Howie58

48 minutes ago, notfondajane said:

I'm not sure on that. I think in 2026 draft the Pens have 9 picks as of now. (Hopefully they will keep them.)they should have started that a few years back.  

I heard that Guentzel is to go to Vancouver for a 1st rounder, a prospect and a NHL ready player. It's a rumor. 

Thanks for the info.  I was under the impression that Pitt's draft cupboard was challenged. 

1 hour ago, notfondajane said:

This maybe true. You are still ahead of a Crosby-Malkin led Penguins team! 

Candidly, I thought this was the year we saw decline in Pitt. The Karlson signing surprised me---Does Dubas really think that core can go on forever?

39 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Hey Howie can you elaborate a little on this? I’m not sure I follow but I worry that you’re onto something.

 

I’ve been leery about Tortorella’s style all along but he’s won me over this year. Will I still be a fan of his in a year? I wonder. Anyway I’m real curious about the “head fake” you mentioned.

 

Good timing for this thread thanks for thinking of it!

Grateful:

I think Torts is an acknowledged master at extracting a lot from a talent base, particularly in CBJ, though burnout sets in:

https://thehockeywriters.com/flyers-following-path-tortorellas-successful-history/

Coaching aside--and I laud what he's done with this team--do we think the youngins we have on board will stick and grow, or will be see a multi-year churn to grow talent that may take time to nurture.  As I've said before, I think of the 2008 and 2010 runs as flukes rather than the result of a core that could deliver good play for a stretch.  Heck, Homer all but demolished the 2010 squad pretty quickly.  So I am asking if we are seeing the beginning of the New Era of Orange that takes us several levels higher in a year or two, or is this sort of solid move out of the post-AV funk, but not part of a strong and long move forward?

Greetings:

Time flies.  It's hard to imagine I just posted for Game 42.  I plead guilty to senior status--as you age, time really does seem to move faster.  Nonetheless, the fact that we're finished half the regular season is amazing.  

So, here's my take.  If you had asked me at the beginning of the season if we'd be seven games over .500 at this juncture, I'd say no.  If I recall an early post, I thought we'd be lucky to finish at .500.  Unless we really drop off, particularly after March 8th, that shouldn't happen.

But...there's the deeper question, and I am torn on it.  Are we getting a Tortorella-driven head fake that leads us to believe a rebuild is taking place?  Or are we building a foundational core of young players who will take us to elite (top 8 to 10) in the league within 2-3 years?  All too often we've felt we're at that point, but discovered we were a year or two away from being a year or two away...blah, blah.  I look at goaltending and say we're set.  D may be taking shape, and the Drysdale acquisition may really help.  But our forward corps is different.  Meanwhile, we don't have a real game changer, and as I've said before, if MM shows up, I will consider it icing on the cake.  When you look at standings in the Metro, it's a reminder that the distance between very good to excellent isn't much.   

One thing is clear--this management is candid and playing the long game.  Their handling of the Gauthier gig says a lot about their brains and commitment.  

Thoughts?

Greetings:

Fanduel is showing the Wild as favorite (-118).  Betql indicates a 54% win probability for the Wild:

https://betql.co/nhl/game-predictions/minnesota-wild-vs-philadelphia-flyers-01-12-2024

The tale of the tape isn't much different: Neither PP is stellar and the same hold for faceoffs; otherwise similar:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/min-vs-phi/2024/01/12/2023020652

Historically, we've done well against the Wild, particularly at home, where we thumped them 6-2 last October.  We are basically .500 away:

https://flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/opponent.cgi?Minnesota_Wild

I'd say this a battle between an overachiever and an underachiever.  

LGF!

Well, 33 stops 3 in SO and we take 2. Strange game in bounce/post outcomes. Glad we snagged it.

Well, JD gets an important first point and in a PP goal to boot. If I heard straight, this is the first time they've gotten PP goals in 3 straight games in over a year.

Well, it wasn't the first minute, in the first two. Then another weird one. Glad that Tippett made it close. Still, you see a very challenged Flyers offense. We aren't generating quality chances. Hopefully, it picks up.

8 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

ND comes out the lineup tonight.

I have a feeling this will happen more often in the second half.  

16 hours ago, GratefulFlyers said:

I’m glad this Gauthier mess got straightened out now, with plenty of time before the TD. By then everyone will have had a good look at Drysdale and at least some idea where/with who he fits best. Paired with Sanheim the Flyers transition game could even get better, and it’s already one of the best in the league. Of course D-men need to defend and I’m sure Tortorella and Shaw won’t be happy trading points for halfass defense, particularly from the top pair.
 

The rest of the D I expect to change considerably by the TD. As much as I love Walker and Seeler they’re both 30. Plenty left in the tank and both are a huge reason for the Flyers’ success this year. But the Flyers need younger guys who will be around for the long haul. York, Zamula are young and developing nicely. Staal will get moved if possible. And then there’s Ristolainen…

 

Whatever happens is fine with me as long as the Flyers stick to patiently rebuilding. I believe they will. Hopefully with Drysdale they filled a huge hole, one that’s not easy to fill, and only lost a kid who obviously wasn’t at all committed to representing the Flyers.

