InHexyWeTrust Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Hi all--Transplant from the Philly.com boards, glad to have a place for relatively sane discourse again.I was just marveling to myself about how far Bourdon has come. At the end of last season they had sent him down to the ECHL, and it seemed like he (and Marshall) was utterly failed draft picks that never had a chance of playing for the big club. And while he's pretty firmly below our top 4 d-men, he plays a solid game, and is a nice fill-in in the absence of Pronger. When he's on the ice I don't find myself cringing like I did when Ryan Parent, Bartulis were here, or Marshall was this season. He probably has earned a spot over Lilja when Gus comes back (though I'm not sure they'll give it to him). And while I suspect his play still won't be enough for Homer to be content not making a move for another defenseman before the trade deadline, based on Bourdon's play so far, I wouldn't be too upset going into the playoffs with him as the 6th guy. Also, side note, even before Pronger went out, our best defenseman has been and has continued to be Mez. I hope they extend him--he's emerging into a really all-around force back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzFlyer Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Bourdon has played very well but I don't like the idea of both him and Lilja in the same lineup. We really need a solid replacement for Pronger.As far as best defenceman, my vote goes to Kimmo.Glad you made it over from Silly.com! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canoli Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Good post Hexie - and welcome to some Flyers's discussion - nice change isn't it?I agree with you 100%, MAB impresses me. I am not at all down on our D - our Team D or our D-men. Missing a healthy Pronger is huge, but missing Pronger the way he's been the past year isn't the end of the Flyers. I think our D has been - for the most part - extremely good this year. The weak link is Bryzgalov, even with the bad bounces and whatnot. He's brought most of those on himself by not being focused on his job - that's the way it looks to me.I seriously hope we don't start moving pieces just to rent a D-man - or worse, trade away some of our high-performing rookie forwards for a "stud" D-man. We get reliable goaltending we can shut down any team - now that Mez is playing better, Kimmo is fine, Carle is having a great year after some early mistakes...and Lilja is good enough for a 5/6 guy.When our forwards are playing a good, hustle 2-way game - when Briere and Jagr are backchecking - our Team D is perfectly capable of stopping the opposition from lighting us up. We just need Bryzgalov to stop spraying rebounds back into traffic - and then watching (not moving, watching) the puck sail into the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brelic Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 It will be interesting to see when Gus comes back because they'll have to make some moves on defense... Either MAB is sent back down, Walker gets waived, or Lilja gets waived. If I were a betting man, I would guess they send MAB down, even though I think that's the wrong move.The Flyers seem to be all about not hurting feelings. How else do you explain Shelley still being on this roster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 It will be interesting to see when Gus comes back because they'll have to make some moves on defense... Either MAB is sent back down, Walker gets waived, or Lilja gets waived. If I were a betting man, I would guess they send MAB down, even though I think that's the wrong move.My guess is Gus goes down. He'll need some time to get back in shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brelic Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 My guess is Gus goes down. He'll need some time to get back in shape.Yeah, good point.. I guess I meant when Gus is ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 @ brelic: I'm with you, I would keep Bourdon up, he's been more than serviceable in the 5/6 slot. I just looked at the box score, I was surprised to see he only played 15:37. I would move Walker back down when Gus comes back, and use Lilja as number 7. I'm still not sure I'm comfortable going Gus/Bourdon as 5/6 in the playoffs though. The fewer games that Timonen needs to play big minutes, the better, and that means another vet on the blueline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 @brelicI'm not sure how you un-seat MAB at this point. If it was Pronger coming back, then yes, (no brainer) send MAB down. Gus however, is still unproven at the NHL level IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 What's really telling to me is that while he's not playing as much as Timonen, Carle, Coburn, or Meszaros, he had over 3 minutes more TOI than Lilja. His decision making seems to improve game to game, and he doesn't seem to be out of position too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brelic Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 @AlaskaFlyerFan and @AJgoalI agree with you guys, I would much prefer MAB over Walker or Lilja, and Gus may have lost his spot temporarily. Plus, going with two rookies on D in the playoffs is risky, but man, Lilja is a liability back there, and Walker ain't much better.At the end of the day, MAB and Gus are waiver-exempt, so that may be their undoing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doom88 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 MAB is playing well at the NHL level, he stays up and Gus goes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aziz Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 he stays up and Gus goes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinorama Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Hi all--Transplant from the Philly.com boards, glad to have a place for relatively sane discourse again.I was just marveling to myself about how far Bourdon has come. At the end of last season they had sent him down to the ECHL, and it seemed like he (and Marshall) was utterly failed draft picks that never had a chance of playing for the big club. And while he's pretty firmly below our top 4 d-men, he plays a solid game, and is a nice fill-in in the absence of Pronger. When he's on the ice I don't find myself cringing like I did when Ryan Parent, Bartulis were here, or Marshall was this season.He probably has earned a spot over Lilja when Gus comes back (though I'm not sure they'll give it to him). And while I suspect his play still won't be enough for Homer to be content not making a move for another defenseman before the trade deadline, based on Bourdon's play so far, I wouldn't be too upset going into the playoffs with him as the 6th guy.Also, side note, even before Pronger went out, our best defenseman has been and has continued to be Mez. I hope they extend him--he's emerging into a really all-around force back there.Hey Hexie,totally agree, both MAB and Marshall have looked great. If Marshall ever gets called up again I'll be fine with it, much more so than Bartulis, not that he was a liability, I just didn't get it with him. Mez got off to a slow start a bit this season after such a strong season last year but yeah, he's looked great as well, My favorite D man this year after a healthy Pronger and Timmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzFlyer Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Erik Gustafsson (D) has been loaned from Philadelphia to the Adirondack Phantoms and will be in the lineup tonight against Portland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalFlyfan Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 @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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent05 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 when Briere and Jagr are backcheckingGood luck with that, he's been frustrating the hell out of me. Just standing there watching the other guy score.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.Pronger had offseason surgery and I think kinda rush back too early. He wasn't schedule to play in the season openner in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange_crush Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I agree Hexie, I've become a Bourdon fan..I think he's what we were missing a tough stay at home dman with a big shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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