SB Nation - Ryan Parent

Flyers Embarrased Again, This Time in Pittsburgh

Geoff Detweiler — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:41:21 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

FACEPALM! (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

[Box Score] - [Complete Coverage] - [PIT Reaction]

November 16-18. That is the last time the Flyers won back-to-back games. A win over New Jersey, followed by a win in Los Angeles. The team has played fourteen games since then, going 3-11-0. Six points out of a possible 28. That's a point percentage of .214.

Who's still holding out hope that this team is a serious Cup contender? If it was worth it, I'd rattle off a ton of stats about how poorly the team has been playing, but that's an exercise in futility. The team can't score. They can't defend. They can't convert on the power play. They can't stay out of the box. They can't do a lot of things.

The final score doesn't even matter. Brian Boucher let in 6 goals - the last one weak - but he again deserved better. Three goals were scored on blasts from the face-off dot or below during a rush. Unacceptable. A few were rebounds - Guerin's first could be considered a weak goal, but I didn't see an angle showing where the puck was - where the Flyers blew the coverage.

Nothing else matters. The team lost. Again. So, we'll just cut to it.

After the jump, assorted thoughts, Comment of the Night, and Questions with Answers. I'll spare you the "highlights" since a) I'm against torture; and b) the audio is just as bad as the video.

There was a great discussion in the game thread on how much we all hate Pittsburgh sports fans. It was more enjoyable than the game. The start. (There was a very fractured discussion on the same subject here as well.)
Communication and awareness in the defensive zone are clearly lacking. There was a miscommunication between Coburn, Richards, and Carter which made all three look pretty bad, and then Pronger got caught staring at the puck while the goal scorer skated right past him to an open net. Both were atrocious.
Fresh off his suspension, Dan Carcillo was probably the best Flyer on the ice tonight. One goal, one (rightfully) overturned goal, and a decisive win over Craig Adams. Oh, and an amazing celebration back when we almost thought that maybe the Flyers might have a chance.
As pointed out by MarioD, Cote played a mere 0:31 tonight. And believe it or not, that was TWO shifts. His first was cut short by a fight after six seconds.
Six out of 7 Flyers finished the night 50% or better in the faceoff circle. Only Danny Briere failed to do so, and he only took one draw. Richards, Giroux, and Pyorala were all over 60% on the night, going a combined 65% in the dot.
Only two Flyers did not finish the night a minus. Obviously, you can guess one of them is Riley Cote. The other? Ryan Parent. 18:23 of ice time, not one goal scored while he was on the ice. Not even a PP goal.

Questions with Answers:

Is there any carry over from the Scott Hartnell biting/Kris Letang whining incident that happened when these two teams met back in October? A little. Some pushing and shoving, some boos from the crowd, but nothing major.
Can the Flyers keep the intensity up from last night in Boston? No.
Is Braydon Coburn still injured, and are the Flyers rushing him back so Danny Syvret doesn't see the ice? Conspiracy theorists would say yes. Hell, even I say yes.
Power play... yay or nay? Nay.
The Pens PP has been struggling, but they've revamped it. How's the Flyers PK respond? By laying down.

Comment of the Night:

The flyers are like the titanic... They look good until they hit the ice.

EREX21

Now, I'm sure I left a lot out. But really, "it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care."

From Chris to Oskars: Meet Your Philadelphia Flyers 2010 Olympic Hopefuls

Travis Hughes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:40:04 -0000

Chris Pronger skates for Team Canada at the Salt Lake City games in 2002.

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If you ever poke around at the new SBNation.com (and if you don't, then what are you doing with your life?), you've no doubt noticed SBN Hockey's running feature over the last week or so. Each site on the network has taken a look at their respective team, noting which players are locks to make their national teams and which players have outside chances at traveling to Vancouver next month.

While most of the Flyers are Canadian -- seriously, it's absurd the number of Canadians on this roster -- and will have trouble cracking a stacked roster, there are some who will make it. Of course, there are also other players who will make the squad in other countries, and you might be surprised at who has a shot.

After the jump, we'll break down the Flyers roster and see who has a chance at representing their country in Vancouver this February.

Team Canada

The pressure is on for the host country. After a disappointing showing in 2006 at Turin that saw Canada come home without a medal, anything less than the gold will be unacceptable north of the border.

Chris Pronger: There's absolutely no doubt that Pronger will be representing Canada in Vancouver. He's an experienced Olympian, winning the gold with Canada at Salt Lake City in 2002. He also played for his country in the 2006 Turin games and the 1998 Nagano games, as well as in the 1997 World Championships and the 1993 World Junior Championships. Pronger, along with former Anaheim teammate Scott Niedermayer, will be expected to lead the Canadian blueline. Packing His Bags.
Mike Richards: It's hard to see how Canada could keep Richards off the roster. The captain of the Canadian team that won the World Junior Championship in 2005, Richards has played internationally on three different occasions. Packing His Bags.
Jeff Carter: While not as strong a lock as Richards, Carter still has a very strong shot at making the team this year. He's versatile, obviously proven in the NHL, and he's got international experience, winning the WJC gold with Richards in '05. A Solid Bet.
Simon Gagne: It appears that Gagne will be held out by injury. He was probably about as likely to make the team as Carter prior to sustaining his injury during the Flyers season, but considering he won't be playing hockey when Team Canada announces their roster this month, it's hard to imagine Gagne will get another chance to represent his country. It's a shame, too, considering he played for Canada in the 2006 and 2002 Games. Staying Home.
Also staying home: Arron Asham, Blair Betts, Danny Briere, Dan Carcillo, Riley Cote, Claude Giroux, Ray Emery, Scott Hartnell, Ian Laperriere, Jon Kalinski, Darroll Powe, Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent

Team USA

USA is expected to ice a much younger team than they have in recent Olympic games. Only six players over the age of 30 were invited to their summer camp, and there's no guarantee that all of those players will make the team. Guys like Chris Chelios, Keith Tkachuk, and Brian Rolston were left out of camp as general manager Brian Burke tries to create a younger team that can bring USA Hockey back to the summit.

