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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Flyers-Penguins, Game 4

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 19, 2012 at 5:48 pm

In today’s “View from the Philly Pressbox” we look at the Penguins, 10-3, blowout of the Flyers in Game 4 of the 1st Round series. The Flyers now lead the series 3-1 as the series goes back to Penguins on Friday night.

In our series preview we identified the four keys for the Flyers to win the series and they haven’t changed.

  • ·        Don’t fall behind early in games
  • ·        Ilya Bryzgalov
  • ·        Staying out of the penalty box
  • ·        Stay healthy

Don’t fall behind early in games. The Flyers came out of the locker room and actually took a 1st period lead in a game for the first time in the series when Claude Giroux scored a power play goal just 1:16 seconds in to the game. Unfortunately it didn’t last long, 2:21 seconds to be exact, when the Flyers collapse began. Following the Evgeni Malkin goal, Matt Niskanen scored on the power play, another Zac Rinaldo penalty, 4:28 seconds later. The Penguins followed with a meltdown of their own, being called for three minor penalties in the span of 50 seconds. The Flyers capitalized by scoring two power play goals, one by Kimmo Timonen and one by Jakub Voracek.. The Flyers looked like they had regrouped. Again, it didn’t last long, the Penguins scored two goals in the final 3:41 of the period. The score after the period was 4-3 Pens.

Although the Flyers did actually have the lead for the first time at the start of the game, they never had control of the period. They didn’t come out of the locker room with any intensity and paid the price for it.

The disturbing thing about Game 4 is not that the Flyers couldn’t hold the lead in the 1st period but rather their failure to compete in the game. We’ve stated throughout the series that falling behind early is a problem. We continue to feel that way. The Flyers are still in control of the series; however, this area still needs to be corrected.

 Ilya Bryzgalov – Bryzgalov was awful!! Sergei Bobrovsky was equally bad!! Both goalies faced 18 shots and both gave up 5 goals. Pitiful! With that said, there’s equal blame to go around for the entire team and not just the defense. The Flyers were outworked throughout the game. They gave up four power play goals in nine chances. They likely wouldn’t have won this game if either of these goalies had played really well due to their lack of effort. Just as you win with a total team effort you can’t expect goalies to win games alone. It was a total team breakdown on both ends of the ice. Coach Peter Laviolette has his hands full in pulling the team back together and regaining the focus they’ve had up to this point. With that said. the goaltenders are required to make some saves to help the team win, in Game 4 that didn’t happen. Although 10 goals allowed balloons the statistics, the Flyers have now allowed 22 goals in 4 games and that’s not good enough!!

Stay Healthy – As we stated previously the Flyers are close to adding James Van Riemsdyk back to the lineup and it can’t happen soon enough. Zac Rinaldo has got to be taken out of this series. Rinaldo is not capable of being on the ice without getting a penalty. He had 20 minutes in Game 3 and added another 26 minutes in Game 4 with only 3:39 seconds of ice time. The only possible injury in the game was to Nick Grossman, who took a shot to the head. Grossman is day-to-day at this point. Big Nick will be missed if he can’t play Friday night.

Staying out of the penalty box will be critical. The penalty box situation in this game was a joke. Sunday’s game was a blood bath full of cheap shots. Games 1 and 2 were action packed, hard hitting games that were physical and fun to watch. The referees took that out of Game 4 by calling the game so close that the players couldn’t play. There were a total of 26 penalties in the game, 20 of them were minor penalties with 12 going against the Flyers. That’s’ more than a full period of the game shorthanded due to “ticky tack” penalties. The Flyers also received 3-10 minute misconduct penalties and a game misconduct. The Penguins received 2-10 minute misconducts. With all of these penalties there were not even any fighting penalties.

Frankly, without sounding like we’re having a bad case of “sour grapes,” this game was a joke by the referees. It appears to us that the league instructed the referees to call the game so close that it took the game away. All of the power plays, 9, played in to the Penguins hands by creating opportunity after opportunity throughout the game.  There was a stretch in the 2nd period where the Flyers were called for five minor penalties in a row, the last one going along with a Penguins penalty. During that time the Pens scored three power play goals and blew the game open by taking a 4-3 game and making it a 7-3 game.

As stated in Game 3 when the Flyers scored five special teams goals they would win, well the same holds true that when you allow four power play goals you are most likely going to lose. Special Teams remain critical to the playoffs, and obviously the Game 4 advantage was to Pittsburgh after Games 1. 2 and 3 had gone to the Flyers.

Let’s face the facts here, it was not in the best interest of the NHL to have the Stanley Cup favorites, playing shorthanded due to league suspensions, eliminated early in the playoffs by being swept. The Flyers didn’t play well but had no chance of winning this game any way.

Again, we’ll show the same quote we showed in our series preview and after each of the first three games. We stated that “for the Flyers to win they need to get contributions from all of their lines. Obviously, the Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr line needs to be good. Danny Briere needs to step up as he has in past playoffs. Wayne Simmons, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek will need to contribute as they have all season. Just as important will be the play of the Flyers rookies, Matt Read, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. These rookies have played very well throughout the regular season; however, they need to lift their game to the next level that is playoff hockey!” In Game 4, no one showed up for the Flyers. Giroux did have a goal and an assist in the game. He also had a penalty and a -1 for the game. Danny Briere and Brayden Shenn were -4, Pavel Kubina, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Carle were all -3. Carle was called for two minor penalties while Simmonds and Kubina both had minor penalties and misconduct penalties.

