SB Nation - Jeff Carter

Optimism vs Pessimism: Flyers play well, still lose to Pens in SO

Travis Hughes — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:28:07 -0000

[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Pittsburgh Reaction]

Final - 12.17.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Pittsburgh Penguins	1	1	0	0	1	3
Philadelphia Flyers	1	1	0	0	0	2

Complete Coverage >

Well, at least they got a point.

Despite doing just about everything right, the Flyers still fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in a shootout. They controlled five-on-five play, looked solid on the power play, and showed up to the arena tonight with a lot of heart, but still walked away without a point.

There are two schools of thought on this. You can be a pessimist and say that it's the same old Flyers, and no matter how well they played, they still lost the game and that's all that mattered. The penalty kill looked terrible. The shootout looked worse. Moral victories don't matter, right? This team is just bad, and they lost another game.

Or, you can be optimistic. The Flyers played well enough to win tonight, and in a lot of ways, they just didn't get the luck. Marc-Andre Fleury stole yet another game away from the orange and black, and you can't blame the home team for that..

In reality, it's a mixture of the two. There are reasons to be pessimistic. The Flyers still took a few terrible penalties. They looked the opposite of good on the penalty kill. There are reasons to be optimistic. In a lot of this game, played better than the Penguins. The chemistry between Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter was fantastic, and the team received positive contributions from all four lines.

Regardless of which logic you subscribe to, you can make a solid argument.

After the jump, a few more thoughts, questions with answers, and the comment of the night.

Some more assorted thoughts...

Chris Pronger made a few bad plays on the PK, but none was worse than a clearing attempt in which he put it right on Crosby's stick about 10 feet from the goal. Crosby roofed it to tie the game.
In the first period, Crosby took a high stick to the face, but embellished like the world was ending. On the ensuing power play, the Penguins tied the game at one.
"We know we can play with them." - Jeff Carter
The penalties still need to stop. While Crosby embellished on the first one, it was still a penalty. Throughout the game, the lack of discipline still continues to haunt.
The Penguins practice shootouts, and Dan Bylsma makes it fun for them. Should the Flyers, a team that's historically been terrible at picking up the Bettman point, take up similar preparation?
Dan Carcillo looked quite good as well.
There were a few questionable calls in this one, including one on Carcillo in overtime and a no call on Evgeni Malkin in the third, but they were in no way the reason the Flyers lost the game.

Comment of the Night

Come On Boys! Go out there and bite someone if you have to, lets get this thing turned around tonight. ...

>> M from Pdaddy

Questions With Answers

60 minute effort? 65 minutes, actually.
Can Boosh turn in a solid performance? Continually is coming up huge for the Flyers.
Can the Flyers beef up on the power play and the PK, which both didn't look too great on Tuesday? We didn't get much of a look at the PP, but the PK was the reason they lost tonight.
How does Dan Carcillo play, one game after being arguably the Flyers best player? Looked good on the PP again, as weird as that sounds. All around hard work from Carbomb.
How's Betts look in his first game back? Played about 14 minutes, went 8 for 14 in the faceoff circle. Looked like Blair Betts.

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)

Browse more photos »

[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."

Patrik Elias Scored 300th & 301st Career Goals in New Jersey Devils' Win over Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1

John Fischer — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:06:17 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

It may look small in this picture, but Patrik Elias and Devils fans have every reason to smile as Elias' 300th career goal helped the Devils decisively beat the Philadelphia Flyers. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Browse more photos »

The New Jersey Devils defeated their Second Most Hated Rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, for the first time this season 4-1 at the Rock tonight. The NHL.com recap is already up with all the stats that you'd like to see. Check out Broad Street Hockey for the Flyers' take, which contains a lot of frustration and or disappointment about the Flyers' performance.

The game changed from period to period. The first period was simply fantastic hockey by the Devils. They straight up dominated the Flyers in every aspect of the game, converted two power play goals, Patrik Elias tacked on a third which was his 300th career goal, and nearly put four past Brian Boucher. A part of me hopes that the Devils coaching staff has a tape of that first period so they can show the Devils exactly what they are capable of - and use it to prevent periods like, say, the second one in tonight's game.

