eleven24

I just don't get it.  The PP goal for the Flyers was the result of Ghost faking a pass in the NZ and then carrying it in to the half wall and finding a cross ice seam pass.  Creativity.  When he got the crumbs of the last PP there he was down behind the net, pulled the puck out front and had a chance.

I love Provy, but my God if AV can't see the dimension Ghost adds to the PP I don't know what he's looking at.

Maybe Ghost kicked AV's dog at the team BBQ or something.

1 minute ago, CoachX said:

this isnt real, is it?

The fact that you think it might be says everything we all think about the Montreal Canadiens.

Wow.  Just... wow.

46 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Provy has a very nasty wrister the problem is he doesn't seem to want to use it...he prefers the slow wind up give em time to get in the lane slapper.

 

That to me is where the lack of creativity comes in but he isn't alone most of them don't trust their wrist shots but when they get some traffic down low that is what the need so someone can pounce on the rebounds...because Price does spit em out from time to time.

The point of the d-man shooting shouldn't be to score.  It's to get the puck on net, look for a rebound, deflection, or generate the scoring chance.  Provorov shoots like he's trying to rip it through everyone in his way and into the net when more often a carefully placed wrister will create a scoring opportunity.  This is where Ghost excels.  He will fake a shot skate make a move and then throw it at the net when nobody expects him to.

If you remove the injury and take the exact same motions of Gallagher on Niskanen and then Niskanen on Gallager, they're identical.  Both a hard 2 handed cross check.  Both were intended to be hard 2 handed cross checks to the back.  Only difference, Gallagher spun as the hit was coming, and he's at Niskanen's chest height.

Embarrassing for Montreal fans considering far more of them have played the game than not.  Take off the bleu et rouge glasses and stop whining.

30 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

@eleven24

I think Ghost's shot is better too.

I think he's more accurate and his shot is heavier than Provorov's.

Unless there is something we don't know to look for, that's entirely possible, it seems like a no-brainer if Ghost is in the line up he should be on PP 1.

 

I wonder if he's in the line up though?

Does AV go with Friedman ( a right hander) have him play with Provorov? that keeps 2 pairs the same and most importantly to me, keeps Myers and Tall Travis together. 

I don't know what I'd think about a Myers-Provorov top pair, they could potentially play 30 minutes. But then you're still having 2 "unfamiliar " d-pairings. I also don't know how much having the rightie/lefty thing matters to the coaches.

 

The other benefit of Ghost being on the PP is that the PK unit stretches out a bit more to try to take away his time & space.  That opens up the middle for those Giroux seam passes.  With Provorov I think PK's are content to just let him shoot the puck or dish to the half wall.

3 hours ago, jammer2 said:

Lateral movement at the point creates clear shots and or passing lanes. We need Ghost at the point and somebody besides G that will shoot!!

Been saying this for quite awhile now.  If Ghost is in the lineup there's no way Provorov should be running the PP.  Provorov is machine like and very predictable.  You know if he's moving to his left and there's no shooting lane he's passing the puck to the half wall.  Makes him easy to defend and the entire PP very predictable.  Take away the point shot, then collapse down and defend against the half wall.

With Ghost, you have no idea what he's going to do.  If he's moving to his left with the puck and there's no shooting lane, he's going to cut back right, shoot off his wrong foot while doing so, pass left, pass right... he's so difficult to defend because he is creative and has the quickness to do it in the blink of an eye.

Yes, Ghost is not great defensively, but he's not horrible.  He's exactly what the PP needs.

Knowing the Canadiens, I would not be surprised at all to suddenly find Gallagher a last minute addition to the lineup tonight.

Perhaps he broke his jaw constantly running it from the bench after losing a chicklet.

13 hours ago, Poulin20 said:

correct he did the first time around however when he came back in 2013 he donned the #9.

 

 

Totally forgot Knuble came around a 2nd time.  The Flyers could assemble an entire team of reacquired players.  Perhaps that's another list...

22 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I'm just trying to stoke my Captain.

 

If you can't bring it now. We i need then we'll i don't need you.

 

Time to answer the call to arms...