There are only three Americans on the Flyers roster. They'll announce the roster on NBC during the Winter Classic.

James van Riemsdyk: JVR wasn't invited to USA's summer camp and he wasn't even expected to make the Flyers this season. But to say the 19-year-old has been impressive in the early stages of his pro career is an understatement, and there's no doubt he's at least opened some eyes with the USA brass. Will that get him a roster spot, though? It's tough to say. It's true that the youth movement on the team is here to stay, but it might be a little too early for JVR. He's got a lot of other players to beat out, but he deserves consideration and he'll likely get it. 50/50.
Matt Carle: He wasn't invited to the summer orientation camp either, but when you lead NHL defenseman in plus/minus, you'll open some eyes as well. He'd be a dark horse candidate for sure, and he could be dismissed as a player padded by playing with Chris Pronger. But when you look at some of the other players that attended the summer camp -- Tom Gilbert, Ron Hainsey, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, -- you could see Carle getting a spot over some of those guys. A Possibility.
Staying home: Brian Boucher

Team Finland

Led by goaltender Antero Niittymaki, Finland won the silver medal at Turin in 2006, beating Canada in the process. They aren't favorites to medal in Vancouver, but to say they couldn't surprise would be severely underestimating the Fins.

Kimmo Timonen: Kimmo is an absolute lock for Team Finland. He's their best defenseman, no doubt. There's really not much else to say. He's to Finland as he is to the Flyers -- a solid rock of a defenseman that can be counted on to play huge minutes. Packing His Bags.
Mika Pyorala: He made the preliminary roster over the summer, and making the Flyers certainly helps his chances to make the Olympic roster. He's not a lock at this point, but general manager Jari Kurri has been to Philadelphia to watch Pyorala play and has said good things about his play -- "he's a smart player at both ends of the ice," "you know what you are getting with him." Solid endorsements. Wouldn't Be Surprised.
Former Flyers To Watch: Antero Niittymaki, Joni Pitkanen, Ossi Vaananen, Sami Kapanen

Team Latvia

Probably the weakest team in the Olympics, NHL.com didn't even bother to preview them in their series over the summer. It's understandable, though. They have very little NHL talent on their roster, but one of those players does play for Philadelphia.

Oskars Bartulis: Even as an AHL player, Bartulis was one of the best Latvian players in North America. Now that he's in the NHL and playing solidly, it seems as though Bartulis will suit up for his country in February. He's played in pre-tournament games for Latvia, but didn't play in the World Championships. Things have changed now that he's made the jump to the NHL, and you can be sure that the Latvian brass won't let Bartulis go unnoticed. A Strong Bet.

Team Norway

They surprised by qualifying for Olympics, but could they stage an upset or two? There is only one Norwegian in the NHL. He plays in Philadelphia.

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen: Tollefsen has been injured for most of the season, but he is expected to be fine by February, so it would be an utter shock if he wasn't named to Team Norway. Packing His Bags.
Former Flyers To Watch: Patrick Thoresen

Team Sweden

Former Flyers To Watch: Peter Forsberg

Flyers Shut Out In Atlanta, Lose 1-0

Geoff Detweiler — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:52:43 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

The trip that led to Atlanta's 5-on-3. Interesting moment in time. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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[TSN Recap] - [Box Score] - [ATL Reaction]

Final - 11.28.2009	1	2	3	Total
Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0
Atlanta Thrashers	0	1	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Speechless. The Flyers got shut out by Johan Hedberg and the Atlanta Thrashers, losing to Atlanta for the first time since a shootout loss on November 18th, 2005. Their last regulation loss to Atlanta was still further back, on December 21st, 2003. Getting shut out by the Thrashers is even more unusual, since the last time Atlanta did that was January 14th, 2000. Getting shut out by anybody itself is pretty rare, as the Flyers have scored in each of their last 50 games, last putting up a goose egg on March 1st, 2009.

So this outcome was atypical. An exercise in futility, one might say. One might assume the Flyers didn't show up tonight, but that surprisingly wasn't the case. They didn't lose because they made mistakes, they didn't lose because of poor goaltending either. Once again, Brian Boucher was solid in net, stopping 17 of 18 shots. However, Hedberg was better as he stopped all 34 Flyers shots.

There isn't much to say about this game. Rich Peverly scored the only Thrashers goal on the power play, after a Ryan Parent tripping penalty was assessed on top of Claude Giroux's slashing penalty. Parent got beat and got called for a trip. These things happen. Either way, when your goalie only gives up one goal, you should win. The Flyers didn't. They've been losing a lot lately, but it hasn't been for a lack of effort.

After the jump, Random Thoughts, Questions with Answers, Highlights, and Comment of the Night.

Random Thoughts:

There has been a lot of talk about faceoffs around here since the off-season, yet Mika Pyorala's name has yet to come up. Mike Richards lost the faceoff that led to the only Thrashers goal - and the team was only 2 for 6 on draws while shorthanded - but Pyorala took the third most draws on the night and finished winless in 5 tries. Richards finished at 50% and Carter at 61% on the night.
Oskars Bartulis impressed me yet again. An overall strong game, with two hits and two blocked shots. I only noticed him once - which is always a good thing for a stay-at-home defenseman - and it was when he stood his man up along the boards, took the puck away from him, and started the breakout.
Brian Boucher had another great game. There won't be a goalie controversy, but he's clearly outplaying Ray Emery of late. Particularly amazing was his save on Bryan Little in the second period.
Colby Armstrong took an unnecessary run at James van Riemsdyk which scared a lot of people, if only for a second. Undisciplined play by Armstrong and he deserved the 5 minute charging penalty, the game misconduct, as well as the beating Arron Asham gave him. He does not however, deserve a suspension.
On a related note, the instigator rule needs to be eliminated. Immediately. In back-to-back games, the Flyers have had players get dangerously run at, both hobbled off the ice, and both led to game misconducts being called against the opposition. Both times, a Flyers tough guy immediately stood up for his teammate, and negated a 5 minute PP into a 3 minute PP. I cannot even tell you how stupid it is. Cassie from Raw Charge agrees with me.
Riley Cote got his first fight of the year! As such, he also got his first beat down. Congratulations. Thanks for being on the ice for 2:52 tonight Riles.
Ice time tonight was definitely interesting - as always. Five players finished with less than 10 minutes; four players had between 10 and 15 minutes; and four had more than 24 minutes. Love the balanced attack.
The story of the game - besides Johan Hedberg - was the Flyers power play: 0 for 4 in nine minutes. They got off shots - 9 to be exact - but struggled with the man-advantage the entire game.
The officiating was pretty bad tonight, but no worse than normal and not the reason they lost. In other words, just a typical night in the NHL. At least we aren't the Detroit Red Wings: Evidence.

