SB Nation - Simon Gagne

Another Day, Another Loss: Rangers 2, Flyers 1

Geoff Detweiler — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:17:45 -0000

Boucher looks at the puck behind him after noticing none of the Flyers had shown up to play yet. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)

Final - 12.19.2009	1	2	3	Total
New York Rangers	1	1	0	2
Philadelphia Flyers	1	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

[Box Score] - [Full Coverage] - [NYR Reaction]

No words. I have no idea what to say. I'm getting sick of having to write stories about how badly the Flyers played, how they didn't deserve to win, and how they still can't score. How bad are the Flyers? They scored one goal against a team that has been giving up 2.91 per game, good for 9th most in the league.

The Rangers won the battle at even-strength, outscoring the Flyers 2-0 at 5-on-5 play. How rare is this? The Rangers have a -8 goal deferential at 5-on-5 play. Yet the Flyers can't get a goal at even strength. The power play wasn't any better, going 1 for 5.

One of the most telling things in this game was Peter Laviolette calling a timeout after the Rangers first goal. Just over 5 minutes into the game, the Rangers had already outshot the Flyers 5-1 when Claude Giroux had a pass from his knees get picked off in his own zone. Chris Drury put the turnover in the net and Laviolette called a timeout. Not a good start to the game.

In his post-game press conference, Peter Laviolette was clearly not happy:

"It was a poor start, there's no excuse for it. I can't think of one reason why we would come out flat, but we did. We needed the time out to try and refocus. I would have thought we would have ripped the hinges off the gate tonight to get on the ice. We were so far from that in my opinion, to start the game, and we got what we deserved."

The game-winning goal was scored by Artem Ansimov, as his centering pass went off of Ryan Parent's shin pad and past Boucher. It was a lucky bounce, but Ryan Callahan won the battle against Parent in the corner, then beat Parent for positioning in front of the net. They earned their luck, something the Flyers haven't been doing.

After the jump, Random Thoughts, Questions with Answers, highlights, and the Comment of the [Afternoon].

Random Thoughts:

Mika Pyorala only played 5:05 tonight, but he had as many shots on goal as Danny Briere (1) who played 19:45. And it was a scoring chance at that.
With that in mind, I think it's safe to say Pyorala will be a scratch when Darroll Powe returns to the lineup.
Speaking of returning to the lineup, Simon Gagne was rather impressive in his first game back. He logged 20:16 of ice time, had a key assist on Pronger's goal, and showed a lot of jump in his skates. It's good to have him back.
This team's offensive plan is rather predictable. I have a hard time believing the opposing team is surprised by anything the Flyers do in the offensive zone. That makes it easy to defend.
This was mentioned in the game thread by Prometheus74, but the Flyers have now scored 17 goals in their last 11 games. Only twice have they scored more than two goals in that time period, both of them wins. They have only scored 8 goals in their last 9 losses.
The Flyers won the faceoff battle (53%), the shot battle (37-24), and the penalty battle (5-2), but not the war.
District 5.

Questions with Answers:

How does Gagne perform now that he's back in the lineup? He only had one goal in the nine games he played this season, if you remember. He played very well. No goals, but an assist to go along with a strong forecheck.
Do Hartnell and Carter carry over the chemistry they displayed on Thursday? I wasn't impressed with Hartnell at all today, but the Carter-Hartnell-Briere line was the best today.
Can the Flyers successfully stop Marian Gaborik? Yes. Just under 21 minutes of ice time, no points and only 1 shot.
How many people actually make it to the game today? Eh. Two-thirds capacity? I'm obviously not sure. Anybody have a better answer?

Highlights:

Comment of the Night:

Pronger can’t shoot from the point (said two minutes before Pronger scores the tying goal)

JpH89

Fun Facts From the Flyers Media Guide

Travis Hughes — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:18 -0000

The Flyers media guide never seems to disappoint when it comes to interesting or funny facts.

View full size photo »

As every pro and college sports team does, the Philadelphia Flyers put out a media guide each season. In addition to all those interesting stats TV broadcasters hand out, the book includes profiles of every player on the roster, every member of the organization, and other fun little tidbits. I took a chance to page through the guide recently, and I share some of the best facts with you below.

