35th AND 36th STREET.

THE SKY WASN'T NEARLY SO INVITING WHEN I LEFT NEW YORK EARLIER TODAY ON AN AIR CANADA FLIGHT OUT OF LaGUARDIA (ABOVE).

A ROUTINE FLIGHT-PATTERN OUT OF LaGUARDIA (OFF RUNWAY-13) HAS JETLINERS CLIMBING OVER FLUSHING, N.Y. (ABOVE) IN THE BOROUGH OF QUEENS: SITE OF THREE-YEAR-OLD CITI FIELD, WHERE THE NEW YORK METS PLAY HOME GAMES (CLOSER LOOK BELOW); THE NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER (UPPER-LEFT), HOME OF THE ANNUAL U.S. OPEN TOURNAMENT, AND THE 1964 WORLD'S FAIR (FAMED SPHERE AT FAR-LEFT). LARGE PARKING AREA BEHIND THE THIRD-BASE SIDE OF CITI FIELD IS WHERE THE METS' FORMER HOME, SHEA STADIUM, USED TO BE.

SPORTS FANS WILL RECOGNIZE THE GROUNDS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER (ABOVE) - PARTICULARLY GIANT ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM, WHERE THE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL OF THE U.S. OPEN IS CONTESTED EACH SEPTEMBER.

AIR CANADA E-75 CLIMBS OUT OVER THE WESTERN TIP OF LONG ISLAND (ABOVE).

Leafs Now Remember No. 68

By HOWARD BERGER

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 24) - The most bizarre aspect of Monday night's hockey game at the Wells Fargo Center was not lost on the 39-year-old that brought yesteryear to life.

"I don't remember the last time I had three breakaways in a game... it must have been like 10 years ago," shrugged Jaromir Jagr amid a swarm of media in the dressing room, moments after his two-goal effort helped Philadelphia Flyers upend the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2. "It brought back some memories for me."

Indeed, this was a vintage performance by the Czech native - arguably the best hockey player on Earth through the decade of the '90s. His prime years with the Pittsburgh Penguins - riding shot-gun with Mario Lemieux - harvested consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and '92; seven first-team All Star selections; five Art Ross Trophies as the NHL's leading scorer and one Hart Trophy as MVP. Included, was a remarkable 62 goals and 87 assists for 149 points in 1995-96. Proof of Jagr's staying power was a 123-point gem with the New York Rangers ten years (and nine seasons) later.

Absent from the NHL for the past three years while skating for Avangard Omsk of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, Jagr signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in June. He hadn't yet scored a goal in his return to North America until the Leafs arrived in town. Perhaps considering him no longer capable of dictating a game, Jagr was allowed to slip behind Toronto defenders for three solo breaks - two of which he scored on; another was stopped neatly by the pad of Jonas Gustavsson.

Moments after David Steckel brought the visitors to within a goal (3-2) in the third period, Jagr maneuvered into the clear once again and iced the victory with a backhand deke. As if to pour salt on the wound, Philly's other two goals - by Scott Hartnell - were also Nos. 1 and 2 on the season. Rather than capitalizing on a team that played horribly at home against St. Louis two nights earlier - and then lost its defensive warhorse, Chris Pronger, to an accidental high-stick from Mikhail Grabovski in the opening period - the Leafs were mostly on their heels during this encounter and now need a victory in New York Thursday night to return with a split of their four-game road trip.

My photos from the Leafs and Flyers here in Philadelphia:

THE WELLS FARGO CENTER (ABOVE) AT DUSK, 45 MINUTES BEFORE GAME-TIME.

LAUREN HART, THE BEST-KNOWN ANTHEM-SINGER IN THE NHL, URGES ON THE CROWD AFTER HER RENDITIONS OF O CANADA AND THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER.

THERE IS ALWAYS A RABID ENVIRONMENT HERE IN PHILLY BEFORE THE PUCK IS DROPPED TO BEGIN A HOCKEY GAME. THE FLYERS CROWD CAN ALSO TURN ON THE HOME TEAM AS QUICKLY AS ANY IN THE LEAGUE.

JONAS GUSTAVSSON ENDURED A COUPLE OF HARRIED MOMENTS IN THE SECOND PERIOD WHEN HE DROPPED HIS GOAL-STICK (ABOVE) AFTER A COLLISION WITH FLYERS' MAXIME TALBOT. GUSTAVSSON FACED A QUICK BARRAGE OF SHOTS, BUT MANAGED TO HOLD PHILLY OFF THE BOARD.

LIFE WASN'T A LOT MORE PEACHY WHEN "THE MONSTER" HAD HIS STICK, THANKS TO HULKING WAYNE SIMMONDS - THE FORMER LOS ANGELES KINGS FORWARD - WHO DID EVERYTHING (ABOVE AND BELOW) TO BLOCK THE LEAF GOALIE'S VIEW.

PHILADELPHIA PRESSURE ULTIMATELY WORE DOWN GUSTAVSSON AND THE LEAFS: SCOTT HARTNELL (ABOVE) IS CONGRATULATED BY TEAMMATES AFTER SCORING HIS SECOND GOAL OF THE NIGHT.

BY COMPARISON, FLYERS' BACK-UP GOALIE, SERGEI BOBROVSKY (ABOVE), OFTEN HAD A PHALANX OF TEAMMATES PROTECTING HIS CREASE FROM THE OPPOSITION.

PRESS BOX AT THE WELLS FARGO CENTER IS NAMED IN MEMORY OF LAUREN HART'S FATHER - GENE HART - ORIGINAL VOICE OF THE FLYERS, WHO CALLED THEIR CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUP VICTORIES IN 1974 AND '75.

DO NOT COVER A GAME HERE IF YOU'RE TRYING TO WATCH YOUR WEIGHT. BETWEEN THE SKITTLES; M & Ms AND REESE'S PIECES (ABOVE) - AND THE UNLIMITED SOFT PRETZELS (BELOW) IN THE SHAPE OF THE FLYERS LOGO - YOU HAVE NO CHANCE.

THERE WERE PAINED EXPRESSIONS ON THE VISITORS' BENCH (ABOVE) IN THE THIRD PERIOD UNTIL DAVID STECKEL SCORED TO CUT INTO THE FLYERS 3-1 LEAD (BELOW).

DANNY BRIERE (ABOVE) ENJOYED A HOPEFUL MOMENT WHEN STECKEL'S GOAL WENT TO VIDEO REVIEW, BUT IT WAS QUICKLY SANCTIONED BY THE "WAR ROOM" IN TORONTO.

JAROMIR JAGR TURNS AWAY (ABOVE) AFTER ENDING THE SUSPENSE WITH HIS SECOND BREAKAWAY GOAL OF THE NIGHT, PROVIDING PHILADELPHIA ITS MARGIN OF VICTORY.

THE CLOCK WINDS DOWN (ABOVE) ON THE LEAFS SECOND REGULATION-TIME LOSS OF THE SEASON... THE CLUB IS NOW 5-2-1.

JAGR IS ENVELOPED BY A MEDIA HORDE (ABOVE) AFTER THE GAME IN THE FLYERS DRESSING ROOM; HE ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM LOCAL REPORTERS (BELOW) BEFORE ACCOMMODATING A CZECH TV STATION.

SCOTTY HARTNELL ALSO HAD REASON TO SMILE (ABOVE) AFTER SCORING HIS FIRST TWO GOALS OF THE 2011-12 NHL SEASON.