Overall it was a bad game for everyone wearing orange and black and in black and white striped shirts. The Flyers need to put this one behind them and come back Friday night ready to play.

Our prediction had been the Flyers in 6 games. We felt a sweep in the series was too much to ask. We stated after Game 2 the Penguins “could come out with their elimination backs against the wall, play well, and win, or they could quit on the season and get ready for golfing”. What we saw in Game 4 from the Penguins is what we expected to see from them in Game 3 before they decided to “goon up” the game. The Penguins are a good hockey club and they showed it in Game 4. We changed our prediction from Flyers in 6 to Flyers in a sweep like everyone else that got caught in the emotion when we knew a sweep was very unlikely. We’re going to go back to Flyers is 6 games. The Flyers need to play well in Game 5 in Pittsburgh. Of course, we want them to win; however, what we need to do is play good, tough, discipline hockey as they have done in the first three games and there’s a good chance they could close out the series.

The Flyers are still in command of the series and will win.

 As Gene Hart would say” GOOD NIGHT and GOOD HOCKEY”

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Flyers-Penguins, Game 3

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 17, 2012 at 5:22 pm

In today’s “View from the Philly Pressbox” we look at the Flyers blowout of the Penguins in Game 3 of the 1st Round series. The Flyers now lead the series 3-0 with an 8-4 win over the crumbling Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center before a crazed sellout crowd.

In our series preview we identified the four keys for the Flyers to win the series and they haven’t changed.

  • ·        Don’t fall behind early in games
  • ·        Ilya Bryzgalov
  • ·        Staying out of the penalty box
  • ·        Stay healthy

Don’t fall behind early in games. Obviously, the Flyers didn’t get our post, AGAIN and AGAIN!! Although the Flyers fell behind 1-0 on a Jordan Staal goal at the 3:52 mark they were never reeling in this game. As the Penguins tried to figure out some way to stay in the game, with cheap shots and taunting, they never had a chance. Max Talbot scored shorthanded, again, at 6:44 and Danny Briere added the first of his two goals on the power play at 8:19 to give the Flyers the lead that they would never give up. Briere added his second goal, and fourth of the series, at 11:45 and Matt Read the first of his two goals at 15:40, wrapped around a James Neal goal. At the end of the 1st period it was 4-2 Flyers, and it was on from there.

The Flyers have spotted the Penguins leads in each of the three games of the series. We still feel this is a bad sign moving forward. The way this series has unfolded the Flyers are just the better hockey team; however, this habit needs to stop. It’s been a problem all season and isn’t a situation they want to put themselves in throughout the playoffs. So far they’ve survived.

 Ilya Bryzgalov – Bryzgalov was not near as sharp as he was in Game 2 when he was tremendous. He allowed two goals that were cheap goals. that could cost a game at some point in the playoffs. Bryz seemed to be distracted slightly by the gooning and fighting that was going on around him. He cannot have breakdowns in his concentration and allow soft goals. The Pens explosive offense was well discussed coming in to the series. The Flyers have done a great job controlling Evgeni Malkin, 0 goals and 4 assists and Sidney Crosby, 2 goals and 3 assists throughout the series. Lost in the Flyers offensive explosion, 20 goals, is that the Penguins have scored 12 goals themselves. Four goals a game is a lot of goals to give up. Bryz needs to get sharp and stay sharp. Soft goals have to stop. We’ll say it until “The Stanley Cup” rides down Broad Street, hot goalies win playoff series and Stanley Cups and Bryz needs to be that hot goalie.

Stay Healthy – In the midst of all of the cheap shots, head hunting and fighting the Flyers came out of Game 3 without any injuries. The team is getting close to adding James Van Riemsdyk back to the lineup. JVR will be a nice addition in place of Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo has tried to be physical when he can, but always seems to find his way to the penalty box. Renaldo has 20 penalty minutes in the 3 games. JVR will add some offensive skill and still be physical.

Staying out of the penalty box will be critical. It’s pretty difficult to talk about staying out of the penalty box when you have a game where you are being, thugged, mugged and gooned by your opponent. The Flyers did allow one power play goal in the game and now three for the three game series. Credit goes to the Flyers for defending themselves and protecting their players when they had to without losing control of their emotions like the Penguins did. The “thugs” were clearly the Penguins. The Flyers added four power play goals of their own, Briere, Read, Wayne Simmonds and Talbot. They added another shorthanded goal by Talbot, his second “shorty” of the series and the third by the Flyers. It’s safe to say that the team that gets five special teams goals is going to win!! Special Teams remain critical to the playoffs, and obviously the Game 3 advantage, like Games 1 and 2, goes to the Flyers.