Exactly.  Legacies are made by what one does in the playoffs.  Briere is one player who comes to mind.  Earned every penny the Flyers paid him, just from his playoff performance alone.

1 hour ago, CoachX said:

#9 - the one and only miroslav dvorak

 

damn, i miss that guy

You can't mention him without saying Miroslav "Cookie" Dvorak.

I'll also add

Bob Kelly... Eklund...DiMaio...Upshall...

STEVE DOWNIE!

49 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I'm pretty sure Giroux isn't lacking perspective. 

 

Not sure why you're fishing for an argument here.  Giroux has been invisible, and not just on the score sheet.  Where's the guy who laid out Crosby to start the game a few years back?  Where is that intensity?  When was the last time you saw Giroux do ANYTHING that made you think, damn he's fired up?

Meanwhile, you have a guy who fought his ass off to just get on the ice at practice and would run through a wall to get into a game.  Giroux might not be lacking perspective, but perhaps he needs a different perspective.

*ASSUMING* Patrick and Lindblom are healthy.... Hypothetically, does a lineup with Konecny, Farabee, NAK, Patrick, Lindblom, Coots, Hayes & Laughton provide you with enough that the idea of moving Giroux and/or Voracek is something to entertain?  G will be 34 when his contract is up, and he's exactly the kind of player the Flyers would've traded for at the deadline a decade ago.  Might be worth seeing what kind of youth and/or draft picks G could bring in return today, knowing a 2-3 year deal bringing him to age 37 at a high cap hit isn't a wise thing to do.

Voracek is a different story, he's signed through age 36, but that doesn't mean he also can't be moved.  If G is moved, perhaps keep Voracek for a year or two, but at that point I'd consider moving him as well, especially if he's taking ice time from anyone in the Under-25 group of today.

Moving Giroux and somehow JVR is $15M of cap space that could be used for Hart, Myers, NAK and Patrick this summer.  Personally, I think there's more upside with Ghost than there is with Giroux.  Give Ghost another year while Niskanen is still under contract and see if he can regain what he had in year 1.  If he can, he would be the OLDEST d-man at 28 among Provorov, Sanheim, Hagg, Morin and Myers.   If we're talking about building from the goal out, the Flyers could be set for a decade.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not down on Giroux.  Or Voracek.  Successful teams in any sport don't let emotional ties to players come in the way of sound decisions. Giroux is past his prime, and still good enough that the Flyers could get a nice return on him.  

Carter Hart is the anchor of this franchise, for hopefully a decade to come.  Let's focus on youth and use whatever we can to bring in more of that young talent that will be contributing in 4-5 years from now.

Under 25 (13 players, $25.9M):

F-Konecny, 23 (5.5 through 24-25)

F-Farabee, 20 (925k through 21-22)

F-Aube-Kubel, 24 (700k RFA)

F-Patrick, 21 (925k RFA)

F-Lindblom, 24 (3.0 through 22-23)

F-Frost, 21 (863k through 21-22)

F-Ratcliffe, 21 (780k through 21-22)

D-Provorov, 23 (6.75 through 24-25)

D-Sanheim, 24 (3.25 through 20-21)

D-Hagg, 25 (1.15 RFA)

D-Morin, 25 (700k through 20-21)

D-Myers, 23 (678k RFA)

G-Hart, 22 (731k through 20-21)

25-30 (5 players, $19.2M)

F-Hayes, 28 (7.142 through 25-26)

F-Couturier, 27 (4.3 through 21-22)

F-Laughton, 26 (2.3 through 20-21)

F-Pitlick, 28 (1.0 UFA this year)

D-Gostisbehere, 27 (4.5 through 22-23)

Over 30 (4 players, $17.8M)

F-Giroux, 32 (8.275 through 21-22)

F-Voracek, 31(8.25 through 24-25)

F-van Riemsdyk, 31 (7.0 through 22-23)

F-Raffl, 31 (1.6 through 20-21)

D-Niskanen, 33 (5.75 through 20-21)

D-Braun, 33 (3.8 UFA)

1 hour ago, mojo1917 said:

Has G been whining about things being bad ?

I missed that.

 

 

 

No, Giroux isn't whining at all.  I'm sure though he would admit he's "gripping the stick too tight".  Oskar could put a little perspective on what stress and pressure really are.