Grateful:

There's a lot on this in the cyber reality (or lack thereof).  Noah Cates' return amps up the problem.  Doing three healthy scratches a game is messy.  Stahl becomes even less relevant.  Apparently, Toronto has interest in Risto.  I'll know it when I see it.  Walker would be my first trade option.  Seeler--guy is a warrior and probably love the Flyers for giving him a chance after sitting out.  He's cheap.  But...this is a business.  

23 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

For sure. The team is playing much better than expected but it's still just starting to figure out how to manage games, how to win when they're not at their best, etc. The TD may change the roster significantly and they could fall off a cliff, miss the POs. If they do get in I guess it'll be good experience for guys like Tippett, Foerster etc. who need to see just how tight the ice gets. They thought last night was tough...and it was... but trying to advance through the POs is a whole different thing.

 

 

 

 

Yes, we see eye-to-eye on March 8th.  It may set the rebuild back short-term, but that will be a price of progress.  At a deeper level, if this team gets to the playoffs, I wonder who will be getting the experience.  We might be surprised at who departs.  And this JD acquisition might make some of the current D expendable.

Meanwhile, one day (game) at a time.  

Greetings:

The home team is favored (-170) on the basis of strong defense and goaltending.  It is predicted to be a low-scoring affair (6 goals):

https://statsalt.com/games/nhl/1-10-2024/montreal-canadiens-vs-philadelphia-flyers-prediction-5026/

Montreal is a better faceoff team, but we are better defensively:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-phi/2024/01/10/2023020635

As the handicapper notes, MTL took two of three last year.  They skate well.  Can our D and G contain them?  And will the team rebound from a sloppy game against the Pens?  Of note:  MTL has taken four of the last five at WFC.  

I will put out a thread after tomorrow's game with Montreal to see how the gang feels about the O and B after the first half. Again, there is progress. But we have a long way to go.

My take.  This is a game that shows how far we've come, and how far we need to go.  On the plus side--we skate well.  There is compete.  And I wouldn't say the Pens skated through us, which they have done quite often over the last decade.  On the down side: We can't depend on a Nic Seeler shorthanded near goal to keep us close.  We don't have distributed scoring.  A lot of our shots are 30+ feet out.  If it weren't for Hart's effort, this would have been much worse.  I am glad we picked up a promising young defender tonight, but let's face it, we really need scoring depth and one or two more Tippetts. We may be seeing the maximum effort from this squad until there's more scoring punch.  

After making outstanding saves on high quality chances, Ruwedel gets his first on a screened floater.

Well, it's done. So, who goes first? Stahl for pucks? Seeler for a third? Walker for a second? Frost + Petersen (cap goes up next year) for something? This starts dominoes?

Well, maybe they reckon MM  is low probability and they want to acquire an asset in lieu of one they may never see. It's a form of portfolio/risk management.

We are on our heels. Pitt is flying. Not good.

21 minutes ago, notfondajane said:

Philadelphia wins 6-1.

Well, we better keep them off the scoring board for the next 59 minutes.

Greetings:

Pitt enters as the mild favorite (-120) and has played well the past 10 games:

https://winnersandwhiners.com/games/nhl/1-8-2024/pittsburgh-penguins-vs-philadelphia-flyers-prediction-2572/

They are a good faceoff team with the league's best offense:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-pit/2024/01/08/2023020622

It should be interesting. 

30 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

I take it you're not a fan of Hathaway's? 

 

I didn't think that penalty was warranted, it was awarded on reputation. 

 

Markstrom is an enormous man, and he played well today. 

 

100% agree on Foerster,  great 2 way game kid, what happened to that shot? He doesn't let it go for some reason. 

 

That 2nd power play unit tries to pass the puck past the goalie and that has never worked.

I like Hathaway, but he was jabbing away to a point that was overdone.  If Calgary scored on the PP, I'd be a posted off camper.

Hathaway is not a bad add. But it looks like our PHD line is playing limited minutes, which is probably due limited scoring. I think it's under 10 for the three combined.

By the way, what's with Laughton?

I caught the third. So, let's see if I get this straight. Some Flyer idiot gets too aggressive trying to jam a puck home. TK bails out said Asshole with a game-winning shorty. Meanwhile, we double the shot total of Calgary and have a whopping two goals to show for it, continuing our outshoot but underscore tradition. Am I glad for the win? Yep. But we need to get more scoring from Frost, Foerster, and others. Shorthanded miracles won't happen daily

Greetings:

We are mild underdogs (+100) with Calgary winning 4-3:

https://www.cappertek.com/article.asp?a=flames-vs-flyers-betting-odds-free-picks-and-predictions-1-6-2024-330147

Statistically, there isn't much separating the squads:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/cgy-vs-phi/2024/01/06/2023020605

We lost 4-3 in the New Year's Eve game.  I wonder if we see a motivated Flyers squad trying to snap out of the funk, or one that plays a good opening 10 minutes and then kills itself with dump penalties and/or an incompetent PP?   The other question might be who is next in the Torts Bow Wow Section?  

Konecny 2, CBJ OT.win. We deserved to lose.  Their goals were snipes. TK's were his initiative. Morganti is right. This PP is killing them. But I wonder about our overall scoring ability. Sad.