Prior to tonights game versus the Detroit Red Wings, the Flyers will retire the #2 that was worn ever so gracefully by Mark Howe. Howe's jersey will join the #1 of Bernie Parent, #4 of Barry Ashbee, #7 of Bill Barber and the #16 worn by Bobby Clarke.
Mark Howe is the son of Red Wings great Gordie Howe who will reportedly be in attendance tonight to see his son receive the honor he once did.
Tonights game is a huge test for the Flyers. They currently sit 5th in the East and can not improve on their positioning with tonights game. Pittsburgh is currently in 4th with 83 points, 4 more than the Flyers. Flyers fans may want to be rooting for the Rangers tonight as they take on the Devils who are only 2 points behind the Flyers and if things go well for them tonight could tie the Flyers for 5th.
The Red Wings are tied for the division lead with St. Louis but own the #4 seed in the West. No stranger to the playoffs, the Wings be looking to see where they stand too. They are currently 16-16-1 on the road this season and that could hurt them come playoff time. Regardless of their 27-4-2 record at home. Yeah, 27-4-2.
Players to watch
Philadelphia: Braydon Schenn
Braydon Schenn has been quiet lately. He hasn't registered a point since potting 2 against Detroit back on the 12th of February. That is 8 games without a point. In 3 of the games he didn't even register a shot. It may be time to look at changing his line mates. Maybe a little wake up call is due.
Detroit: Johan Franzen
Often when you think of the Red Wings the first names that come to mind are Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom. Johan Franzen is just as an important part of this Red Wings team as the previous 3. He currently leads the team with 24 goals and is one of three Wings in the club. And those guys aren't Datsyuk or Zetterberg. Valterri Filppula (24) and Jiri Hudler (20) are the other.
Prediction
Well this is a tough one. Just kidding. Detroit hasn't been victorious in Philadelphia since they smashed our hearts on the ice and skated over them with their Stanley Cup back in 1997.
Philly: 2
Detroit: 1
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com
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Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Just past mid-season report
At 26-13-4 the Flyers currently sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference. They trail the New York Rangers by 4 points in the standings. So at the half way point of the season there have been a few pleasant surprises and a few disappointments. Overall the team has played very well in the first half of the year and we look forward to seeing what they can do down the stretch into the playoffs.
What I would like to do is to give you my mid-season report on just how each and every player has done so far. Due to the number of players that have skated for the orange and black this season, only players who have played in 20 or more games will be reviewed.
First we'll start with the guys who have played in every game.
Scott Hartnell: Scotty too hotty has played exceptionally well so far in the first half. He has scored a team leading 19 goals and has benefited from a lot of time on ice. He has seen the third most ice time on average among Flyers forwards. Still no stranger to the penalty box, Hartsy is 2nd on the team in penalty minutes with 65. Just imagine the type of impact he would have if he were on the ice more. And by on the ice we mean on his skates. Grade: B+
Kimmo Timonen: Looking back on that Peter Forsberg trade I would say that the Flyers made out pretty well with this guy. With the absence of captain Chris Pronger for the remainder of the season, Kimmo has stepped up big time. Timonen is 5th on the Flyers in points and 2nd on the team in assists. Without Timonen who knows where this defense would be. Grade: A
Jakub Voracek: This kid is fast. Not only is he fast, we have seen flashes of great plays from Voracek this season. Tied with Timonen with 26 points on the season, Jake is one of four Flyers players to have more than 20 assists on the season. He has made the absence of Jeff Carter less noticeable and has benefited from playing on lines with guys like Briere and Simmonds. Grade: B
Wayne Simmonds: Raise your hand if you like what you've seen so far. Keep your hand raised if you knew this was what you were getting with Simmonds. Hand still up? Cool. Simmonds has done a decent job so far this season. He has a pretty balanced offensive game with 12 goals and 11 assists. He has seen a good amount of time on the power play this season and it has benefited him greatly. He is tied with Giroux and Jagr for second on the team in power play goals with 5. Grade: B
Matt Carle: Carle has looked lost out there at times this year and it usually results in the other team celebrating. About a week ago he had a game against Ottawa in which he was a -4. Then there are times when he makes a great play and stops an oppositions rush. He has had a pretty wishy-washy first half of the season and with the Flyers signing Braydon Coburn to a long term deal a few months back Carle hasn't really been helping his free agent to be status. Grade: C
Maxime Talbot: What a pick up this has turned out to be. Talbot has scored 10 goals this season and I don't think many were expecting him to have that at the half way point of the season. He has played well since coming over from Pittsburgh in the offseason and looks to be a focus of what this team is built to do in the few years. He is a tremendous back checker and penalty killer and a leader on the ice. He adds a necessary grit to this team and he is kind of like the sandpaper of the tool box. Grade: B+
Andrej Meszaros: As hard as it is for me to say this, Mes has kind of let me down this far into the season. Now, before you get upset, that doesn't mean I don't think he has played well. He has. I just thought of him as the number 3 defensemen on this team before Pronger went out and I still think hes the number 3 defensemen in the line up today. Mes has 6 goals and 10 assists so far this season and plays almost 21 minutes a night. But with only a +5 rating, playing with Matt Carle has kind of slowed him down a bit this season. Flyers fans hope Andrej the Giant shows up come playoff time because when he plays a great game he is very noticeable. When he plays poorly he is noticeable as well, and not in the good way. Grade: B-
The players mentioned below have all played in 35-42 games on the season.
