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Despite fans’ boos, Flyers have faith in Bryzgalov


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The boos rained down from a sellout crowd to watch the inter-Pennsylvania rivalry unfold, but it was Ilya Bryzgalov who came unraveled.

The Philadelphia Flyers' $51 million goalie gave up back-to-back shorthanded goals on the same power play. The Penguins took a 3-2 lead, and all three goals could have been stopped. That's when Peter Laviolette pulled Bryzgalov for Sergei Bobrovsky, who was equally inept at stopping the puck. He allowed another three goals in the Flyers' 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.

"It's an easy life when you can blame the one guy," Bryzgalov said. "'It's a bad goal. It's the goalie's mistake.' It's easy to find a scapegoat when you point to one guy and say, 'We're always losing because we have a bad goalie.' But I think it's the wrong philosophy. I know I was frustrated with my game today, and I know I've got to be better. I will continue to work on this, but I'm just trying to find peace in my soul to play in this city."

It appears as though all confidence is lost for Bryzgalov, whose contract will remain Flyers property for the next eight seasons. But his teammates still have faith.

"I think when we win, you guys like to give the credit to the players, and when we lose, you like to give the (blame) to the goalies," Claude Giroux said. "We're behind our two goalies and we have confidence in them. Bad goals are going to happen, but they're two good goalies, and we know we have to be better in front of them. It was 3-3 going into the third, we have to find a way to get some goals to win, and it didn't happen. It's not just about Bryz, it's about the team. A lot of pressure is put on Bryz, and it shouldn't be like that. I think he's a good goalie. We're behind him, and I think we just have to go forward from here."

The Flyers had 15 documented giveaways against the Penguins en route to being lit up for six goals. There were odd-man rushes when there shouldn't have been. There were breakaways for the Penguins while the Flyers were on the power play. It's clear that the struggles didn't stop in the Flyers' crease, but Laviolette still would have liked to see a big stop from either of his goalies.

"I think everybody is frustrated right now with the loss to Pittsburgh, and I think that we can be better in a lot of different areas, and that certainly is one of them," the coach said.

The Flyers will embark on a four-game Western road trip. So, where do they go from here? It doesn't seem to matter to the team. They claim goaltending is getting far too much attention considering how many shortcomings they have right now. But the fans at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday booed only the goaltending.

"I think those guys need to kind of keep quiet up there," said James van Riemsdyk, who returned after missing 15 games with a concussion. "I know they pay their money to see the team, but you win as a team and you lose as a team. You can't ever pinpoint it on one guy, and we know those guys are working hard back there, so we're going to have to support them a little bit better and figure it out. It's not just one guy; it's all 20 of us that have to turn this thing around."

Bryzgalov certainly appreciated the support.

"It's nice to hear from your teammates that they have faith in us and feel the support," he said. "I said before, it's easy to get away and point to the one guy and say, 'We lose because our goalie or someone else.' It's a team game and everybody on the ice. Maybe next night, the goalie can steal the game."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=sportsxchange-000573594_despite-fans-boos-flyers-have-faith-in-bryzgalov-&print=1

----

Okay, I'll try to keep this a balanced question for the lead off post:

What is your opinion of the relationship between Philadelphia fans, the city's teams, and the individual players? Suggested players to discuss based on the scope of this news article: Bryzgalov, Giroux, and JVR.

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As a fan, I can't say I have a ton of faith or any at all in Bryzgalov, and when you pay money to be entertained at a game you want your team to show a tremendous effort in a win. But from a teammates point of view, imo, I would think the biblical quote "he without sin cast the first stone" is appropriate. Thus, JVR and Giroux are correct in their statements.

I think this road trip with two new defensemen will help take some of the pressure off our goaltenders. If nothing else it will probably allow Timonen to focus more on the pp and less on the pk. We should be able to see a difference with 6 NHL defensemen instead of 4.

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I think the fans have a right to boo just as much as they have a right to cheer. It's an expensive night out even if going to the game is the only thing you're doing. I wanna see a hard fought contest. If my team losses but fought for every inch of the ice I'm disappointed but I can accept it. If they lost because they were out partying the night before, took stupid penalties, played with an air of disregard or just didn't try, I'm gonna boo. Heck I want my money back.

Collectively, I think the teams realize it's a business and endeavor to appease the masses while trying to reign in as much cash as possible.

Individually, I think the players appreciate the fans. I think they are overwhelmed and awed by the attention both positive and negative but there is still a disconnect with them and an understanding of the paying public.

Giroux is right to say what he did and in light of that I will try to reserve my criticisms as well. Brzy should appreciate the support silently and JVR needs to shut it.

