Its Time for Change

According to Mike Richards, “A lack of intensity and focus for these game led by me and it’s gotta change and it’s going to change starting Friday.” He waits until there are two games left in the season and they have lost the lead in the East and are a point from losing the lead in the Atlantic to say something more than "I am not answering that question again," when asked about the lack of intensity.

I find it funny that Richards waited until the team wasted his two goal effort to finally make a statement to the media. Richards has had three multiple point games since the All-Star break. Meanwhile the team has wasted a few good performances from a rookie goaltender that could have benefited from seeing the team in front of him bust their ass every once in awhile. I guess Richards didn't care since his lead was what the team was following.

Other leaders on the team were calling the team out months ago, but those words fell on deaf ears, and for the last month the team has looked like utter shit. Hopefully the procrastination method will work for this team again. Something tells me it will take more than two games to get the team back up to top performance speed, and they are going to need a favorable first round match-up, like last year, if they have a chance to make a deep run.

4-5-11 Flyers @ Senaotrs

The Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. These are the only four teams left that have a chance to pass the Flyers in the standings. A win tonight and the Bruins and Lightning can be scratched off of that list. Two points against the second worst team in the Eastern Conference, and the Flyers are guaranteed home ice for the first round of the playoffs.

Should be an easy win for the top team in the East, but this team has shown on numerous occasions that they struggle beating teams that are far less talented than they are, and I can't recall a win that came easy for this team in the last few months. The Senators will be even less of a threat as Erik Karlsson, Sergei Gonchar, Matt Carkner, and Daniel Alfredsson could all miss the game. The Senators have very little to play for, in fact they would benefit more from losing.  I can say that the Flyers should win this game, but I can say it with an ounce of confidence.

Here are a couple of random facts; the Flyers have not won a game in Ottawa since November 24, 2007 and the Flyers were 3-0-1 on Tuesday night games last month. Those four games account for half of the Flyers wins last month, and 7 of their 16 points. Not sure which one of these meaningless statistics will hold true, but an overtime lose would not be a total shock.

I will continue to be an optimist and predict a Flyers win. Even without Pronger and Briere, this team should be able to put away a crippled Senators club. I think we might see a good game out of Richards, with only a week left in the season it is about time for him to step up his game and be the leader that this teams offensive core desperately needs. Flyers win 5-1 (5-3 is Boucher starts).

4-1-11 Flyers @ Devils Preview

Once again, the Flyers have the opportunity to end a teams season tonight, This time it is the rival Devils. After staging one of the greatest turnarounds in NHL history, the Devils appear to have run out of steam. The Devils hit the mid season mark with an abysmal record of 10-29-2 (22 points), but started the second half of the season on a mission and have gone 25-6-3 (53 points). What is even more remarkable is that five of their nine loses have come in the last seven games.

The Devils have lost three of their last four games, and were lucky to win their last game after blowing a two goal lead to the Islanders in the third period. After putting on such a great run, it looks like reality has set in and the Devils energy level has fallen through the floor. Their game against the Pens last week was one probably the most unexciting game of hockey ever played. It took 10 minutes for a team to register a shot on goal, and then they only managed three more for the rest of the period.

You can expect a nice boring defensive game out of the Devil's tonight. They will sit back and trap in the neutral zone and wait for the Flyers to make mistakes. If the sloppy and lazy Flyers show up tonight, their could be a lot of mistakes for the Devils to take advantage of, and Ilya Kovalchuk will be the most likely player to put the puck in the net. Since the all-star break he has 25 points in 27 games, by far the best on the team.

I haven't been able to watch last night's game yet, so I don't know which Flyer's team showed up. Tonight's game is a tough one to call. The Devils are a tired team that has burned a lot of energy trying to dig themselves out of  deep whole, only to fail in the last week.  If the sloppy low energy Flyers' team shows up tonight, then the Devils won't have to expend to much energy to find scoring chances. But if the Flyers come into tonight's game with a purpose, they should be able to get out of tonight's game with the two points.

3-31-11 Thrashers @ Flyers Preview

 

The last time these two teams meet, the Flyers played like they didn't give a shit, and they had a few reasons to give a shit. Like winning the Atlantic, winning the East, or pride. Just five days before that game, the Flyers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Thrashers, giving up four goals in the third period and losing in a shootout.  Lets hope the Flyers do a better job of defending their home turf this time around.