The bar at the AT&T Pavilion in the Wachovia Center is the largest in-arena bar in the world.
Assistant GM Barry Hanrahan has a labradoodle named Meatball.
VP of Sales Jim Willits might be the reason the Phoenix Coyotes fail in the desert. In his first four years as director of ticket sales for the Coyotes, the arena filled to 94 percent capacity. Since he left in 2002, that number has substantially dropped.
On February 6, 1997 against Montreal, the Legion of Doom -- John LeClair, Eric Lindros, and Mikael Renberg -- scored 16 points in a game, the most by a line in one game in franchise history. 20 days later in Ottawa, they repeated the feat.
The names of Arron Asham's kids: Dexter, Azilyn, and Oceane.
If Matt Carle could have dinner with anybody, he would choose to dine with Santa Claus.
Ed Snider has 14 grandchildren.
Fred Shero holds the highest win percentage of any coach in team history, with a .642 mark. Terry Murray holds the best playoff win percentage for a coach at .609.
Brian Boucher loves Spongebob and wont eat sushi.
The Flyers went undefeated against the Penguins at home in 42 consecutive games from February 7, 1974 to December 8, 1988.
Darroll Powe would like Norm MacDonald to play him in a movie about his life.
You know how you know Ian Laperriere is gay? He listens to Coldplay before games. Linked video NSFW.
Chris Pronger's first car, a 1983 Ford Ranger, was held together by rust.
Mike Richards dreams of being on stage at an Eminem concert.
Los Angeles couldn't beat the Flyers from October 22, 1974 until February 5, 1983 -- 32 games.
Among goalies with at least 1,000 minutes played, Roman Cechmanek holds the best GAA mark -- 1.96. At the opposite end of the spectrum (no pun intended), Bobby Taylor had a GAA of 4.05 in 44 games.
Ray Emery is allergic to cheese.

More after the jump...

The most points the Flyers have compiled against one team? 299 against Pittsburgh all-time, an 132-76-30-5 all-time record.
Simon Gagne's favorite numbers are 4 8 15 16 23 42.
Philadelphia has only played Columbus eight times. Ever. 4-1-3-0 in those games.
Craig Berube has a son named Nashota.
The orange and black scored two goals in seven seconds in the first period against St. Louis on December 27, 1988. They scored three goals in 35 seconds in the eighth minute of the second period against Boston on March 1, 1979. They scored four goals in one minute, 22 seconds against Pittsburgh in the third period on October 11, 1981.
Kimmo Timonen has a thing for Robert DeNiro. He'd like to have dinner with him and he'd also select him to play him in a movie about his life.
The Flyers have never allowed a goal on a penalty shot in the playoffs, despite four chances by opponents.
Ian Laperriere, movie star. He played Montreal Canadiens great "Boom Boom" Geoffrion in Maurice Richard, a movie about another Habs legend.
Despite winning the Stanley Cup in 1974/75, the Flyers scored just 61 goals at home that season, the low mark in team history.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is listed as "single" but he also "got married over the summer to his wife, Guro."
In his one game as a Flyer goaltender, Martin Houle had a GAA of 30.00. He allowed one goal in two minutes of ice time.
The Flyers are 29-4-3-1 all time against Atlanta.
Scott Hartnell's favorite cartoon character is Darkwing Duck.
Prior to this season, the Flyers had sold out 1,054 of their 1,621 home games.
Raw onions don't get along with Braydon Coburn.
The Flyers have a winning record against every team in the NHL, with the exception of the Boston Bruins, who they are 59-80-21-5 against all-time.
Danny Briere's first car was an Izuzu Impulse.

Another game, Another shutout: Flyers lose 2-0

Travis Hughes — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:31:30 -0000

[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Ottawa Reaction]

Final - 12.10.2009	1	2	3	Total
Ottawa Senators	0	0	2	2
Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0

Complete Coverage >

Six games, three shutouts. Watch America's Most Wanted this weekend and maybe we can find out who kidnapped the Philadelphia Flyers offense. With the exception of one game against the New York Islanders, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, and Danny Briere have been invisible over the last month.