Again, we’ll show the same quote we showed in our series preview and after Games 1 and 2. We stated that “for the Flyers to win they need to get contributions from all of their lines. Obviously, the Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr line needs to be good. Danny Briere needs to step up as he has in past playoffs. Wayne Simmons, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek will need to contribute as they have all season. Just as important will be the play of the Flyers rookies, Matt Read, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. These rookies have played very well throughout the regular season; however, they need to lift their game to the next level that is playoff hockey!” Again, we hit the nail on the head with that statement. Claude Giroux continues to be tremendous on both ends of the ice and as a team leader. Giroux, along with line mates, Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr are leading the way, although Hartnell has been kept off the scoreboard he’s continued to impact the game. A big key in Game 1 was rookie Brayden Shenn, in Game 2 it was rookie Sean Couturier with 3 goals and an assist, Game 3 it was rookie Matt Read with 2 goals. Another rookie, Eric Wellwood has played solid hockey in less playing time. The rookies have combined for 6 goals and 6 assists in the series thus far. Add that to the solid play of Talbot, Simmonds, Jake Voracek and the incredible playoff goal scoring of Briere and you have a total team contribution.

Defensively, the Flyers have played solid throughout. Brayden Coburn has been a wall. Matt Carle has been solid along with Nic Grossman, Timonen, Pavel Kubina and Andreas Lilja. Each had to step up their game when they lost Timonen and each did their job.

Our prediction has been the Flyers in 6 games. We felt asking for a sweep in the series was too much to ask. We stated after Game 2 the Penguins “could come out with their elimination backs against the wall, play well, and win, or they could quit on the season and get ready for golfing”. We didn’t expect them to come out as “goons” before they went golfing. The Flyers need to sweep this series in four games. They need to get out with no injuries from any further cheap shots. The Flyers need to come out of the locker room with their foot on the gas from the start and not take any chances going back to Pittsburgh for a Game 5. The Flyers have the Penguins down and need to “kill the mosquito with the ax”.

 

As Gene Hart would say” GOOD NIGHT and GOOD HOCKEY”

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Flyers – Penguins Game 3 Debacle

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 16, 2012 at 11:31 pm

THEY USED TO CALL THIS A GOON!!!!

After having a night to sleep on the “Debacle on Broad Street” that was the Flyers – Penguins game on Sunday afternoon we have some thoughts on the game.

First, the Penguins knew coming in to the game that they couldn’t beat the Flyers. Here’s why. In trying to make sense of the “thug” actions of the Penguins we can only figure that they felt that by creating “cheap and dirty” penalties against the Flyers that the Flyers would retaliate and the both teams would be penalized, creating 4 on 4 situations that likely could favor the Penguins by freeing up ice space for their “star” skaters. It didn’t work because the Penguins went beyond creating penalties to downright “cheap and dirty” hockey. The Flyers have dominated 5 on 5 play throughout the first two games of the series. The Flyers have dominated special teams throughout the series, both on the power play and shorthanded. The only thing left was to try 4 on 4.

Frankly, the Penguins were an embarrassment to the new era of hockey that team owner Mario Lemieux so badly whined about several years ago. “We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.” – in reference to NHL’s lack of action for Islander’s Goonery vs Penguins. Mario needs to look no further than his own hockey club to see everything that he was preaching against. It starts with his superstar, Sidney Crosby. Crosby was the instigator in nearly every event that took place in the game, from continuing to swat at Ilya Bryzgalov glove after the whistle, to knocking away a glove from a player trying to pick it up, (talk about childish and bush league) to grabbing Scott Hartnell from behind, which started another melee, but would never drop his gloves. He pretended to throw a few at Claude Giroux when Giroux was being held by the referees and eventually down on the ice. When Brayden Shenn looked him in the eyes and asked him “to dance” he wanted no part of it.

NOW THEY CALL THIS A THUG!!!

 The fact is the Penguins can’t play with the Flyers!! Plain and simple. As far as Crosby, he needs to take a lesson in leadership. When you want to be a leader you “step-up” and be a man, whether you “get whipped” or “do the whipping” your respected by your teammates and opponents for trying to be the man. In Crosby’s case his “cheap shot”, childish antics took him from, arguably, the greatest player in the league to the most despised player in the league. He far exceeded his normal whining with his bush league play. Even the New York Ranger fans are rooting for the Flyers because of Crosby. And just so we’re not being over critical since we’re Philly fans, listen to Don Cherry, possible the most respected hockey man in Canada, Mike Milbury, Barry Melrose, and every national broadcaster on every channel that covers the NHL.

Above all listen to their own fans. There’s a terrific article that we’ve attached from a lifelong Penguins fan that tells the whole story.  http://mobile.pensburgh.com/2012/4/15/2950810/an-open-letter-to-penguins-management. An Open Letter to Penguins Management – www.pensburgh.com. Even their own fans are embarrassed by them!! Ron Cooke a very highly respected columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a known Flyer hater was on the WIP Morning Show this morning and ripped the “thuggery”. His words not ours!!

For the Flyers, it’s time to finish the frauds that are the Pittsburgh Penguins and send them home to start golf season. The Flyers need to remain disciplined and stay out of the penalty box, skate with their heads up and score another 8 goals. The first three games have been very entertaining for Flyers fans so we might as well finish it up with a sweep!!!

The Fat Lady is Warming Up!!!!

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Flyers – Penguins Game 2

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 14, 2012 at 8:34 pm

In today’s “View from the Philly Pressbox” we look at the outcome of Game 2 of the 1st Round series between the Flyers and the Penguins. The Flyers now lead the series 2-0 with a fantastic 8-5 victory at the Consol Energy Center.

In our series preview we identified the four keys for the Flyers to win the series and they haven’t changed.

