Howie58

Well, our PP starts with its usual ineptitude!! We even take a penalty in the offensive zone. Yikes!

At what point does he cease to be Flyers "property?" If I understand correctly, at age 24, draft rights expire without a contract: https://internationalhockey.net/nhl-draft-rules-what-happens-if-a-player-doesnt-sign/ MM turned 19 on December 9th. If this agent's assertion is anywhere close to the truth, or Putin doesn't relent, or whatever, the debate becomes moot in 2028. Fans and management might be well served if they think of MM as "icing on the cake" we might acquire, but plan otherwise. If I were Flyers management, there wouldn't be any picks from the Russian Federation or Belarus, and even trading for those players may be high risk.

As my mom would say, "from your lips to God's ears." We've taken four of the last six with a less competent Flyers team. Back-to-back games. Hope they avoid jet lag!

Greetings: Vancouver is the favorite (-168) and a 63% win probability. https://www.dratings.com/predictor/nhl-hockey-predictions/b5a5aee5-fa77-5463-9a8f-9d828681f12a Both teams are playing great hockey over the last 10, but the Canucks have been even stingier on D than the Flyers, and they score 3/4 of goal higher on average: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-van/2023/12/28/2023020543 We won the first game in Philly 2-0. On paper, this is a tough matchup for us.

I don't fault Briere and Company for swinging for the fences. But even they must have realized that politics will trump (no pun) IIHF rules, which is what we saw with Fedotov. The Russians are responding to our economic sanctions by withholding their talent. I agree with Rux--this should be no surprise. I wonder how many Russian or allies we will draft in the future? Belarus is pseudo-independent of Moscow. I bet they hold Kolosov from coming over. I gave a MM a 50% chance of wearing our uniform down the road. Now I am at .33.

Part of me says they take too long to decide on what shoot or pass. The defense can keep its box through adjustment. That leads to low-chance lobs from corners or the outside out necessity.

Kind of disappointing end, but they keep fighting. Now a question: What if this team could score a power play?

Getting a point is cool given after 5-1. Who gets the 2nd?

Strange game, respect team for fighting back.

Carter Hart = Michael Leighton

Well, if nothing else, this team has sunk. They didn't give up.

Well, they did!

This is their worst period of the year. System Failure. I can't imagine what Torts is saying or doing in the locker room!

Greetings: The O and B are underdogs (+116). The Wings are not playing good hockey, but this handicapper doesn't like us on the back-to-back: https://pickdawgz.com/nhl-picks/2023-12-22/flyers-vs-red-wings-prediction-nhl-picks This is a matchup with a sound D going up against a fairly good offense: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-phi/2023/12/22/2023020510 It could be another goaltending display. LGF!

But we're good!

Well, I caught the 3rd and OT. Sweet swipe. Are seeing the new Parent Favell tandem? Poehling is cost-effective. This squad doesn't back down!!

Yeah, it's interesting. If I recall, Nashville is even-matched at home and away. Other series it is clearly a home series. This may be one of the few teams with such an overall bad differential. Yes, Newark hasn't been kind.

Greetings: The O and B are hometown favorites (-125). As it stands, this is a match up of two similar squads: https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/nashville-predators-philadelphia-flyers-2023122115/?fr=sycsrp_catchall Historically, this is a close matchup, but a:) We do better at home; and b:) we did better against them in their early years (no surprise): https://champsorchumps.us/team/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/head-to-head/nashville-predators We lost in overtime (3-2) in Nashville on the 12th. I suspect another close game. Do we keep the mojo?

Greetings: The bookies show NJ as the favorite (-208), which seems stretched: https://betdecider.com/picks/new-jersey-devils-vs-philadelphia-flyers-betting-preview-money-lines-players-info-12-19-2023/ Both teams have taken seven of their last ten, but the stats (offense, PP, and faceoffs) say the Devils are a superior squad: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-phi/2023/12/19/2023020487 We do not play well against this team, particularly on their turf: https://flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/opponent.cgi?New_Jersey_Devils Lindy Versus Torts

Pods, I really don't know. Maybe if we eat salary. What we gave up for him...yikes. That will never be recouped. But the dude hits. Someone may bite. Remember, the cap goes up 4.2 million next year...

You are right. I think Briere knows the score. And he probably understands that The Process will go nowhere unless the team culture develops along with talent. I think we are seeing that happen in a positive way. This will be an interesting March 8th, though we could see things happen beforehand. The one drawback might be what I said in a post earlier this year--we might see a decline in play once assets go, particularly for picks. But that is short-term pain. We see.

Points in eight straight games is not something I expected from this season. I should have greater appreciation for a goaltending clinic. Kudos to Risto for what looked like a very good game. He was knocking into people (cutting Fabbri), using his stick to break up plays--good effort.

This is marginally watchable. Husso is amazing, Erssson is great. Neither team masters consistent O. Risto is playing well. But it's boring.

The PP is truly inept. The PK masks it. But it still hurts.

I saw Torts' pre-game presser. Sam is back in. When a reporter asked who's back-up, the reply was "you," followed by "I don't know." I'm not sure if that means Carter Hart is still sick, Sandstrom is still back up, or if someone else has been called up. I thought it was a legitimate question that Torts brushed off with contempt that was uncalled for.