Questions with Answers:

Can the Flyers get out of their special teams slump? No. Penalty kill was 3 for 4 - not bad, but not good enough - and the power play was atrocious.
Do the Flyers limit Ian Laperriere's ice time just a day after his upper lip split in two thanks to a Jason Pominville slap shot? A little, but not really. He got 13:20 of ice time which is fairly typical for him, especially considering the team spent 9 minutes on the PP.
Can Boucher keep up his hot play? Definitely. Not much else to say. Boucher has played great his past two and a half games.
Do the Flyers beat Atlanta for a unbelievable 15th straight time, or can the Thrashers get their first win against Philadelphia since 2005? Even Niittymaki couldn't have stolen this game for us.

Highlights:

Comment of the Night:

I’m running out of things to say about this team.

Ben Feldman

Latest Trade Adds Further Flux To 2005 NHL Entry Draft

Cory Lavalette — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:43:22 -0000

by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, once considered a sure-fire No. 1 defenseman, is one of several 2005 first-round picks who find themselves playing for a team other than the one that drafted them. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)

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July 22, 2005.

I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic on the bridge entering Carolina Beach, waiting to finally reach the surf with my family. My wife and I were eagerly anticipating our 2-year-old daughter’s first trip to the coast, to see what she'd think of the gritty sand between her toes, the crashing waves, and the pelicans, with their broad wings and oversized beaks.

But that Friday — the beginning to a long, memorable summer weekend for us, along with countless others in the Carolinas and beyond — was also a pivotal day in hockey history: the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes.

It still is remembered that way. But for a lot of other players and teams, the 2005 NHL Entry Draft is about something else: loss and failure, untapped potential and wanton trades. The latest of which happened yesterday.

But back to that fateful day. Sitting on that bridge, I listened closely as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman read the results to the one-of-a-kind NHL Draft Lottery, an event different from any before. The names of each team were read in reverse order.

Tampa Bay at 30.

Calgary at 26.

Division foe Washington was 14th.

With each team and their corresponding selection, the stakes got higher. Vancouver at 10. Columbus — one of four teams with a high of three balls in the machine — went off the board at six. That left only Pittsburgh as a remaining favorite, with Anaheim, Minnesota, Montreal and, yes, Carolina with a shot at nabbing the top overall pick and the rights to select sure-fire star Crosby.

The Habs — a long shot with just one sphere rattling among 45 others — went next. Then the Wild. Final three. I gripped the wheel, and explained to my wife the significance of the moment. I knew that, regardless of the remaining results, the Hurricanes were in position to land a big-time prospect. But this was Sidney Crosby: The Next One.

The Canes’ run at Crosby ended there, with "Carolina Hurricanes" uttered by Bettman as this third overall selection. Pittsburgh — as we all know — beat out the Ducks for Crosby.

By landing the third pick, the Canes fell shy of getting Crosby, and even prized Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson seemed out of reach. That left Benoit Pouliot as the top-rated player likely to be on the board, along with the likes of Bobby Ryan, Gilbert Brule and Anze Kopitar. Personally, I was leaning toward Pouliot; a big, skilled forward out of Sudbury in the OHL.

Nine days after the lottery, the teams gathered for the draft. The Pens, of course, took Crosby. I waited for Anaheim to take Johnson so I could finally see who Carolina GM Jim Rutherford would select at No. 3. But Brian Burke, then the Ducks GM, threw the league a curveball and chose Ryan second overall. Rutherford — who has been reluctant to use his first-round picks on defensemen — had no choice but to choose Johnson, whose physical play coupled with offensive instincts had many penciling him in as a No. 1 blueliner for years to come.

Just 14 months and one day later, the Carolina Hurricanes — having stunningly won the Stanley Cup in 2006 — dealt Johnson, along with salary burden Oleg Tverdovsky, to Los Angeles for defenseman Tim Gleason and center Eric Belanger.

Yesterday, the Wild gave up on the fourth overall pick, Pouliot, sending him to Montreal for a second-rounder from the same year, Guillame Latendresse. Johnson was the second of the 30 first-round picks traded from that year's draft — Tuukka Rask was traded by Toronto to Boston on draft day 2006 for fellow goalie Andrew Raycroft — and Pouliot is the latest to find himself moving on to a new city.

Looking down the list of the first round picks from 2005, the Johnson trade still stands out as the blockbuster — and one that, despite early expert analysis suggesting Carolina was ripped off, leans toward Carolina's favor given Johnson’s struggles and Gleason’s growth.

Crosby and Ryan — the top two picks — have emerged as a superstar and emerging star respectively. Johnson, at No. 3, is with the Kings and, despite playing on a very good, young team, is a team-worst minus-11 with just two goals and four assists in 24 games (Gleason, on the other hand, is 4-2-6 and minus-1 in 18 games on the last place team in the league, plus a team leader). The teams who picked first, second and third are probably happy with how things panned out for them (though surely Johnson’s antics in not turning pro infuriated Rutherford at the time).

The rest of the league? Well, most probably aren't all that happy.

