SoCalFlyfan

-Hitchcock can devise a pretty darn good system .... I miss those days.

I just think having speed like we do is better suited to playing strong in the neutral zone and capitalizing on the transition as opposed to dump and chase with Matt Read and Couturier getting worked over in the corners like we do. Maybe we're not on the same page, but to me we're playing more dump and chase without the size to back it up. As a result, we have too many guys engaged in to offensive zone to help out which leads to the 15 or so odd man rushes we seem to give up every game with only one guy back.

You pretty much nailed it right there. Still, I'm not comfortable winning games like we did in Long Island where we squeak by after being badly outplayed, or last night on a few of those ridiculous turnovers and BOB bailing us out. Maybe it's working but I'd prefer to have a goals against like the Rangers do at the expense of a little offense.

Everyone here knows who the #1 goalie should be. Case closed. Still, according to Lavi, Snider, and Homer Bryz is the main guy. We all know Lavi HAS to say this, because if he says otherwise it makes Snider and Homer look like fools. But as a coach he's in a catch -22. If he plays Bryz the majority of the time he will lose his job because we'll suck...and in Philly when teams suck the coach takes the fall. If he says BOB is his starter he'll lose his job for not following orders and making mgmt look like idiots for signing Bryz (which they are). In the end Lavi is dancing the line playing BOB enough to keep the team winning and playing Bryz enough to make Snider happy. However, there's a big elephant in the room and someone from mgmt needs to step in and say that BOB is the better goalie right now and that the coach needs to play the better goalie. Other issues: I believe this 'run and gun' offensive system Lavi has them playing was devised with the hopes that Bryz would bail them out the majority of the time. But now we know that's not the case, yet Lavi still has them playing like this. I don't know about you but I'm just not comfortable having to put up 4+ goals a night to stay in games. I watched the replay of the Rangers/Winnipeg game and Tortorella has the Rangers playing the complete opposite style. They have the skill up front, but choose to play from the back end out in an almost 1-1-3 formation while we play a 3-1-1. Add Lundkvist to that system and they are almost unbeatable in a 7 game series at this point. So my question is, are we playing the right system with the personnel we have ? I'm not so sure.

....because of the american, tim thomas.

the white house is the dirty, slimy symbol of all our country's problems (aside from california). +1 for tim thomas for not feeling obligated to pretend being 'honored' by obama's presence.

@RonJeremy - simmonds is a decent player and is having a good year, but there is nothing about wayne simmonds game that would lead me to believe he needs to be taking shootout attempts. i'm not sure what lavi was thinking there. i would have went with zolnierczyk or someone that has more than 1 move . the shootout is not about rewarding a player as much as it is about actually having a chance to win a game.

lavi should have inserted BOB in there for the shootout. bryz has not stopped ONE shootout attempt this year.

this reminds me of a hollywood director trying to cast the girl he wants as the lead in his film. she's a much more talented actress, a perfect fit for the role, but not well known. the producer comes in, slams the door behind him and tells the director that if he wants to still direct this movie he will have to cast cameron diaz. end of discussion. the director then casts cameron diaz and tells the media that she was his first choice along . .....6 months later the movie is released, does well the first week, then bombs with an average score of 38% on 'rotten tomatoes'.

@flyercanuck -totally agree. i would prefer building a team like nashville from the back end out rounded with younger forwards who work hard with a a couple stars like giroux and couturier thrown into the mix. i like our forwards for the most part aside from briere and jvr. i like guys like talbot who aren't the most skilled but bring it every shift along with harry z, rinaldo, read, schenn, simmonds, etc. -it's easier to swallow a mediocre season when you have a bunch of kids with potential fighting for roster spots as opposed to 5 and 6 mil. albatross contract guys who get paid regardless of the effort they give every night. anyway, for the 21million we'll have invested in briere,jvr,bryz, and pronger you could buy about 10 maxime talbots or 20 matt reads and still have a #1 goalie (bob) and a serviceable defense.

@flyercanuck -that was the most depressing post i think i've ever read on a flyers forum. the sad thing is there's nothing any of us can do about it. even worse, when you think about it we have roughly 17 million wrapped up in players who are not making a difference whether we win or lose every night (bryz,pronger,briere)..and if you want to throw in jv'rs 4.5 million next year that's roughly 21.5 million in salary that potentially does nothing to determine an outcome of a game.

@idahophilly -really, any player who feels like taking a few weeks off can just say they're "not feeling themself lately" and "i think i may have been hit in the head at some point, but i'm not sure" and almost instantly the 'concussion' 911 team' come from every direction to comfort the player. sure, concussions are real..but i really think teams are liberally using the label for insurance purposes to protect them in the long run against players who claim long term damages because they were not properly diagnosed.

matt read needs to get off the fourth line for one thing. He's been one of our best players and has been buried there since schenn came back into the picture. 3 & 4 lines should be: read / schenn / simmonds zolnierczyk / couturier / wellwood or rinaldo

-thinking like this is what gets homer in trouble. the only way homer can get the guy he wants before he hits the market is to dangle a 7 year deal with a no trade clause. that's homer as a gm in a nutshell. that's fine if all you care about is getting the guy you want and not letting him sign with someone else, but realistically that's what gets us into cap trouble. this makes it impossible to move pieces around when the only guys that can be traded are 4th liners and 5/6 defenseman who don't really effect the cap anyway.

@doom88 -montreal's gm stated recently that they're trying to get bigger and grittier instead of the ice capades passing show that they send out there every year. translation: not interested in briere.

@Phlyer1 -the perfect place for bryzgalov is place like tampa where no one really cares about hockey and where he can say all the stupid things he wants and no will question him. that's why he seemed ok in phoenix. he's still a decent goalie , just not for what we're paying him. philly is a high pressure place for a goalie and bryzgalov just has the wrong personality. on the other hand 'bob' seems like the kind of guy that welcomes the pressure/adversity.

@radoran -the thing with jagr is that even though he looks a step behind and probably needs a rest, who else makes that pass to hartnell through the defenders legs on the first goal ? my point is he can still do some things out there that otherwise healthy younger guys just simply can't . at this point in his career with what he's acccomplished i think he deserves the respect to trust him if he feels he can still be effective out there. it's not like he's kris versteeg last year out there making turnovers an missing assignments every shift while healthy.

@terp -honestly, that was the first time i ever witnessed a flyers goalie completely steal a game at gunpoint. it felt like i was watching some other team. weird stuff. in the end, how can lavi not go with bob again in nashville ?

@JackStraw -good comparison. jack johnson is matt carle with a more physical edge and a little more willingness to jump up offensively. when doughty went down with a concussion and richards had his predicted shoulder issue the kings struggled. johnson however has played well imo, but the kings just can't score. he's better than his stats show this season.

@RonJeremy -true. there's no way we get by boston or the rangers in a 7 game series. it's as simple as that. i would just stay firm and ride this team as it is. i'm tired of trading for guys at the deadline and then getting bounced in the first round. let these kids get a taste of the playoffs and we'll be a better team for it next year after some adjustments on defense.

@radoran -jagr is a 40 year old future hall of famer still playing productive hockey at the sports highest level with a sore groin. give the guy a break. sure, he hasn't been himself, but 'brutal ' is a little too much.

this makes room to send bryzgalov down to the farm. take it to the bank, cash it in, and buy a case of tastycakes.

...what a mess ^^^^

lavi just told the media that he did not make a decision yet and did not speak to either goalie. this could be the beginning of a rift between bryz and lavi. not good. *

@ to be honest bourdon is playing better than pronger was to start the season. yeah, i know .... he's the captain and he's chris pronger, but he was not very good.