The Flyers are coming off of a good performance against their divisional rival Penguins and are looking to build on some solid play, but they have had a hard time finding an acceptable intensity level in recent weeks. A perfect example of this lack of intensity is the number of power plays the team has earned over the last two weeks. In their last seven games, the Flyers have averaged 2.1 power plays per game, and three of those games only had one power play opportunity. The team simply hasn't been working hard enough to force the other team to commit a penalty.

Look for the Hartnell-Briere-Leino line to continue its good play tonight. They have been the most productive line against the Thrashers this season.  Briere and Leino both have three goals and five points against the Thrashers this season, with Hartnell picking up three assists. If the Flyers' good habits are to carry over from the Pens game, I expect this line to be the one setting the example.

The Thrashers' playoff dreams are on the line tonight. An L tonight would close the door on a disappointing season. Even though their chance of making the playoffs is a long shot, I don't expect them to let it slip away without a fight. The Flyers could have their hands full tonight it they slip back into some of the bad habits that we have seen lately, but I expect them to build off the momentum they gained beating the Pens two nights ago. Flyers pick up the two points tonight 1-4.

11-29-11 Flyers @ Pens Recap

That was one of the best efforts that we have seen from the Flyers in a few weeks. Not quiet as dominant as the second and third period against the Capitals a week earlier, but the effort and intensity was there. It wasn't a perfect game, but definitely a step in the right direction.

The Pens came out strong in the first period, setting the tone with a couple of heavy checks, but the Flyers weathered the initial storm and responded by establishing a good fore check. The Flyers were also able to respond after the Pens scored first, evening the score less than four minutes later. The Flyers continued to show resolve by scoring four consecutive goals after Bob gave up a bad goal to let the Pens back in front. Bob also responded well with some great play in the third after his short coming in the second.

Ville Leino

The Hartnell-Briere-Leino line looked like it finally got a whiff of the impending playoffs, picking up three goals. All three goals were the result of players crashing the net, and one was the result of a nice fore check by Briere. It was refreshing to see the Flyers going into the corners, crashing the net, and throwing some checks towards anyone that touched the puck.

This high quality of play was not sustained throughout the entire game. Peter Laviolette had to call a time out early in the third becuase his team was getting outworked, and was only a few shifts away from getting buried. Whatever the Laviolette said must have hit a nerve, the Flyers scored on the next shift and again three minutes later.  After the team regained focus, they looked like the team from earlier in the season that was always looking to build on a lead and not sit on it.

Hopefully the team will continue to build on this solid performance on Thursday when the Thrashers, who are only three points from playoff elimination, come to town. With only six games left in the regular season, this is the perfect first step in the build to the playoffs. We have seen a few glimpses of solid play over the last few weeks, only to be followed up by a lackluster performance. I guess we will see on Thursday.

3-19-11 Flyers @ Stars

I am not sure if Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft will be in net for the Stars, but Lehtonen has started 23 of the Stars last 24 games. The Flyers are the last Eastern Conference team that the Stars will play this season, so this might be a perfect game to give him a rest before their last ten games of the season, but for statistics sake lets assume that Lehtonen will be in net.

Lehtonen has been streaky by the month since the the calendar flipped to 2011. In January he was 7-1-1, while only allowing more than two goals in one of those games. In February he allowed three or more goals in eight games, and turned in an abysmal 3-7-1 performance. So far this month he has found the middle ground, allowing three goals or more in five games while going 5-2-2. To further illustrate his hot/cold tendencies, Lehtonen is 2-2-0 over his last four starts, turning in two shutouts and allowing nine goals in the other two games.

Brad Richards will be playing in his sixth game after missing almost a month with a concussion. Despite missing 10 games, he still leads his team with 67 points, and is second in goals and assists with 25 and 42 respectively. In his five games back he has four points, including two assists in the Starts last game against the Blackhawks. Jamie Benn and Mike Ribeiro have been leading the way for the Stars in March. Benn has eight goals in five assists nine games, and Ribeiro has three goals and five assists in nine games.

The Flyers also have a trio of players averaging at least a  point per game in March,  Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, and Jeff Carter. Briere has three goals and five assists, Giroux has two goals and six assists, and Carter has four goals and two assists. Mike Richards has also had a decent month so far with seven assists.