Here are the other players who are either no longer with the team that chose them in the first round in 2005:

No. 4 — Benoit Pouliot, Minnesota: Traded yesterday (Nov. 23, 2009) to Montreal for Guillame Latendresse. Career stats: 65 GP, 9-9-18
No. 6 — Gilbert Brule, Columbus: Traded July 1, 2008, to Edmonton for Raffi Torres. Career stats: 178 GP, 20-28-48
No. 10 — Luc Bourdon, Vancouver: Killed in a motorcycle accident May 29, 2008. Career stats: 36 GP, 2-0-2
No. 13 — Marek Zagrapan, Buffalo: Signed with Severstal of the KHL May 9, 2009. No NHL games played.
No. 14 — Sasha Pokulok, Washington: Was not tendered a qualifying offer June 29, 2009. Currently in the ECHL. No NHL games played.
No. 15 — Ryan O’Marra, Islanders: Traded Feb. 27, 2007, to Edmonton along with Robert Nilsson and a first-round pick for Ryan Smyth. Career stats: 1 GP, 0-0-0
No. 16 — Alex Bourret, Atlanta: Traded Feb. 7, 2007, to Rangers for Pascal Dupuis and a third-round pick. Then traded June 21, 2008, to Phoenix for a third-round pick. Was not tendered a qualifying offer June 30, 2009. Currently playing for Brno in the Czech league.
No. 18 — Ryan Parent, Nashville: Traded Feb. 15, 2007, to Philadelphia along with Scottie Upshall, a first-round pick and third-round pick for Peter Forsberg. Career stats: 67 GP, 0-6-0
No. 21 — Tuukka Rask, Toronto: Traded June 24, 2006, to Boston for Andrew Raycroft. Career stats: 14 GP, 9-3-2-2 record, .919 S%, 2.33 GAA
No. 22 — Matt Lashoff, Boston: Traded March 4, 2009, to Tampa Bay along with Martins Karsums for Mark Recchi and a second-round pick. Career stats: 58 GP, 1-14-15
No. 30 — Steve Downie, Philadelphia: Traded Nov. 7, 2008, to Tampa Bay along with Steve Eminger and a fourth-round pick for Matt Carle and a third-round pick. Career stats: 82 GP, 11-14-25

(Note: Andrew Cogliano, the No. 25 pick by Edmonton, was part of a package that would've sent Ottawa’s Dany Heatley to the Oilers. Heatley nixed the deal by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. He was later dealt to San Jose, while Cogliano — still mentioned in trade rumors frequently — remains in Edmonton.)

That's 12 of 30 players drafted just four years ago who are no longer with the team who originally held their rights. Only two players from the 2006 draft (Phil Kessel and Ty Wishart) have been moved. The 2004 draft was also volatile (13 players traded or not with their original team for another reason), but 2003 has just nine even though we're six years removed from that draft.

The Rask and Johnson deals were the first of many involving this group. The Hurricanes and their fans have embraced Gleason, a throwback blueliner whose toughness, blunt honesty, defensive acumen and emerging offensive skill make him one of the franchise cornerstones. Johnson — who was, once upon a time, supposed to be that player — is overshadowed by 2008 second overall pick Drew Doughty, arguably the best young defenseman in the game.

Sure, the 2005 draft will always be remembered as the year Crosby — the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup — went No. 1 overall. But for several other first-round picks that year, the path to NHL stardom has been more like my car stuck on that bridge: the headlights pointed at the distant sea, the inhabitants of the vehicle wishing, hoping to make memories that will last a lifetime.

For some, the bridge will eventually be crossed. For others ...

A Statistical Look at the Flyers, through 16 Games

Geoff Detweiler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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Once again, I was able to get Tom Awad of Puck Prospectus to give me his most recently compiled data on GVT.

(Here's the link to my earlier story breaking down the VUKOTA projection based on GVT).

The data's most recent update was from Sunday, November 15th, so last week's games against the Devils, Kings, Sharks, and Coyotes are not included. Obviously, last night's game against the Avalanche is also not included.

Needless to say, there are some positives and some negatives through 20% of the schedule. Most interesting is just how good James van Riemsdyk has been, how well Ray Emery has played, and another look at The Pronger effect.

Follow after the jump for the findings.

Here is the table of Tom's results for the Flyers:

	Name	Team(s)	P	GP	G/GAA	A/GA	Pts/SA	+-/Sv	OGIT	DIT	RPM	Val OG	Val D	Val S	Total

1	Ray Emery	Philadelphia Flyers	G	15.2	2.24	34	431	0.921	8.8	1.3	0	6	0.1	0.6	6.7
2	Chris Pronger	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	4	13	17	13	8.6	7.9	11.2	3.8	2.5	0	6.3
3	Matt Carle	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	2	10	12	17	8.2	6.8	14.7	2.1	2.6	0	4.7
4	James van Riemsdyk*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	13	4	11	15	7	4.7	3.9	5.1	3.1	0.7	0	3.8
5	Jeff Carter	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	7	12	19	2	7.5	6	-1.1	3.5	0.3	-0.2	3.6
6	Mike Richards	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	8	8	16	2	6.9	7.5	0	3.1	1	-0.7	3.4
7	Claude Giroux	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	1	7	8	5	4.4	3.8	4.4	0.7	0.8	1.1	2.5
8	Kimmo Timonen	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	1	11	12	-2	8.5	9.1	-5.4	1.8	0.5	0	2.3
9	Scott Hartnell	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	5	7	12	0	5.6	4.3	-1.7	2	0.1	0	2.1
10	Braydon Coburn	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	3	4	7	-3	7	8.9	-6.5	1	0.4	0	1.3
11	Danny Briere*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	12	7	3	10	-2	5.6	4.4	-4	1.6	-0.1	-0.5	1.1
12	David Laliberte*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	4	2	1	3	4	1.1	1	3.5	0.7	0.4	0	1.1
13	Blair Betts	Philadelphia Flyers	F	9	1	1	2	3	1.8	2.9	2.4	0	0.7	0	0.7
14	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia Flyers	F	9	1	4	5	2	2.9	2.8	1.4	0.4	0.4	-0.2	0.6
15	Daniel Carcillo	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	2	1	3	4	2.7	2.5	2.9	0	0.5	0	0.5
16	Arron Asham	Philadelphia Flyers	F	13	3	1	4	-1	2.9	2.8	-2.7	0.4	0	0	0.4
17	Darroll Powe	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	5	0	5	-2	4.4	4.6	-4.8	0.4	0.1	0	0.4
18	Ryan Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	D	8	0	2	2	-1	1.6	2.4	-1.8	0.3	0.1	0	0.4
19	Ian Laperriere	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	1	3	4	-1	4	5.2	-3.3	-0.3	0.4	0	0.1
20	O. Tollefsen	Philadelphia Flyers	D	9	0	2	2	-1	2.2	2.5	-2.4	0.1	-0.1	0	0.1
21	Mika Pyorala*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	0	1	1	3	3.4	4.1	1.4	-1.1	0.7	0.5	0.1
22	Riley Cote	Philadelphia Flyers	F	4	0	0	0	0	0.3	0.3	0	-0.1	0	0	-0.1
23	Oskars Bartulis*	Philadelphia Flyers	D	2	0	0	0	0	0.5	0.6	-0.3	-0.1	0	0	-0.1
24	Danny Syvret	Philadelphia Flyers	D	13	0	2	2	-3	2.9	3.6	-4.7	0	-0.2	0	-0.2
25	Brian Boucher	Philadelphia Flyers	G	1	4	4	28	0.857	0.6	0.1	0	-1	0	0	-0.9

