Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose ofPhiladelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Sam Carchidi got an interview with Ed Snider on Ilya Bryzgalov, Chris Pronger, the playoffs, the Kings, and more. [Broad Street Bull] [Inquirer]
• From Ben: Nice stuff from the NYT on Carter and Richards getting back together. "'Mike was pretty happy,' the Kings’ captain, Dustin Brown, said, chuckling at the understatement. [NY Times]
• Game 6 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals was quite enjoyable: [Flyers Faithful]
• Derian Hatcher will no longer be the only American Captain to win the Stanley Cup: [NHL.com]
• The KHL will play two regular season games in Brooklyn: [Puck Daddy] [Deadspin]
• Previewing the Devils and Kings: [Down Goes Brown]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose ofPhiladelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• On Justin Schultz, tampering, and two already-signed alternatives: [Bill Meltzer]
• Scott Mellanby was named Director of Player Personnel by the Canadiens: [Habs Eyes On The Prize]
• A great look at how teams played in front of each goalie, where it is interesting to see where Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Bryzgalov appear: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Looking at 35+ contracts: [Flyers Faithful]
• Long term contracts were supposed to be immovable. Turns out, they're not the handcuffs everyone thought: [Backhand Shelf]
• The title really does say it all - "Martin Brodeur: Slightly above average for a very long time" - but the comments are hysterical: [Backhand Shelf]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose ofPhiladelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Game 5, 1987 Stanley Cup Finals: [Flyers Faithful]
• Simon Gagne was cleared to return to the lineup, but it is unclear if he will: [NYTimes.com]
• Scoring chance summary from the Kings/Coyotes series: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Eric looks at the impact a goalie's stick-handling skills has: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Mike Russo floated the idea that if there were an NHL lockout, six teams could potentially not survive: [Hockey Wilderness]
• Easy to read usage charts for NHL rookies this year: [NHLNumbers.com]
• From Ben: After the jump, the results of our first annual Broad Street Hockey Eurovision Prediction contest!

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• This year's offseason is pretty quiet compared to last year's, especially when you consider the similarities. The reaction has been much, much better though: [SB Nation Philly]
• The results of SBN's Calder Trophy voting: [SBNation.com]
• A good look at the rookie forwards from this year shows an under-appreciated Atlantic Division foe: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Game 4 of the '87 Cup Final, otherwise known as one of those times Ron Hextall lost his mind: [Flyers Faithful]
• Sam Donnellon says despite Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the Cup Finals, Flyers fans shouldn't change their opinion on the trades: [Daily News]
• Ratings from the New York market during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final set records: [SBNation.com]
• The Dodgers are interested in hosting a Winter Classic: [LA Kings Insider] [SBNation.com]
• Why you should root for the Devils to win the East: [SBNation.com]
• A good comparison between the 2012 Kings and the 2003 Ducks, followed by some good discussion in the comments: [Battle of California]
• On-ice video from the Kings celebration, where at 0.54 Jeff Carter tells Drew Doughty to calm down before he gets a penalty (s/t RudyKelly) : [Los Angeles Kings]
• Arguing that Pierre McGuire needs to say more of the things he hears while inside the glass: [SBNation.com] [Flyers Faithful]
• Steve Yzerman suggests he won't be trading for Roberto Luongo: [Puck Daddy]
• But Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said yesterday that Luongo does want out of Vancouver: [Nucks Misconduct]
• Tomas Kopecky took his silver medal from the World Championships to Pavol Demitra's grave: [Puck Daddy] [Backhand Shelf]
• A Canadian poll shows a strong correlation between hockey fan and those who want to keep fighting in the game: [The Globe and Mail]
• One more from Ben after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Former Phantoms coach Joe Paterson talked about his firing: [PostStar.com]
• The article built around the above conversation: [PostStar.com]
• Evaluating where Justin Schultz could end up, with Philadelphia a dark horse: [Angus Certified]
• Former Flyer Luke Richardson was named head coach of the Binghamton Senators: [SBNation.com]
• Then and now with Marcus Ragnarsson: [Flyers Faithful]
• A nice look at how the narratives surrounding Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and Dustin Penner changed over the last year. Oh, and the inclusion of something I wrote a while ago doesn't hurt: [Puck Daddy]
• Jonathan Quick is a huge part of the Kings success, but they are beating teams on top of that too: [SBNation.com]
• And they are beating everyone the same way: [SBNation.com]
• Praising the Coyotes for a great season despite continued drama off the ice: [SBNation.com]
• Game 5 was the highest rated game of the series, higher than last year's Western Conference Final Game 5: [SBNation.com]
• A good look at what players from non-elite hockey countries have to go through, using Anze Kopitar as an example: [Backhand Shelf]
• Hey look, an Inquirer sports writer reacts horribly to Kevin Garnett implying Sixers fans are fair weather: [Deadspin]
• The CBC has a new show called "While the Men Watch Hockey Night". More than a few people expressed displeasure at this: [Puck Daddy] [Deadspin]