The Flyers overall team defense has been struggling this month, and is is showing in their plus/minus ratings. Jeff Carter is the only player on the team with a positive rating, coming in at +2. Braydon Coburn is the worse on the team for this month, with a -4. Since the All-Star break, there are only four Flyers with a positive rating, and Sean O'Donnell is the worst with a -6.

I know that stats don't tell the entire story, but they can point you in the right direction. The Stars are averaging 3.33 goals per game in March and giving up 2.55 per game. The Flyers are averaging 2.75 goals per game and surrendering 3.5 goals per game. I think those trends will continue and the Flyers come up short in this game, 3-4.

3-17-11 Flyers @ Thrashers InGame Recap

1st Period
Turnovers Sloppy start lacking the jump I was hoping for -1
No Shots on Goal - Five minutes in and not a single shot on goal -1
1st goal - Stapleton just blew past Giroux and beat Boosh on a shoot he should have saved -3
Giroux - Claude makes up for getting beat on the goal with some fancy stick work in close +2
Forecheck - Good pressure on the forecheck generates a decent cycle and a couple of shots +1
Good Pressure - Still trying to generate a coupe of great scoring chances +1
Extra Pass - They are still looking for the extra pass instead of putting the puck on het and fighting for recbounds -1
Slash - That is probably the weakest slashing call I have ever seen -/+
Penalty Kill #1 - Excellent PK against a good power play unit to prevent the Thrashers from regaining the lead in the last minutes of the first period +1

As I mentioned in the preview, I thought the team would come into tonight's game with something to prove, but they didn't hit the ice with half of the jump I thought they would. They got off to a slow start and had a couple of bad turnovers. They seemed to pick up the pace after the Thrashers took the lead, but let then seemed to loose focus again as the period moved on. It was a better first period than they played against the Panthers, but still not anywhere close to what this team is capable of. -1

2nd Period
Blind Drop Pass - Giroux makes a stupid blind drop pass to 3 Thrashers players in stead of putting the puck deep -1
Carcillo Fight - He tried to start one in the first but failed, lets see if it works like it did on Tuesday +1
Didn't Work - Flyers still look sloppy and Thrashers dominated in the Flyers' zone to earn a goal -3
Uniterested - They look completely uninterested in this game. One guy per line is trying while the other float. -1
Odd Man Rushes - They Flyers are giving up more than they should becuase the forwards are not getting back to hep -1
1st Shot on Goal - Seven minutes in -1
Power Play #1 - The PP started good but then quickly deteriorated. Atlanta's PK is horrid, the Flyers should scored. -1
Briere - Flyers take advantage of a bad play by the goalie and tie the game up. +1
Good Cycle - Leino-Briere-Hartnell generate a good scoring chance off the best Flyers cycle of the game +1
Trailing again - The Flyers continue to get out worked by the Thrashers -2
Leino Takes a Dive - If you can't out work them you might as well dive to get the advantage +/-

Leino taking a dive pretty much sums up that period. The Flyers are currently looking for the easy way to win instead of working for it. The forecheck has been non existent for the majority of the game, the Flyers are making lazy plays that lead to turnovers and failed clears, and look generally uninterested in the game for long stretches. The Flyers only have 12 shots on goal up to this point. The Flyers couldn't hold a lead against the Thrasher a few days ago, lets see if they can come from behind. -7

3rd Period
Power Play #2 - Dump the fucking puck in! Couple of good chances, but no goal. -1
Shots from the Point - Flyers are getting pucks on net from the point. Good scoring chances +1
Timonen - Couple of really good defensive plays along with a couple of failed clears +/-
Penalty Kill #2 - Not the best kill, but a kill none the less +1
Penalty Kill #3 - Better job on the kill that time. +1
Hartnell - Misses the open net off a great move by Leino. Not the easiest shot, but makable. -1
Getting Outworked - Bad turnovers on cute passes and getting beat to all the loose pucks -1
Team Me - Players are now trying to do everything theselves instead of using their teamates -1
Sustained Pressure - Flyers generate some pressure for the first time in about 10 minutes +1
Good Cycle - Flyers start to work in the last 4 minutes +1
Tied Up - The Flyers actually forecechk and low and behold they generate a goal. Where the fuck was this the rest of the game +2

The team is just lazy. They put forth the effort in the last 2 minutes and earn a goal. If they tried that hard the rest of the game they could have been up by six goals. Glad they get rewarded for not playing for the majority of the game. +3

Overtime
Boosh -Makes a good save to prolong the game +1

Shootout
Flyers Lose - -1


Total 
-5

3-17-11 Flyers @ Thrashers Preview

It's only been four days since the worst melt down of the season for a Flyers team that finally hit a couple of potholes on their ride to the playoff, and they already have an opportunity to make it right. If this team has an ounce of pride, they should be highly motivated to come out and prove to themselves, the Thrashers, and their fans that Saturday's game was an anomaly.