The second was the exact opposite, it was almost as if the teams switched mentalities. The Flyers decided to show up for this one and the Devils decided to take it easy. I really have no answers as to why, but it happened. The Devils were pinned back, the Flyers had more possession and more shots, and Martin Brodeur had to come up huge in a few situations. Of course, he was not perfect. Claude Giroux scored on a bad-angle shot on a power play and gave the Flyers a lifeline. Thankfully for New Jersey, that lifeline was yanked out of it's cord when Patrik Elias put home a fantastic pass by Brian Rolston on a 2-on-1 in the final minute of the period.

The Flyers were surely deflated during the third period. While the Devils didn't look as good in the first, they kept the Flyers honest in their own end, they tried some good attempts on Boucher, and as time went on you can tell that the game was essentially over. The Flyers kept mishandling the puck and conceding possession, whereas the Devils slowed their pace a little bit. Not a bad effort, something I wouldn't have minded seeing from the Devils in the second period.

Read on after the jump for further thoughts on the game.

First, some highlights from NHL.com:

The two top players on the ice were the goal scorers themselves, Nicklas Bergfors and Patrik Elias. Both got braces, both got 4 shots on net, and both somehow racked up a few official giveaways according to the Event Summary of the game. Hmm. In any case, both players looked real strong going forward. Bergfors was constantly going to the net and you saw in the video, thankfully he did just that. His first goal was simply impressive, leading the breakout through the neutral zone and just got through Braydon Coburn and then got it through Boucher's legs. Great stuff on the power play.

But Patrik Elias was just all over the place. Strong in his own end, he was pretty good with his passing all night long, and his goals were fantastic. His first one was a one-timer you'd expect from a pure sniper, a classic highlight-reel worthy goal fitting for a milestone like a 300th career goal. Credit Vladimir Zharkov for his fine work along the boards to protect the puck and get it to Elias. But the second period goal from Elias was far more important. Not just because he is now only 46 goals away from tying John MacLean's franchise record.

The Devils were truly bad in that second period, and again, I don't know why. Maybe they were tired? Maybe they were surprised the Flyers would come out with energy (I hope this isn't the answer)? Maybe they couldn't sustain the level of intensity for two straight periods unless Philly fell flat on it's butt? Whatever you and I may think it is, the fact is that the Flyers got the better of the Devils and pulled within one goal. Martin Brodeur really should have had Claude Giroux's shot. (Aside: I didn't think that was honestly a holding penalty on Jamie Langenbrunner to begin with as a Flyer hugged Langenbrunner's stick for a good 5 feet, but what do I know.) He said as such to Tom Gulitti after the game - not because it killed a shutout, but because he did get a piece of it. However, I think he more than made up for it when he had to make some dynamite saves on the Flyers. 12 shots by Philly, they kept pushing forward, leaving the Devils back, and even on the one power play the Devils did get, the Flyers went up and had a good scoring chance. The Devils only put 5 shots on net, yet the last one was crucial.

Elias' goal at the end sent the message, "We sucked this period, but you know what, you're not winning this game." Most, if not all, of the momentum the Flyers built up in that period, the things they could have built on for the second, was wiped away with 34 seconds left in the second period. The Devils regained their three goal lead in spite of how they played. The Flyers looked deflated as the period ended. As one of the lovely and classy Flyer fans behind me said, "I'm just glad they got a goal, forget the win." And so that fan just must be thrilled as the Flyers just settled for that. Elias goal didn't just restore a lead, it rattled the Flyers' focus. They should have spent the intermission trying to forget about the goal and focus on how they did in those other 19 minutes. But they didn't.

And instead of just trying to look past that goal, they got dumber on the ice. They took two unnecessary calls that they should be happy Brian Boucher and some execution issues prevented the Devils from making the Flyers pay the price. Even so, it meant 4 minutes where the Flyers had to focus mainly on their own end. Outside of that, the Flyers conceded possession easily in the neutral zone, which just hurt their attack. Their passes were poor and the Devils just kept dogging them when they could.

On offense, they didn't make decisions quick enough or correctly enough to make Brodeur really sweat in even strength. Their best scoring chance came while killing a penalty when Brodeur stacked the pads on Jeff Carter. Nice save, but why is Brodeur having to make nice saves on a power play, Devils PP Units? Nevertheless, that was the biggest threat by Philly. The Flyers stopped battling somewhere after the third minute of the third period and the Devils were unfortunate to not make this a bigger score. The Devils were happy to take control of all of these loose pucks - especially Andy Greene, who cleaned up a lot of pucks in his 27:19 of ice time, and that pretty much meant the end.

