Howie58

Well, our PP got off to its usual inept start.

Dear CTID, Earlier today I had an appointment with one of the Florida Panthers' orthopedists. Whose autographed uniform was on the examination room wall? Sergei Bobrovsky. A few weeks back we lost to the Panthers with their backup....Anthony Stolarz. You have hit on of the sore points of the Flyers over the last decade. Maybe they have learned some lessons about patience. But I am not holding my breath.

That isn't an awe-inspiring foursome. Unless we are heavy on the forecheck and keep it low-scoring, things could get rough.

Well, Sir Coots is out. So: 1) Who takes his place? 2) Sadly, does it really matter given his current level of play? Michkov, if and when he shows, will be critical. Meanwhile, is there a true number 1 or number 2 center on this squad? Maybe Frost? Cates.....don't think so. Sad.

Some of the old farts will remember when we got knocked out of playoff contention by them in 71-72. Meehan scored with a minute and change left to break a tie. It was painful. https://www.gerrymeehan.com/2012/01/historic-goal-that-made-meehan-flyer_02.html#/page/1 For that reason alone, I hope we kick their ass. That aside, they are a bit of an underachiever this year. I thought Granato has done a good job, and they have gotten some good young players. They play in a tough division. I've always liked their uniforms.

Greetings: Buffalo is favored (-135), and has taken seven of the last ten from us: https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-buffalo-odds-april-5-2024-2020729 We've split the first two games this year, with 5-1 and 5-2 scores. There isn't much difference statistically--neither team is good on the PP or faceoffs: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-phi/2024/04/05/2023021211 This is the start of an important weekend for the franchise.

Greetings: Here is a "fair-and-balanced" take that appreciates what Torts has done with a ragtag squad, but also addresses (with a TSN commentator's assessment) the reality that Torts has a tendency to blame others while not necessarily holding himself accountable: https://clutchpoints.com/flyers-news-john-tortorella-blasted-by-sportscenter-host Invoking Shakespeare, I didn't start the thread to praise or bury Torts as much as express my concern that his initial outburst seemed one-sided. He apparently sensed that the reaction to Sandstrom's performance 10 days ago was a bit unhinged, and he later apologized for it. Yesterday's presser may have been along the same lines. Torts is polarizing. I suspect we will eventually conclude that the benefits of his tenure (competitive culture) will outweigh the costs (press alienation, some hateful players). Meanwhile, we may be seeing there's collateral damage along the way. I am happy that Ranger fans don't outnumber the locals at WFC. The squad seems engaged. But some people may rightfully tune him out. After awhile, narcissism and anger grate on the nerves.

Yes, here is the internal media's take on this, with part of the speech. I wonder if this was done on his own, or with prodding from the organization? https://www.nhl.com/flyers/news/tortorella-delivers-message-for-philly-postseason-push As for his take--yes, he bears some responsibility. And I am glad to hear him say that. But he can only do much. My gut says Cam Atkinson and Coots (don't know his injury status) may not have much to give. Some of the youngins are very inconsistent. I am surprised the team is playing better than .500 hockey.

Grateful: You ask a good question. I'd say the GM and staff have to provide the clay to mold, and the coaching staff does the molding. Coaching can probably do so much. I think FD is correct--this is probably not that talented a squad. Torts can exhort, berate, whatever. But he can't perform miracles. Some of the youngins may have upside. But right now, they've been fairly silent and we are giving up about four goals a game. It may be that Torts can only do so much with this clay. It's ironic that part of our goaltending solution may be a dude drafted nearly a decade ago by a GM dismissed November of 2018. That is quite a separation between the clay provider and the clay molder. Per the earlier post, I think the author is suggesting that accountability holds for the players and the coach. As I said before, Marsh was candid about the PP. Torts doesn't like critical questions from the reporters. I would respect him if he said something like, "I know our PP has problems and I am calling in Mr. X for a new set of eyes to diagnose and fix it." But I doubt that will happen.