First, you can figure out most of the stat categories, but OGIT is offensive/goalie ice time, while DIT is defensive ice time. RPM is Puck Prospectus' adjusted plus/minus, an explanation of which can be found here. Val OG is offensive/goalie GVT score, while Val D and Val S are GVT defensive score and shootout score, respectively.

Second, who gets the credit for three of the Flyers four best players being off-season acquisitions? Having Ray Emery, Chris Pronger, and James van Riemsdyk at the top of this table might be a surprise, but not to anyone who has been watching the Flyers this season.

As the table shows (and you could see for yourself), James van Riemsdyk has been one of the team's best players so far. Using GVT, he's the fourth best Flyer so far this season, and the best forward. At a total GVT of 3.8, van Riemsdyk finds himself tied for 56th place in the entire NHL. For a guy who wasn't even a lock to make the team, that's quite an accomplishment. As far as rookies go, he is listed as the third best behind Washington goaltender Semyon Varlamov and Colorado forward Ryan O'Reilly.

Another pleasant surprise this season has been the play of Ray Emery. Many are still not convinced (and that's understandable) but his performance through the Flyers first 16 games was not easily topped. He was ranked the 10th best player in the NHL - tied with Marian Gaborik - with a 6.7 total GVT. Among goalies, he came in 7th. He also came in 7th for save percentage and was tied for third in goals against average. It may be a small sample size, but these rankings are relative to every other goalie, and he tied for the 10th most ice time in the league. You may have noticed that he gained points for his performance in the shootout - stopping 7 of 9 shots against - in which he is tied for 26th among all NHL players, and tied for 10th among goalies. Now, the skeptical amongst you can point to Antero Niittymaki's stats (8.8 total GVT) which are as good, if not better than Sugar Ray's. They would be right. However, Martin Biron is only at 1.7 total GVT, so... call it even?

Another hard to miss development in the table is Chris Pronger and Matt Carle sitting second and third. Obviously, this is where The Pronger effect shows the extent of its reach. Before the season, most people predicted that Chris Pronger would elevate the play of his partner. But to hear "Matt Carle" and "Olympic team" (let alone "Norris Trophy") in the same sentence is still unusual. Personally, I've always been a fan of Carle's, but not many people would argue that he is in fact, this good. For this one, I'm just going to use bullet points.

Overall, Pronger is ranked as the 16th best overall player in the NHL with Carle tied for 33rd. This equals 1st and 6th, respectively, among defensemen.
Pronger's offensive contributions rank him tied for 20th in the NHL with Joe Thornton, and just above Jeff Carter. No, that's not a typo. Pronger is contributing offensively at the same rate as Joe Thornton.
On the defensive side, Pronger is 5th in the NHL while Carle is tied for 2nd.
GVT ranks Pronger as the second best two-way player in the NHL, while Carle is tied for 12th. Perspective: Anze Kopitar is in 1st, Pavel Datsyuk is tied with Carle, and Sidney Crosby is tied for 18th.
They were first and second in all of the NHL in plus/minus, with Pronger falling from second to third in Relative Plus Minus. Carle maintained his lead in that category.
Carle was tied for 11th in scoring among defensemen.

I think it's safe to say Chris Pronger has a lot to do with how well Matt Carle is playing. Aware that this is probably getting a little long, I'll finish it up with a few assorted thoughts. (More bullet points!)

Claude Giroux is known as a good defensive player, and it shows in his defensive GVT - second best among Flyer forwards at 0.8. And while you may have guessed Blair Betts (0.7) was third, he is tied with two others: James van Riemsdyk and Mika Pyorala. I can hear your surprise.
Darroll Powe's offensive value through 16 games was equal to Simon Gagne's through 9. That speaks more to Gagne's injury than Powe's ability, but it's still interesting.
David Laliberte's offensive value through 4 games was equal to Claude Giroux's through 16. That will happen when you score twice as many goals in a quarter as many games.
We can mostly agree that Danny Syvret played his way out of the Flyers lineup. But Steve Eminger, Luke Schenn, Hal Gill, and Nick Schultz were tied with him in total GVT and Brett Lebda, Ruslan Salei, Andrej Sekera, Jeff Woywitka, Luca Sbisa, Brendan Mikkelson, Andrew Ference, Aaron Ward, and Jack Johnson were all worse.
For those wondering, Randy Jones through three games has a GVT of 0.5, but only a 0.1 defensive rating; the same defensive value as both Darroll Powe and Ryan Parent.
Lastly, remember that clamoring for Mike Komisarek in the off-season? He's tied for the third worst skater in the league with a total GVT of -1.3. Also, Jay Bouwmeester is tied for 190th with a 1.8.

Much thanks to Tom Awad for giving me this data again. Hopefully, this will become available more frequently and with less hassle. Any questions, just ask. I have his entire spreadsheet if there's anything you want to look at.