In early February, I was playing around with Hockey Reference and stumbled upon just how rare it was to have a 25 year old rookie perform as Matt Read had up to that point. I won't tell you how rare, because I would deprive you of my fantastic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory references littered throughout the post.

But I am here to update that post and see how rare his full season was. Matt Read was a 25 year old rookie who scored 24 goals and 47 points in 79 games. So we use Hockey Reference's fantastic Play Index and run (1) rookie (2) skater (3) age 25 or older* (4) with at least 60 games played (5) 24 goals scored and (6) 45 points.

First, though, some background. Since 1917, there have been 1,046 players to debut at age 25 or older. Of those, only 595 players scored even a single goal in that rookie season. That's already pretty uncommon, but just how rare is Matt Read?

• Only 14 players since 1917 did what Matt Read did this year.
• Of those 14, one occurred in the Original Six era and four occurred in the first year after the NHL and WHA merged (with three of the four on former WHA teams).
• Matt Read is the only player to do this since the lockout. The lockout of 1994.
• The last player to do this was German Titov, who at age 28 scored 27 goals and 18 assists in 76 games for the 1993-93 Flames. He went on to have a pretty solid career considering.

So good job, Matt. You are in the 98.7th percentile of NHL players over the last 95 years. A truly remarkable accomplishment

* Hockey Reference judges age as of February 1st of that year.

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Flyers assistant coach Craig Berube said he would be interested in the Capitals head coaching job if approached: [CSNWashington]
• Point/Counterpoint: Matt Carle or Ryan Suter? [Flyers Faithful]
• Brendan Ranford is waiting for a contract: [Kamloops Daily News]
• Reviewing Game 3 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals: [Flyers Faithful]
• In case you missed it yesterday, Claude Giroux played beer pong, corn-hole, and more while imbibing: [Deadspin] (More on Claude's weekend after the jump).
  
• Bethlehem Township commissioners rejected an offer to settle their lawsuit against the Phantoms on Monday: [mcall.com]
• Hanover Township followed Bethlehem and rejected the settlement offer on Tuesday night: [mcall.com]
• Recap from Greg Brownell on the Phantoms Allentown situation: [Post Star]
• Drew Doughty was angry last night: [Backhand Shelf]
• Dustin Brown hit Michal Rozsival just after a whistle for off sides in what some are calling a knee-on-knee collision. Others disagree: [Backhand Shelf]
• Two people who disagree about it - Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick: [Puck Daddy]
• Not surprisingly, the Kings and Coyotes disagree: [NHL.com]
• This led to a contentious handshake line where Martin Hanzal (suspended for boarding) and Shane Doan (game misconduct for boarding) told Dustin Brown how unhappy they were: [Puck Daddy]
• Mike Smith had a reasonable reaction to the hit, saying Brown should be "done forever": [Puck Daddy]
• The Kings gave Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) free playoff tickets on the condition they could deliver them in Jell-O: [Puck Daddy]
• The Kings also published a fantastic infographic so people stop confusing them with the Sacramento Kings: [Jewels From The Crown] [Deadspin]
• Analyzing the Devils second goal frame by frame: [Backhand Shelf]
• Another reminder of what sort of point production is fair to expect from your second line center, using Sam Gagner as an example: [The Copper & Blue]
• How much do zone starts impact a player's point production? [NHLNumbers.com]
• Is Mike Smith a good goalie or did he just have a good season? [Brodeur is a Fraud]
• Comparing Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist: [Down Goes Brown]