Braydon Coburn: Coby has played well but his numbers would not reflect it. Having had his presence felt mostly on the penalty kill, Coburn is only a +1 rating. With only 1 goal on the season Coburn has to shoot more. He has fired the puck at the net 54 times on the season and not with much success. His 1.9 shooting percentage is the lowest on the team among players with a ranking. Grade: B
Danny Briere: Briere has been absent more times than not this season and has been a bit of a disappointment offensively. Briere gets the second most time on ice among forwards and has only tallied 29 points so far this season. Undoubtedly Briere brings a level of leadership and respect when it comes to the younger players and that can not be over looked. Briere needs to pick it up down the stretch and start living up to that contract in the regular season as well as the playoffs. Grade: B-
Matt Read: What a find this kid has turned out to be. A clear contender for the Calder trophy this year Read is the top rookie on a Flyers roster that leads the NHL in points from rookies. With 13 goals on the season, 3 of them on the power play and one short handed, Read is the top point getter for Flyers rookies as well with 27. Grade: A-
Claude Giroux: Stud muffin. Plain and simple. G has been the best Flyer all season long and is going to be a top 3 vote getter for the MVP when all is said and done. With 49 points on the season Giroux is the most exciting Flyers player since Lindros. I just wish he would grow back that mustache. Grade: A+
Sean Couturier: Cooter has been the steal of the draft. Getting him that late in the top 10 was one of the best draft picks since Brady went to New England. The kid has no teeth and just looks like a hockey player. With 9 goals on the season Couturier looks to become the 9th Flyer to eclipse the 10 goal mark on the season, an NHL best. Couturier has seen precious time on the penalty kill with Talbot and they are easily one of the leagues best combo's. Grade: B
Jaromir Jagr: This is a toughie. Jags has been about what I expected. For the whole season. This was obviously a tremendous signing for this hockey club. He has helped the development of Claude Giroux so much and has really gotten a lot out of Scott Hartnell. Jaromir was always my mothers favorite player and I could never figure out why. Until now. Grade: B+
James VanReimsdyk: Oh JVR, I sense your time in Philadelphia is coming to an end soon. It is unfortunate too. There are times during the games when JVR looks like a big presence on the ice, and then he disappears for two to three games. Maybe a change of scenery will do the kid some good. Grade: C-
Zac Rinaldo: Rinaldo made his splash last season in a playoff game and Lavy fell for it. Rinaldo was an instant replacement for oft troubled Dan Carcillo and I think its safe to say a lot of Flyers fans who weren't Carbomb people are Rinaldo people. The kid hits like thunder and has a heart the size of an ox. He just seems like a liability late in games. He has been a spark for this team all season long with his energy and that certainly helps. Grade: C+
The remaining three players all played between 20-35 games this season.
Harry Zolnierczyk: Harry Z as they like to call him has been another rookie to see ice time this season. Not much but when Z sees the ice he tries to make the best of it. Looking like a kid who plays with his heart not his head Harry Z is a little too spunky for his own good sometimes. He has a -11 rating on the season and is by far the lowest on the team in those regards. For a fourth line winger Z has played as well as anyone else has in the past few years on the 4th line. Grade: C
Andreas Lilja: This guy is a bum. How he is a +3 is beyond me. Grade: D
Marc-Andre Bourdon: Bourdon has come up in light of Prongs being out for the season and has played better than expected. Bourdon has seen just over 15 minutes of ice time per game and has made a few plays to help win some games. Hes also made a few to help lose some. That's what you get. Another season in Adirondack could have helped but to me this has Jim Vandermeer and Dennis Seidenberg syndrome written all over it. Bourdon will be good enough for someone to want him and then a few years down the road don't be surprised to see him in the playoffs playing big games. Whether its for us or not remains to be seen but Bourdon has a big future if he can learn to play a little cleaner and learn to clear the puck.
In the final section we will grade the goalies.
Ilya Bryzgalov: Flyers fans have had such high expectations for Bryz all season long it is easy to blame him for a lot of the losses. Rightfully so, Bryz has been the goalie of record in 13 games this season in which the opposition has scored 4 or more goals. The Flyers are 3-11 in those games. Bryz has to do a better job of not giving up rebounds. He has been getting beat on some of the craziest shots and deflections. You could also make an argument that it has been the fault of the defense which has blown countless 2 goal leads in the 3rd period this season. Bryz must get better if he wants to be the starting goalie come playoff time. Grade: B-
Sergei Bobrovsky: Bob has put up numbers this season that are better than Bryz' all around. However, Bob isn't getting paid $51M a season so he rides the pine. For now. He has a GAA of 2.42 and it keeps going lower. Expect to see Bob in a lot more big games than you would think down the line even though Bryz is Lavy's guy. Grade: B+
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading.
What I would like to do is to give you my mid-season report on just how each and every player has done so far. Due to the number of players that have skated for the orange and black this season, only players who have played in 20 or more games will be reviewed.