Since their last meeting, the Thrashers lost another game to the Devil's, which dropped them to 12th in the standings and six points out of the playoffs. The Thrashers have 12 games left and would consider this season to be a major disappointment if they failed to make the playoffs after being in sixth place at the midpoint of the season. They will be extremely desperate for these two points and they should be extremely confident that they can get them.

The Flyers are in the midst of a 16 game streak where their inconsistent play has yielded them eight wins and wight loses (8-7-1). The teams downfall over those games has been a lack of focus, which has resulted in few blown leads in the third period. The team stops playing the way that earned them the lead and resorts to making lazy plays instead of hustling to make the right play.

I once again don't know what to expect out of this team, but I do know what I want. I want to see a team that is ready to rectify its inept showing against this Thrashers team in the third period of Saturday's game. I want to see a team that is dedicated to working its ass off to get in on the forecheck and getting back to help out the D in the neutral zone. I want to see a team that is ready to prove that they want to hold on to first place in the Atlantic and in the East. Do I think we will see that team? Yes. I think the Thrashers will put up a fight, but the Flyers should skate out of Atlanta with the win. 5-2.

3-15-11 Flyers @ Panthers Recap

1st Period
I thought the team might have something to prove after collapsing in the final minutes of their last game.  I really thought that the Flyers would come out with some extra jump in their step, but it looked like they didn't know what time the game started. The Panthers pushed the pace to start the period and ended the period by laying a few heavy hits as the clock ran down.The Flyers out shot and out chanced the Panthers in the period, but it didn't feel like it.

Dan Carcillo's fight sparked the Flyers in the 2nd period

The Flyers', once again, give up a goal immediately after scoring. There wasn't much Boucher could have done about the second goal, and maybe the first goal was the perfect shot that the announcers said it was, but you still want the goalie to make that save. They squander away yet another 5-on-3 power play, and had entirely to many turnovers.

The ice in is just horrid tonight. The puck is bouncing all over the place and players are having a really hard time getting it to settle down. Not an excuse for the bad play, just wanted to make a note of it.


2nd Period
Much better period by the Flyers. Dan Carcillo shows a little emotion by dropping the gloves, and the Flyers score a goal. Danny Briere shows some extra hustle to beat the Panthers' D to a loose puck, and the Flyers score a goal. Some good lessons for the Flyers to learn that period. Mainly, if they put forth the effort and emotion, they possesses the talent to win games.

Even though the Flyers played better that period, they still have an extra gear that they can shift into. It would be nice to see them come out and put the Panthers away in the third. Maybe since the team took the first period off, they will put in a good third and get out of South Florida with two points.

3rd Period
Well, a win is a win. The Flyers played ok in the third. Not as good as the second, but a lot better than the first. They had some good scoring chances and continued to press for the majority of the period. The Panthers were able to generate some sustained pressure late in the period, but Boucher made some good saves down the stretch to help secure the two points.

The win keeps the Flyers in first place in the East and three points ahead of the Penguins. It will be interesting to see how the Flyers play on Thursday when they travel to Atlanta to play the Thrashers. Hopefully the team can take another step forward and pick up another important two points.

3-15-11 Flyers at Panthers Preview

I really have no idea what to expect out of the Flyers tonight. Last week started with an embarrassing performance in NYC and ended with an embarrassing performance in Philly, and sandwiched in between were two victories that lacked a focused 60 minute effort. Maybe after getting away with coasting to victory in two games, the Thrashers' game was the wake up call that will finally rouse the Flyers' from their slumber, but I doubt it. This teams gives off the vibe that they plan to hit the snooze until the playoffs start.

The Panthers look like a team that has packed it in for the season, they are now tied with the Islanders for 13th and sit 11 points out of eighth place. They have an outside chance to make the playoffs, but it isn't looking good for them. This yet another game that the Flyers could easily win if care to show up and play. If the Flyers put in the effort for 60 minutes tonight, they win the game. If they don't they have a 50/50 chance of winning.