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• The lead story is Dennis Veteri, the Flyers fan who beat up a Rangers fan after the Winter Classic, filing for a dismissal of all charges. A quick little blurb here: [Philly.com]
• Grading the season of Ville Leino: [Die By the Blade]
• Remember Almost-Drafted Bobby Sanguinetti Over Claude Giroux? The Hurricanes re-signed him: [Canes Country]
• An introduction to how the soon-expiring CBA handles waivers and re-entry waivers: [Flyers Faithful]
• The Red Wings are finally in the process of designing a new building: [SBNation.com]
• Ellen Etchingham with another fantastic post on locker room distractions and dramas: [Backhand Shelf]
• A look at the Dallas Stars and how they are approaching free agency in a summer of CBA uncertainty: [Defending Big D]
• The Sabres are likely to have a few defensemen available and I wouldn't mind taking Mike Weber away from them: [Die By The Blade]
• Eric wrote a great post on why Zach Parise is a fantastic player who is a highly risky free agent: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Justin Bourne comes in with the rebuttal to Eric's post: [Backhand Shelf]
• A graphic looking at how the four major sports break down in terms of how it effects the economy: [Hockey Gear HQ]
• From Ben: Eurovision 2012 starts today with the first semifinal. Live thread will be up at 2, and the show starts at 3. Then more WTFs tonight. It's the most wonderful time of the year..
  

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• There are conflicting injury reports on Nicklas Grossmann: [Bill Meltzer]
• Looking at pending RFAs - including Jakub Voracek - and asking if they are worth an offer sheet: [Canes Country]
• A two-part feature on Jim Jackson and his life spent broadcasting multiple sports, including the Flyers and Phillies - Part 1: [The Observer-Dispatch] Part 2: [The Observer-Dispatch]
• Going over Game 2 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Final: [Flyers Faithful]
• Brandon Prust was suspended one game for his elbow on Anton Volchenkov: [Blueshirt Banter] [In Lou We Trust] [SBNation.com] [Puck Daddy]
• Comparing the Kings' recent playoff success to the earlier success of the Bruins and Penguins this year: [Backhand Shelf]
• Russia destroyed Slovakia to win the World Championships: [SBNation.com] [Puck Daddy]
• Each side's major sticking points in the CBA negotiations: [Down Goes Brown]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Eric wrote about The Pronger Effect - where a star player makes a tremendous impact on a team's puck possession: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Remembering the 1987 Cup Finals Game 1: [Flyers Faithful]
• On James van Riemsdyk and his potential: [Bill Meltzer]
• Jakub Kovar stopped 36 of 39 shots in a 4-3 win over Sweden: [euroflyers]
• Crediting Jeff Carter for the massive spike in scoring for Dustin Brown: [Puck Daddy]
• A Canucks fan reminding us there were plenty of signs pointing to Ryan Parent being a bust: [Angus Certified]
• Randy Miller "clarifies" his story from last week: "I originally found the English version of the quotes in various Twitter postings by media colleagues, including Natalia [Bragilevskaya], and I confirmed those quotes were accurate." It's still worth noting that Bragilevskaya never posted quotes in English to Twitter. [Courier Post]
• Another look at the Kings' Twitter feed and how it is the future of team social media: [Deadspin]
• John Tortorella knows what he's doing during press conferences: [SBNation.com] [Puck Daddy]
• Both the U.S. and Canada are eliminated from the World Championships: [Puck Worlds] [Lighthouse Hockey]
• Colin Cowherd said something dumb yesterday, but you shouldn't care: [Blueshirt Banter]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Part two of Tim's three-part series focusing on the defense: [CSNPhilly]
• On Matt Read and salary cap projections: [Bill Meltzer]
• Help us answer some questions about how you view the NHL's biases: [Google Doc]
• More on defensive systems: Scotty Bowman sees the currently playoff schemes originating with Roger Nielson in 1979 (s/t trtaylor): [The Globe and Mail]
• Hahahahaha Marc-Andre Fleury's 1997 yearbook picture. Hahahahahaha: [reddit hockey]
• Seattle is moving forward with a proposal for an arena, as is Edmonton: [Puck Daddy]
• Looking at what scouts said about the 1988 draft class: [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• Shane Doan was not suspended for his hit on Trevor Lewis, and Shanahan announced it in a tweet with this crappy stillframe: [SBNation.com]
• Martin Hanzal was suspended one game for his hit on Dustin Brown: [BNation.com] [Puck Daddy] [Backhand Shelf]
• Niklas Kronwall is at it again, this time crushing Latvia's Kaspars Saulietis: [Backhand Shelf]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• A great look at the Flyers defensive scheme, sent to us in response to our article yesterday: [D-Zone Hockey]
• Examining college (potential) free agent defenseman Justin Schultz: [The Checking Line]
• Bill Meltzer on former Flyer Patrick Thoresen leading all skaters in points at the Worlds: [NHL.com]
• A breakdown of the Flyers' season and why it was not a failure: [The Hockey Writers]
• A special trading card set celebrating the Flyers' history: [the700level]
• The NHL once again got less air time on SportsCenter than the NFL: [Deadspin]
• A great look behind the L.A. Kings twitter feed: [Puck Daddy]
• Ten crazy numbers out of the first two rounds of the playoffs: [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• Attempting to create an OPS for hockey. It's pretty raw and quite technical, but some may find it fascinating: [Fear the Fin]
• Hidden playoff injuries revealed: [Down Goes Brown]
• Happy Birthday to both Hintzy and DragonGirl!