First we'll start with the guys who have played in every game.
Scott Hartnell: Scotty too hotty has played exceptionally well so far in the first half. He has scored a team leading 19 goals and has benefited from a lot of time on ice. He has seen the third most ice time on average among Flyers forwards. Still no stranger to the penalty box, Hartsy is 2nd on the team in penalty minutes with 65. Just imagine the type of impact he would have if he were on the ice more. And by on the ice we mean on his skates. Grade: B+
Kimmo Timonen: Looking back on that Peter Forsberg trade I would say that the Flyers made out pretty well with this guy. With the absence of captain Chris Pronger for the remainder of the season, Kimmo has stepped up big time. Timonen is 5th on the Flyers in points and 2nd on the team in assists. Without Timonen who knows where this defense would be. Grade: A
Jakub Voracek: This kid is fast. Not only is he fast, we have seen flashes of great plays from Voracek this season. Tied with Timonen with 26 points on the season, Jake is one of four Flyers players to have more than 20 assists on the season. He has made the absence of Jeff Carter less noticeable and has benefited from playing on lines with guys like Briere and Simmonds. Grade: B
Wayne Simmonds: Raise your hand if you like what you've seen so far. Keep your hand raised if you knew this was what you were getting with Simmonds. Hand still up? Cool. Simmonds has done a decent job so far this season. He has a pretty balanced offensive game with 12 goals and 11 assists. He has seen a good amount of time on the power play this season and it has benefited him greatly. He is tied with Giroux and Jagr for second on the team in power play goals with 5. Grade: B
Matt Carle: Carle has looked lost out there at times this year and it usually results in the other team celebrating. About a week ago he had a game against Ottawa in which he was a -4. Then there are times when he makes a great play and stops an oppositions rush. He has had a pretty wishy-washy first half of the season and with the Flyers signing Braydon Coburn to a long term deal a few months back Carle hasn't really been helping his free agent to be status. Grade: C
Maxime Talbot: What a pick up this has turned out to be. Talbot has scored 10 goals this season and I don't think many were expecting him to have that at the half way point of the season. He has played well since coming over from Pittsburgh in the offseason and looks to be a focus of what this team is built to do in the few years. He is a tremendous back checker and penalty killer and a leader on the ice. He adds a necessary grit to this team and he is kind of like the sandpaper of the tool box. Grade: B+
Andrej Meszaros: As hard as it is for me to say this, Mes has kind of let me down this far into the season. Now, before you get upset, that doesn't mean I don't think he has played well. He has. I just thought of him as the number 3 defensemen on this team before Pronger went out and I still think hes the number 3 defensemen in the line up today. Mes has 6 goals and 10 assists so far this season and plays almost 21 minutes a night. But with only a +5 rating, playing with Matt Carle has kind of slowed him down a bit this season. Flyers fans hope Andrej the Giant shows up come playoff time because when he plays a great game he is very noticeable. When he plays poorly he is noticeable as well, and not in the good way. Grade: B-
The players mentioned below have all played in 35-42 games on the season.
Braydon Coburn: Coby has played well but his numbers would not reflect it. Having had his presence felt mostly on the penalty kill, Coburn is only a +1 rating. With only 1 goal on the season Coburn has to shoot more. He has fired the puck at the net 54 times on the season and not with much success. His 1.9 shooting percentage is the lowest on the team among players with a ranking. Grade: B
Danny Briere: Briere has been absent more times than not this season and has been a bit of a disappointment offensively. Briere gets the second most time on ice among forwards and has only tallied 29 points so far this season. Undoubtedly Briere brings a level of leadership and respect when it comes to the younger players and that can not be over looked. Briere needs to pick it up down the stretch and start living up to that contract in the regular season as well as the playoffs. Grade: B-
Matt Read: What a find this kid has turned out to be. A clear contender for the Calder trophy this year Read is the top rookie on a Flyers roster that leads the NHL in points from rookies. With 13 goals on the season, 3 of them on the power play and one short handed, Read is the top point getter for Flyers rookies as well with 27. Grade: A-
Claude Giroux: Stud muffin. Plain and simple. G has been the best Flyer all season long and is going to be a top 3 vote getter for the MVP when all is said and done. With 49 points on the season Giroux is the most exciting Flyers player since Lindros. I just wish he would grow back that mustache. Grade: A+
Sean Couturier: Cooter has been the steal of the draft. Getting him that late in the top 10 was one of the best draft picks since Brady went to New England. The kid has no teeth and just looks like a hockey player. With 9 goals on the season Couturier looks to become the 9th Flyer to eclipse the 10 goal mark on the season, an NHL best. Couturier has seen precious time on the penalty kill with Talbot and they are easily one of the leagues best combo's. Grade: B
Jaromir Jagr: This is a toughie. Jags has been about what I expected. For the whole season. This was obviously a tremendous signing for this hockey club. He has helped the development of Claude Giroux so much and has really gotten a lot out of Scott Hartnell. Jaromir was always my mothers favorite player and I could never figure out why. Until now. Grade: B+
James VanReimsdyk: Oh JVR, I sense your time in Philadelphia is coming to an end soon. It is unfortunate too. There are times during the games when JVR looks like a big presence on the ice, and then he disappears for two to three games. Maybe a change of scenery will do the kid some good. Grade: C-
Zac Rinaldo: Rinaldo made his splash last season in a playoff game and Lavy fell for it. Rinaldo was an instant replacement for oft troubled Dan Carcillo and I think its safe to say a lot of Flyers fans who weren't Carbomb people are Rinaldo people. The kid hits like thunder and has a heart the size of an ox. He just seems like a liability late in games. He has been a spark for this team all season long with his energy and that certainly helps. Grade: C+
The remaining three players all played between 20-35 games this season.