Admittedly, the Devils weren't as aggressive as they were in the first period, but they did go forward and put a few shots on Boucher. I don't think the Devils stopped trying, but you could tell they didn't have to try as hard given how Philly was playing. Not trying to step up their intensity was a big mistake and really dumb. Why not try to at least make it a game again against a rival? Why give up? I don't know and I'm sure the Flyer fans are asking similar questions as well.

Outside of this, I do want to point out that Martin Brodeur had a very good game from what I saw. Some of those shots by the Flyers were truly dangerous shots. After all, there is a reason why he has more highlight saves than Boucher per the highlight video earlier in this recap. He came up huge on a couple of shorthanded attempts by the Flyers, which were also important as giving up a shortie is a great way to let an opponent back into a game. According to Jacques Lemaire, as reported by Gulitti, that save on Carter in the second period was massive. Honestly, his only real error was the Giroux goal but ultimately that didn't matter thanks to Elias' important second period goal. Could you fault the defense on some of those chances? For some, like the shorthanded chances, seriously those were breakdowns, yes. However, could you really complain about the defense overall as they held the Flyers to 23 shots? Probably not, unless you have high expectations.

So my real complaints about the Devils' performance was their second period and that the power play gave up a few scoring chances while not really frightening the Flyers on those last few man advantages. Yet, the Devils settled things down in the third period - something I would have liked to have seen in the second, admittedly. The power play did convert twice thanks to Bergfors and those two third period power plays went a long way in killing the Flyers' spirit (they did so little after them), so I can't gripe too much about the power play units.

There were some areas I would have liked to have seen the Devils perform better upon further reflection. Had the Devils not take their foot off the proverbial pedal, they could have had 30+ shots instead of just 28. That would have really forced the Flyers back more, and who knows, blow up the score. The one thing Flyers fans can say they dominated the Devils at tonight was at the faceoff dot, as the Devils only won 37% of faceoffs. Though that ultimately didn't mean much. For example, Rob Niedermayer, who played a ton of minutes (22:57), got owned the most as he won only 6 out of 21. Then he usually followed that up by forcing a Flyer to make a hasty decision wherein a Devil picked up a stray puck. So faceoffs were not as crucial tonight.

I'd say the Devils played 40 minutes out of this one. A great 20 followed by a poor 20 and finished with an acceptable 20. Were it not for some unlucky bounces or Brian Boucher coming up big - Brian Rolston nearly had a goal like Elias' second, but Boucher made a fantastic sliding save - this could have easily ended as a big blowout in favor of New Jersey. Instead, I and the Devils fans left the Rock very happy that the Flyers lost in a decisive fashion. The Devils got some revenge for the last two Devils-Flyers games, which were wins where the Flyers outplayed the Devils. The performance by the home team was improved upon some of the recent ones at the Rock, so there's that. The passing was much improved over the dreck that was seen against Florida. The Devils kept cool in light of Philadelphia's lack of discipline save for Colin White shoving Daniel Briere down after a whistle. Bergfors and Elias had huge nights as the difference makers tonight with braces; and Elias hit a career milestone. And, well, the Devils just beat the Flyers, 4-1. Plenty to be happy about, in my view. Now the Devils can rest for three days and try to improve upon their second period performances against Montreal on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading, and a big thanks to Steve for setting up the GameThread as well as a big thanks to the commenters on it as my mobile messaging was lacking tonight. The crowd was good and largely pro-Devils and I enjoyed the company around me despite the class acts whining about the Flyers behind me. (Aside #1: Oh well, they all got a good view of my New Jersey Devils scarf after the goals. Aside #2: Pro-tip for the Flyers fans, bragging about the team value of the Flyers being better than the Devils means little as Elias scores a one-timer.) Combine that with few breaks in the action and so there wasn't much time to text. All the same, the result is what matters and the Devils got it. As usual, please leave your thoughts on tonight's game in the comments.

Now out of the comfort zone, Flyers face make or break stretch

Travis Hughes — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:09:30 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Claude Giroux and Mike Richards need to wipe the depressing looks off their faces and get this team going.

Browse more photos »

Devils. Bruins. Penguins. Penguins. Rangers. That's the schedule for the Philadelphia Flyers over the next week.