  • ·        Don’t fall behind early in games
  • ·        Ilya Bryzgalov
  • ·        Staying out of the penalty box
  • ·        Stay healthy

Don’t fall behind early in games. Obviously, the Flyers didn’t get our post, AGAIN! They came out and fell behind just 15 seconds in to the game. That first goal, as well as the Flyers strategy, is very confusing to me. The Flyers didn’t have the opening line matchup they wanted with the Sidney Crosby line so as soon as the puck was dropped all 5 Flyers headed to the bench for a full line change. Call it bad luck or fast hockey but before the Flyers could get their new group on the ice and organized Crosby was flying and dealt the first blow, and again the Flyers had to come from behind. The opinion here is that these are professional players and not having the matchup you want can wait until you can clear the puck and get an organized line change. This was ridiculous. It was a tactical error by Peter Laviolette and he got burned. Overall, the Flyers played much better in the 1st period but fell behind 2-0 before getting a beautiful shorthanded goal from Max Talbot, at 12:44. Talbot followed a Claude Giroux shot and banged in the rebound to make it 2-1. The Flyers had their skates under them, and looked like they were in pretty shape before giving up would looked like a back breaking goal by Defenseman Paul Martin at the 19:42 mark. Again, the Flyers went to the break down 3-1. We know the end result turned out the Flyers way, however, we stick to our original keys and say the Flyers cannot continue to fall behind early in this series or in any other. It’s not the position they need to be in game-in and game-out or it will catch up to them.

Ilya Bryzgalov – Bryzgalov was tremendous! He gets our #1 star of the game even though he gave up 5 goals and there were two hat tricks. He only stopped 23 of 28 shots but like we stated he was tremendous. Bryz made at least three saves that could’ve/should’ve been goals. At one point the game could’ve been 6-1 Pittsburgh if not for Bryz. The Flyers made a decision to open the vault to sign Bryzgalov in the off season and it surely paid off last night. Hot goalies win playoff series and Stanley Cups and Bryz is a hot goalie.

Stay Healthy – This was a physical hockey game that appeared to favor the Penguins. The hit numbers were equal but the center ice hits and bigger hits came from Pittsburgh although the Flyers dished out their fair share of hits as well. With that said, the Flyers are still healthy and ready for Game 3.

Staying out of the penalty box will be critical. The Flyers were called for five minor penalties in the game and gave up two goals. That’s too many! Although you can’t depend on it every night the Flyers turned the shorthanded situation to their advantage getting a the shorthanded goal from Talbot in the 1st period and another from Giroux that tied the score 3-3 at 11:04 of the 2nd period. The Penguins were only called for three penalties and the Flyers turned one of them in to Giroux’s first goal of the game. The two “shorties” tend to hide the penalty situation. The Flyers cannot give the Penguins five power play opportunities a game. Special Teams are critical to the playoffs, and the Game 2 advantage, just like Game 1, goes to the Flyers.

After this 2nd game we’ll quote what we said in our series preview and repeated after Game 1. We stated that “for the Flyers to win they need to get contributions from all of their lines. Obviously, the Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr line needs to be good. Danny Briere needs to step up as he has in past playoffs. Wayne Simmons, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek will need to contribute as they have all season. Just as important will be the play of the Flyers rookies, Matt Read, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. These rookies have played very well throughout the regular season; however, they need to lift their game to the next level that is playoff hockey!” Again, we hit the nail on the head with that statement. Claude Giroux was tremendous, scoring 3 goals and adding another 3 assists. Talbot added a goal. Jaromir Jagr added the game winning goal. All of the Flyers contributed on both ends of the ice. It’s unfortunate that Bryzgalov was so good because Sean Couturier deserves to be the #1 star as well. The 19 year old Couturier added a hat trick of his own and an assist while shutting down the Penguins 50 goal scorer Evangi Malkin. Malkin did tally two assist but he was never a factor and the reason was Couturier. Couturier delivered one of the big blows of the game by tieing the score 4-4 with a goal with 2.8 seconds remaining in the 2nd period. He stayed with the play until the final whistle and his hustle paid off. Again, it was a total team effort and a well deserved huge win.

Our prediction still hasn’t changed from the Flyers in 6 games. We’ve been right on both games so far. The Flyers are further in the Penguins heads! It will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh responds in Game 3. They could come out with their elimination backs against the wall, play well, and win or they could quit on the season and get ready for golfing. For the Flyers, they need come out of the locker room ready to play, not fall behind again and put their foot on the throat of the Penguins and not let off. Back in the day, when I used to coach, I had a saying when you got a lead on your opponent to “kill the mosquito with an ax.” That’s what the Flyers need to do. However, we feel the Penguins will play well and win Game 3. We hope not but a sweep would be too much to expect.

 As Gene Hart would say” GOOD NIGHT and GOOD HOCKEY”

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox ” Flyers-Penguins, Game 1

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 12, 2012 at 10:06 pm

In today’s “View from the Philly Pressbox” we look at the outcome of Game 1of the 1st Round series between the Flyers and the Penguins.

In our series preview we identified the four keys for the Flyers to win the series.