There has been a lot of talk lately about Peter Laviolette's system and whether or not it is to blame for, well, everything. From turnovers to Bryzgalov's season to the playoff exit to many other things we've surely missed.

Part of that is because GM Paul Holmgren, in answering a question about the number of goals allowed by the Flyers this season, said "It is related a little bit to how we play."

That one little sentence has sparked a discussion on Peter Laviolette's system, perhaps best covered by Bill Meltzer on Sunday. First, it is important to mention that this is a great conversation to have. I am fully on board with discussing Laviolette's system, evidenced by my... writing about Laviolette's system.

The problem, however, is maintaining intelligent discussion about it. That's a very complicated thing to do when talking about such a complex issue that almost every observer only gathers bits and pieces of evidence. As someone who is not an expert on Laviolette's system - and very few people are - any discussion should start with the specifics.

Rather than immediately blame the system for the Flyers' second round exit, we should start identifying what we know, what we think we know, what we hope to learn, and what we are unlikely to ever know.

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• On the acquisition of Pavel Kubina: [Daily News]
• Wondering where Brayden Schenn will play next year: [Bill Meltzer]
• Part one of three parts, this one focusing on goaltenders and what to expect next year: [CSNPhilly]
• Bill Meltzer on Sean Couturier: [Bill Meltzer]
• Claude Giroux steadily improved his faceoffs this year: [Flyers Faithful]
• Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the bench clearing brawl between the Flyers and Canadiens: [The Globe and Mail]
• Mic'd up during the Flyers/Devils series: [the700level]
• Illustrated guide to the second round: [Puck Daddy]
• Is there a book on Henrik Lundqvist? [Backhand Shelf]
• John Tortorella used 31 words in an entire press conference. Seriously: [SBNation.com]
• Dale Hunter stepped down as head coach of the Capitals: [SBNation.com] [Backhand Shelf] [Puck Daddy] [Washington Times]
• Staples Center will undergo six changes in four days as they have the Kings, Lakers, and Clippers all playing two games this weekend: [Puck Daddy]
• Latvia was eliminated yesterday after losing to Denmark: [IIHF]
• A great look at Alexander Mogilny and the defection that changed the NHL: [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• Looking at the goalies left in the playoffs and their crazy numbers: [Hockey Prospectus]
• Examining the secret to the Kings success: [NHLNumbers.com]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes...

• Bill Meltzer with a solid piece on Laviolette's system. Look for a response (follow-up?) here either today or tomorrow: [Bill Meltzer]
• Using our zone start information to pinpoint and quantify the Flyers problems against the Devils in the attacking zones: [SB Nation Philly]
• Things are still ugly in Allentown with the Phantoms. [Morning Call]
• Patrick Thoresen scored two goals and added four assists, tying Evgeni Malkin for the tournament lead, as Norway beat Germany yesterday: [IIHF]
• Brutal hit on Alex Goligoski at the World Championships: [Puck Daddy]
• The Kings twitter feed is pretty fantastic. The best from Game 1, in three period segments. Per. 1: [SBNation.com] Per. 2: [SBNation.com] Per. 3: [SBNation.com]
• USHL goalie makes save with his bare hand. Pretty impressive: [Puck Daddy]
• According to a report, the KHL will exempt returning NHL players from their salary cap: [On the Forecheck]
• Some people noticed that the Capitals won games where Alex Ovechkin did not play often. That's a good example of why you should not confuse causation and correlation: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Who were the best shot blockers in the NHL this past season? [NHLNumbers.com]
• A great look at cognitive dissonance and the tendency to believe even more strongly after being shown evidence that one is wrong: [NHLNumbers.com]
• Our very own Eric T. takes a look at goalie streakiness and whether anyone is really more streaky or consistent than a coinflip: [NHLNumbers.com]
  