I don't know what to think and I don't have answers, but this team just can't score. They have absolutely zero confidence. Maybe a trade is necessary to shake up the offense. Maybe they just need Simon Gagne, Blair Betts, and Darroll Powe back in the lineup. Maybe we overrated them and they're just bad. I simply don't know. With the amount of games coming up in the next few weeks -- really, up until the Olympic break -- they can't afford to continually give up points like this. It's frustrating, not to mention depressing.

They outworked the Senators tonight. They had more chances and they had an almost full length five-on-three power play. Their goalie performed like the starter he was in 2000. And yet, empty net goals not withstanding, they still lost a 1-0 defensive struggle.

Credit is due to the Senators. Brian Elliott played quite well. They did a great job of clogging the middle of the ice with bodies, not allowing the Flyers to do much on the power play. Still, Ottawa is not really a good hockey team. They've played over their heads thus far this season. They're relying on a goaltender right now who has only played 47 NHL games.

You've gotta win these games. The Flyers keep on proving that they're incapable of that.

After the jump, a few more notes on this one, lowlights, questions with answers, and the comment of the night.

Some assorted thoughts...

If I were Brian Boucher, I'd be furious. He's playing excellent hockey in the absence of Ray Emery, but he can't get a win because his team can't put the puck in the other net. At the same time, it's a reassuring sign that things aren't totally lost with Emery down. If the offense can get a damn goal.
The orange and black may have scored a goal at one point during this one, but the score sheet wont say that. The puck was lodged under Elliott's pads, and he seemed to be in the net with it. He was pushed by Scott Hartnell, though, so the officials, despite heading over to the table, didn't even send the play to Toronto for review.
The power play showed excellent puck movement, but unlike Tuesday against the Isles, the passing lanes across the middle of the ice didn't exist tonight. That forces the shots to come from the outside, and Elliott had an answer every time the Flyers challenged him down below the faceoff circles. When shots came from the point, especially via the stick of Chris Pronger, they rarely even made it through to Elliott.
Matt Carkner delivered a cheap shot to Mike Richards late in the third period, giving the Flyers some hope with a PP. On that ensuing PP, it was the same story.
Braydon Coburn's giveaway to Jesse Winchester leading up to the game-sealing empty net goal was just terrible.
The Flyers took several penalties tonight, but Peter Laviolette said after the game that they weren't the same kind of undisciplined penalties that he punished the team for during Wednesday's practice.
On the bright side, the penalty kill did a good job killing off Ottawa's PP chances.
This was, by far, the most boring hockey game in quite some time. Sens fans and Flyers fans agree.
Oddly, the CSN broadcast was the only one of this game tonight. It was simulcast on TSN 2 in Canada, as well as around the country on various CSN affiliates.
On that same note, Jim Jackson reportedly lost his glasses prior to the game (I didn't know he wore glasses?) and was forced to wear prescription sunglasses while calling the game. Jim Jackson wears his sunglasses at night.

Questions With Answers

Can the Flyers keep themselves out of the penalty box for prolonged stretches tonight? No, but it didn't hurt them like it did on Tuesday.
Will the power play sustain the success they had on Tuesday night? They held the puck well, but anything more than that is apparently too much to ask for.
Does the top line continue its sexy-looking play? Not even a little bit.
Can Boucher keep up his hot play? Definitely. Solid games are becoming the norm for Boosh.
How successful are the Flyers in keeping the Sens big guns off the score sheet? Fisher had an assist, but Alfreddson, Spezza, Michalek, and Cheechoo were all held off.
Does Jarkko Ruutu kill a guy? No, but he did receive a cross-checking minor in the second.

Comment Of The Night

At least he’s scoring somewhere

>> JpH89, on Carter getting some tail at the club

Lowlights

Stevens on the hot seat in Philly

James Mirtle — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:17 -0000

Love that pic from the gang at Flyers Goal Scored By. Too funny.

Chris Pronger hasn't quite taken the 'C' on from Mike Richards, but he has been pretty outspoken (and, well, good in terms of his play on the ice), something beat writer Tim Panaccio captured nicely in an unfiltered sort of way recently:

"He hasn’t asked me for any help," Pronger said of Richards. "I’ve been in his shoes. It’s not [bleeping] easy. The expectations are high on him and on the team. We’re not playing to the best of our abilities, and a lot of that gets shouldered by the captain."

