GratefulFlyers

I won’t lie to ya…you and anyone else who believes keeping Seeler and Laughton was for this year’s playoffs is just wrong. I would’ve been very happy if both were traded but not for peanuts, i.e. not a 2R pick. These 2 players probably more than any others on the roster play the game exactly how Tortorella wants the Flyers to play. Knock that, say Tortorella’s an idiot etc. or that his vision (along with Jones and Briere’s) will never produce a championship. But that would be speculation. Not right not wrong just an opinion. Me I don’t have an opinion about the direction Briere’s going. I like it, I hope it works but only time will tell.

Yeah the “kids line” excited everyone last year but after Chytil went down early this season they’ve come back to Earth a bit. The Flyers forward group is looking good and forwards are always easier to acquire anyway. They need a top line center but for now, next year the forwards are fine. It’s the D….and now goaltending too…that needs a serious infusion of talent. And soon. edit: by my count it’s Sanheim, York and probably Drysdale who are legitimate top 4 D-men. Seeler who I adore () should eventually be a 3rd pair guy. The rest, who knows if they make it as NHL players.

I don’t follow prospects as closely as others but it looks to me like Briere will be forced to do some “reaching” this year.

So compared with the Rangers you’d have to say the Flyers are about even… Yep you nailed it. Those were the main players I was thinking anbout especially Panarin. Also K’Andre Miller, a late 1R pick. To be fair the Rangers did pick 1st and took Lafrieniere and then 2nd the year after (or before?) and got Kaapo Kakko. Kakko’s stock may have fallen a bit this year supposedly Drury was shopping him but he’s a real good player.

Nobody will use it as an excuse but reality is reality. Seeler has been playing real good hockey for the Flyers this year. With him in the lineup the whole dynamic on the ice changes. Enough to beat the Leafs last night? Who knows but an honest appraisal you have to think "maybe." The Flyers have relied on playing a tight structured team D this year, forcing TOs, quick transitions to offense. That structure is totally out of whack right now. Maybe they can get it back before they drop out of the POs. We'll see.

For sure. The question is...is it impossible? Can a team win the Cup w/out stripping assets first so as to pick 1st or 2nd? The Rangers may but they caught some huge breaks the past few years. The Flyers probably can't expect to duplicate their success. I'm not convinced "tanking" is the only path. Assets are bought and sold all the time. Maybe not the overall 1st pick but just about anything else. Briere will have to be creative on draft day...if not this year then next year.

We should discuss that sometime ... lol Will it make much of a difference? AFAIK they won't make the lottery even if they lose every remaining game but I could be wrong. Isn't the lottery just for the bottom 10 teams? Briere needs to be creative at the draft. I'm sure Celebrini is off the table probably Levshunov too (RHD) but maybe he can trade a few picks - he's got 9 this year, 2 in 1R - to move higher. Fans who follow Juniors, College etc. can tell us if it's worth doing this year, or maybe better to wait till next year when the draft is supposed to be deeper? He does. Last night he only gave up 1 bad goal but it was a real bad goal - screened by Sanheim but the shot came from above the circles... He hasn't played 2 bad games in a row all year. Now suddenly he gets pulled in 2 out of the last 3... tired for sure.

take 2: The Leafs have star power and were missing Marner. The Flyers don't have any stars. The 4 D-men they're missing are not stars. Conclusion: mismatch. not sure how that implies the rosters are equal ... isn't it clear I'm saying exactly the opposite?

Sums it up pretty well I think. The one thing about the games coming up is that the Flyers played all year with a set of D-men who are no longer in the lineup. Walker got traded the other 3 are hurt. With Walker, Seeler and Drysdale they beat some good teams this year, beat them convincingly. Now without those 3 it's getting ugly fast... Ersson struggling to play well feels like it could be the final nail, shutting the door to their PO hopes this year.

Yeah Matthews took off as soon as the Leafs got control - Johnson had no chance keeping up with him. I cut Johnson some slack; not many D-men can match Matthews stride for stride when he's already in 3rd gear coming across the red line. Foerster with the shorty...always nice to see! Sanheim nice assist. Still a minute to go... only 4 goals to OT...

well they get another shot at the Leafs Tuesday night in Philly again. 6-1 blown out at home always sucks. It's more about a team missing 1 star player out of 3 or 4 more while the other is missing 4 of their top 6 D-men and those 4 are hardly star players. A classic mismatch. edit: and Samsonov outplayed Ersson and Sandstrom combined.

well that sucks give Matthews a clear land and he's almost automati - OMG I can't even finish typing about their 4th and they score again. Unreal.

wow a PP goal by the Flyers? okay...chip away. Leafs built an early lead in Toronto and had to go to OT for the win. oh great now Couturier throws it over the glass...beautiful. Leafs' PP is ... kinda good. like 2nd best in the league.