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• A fantastic interview with Ilya Bryzgalov where it is clear he is just giving an honest interview during an emotional time: [Puck Daddy]
• Are the Flyers better off this year than last? [Bill Meltzer]
• The Flyers want to bring Matt Carle back: [The Hockey Guys] [Daily News]
• For those without ESPN Insider, here is Timo Seppa's article on Ilya Bryzgalov from yesterday: [Hockey Prospectus]
• If ESPN - not just Katie Baker - provided this kind of hockey coverage all the time, we'd be big fans: [Grantland]
• A truly great look at Dean Lombardi, one that will make you really like Lou Lamoriello and rekindle some lost feelings for Bob Clarke: [NHL.com]
• Piecing together Patrick Kane's drunken weekend: [Deadspin]
• Wayne Gretzky. L.A. Gear. Street Hockey. 90's. Yeah, it's pretty awesome: [Backhand Shelf]
• More on "timely saves" and how ridiculous it is: [Brodeur is a Fraud]
• The Maple Leafs applied for a trademark for a Centennial Logo, five years in advance of their Centennial: [SBNation.com]
• On the worry about a lack of offense: [Puck Daddy]
• There's a new documentary based on a book written by Theo Fleury. This five minute interview and preview is very interesting: [Backhand Shelf]
• Earl Sleek's comic previewing the Western Conference final. You could do a lot worse things with your 20 seconds: [Battle of California]
• An overview of what NHLNumbers sets out to do, and who will do it. Including Eric T.: [NHLNumbers.com]
• From Ben: Oskars Bartulis threw down with Tomas Plekanec during Latvia's hard-fought loss to the Czechs yesterday. Can't find any video, but here's a photo! Crucial game against Norway is next for the Lats. [Wolfvision]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Ryan from Flyers Goal Scored By with the special guest post. If there were an award for article of the year, I would nominate this to be a finalist. Absolutely fantastic read: [the700level]
• Pensblog with the Flyers eulogy. Solid, if unspectacular, effort. B-minus: [Puck Daddy]
• Kimmo Timonen reportedly suffered from a ligament injury to his knee against Pittsburgh: [The Checking Line]
• Nicklas Grossmann will reportedly have knee surgery, though it does not yet appear a guarantee: [The Checking Line]
• The Devils used a familiar tactic to beat the Flyers: [SB Nation Philly]
• The Flyers compared the Devils to the Rangers, but Tim Panaccio does a good job explaining why that isn't entirely true: [CSNPhilly]
• Five questions heading into the offseason: [Daily News]
  
• Five reasons the Flyers are out of the playoffs, and none of them mention goaltending. Which is how you know it is accurate, and thus why you should read it: [NHL.com]
• Apparently, the reason the Flyers are out of the playoffs this year is "hubris". Nevermind they played a fine Game 3, and could have easily been up 2-1 as Laviolette says in this very story: [Daily News]
• But what else do you expect when you can't explain something? Because the Flyers can't explain why they lost: [delcotimes.com]
• But that doesn't mean Ilya Bryzgalov escapes criticism. Timo Seppa with another good look at why his signing was misguided: [ESPN Insider]
• Arguing that the Flyers were dirty in Game 5: [delcotimes.com]
• Both the Kings and Flyers benefited from the three trades of Richards, Carter, and Johnson: [Backhand Shelf]
• Some solid quotes from Claude Giroux on what the team has to learn from this year: [CSNPhilly]
• Why Flyers fans are suing the team over their Winter Classic ticket policy: [Puck Daddy]
• Jets fans are still confused as to why they did not draft Sean Couturier: [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• The NHL got less airtime than the NFL last week, which makes total sense: [Deadspin]
• You should get excited: Derek Zona and Kent Wilson are starting a site with high hopes to elevate the advanced stats discussion: [NHLNumbers.com]
• You should get excited again: Latvia, with emerging star Miks Indrasis, might legitimately be the story of these world championships. Big game for them tonight against the Czechs, whom you'll recall the Latvians almost beat at the Vancouver Olympics: [IIHF.com]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• MehMeh: [BSH] [SBNation.com] [CSNPhilly] [the700level] [Daily News] [Flyers Faithful] [Puck Daddy] [Of Ice & Men] [Bill Meltzer] [delcotimes.com] [The Hockey Guys]
• This image of Claude Giroux in a suit with his hand on Kimmo Timonen's back while he stares blankly at the ice is just heart-wrenching: [michaelkinky]
• Lots of people are asking: Will Jaromir Jagr return? [delcotimes.com] [Broad Street Bull] [Puck Daddy] [the700level]
• Kimmo Timonen doesn't have many years left: [Daily News] [delcotimes.com]
• Hey, guess what a lot of people are talking about? Ilya Bryzgalov shooting a puck at David Clarkson and giving up the goal: [CSNPhilly] [Inquirer] [delcotimes.com] [Daily News] [NHL.com]
• At least Latvia beat Italy in the IIHF World Championships. And Oskars Bartulis scored the third goal for Latvia. Warning, Autoplay: [YouTube]
• Tracing the rosters of the two teams participating in the Western Conference finals: [Fear The Fin]
• Included solely for the headline: "Elite goalies lead Coyotes, Kings into rare territory" Mike Smith = elite: [NHL.com]
• Some positive thinking for Canada's NHL teams: [Down Goes Brown]
• Updates on the jersey watch for 2012: [icethetics]
• A good look at what scouts said about the 1987 draft class. I particularly enjoy the blurbs on Joe Sakic, Darren Rumble and Luke Richardson: [Arctic Ice Hockey]
  