"He’s been here four years and sees how things have progressed from being a s----y team to a pretty good team, to having even higher expectations. I would think he has a better read on some of these guys than I do."

"We need to make it [bleeping] happen on Thursday," Pronger said. "It needs to [bleeping] happen now, so we can get over that hump and get this ship headed into the right direction."

Thursday? Well, it wasn't so good. And I imagine Pronger served up a few more four-letter words as a result.

The Flyers came out of the gate as one of the league's best teams, but they've been a mess the past three weeks or so. They're out of playoff position now, behind the Isles and Lightning, and have gone 1-6-0 since a win over the Kings on Nov. 18.

And, as Matt over at The 700 Level points out, coach John Stevens's rear end is probably getting a little toasty on the hot seat.

Their issues, in a nutshell:

Goaltending. Ray Emery has really struggled during this down stretch and is in danger of giving up the starting role. They need him to at least work in tandem with Brian Boucher, but Emery's posted a 3.91 goals-against average and .861 save percentage in his past six starts.
Power play. Philly has only 12 goals in its last seven games, including just two with the man advantage. They lost some depth when Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul left over the summer, but still have the cast to be one of the league's highest scoring teams.
Injuries. Plain and simple, they miss Simon Gagne, who was a big part of the 99-point season last year.

Expectations are sky high in Philadelphia after they added Pronger, and despite the fact management skimped on goaltending, Stevens is going to get the blame here if things stay sour. I think there are the components there for this to be a really strong team in the Eastern Conference, however, so if Peter Laviolette or Craig MacTavish steps in, they could be the ones to ride a Dan Bylsma like coaching change to something special.

I'll be very surprised if this team misses the postseason, but Emery's the wild card as he tries to play his way back into the league.

As usual.

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.

View full size photo »

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

Tuesday Morning Fly By: Stevens, Referee Bias, Leclair to the Hall, and BSH Radio Tonight at 7 PM ET

Travis Hughes — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:12:48 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

23 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers left wing Riley Cote, right, takes a punch to the face from Atlanta Thrashers forward Eric Boulton, left, during a fight in the first period of a NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, at Philips Arena, in Atlanta. The Thrashers won 1-0. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... BUF 3, TOR 0 - PIT 5, NYR 2 - WSH 3, CAR 2 - ATL 4, FLA 3 - CBJ 5, STL 2 - COL 3, TBL 0 - DET 4, DAL 1 - CGY 5, NSH 0
John LeClair will be inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame tonight in Boston. Former Flyer Tony Amonte is also in the induction class. [NHL.com]
Monday night was a weird one around the NHL, especially in the first half hour or so of the hockey night.
First, Keith Ballard took out his own goaltender with a two handed chop across his head. He obviously meant to break his stick over the post, but he missed, and Tomas Vokoun's face got the brunt of it. [Litter Box Cats]
Second, Alex Ovechkin collided knee-on-knee with Carolina's Tim Gleason. AO got the worst of the blow, an adding insult to the injury for the Caps, he received a major penalty and a game misconduct. He'll be getting an automatic suspension from the league as well, given that this is his second major penalty in the last week. [YouTube]
Back to the Flyers now... John Stevens speculation led the discussion all day on Monday. It continues. [CSN Philly]
A look at who could replace Stevens, if it comes to that. [Flying P]
The other news on Monday was that Jared Ross was sent back to the Phantoms. But more important than anything else is that Simon Gagne unexpectedly skated on the Skate Zone ice. [Gormley]
Also in the Gormley link, Emery practiced in the pads he's expected to wear in the Winter Classic: Ray Emery showed up at Monday’s practice wearing old school goalie equipment, complete with plain, brown pads, brown waffle blocker with white circles and a brown catching glove.
Those damn refs are biased... toward the home team. Great statistical breakdown by Gabe Desjardins and J.P. [Behind The Net] - [Japers' Rink]
Rich Peverley wins his feud with Mike Richards... or something? [Bird Watchers Anonymous]
NBC and the NHL are preparing this year's Winter Classic commercials. Details here... [Puck The Media]
Speaking of the Classic, it looks like the Blackhawks are turning their outdoor threads into permanent third jerseys. [Blackhawks]
It looks like a huge attempt to gain forum members to me, but The NHL Arena is running a "blog-off" in which they pit different blogs against each other in a tournament format. There are only 21 votes total in the first round for the Flyers division as of this writing, so this clearly doesn't mean too much. But here it is, either way. [The NHL Arena]
BSH Radio. Tonight at 7 Eastern. Right here.