It's officially make or break time. This team needs to string points together right now. Not only are all of these teams rivals, they're all pretty strong opponents. Yeah, you could argue against the Rangers, who have been stuck in neutral just like the Flyers. If you think they won't be up for the first game of the season against the orange and black, though, you're mistaken.

The key is for the Flyers to match intensity this week. The largest problem with this team right now is a simple lack of confidence. They lack it in basically every aspect of the game besides goaltending, and it's a major reason why they simply can't put the puck in the net.

The firing of their coach and friend John Stevens probably didn't help the fragile self-esteem of this group. After all, it's easy to forget that the core of this team is still quite young. They were one of the youngest in the league last year, and the additions of Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere, along with the subtractions of Joffrey Lupul and Scottie Upshall, have only gone so far in changing that fact.

Besides, Pronger and Laperriere, two guys who were brought in largely to take leadership roles on the club, haven't done so, at least when it comes to an off-ice role, with Pronger saying things like how he doesn't want to step on Mike Richards' toes.

So far under Peter Laviolette, though, the Flyers have been taken out of their comfort zone. In comes a new coach, holding them accountable for stupid, undisciplined penalties right off the bat. Pronger has been, seemingly, a more vocal presence since Laviolette has come on. The new coach has moved morning game day skates from the Wachovia Center to the Skate Zone in Voorhees, where they were located for almost 30 years prior to last season.

That decision a year ago was made in large part to help the younger players, who live in Center City Philadelphia. Now, those young players will have to drive the extra 20 to 30 minutes over the bridge to the practice rink every morning while the veterans, who for the most part live in South Jersey, are given the luxury of the shorter drive on game day mornings.

Laviolette said the issue wasn't even up for debate. He also went into tactical reasons for the move, such as not wanting to be in the same building as the opponent so the team could go over secretive things like power play formations and the like without the other team seeing what he's doing. But whether it was the main reason for the move or not, the young, under performing core has been effectively taken out of their comfort zone.

Now, it's up to them to respond and show they have something to prove. They have to take this personally. Richards has to lead the charge, emotionally and on the ice. He can set the tone for this team early on, and he'll have to against the Devils for the team to have any success. It's not that Richards has to score a goal in the first ten minutes. But when he's at his best, he's zipping around the ice, doing anything possible to make a high-percentage play. He has to set that tone, but his linemates and the other goal scorers on the team have to follow. That means Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk, and most of all, Jeff Carter, have to match his intensity.

The third and fourth lines will continue to get it done. They've been working hard this entire stretch, and that's not surprising given the make-up of those two units. You've got guys like Laperriere and Asham leading the charge on the third line, and those guys simply don't let up. And on the fourth line, you've got a bunch of guys fighting to make a name for themselves in what they know will be a limited time in the NHL.

We have to hope that going up against a few rivals this week, especially the Penguins in a home-and-home that caps off in Philadelphia, will give the Flyers big guns the spark they so desperately need. If you're going to prove that you're still capable of winning the Cup this season, you've got to win against your Cup-contending rivals. You've got to win this week.

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

That's more like it: Flyers rout Isles, 6-2

Travis Hughes — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:18:27 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [New York Reaction]

Final - 12.8.2009	1	2	3	Total
New York Islanders	0	2	0	2
Philadelphia Flyers	2	3	1	6

Complete Coverage >

That's what I'm talkin' about, boys. The Philadelphia Flyers looked like a hockey team again tonight, beating the New York Islanders in convincing fashion on home ice. Six goals, three players, each with two a piece.

And you know what's refreshing? The guys who are supposed to lead this team actually did tonight. Mike Richards set the tone early, showing a ton of determination in the first period, resulting in a power play goal and a shorthanded one. In the second period, Jeff Carter took over, scoring back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart.

The Flyers coupled some bad luck with a few undisciplined plays in the latter part of the second period, giving the Isles several power play chances, including a five-on-three. John Tavares tried to get his team back into it, scoring two consecutive goals of his own to make it 4-2. But on another power play late in the period, Claude Giroux one-timed a beautiful Richards feed to shift the momentum back to the Flyers side.

Giroux would add one more tally off a beautiful pass from Scott Hartnell to round out the scoring.

Richards, Richards, Carter, Carter, Tavares, Tavares, Giroux, Giroux. Your goal scorers tonight.