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Preview of tonight's game: [Bill Meltzer]
• Giroux's suspension could be just the moment the Flyers need to go on a run: [SB Nation Philly]
• The Flyers watched the tape of Game 4 and saw a lot of the same things from Game 3: [NHL.com]
• Needs more forechecking! (I kid, but, uh, it's true): [CSNPhilly]
• Flyers season ticket holders are suing the team, claiming they were misled regarding Winter CLassic tickets: [Daily News]
• Jakub Kovar stopped 28 of 31 shots and 3 of 3 in the shootout during Czech Republic's 4-3 over Norway: [euroflyers] [IIHF]
• OMG! Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were apparently out drinking at a bar until 3 am in Finland during the World Championships: [Puck Daddy] [Deadspin]
• Patrick Kane was caught being Patrick Kane, drinking in Wisconsin, but this time, he appears to be wearing a shirt with a picture of a drunken Patrick Kane on the back. Can you imagine Richards/Carter/Kane?: [Deadspin] [Deadspin]
• Greg Jamison was endorsed by the NHL to own the Coyotes: [Puck Daddy]
• Great story on the stupidity of singling out players and stereotyping their desires and flaws based on nationality: [OilersNation]
• Looking at Alex Ovechkin's disappearing minutes and the correlation between the Caps winning when he plays less: [Backhand Shelf]
• Hysterical power rankings for the countries participating in the World Championships, from the League running the tournament: [IIHF]
• In other IIHF news, Oskars Bartulis leads Latvia into a "should-win" against Italy this morning at 10:15 am EDT. Steal the show, Wolf.
• Speaking of Oskars Bartulis, he leads off this gallery of the back of every current Flyer's head. The internet is weird. [Tumblr]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Bleh: [BSH] [SBNation.com] [Of Ice and Men] [CSNPhilly] [Daily News] [Inquirer] [Flyers Faithful] [Bill Meltzer] [delcotimes.com]
• Claude Giroux got two minutes for hitting Dainius Zubrus in the head with his shoulder, could face supplemental discipline: [SBNation.com] [the700level] [Puck Daddy] [Daily News] [Backhand Shelf] [Rich Hofmann] [CSNPhilly]
• Looking at Andrej Meszaros and wondering if he should even be guaranteed a spot this year when healthy: [The Checking Line]
• Adam Henrique and Eric Wellwood were teammates in Juniors and are still close friends. If you enjoy these types of "temporary enemies" stories, this one should satisfy your craving: [NHL.com]
• Using a Dan Girardi hit on Matt Hendricks to show how the media picks and chooses which borderline hits they wish to rail against: [Japers' Rink]
• The NHL suspended Rostislav Klesla one game for his hit on Matt Halischuk: [On the Forecheck] [Puck Daddy]
• Latvia beat Germany 3-2 in the World Championships: [IIHF.com] Autoplay interview with Oskars Bartulis following the game: [YouTube]
• Molson and Labatt can't get along, so Labatt has a clever way of skirting the exclusive NHL sponsorship: [Puck Daddy]
• Could the Coyotes, finally, actually, officially find an owner? According to a report, the sale is being finalized: [Puck Daddy]
• Those who sent racist tweets to Joel Ward are facing suspension from extracurricular activities at school. To read a good take on the off-campus v. on-campus debate, check out Deadspin: [Deadspin] [Puck Daddy]

