Howie58

If you believe "NHL Morning Skate" on SiriusXM, Loughlin says Laughton (say that five times in a row) is in play.  I guess stranger things have happened.   They also said that if we eat an additional 50% (25% of the 8 million), somebody might take Johansen as 3C depth.  Let's see. 

Greetings:

We enter as mild underdogs (+125):

https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-tampa-bay-odds-march-9-2024-2021843

Perhaps more importantly, we are 3-13 against them over the last 16; 4-14 out of the last 18 at Amalie.  It's fair to say they have our number in recent years.  

This is an unusual matchup between the best PP and the best PK (and worst PP):

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tbl/2024/03/09/2023021016

We've split the first two with identical 6-2 scores.  That tells me we play a tight, "Flyers Hockey" game or we get steamrollered.  This rubber match will be interesting, and I suspect we'll have a lineup similar to our win against the Panthers.  

I jumped out of my seat after Hathaway beat Bobo. Great win. The Flyers played with heart. 

Watching this reminds me of how much we need another 30+ goal scorer or two.  We can't take the war to them. We are skating well. But our few shots are from 30+ feet. Bobo will eat them up.

3 minutes ago, AlaskaFlyerFan said:

You should be at the game!

I was tempted. But going to that arena and dealing with fans who show up late, overpriced drinks, and lousy seating makes me stay away. I haven't been to a Panthers game for 4-5 years. And I used to have partial season's tickets. I sit there in a daze, not even caring what happens and glad to head home.

I've turned the audio off from the Bally Sports Florida home feed I am stuck with. The Fly Guys are game and frustrating the Cats but not getting much offense. The Panthers have tons of speed that neutralizes us.

I just saw a piece on the Hockey News about this trade.  The author contended that the Flyers might flip him and absorb another 50% of his salary.  So, someone might get a 25 point forward for 2 million.  WTF.   Waiving him within minutes is interesting.  

I agree you don't waste assets.  On the other hand, the last time I looked, round 5-7 picks have less than 40 percent chance of playing 100 or more games in the NHL.  It is about 70 percent for first and about 60 for second.  The 5-7 rounds are an undifferentiated blob.  Are we blowing something by giving up a 5th.  Yes. But it is relatively rare for this level pick to pan out long-term.  I suspect they pried it it out of us. Getting a first for someone you really weren't expecting much of is OK.  

On read is that if he wanted a first rounder, it was next year and he had to give it up.  

So, Walker is out.  Shot Blocker Specialist is on IR--probably negating a trade.  So.....will a forward move?

If I understand correctly, Nashville retained half his AAV in the trade to Colorado.  So, the hit will not too bad.  One account says he's a buyout candidate.  Here's the capgeek estimate.  How this works with salary retention is beyond me:

https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/ryan-johansen

Greetings:  

The early moneyline makes the Panthers heavy favorites (-204); we've gone 2-7 out of the last nine in Sunrise:

https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-florida-odds-march-7-2024-2019849

While we beat them 2-1 in February; the tale of the tape shows why they're a Stanley Cup contender:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-phi/2024/03/07/2023020996

We blocked 22 shots in the last matchup.  The O and B can't get into a run-and-gun with this squad.  

You wonder if the impending deadline distracts our D?

LGF

Greetings:

Update to my earlier comment--if we believe the pundits including Friedman, one of the two D bros stays, it will not be both.   

9 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:

 

Trade them both FFS!!!!

If I believe the pundits on YouTube and elsewhere, a double-deal for them will net much more.  I wouldn't mind it.  As Flyerfan said, this is a character-building year.  

Walker is an unexpectedly good asset.  Fine.  He an still go.  Overpaying Seeler, even if he brings grit and shot-blocking, is a mistake.  For all we know, this could end up as some complicated three-way gig in a cap-challenged world.  

I am exhausted by all this discussion.  Really.  I just want it over.  

This may distill to the "usual suspect" rentals versus the "core."  I could see TK go.  Age.  At peak.  What will he be in 3-5 years?  We get a first and prospect/draft and move on.  Perhaps the same for Laughton with less of a return.  If Mr. Shot Block and Walker go, fine.  The PHLY crew discussed the former yesterday.  If we pay over 1.5 or million for the dude, we are not being cap efficient.  Move him.  As for the latter--discussion of handshake deals, i.e., we move you, then you come back as a free agent, seem like BS.

Lastly--do we really have any prospects someone would want that we'd give up?  Bonk? No...other....hard to say.  

Another observation: Staal looks lost and incapable of timely plays. He really is clogging the future. Based on what I saw tonight, I doubt he is trade bait.

We got a point. If we had a functional PP, maybe two. Sad loss. 

Hayes to torment us. A goaltending clinic so far. I hope we wake up. Our penalties hurt. 

This is a chess match with no clock. Goal posts are the MVP. I like our goal. Garbage. But it was needed. 

1 minute ago, OccamsRazor said:

Ersson in net.

 

No TK again.

 

I would really like to see Attard in and let Staal make pop corn.

This signing was done under the assumption we'd be underperforming, and that having a senior around during tough times would be stabilizing.  Under current circumstances, he is taking away important development time.  Maybe somebody offers a seventh to have him around post-Friday.  

Attard is probably at the up-or-out stage.  We've been hearing about him for a few years but there is little play with the parent club.  

I'd say this is an interesting matchup of two relatively inconsistent squads with one big difference.  We are performing well above expectations.  The Blues are underperformers.  

Greetings:

The home team is a mild favorite (-130) in a matchup between two squads that have been playing so-so hockey over their last 10:

https://winnersandwhiners.com/games/nhl/3-4-2024/st-louis-blues-vs-philadelphia-flyers-prediction-5312/

These teams aren't much different statistically, with the Flyers being mildly better defensively:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-stl/2024/03/04/2023020977

We took the first matchup in January 4-2.  Let's hope for a sweep.  

That was a different epoch.  My take, sadly, is that other franchises realized this "paradigm" was over.  Our management didn't.  And we have paid dearly.  

Greetings:

The oddsmakers show the O & B as favorite (-133) with a computer-generated win probability of 57%:

https://www.playpicks.com/1262552/flyers-senators-nhl-preview-prediction-3-2-2024/

On paper, we have the better defense, they have the better offense.  Neither squad is great in the faceoff circle or on the PP:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ott-vs-phi/2024/03/02/2023020962

Ottawa has taken the first two this year, putting up five goals in both games.  Maybe it is Giroux's revenge.  After last night's embarrassment, I expect an angry Flyers squad.  On the other hand, putting a rusty (at the NHL level) backup between the pipes could spell trouble.  The scouts in-house will be telling/interesting.  

We will look back at this as a season turning point. We could have kicked them out of playoff contention. Now, it looks like we kicked ourselves in the ass.

Boy, this is hard to watch. We were dominant and now we're dominated.