Harry Zolnierczyk: Harry Z as they like to call him has been another rookie to see ice time this season. Not much but when Z sees the ice he tries to make the best of it. Looking like a kid who plays with his heart not his head Harry Z is a little too spunky for his own good sometimes. He has a -11 rating on the season and is by far the lowest on the team in those regards. For a fourth line winger Z has played as well as anyone else has in the past few years on the 4th line. Grade: C
Andreas Lilja: This guy is a bum. How he is a +3 is beyond me. Grade: D
Marc-Andre Bourdon: Bourdon has come up in light of Prongs being out for the season and has played better than expected. Bourdon has seen just over 15 minutes of ice time per game and has made a few plays to help win some games. Hes also made a few to help lose some. That's what you get. Another season in Adirondack could have helped but to me this has Jim Vandermeer and Dennis Seidenberg syndrome written all over it. Bourdon will be good enough for someone to want him and then a few years down the road don't be surprised to see him in the playoffs playing big games. Whether its for us or not remains to be seen but Bourdon has a big future if he can learn to play a little cleaner and learn to clear the puck.
In the final section we will grade the goalies.
Ilya Bryzgalov: Flyers fans have had such high expectations for Bryz all season long it is easy to blame him for a lot of the losses. Rightfully so, Bryz has been the goalie of record in 13 games this season in which the opposition has scored 4 or more goals. The Flyers are 3-11 in those games. Bryz has to do a better job of not giving up rebounds. He has been getting beat on some of the craziest shots and deflections. You could also make an argument that it has been the fault of the defense which has blown countless 2 goal leads in the 3rd period this season. Bryz must get better if he wants to be the starting goalie come playoff time. Grade: B-
Sergei Bobrovsky: Bob has put up numbers this season that are better than Bryz' all around. However, Bob isn't getting paid $51M a season so he rides the pine. For now. He has a GAA of 2.42 and it keeps going lower. Expect to see Bob in a lot more big games than you would think down the line even though Bryz is Lavy's guy. Grade: B+
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Will the Flyers have a new face when they play Nashville tomorrow?
Possibly.
More like probably. It is looking more and more like the Flyers are going to make a trade any minute. You can almost smell it in the air.
But wouldn't a small part of you be sad if the Flyers traded James VanReimsdyk? Wasn't it just last postseason when we had our abysmal series against the Bruins that we chanted JVR! JVR! JVR!
I remember that. How quickly that doesn't matter anymore. JVR has been underachieving since the day he put on the Flyers crest. The only player really to have better numbers overall from that 2007 draft is Patrick Kane from Chicago. Other than that, we have Voracek (7th overall) and nobody else has really made a splash in the NHL. Some have made bigger ripples than other. Logan Couture is another good player from this draft. He has 96 points in 144 games in his career. VanReimsdyk has 97 points but has played in 94 more games than Couture.
Toronto loves JVR. They have since we drafted him 2nd overall and they drafted Dale Mitchel 74th overall. The Leafs didn't have a pick in either of the first two rounds and it has killed them since. They are missing an age generation on that team. They need a middle child. James VanReimsdyk is that middle child.
So Philly needs defense. Enter Luke Schenn.
Luke is the older brother of current Flyer Braydon Schenn. How touching. Why wouldn't big brother Luke want to play for the Flyers? He can police the NHL for his little brother making sure the big piece in the Mike Richards deal stays un-concussed. Plus, have you seen his slap shot. Boom.
The deal would surely include some AHL players or draft picks but don't expect anybody else that is NHL ready to be involved.
But not so fast. There is no guarantee that this trade will happen. They Flyers have made it "clear" that their number one target was Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter.
The Flyers next game will be tomorrow in Nashville and it will be interesting to see what jersey the three players mentioned above will be wearing come the 8:00PM start.
Please send any questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading.
More like probably. It is looking more and more like the Flyers are going to make a trade any minute. You can almost smell it in the air.
But wouldn't a small part of you be sad if the Flyers traded James VanReimsdyk? Wasn't it just last postseason when we had our abysmal series against the Bruins that we chanted JVR! JVR! JVR!
I remember that. How quickly that doesn't matter anymore. JVR has been underachieving since the day he put on the Flyers crest. The only player really to have better numbers overall from that 2007 draft is Patrick Kane from Chicago. Other than that, we have Voracek (7th overall) and nobody else has really made a splash in the NHL. Some have made bigger ripples than other. Logan Couture is another good player from this draft. He has 96 points in 144 games in his career. VanReimsdyk has 97 points but has played in 94 more games than Couture.