I'll go ahead and predict that the Flyers will win big tonight. They were embarrassed at home and will feel the need to prove themselves. They may even get their first shutout of the season, but it would not surprise me at all if they came out and laid another egg. Who the fuck knows what this team will do on a night to night, or period to period basis. 6-0

3-12-11 Thrasher at Flyers Pregame

After losing in the last minute of overtime to the Devils last night, the Atlanta Thrasher boarded a plane to Philly for tonight's game against the Flyers. After playing good hockey for the first half of the season, the Thrashers have been in free fall since early January, losing 19 of their last 25 games. The Thrashers should be desperate for a win since they are only six points out of eighth place with only 14 games to play, but they might also be a little spent coming into their third game in four nights with the previous two games going into overtime.

The Flyers are coming off of their best game in weeks and will be looking to build on their improving play. One area of their game that could still use some work is their power play. In last two games the Flyers have had a five minute power play against two of the worst penalty killing units in the league and have only been able to score one goal during each of them. The Thrashers gave up three power play goals on six opportunities last night to a Devils team that has a worse power play than the Flyers. This could be a perfect game for the Flyers to get multiple power play goals in a single game for the first time in 14 games.

The Thrashers have struggled mighty in the second game of back-to-backs this season; going 2-7-3, averaging only 2.33 goals, and being outscored 48 to 28. The Flyers have the capability to offensively over power the Thrashers who will ice a defensive unit that is a combined -39 for the season. This is a perfect game for the Flyers to go out and impose their will on an opponent. If the Flyers are able to duplicate their aggressive starts from the two previous games, they should be able to take advantage of a tired Thrashers club and put this game out of reach early.

3-10-11 Flyers-Maple Leafs Preview

This is a perfect match-up to see if the Flyers are ready to break out of their slump. The Flyers were able to end their losing streak against a sub par Oilers team by turning in a fantastic first period followed by two mediocre periods. This victory can not be looked upon as the end of the slump due to the quality of the opponent and the overall quality of play from the Flyers. If the Flyers are able to come out and repeat their first period performance against the Oilers for three periods against a team that is desperate for points, then a lot of the Flyers' fans doubts will be put to rest.

This will be Kris Versteeg's first game back in Toronto since the trade. Versteeg had two goals against the Leafs last week, and should be fired up to prove himself in front of his former fan base. Jeff Carter is coming off of a good game against the Oilers which could hopefully be the beginning of hot streak. Carter has been a streaky player his entire NHL career, and now would be a great time for Carter to get hot and help lead hs team back to their winning ways. 

The two keys to winning this game are forwards getting back to help the defense and retrieving the puck after dumping it into the zone. The Flyers were able to dominate the Oilers because the forwards were constantly harassing the them in the neutral zone forcing turnovers and allowing the 'D to hold play their positions. The Flyers got into trouble when they started attempting drop passes and cross ice passes in the neutral zone instead of moving the puck forward. The Flyers will find success if they dump the puck and attack the net.

After losing to the Islanders on Tuesday, I expect the Leafs to come flying out of the gate to try to set the tone in front of their home fans. The Flyers might have to come from behind to win this one, but I think they will win by one or two goals. I still don't expect a solid 60 minute performance, but I think we will see a step up from the last game.

Olers-Flyers Recap

1st Period
18 minutes and 45 seconds, that is how long it took the Edmonton Oilers to register their only shot on goal in a first period that was dominated by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers were able to correct almost all of their short comings in Sundays' game. The forwards were aggressively hunting the puck in the Oilers zone and played strong along the boards. The defense did not get out of position and had good communication defending against the rush. The Flyers got a lot of shots on goal from the points and had men in and around the net for deflections and rebounds. Finally the Flyers did not relax after they scored a goal.

The key to the Flyers domination that period was the forwards willingness to get back and help out the defense. The Oilers had a hard time moving the puck beyond the neutral zone because they were constantly being harassed by the forwards. This left the d-men in good position to retrieve the puck when the Oilers were forced to dump it into the zone. I don't think the Oilers had any sustained pressure outside of their two power plays the entire period.

I give the Flyers full marks for putting in a full twenty minutes of work in the first. So far they have not underestimated the Oilers and have not taken their foot off the gas, but that doesn't mean everything was perfect. If the Flyers get another power play, it would be nice to see some better passes, and the D not dumping the puck in from their side of the blue line. It would also be nice to see someone stand up for a teammate who was just boarded. Hopefully the Flyers continue their stellar play in the second period.

