caluso

the bruins are loaded with talent. and they have chara. and they play within their system. the flyers cant match the talent the bruins have. as for the Rangers, i think we would all agree that the Rangers blueline is far superior to that of the Flyers. i am amazed that we are still in this series. if our goaltenders didn't steal us 2 games, we'd be arguing about draft prospects right now.

i really appreciate your posts but Voracek is a world class player. he's definitely "there." b schenn stinks, he will never get "there." sadly, i do think that the flyers are not very talented but it's a team sport and a great team with less talent can beat a star studded collection of players who dont play cohesively. unfortunately, the flyers fall victim - far too frequently - to not playing as "one," to not playing with passion, desperation. and, that, is why they have so much trouble with consistency. don't get me wrong, i still contend that the flyers will have trouble with truly talented teams who play together, who play with a purpose. as i said in a past post, having 2/3 of a top line won't cut it. i hope i am wrong, but...

we don't have enough dynamic offensive players. after voracek and giroux, who do we have? as i posted elsewhere, we have 2/3 of a top line - and that simply won't cut it. i think that the flyers roster needs a dramatic influx of talent - and not just on the backline. unfortunately, Gomer is still in charge, so he will probably trade for the sedin twins. it's not like he has an actual plan: see the VLC signing, which still gnaws at me! why sign that bum when we were in dire need of help on the back end and our roster was already filled with centermen. sorry, i am venting...

i live in NY and watch the rangers frequently. in fact, i thought the rangers would win the series. however, i thought the series would be competitive. i am somewhat shocked at the flyers play- they look timid and scared out there. no aggression, no tape-to-tape passes, etc... while i think berube has done a great job overall, i think he has shown some inexperience in this series. specifically, i think he sent several bad messages to the team, especially at the outset, when he altered the team's style of play to deal with mcdonough. additionally, i think the flyers are lacking top end talent. voracek and giroux are really skilled players. after that, who do we have? i am hard pressed to find another dynamic offensive player, and you can't win with 2/3 of a top line.

That was then, this is now: Landeskog is infinitely better than Akeson

I agree, what we have is a collection of third and fourth liners - at best. Couturier has been playing like a matador out there. Ole! He doesn't seem to want to initiate any contact. And then there's Brayden Schenn........worthless.

If you want to see young players with real talent, grit and hockey sense, tune into the MInn / Colo series. Wow!

Flyers played a great third period. I was very impressed with their defensive effort and cohesion; everybody backchecked / busted their butts to get back. Additionally, they counter-attacked very well, even though they squandered numerous chances to take a two goal lead in the third. I loved seeing VLC center the second line again. I also loved seeing Raffl paired with Read and Couturier in the third - great defensive combo. As for which goalie starts game 3, I think it has to be Emery. Emery stole today's game, looking poised and confident doing so. I was really impressed with how square he was to the shooter. While I agree with those who say Mason is the better goalie, the question in my mind is this: who is the better goalie right now? And, I think that's Emery. One last thing: we still have a lot of difficulty getting out of our own zone. That has to change if we are going to win the series.

as an extension of what you are saying, historically, the flyers don't generate enough quality chances on lundqvist. he doesn't allow soft goals (very often) and i am not sure we are skilled enough upfront to really test him. we shall see.

i agree - he will be re-signed. and, i think your cap hit is fair. i have a sneaking suspicion he's going to be dealt, though.

It's exciting. Kid has potential.

in your honest opinion, what would you do with Schenn? as i said, i find it odd that they have not yet re-signed him.

game winning goals is the most useless stat in hockey. look at his impact, how he plays on the ice.

its not fair to compare schenn to bob, richards and giroux. all of those guys showed true potential. bob was clearly an athletic freak who showed great flashes but wore down at the end. let's not forget that he played a year of uninterrupted hockey- and in a foreign land without the benefit of friends or family. there's no doubt that the team should have been more patient with him. in fact, i was bob's biggest supporter. when richards played, he made a difference on the ice. it was off the ice, that he had issues. and it was obvious to everyone, that giroux would be special. i cant say any of the above about schenn.

i agree completely. he was out of control almost every shift. lucky it didnt cost us.

i think VLC is starting to play a lot better. but, more importantly, i think the team would be a lot better if VLC centered the second line. I don't agree with you that schenn plays all 200 feet, but assuming that to be the case, he would then be a perfect "banger" on the fourth line. i think it would make out team much less dependent on the first line. just my opinion....

what do i want with schenn? i think i was clear: i want him moved to the 4th line. berube has donee a great job of holding people accountable. i think we all agree that schenn disappears for weeks - why not hold him accountable. i also think it's telling that the flyers - so quick to re-up their own - have failed to do so with schenn.

Aziz and I had a nice argument earlier in the year and I was curious to see how this year panned out for B Schenn. I was really hoping that he would blossom this year. Sadly, in my opinion, he hasn't progressed, despite his 20 goals. He is our second line center and is entrusted with some power play responsibility. 20 goals is nice, but, as I pointed out, his overall play, puts him at 132 overall in scoring. It's hard to get excited by those numbers. I really think that the team would be very dynamic if VLC centered line 2, while Schenn was dropped to the 4th line. Just my opinion

i agree with you. and besides, demoting him now shouldn't slow his development. heck, what were the past 75 games for? schenn doesn't deserve the free ride he has been given. and, who's to say that if we get in the playoffs, we might not make some noise? in my opinion, our best lineup has schenn on the 4th line, not the second.

i am not sure schenn is part if the future. in fact, i am not sure he will be re-signed. and, if he is re-signed, i am think it will be on a one year deal.

put VLC between Raffl and Simmonds and move Schenn to where he belongs - the 4th line. i am afraid that having Schenn as our second line center is really hurting us. it puts too much pressure on G's line, especially since Couturier is being used as a shutdown defender. to all of the Schenn supporters, the proof is in the pudding: he is 146th overall in scoring, and has been is usually underwhelming self for months. sadly, he has not progressed at all. the team would be much better off with Schenn receiving less ice time.

I am thrilled that Berube is our coach. And, I have been since day 1. Berube holds everybody accountable, something that Laviolette never did. But most importantly, Berube has the team organized in their own zone. I think we all remember the series against the Devils when the Flyers were running around in their own zone like the Keystone Kops. It was painful watching the team try to get the puck out and that happened far too regularly under Laviolette. Laviolette was never able to get the team to play good, fundamental defensive hockey. It amazes me what good coaching can do. And, finally, I think we have a coach who "gets it."

and then there's panotch - another idiot. i think he uses the magic 8 ball to come up with stories.

Carchidi is an idiot. He writes, "Which brings us to the Flyers' old flame, Nashville's Shea Weber, a game-changing defenseman who would dramatically improve Philadelphia's Cup chances." That's true, if we didn't have to give up anybody to acquire him. It's not true if we have to gut the team to acquire him. And, sadly, Poile is not simply going to hand Weber over to us for nothing so Carchidi's statement - like so many of his others - is rubbish!!!!

I hated the signing of VLC and Streit - and not because they cannot play. The last position we needed to solidify was center. We have a logjam at that position, so the signing of VLC was unnecessary. Why not develop from within. And Gomer forgets that this is a hard salary cap league where every dollar matters. VLC's cap hit is painful! Anyway, i digress. I really like the team's physical toughness and resiliency. i am actually cautiously optimistic about the future, especially if Morin pans out.