  • ·        Don’t fall behind early in games
  • ·        Ilya Bryzgalov
  • ·        Staying out of the penalty box
  • ·        Stay healthy

Don’t fall behind early in games. Obviously, the Flyers didn’t get our post and came out and got crushed in the 1st period, falling behind 3-0. They were outshot, 13-6, and severely out hit. The Penguins took their foot off the gas and the Flyers showed tremendous resiliency in holding their composure while the Consol Center was in a frenzy. As we stated in our series preview the Flyers must figure out a way to come out of the locker room ready to play and control the energy of the game. Everyone knew that the building would be crazy and that Pittsburgh would come out ready to play. The Flyers had no way of slowing them down, let alone stopping them. Don’t expect the Penguins to let their foot off the gas again if the same situation occurs. Although the Flyers survived Game 1 we still feel, more than ever, that this is critical to the Flyers winning the series. When asked what you’re thinking in the locker room behind 3 goals after one period, Danny Briere said, “Sitting here after the first period all we were saying was that we’ve done it all year. Let’s start with a goal and you never know what can happen.”

Ilya Bryzgalov – We’re going to give Bryz a pass on the bad third goal, since we won the game. That goal was soft and looked like it was the final straw in the game; however, Bryz played very well the remainder of the game. The Pens ended up with 28 shots, only 15 after the first period and Bryz turned them all away. Any lose of concentration and a fourth goal would’ve put the game out of reach. The Flyers tightened up the defense and Bryz stepped-up his game

Stay Healthy – Of course another obvious key in the run to the Stanley Cup is staying healthy throughout the brutal playoff run. The Flyers appear to be as healthy as a team can be at this point. All indications are that the Flyers did not suffer any injuries in the game and will be at full strength for Game 2 Friday night.

Staying out of the penalty box will be critical. The Flyers were called for only three minor penalties in the game and killed all of them. Interestingly enough, of the 6 minutes in penalties, Sydney Crosby was on the ice for 5:00, Evgeni Malkin for 5:12, Kris Latang for 5:34, James Neal for 3:39 and  Chris Kunitz for 3:55. These are the big guns for the Penguins and they don’t need to be on the ice that long while the Flyers are shorthanded. Offensively, the Flyers were only on the power play one time and Brayden Shenn made them pay by scoring the game tying goal at the 12:23 mark of the 3rd period by redirecting a perfect pass from Scott Hartnell. Special Teams are critical to the playoffs, and the Game 1 advantage goes to the Flyers.

We stated that for “the Flyers to win they need to get contributions from all of their lines. Obviously, the Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr line needs to be good. Danny Briere needs to step up as he has in past playoffs. Wayne Simmons, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek will need to contribute as they have all season. Just as important will be the play of the Flyers rookies, Matt Read, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. These rookies have played very well throughout the regular season; however, they need to lift their game to the next level that is playoff hockey!” I think it’s safe to say we hit the nail on the head with that statement. Briere scored 2 goals; Shenn added a goal and 2 assists and Voracek scored the overtime game winner by positioning himself in behind what looked like two confused Penguins. It should be pointed out that Matt Carle, 27minutes, 13 seconds of ice time and Brayden Coburn, 26:49, turned in fantastic efforts for the Flyers defense as well. Kimmo Timonen and Nic Grossman also logged more than 20 minutes of ice time. It was a total team effort.

Our prediction is still the Flyers in 6 games. The Flyers are in the Penguins heads. This is why the meaningless game on the last day of the season was so important for the Penguins to win at home. They needed to prove to themselves that they could beat the Flyers, and they can’t. It will be interesting to see how the Penguins respond at the start of Game 2. Can they put the Game 1 collapse behind them or can the Flyers come out with the energy early and put them away and take a 2-0 lead back to the Wells Fargo Center? We thought there would be a split in Pittsburgh, however, we now think the Flyers will win Game 2 on the road and the Pens will win Game 3 in Philly with their backs up against the elimination wall.

As Gene Hart would say” GOOD NIGHT and GOOD HOCKEY”

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Flyers-Penguins Series

In Philadelphia Flyers on April 11, 2012 at 9:57 am

In today’s “View from the Philly Pressbox” we preview the Round 1 series between the Flyers and the Penguins.

This is a pretty easy review from our standpoint. For the Flyers there are four keys to winning the series.

  • ·        Don’t fall behind early in games
  • ·        Ilya Bryzgalov
  • ·        Staying out of the penalty box
  • ·        Stay healthy

Obviously, there are a great deal of things that play in to the four things noted above. The Flyers have to come out of the locker room ready to play. They must put pressure on Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury from the opening whistle of Game 1 and every other game. They cannot continue to try to play comeback every game. Falling behind by one goal will be difficult to overcome, falling behind by two goals will be impossible. The effort required for these “comebacks” drains a great deal of extra energy. The Flyers need to jump on the Penguins early and force them to have to play from behind.

 The Flyers must play solid defense and two way hockey for Bryzgalov to be good. However, Bryz must step up his game, as he did in the last third of the season, and make the big saves when the defense breaks down.  Bryz brings 33 wins and a 2.48 GAA (Goals Against Average) in to the playoffs, but as we know the regular season statistics don’t mean anything. What is important is this, is the goalie playing well going in to the playoffs? In Bryz’ case he went from cold to white hot to cooling off some but still playing well at the end of the season.

 Of course another obvious key in the run to the Stanley Cup is staying healthy throughout the brutal playoff run. The Flyers appear to be as healthy as a team can be at this point. Bryz will benefit from having his full complement of defensemen. Having Nicklas Grossmann back will be big for the Flyers.