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Recaps: [BSH] [SBNation.com] [CSNPhilly] [Daily News] [Puck Daddy] [Flyers Faithful] [The Checking Line] [Of Ice and Men]
• Attempting to locate where Sean Couturier was injured: [the700level]
• Couturier should be okay, but will see a doctor today: [The Checking Line]
• Claude Giroux admits he needs to play better: [delcotimes.com]
• What is everybody talking about this morning? Why, the Flyers power play: [NHL.com] [Daily News] [delcotimes.com] [CSNPhilly] [the700level]
  
• Oskars Bartulis is going to play in the IIHF World Championships: [Phantoms]
• Ben made his first post on his old blog in the last three years, and it was a paid advertisement. Worth reading: [The Flyer Frequent]
• Looking at when in overtime playoff games end since 1988: [Arctic Ice Hockey]

The Flyers played an absolutely horrible game on Tuesday night. They played well for about the first ten minutes but went almost the entire second period without registering a shot on goal, not receiving their first until there was 1:28 remaining in the period. Despite that, they somehow entered the second intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Ilya Bryzgalov was a big part of that. He gave them a chance to win, and he was in the process of stealing a win until the third period began and the Devils were finally able to put pucks by him. It wasn't his fault that the Flyers lost Game 2 to New Jersey.

But yesterday morning, habitual pot-stirrer Jack McCaffery wrote a column in the Delaware County Times arguing that Ilya Bryzgalov failed in Game 2 because he did not steal the win for the Flyers.

They needed Bryzgalov to steal a game, to tend goal so memorably that the effort would be referenced for generations, to return the favor to an offense that was prone to the eight-goal outburst in Round 1. Instead, when they needed perfection, the Flyers received the usual ... that, and a 4-1 Game 2 loss to the Devils that left the series level at 1-1.

...

The Flyers did not lose because of Ilya Bryzgalov. They did not win, though, also because of Ilya Bryzgalov.

A franchise-redefining, star goalie would not have allowed that to happen. So now, the Flyers must wonder: Will they ever be rescued by a goaltender? And if not, can they really win a championship?

I don't believe there is anything at all incendiary or inappropriate about this story. The problem is that so many people agree with this line of thinking.

Continue reading this post »

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Game 3 previews: [Bill Meltzer] [Of Ice & Men]
• Breaking down the Devils' tying, second goal: [In Lou We Trust] [SBNation.com]
• Frank Seravalli looks at how Peter Laviolette has been matching lines and wonders if it is working: [Frequent Flyers]
• Ilya Bryzgalov. Space. Monkeys. [CSNPhilly] [Puck Daddy]
• Seravalli with another good article, this time at Jaromir Jagr and his faith: [Daily News]
  
• The Flyers' top line has so far not found success against the Devils: [NHL.com]
• Everything you need to know about the FF/BSH Roller Hockey Tournament: [Flyers Faithful]
• From Todd: Starting at the 11:40, the SGU podcast discusses how Sidney Crosby's doctor is a crank and his medical treatment is not supported by his peer: [The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe]
• In case you didn't hear about CSNPhilly publishing a post claiming the Illuminati is conspiring against giving the Flyers awards, here's a recap for you, without giving them page views: [Deadspin]
• Looking at playoff teams and their goal differential by period: [Puck Daddy]
• An interview with NHL COO John Collins, including TV ratings, Winter Classic, and fan complaints: [Puck Daddy]
• The L.A. Kings twitter account is being hilarious again: [SBNation.com] [Backhand Shelf]
• From Ben: Oskars wants Latvia to make the quarterfinals of the IIHFs. That means Latvia would have to do better than one of Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Germany, not to mention Norway, Italy and Denmark. Uh, good luck Wolf: [DELFI]
  

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Recaps: [BSH] [SB Nation Philly] [SBNation.com] [the700level] [CSNPhilly] [The Checking Line] [Flyers Faithful] [Inquirer] [Daily News] [Backhand Shelf] [Of Ice & Men] [Bill Meltzer] [NHL.com]
  