2nd Period
Well, the Flyers took their foot off the gas in the second period. After registering 18 shots on goal in the first, the Flyers only managed to get four in the second. The only good scoring chance the team had was off of set face off play, and Carter picked up his second goal of the night because the Flyers' superb execution. The Oilers answered :55 seconds later on a bad giveaway by Sean O'Donnell.

You might expect the Oilers to come out with a little extra push after their embarrassing first period performance, but their is no reason the Flyers shouldn't have squashed it and returned to dominating the game. All of the intensity and hustle of the first period was replaced with low percentage passes and lazy play. This game could have easily been out of reach by the end of the second if the Flyers would have kept up the intensity.

The Flyers need to realize that they can't sit on two goal leads for the rest of the year. I guess they failed to learn that lesson on Saturday against the Sabres. The Oilers are not nearly as desperate for points as the Sabres, but the Flyers need to come out in the third and take away any thoughts the Oilers might have of winning this game.

3rd Period
Just a simple testament to the continued lazy play; to start the third period the Flyers averaged one offsides or icing for the first five minutes, they only had one of each during the first period. The fore check was returned to the shelf and exchanged for cute drop passes in traffic and cross ice passes in the neutral zone.The Flyers failed, on multiple occasions, to get the puck deep into the zone, which resulted in a lot of scoring opportunities going the other way.

The Flyers played one of the worst teams in the league last night and absolutely dominated them when playing with a little passion and heart. As soon as they stopped playing with that desire and aggression the Flyers were outplayed by a bad team that was missing the majority of its offensive threats. I really believe that Flyers were lucky to get two points out of last night's game. A better opponent would have capitalized on some of their chances in the third period and tied or outright won the game.

I picked the Flyers to win in a close game,  I wasn't sure if the Flyers' had learned to put in a full 60 minutes yet. It was great to see a dominant Flyers squad again, but some of that dominance was exaggerated by the quality of opponent they were playing. If the Flyers play an entire game with the way they played the first period, they might be unbeatable. But a full 60 minutes of effort is somethign we havn't seen from this Flyers team in some time.

3-8-11 Oilers @ Flyers Preview

After facing three teams that were playing with desperation to secure a playoff birth, the Flyers once again face one of the worst teams in the league. Only the Oilers are not playing like one of the worst teams in the league, the Flyers are. Tonight's game will be the third game of a five game road trip for the Oilers, which started out with a victory over the free falling Avalanche team that has lost 15 of 16. The Oilers have been playing some of their best hockey of the year over the last 10 games. They are currently on a three game winning streak, the second in that ten game period, and for only the second time all season they have won seven of 10 games.

The Oilers will be without their leading scorer Taylor Hall (22 goals), who is out for the year after suffering a high ankle sprain in a fight last week. They will also be with assist leader Ales Hemsky (28 assists) who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.  Sam Gagner is coming off of his best game of the year, a three point night against the Avs, but he might be a little sore after he slammed hard into the boards early in the third period of the same game. He did return to the ice, but was down for an extended period of time.

The Flyers have lost four in a row coming into tonight's game, and have played their worst hockey of the year over the last few days and weeks. It is natural for teams to go through down times during the course of the season, the test is to see how long it takes a team to break out of the slump. The Oilers represent a perfect team to end the slump against. If the Flyers can come out and exert their will over the Oilers early, and continue the to apply their will physically for an entire 60 minutes, the slump is over. If the Flyers take the Oilers for granted, and assume they can skill them instead of out work them, the slump will continue.

Peter Laviolette gave the team the day off yesterday, so everyone should be well rested, and the players battling the flu had a good chance to recover. It is easy to say that the Flyers should win this game, but it is hard to pick them to win after what we saw on Sunday. I hope that the Flyers come out and dominate the game physically with a heavy persistent fore check and crease clearing mentality from the defense. I am not really confident, but I'll pick the Flyers to win a close game.

3-5-11 Sabres @ Flyers

So far this season the Flyers have played 10 afternoon games, and the Sabres have played three. The Flyers struggled with afternoon games last season,  6-7-1, but they have improved greatly on those numbers this season, 6-2-2 (4-1-1 at home). Although the majority of these games have been low scoring affairs, all but one had five goals or less, the Flyers hold a distinct scoring advantage over their opponents, 16-26. The Sabres are 1-1-1 in their three afternoon affairs, winning the only road game of the three, and outscoring their opponents 13-11.

