How Long do they wait for Bryz in this series?

[Podein25]

@canoli

What's so hard about "keep yer stick on the ice"? Even Jody Shelley can do that.

[JackStraw]

@canoli

What's so hard about "keep yer stick on the ice"? Even Jody Shelley can do that.

Oh sure... first it's "keep your stick on the ice", then it's "control rebounds", and the next thing you know you're expecting him to be Jacques Plante. Me, if he just looks like he's actually aware of his surroundings, I'm good.

[Podein25]

Me, if he just looks like he's actually aware of his surroundings, I'm good.

Yes, it's all about managing expectations.

[Bakanekimiwa]

The Devils' second goal wasn't too weak. Bryz could have stopped it but it was a point blank shot in front of the net. Kind of weak, but I'm not faulting Bryz too much. The third one though...well yeah. I think he stays if they're winning. He was solid and weak today.

the only one that was totally weak was the third one. however, bryz needs to stay in the net. the other goals were indirect results of him coming out to play the puck. he's late getting back set up in net after playing the puck and that really hurts when he's turned it over or our D has.

he's getting into a lot of trouble playing the puck. i'd rather he just stayed in the net altogether. i hope they make that clear to him, because i felt that otherwise(other than that third goal) he played well.

[AndyS]

Not worried about Bryz. We will keep winning & he will settle down.

[orange_crush]

You have to ask this question, Bryz gave up 2 softies today, and we all know about his play against the Penguins.

How much rope does he have left? If this series gets to say 6-7 games with his questionable play, does Lavy go to BOB?

Bob can be undressed up high, but he will make the basic saves that Bryz isn't making.

Bob isn't any better, we have no choice but to ride Bryz thru the playoffs...the best we can do is continue to block shots , clear the crease, and minimize the shots against him..like they did in Game 6 against the Pens

[SoCalFlyfan]

If Bryz plays like he did in the first round against the Rangers, it'll be a quick series. Need a complete team game for the next round.

Not to be negative or anything, but with Bryz in net opposite Lundkvist we stand no chance unless Bryz can manage a few shutouts or 1 goal against every game.

Lundkvist and the Rangers team defense WILL stop our offense, and if we're going to win against him it's going to have be a 1-0 or 2-1 type score.

[AJgoal]

Bryzgalov needs playing time. I think that's what we saw over the last part of the season when Lavi played him non stop and he became unbeatable in March. Then he got injured, missed time, and had to come back and get into a groove again. When it seemed like he was getting back into it, in games 5 and 6, we have the week off, and he struggles again. If the team keeps playing and he keeps playing, I think we'll see him get stronger as the series progress.

This is not meant to be an absolution, but an observation. If he was truly an elite goaltender, the time off shouldn't phase him that much. He's not doing now what he was doing in March that made him so successful, that is, being agressive but patient. I think that he's a guy that needs reps and consistency in order to be on the top of his game, and I think as long as there's no ridiculous layoff between this series and the next, assuming the Flyers advance, you'll see him get stronger.

[sarsippius]

@AJgoal

I wish I shared your optimism re Bryz. If we're going to win 11 more games, he will have to steal a game or two IF we get to the ECF. Except for a one month stretch, he has not shown the ability to do that.

[orange_crush]

Not to be negative or anything, but with Bryz in net opposite Lundkvist we stand no chance unless Bryz can manage a few shutouts or 1 goal against every game.

Lundkvist and the Rangers team defense WILL stop our offense, and if we're going to win against him it's going to have be a 1-0 or 2-1 type score.

I agree Rags usually give up less than 2 goals a game..we need better goal tending to get past them..

[AJgoal]

@AJgoal

I wish I shared your optimism re Bryz. If we're going to win 11 more games, he will have to steal a game or two IF we get to the ECF. Except for a one month stretch, he has not shown the ability to do that.

Which one month stretch? It's funny how folks forget how well he played In November into mid-December. Starting on the last game of October: .960, .935, .943, .947, .939, .968, .871, .667 (Isles game), .864, .947, .833, .926, .875, .969, .750 (Bruins 6-0 Shellacking), but then he came back with a .926 against CO and lost in the SO. That's a .910 over almost two months. Hell, even in January and February, when he was playing poorly, he put up .912 and .909 for the months. Stats don't tell the whole story - bad goals were what were driving us nuts then, as now, and save percentages can be inflated by team D minimizing high quality chances (with the opposite also being true), but when a guy pitches a shutout and loses 0-1 in the shootout, or keeps the opponent to 2 or fewer goals and still loses, as happened three times in January-February, he's still playing fairly good hockey.

I get that the contract is bad, and I get that he hasn't been particularly good in these playoffs, though he has generally done what is needed to keep his team in the game. But what I don't get is this constant lamenting that Bryzgalov has been the WORST GOALIE EVER for the whole season, and there is NO CHANCE that he plays better. The fact of the matter is he played pretty darn well in the beginning of the season, then played pretty poorly from late December through February, and turned in stellar play in March until he got hurt. While that isn't the mark of an elite goalie, his play in the early stages of the season and down the stretch show what he is capable of, and Detroit showed that good team play can overcome even poor goaltending. I haven't seen any redline goals against Bryz like I saw against Osgood.