Flyers stop Devils streak, honor Dave Schultz with 3-2 win

Travis Hughes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:04:35 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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[Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Complete Coverage] - [NJD Reaction]

There was no melee. There were no fights. There were no teeth knocked out, nor was there any blood drawn. But the Philadelphia Flyers honored Dave "The Hammer" Schultz as best they could with a 3-2 win on his night, tonight. Yes, the story of the night, regardless of the score, was his induction into the Flyers Hall of Fame.

His name will live forever in the rafters of the Wachovia Center and every subsequent building the Flyers call home. After tonight, he will be forever enshrined as one of the greats in team history, an honor reserved for just twenty of the hundreds of players that ever pulled on an orange and black sweater. He thanked his teammates, the front office staff, his coach, his family, and us.

But after the nostalgic ceremonies, there was a hockey game to be played, and the current incarnation of the Broad Street Bullies would successfully halt the streaking New Jersey Devils. They entered the game with an eight game win streak and they exited it with a one game losing streak and their first road loss on the season. How did Philadelphia do it?

For starters, Ray Emery put together another excellent game. It's one thing to out-duel Martin Brodeur in one game, as Emery did when these teams first met last month. But to do it in two games against him, as a member of the team he's owned for his entire career, is something else. Emery made 33 saves in total, and many of them came in an up and down first period that the Flyers escaped with a 1-0 lead. If it weren't for Emery's performance in the first twenty minutes, in which he made 14 of his saves -- many of them difficult -- the face of the game could've been vastly different.

The Flyers took over the contest in the second period, stretching their lead on a Scott Hartnell power play tally before penalties would turn around and haunt them. You can sit and debate the weak tripping call on Mike Richards at the 15:18 mark of the second period all you want, but when it comes down to it, the Devils capitalized on the 5-on-3 chance they had following it, trimming the Flyer lead to 2-1.

New Jersey was outplayed by the Flyers in the second, but to come out of the period with only a one-goal deficit was huge for them. It was also a credit to Brodeur, as well, who played great in the second. For a team that had made it their M.O. this season to come from behind on the road, the Devils felt good as they entered the third. Luckily, the Flyers came out and proved that they weren't going to let NJ come back on their ice.

James van Riemsdyk would score a power play tally on a fumbled pokecheck by Brodeur with about nine minutes left in the game, and then played suffocating hockey the rest of the way. The Devils would strike with less than a second left in the game, but it was obviously too little, too late as the orange and black sent them packing.

After the jump, a few more assorted thoughts from the evening, we'll answer our pre-game questions, grab some popcorn and watch the highlights, and select a comment of the night.

Some assorted thoughts...

The Flyers defense deserves a lot of credit for this one, as well. As a whole, the team blocked a whopping 26 shots tonight. That's obviously going to make the game a lot easier for Razor.
Oskars Bartulis put together another clean game. He was a plus-two in 12 minutes, 27 seconds of ice time alongside Ryan Parent. He also blocked four shots of his own.
It seems like every goal Scott Hartnell scores is an ugly one. Tonight, he banked it off of Devils' defenseman Mike Mottau and it found twine behind Brodeur.
Darroll Powe now has six goals on the season.
Giroux set up Powe's goal with a pass that looked easy, but was actually extremely difficult -- a testament to the guys' raw skill. Without looking, he fed the puck through the slot, past a NJ defenseman, and to a wide-open Powe.
Emery had to make a few key saves, but on the whole, he didn't have to work nearly as hard for them as Brodeur did down the other end. That's another credit to the defense for keeping the pressure off of their goaltender.
It was two Brodeur errors that led to goals on this night. On the first, he played the puck around the boards to Arron Asham, a turnover that led to the goal. On JVR's game winner, he poked the puck out of the front of his crease, but it went right to the stick of the Flyer rookie, who didn't hesitate in putting it to the back of the net before Brodeur even knew what hit him.
Speaking of JVR's goal, he deserved every bit of it. It came on a bit of a lucky break from his perspective, but on the two shifts leading up to the goal, he was working his tail off and generated several chances all on his own.
We love you too, Dave.

Questions With Answers

Do the pre-game ceremonies hurt the Flyers or help pump them up? It didn't hurt the Flyers, that's for sure, but it didn't seem to adversely effect the Devils either. The Flyers definitely won the early part of the first period, but the first 20 minutes as a whole were pretty evenly matched.
Can the Flyers solve Brodeur, and can Emery out-duel him again? Emery did out-duel the Hall of Famer yet again. Their numbers on the night were similar, but Ray was much more composed in his net.
How does JVR look in his return from the flu? Great. It didn't look like he was suffering at all, especially in the third period when you'd expect him to be gassed.
How many fights are there tonight, out of respect for Mr. Schultz? None, unfortunately. That's okay -- there was a little scrum in the final second of the game, and Mike Richards channeled The Hammer a little bit in his response to Jamie Langenbrunner pinning Emery to the ice. Look for more December 12.
Does the move to center help Claude Giroux? Hard to say. You could make the same criticisms of his game tonight -- that he passes too much, doesn't take enough shots, etc. -- as he's heard all season long. But just because he hasn't put a puck in the net doesn't mean he's not contributing.
How much emotion does The Hammer show in his Hall of Fame speech? He didn't cry or anything like that, but he was definitely humbled by the experience. Most of all, he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to play in this city and for this organization. He may have been a monster on the ice in his playing days, but Dave Schultz is an absolute class act and a Philadelphia Flyer for life.

Highlights:

Comment of the Night:

Ya know, I have to reprogram myself to not passively be okay with the Islanders winning. They have the same number of points as the Flyers now.