Toronto loves JVR. They have since we drafted him 2nd overall and they drafted Dale Mitchel 74th overall. The Leafs didn't have a pick in either of the first two rounds and it has killed them since. They are missing an age generation on that team. They need a middle child. James VanReimsdyk is that middle child.
So Philly needs defense. Enter Luke Schenn.
Luke is the older brother of current Flyer Braydon Schenn. How touching. Why wouldn't big brother Luke want to play for the Flyers? He can police the NHL for his little brother making sure the big piece in the Mike Richards deal stays un-concussed. Plus, have you seen his slap shot. Boom.
The deal would surely include some AHL players or draft picks but don't expect anybody else that is NHL ready to be involved.
But not so fast. There is no guarantee that this trade will happen. They Flyers have made it "clear" that their number one target was Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter.
The Flyers next game will be tomorrow in Nashville and it will be interesting to see what jersey the three players mentioned above will be wearing come the 8:00PM start.
Please send any questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Flyers play Isles tonight in Nassau
Danny Briere has 12 goals and 12 assists in his last 19 games against New York and Sean Couturier has 6 points in his last 8 games overall as the Flyers look to grab 2 more points in the race for the Atlantic Division.
The Islanders just look to remain relevant in the NHL as they start playing the spoiler role at the halfway point of the season. The currently have a roster that boasts 1 player that registers on the + side of the +/- column. Matt Moulson is a +5. Every other player has a negative rating. You aren't going to win that many games when your players are getting scored on more than you are scoring on them. The Flyers have only 6 players in the negative column. Seven if you include Jody Shelley.
Matt Moulson, aside from being the Islanders best player, is also their leading scorer. With 20 goals on the season he joins John Tavares and Michael Grabner as the only Isles to hit the double digit column. Kyle Okposo, P.A. Parenteau, and Frans Nielsen are knocking on the door but past that they don't offer much depth.
They have a carousel of guys in net but Al Montoya has been arguably their best but has split the ice time with Evgeni Nabokov this season with a little Rick DePietro mixed in. Nabokov is more likely to start tonight for the Isles but I have no confirmation of that.
For the Flyers, Sergei Bobrovsky will be in net. Hard to blame Lavy, Bob has a 6-0-0 record against the Isles with a 1.84 GAA for his career. Bob played great between the pipes in Carolina on Tuesday night stopping 35 of 36 shots. Bryzgalov has given up 4 or more goals in 5 of his last 7 games and has seen the pressure starting to be applied.
Look for a pretty physical game tonight, these two teams don't exactly like one another. Not sure if their will be any fights but there is always the possibility.
Players to watch for:
New York Islanders- C- John Tavares. As John Tavares goes, so do the Islanders. He is their man. He doesn't bring the same offensive pop as Matt Moulson but he is probably a better all around player. If the Islanders can somehow win this game, look for Tavares to have a big part in that.
Philadelphia Flyers- C- Scott Hartnell. Hartsy hasn't had a shot in two games. Need I say more?
Prediction- Flyers 3 - Islanders 1
The Flyers are 17-1-5 in their last 23 games against the Isles. No reason to think that changes tonight. Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr, and Claude Giroux are pointless in their last three and that line should bust out tonight. I just cant bring myself to give Bob his first career shutout. Just cant...
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading. Don't forget to LIKE our Facebook page.
The Islanders just look to remain relevant in the NHL as they start playing the spoiler role at the halfway point of the season. The currently have a roster that boasts 1 player that registers on the + side of the +/- column. Matt Moulson is a +5. Every other player has a negative rating. You aren't going to win that many games when your players are getting scored on more than you are scoring on them. The Flyers have only 6 players in the negative column. Seven if you include Jody Shelley.
Matt Moulson, aside from being the Islanders best player, is also their leading scorer. With 20 goals on the season he joins John Tavares and Michael Grabner as the only Isles to hit the double digit column. Kyle Okposo, P.A. Parenteau, and Frans Nielsen are knocking on the door but past that they don't offer much depth.
They have a carousel of guys in net but Al Montoya has been arguably their best but has split the ice time with Evgeni Nabokov this season with a little Rick DePietro mixed in. Nabokov is more likely to start tonight for the Isles but I have no confirmation of that.
For the Flyers, Sergei Bobrovsky will be in net. Hard to blame Lavy, Bob has a 6-0-0 record against the Isles with a 1.84 GAA for his career. Bob played great between the pipes in Carolina on Tuesday night stopping 35 of 36 shots. Bryzgalov has given up 4 or more goals in 5 of his last 7 games and has seen the pressure starting to be applied.
Look for a pretty physical game tonight, these two teams don't exactly like one another. Not sure if their will be any fights but there is always the possibility.
Players to watch for:
New York Islanders- C- John Tavares. As John Tavares goes, so do the Islanders. He is their man. He doesn't bring the same offensive pop as Matt Moulson but he is probably a better all around player. If the Islanders can somehow win this game, look for Tavares to have a big part in that.
Philadelphia Flyers- C- Scott Hartnell. Hartsy hasn't had a shot in two games. Need I say more?