Staying out of the penalty box will be critical. The Flyers cannot let Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, 50 g, 59a, 109 points with 12 PP goals, James Neal, 40g, 41a, 81 points and 18 PP goals have space to skate. The Penguins also got 26 goals from Chris Kunitz, 25 from Pascal Dupuis and 25 from Jordan Staal. They can be very dangerous on offense. The Flyers need to be physical throughout the series but cannot afford any bad penalties that could put them in a hole.

For the Flyers to win they need to get contributions from all of their lines. Obviously, the Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr line needs to be good. Danny Brierre needs to step up as he has in past playoffs. Wayne Simmons, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek will need to contribute as they have all season. Just as important will be the play of the Flyers rookies, Matt Read, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. These rookies have played very well throughout the regular season, however, they need to lift their game to the next level that is playoff hockey!

Our prediction is the Flyers in 6 games if they can manage the keys discussed above. These teams are very equal as the regular season showed. Bryz must be outstanding and Crosby and Malkin must be controlled. Obviously, the critical game is Game 1 tonight in Pittsburgh to gain series momentum. If the Flyers can gain a split on the road they will be in good position for two wins at the Wells Fargo Center in Games 3 and 4. A loss in Game 5 in Pittsburgh and the clincher in Game 6 back at home.

The talking is over; it’s time to drop the puck!

As Gene Hart would say” GOOD NIGHT and GOOD HOCKEY”

LET’S GO FLYERS!!!!!!

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Riddle Me the Flyers & 76ers??

In Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers on April 1, 2012 at 10:38 am

Riddle me this Philadelphia sports fans. Who are these Flyers and 76ers teams that we’re following, hopefully to the playoffs?

Let’s start with the Flyers. Last week in our review we stated that the Flyers had a somewhat light week with only three games, two of them at the Wells Fargo Center against Tampa Bay, and Ottawa with a trip to Toronto sandwiched in between. We stated that the Flyers needed at least 5 points, if not 6, for the week. Tampa and Toronto are likely out of the playoffs, so they needed to win those games. One, if not two points against Ottawa, would make a good week. Instead, the Flyers forgot that there was a game against the Lightning and stunk the place up, losing 5-3. They moved on to Toronto and took care of their business by winning 7-1. They closed out the week by losing another shootout to Ottawa, 4-3. That’s 3 of the possible 6 points for the week. The Flyers hold the 5th spot at this point with 99 total points. In the meantime, the 1st place Rangers won all three of their games. They now have 50 wins and 107 total points. The Penguins went 2-2, losing both games to the Islanders. The Pens are presently in the 4th spot with 102 points. There’s now just one week left in the regular season with each of the three teams having 4 games remaining. For the Flyers and Pens they control their own destiny. They play each of other twice this week, both times in Pittsburgh. The first game is this afternoon, Tuesday the Flyers host the New York Rangers, Thursday they host the Buffalo Sabers and close out the regular season next Saturday in Pittsburgh.  The Flyers must also be aware of the New Jersey Devils that are sitting just 3 points behind them. The Devils have 3 games remaining.

A big question mark for the Flyers will be the goaltending situation. The red hot Ilya Bryzgalov is fighting off a chipped bone in his foot. Sergei Bobrovsky has been getting the work. The Flyers need Bryz back at full strength heading in to the playoffs. If the playoffs were to start today it would look like this, #1 Rangers hosting #8 Washington, #2 Boston hosting #7 Ottawa, #3 Florida hosting #6 New Jersey and #4 Pittsburgh hosting #5 Flyers. As we’ve previously stated, being the road team against Sidney Crosby, he’s on fire with 3 – 4 point games since his return, and the Penguins isn’t the best match up for the Flyers.

The 76ers continue to mystify. They finished the week 2-2. We felt that they needed to finish the week 3-1. We didn’t expect them to beat San Antonio on the road but we did expect them to compete. They didn’t, losing 93-76. They beat Cleveland as expected but then laid their biggest egg of the season by getting blown out by the Washington Wizards, 97-76. The 76ers were never in the game and never showed they were interested. This was a game the 76ers had to win! The Wizards now have 12 wins on the season. That’s right, they are 12-39. How can you get blown out of that game?  With that lose the 76ers fell from 1st place, 4th seed overall to 2nd place and the 7th seed overall. If the season were to end today they would be in a first round matchup against the Miami Heat. That is not where they want to be.  

The 76ers have watched their Atlantic Division lead dwindle over the last month and now find themselves .5 games behind Boston and 2.5 games ahead of the New York Knicks. There are 14 games remaining in the regular season.

This week doesn’t get any easier except that there are only three games rather than four. They visit the Heat on Tuesday, host Toronto on Wednesday and host Orlando on Saturday. Reality says they will win only one of the three games. If they could manage to beat Orlando that would be a boost. They won’t beat Miami. In the meantime, the Celtics have an extremely difficult week. They host Miami and San Antonio before hitting the road for games at Chicago and Indiana. They could actually lose all four games. Looking ahead slightly, the 76ers and the Celtics play next Sunday.

As we stated last week the 76ers seem to be a team looking for a leader. Each night someone else picks up the slack but they’ve shown inconsistency night after night. Apparently, Coach Doug Collins agrees but isn’t planning on much change at this point in the season, “I don’t know what I could do, really,” he said before the meeting against the Hawks. “I think we’re still adjusting to the change I made before [by inserting Evan Turner into the starting lineup].