Ousting John Stevens: Too soon, or a necessary decision?

Travis Hughes — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:59:32 -0000

The sole reason for this website is to mobilize the Flyers fan base and send a message to the Flyers organization. That message is that Head Coach John Stevens has had enough time to hone his coaching skills and mold this Flyers hockey team into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Instead, inconsistencies continue to plague Stevens and his players. And we're not talking about big name players going in and out of the lineup with injuries. We're talking about just about the entire squad falling asleep for 1-2 periods at a time, and then suddenly waking up in time to muster a late 3rd period effort that still falls short. They are the same issues from 2-3 years ago that still haven't been addressed, and they are reasons why this Flyers hockey team will not be able to contend with the NHL elites like the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been desimated [sic] by injuries all year long, yet still are sitting atop the Eastern Conference. It's called a "60 minute effort", and Stevens has yet to show that he can get that concept across to his team.

>> Newly founded FireJohnStevens.net

In professional sports, the coach is always the scapegoat. No matter what the team or the situation, if a team is under performing, it's easier to say goodbye to one guy than to do so with a whole case of players. If the Flyers continue to play inconsistent hockey as they have over the last, oh, 100 regular season games or so, it's perfectly plausible to think John Stevens could be gone as the bench boss of this club.

And these rumors have circulated in the past, like when the team opened the season winless in their first six last season, or when they lost 10 straight the year before, or when the Flyers fell to Pittsburgh for the second season in a row. But never have the waves of discontent seemed as violent as they do now. The dissent seems louder now among Flyer fans, here on this site, in other places on the web (as evidenced by the above quote), and even in the media.

Over the weekend, Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer penned an opinion article that questioned Stevens ability to mold the Flyers into Stanley Cup contenders, using those same Penguins as an example.

If this inconsistency continues, the calls for coach John Stevens' job will grow louder. Last season's Penguins are the model franchise for getting results with an in-season coaching change. The Penguins were 27-25-5 and 10th in the Eastern Conference when coach Michel Therrien was fired in mid-February. Therrien's replacement, Dan Bylsma, led the Pens to an 18-3-4 regular-season finish, the fourth seeding, and the Stanley Cup.

It's a different situation here in Philly, though. In Pittsburgh, Therrien had lost his team. They simply didn't want to play for him and his defensive style was not suited to their talent. It would be a lot like if Ken Hitchcock were still around coaching this Flyers bunch. Carchidi even mentions that "the Flyers love playing for the hardworking Stevens," so how can a parallel be drawn here?

That's not to say there aren't legitimate questions to ask. The fact of the matter is -- and we all know it -- that this team has been unacceptable inconsistent since the start of last season and even before then. John Stevens has been the coach the entire time. But Mike Richards has also been captain the entire time. And Jeff Carter has been his wing man. And Kimmo Timonen has been an assistant captain. And... well, you get the point. Could it be the players, not the coach?

It seems Daily News beat writer Frank Seravalli believes so. He wrote an opinion piece today defending Stevens, but it was one quote from an unnamed Flyers player that stands out.

"It's not Johnny," the player who asked not to be named told Seravalli. "We have a lot of problems right now. He's not one of them. His systems work. He is in our face when we're not doing what we're supposed to. He has a lot more fire than people know about. For whatever reason, we've let him down."

What could those reasons be? The injuries are the most obvious problem. Danny Briere, Simon Gagne, Darroll Powe, Blair Betts, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen have all missed considerable time, forcing players like Jared Ross, David Laliberte, Andreas Nodl, Oskars Bartulis and Danny Syvret into the lineup. Some of those players have stunk up the joint while others have been serviceable, but it's still a dramatic drop in NHL talent.

The power play has failed them lately. The penalty kill has been terrible, too. And one could argue this team is built around superior special teams ability. When those units don't click, success probably isn't going to come. How is that Stevens fault?