With the win, the Flyers jump from 13th to 10th, one point out of the Eastern Conference playoff race with games in hand over the two teams ahead of them. They're also just five points back of 5th place. Things can change quickly id these guys can keep this kind of effort up. Note: Those numbers may be slightly different after other games go final. Still, the point stands -- the Flyers are much closer to playoff positioning then it seemed a night ago.

Much more, including the usual fare -- highlights, questions, comment of the night -- after the jump.

Some assorted thoughts...

Richards is trying his best to put any doubts about his captaincy to rest. He put the team on his back tonight, especially early on, and as Peter Laviolette said post-game, "he played like a captain tonight."
The power play looked faaaaantastic tonight. They moved the puck around beautifully, got plenty of chances, and were just generally awesome. Three for five. Very nice.
A major critique of the Flyers over the last few weeks was that the role players, the bottom two lines, were the best players on the ice for the team. You can't win games when your best players aren't your best players. Well, things changed tonight. The top line of Hartnell-Richards-Giroux was unbelievable. They had a ton of chemistry, a ton of pressure on the puck, and a ton of energy. They seemed to make things happen every time they hit the ice, and it's no shock that they put up seven points.
For those of you who were hoping the Flyers would trade for Martin Biron, did tonight change your mind? He was less than impressive, obviously, by allowing six goals.
Not all of it was Biron, though. Remember those shots that didn't get through on Carey Price last night? Well, they got through tonight. 37 shots total on Biron. That's what happens when you're solid on the PP. The Isles still blocked 11, too.
Johan Backlund was really good at opening the door on the bench tonight. Always aware, always ready, he never left his teammates waiting.
Tavares cross-checked Scott Hartnell into Martin Biron about midway through the third period. Hartnell wound up with 4 PIM while Tavares wound up with zero.
Similar to Sidney Crosby's first game in Philadelphia, a physical Flyers defenseman took a few teeth out of a division rival's highly touted first overall pick. Derian Hatcher knocked Crosby's tooth loose in his first Wachovia Center match, and tonight, Tavares lost a tooth or two thanks to hit along the boards from Chris Pronger. Lighthouse Hockey has something to say about this in their recap, calling him such words as "tool."
No Flyers finished with a minus rating, while no Islanders finished with a plus rating.
The Flyers have won 12 straight against the Islanders.
Laviolette's first win as a Flyer.
Tavares sucks.

Questions With Answers

Power play. Can they turn it around? As already mentioned, mission accomplished.
Goaltending. How does Boucher perform? Solid. Neither goal was his fault. 22 saves.
Sixty minute effort, yay or nay? Yes. How awesome is that? Some might say there was a minor lapse in the second period when all those penalties came, but I'd argue that the penalties came as a result of hard work and pressure.
Can they outwork the Islanders? All night long, baby.

Comment Of The Night

We win tonight.

>> doubleh, prior to the game

Highlights

Goodbye John Stevens? Flyers shutout again, 3-0

Travis Hughes — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:01:09 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Browse more photos »

[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Vancouver Reaction]

Final - 12.3.2009	1	2	3	Total
Vancouver Canucks	0	2	1	3
Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0

Complete Coverage >

The Philadelphia Flyers haven't scored a goal in eight periods. They're getting chances, but the fact of the matter is they simply can't put the puck in the net. Why not? Quite honestly, it doesn't matter. They aren't getting it done. They knew they needed to win this game tonight. They had four full days to prepare for it. Losing, especially via a shutout, is absolutely unacceptable. There's no other way to put it.

Yeah, they're having a closed door meeting at the Wachovia Center right now as this is written, according to 610 WIP. But is it too little, too late? They're running out of options. The top lines aren't doing anything. Arron Asham was the best player on the ice tonight and that says a lot. He played a pretty good game, but when your best players aren't your best players and your role players are consistently the ones putting in the most quality shifts, you aren't going to win.

And eventually, it's going to get your coach fired. Is that the fair move? Up for debate. But you can't fire the players, especially when just about all of them are under performing. As we wrote the other day, when things are consistently going wrong, the coach is the scapegoat. It doesn't matter who is actually to blame.

It doesn't matter that Jeff Carter looks absolutely lost on the ice. It doesn't matter that the defense can't make one good outlet pass. It doesn't matter that Mike Richards is trying to do too much with the puck, often ruining plays by over-thinking. It doesn't matter that the power play can't seem to do anything right, making fans groan instead of cheer when a man advantage is announced at the Wachovia Center.