Prediction- Flyers 3 - Islanders 1
The Flyers are 17-1-5 in their last 23 games against the Isles. No reason to think that changes tonight. Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr, and Claude Giroux are pointless in their last three and that line should bust out tonight. I just cant bring myself to give Bob his first career shutout. Just cant...
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading. Don't forget to LIKE our Facebook page.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Flyers weather the Hurricanes, win 2-1
Overall I would say it was a pretty good effort for the boys last night as they prevailed 2-1 in Carolina. It wasn't easy and Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward stopped 35 of 37 shots in a loss.
Sergei Bobrovsky had a busy night in net. He stopped all but 1 that came his way gathering 35 on the night as well. Furthermore, I am convinced that Bob will never get a shut out. Last nights spoiler was Jerome Samson. It was his first career NHL goal for the the second time in a three games a player has scored his first career goal on Flyers goalies.
Two more goals from rookies last night and three more points. Braydon Schenn slammed a rebound home for the second goal of his promising career to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the second. A little later in the period Carolina would connect on the power play to tie it at one.
Then just over three minutes into the third period Sean Couturier took a pass from Harry Zolnierczyk and beat Ward over his right shoulder to take back the lead for the Flyers, 2-1.
The rest of the game proved to be relatively uneventful with the exception of a skirmish that took place at the 18:18 mark that may prove interesting later in the season. This was the last time the Flyers and 'Canes would play this season so there was some expected aggression out on the ice. After Cam Ward covered up the puck Schenn was being aggressive and going for the puck. In doing so, he gave Hurricanes defensemen Tim Gleason a pretty good cross check to the back that was failed to be called. Gleason got up and gave Schenn a piece of his mind. Gleason got 2 for roughing which proved to be no big deal.
So why is this interesting to me?
Well, all along I have been avoiding the Shea Weber trade talks as best I could. I think it would a trade not worth making and I feel that they can get a more affordable D-man at a better price.
If I were Paul Holmgren, with the trade deadline approaching I would be looking at a few key names.
1. Ryan Suter, Nashville
2. Tim Gleason, Carolina
3. Erik Johnson, Colorado
Anyone of those three defensemen would fit our system very well, in my opinion. But if Gleason is taking shots at a guy who has a slight chance to be his future teammate. That might not be that smart of an idea. Its hard to welcome a guy to the locker room that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and to me, that was a player who I wouldn't necessarily welcome with open arms.
Other than that the game was pretty uneventful. Zac Rinaldo was a healthy scratch. Matt Carle was a +1 after being a -4 in Ottawa on Sunday. Scott Hartnell failed to register a shot for his second straight game in over 20 minutes of ice time.
The Flyers next game will be Thursday when the go to New York to face the Islanders. Ilya Bryzgalov will presumably be in net and will be looking rebound from his 6-4 loss against Ottawa. If Bobrovsky is in net again he will look to continue contributing to the team. He has looked great in his last few games and has looked good in losses as well.
Please send any questions or comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and don't forget to like us on Facebook.
Sergei Bobrovsky had a busy night in net. He stopped all but 1 that came his way gathering 35 on the night as well. Furthermore, I am convinced that Bob will never get a shut out. Last nights spoiler was Jerome Samson. It was his first career NHL goal for the the second time in a three games a player has scored his first career goal on Flyers goalies.
Two more goals from rookies last night and three more points. Braydon Schenn slammed a rebound home for the second goal of his promising career to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the second. A little later in the period Carolina would connect on the power play to tie it at one.
Then just over three minutes into the third period Sean Couturier took a pass from Harry Zolnierczyk and beat Ward over his right shoulder to take back the lead for the Flyers, 2-1.
The rest of the game proved to be relatively uneventful with the exception of a skirmish that took place at the 18:18 mark that may prove interesting later in the season. This was the last time the Flyers and 'Canes would play this season so there was some expected aggression out on the ice. After Cam Ward covered up the puck Schenn was being aggressive and going for the puck. In doing so, he gave Hurricanes defensemen Tim Gleason a pretty good cross check to the back that was failed to be called. Gleason got up and gave Schenn a piece of his mind. Gleason got 2 for roughing which proved to be no big deal.
So why is this interesting to me?
Well, all along I have been avoiding the Shea Weber trade talks as best I could. I think it would a trade not worth making and I feel that they can get a more affordable D-man at a better price.
If I were Paul Holmgren, with the trade deadline approaching I would be looking at a few key names.
1. Ryan Suter, Nashville
2. Tim Gleason, Carolina
3. Erik Johnson, Colorado
Anyone of those three defensemen would fit our system very well, in my opinion. But if Gleason is taking shots at a guy who has a slight chance to be his future teammate. That might not be that smart of an idea. Its hard to welcome a guy to the locker room that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and to me, that was a player who I wouldn't necessarily welcome with open arms.
Other than that the game was pretty uneventful. Zac Rinaldo was a healthy scratch. Matt Carle was a +1 after being a -4 in Ottawa on Sunday. Scott Hartnell failed to register a shot for his second straight game in over 20 minutes of ice time.
The Flyers next game will be Thursday when the go to New York to face the Islanders. Ilya Bryzgalov will presumably be in net and will be looking rebound from his 6-4 loss against Ottawa. If Bobrovsky is in net again he will look to continue contributing to the team. He has looked great in his last few games and has looked good in losses as well.