The argument could be made, of course, that the inconsistency was there before the injuries and the recent struggles -- it's been here for years now. But who knows how much of that is truly Stevens fault. Could the team be too comfortable playing for Stevens? Could they need a shakeup in the so-called leadership group? Could the front office be the real problem, not giving Stevens the proper tools he needs?

I don't know if we'll ever know the answers to these questions. I just hope we don't toss out another coach just because it's the easy way out.

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

Browse more photos »

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.

Thursday Morning Fly By: Primeau speaks, Win a Boston trip

Travis Hughes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:32:32 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... Flyers 3, Kings 2 - FLA 6, BUF 2 - DAL 3, DET 1 - PHX 3, MIN 2 - EDM 6, COL 4
Recaps of last night's/this morning's squeaker in LA from the AP, NHL.com, the Inquirer, Daily News, Bucks Co. Times, CSN Philly, the Kings (and much more at Kings Insider), FGSB, and Flying P.
Several articles about Randy Jones playing the Flyers for the first time. [Inquirer] - [Daily News] - [CSN]
Keith Primeau speaks on living life with head injuries. [Daily News]
This story was posted by Geoff in the FanShots yesterday, but I wanted to put more of a spotlight on it here. Apparently, Metro Philadelphia thinks that Darroll Powe is a defenseman. I've reached out to the editor for comment, so hopefully we'll have more on this later. [Metro]
The Phantoms won last night 2-0 over Toronto. Tim McManus: "How do you have a winning record (8-6-1-0) when you’ve scored just 34 times in 15 games? By only allowing 37" Johan Backlund has been great. [Post-Star]
Adirondack has a game on Thanksgiving. Really, AHL? [Phantoms]
The worst call all season. And I don't think this can be topped. From Wings-Stars last night... [Puck Daddy]
CSN is giving away a trip to Boston for the Winter Classic. [CSN]
I firmly believe the Flyers are contenders; they got better over the summer and they’re used to playing without Simon Gagne anyway. They had great special teams last year, and Chris Pronger has been playing at a Norris Trophy level so far this season. [Hockey Or Die]
Become a fan of Broad Street Hockey on Facebook. [Facebook]

Tuesday links: Seeking the fire we had last year edition

averagejoe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:37 -0000

It's Tuesday. That's all I have to say today. Links? Links.

Blues news

Headline: Blues struggling to score goals. Deck: Pope remains Catholic. [Belleville News-Democrat]
But hey, at least Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo are playing well. [Sporting News]
Seriously, EJ and Petro are living up to their potential. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Some notes on the Riverman and Ed Belfour. Good news, captain Yan Stastny isn't seriously hurt. [Peoria Journal Star]
The team is trying to find the fire it had last year. Yep, that's what's missing -- fire. Not goals or players like David Backes playing up to their potential, it's fire. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Hockey news

Results from last night. Islanders, Flyers and Kings all are winners.[Yahoo! Sports]
Five games tonight. My game of the night? Rangers vs. Cancuks. [Yahoo! Sports]
The Flames are 7-4-1, but could they be better? [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
Ducks' d-man James Wisniewski suspended for a hit to the head. [ESPN]
Anaheim Calling tackles hits to the heads. [Anaheim Calling]
OdinMercer rejoices: the NHL is buying the Coyotes. [Five for Fowling]
Alex Ovechkin is week to week. Not good times for the Caps. [ESPN]
Speaking of injuries, Simon Gagne is going to miss a few weeks. [ESPN]
Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen are close to coming back. [ESPN Dallas]
More injury news: Jason Spezza is out.[TSN]
In still injured news, Phil Kessel is still out. Still. [TSN]

Other links

Man gets caught cheating by standing on an a/c window unit in the nude. Seriously. [Blame it on the voices]
Big Ben, the clock, is on Twitter.[Twitter]
I know this Web site all too well. I think the only people that read newspapers anymore are the easily angered. [Angry people in local newspapers]
People google the dumbest fucking things. [gtards]
The Simpson's are famous for fake products. Here are some good ones. [Guyism]

Video

RFJCC sends along a video I was going to show anyway. Am I worried I'm thinking like him? Not really. Christopher Walken is bad ass.

gametimelinks(at)gmail.com. Keep it real, kids.