The Flyers to watch are Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell. Briere has two goals and four assists in the two games against the Sabres this season, and 10 points in eight games against his old club since joining the Flyers. Hartnell has two goals and two assists against the Sabres this season, and 11 points in 14 games against the Sabres while with the Flyers. Bobrovsky was in net for the two previous games against Buffalo, but I am not sure if he will be in net for this game.

The Sabres offense has struggled against the Flyers this season. The majority of their offense was generated by Derek Roy's line, but he is out for the rest of the year with a torn quadriceps tendon. Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek have been the hottest Sabres forwards since the all-star break, with 14 and 11 points respectively. Ryan Miller was in net for the two previous games against the Flyers, and I don't see any reason he will not be in the net tomorrow, which would be his ninth straight start. He has a .934 save percentage over his previous eight starts, and will have to be good again today if the Sabres want to have a chance to win.

The Sabres are desperate for points as the try to overtake the Carolina Hurricanes for eight place. A win would pull them to within one point of the idle Canes. The Flyers still don't seem to have a sense of urgency in their game, but if they lose today and the Bruins are able to beat the Penguins, the Bruins would cut the Flyers lead to a single point. The Flyers have the talent to beat the Sabres, it is just a question if they have the will. I'll give the advantage to the Flyers based solely on their record in day games.

Versteeg Shines Against Leafs

"It'll be great to see them again. Having said that, I'd love to get at least a couple against them."  Kris Versteeg

In his first game against his old club, Kris Versteeg showed Flyers fans why the team traded for him. To bring an offensive spark to the Mike Richards line. Maybe it was the extended practice time that allowed Versteeg and Richards to build some chemistry, or maybe he was amped to play his former team. Whatever it was, it was nice to see the Richards' line be an offensive threat again. Richard's gave two great setup passes to Versteeg that left him with relatively easy goals, but it was Versteeg who was finding the open ice.

Versteeg  was a pain in the ass to play against in the Finals last year, and you knew something good would happen for the Hawks when he was on the ice, and he is starting to show some of that in Philly.  Versteeg has a knack for finding himself around the puck, and works to get into good scoring position when he doesn't have the puck, and Richards is starting to find him. In his last thirteen games with the Leafs, Versteeg only had 4 points. He has matched that in 7 games with Richards as a linemate.

Last night was only the third multiple point game since the new year for Mike Richards, he has 12 on the year  (seven in the first 21 games, two in the middle 21 games, and three in the last 20). In the seven games since Versteeg was added to his line, Richards has five points (all at even strength) and a couple of those games Richards was trying to recover from losing 10 pounds to a flu bug. The Flyers are hoping that Versteeg can help Richards to get back to scoring multiple points in games, like he was a t the beginning of the year.

Boynton In?

Nick Boynton

After being the best defensive pairing in the NHL for the first half of the season, Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell have looked average, at best, the last few weeks. The tandem combined for four penalties last night and each was a -1. O'Donnell's inability to win a puck battle in the corner, combined with Meszars' poor decision in front of the net, lead to the Leafs game winning goal.

With the acquisition of Nick Boynton off of waivers wires, I really don't see why the Flyers don't give O'Donnell a chance to rest. O'Donnell is 39 years old and has played in all but one of the Flyers' 63 games this season. The only game he missed was after spraining his knee two weeks ago against the Rangers, and most people thought he was rushed back to the ice due to his replacement being injured in the next game.

If they Flyers want to be able to roll all three pairings in the playoffs, O'Donnell is going to need a few games off before then. Boynton is also going to need some games to get familiar with his new teammates and Laviolette's system. This appears to be the perfect time to to do both, and I really don't think that Boyton could play any worse than O'Donnell has the past few weeks.

Maple Leafs - Flyers Recap

1st Period
I thought that the Flyers forwards looked good the first 10 minutes of that period. The Richards' line looked good, highlighted by Versteeg's first goal as a Fyers where he had to beat a goalie. Giroux looked great, as always, throwing his weight around and pressuring the Leafs' D. Ben Holmstrom looked good in his first period as an NHLer, he had a good back-check and even tried to mix it up with Leafs' captain Dion Phaneuf. The Leino-Briere-Hartnell was reunited and looked pretty good except for Hartnell's assist on Clarke MacArthur's goal. I also thought the Flyers only power play opportunity looked good. They moved the puck well, earned a few goo scoring chances, and Briere had a great chance moving in from behind the net.