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As a STH who attends almost every game even after a 2 hr commute to NJ I resent their comments. I pay a lot of money and put in a lot of time and effort to see these games. I watch the away games on TV when I could be doing other things. If fans like us didn't exist their jobs don't exist and they don't make millions that come from gate revenue, tv money, merchandise and concessions. As someone who financially backs this team I have a right to be pissed, just like shareholders get pissed when the stock price of the company I work for doesnt rise and they demand changes which I get to live (like a 2 hr commute to NJ). I was unhappy when this happened but I get a nice paycheck and Didnt want to give it up so I dealt with it and am still working just as hard and putting in my all. These guys need to do the same. Lavy often says that this is a man's game and I agree. Man up and deal with it. If you can't deal with pressure and criticism fair or not then you shouldn't be there because that is part of your job.

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My opinion of the fans' relationship with the teams and the players?

We like no-talent players that bust it on every play better than we like talented philosophers that shrink in the spotlight and ***** about being blamed for their small play. Screw the "lost in translation" crap, this guy is a gutless flake.

Did JVR really say the fans need to keep quiet??? Screw him too, $160 a pop downstairs and he wants people to clap like trained seals. He could have said the same thing in a less offensive manner ala Giroux's comments, instead he comes off like a snotnosed clueless punk. I personally have only booed the home team literally two or three times over the course of hundreds of sporting events in Philly, but I don't begrudge my fellow fans' letting a guy know he's playing like a dog.

EDIT: Yo, when did the automatic censorship fairy arrive at hockeyblogs??? I really wouldn't expect words you can hear on daytime tv get the asterisk treatment, come on!

Edited by sarsippius
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The game wasn't bad enough, now we have to read this b u l l ****. The last thing fans want to hear right now is "it's a team game" and "we have confidence in our goalies." GFY, how about that Mr. It's-A-Team-Game?

Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining. Everyone knows how bad Bryzgalov sucked, knows all 3 goals should've been easy saves. When your guy is frozen stiff and doesn't react to wide-open looks... when he doesn't make the simple pee-wee play (or any play) on a shooter coming at him (Cooke's SH) .... I don't care who you are you lose your legs. You begin repeating to yourself WTF? Your next shift you'll skate, you'll try - but you know this game is toast; you're going to lose and you know it. You've seen this movie too many times before.

It'd be one thing if Bob was playing great hockey off the bench. You would never feel totally out of it till the horn. But as it is ... Well they can say whatever they want to the press, Lavy, whoever but every guy in that room is wondering how the hell they're going to win games with Brzygalov starting in net and Bob coming off the bench.

Earth to Lavy: It ain't working.

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Giroux's comments are understandable. He realizes he has made some mistakes and is willing to step up and say so. That is what a team guy does. If you are a guy like JVR who has all the talent in the world but coasts like Jeff Carter on the ice, fans are going to give you what you deserve. IMO, JVR needs a fresh outlook playing someplace like Columbus or Phoenix, 2 of the hot bed hockey towns in the world.

Bryz is playing absolutely horrendous lately,not even close to an AHL level goalie. He really needs to see a hypnotist or a shrink or someone that can get in his head and pull his mental block out. Right now his mental block is the size of the Great Wall of China. I really do believe Bryz misspoke when he said "Flyers fans care too much" . I would bet my bottom dollar that what he intended to say was "Flyer Fans care so much" and mixed up the translation. Phlfly is a prime example of an english speaking Russian, most of the time he gets his point across and other times you are left scratching your head like WTF was that about? Inflection and tone of how something is said also gets lost in print. I can't tell you how many times I have wished for a standard sarcasm font....

P.S. this is not meant as a dig at phlfly, just trying to give people a perspective look at Bryz's mentality and possible translation issues.

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Giroux gives his best for the most part game in and out. He took a team discount. He's our best player.

JVR tries when he feels like it, which is...sometimes. Next year he'll be making more than... LMFAO!!! Giroux. He's our 16th best player.

Bryz sucks. He's overpaid. He underperforms. he sucks.

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@flyerrod

I agree, I think the words got mixed up in the translation.

As I was reading through a bunch of comments made about his statement I came across this one.

"

I feel like this story could be one sided and open to interpretation. I attended the Carnival yesterday and paid to get my picture taken with him. Someone commented that he showed no emotion. This is not true. When I went to take my picture with him, at first he seemed to be disinterested, but I told him I had faith in him and I still supported him regardless of how he was treated yesterday. That comment got him to actually smile, he thanked me and even gave me a brief hug. Out of all the pictures I took with players yesterday, his was probably the best. He looked the happiest out of the players. I think that maybe he might have still been a little upset about yesterday. Maybe the wording of the comment came out wrong. Whatever happened, I truly don't believe he was trying to offend fans. Especially those that support him."