The Flyers did have 38 shots tonight and Roberto Luongo did have to put in a good game. But that's pretty misleading. Many of the shots were simple to stop. Philadelphia failed miserably at getting in front of the net and disrupting Luongo, and he had an unobstructed view of the puck for just about the entire night.

In the end, a lifeless offense and a lifeless team made a hockey game seem like a funeral. And for the Philadelphia tenure of one coach, that metaphor could quickly become the truth if his team can't snap out of this funk.

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

Questions With Answers

Can the Flyers get to Luongo and the Canucks early? Nope.
Can the special teams get back on track? Nope.
How many hot dogs are consumed? Dollar dog night again... A lot. 16,000 something about halfway through the game. Don't care about the total number, honestly.
How many jokes get made at the expense of Jim Jackson's bald upper lip? It was loud in the room I watched the game in, so I didn't hear much of the commentary. If someone else wants to answer this in the comments, go right ahead.

Comment Of The Night

i think the flyers need more cow bell

>> phish'n

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

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Olympics Preview

Mike MacLean — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:30:34 -0000

View full size photo »

SBNation is doing a series of Olympic Previews, taking a look at each team and which of their players may be suiting up for their countries in Vancouver. As a baseline, we are going to give an indication of their chances of making their team by using these arguments: "Pack Your Bags", "Nearly a Lock", "Fairly Safe Bet", and "In a Battle". The Jackets have a few players who could become Olympians, here's a look at them:

Rick Nash (Canada) - Pack Your Bags
There is almost no way, outside of injury, that Nash will not be a member of Team Canada. In fact, he is penciled in by most as the man riding shotgun to Sidney Crosby. Nash has plenty of international experience in his young career, including being a member of the 2006 Olympic Team, which failed miserably. He is a more mature and complete player now, and will look to be an offensive leader for the Canucks at home in Vancouver. My favourite Nash goal at an international tournament didn't take place at the Olympics, it was at the World Championships, but here it is anyway:

Steve Mason (Canada) - In a Battle
At least he was at the beginning of the season, that is. Before the start of the regular season this year, many experts thought that when it came to Canada's goaltenders, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur were locks. The battle was for who the third goaltender was going to be. The three main contenders were Mason, Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward. With Ward's injury, that made it a two-horse race. The problem is, Mase never showed up. His play this season has been downright awful. I'm not a believer in sophomore slumps, but the proof is in the pudding here. Look for Fleury- who is coming off of a Cup win and is playing great right now-to get the third goalie nod.

Kristian Huselius (Sweden) - Fairly Safe Bet
The man we call Juice may not be on the top of the list of skilled Swedish forwards, but he is a strong candidate to be on the Swedish team. His last international exoerience was at the 2002 World Championships, where the Tre Kroner won the bronze medal. He has never played in an Olympics, but he is on the Swedish short-list for 2010.

Samuel Pahlsson (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Sammy will almost definitely be on the Swedish team in 2010. He helped the Swedes win the Gold Medal back in 2006 in Torino, playing on a line with Freddy Modin (more on him in a minute). A dedicated checking center like Pahlsson will be very important this time around, with the Olympics being in Vancouver, the games will be played on NHL-sized ice, meaning tighter checking.

Fredrik Modin (Sweden) - In a Battle
I saw that Freddy is in a battle, not necessarily with other players trying to make the team, but with his own body. After being lauded for his amazing durability, the last couple of seasons have been near write-offs for Freddy as he has been hit with injury after injury. That said, if he is healthy I can't imagine him not playing for the Swedes, even in a fourth line role. He is after all, one of the very few players who are a member of the Triple Gold Club.

Anton Stralman (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Stralman is off to a great start since joining the Jackets, putting up good point totals. He is one of the main reasons the Jackets' powerplay has gone from last in the league a year ago, to best so far this season. He has played in three straight World Championships for Team Sweden, from 2007-2009. The Swedish defensive corps are a talented group, with Anton fitting in nicely. With the injury to Kronwall, Stralman may see top line duty with Nick Lidstrom.

Jakub Voracek (Czech Republic) - Nearly a Lock
The Czechs are a team that always seems to surprise at international tournaments. Look no further than the '98 Olympics, where they took home the Gold based on the amazing play of Dominik Hasek. In 2010, the Czechs are a good team, and Voracek should be a member. He likely will play a third or fourth line role, with the top six wingers likely being Jagr, Hemsky, Prospal and Hejduk/Havlat.