The Flyers D, lead by O'Donnell, looked to have a few issues that period. They got beat a couple of times by the Leafs' forecheck, and mishandled the puck a few times which lead to great scoring chances for the Leafs. Meszaros was called for two penalties, which were horrible calls, but the Flyers were able to kill both penalties. Luckily Bob had a good period in net and bailed his team out of of their mistakes. I think if the refs hadn't butchered the second half of the period the Flyers might have come out of it with a lead, but they were lucky to even be tied after the Leafs three consecutive failed power play opportunities.

2nd Period
The forwards looked good again that period. Each of the top three lines showed some good play that period. None of the lines were completely dominant, but each had a couple of great shifts. Versteeg was the recipient of another great setup from Richards. Giroux's heavy forecheck helped to generate a couple of good chances for his line. Giroux's hit to start the period was a thing of beauty that sparked the Flyers. Leino looked good on the puck that period and Hartnell showed some of the bite that has been missing from his game the last couple of weeks (months?).

The D looked better that period, but not great. There was a miscommunication in the final seconds of the period that resulted in the Leafs tying goal. Meszaros ended up in the box again, and once again Bobrovsky made a couple of great saves to bail him out. Bob benefited from a little luck that period, but he made enough good saves that he earned it. If it wasn't for an inexcusable too many men penalty while on the power play that lead to a goal, that would have been a really good period for the Flyers. Hopefully they can kill the penalty to start the third and swing the momentum back their way.

3rd Period
Well, I thought the Flyers started out playing another good well. They controlled the play for the majority of the first nine minutes, and then it was all undone by a poor defensive play late in the period. O'Donnell gets out battled in the corner by Darryl Boyce and then Meszaros lets him go to the net and score. I think that the forwards had a great game. Giroux showed off his speed in the third getting back to help out the D. JVR showed off his heavy slapshot that went through Reimer's glove and squeaked wide. Richards showed some good hustle on a race a puck a center ice. They were also successful dumping the puck in and applying a good forecheck.

Even though they couldn't pick up the two points, I thought it was a good first game after the extended break. All three top lines looked good. The team seemed more willing to get into the corners and in front of the net to fight for the puck. Although the power play couldn't covert, I thought they looked better. I think this game can be used as the first step in the build to the playoffs.

Game Day Updates

Chris Pronger

Looks like the Flyers are shuffling players to deal with a few injuries. James van Riemsdyk and Dan Carcillo missed practice yesterday. JVR has been battling a groin pull and Carcillo has "flu like symptoms." The Flyers recalled Ben Holmstrom from the Phantoms to fill in one of these open positions. Holmstrom, a right winger, has 10 goals and 17 assists in 60 games with the Phantoms this season. If both players are unable to play it more than likely means that Nikolay Zherdev will get another chance to prove himself. Blair Betts is also questionable to make his return to the lineup tonight.

Chris Pronger will more than likely make his return to tonight after missing a few games with swollen hand. This most likely means that Nick Boynton will not make it into the line up tonight.

EDIT: Forgot to mention the Bob is probably the starter in net tonight.


Thanks to the guys and gals over at PSF for bring some of these updates to my attention.

3-3-11 Maple Leafs @ Flyers

This is a game that the Flyers should win. The Flyers have had four days off and three days rest to prepare for this game. Peter Laviolette worked the team hard in practice on Monday and Tuesday in response to his their poor play over the weekend. He then shifted gears on Wednesday and focused extensively on the struggling power play. The extended practice time also gave Nick Boynton and Chris Versteeg valuable time to get acclimated to Laviolette's system and their new linemates. This will be Versteeg's first game against his former team and he sounds motivated to prove to Brian Burke that he made a mistake when trading him.

The Maple Leafs won a hard fought overtime game against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night and then quickly got to the airport to fly to Philly. The Leafs have played eight one-goal games in a row, winning five of those games.  If the Flyers can come out of the gate and quickly set the tempo, they should be able to take advantage of a tired Leafs squad.

I think that this will be a win for the Flyers. Reading a few player interviews, it sounds like Laviolette has marked this game as the beginning of the build to the playoffs. I think the team will come out fired up and show the coach that they are ready to put in the work it takes to win. Even with all that, I don't think that the Leafs will roll over. They are  only four points out of a playoff spot, and will be desperate for a win.