Please send any questions or comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and don't forget to like us on Facebook.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Flyers travel to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes
Puck drop will be at 7 tonight as the Flyers have traveled down the east coast to Carolina.
The Hurricanes currently sit 14th in the East are are having, lets say an off year. They are the only team in the East that has not won a shootout this season... besides the Flyers.
Luckily for the Fly Guys, Carolina has given up an NHL leading 146 goals on the season and the Flyers know how to put the puck in the net. Ottawa shut down the Flyers front line and they failed to generate that much offense or excitement for that matter.
Carolina doesn't boast too many threats. Their top two lines do most of the scoring. Tuomo Ruutu leads the team with 14 goals. Eric Staal leads them in points with 29.
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net for the Flyers tonight. I say it is a smart move. Ilya Bryzgalov gave up more than 4 goals for the 12th time this season in the Flyers last contest with Ottawa. I don't think we will have to worry about that too much, Bobrovsky has a GAA of 2.56 on the season. That combined with Carolina's relative inability to score (19th in the league in Average Goals per game) and the Flyers being one of the most potent offenses it should fare well for the Flyers.
In my previous entry I made a fuss about was the players heart. Let me clarify, I am not saying that I think we have a bunch of heartless players on the ice. Guys like Kimmo Timonen and Max Talbot are going to go out there and give it their all every single night. I'm not sure the same can be said for everyone in the line up.
Tonight will be a good night for the guys to bounce back and grab a win. I'm sure if they take a 2-goal lead into the third period there is going to be alot of anxiety in the Delaware Valley. Lets hope they are only up by 1, or 3.
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com Thank you for reading and make sure you like us on facebook if you haven't done so already.
The Hurricanes currently sit 14th in the East are are having, lets say an off year. They are the only team in the East that has not won a shootout this season... besides the Flyers.
Luckily for the Fly Guys, Carolina has given up an NHL leading 146 goals on the season and the Flyers know how to put the puck in the net. Ottawa shut down the Flyers front line and they failed to generate that much offense or excitement for that matter.
Carolina doesn't boast too many threats. Their top two lines do most of the scoring. Tuomo Ruutu leads the team with 14 goals. Eric Staal leads them in points with 29.
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net for the Flyers tonight. I say it is a smart move. Ilya Bryzgalov gave up more than 4 goals for the 12th time this season in the Flyers last contest with Ottawa. I don't think we will have to worry about that too much, Bobrovsky has a GAA of 2.56 on the season. That combined with Carolina's relative inability to score (19th in the league in Average Goals per game) and the Flyers being one of the most potent offenses it should fare well for the Flyers.
In my previous entry I made a fuss about was the players heart. Let me clarify, I am not saying that I think we have a bunch of heartless players on the ice. Guys like Kimmo Timonen and Max Talbot are going to go out there and give it their all every single night. I'm not sure the same can be said for everyone in the line up.
Tonight will be a good night for the guys to bounce back and grab a win. I'm sure if they take a 2-goal lead into the third period there is going to be alot of anxiety in the Delaware Valley. Lets hope they are only up by 1, or 3.
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com Thank you for reading and make sure you like us on facebook if you haven't done so already.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Flyers blow another 2-goal lead, lose 6-4
Going into yesterdays game, Ilya Bryzgalov had given up 4 or more goals 11 times this season. 11 TIMES! The Flyers were 3-8 in those games. Well, yesterday he gave up five and the Flyers dropped another one of those games to fall to 3-9 on the season when he gives up 4 or more.
3-9!
Let that sit for a little bit.
Now, I "humaanngous beeg" part of me wants to blame Ilya. But then in the back of my mind all I can hear is "Why you heff to be mad?!"
Ok, enough of the funny business.
Matt Carle, you are officially on notice. You were a -4 yesterday. That simply will not do. In recent games I have quickly been losing my patience with Carle. Its a shame, hes a guy you really want to like too. Not for nothing, but Zac Rinaldo was a +1 and Andreas Lilja was a +2.
Claude Giroux, what was that? Undoubtedly these two games against Ottawa were a fluke but you were -3 yesterday and you were pretty much non existent Saturday night.
But that's not what is digging at me.
Recently on my facebook page I asked the question:
"What are your thoughts on our defense blowing 2-goal leads in 3 of their past 4 games? What would you do to change it?"
I saw a response from a guy named Eric that rang clear to me.
"Either you want it bad enough, or you collect your millions and say its just one game."
Touche, Eric.
In the third period yesterday their were two teams on that ice. A determined Ottawa team, and a dipsy-doodle Flyers team.
The first period was all Flyers for the most part and they scored the only goal in the second period. They carried the dreaded 2-goal lead into the third period. I saw facebook posts like "I hope the Flyers don't blow another 2 goal lead" and "The Flyers should get Tim Tebow to play goalie"
Poppycock.
They owned Ottawa in 4 of the 6 periods in the home and home series. But the period they lost each time was the third. Luckily enough they held on to the game Saturday. 1 point out of a potential 4 would not have been good. The fact that Ottawa got out played and out manned in pretty much both games yet still walked away with 3 of the possible 4 points is not a good one for Flyers fans.