“We’re now in a position, hopefully, where we can start getting a little rhythm in what we’re doing. I wouldn’t want to make any other change right now.”

Coach, I hope holding steady is enough to win the Atlantic and get back to the #4 seed and a matchup with Indiana or Atlanta in the 1st round of the playoffs. Playing Miami will bring the season to a quick end.

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Flyers – 76ers and The Playoffs

In Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers on March 25, 2012 at 11:01 am

Last week in our review we stated that the Flyers needed to get all 8 of the available points for the week. We knew that would be tough with games against the Penguins, Panthers, Capitals and Canadians. The Flyers did earn 6 of the 8 points, losing a very well played 2-1 game to the Panthers. The week started with a fantastic come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh with 0.9 seconds remaining in overtime on a Scott Hartnell goal. The Florida loss followed. The Flyers bounced back with a 2-1 shootout win over Washington and a 4-1 dominating victory against Montreal. The Saturday night win clinched a playoff spot for the Flyers. The interesting statistic from the week, after spotting the Penguins a 2-0 lead on Sunday, the Flyers outscored their opponents 10-4 for the remainder of the week.

The standings didn’t change over the week. The Penguins presently hold the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference 3 points behind the 1st seeded Rangers. The Pens are still hot in spite of losing big to Ottawa on Saturday night with their backup goalie. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been on fire. The Rangers have cooled off but have managed to hold on to their lead in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. The Pens have 8 games remaining while the Rangers and Flyers have 7 each. The Flyers have 3 games this week, 2 of them at the Wells Fargo Center. Monday they host Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos is a scoring machine. He presently leads the NHL with 52 goals. The Lightning are likely out of the playoffs but could be a spoiler for the Flyers. This is a must 2 points for the Orange and Black. Thursday’s game is at Toronto against a Maple Leafs team that is also likely out of the playoffs. Again, this is another 2 points the Flyers must get. Saturday, it’s back home to “The Well” against the Ottawa Senators. The Sens are currently in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The Flyers need the 2 points in this game, but must get 1 point at the least. This weeks schedule is also favorable to the Rangers, 3 games against non-playoff teams and the Penguins, 4 games with only 1 against a playoff team, the Devils. This is a week where all three teams should gain points leading in to the final week of the season.

The Flyers continue to get outstanding play from goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. The defensive improvement can be seen every night with contributions coming from every player.  Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Read and a couple goals on Saturday night by Danny Briere have led the way on offense. (See the link to our article on our MVP Scott Hartnell.) https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/flyers-mvp-scott-hartnell/

The final week of the season is heating up to be special with every game being important in the final playoff positioning. The Flyers have a game against the Rangers and two with the Penguins. Home ice and the 4th seed would be a good landing spot at this point. Making up 5 points on the Rangers and 2 on the Pens may be too tough to do with only 7 games left in the season.

The 76ers are a mystery team. Just when you thought they might be dead and gone they whip the Celtics again in another blowout at the Wells Fargo Center. We felt that the 76ers needed to beat the last place Charlotte Bobcats to open the week, they did. They needed to beat the revived New York Knicks but lost, 82-79, before bouncing back with the big 99-86 win over Boston. The 2-1 record for the week leaves the 76ers hanging on to a 1.5 game lead over the Celtics and a 3.5 game lead over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference.

There’s no rest this week. The 76ers have 4 games in the next 7 days with no room to slip up. They open tonight in San Antonio against a very good Spurs team. They come back home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The Cavs are on the outside of the playoff picture. Friday night it’s off to Washington to play the Wizards. The Wizards have won only 11 games all season. Saturday night it’s back to the Wells Fargo Center to host the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are also a good team. They’ve actually won two more games this season than the 76ers. The 76ers need to beat either San Antonio or Atlanta as well as win the two games they should win, Cleveland and Washington, to finish the week with a 3-1 record.

The 76ers seem to be looking for answers every night. One night the leader is Elton Brand, another it’s Lou Williams, another it’s Jrue Holiday. Evan Turner seems to have disappeared as quickly as he arrived. The 76ers have played all season with balanced scoring and good defense while not overusing any player. It seems it’s time to establish who the top six or seven players will be going in to the playoffs and use them down the stretch.

Congratulations to Head Coach Doug Collins on winning his 400th NBA game against Boston on Friday night. Collins has done a real nice job with this young 76ers team. It would be good to get by the first round of the playoffs.

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Flyers MVP – Scott Hartnell

In Philadelphia Flyers on March 24, 2012 at 10:03 am

When looking at an MVP of a team it’s very easy to look at its best player, the highest scorer, highest batting average, most home runs or most yards gained. There are so many other things that go in to “Most Valuable Player”. With 8 games remaining on the Flyers schedule their regular season MVP is Scott Hartnell. As stated above, it’s very easy to select Claude Giroux. Giroux has had a fantastic statistical season tallying 27 goals, 58 assists for 85 points. He is second in the NHL in scoring behind Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, who has 95 points. “G” is also second in the NHL in assists behind Vancouver Canuck Henrik Sedin, 59. Giroux has also done everything asked of him on the power play and the penalty kill units as well. He’s truly had a great season. With 8 games remaining, Giroux scoring 15 more points to reach 100 is not unreasonable if the Flyers can find the offense that has disappeared since Ilya Bryzgalov has gotten hot and carried the team through March.