[Hexy27]

@AJgoal

Even the stats you are showing verify his up and down nature. What you look for in an elite goal tender is consistency and Bryz has not really shown that this season. Yes he may have averaged .910 over two months but there are alot of peaks and valleys that make up that average.

That being said you don't have to be an elite goaltender to win a SC. Niemi proved this two years ago. You do need some level of consistency and Bryz's up and down nature is what has most concerned. Over a 7 game series against a good team (like the Rangers) you can't afford to have more than 1 off game. Yesterday's game is a great example of his inconsistency. He had a great first period then disappeared for the rest of the game. The Devils didn't do a whole lot to impress me after the first period. One thing they did do, however, was aim five-hole most of the time they shot on Bryz and twice it worked.

That being said if we get to the point where we are yanking Bryz out then the end of our post season isn't that far beyond.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Hexy27

[orange_crush]

Which one month stretch? It's funny how folks forget how well he played In November into mid-December. Starting on the last game of October: .960, .935, .943, .947, .939, .968, .871, .667 (Isles game), .864, .947, .833, .926, .875, .969, .750 (Bruins 6-0 Shellacking), but then he came back with a .926 against CO and lost in the SO. That's a .910 over almost two months. Hell, even in January and February, when he was playing poorly, he put up .912 and .909 for the months. Stats don't tell the whole story - bad goals were what were driving us nuts then, as now, and save percentages can be inflated by team D minimizing high quality chances (with the opposite also being true), but when a guy pitches a shutout and loses 0-1 in the shootout, or keeps the opponent to 2 or fewer goals and still loses, as happened three times in January-February, he's still playing fairly good hockey.

I get that the contract is bad, and I get that he hasn't been particularly good in these playoffs, though he has generally done what is needed to keep his team in the game. But what I don't get is this constant lamenting that Bryzgalov has been the WORST GOALIE EVER for the whole season, and there is NO CHANCE that he plays better. The fact of the matter is he played pretty darn well in the beginning of the season, then played pretty poorly from late December through February, and turned in stellar play in March until he got hurt. While that isn't the mark of an elite goalie, his play in the early stages of the season and down the stretch show what he is capable of, and Detroit showed that good team play can overcome even poor goaltending. I haven't seen any redline goals against Bryz like I saw against Osgood.

It's all about matchups...Rags are a very defensive minded team with an elite goalie.. therefore yes Bryz needs to be better to beat the Rags...we will be lucky to score 2 goals a game against the Rags

[AJgoal]

Hexy, My point is not that he's an elite goaltender. I've said twice that his performance shows he isn't. What I'm trying to show is that the "He has stunk for the entire season except for March" and "He's the worst goaltender in hockey" group are off base in their assessment. And it's funny that you point to "peaks and valleys" over the time period that I mention. First, every goalie will have games where they have sub-.900 save percentages. Here's a one month line for you:

.871, .909, .898, .857, .842, .895, .909, .963, .846, .880, .923, .917, .950 for a monthy sv% of .897.

Over the 16 games I previously listed, Bryz had six that were sub-.900, compared to 7 of 13 in the line I posted above. One of those was the Boston game where the team decided that they didn't need to play that day, and that was his second worst performance over that stretch. He had eight games that were a .930 or better, 10 of .920 or better, but you're making my point in fixating on the two "valley" games, while over the whole of the time period, those were aberrations as opposed to the norm. I was not a fan of bringing Bryzgalov in for 9 years, and don't think he's the elite goalie they thought they were getting when he was signed, but it's ridiculous how some fans like to handwave away the fact that he performed very well over significant portions of the season and say that he's sucked all year. It's just patently untrue. Does his play need to get better? Sure it does. I'm just trying to point out that he actually has the capability to do so, something which some people just seem to refuse to acknowledge.

[Hexy27]

@AJgoal

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. He isn't the worst goal tender out there but as you said there is a level of expectation that he is not meeting. The reason fans see him as a subpar performer is exactly for the reasons you are pointing out. For most of the season he was inconsistent and he was/is not living up to expectations. His post game commentary also did little to help his public perception. March was definitely his best month and he earned top honors from the league for that month. It was his most consistent and sustained play all season (regardless of what the rest of the team did).

That doesn't mean he is terrible but he certainly isn't great either. Again I don't disagree with anything you are saying. I just don't see consistency from his game and that is what you need this time of year. If not Bryz then I really don't know what the answer is. I don't believe it is Bob as he has spent too much time on the bench and I don't believe he can help us at this time. I am pulling for Bryz to elevate his game and sustain the level of play we saw from him during the first period of yesterday's game and Game 6 of the last round.

[JackStraw]

It's all about matchups...Rags are a very defensive minded team with an elite goalie.. therefore yes Bryz needs to be better to beat the Rags...we will be lucky to score 2 goals a game against the Rags

I would say that if the Flyers can't score more than 2 goals a game, they will not be beating the Rangers or anybody else. This is not a team built with a defense first philosophy. They will need to score goals, regardless of who they play. If Bryz is shaky, then they'll need to score more goals. But I don't see this team going very far if they have to win games 1-0 or 2-1.