It has to worry you for the playoffs. As the standings currently stand, if the season ended today the Flyers would play Ottawa in the first round of the playoffs. For the first time in almost 3 seasons, that sounds frightening. Ottawa in the playoffs.
This team would lose in 6 maybe 7 games to the Sens if Craig Anderson played like that throughout the entire series.
Ottawa shut Claude Giroux out in both games. Scott Hartnell and Jake Voracek didn't even register shots yesterday. All three players were on the ice for over 14 and a half minutes and two of them didn't even get a shot on goal.
How can this team win in the playoffs if our top line cant score against a pretty mediocre team, our defense cant hold a lead, and our goalie gives up 4 goals a night almost as much as he doesn't.
So what do we need?
We need to want it more. We need more heart. We need more guys like Danny Briere who has been in a funk and then has a hat trick while dancing with Kyle Turris. So what Turris looks like hes 15. Briere needed a spark for himself and he went out and got it. He even credited Jody Shelley for some of his fighting skills.
We need guys like Carle to step up. We need guys like Matt Read to make it hard for the Flyers to trade them. We need the defensive aspect of the team to step up all around. Forwards need to do a better job of back checking, defensemen need to go down and block a shot. I swear, if I see one more goal go in off of a Flyers player I am going to lost my mind. I love this team. I want this to be the team that wins the cup. I don't want them to make a move for a defensemen. Unless it means that Lilja is out of the line up, I'm all for that.
Hopefully the Flyers can get some of that heart back when they travel to Carolina tomorrow to play the Hurricaines at 7:00.
No word on who will be in net, but I will be very surprised if it is not Sergei Bobrovsky, perhaps the Flyers most valueable piece.
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com Thank you for reading.
3-9!
Let that sit for a little bit.
Now, I "humaanngous beeg" part of me wants to blame Ilya. But then in the back of my mind all I can hear is "Why you heff to be mad?!"
Ok, enough of the funny business.
Matt Carle, you are officially on notice. You were a -4 yesterday. That simply will not do. In recent games I have quickly been losing my patience with Carle. Its a shame, hes a guy you really want to like too. Not for nothing, but Zac Rinaldo was a +1 and Andreas Lilja was a +2.
Claude Giroux, what was that? Undoubtedly these two games against Ottawa were a fluke but you were -3 yesterday and you were pretty much non existent Saturday night.
But that's not what is digging at me.
Recently on my facebook page I asked the question:
"What are your thoughts on our defense blowing 2-goal leads in 3 of their past 4 games? What would you do to change it?"
I saw a response from a guy named Eric that rang clear to me.
"Either you want it bad enough, or you collect your millions and say its just one game."
Touche, Eric.
In the third period yesterday their were two teams on that ice. A determined Ottawa team, and a dipsy-doodle Flyers team.
The first period was all Flyers for the most part and they scored the only goal in the second period. They carried the dreaded 2-goal lead into the third period. I saw facebook posts like "I hope the Flyers don't blow another 2 goal lead" and "The Flyers should get Tim Tebow to play goalie"
Poppycock.
They owned Ottawa in 4 of the 6 periods in the home and home series. But the period they lost each time was the third. Luckily enough they held on to the game Saturday. 1 point out of a potential 4 would not have been good. The fact that Ottawa got out played and out manned in pretty much both games yet still walked away with 3 of the possible 4 points is not a good one for Flyers fans.
It has to worry you for the playoffs. As the standings currently stand, if the season ended today the Flyers would play Ottawa in the first round of the playoffs. For the first time in almost 3 seasons, that sounds frightening. Ottawa in the playoffs.
This team would lose in 6 maybe 7 games to the Sens if Craig Anderson played like that throughout the entire series.
Ottawa shut Claude Giroux out in both games. Scott Hartnell and Jake Voracek didn't even register shots yesterday. All three players were on the ice for over 14 and a half minutes and two of them didn't even get a shot on goal.
How can this team win in the playoffs if our top line cant score against a pretty mediocre team, our defense cant hold a lead, and our goalie gives up 4 goals a night almost as much as he doesn't.
So what do we need?
We need to want it more. We need more heart. We need more guys like Danny Briere who has been in a funk and then has a hat trick while dancing with Kyle Turris. So what Turris looks like hes 15. Briere needed a spark for himself and he went out and got it. He even credited Jody Shelley for some of his fighting skills.
We need guys like Carle to step up. We need guys like Matt Read to make it hard for the Flyers to trade them. We need the defensive aspect of the team to step up all around. Forwards need to do a better job of back checking, defensemen need to go down and block a shot. I swear, if I see one more goal go in off of a Flyers player I am going to lost my mind. I love this team. I want this to be the team that wins the cup. I don't want them to make a move for a defensemen. Unless it means that Lilja is out of the line up, I'm all for that.
Hopefully the Flyers can get some of that heart back when they travel to Carolina tomorrow to play the Hurricaines at 7:00.
No word on who will be in net, but I will be very surprised if it is not Sergei Bobrovsky, perhaps the Flyers most valueable piece.
Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com Thank you for reading.
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