>> Ben Rothenberg

Monday Morning Fly By: Injuries around every corner

Travis Hughes — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:40 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

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Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... ATL 3, STL 2 (OT) - EDM 5, COL 3
It was a weekend of injuries around the NHL, and brutal ones at that. Most notably, Carolina goaltender Cam Ward suffered a horrifying laceration to his upper left leg on Saturday night when Columbus' Rick Nash's skate came up and caught him. He'll miss at least three weeks, a devastating blow to an already suffering Hurricanes team. [Canes Country]
In Detroit, winger Jason Williams will miss at least two months after breaking his right fibula -- that's his leg, for the uninitiated. [Winging It In Motown]
Alex Ovechkin has been sidelined for about a week now, and in an interview with Puck Daddy, he said that he'll be out about four-to-five weeks. Not so fast, AO. [Japers']
In Pittsburgh, they entered Saturday night's game in San Jose without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Tyler Kennedy, or Maxime Talbot. Add Kris Letang to the list, as he fell with a shoulder problem. He could be out a while, too. [Pensburgh]
Of course, the Flyers weren't exempt on the injury front this weekend. With Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, and Ryan Parent already out, James van Riemsdyk and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen didn't complete Saturday's game. OKT has a concussion and JVR has a fractured pinky finger. Each are listed as day-to-day. [CSN Philly]
As if it were some kind of foreshadowing, Puck Daddy published a list of the top 10 most brutal NHL injuries of the last decade on Saturday afternoon. Randy Jones' hit on Patrice Bergeron and Patrick Thoresen's "potentially ruptured testicle" each make the cut. [PD]
While Danny Syvret has been less than impressive as a Flyer this season, the guy he was traded for, Ryan Potulny, is getting a chance with the Oilers. Until now, he has only played in eight NHL games since the June 2008 trade. [Oilers]
Spectrum seats go on sale today at 10 AM. [BSH]
The Phantoms played once this weekend and fell to archrival Albany 3-1. [Post-Star]
If you don't venture past the main column of this site, you a) have tunnel vision and b) missed out on some good discussion of the current standings system, started by mikefive over the weekend. [BSH FanPosts]
Ron Hextall selling Canada Dry ginger ale, just because. [YouTube]

Flyers make easy work of Canes, 6-1

Travis Hughes — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:54:02 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Carolina Hurricanes center Matt Cullen's skates go out from under him in front of Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ray Emery in the first period of a NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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[Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Complete Coverage] - [CAR Reaction]

When a team that's lost seven straight comes into your building, you have to step on their neck quickly and avoid giving them any hopes of breaking the skid. With three first period goals, the Flyers did just that on Saturday afternoon with a dominating 6-1 win to kick start what is probably the most exciting 72 hour period in the history of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

After Scott Hartnell scored on the power play, David Laliberte would pot the first goal of his NHL career, a rebound that fell right on his stick that he easily deposited into an empty net, to give the orange and black an early 2-0 lead on Halloween. Matt Carle made it 3-0 on a wrap-around goal late in the period, capping off a period that was absolutely dominated by the Flyers, a bit of foreshadowing toward the rest of the afternoon.

Some assorted thoughts...

Laliberte now has more goals than seven different Flyers, and he has as many as Claude Giroux, Kimmo Timonen, Simon Gagne, and Ian Laperriere.
Eleven different Flyers hit the score sheet: Braydon Coburn, Laliberte, Laperriere, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Hartnell, Chris Pronger, James van Riemsdyk, Carle, Timonen, and Ryan Parent. Carle, JVR, Coburn, Laliberte, and Hartnell all had multi-point afternoons.
Coburn scored two third period goals in what he called a big "confidence booster." Hopefully it's a step in the right direction for his season.
After several games of registering several scoring opportunities but not being able to bury them, the Flyers finally executed today.
Ray Emery was great today, making 39 saves. It's atypical of this Flyers club to be out-shot the way they were today, but luckily their goaltender was up to the challenge. Unfortunately for the other club on the ice, Michael Leighton looked terrible. The Flyers got to him often.
There was a bit of a lull in the second period, and that's when the Canes built that ridiculous shot advantage, outshooting Philadelphia 20-8 in the twenty minutes. Early in the period, Carolina came out with a furious pace to their step. They got a goal out of the fray, but 14 seconds later, James van Riemsdyk shut down the Canes glimmer of hope on a pretty individual effort that made it 4-1. The Flyers didn't look back.
Mika Pyorala, Danny Syvret, and Arron Asham finished the day minus-1, the only Flyers in the minus on the day.
There were three fights in the second period. Ian Laperriere, Arron Asham, and Dan Carcillo dropped the gloves for the Flyers. The consensus after the game among John Stevens and the players is that that kind of play can help bring a team together even more, something the Flyers need to do in order to make this season a success.
Ryan Parent left the game early after possibly re-injuring himself. Stevens said that they didn't want him "pushing it" and that he thinks Parent will be fine. Just a precaution. Hopefully.

With revamped defense and rejuvenated offense, the Flyers did their job today. Nothing more, nothing less. With a team like Carolina coming in the way they're playing, a big win should be expected. Think that's harsh? That's what it takes to win a Cup. Coach Stevens agrees. When asked if the team has earned a day off with this loss, he quickly responded with a "No."

After the jump, questions with answers and comment of the (day).

Questions With Answers

Can the Flyers kick the struggling Hurricanes while they are down? Yes. Without a doubt.
How does Laliberte play in his first NHL game? He impressed Stevens enough to move him from the fourth line to the Carter/JVR line at the start of the second period. Two points in your first NHL game? Best Halloween ever.
Do the changes on the blueline have any effect? Coburn seemed energized, but it's tough to get a full rad because of the injury to Parent. Nevertheless, one goal against is nothing to frown at.
How do Betts and Parent look in their first games back? As mentioned, Parent left early. He should be fine. Betts was clearly testing his shoulder throughout the game, delivering several checks with that shoulder. He looked fine, finished a plus-1 in 15:23 of ice time. Betts also won 72% of his faceoffs.
How does the threat of a SEPTA strike tonight, accompanied by city-wide Phillies phever, put a damper on the crowd today? The crowd was very much into the game, but with it out of hand in the third period, a resounding "Yankees Suck!" chant echoed through the Wachovia Center. We'll see how it goes on Monday with a 5 PM start.

Comment(s) of the Day

It’s only fitting for the Flyers to win on Halloween.

>> doubleh

It’s still New York. AL or not, everybody hates the Yankees.