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I hate to tell JVR and Giroux, but WE ARE BOOING YOU TOO! You think that when I'm at the game and I'm booing the team off the ice after a pathetic effort that it is just directed at Bryz? The fans are actually smart enough to understand the difference when the entire team blows the game and when they lose based on a soft goal. We have seen plenty of both this year. In the Pens game, there was plenty of blame to go around across the team. Bryz gets upset because the papers seem to cover the goalie situation more thn the poor play of the team, but he has to understand that he came into a town that has not had a good goalie in YEARS and we were led to believe that Bryz would solve all of those problems and that he was worth this massive contract. He has yet to prove that, so of course he will be under the microscope that much more. This is not rocket science to figure out.

And to JVR, I'll keep quiet when you and Bryz and some of the other guys start earning your contracts. These guys make more in a few games then I make in a year. I shell out money to pay for Season tix and I watch as many games on TV and time allows. I have every right to voice my displeasure.

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And to JVR

JvR is certainly the last person in that dressing room, other than Brygalov of course, who should be correcting fans for their attitude toward an underperforming player. Nice situational awareness JvR.

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Bryz gets upset because the papers seem to cover the goalie situation more thn the poor play of the team, but he has to understand that he came into a town that has not had a good goalie in YEARS and we were led to believe that Bryz would solve all of those problems and that he was worth this massive contract.

Yes. And even if we'd had nothing but Vezina-winners for the last 40 years he still should realize he's the GOALTENDER and that GOALS are how you keep score in a hockey game. The goalie is the quarterback, he's the pitcher - he's the ? (whatever equivalent) on a basketball team.

Of course he's going to get most of the press because he plays the most important position. It's not the "wrong philosophy" as Bryzgalov said to "blame 1 guy" when that guy sucks to bad he can't make the most routine saves to keep the game even.

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Giroux's comments are understandable. He realizes he has made some mistakes and is willing to step up and say so. That is what a team guy does. If you are a guy like JVR who has all the talent in the world but coasts like Jeff Carter on the ice, fans are going to give you what you deserve. IMO, JVR needs a fresh outlook playing someplace like Columbus or Phoenix, 2 of the hot bed hockey towns in the world.

Bryz is playing absolutely horrendous lately,not even close to an AHL level goalie. He really needs to see a hypnotist or a shrink or someone that can get in his head and pull his mental block out. Right now his mental block is the size of the Great Wall of China. I really do believe Bryz misspoke when he said "Flyers fans care too much" . I would bet my bottom dollar that what he intended to say was "Flyer Fans care so much" and mixed up the translation. Phlfly is a prime example of an english speaking Russian, most of the time he gets his point across and other times you are left scratching your head like WTF was that about? Inflection and tone of how something is said also gets lost in print. I can't tell you how many times I have wished for a standard sarcasm font....

P.S. this is not meant as a dig at phlfly, just trying to give people a perspective look at Bryz's mentality and possible translation issues.

JVR showed his youth here. he really should have only commented on his own play and not responded to the boos. i think he learned that lesson, though, cause the fans really gave it to him... at least through twitter. usually i'm not one for booing your own players. but, i was at that game on saturday. i drove down from nyc to see a game for the first time in 2 years. everything was going good until the first shot on bryz. right through him. 2 goals on the PK... right through him. fans were pissed. i was pissed. i couldn't wait until he was pulled just so i could boo.

in short... he DESERVED it. he should take his medicine and use it as motivation to prove everyone wrong. because right now, everyone is right... bryz sucks. and a guy like JVR, who has questionable consistency at best, should maybe choose another time to pipe up about it.

booing bryz is all we have. we can't trade him... we can't demote him. as fans... we can't do anything, but we're damn sure gonna express our displeasure given the chance. he needs to man up and realize that his play is more than enough justification for this.

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Yes. And even if we'd had nothing but Vezina-winners for the last 40 years he still should realize he's the GOALTENDER and that GOALS are how you keep score in a hockey game. The goalie is the quarterback, he's the pitcher - he's the ? (whatever equivalent) on a basketball team.

Handgun?

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Posted this in the other booing thread, but booing your own players is pretty pathetic, IMO

To use the argument that you pay your money to see the game so you have the right to boo.......well, sure everyone has the right in life to look like an *** hole, I guess it's up to you if you want to act that way. you can pay your money and act like a normal human being or pay your money and act like a D!ck, who do you want to be?