[Spinorama]

and then the three that got through him...got right through him. again, not sniper shots that beat him with amazing precision or wonderfully crafted scoring chances that gave him no chance. each were shots right into him that leaked through.

can he NOT keep that damn 5 hole closed!?! sheesh!

[AJgoal]

@AJgoal

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. He isn't the worst goal tender out there but as you said there is a level of expectation that he is not meeting. The reason fans see him as a subpar performer is exactly for the reasons you are pointing out. For most of the season he was inconsistent and he was/is not living up to expectations. His post game commentary also did little to help his public perception. March was definitely his best month and he earned top honors from the league for that month. It was his most consistent and sustained play all season (regardless of what the rest of the team did).

And here, again, I disagree. He turned in two months where his save percentage was below .900, October and December (.880 and .878). Three other months he put up better than .915, and in January he had a paltry .909. That's pretty consistant. Living up to expectations I will give you. For what he's making every year, he should be posting a .918-.920 for the season. I think people remember the bad goals and forget that he played generally strong games, even when he let in bad goals.

And that's the thing: bad goals don't necessarily equate to a bad game by the goaltender - they just equal a bad play. A guy can play a strong game and give up a couple weak goals - they don't negate the 30 saves he made in the process. Just like he can have a bad game and still make some spectacular saves. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive of each other. It has to be evaluated as part of the whole. Bryzgalov faced 26 shots and made 23 saves last game. That's generally an adequate line. He let in one horrible one vs. Sykora, and another bad one on the PP due to his attempt to handle the puck and subsequent trouble getting back. But what about those 23 other saves? There were some quality scoring chances in there. But around here we have to go to the extreme on either side. Since he didn't play a great game, it has to have been horrible, when in fact, it was a pretty average game overall. Which is what this team needs to win.

Compare it to what we hear about skaters. Voracek had a horrible, horrible giveaway that led to the third goal. But next to nobody is jumping down his throat saying he played a horrible game. Same thing for Read. One or two bad plays over the course of a 60 minute game don't mean the guy played horribly. It does, of course, mean that there is (lots of) room for improvement, however.

[OccamsRazor]

You have to ask this question, Bryz gave up 2 softies today, and we all know about his play against the Penguins.

How much rope does he have left? If this series gets to say 6-7 games with his questionable play, does Lavy go to BOB?

Bob can be undressed up high, but he will make the basic saves that Bryz isn't making.

Stop JUST focusing on the missed ones (yeah i know he let in softies) but he held them in it in the first, yet no mention of this...only the bad plays. If it isn't for him the way the Flyers were skating around with their heads up their assses...game may have been over. All the negative nancies around here...why you hef to be mad they WON! Chill....case you didn't notice the hall of famer on the other end cost the Devs that game but he gets a pass...

[OccamsRazor]

So, what happens when we face the Rangers? They call him THE KING for a reason. The offense is going to have a hard time bailing Bryz out then.

This so called King of which you speak didn't save them when they needed the save to get IN the playoffs in 2010...everyone can be human at times.

Yeah they swept them in the regular season but go back and look at the rosters the Flyers had a bunch of rookies in the lineup every game and never played them once with the same roster once...always had guys hurt and in and out of the lineup...on the other side the Rags were healthy for everyone..they just had better luck health wise than the Flyers all season.

The Flyers have played ALL season through adversity...starting with the first game verse the blueshirts, not to long after losing their Captain for the season...playoffs are a whole different season....the slate is CLEAN!!!!!!!

[AJgoal]

One more thing, re: Lundqvist vs. Bryzgalov. One has a better than .500 winning% in the playoffs and a cup ring, the other one doesn't. And the one that doesn't isn't playing in Philly.

Not that that really means anything.

[BearOnIce]

So, what happens when we face the Rangers? They call him THE KING for a reason. The offense is going to have a hard time bailing Bryz out then.

You are Ed Snider. You spend money like a drunken sailor to buy a Cup. Comcast co-signs those checks. You commit $51M to Bryz. Your entire off season is all based on it. He plays unless his legs and arms have compound fractures. There is No Bob. Leighton is next in line only pending Goalie Death. You play King and win, or go home and have all summer to think about it. Questions?

[flyercanuck]

@AJgoal

I'm glad Bryz had a .964 save percentage or whatever it was against Colorado in March or October. What concerns me is we're almost into May, There are 8 teams left in the playoffs. And our goalie is ranked 18th!!! His stats are making Michael Leighton look very impressive.

[AJgoal]

FC - he's also tied for 2nd in the most important category - wins. His win% is better than anyone not named Smith or Quick. He has to play better, as I've said over and over. But there are a lot of folks out there who seem to refuse to acknowledge that he has the capability. That's what I disagree with.

[flyercanuck]

@AJgoal

Yes, we've seen him play well. I just thought for 10 million he might do it the odd game in the playoffs. Actually, he was good one game. But he hasn't been great in any. For that money I hope to see more than mediocre to poor goaltending out of him. At this point of the postseason, that's all he's given us.