>> Ben Rothenberg

Game Preview: Bruins vs Flyers

timmorrison23 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:16 -0000

by Rich Schultz - AP

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In another weird scheduling quirk the Bruins will play another back to back game, tonight against the Flyers. This is the first meeting of the young season for the Bruins and Flyers. The boys in black and gold will look to stabilize their play, while the Flyers will look to snap a 3 game losing streak.

Notes:

-Simon Gagne has yet to score a goal this season, that just made me smile as he is one of my most disliked hockey players

- Riley Cote should worry less about tatooing his fans and more about actually cracking the lineup.

-The Flyers are 5th in the league on the powerplay, clicking at a rate of 27.3%. While there penalty killing is also ranked 5th, killing off 88%.

-For more on the Flyers check out broadstreethockey.com

Boys and Girls, I give you the Philadelphia Flyers!

Record: 3-2-1

Leading Scorers

	GP	G	A	P	+/-
Jeff Carter	6	4	4	8	-1
Mike Richards	6	6	2	8	-1
Matt Carle	6	1	7	8	5

Injuries

Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Blair Betts	shoulder	10/07/2009
Mike Rathje	other-excused	10/01/2009

Goaltending

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ray Emery	6	365	3	2			17	2.79	175	158	.903	1

More Early Season Statistics

Geoff Detweiler — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:17:07 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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Hopefully this won't be a multi-part series, but there are some more interesting stats to look at from the first 5 games. But whereas my previous post dealt with emerging trends, this one I plan to compare players to give some context.

Here, we'll look at Darroll Powe, the third defensive pairing, and the duo of Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen.

As mentioned in the comments, Darroll Powe is beginning to see some high pressure situations. He's getting more PK time and even more time at the end of games. Like I said in that thread, he has simply been unlucky so far this year. Besides the great keep by Getzlaf, Powe has generally had a good start to the season. Lets look.

In looking at who he's playing against, his qualcomp is slightly stiffer than Matt Carle, and slightly easier than Simon Gagne. Comparing Powe's start to Gagne's may be either unfair to Gagne, or too generous to Powe considering Gagne's nagging groin injury but keep in mind I'm not comparing the player's skill level, but rather their starts to the year. So with that, the comparison begins:

Powe's goals for per 60 minutes is better than Gagne's (2.24 to 2.06), but his goals against per 60 is second worst on the team at 4.48. Gagne, meanwhile, is joined by Blair Betts as the only Flyers not to be on the ice for a 5-on-5 goal against. Before championing Gagne a defensive specialist and Powe a liability, I again go back to his luck to start the year. Powe trails Gagne in the shots for per 60 minutes by one, while leading Gagne in fewer shots against per 60 by 0.2. Continuing, Gagne is on the ice for 2 extra missed shots for and 1.9 extra missed shots against. So the Flyers are firing 4.5 shots at the net more than the opposition while Powe is on the ice and 5.8 more than the opponent when Gagne is on the ice. As we already knew, Gagne is the superior offensive player of the two, but defensively, the two give up nearly identical amounts of shots on target. While the fact that Gagne started in his defensive end 7 more times than Powe may be telling, it speaks more to Gagne's (and his linemates') ability to get out of his own end than it does to Powe's poor defensive ability (Ex: Scott Hartnell started in his own end the same amount of times as Powe, and leads the team in SA/60).

Next, we turn to the new third defensive pairings of Parent/Syvret and Parent/Tollefsen. How have these three players begun their seasons? Well, none of them have been on the ice for a 5-on-5 Flyers goal, but that's not what they're here for. It appears as if Tollefsen has gotten stuck on the ice at inopportune times since he leads the D in qualcomp while Syvret and Parent bring up the rear. The qualcomp helps explain why Tollefsen has the highest GA/60.

So as before, we first look at where the players started. Parent has started in the defensive zone 14 times and the offensive zone 15 times, Syvret 8 and 6, and Tollefsen 2 and 8. With Tollefsen starting away from his own net so much, it is completely understandable that he has the lowest SA/60 among all defenders and the lowest missed shots against. But what isn't as easily understood is his astronomically high goals against per 60. This, I'd imagine, is a combination of bad luck, good competition, and very little ice time (sample size). Overall, the team is firing 6.7 more shots at the opponents net with Syvret on the ice, but 3.5 less with Parent. This also might be explained away with Syvret's little ice time, but this isn't to say that Parent is poor defensively either. Rather, Parent has given up fewer shots per 60 than Coburn, Timonen, and Syvret. Again, this is probably more an indication of how Coburn and Timonen started the year, but the third pairing appears to be doing just fine.

Which brings us to how bad Coburn and Timonen have been over these 5 games. (Disclaimer: these stats aren't exclusive to one player. We all saw Coburn's bad game against Pittsburgh, so this isn't necessarily a reflection on Timonen, but since they're partners, their numbers are very similar.) First, both Timonen and Coburn have negative qualcomps. That should suggest they would have solid numbers since they should be able to shut down the other team's bottom 6 forwards - or those that have thus far produced like bottom 6 forwards. That isn't the case. To begin the dismal run through of stats: their GA/60 are 3.84 (Coburn) and 4.26 (Timonen) while they are giving up 29.2 (Timonen) and 32.4 (Coburn) shots against per 60. With Timonen on the ice, the opponent is firing 0.9 more shots at the net than the Flyers, while they are a +3 with Coburn on the ice. These numbers are skewed by the fact that opponents aren't missing the net with both Coburn and Timonen out there. Strictly in terms of shots on goal, the Flyers are a -6 with Kimmo and a -6.2 with Coburn. They just also happen to be on the ice for a lot of missed shots by the Flyers. It's probably not a coincidence that Timonen has 4 missed shots himself.

Basically, 5 games isn't much to get a picture of. But Darroll Powe is giving up less shots on goal than Simon Gagne, yet he's on the ice for 4.48 goals against per 60 minutes. Ryan Parent is having a solid year despite getting less than 11 minutes of even strength time per game, and the Coburn/Timonen pairing is giving up 6 more shots on goal while they are on the ice than the team is when those two aren't on the ice. Interesting 5 games they were.

Again, all stats acquired from Behind the Net.