Mojo: As my mom would say, from you lips to God's ears. If Torts has coached them well, they understand that on any given day...Chicago or a dreg will play above their heads. They can't take anyone for granted. I am glad Ivan was thrown in. He got a great experience. We'll see how the team plays on Friday. Meanwhile, Bruce Boudreau weighed in on the Torts remarks. I would say he was not enamored with this kind of calling out.

Greetings: Here is an interesting take on Torts' characterization of the team as soft: Bailey: Tortorella's Criticism of Flyers is Unfounded (phillyhockeynow.com) One point he makes is interesting. Errson is being played at a 71-game rate. Lundquist and Bobo--two of Torts' former goalies, were seasoned and didn't do that. His other "takes" are cogent. Coots and Laughton know about playoff chasing and playoffs. That is not the case with most of the squad. Two things that are worth considering. The team's drop-off isn't recent--it has been a factor since the turn of the year and increased post-March 8th. Losing your best defensive pair via trade and injury ain't good. There's another factor--Torts is all about accountability. Fine. Why don't we hear about the incompetence of the power play? We heard about it from Marsh during Torts' suspension--Brad said it sucked. We haven't heard that from Torts. More importantly, we haven't heard about how it will be fixed. And he's been in charge for two seasons. Our lousy OT effort is another thing he didn't mention. How the hell is he training players for it? We had a bad second period. One goal was deflected off a skate of Eric Johnson. Torts had some legitimate beefs. But some might say he overdid it. More importantly from my vantage--he might want to hold himself accountable for some of our issues. Your take?

Dear Flyerdog: My understanding was that with the NHLPA's permission, they would try to dump the shootout, which seems to bother folks more than the OT. They would do that by lengthening the OT to ten minutes. When they've tried that in the minors, it gets rid of most SOs. I agree with this author's take. https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-should-eliminate-shootout-extend-overtime/ I also agree that giving three points for a regulation win and two for the OT or SO would provide some interesting incentives for close games in the third period. I couldn't find the stats, but I think that lengthening the OT ends something like 80 percent of the games. I could live with a tie. Sometimes life results in stalemate.

Yeah, this presser was painful. The game made me think about the bubble in 19-20. We barely made it through Montreal. Then we lost to the Isles. And some of the same cast is around. Nelson, Barzal. These aren't superstars. But they out hustle us and keep us bottled up. Yep. The overtime made no sense. Frost's error was only part of it. WTF was the plan? Skate in circles? I didn't sleep well, in part because of this game. I felt ashamed, almost betrayed. I think there were boos afterwards, right? Deserved.

What were we....0 for 3 on the PP? We lose Coots. They tried. But this squad is really challenged offensively. We open the scoring and fell behind 2-1 in short order. I'm amazed they got a point. Fedorov must be thankful to finally get into the Show.

The Dude is getting a real baptism of fire. OT.

The only bright spots are the Dude and Sanheim's goal. We open scoring and it's downhill from there.

Well, can they the game on a PP? I should have known better.

Wonderful!!!

Big Russian = Big Lebowsky = The Dude. He is composed and a good puck handler. Our PP is appalling beyond belief.

Well, Torts listened to us! Glad the guy is in!

Yep...scoring first is critical in the NHL.

I guess we find out in a few hours. Let's hope the Flyers open the scoring.

Here is a good take on the game: https://www.inquirer.com/sports/betting/nhl-islanders-vs-flyers-odds-pick-20240401.html These are spent teams entering with serious shortcomings over the last 10 games. Both teams will be cautious. I say start the Russkie. Per the article, our backups have been dismal. BTW, a 4.10 Goals Against after the last 10 is bad news; our 5-5 isn't too bad. We've seen it--our goalies ain't coming up with needed saves.

The dude will get an ovation when he takes the ice. We will reincarnate Nikita Kruschchev to officiate. He will use a skate to bash heads of guilty players. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nikita-khrushchev-throws-a-tantrum-at-the-united-nations

Grateful: I hope they get their bleep together tomorrow night. Watching another demolition is no fun. And for their sakes, it would be a great training to make the playoffs. I hope it hasn't become a bridge too far.