I take that back...Staal just let Bertuzzi skate past him to the net - nice pass across = 1-0. The 2nd one was the lucky bounce. And the 3rd the less said the better. meanwhile these 2 ESPN talking heads in the studio sound like they're watching their first NHL game

first 2 were fortunate bounces for the Leafs ... the 3rd one...aye carumba

guess I don't need to imagine - Deslauries is a healthy scratch. edit: btw the streameast link didn't open so I googled it and found a streameast that works perfect.

I hear ya. I have cable and Center Ice but the price has gone down quite a bit the last few years. Also now they're showing the pre-game studio stuff and the post-game wrap up/presser. Thankfully this is the last "streaming-only" Flyers' game this season.

I can’t imagine he’d sit Deslauriers. Not that Reaves will shy away from running anyone but at least Tortorella’s got an answer in the lineup. Thanks @Cheesesteak and @OccamsRazor fingers crossed https://the.streameast.app/nhlstreams does the trick. In my experience they all connect but I’ve never been able to watch an entire game with just one. Here's a couple more I had luck with occasionally: https://thesportsurge.net/nhlstreams/schedule https://www.vipleague.la/hockey-sports-stream First click they usually open a new window and take you to some b.s. Try a few times eventually you'll get game links.

Damn another streaming-only game? What a PITA fiddling with those sketchy websites… This one I really want to see too. Marner is day-to-day but the Flyers will have their hands full regardless. They need to keep winning on home ice…bring back the “Philly flu” …

@Howie58 good lord what made you think of those 2? What I remember most about Hatcher when the Flyers signed him was one word: Now? Nothing against the guy he had a fine career with Dallas but like a lot of Holmgren’s acquisitions long past his prime when the Flyers got him.

@OccamsRazor Yeah I appreciate his honesty too. A PP that scores above 12% would be better... Who's running the Phantoms' PP? Didn't you post recently that they'd been tearing it up lately? Somebody has got to get the Flyers' PP working. It doesn't matter this year but eventually it will - can't keep wasting them the way the Flyers do. I keep saying Joe Mullen - last time I looked there was nothing current about him online. Never mind I found him...coaching a 3ICE league team - at least he was last year I didn't read the whole thing...Team Mullen. Go figure. https://thehockeywriters.com/3ice-league-best-part-of-hockey/

That's the story right there - why it was so close. 6 penalties in the first 30 minutes...Sharks' PP is their one bright spot and scored twice. Flyers took no penalties in the 3rd. Tippett's GWer was a beautiful set play. Tippett said he and TK made eye contact while Tippett was high in the zone and took it from there. Flyers had 6 on 5 on the delayed Sharks' call so maybe a seam like that isn't there - or closes quickly - 5 on 5. But those 2 have some magic together. Couturier centering them is a good line but eventually...the Flyers need a top-line center.

@flyercanuck Thanks for elaborating on the "choice" thing... got ya. Maybe the Senior Advisors are still directing traffic, whispering in Briere's ear. It seems to me that crew is out of the decision-making process since you never hear from them. But that could be by design... Nobody has to tell Briere what it means to fall this-short of winning the Cup. That alone doesn't make a good GM but hopefully it's important to his process. He's clearly rejected the "blow it up" path and I agree that makes it tougher to build a Cup winner. Tougher but maybe not impossible. That's really all I got - faith, hope - that he and Jones aren't trying the impossible.

So trading a 4th for Johnson means “we want to make the POs” and that’s a bad thing? C’mon you know how many injuries the Flyers are dealing with on their back end. They were at emergency callup level until somebody joined the team. They needed another D-man, POs or no POs. I don’t minimize the value of draft picks regardless what round. A 4th for Johnson made good sense to me. But maybe you’re talking more about the overall direction you see Briere taking the team…?

That is one goofy graph…lol sorry nothing personal …. e.g. Frost’s “Offense” was real good but his “On-Ice Offense” not so much.