I think booing players on your own team is pathetic and makes the town look like the jerkoff animal fan base the national media portrays us as. Save the piss and vinegar for the a-holes on the other team you don't like- boo them like crazy.....but friggin support YOUR players. Otherwise we will never have any respect around the league. Look how we treated Lindros when he came back as a Ranger- a friggin disgrace. Carried the whole organization on his back the morons and dopes boo'd him and made us look like a-holes. Now we love him again.....it's frustrating to say the least.

I think Bryz deserves at least a full season before I pass judgement, let me see how he plays in the playoffs and the team adjusts to some new defensive pairings. I'll continue to support the guy and wait for him to turn it around because I think he will. But I can tell you that if the fans boo him that will only make this worse. What do you want to see? If you want him to turn it around, start supporting him and stop acting like cavemen.

Rant over - flame on.....

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In the interest of fairness...

Since it is 2012, van Riemsdyk later tweeted a clarification: "never said it wasn't ok for fans to do that! My issue was with one guy getting singled out! It's a team game and the best way to make someone feel comfortable/confident is with support."

source:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20120221_Phil_Sheridan__Now_it_s_Flyers_touching_third_rail_of_fan_relations.html

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Posted this in the other booing thread, but booing your own players is pretty pathetic, IMO

To use the argument that you pay your money to see the game so you have the right to boo.......well, sure everyone has the right in life to look like an *** hole, I guess it's up to you if you want to act that way. you can pay your money and act like a normal human being or pay your money and act like a D!ck, who do you want to be?

I think booing players on your own team is pathetic and makes the town look like the jerkoff animal fan base the national media portrays us as. Save the piss and vinegar for the a-holes on the other team you don't like- boo them like crazy.....but friggin support YOUR players. Otherwise we will never have any respect around the league. Look how we treated Lindros when he came back as a Ranger- a friggin disgrace. Carried the whole organization on his back the morons and dopes boo'd him and made us look like a-holes. Now we love him again.....it's frustrating to say the least.

I think Bryz deserves at least a full season before I pass judgement, let me see how he plays in the playoffs and the team adjusts to some new defensive pairings. I'll continue to support the guy and wait for him to turn it around because I think he will. But I can tell you that if the fans boo him that will only make this worse. What do you want to see? If you want him to turn it around, start supporting him and stop acting like cavemen.

Rant over - flame on.....

You beat me to the punch, we are akin to the same roots.

In the interest of fairness...

source:

http://www.philly.co..._relations.html

Got beat again, arriving late to the party...but Reemer WAS and WILL defend his team. And I respect that. He stoodup...How many clowns fall in a day. Stand up and be a man.

This team is showing that they are men, even the rookies stood up and played a man's game. You have to give this team some credit.

I remember when people complained about Boosh. and it was Boosh who got us into the Playoffs when our goalie was down. It was our downed goalie earlier in that season that turned our team around...and now he's relegated to the cellars and boycotted like he's a devil.

We wouldn't of gotten that far without Leighton and that is a fact, granted he let in a flukey goal, but we were in it til the end.

Now a new chapter on Bryz...he's not stupid and is very aware of things right now. I see it in his eyes. He is right. This team needs to focus on Team D. Leighton wasn't the best, and I questioned his wins and shut outs, not because he was bad, he wasn't, but it was because the Team made it easy for him game in game out. I saw his tendencies and saw he was positionally ready and played big. But the talent to take the next step wasn't really there yet. He just positioned himself according to the play very well.

Boosh was a little the opposite, had talent but his positioning to the play wasn't as good, but he could pull a win for you and thus we saw it at times. (Last game NY vs PH shootout, outduelled Lunky)

What Bryz brings was the positioning and natural talent these goalies of ours had. But somewhere along the way of Recieving a Big paycheck and a false sense of security got things muddled up. And that is what's going on.

Hopefully Bryz can put aside the Flyer fans beligerence and focus on the task at hand.

It's already hard not to shoot yourself in the middle of a gun fight when your scrambling, but it's a bigger let down when your own man opens fire at you in a panic.

Green Man's gone a mile...walk with him.

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"canoli, on Feb 22, 2012 - 02:32 AM, said:

Yes. And even if we'd had nothing but Vezina-winners for the last 40 years he still should realize he's the GOALTENDER and that GOALS are how you keep score in a hockey game. The goalie is the quarterback, he's the pitcher - he's the ? (whatever equivalent) on a basketball team."

Illiterate?

(there I fixed it for you)

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