When the Flyers traded Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and lost Ville Leino to the Buffalo Sabres in free agency the big question was how would they make up for the loss of these goal scorers. The team was dealt another blow when newly named Captain Chris Pronger was lost for the season after only 13 games and the question was who would provide the leadership that is required in every locker room. The answer to both of those questions is Scott Hartnell.

In the past, Hartnell has been criticized for his sloppy play and taking “bad” penalties at the wrong times. That is in the past. In 2012 Hartnell is having his best season. After 74 games, Hartnell leads the Flyers in goals with 35, +/- rating with +22, power play goals with 15 and game winning goals with 6. He is 2nd in total points, 64, shooting percentage, 16.7% and penalty minutes, 130. All of these are career bests for Hartnell.

Hartnell is also among the NHL leaders in these categories. He’s presently 4th in goals scored and 23rd overall in points. He is ranked 15th in the NHL in +/-  and is tied for 1st in power play goals with 15.

The statistics are impressive; however, Hartnells’ leadership has stood out as much as his play. Playing on the line with Giroux and Jaromir Jagr, Hartnell has been the protector of his linemates. He still plays his “chippy” game and continues to be an irritant to all opponents. He also never hesitates to drop with the gloves with anyone. This has become more apparent as opponents have taken liberties with Giroux. Hartnell always does a good job of protecting himself and his linemates. Lay a hard check or a cheap shot on his linemates you better be prepared for a word, a hit or the gloves being dropped by Scott Hartnell.

Hats off to Hartnell for “stepping up” and filling the void left by other players. He’s had a great season!

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Flyers, 76ers Going in Different Directions

In Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers on March 18, 2012 at 9:30 am

Last week in our review we stated that the Flyers needed 6 points for the week to stay in contention. We said they would split with the Devils and they did. We said they would beat the Islanders and they did. We also said they would beat the Bruins in Boston and they didn’t. They did get a point after the shoot out lose. That totals 5 points for the week. Honestly, the one point doesn’t hurt them that much overall at this point in the season, although all points are important. What do you mean the point isn’t that important? The Penguins presently hold the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference just 2 points behind the 1st seeded Rangers. The Pens are the hottest team in the league, winning their 11th in a row last night against the Devils. Sidney Crosby is back, again, and has recorded 5 assists in the 3 games since his return. The Flyers are the second hottest team in the East and presently hold the 5th spot in the playoff picture sitting 3 points behind the Pens going in to todays matchup at the Wells Fargo Center. Unless the Flyers or Pens can take over the first spot in the East they will play each other in the first round of the playoffs with the Penguins having the home ice advantage. That’s the worst scenario for both teams, especially the Flyers. With that said, the Flyers have 11 games remaining in the regular season, 3 against the Penguins and 1 against the Rangers so there’s a lot of hockey left and a lot can happen. Looking at the upcoming week for the Flyers, all four of their games are at home and they need to win them all. Seven points is a must this week but eight should be the goal. Obviously, todays game against Pittsburgh is the key to the week and a potential 4 point swing in the standings. Tuesday the Flyers host the Florida Panthers, Thursday the Washington Capitals and Saturday the Montreal Canadians. These are all games the Flyers should and must win.

The Flyers continue to get outstanding play from goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds and the defense. Bryz set the Flyers team record this week with 249 minutes, 43 seconds of scoreless hockey. In the month of March, Bryz now holds a 7-1 record, while stopping 226 of the 235 shots he’s faced, a 96.2% save percentage. Giroux continues to be a league leader in points and is a top candidate for the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. Giroux is presently 3rd in total points with 82, behind Evgeni Malkin, 87 points, and Steven Stamkos, 84 points. He is also 2nd in the league in assists with 56, trailing Vancouvers, Henrik Sedin by 1 assist. Hartnell is presently 6th in the NHL with 33 goals. The schedule is in the Flyers favor this week and they need to take advantage of it and earn the 8 possible points.

We felt that the 76ers needed to split the week this week. We didn’t expect them to beat Miami or Chicago but we did expect them to beat the Knicks and Pacers, they didn’t. After starting the week with a nice win at Madison Square Garden for their third straight win, things went bad from there. Indiana, Miami and Chicago are all quality teams and the 76ers couldn’t compete with them. They were blown out in Indiana, 111-94, allowing the second most points in any game this season. They were blown out again by the Heat, 84-74. Don’t be misled by the final score. The 76ers were down by 29 points in the 1st half. The Heat took their foot off the throttle or could’ve won the game by 40 points. On to Chicago, who played without their best player, reigning MVP Derrick Rose and the 76ers could not compete. They did have a halftime lead but got outscored 51-36 in the 2nd half.

The 76ers still hold a 1.5 game lead in the Atlantic Division over Boston and a 4 game lead over the Knicks. They are presently the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, which they will maintain if they win the Atlantic. If Boston were to win the Atlantic the 76ers could drop down as far as the 7th or 8th seed and have to play Miami or Chicago in the 1st round of the playoffs. That isn’t the scenario they want.

The 76ers get a break this week with only three games, however, they are important. They open the week Monday at Charlotte against the last place Bobcats. They follow that with critical home games Wednesday against the Knicks and Friday against the Celtics. The 76ers must win all three games this week if they’re going to hold on to the Atlantic Division lead. There are 21games remaining in the regular season, these three are as important as any, as the 76ers try to regain some momentum and consistency going down the stretch.

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