• Want to understand the game in one picture? Look at the shot chart: [SB Nation Philly]
• Rich Hofmann called it the worst game of the playoffs: [Daily News]
• This time, it was a bad second period - not a slow start - that was the Flyers downfall: [CSNPhilly] [delcotimes.com]
• Interesting: Two stories saying the Flyers gave Ilya Bryzgalov no help (true): [Daily News] [delcotimes.com]
• And Jack McCaffery writing this: "The Flyers did not lose because of Ilya Bryzgalov. They did not win, though, also because of Ilya Bryzgalov. A franchise-redefining, star goalie would not have allowed that to happen." And people think I'm too hard on Bryz: [delcotimes.com]
• It's easy to forget, but Sean Couturier is still learning: [CSNPhilly]
• Xfinity Live was caught serving alcohol to minors: [My Fox Philly]
• David Booth killed a black bear and has a picture to prove it. Where's the Bryzgalov joke? [Puck Daddy]
• Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn were suspended for Game 3 by the Predators for violating team rules: [On the Forecheck] [SBNation.com] [Puck Daddy]
• 24/7 will return next season for the Red Wings/Maple Leafs Winter Classic: [Puck Daddy]
• ESPN gave the NHL a lot of airtime for the second straight week: [Deadspin]
• Marc Bergevin is the new Montreal Canadiens General Manager: [Puck Daddy]
• Jonathan Willis - longtime favorite of BSH - wrote about the Kings and how good they are: [Grantland]
• Looking at the nominees for the NHL awards: [Down Goes Brown]

The Philadelphia Flyers almost went an entire period without a shot on goal. They ended the night getting out shot 35 to 20. We can attempt to paint this picture, but ESPN’s shot chart paints a much better one:

Click to enlarge via ESPN.com

Just look at the number of shots taken from the slot. Going off just this chart, and not taking into account subjective determinations, the Flyers appear to have given up 20 scoring chances in Game Two.

In addition to letting 20 scoring chances get through to Ilya Bryzgalov, the Flyers blocked approximately 15 other shots from the scoring chance area.

That’s a lot of shot attempts, and a lot of shot attempts from prime scoring areas.

If the Flyers want to win this series, they will have to get better defensively.

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers-related news and notes ...

• Game Two Preview: [Bill Meltzer]
• James van Riemsdyk returning to the lineup really is impressive: [SB Nation Philly]
  
• And he wants to be a crease-crasher: [delcotimes.com]
• Braydon Coburn deserves to have a lot more articles written about him: [Daily News]
• Quick look at the recent trend of really quick overtimes: [Frequent Flyers] And a longer look: [Daily News]
• Remember when the Flyers couldn't win a day game and everyone talked about it? Turns out, they can win day games: [The Checking Line]
• In case you missed it, I used my eyes to critique Ilya Bryzgalov's Game One performance, and stats to critique his playoff performance: [SB Nation Philly]
• Excellent examination of Danny Briere and his clutchiness: [Backhand Shelf]
• Jaromir Jagr has one epic playoff beard: [the700level] [Backhand Shelf] [delcotimes.com]
• Nicklas Grossmann played a few minutes in Game One, but the fact that he played was big enough: [CSNPhilly]
• After scoring on more than half of their power plays, the Flyers went 1-for-6 in Game One. This, apparently, constitutes a "slow start": [NHL.com]
• He also has a commercial where he is Superman. Well, kind of: [Flyers Faithful]
• The Devils don't like the penalties they took: [NHL.com]
• There was a pretty crazy goal-line scramble in the Kings/Blues game last night: [SBNation.com] [Puck Daddy]
• T.J. Oshie crushed Dustin Penner. Mike Richards then instigated a fight and was called for two roughing minors. It was Penner who got the extra minor, putting St. Louis on the power play. Players policing themselves in the absence of the instigator: [Puck Daddy]
• Goalies do not age well. A look at what the future holds for Roberto Luongo, Ryan Miller, and Ilya Bryzgalov: [The Copper & Blue]
• Roller Hockey scheduling survey for the 2012 Flyer Faithful/BSH Tournament: [Flyers Faithful]
• From Ben: The Claude Giroux Song (listen at your own risk): [Tumblr] Also, Ben will be at Game 2. Like all other public Ben appearances, he will be happy to autograph any printed-out posts you bring him (for a nominal fee) (you bring the pen).