Bryzgalov in Moscow: More of the same?

[brelic]

Bryz update from http://bleacherrepor...ovs-play-in-khl:

Bryz is now 2-4, 2.92, .892.

The other dude in net? Same age (32), and is 10-2, 1.58, .944.

I'm not in any rush to watch another train wreck in goal for the Flyers... backed up by Michael Effing Leighton

Bryzgalov's sluggish play has continued with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. This is traditionally one of the strongest teams in the KHL, but it has been vulnerable when Bryzgalov has been in the net.

Through his first six games, he has a 2-4 record with a 2.92 GAA and an .892 save percentage. The 32-year-old has not looked comfortable, and it would be hard for him to blame his teammates. When he has been on the bench and Rastislav Stana, 32, has been in the net for CSKA Moscow, Stana has a 10-2 record with a 1.58 GAA and a .944 save percentage. Stana also has three shutouts.

Holmgren and Laviolette were concerned with Bryzgalov's play last year and nothing they have seen from him in the KHL should allay those fears.

While there are no guarantees he won't turn it around when the lockout finally comes to an end, it does not appear likely he will become a consistent netminder when he dons his Flyers uniform once again.

[canoli]

Oh but come on...let's not rush to judgment. After all Russian hockey, the KHL...heck Russia itself - it's all brand new to Ilya Bryzgal...oh wait.

[brelic]

Oh but come on...let's not rush to judgment. After all Russian hockey, the KHL...heck Russia itself - it's all brand new to Ilya Bryzgal...oh wait.

Basically, because of our defense and goaltending, I'm not super excited for any potential season we might have. We have some glaring weaknesses... but on the flipside, Timo gets additional rest on what could be his last season and Meszaros can heal up from the Achilles injury.

It sucks that guys like Briere and Giroux are burning a year playing with kids in Germany (G has 19 pts in 8 games, Briere has 18 pts in 8 games).

EDIT: Just wanted to add that Giroux is 2 points behind the league leader with less than half the games played. Pretty amazing, but also shows the extreme drop off in talent in the DEL.

[flyercanuck]

@brelic

You can pick up some bad habits quickly playing against inferior talent.

[canoli]

Like you Brel I'm not super-excited for the Flyers this year but for a different reason. That reason is the subject of this thread...have I mentioned I'm not a big fan of Ilya Bryzgalov?

In all seriousness I like our D, esp once Mez is back in rotation. It's a little thin without him but I'm a big of our young guys. Along with our hungry young forwards I'm not especially worried about our Team D. But I think to bring out the Flyers' best this year (and every year until Bryzgalov is gone) Lavi will have to emphasize protecting our net more. Laviolette hasn't shown any inclination to do that yet - maybe he doesn't know how, maybe he's just stubborn. But I don't see how we can win without becoming a more conservative, slower-paced team. Quick outlets and springing guys with stretch passes are exciting to see - but first you got to keep the puck out of your net. (and to give credit where it's due...many posters came to this realization long before me)

Which leads me to our glaring weakness: A-holya Bryzgalov. Maybe if he plays like he gives a damn we won't need 4, 5 goals every night to get a win. But he's got some gaping holes in his game...holes that shooters exploit if our guys give away too much ice - which they do practically by design in Lavi's system. Well not "by design" but it seems to be a byproduct of his style. So maybe Lavi needs to do some tweaking.

Only time will tell - if we ever get NHL action again ... (meanwhile the NHL Network is finally showing some junior hockey in the U.S., which is great for us hockey-starved Americans. I may actually start learning how to speak Canadian!)

Anyway...re: Bryzgalov - from Moscow we hear things are not looking very good for Mr. Bryzgalov... meanwhile his partner is 10-2 (iirc).

Edited November 10, 2012 by canoli

[orangecrush8]

I will admit I have yet to watch a single minute of Bryz's playing time in Russia, but there are a handful of other goalies who are really not performing well either.

Rinne is 7-6 with a 2.58 GAA and .912 sv%

Pavelec is 4-10 with a 3.40 GAA and .902 sv%

Both aren't performing as well as they were last year.

Of course I'd rather have Rinne or Pavelec, but the optimist in me hopes that Bryz's numbers are inflated as well. I mean, how good can Bryz play when he is in the presbox the majority of the time?

On another note, has anyone seen Bob's numbers? He is having a really solid year overseas

7-1-1 with a 2.32 GAA and .914 sv%

[fan4ever]

@orangecrush8

Interesting you bring up Bob. I still to this day wish that we would have given him the time to sink or swim before we did something like we did with Bryz. I think he will be a force in this league and we really screwed the pouch on that one. It makes me sad.