Rostislav Klesla (Czech Replublic) - In a Battle
Rusty is a fringe player in terms of the Olympic team. He does have international experience, but he is in tough this time around. He has to beat out the likes of Kaberle, Kubina, Rozsival, Hamrlik, Spacek and Kuba. It's not completely impossible though, and with the smaller ice a rugged player like Rusty could shine.

Jan Hejda (Czech Republic) - In a Battle
Like Rusty, Jan is fighting for a spot. He's defense-first, which may help him because the guys he is fighting for a spot against are generally puck-moving types. He has international experience, his most recent was at the 2008 Worlds. Given the play of Jaro Spacek, one of Hejda or Klesla could make the squad.

Fedor Tyutin (Russia) - Nearly a Lock
The Russians have scary forwards, plain and simple. They are the most dynamic group in the world, hands down. That said, they don't have spectacular defense. A hybrid defenseman like Tyutin will fit in very well on the Russian squad, and he could see powerplay duty with Sergei Gonchar.

Nikita Filatov (Russia) - In a Battle
Filatov wasn't at the Russians Olympic came this past summer, but he is no doubt still very much on the radar of the National Team. With his recent return to Russia, his stock has certainly risen, but he is still in tough to make the squad, given their amazing talent and depth up front.

R.J. Umberger (United States) - In a Battle
I wanted to include Umby mainly because I believe that it is wrong that he wasn't invited to the Team USA camp. He is a much better player than a handful of guys who did get the invite, but it all has to do with his history with USA GM Brian Burke. Umby didn't sign with Vancouver, who drafted him in the first round when Burke was the GM. This led to bad blood, which has clearly carried over to the Olympics. RJ's play hasn't done much to convince Burke otherwise either.

To finish things off, being a Canadian I am excited as hell to have the Olympics here in my home country. After the disappointment of Torino, I, like every other Canadian, want to see the Gold come back to Canada. Here's my prediction of the Team Canada Olympic Roster:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Jarome Iginla
Dany Heatley - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Brendan Morrow - Mike Richards - Shane Doan
Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Martin St. Louis
Steven Stamkos

HM: Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards

Chris Pronger - Scott Niedermayer
Dan Boyle - Duncan Keith
Shea Weber - Jay Bouwmeester
Drew Doughty

HM: Brent Seabrook, Mike Green, Stephane Robidas

Roberto Luongo
Martin Brodeur
Marc-Andre Fleury

HM: Marty Turco

Sabres Pick Up Leftovers Against Flyers

Zachary Zielonka — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:25:36 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Ray Emery, left, blocks a shot by Buffalo Sabres' Tim Connolly during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

The Buffalo Sabres continue their holiday road trip with an afternoon matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres are currently nursing a four game losing streak and facing a Flyers team that the Sabres last beat two weeks ago. On this four game losing streak, the Sabres have scored six goals in four games and half of those goals have come on the power play. The Sabres rank dead last in total goals and 5 on 5 goals with 52 and 16 respectively. The Flyers are third in the league in even strength against with 33. What does this all mean for the Sabres, not sure. The Sabres have scored five goal in two games against Philadelphia and scored three games on the road in their last game.

The Flyers are going to be without leading scorer Danny Briere after being suspended for his late hit on Scott Hannan of the Colorado Avalanche. Briere hit Hannan late after Hannan scored in Wednesday night's game. The Flyers still have their fair share of scorers though with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Richards has 10 goals and 21 points while Carter has 9 goals and 22 points. Ray Emery will be in net for the Flyers and has been solid in net for the Flyers going 11-6-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .910 SV% but has a 3.06 GAA and .906 SV% in his career against the Sabres.

Keys To The Game

Sabres: If the Sabres are going to have any chance in winning this game they are going to have to find the back of the net. The Sabres should score first and score often against Ray Emery. The Sabres need to control the pace of the game and be on their game for a full sixty minutes. The Flyers are a dangerous scoring machine that could score at any time.

Flyers: Trap the Sabres. The Sabres are having a hard time scoring so keeping them in a frustrating neutral zone trap will force the Sabres to make mistakes. Keeping the offense frustrated will produce turnovers and mistakes and those mistakes will lead to Flyers scores.