Oskar should just plop down in the locker room next to Giroux and say "So, things been going tough for you, eh?"

And then walk away.

Who was the Montreal player that spun around, turned his stick so both hands were on it and went to engage the Flyers player by using his stick up at his face?  I'm multitasking here at work and my brain is fried... so can't remember who it was.

That and the little pat on top of Hart's helmet after the goal is why enforcers were in the lineup in the past.  It keeps the disrespectful little punks in their place.

Oh, and Max Domi could have put up 50 goals this year, but I can't see him as anything but Tie's kid.

With Ghost likely to be back in the lineup tonight, AV needs to let Ghost be Ghost and put him on PP1 instead of Provorov.  While Provorov is the better player, he's too rigid.  Too structured on the PP.  Ghost is creative and dynamic.  Sure, that can cost you at even strength, but we saw what Ghost can be & it's an offensive energy the Flyers could use on the PP

2 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

I have to agree with you but to not single out the heartless uninspired leader on the ice is interesting...making over 8 mill a season and seems by his play he would rather be anywhere but in Toronto....i mean AV has already dropped him to the 3rd line and still haven't seen an improvement in his desire and hustle sure i know his skills are eroding but he still has his speed but he just isn't using it.

I pointed out Voracek because his carelessness with the puck was noticeable.  I'd have said the same about Giroux, but I can't remember any time in this series that he's actually had possession of the puck long enough to even make a bad play.  Can't remember any Giroux hit, seeing him in hard on the forecheck, or being any kind of presence.  The only recollection I have of Giroux is at the top of the left circle on the PP, missing the net with shots or trying to thread the cross ice pass through too many defenders.

Honestly, I'm tired of key moments in games arising waiting for the Captain to lift his team up.  I know it's not happening.

I think it's time to trade G and Voracek.  Just roll with the youth.

I know Voracek accounted for the scoring last night, but he also caused the SHG by giving MTL the puck with the blind backhand toss to the middle of the ice after missing G's cross ice pass, wiped out a PP with a penalty, and ended at least 2 offensive zone pressures being careless with the puck.

It's great that he scored, but it's certainly not a case of finally being rewarded with goals for his strong play.  On top of that, I had to hear Clement keep telling me Voracek "was dancing" on his skates.

Maybe that's why he kept giving the puck up.

14 hours ago, CoachX said:

REPORTED!

I object to the nature of the being REPORTED on the grounds that I did clearly mention "eliminated on his birthday".

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I agree.

 

 

 

 

I was killing some time watching Letterkenny.  Now I'm ready

Is it just me, or has it been 6:00 forever now

3 hours ago, Podein25 said:

7 - Bill Barber

 

Fun Fact: He was drafted 7th overall. I wonder if that's why he wore #7 or if it was a number he wore in Jr.

Fun fact, I had no idea Sidney Crosby’s birthday was August 7.  8/7.  Found this out when the Pens were eliminated, on his birthday

2 hours ago, CoachX said:

8 - THE HAMMER!

      Mark Recchi

 

no need to mention anyone else

How dare you forget the GREAT Shawn Antoski!  Which I thought was a disgrace that he took it almost as soon as Recchi left

I can't help but see Hart in the same way as I did Pelle.  Really, since Parent, Pelle & Hextall were the only legit goaltenders who were home grown corner pieces.  Boucher had his moments, but was never that rock back there.  Bobrovsky would've been the next one, but he unfortunately existed during the time when the Flyers repeatedly traded youth away for veterans in the hope of a single playoff run. 

So yeah, all of these years has created a goaltender cynic in me, which is why I'm having a hard time letting myself believe we have our goaltender for the next decade.  When you think he's also surrounded by a stud farm of young d-men, it almost seems too good to be true.

And to think what we're seeing right now is because of ole #27

EDIT: Just looked at some goaltending stats.  When you scan down the GP column, it's staggering that for a franchise with the history of the Flyers it's Hextall at 489 games played, Parent at 486... and the next highest is Steve Mason at 231... Peeters 179, Boucher 174.

It's no wonder there hasn't been a Cup since the BSB era