Howie58

Grateful: They are playing good hockey. Their roster doesn't strike me as a bunch of name-brand players. But they're doing something right, despite playing in a mini-facility and wondering if relocation is part of their future--which makes free agent signings very tough. I remember their Dave Tippett days. Very defensively oriented, almost old-style Devils hockey. They did well for a few years. I guess they are moving out of obscurity.

Greetings: The NHL Salary Cap will go from $83.5 million to $87.7 million next season: https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-salary-cap-expected-to-rise-for-2024-25-season Four million doesn't add a superstar. But it does allow for one more mid-ranger or increments to others in the lower rungs. From the 30,000 foot perspective, the league is out of the Pandemic Funk and I suspect the multiple TV contract approach has probably helped more than hurt.

Greetings: We enter the game as mild underdog (+123): https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-arizona-odds-december-7-2023-2017409 The tale of the tape says Arizona is a better offensive squad with a top-flight PP: https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-arizona-odds-december-7-2023-2017409 Arizona is on a five-game winning streak against the immediate prior Stanley Cup Champs, including a 6-0 clobbering of the Caps. Their starting goalie, Connor Ingram, is having an amazing season. My read is that their GM, Bill Armstrong, has made some good "1B" free-agent signings that complement some youngins and vets. This will be an interesting matchup.

Well, your wait may be over!

Hart with a gem. I loved the pass behind goal to TK. Morganti is right...a character win.

Yessssss.....

Can we overcome our historical legacy?

Foerster can shoot! A thing of beauty!!

Grateful: I would be torn on this if GM. I think the question is what price will we pay to keep Hart? I think that if it goes north of 5.5 to 6, and longer than 3-4 years, he may be trade bait. That is one armchair GM's opinion.

I couldn't agree more. It makes for a tough management call. Do we give Sir Hart a contract for x years and declare that we might have a really good goaltending tandem. Or does Hart become more "expendable," on the assumption he gets quite a lot in return, and we build another tandem? Tough call, with pros and cons on either outcome. For this franchise to have that worry....a milestone. Five years ago we broke the record with eight different goalies in action. Drafting a goalie stockpile may be paying dividends.

Despite the Saturday win, the O and B are still underdogs (+112) despite the fact that Pitt doesn't do well as the favorite: https://www.fanduel.com/research/penguins-vs-flyers-nhl-prediction-point-spread-over-under-and-betting-trends-for-12-4-2023 I guess Crosby and Company command more bookie respect, despite their age. Will the O and B build on Saturday and aim for a sweep, or will Pitt come out with a vengeance? Our goalie choice will be interesting.

They didn't make it easy on themselves. Almost biblical...I love stopping Crosby in the SO.

Well, Laughton woke me up! Can they take the war to Pitt?

You gotta feel for Ersson. Two strange goals. We aren't playing badly. But most of our shots are softies.

We are offensively neutered. We just had a good flurry but can't put the puck in the net. One goal could decide this game. This looks like a flat offense on both sides.

Well, at least the Pens didn't open the scoring....yet. Our shots aren't very challenging. So, what else is new?

Occ: You'd reckon that at least one or two of the youngins would take the reins on it. I wonder if they are afraid of the Wrath of Torts? We knew going into the year that the squad might be fair-to-middln offensively. Nope.

Earlier today I wondered if we are approaching a league record? Is is bad luck or absence of scoring talent? I don't buy into the crap about "getting off to bad starts." A combination of talent and coaching style is leading to this.

Greetings: Pitt is the favorite, (-150) despite very similar records. The Pens are 7-2-1 versus Philly over the last 10, and particularly good against us at home: https://statsalt.com/games/nhl/12-2-2023/philadelphia-flyers-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-prediction-4333/ Stats are interesting. On PP and PK, the squads are virtually identical. But faceoffs and offense go to Pitt: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-pit/2023/12/02/2023020363 I hate to say it, but this may boil down to whether we can score first. So far, that's the only way we win. We need to keep Crosby off the board...he kills us.

This will get increasingly tough to watch for the reasons we've discussed. I suspect this squad is near the maximum effort. Yes, the youngins may improve. But the collective talent isn't there. The trade deadline may actually set us back depending on lost assets. We desperately need a real first line. We are shortening Coots' career. He should be number 2. But I can't figure out that line with current staff.

Well, this is a game that highlighted team effort and the absence of talent. We kill off a 5-minute penalty (hockey justice given the call) and muster nearly 50 shots. But our PP is more passing than shooting, the Devils out-chance, and our OT (as usual) is pretty inept. Quality first round picks make a difference.

Hart is not at the top of his game. Our PP passes a lot, but no shots. Awful.

Well, can we overcome the first goal curse? We have to or the game is over.

Greetings: The Devils are favored (-150), despite being something of an underperformer and lower in the Metro standings: https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils-philadelphia-flyers-2023113015/?fr=sycsrp_catchall This is the first meeting this year. We split last year's meetings (2-2). On paper, this is NJ's offense versus our defense: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-phi/2023/11/30/2023020344 Hopefully, the Carolina game is mentally erased.

Greetings: Carolina is favored (-165). Meanwhile, we have split the series this season with a pair of one-goal decisions. On paper, Carolina is a far better squad: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/car-vs-phi/2023/11/28/2023020328 If past is prologue, we can't allow more than 2-3 goals and expect to win. We can't get into a shoot-em-up with Carolina--probably any team for that matter. It's a good test to begin the second quarter. Don't forget--this is a "streaming" game.