pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=45 GAMEDAY PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. CANADIENSComing off back-to-back losses to start the 2014-15 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers (0-2-0) will take on the undefeated Montreal Canadiens (2-0-0) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. Game time is 7 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia.This is the first of three meetings this season between the teams, and the lone clash at the Wells Fargo Center. The clubs will rematch in Montreal on Nov. 15 and Feb. 10.Both the Flyers and Canadiens are in action for the third time in four nights. Philadelphia hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night before embarking on a three-game road trip that will take them to Dallas, Chicago and Pittsburgh.Flyers OutlookIn their first two games of the seasons, the Flyers have lost a low-scoring (2-1) game in Boston and a high-scoring (6-4) home match against the Devils. Philly showed resiliency in battling back from deficits in both games but ultimately walked away empty. The Flyers have yet to play with a lead through their first 120 minutes of hockey.A pair of goals by Wayne Simmonds and a Claude Giroux goal sparked a rapid comeback from a 3-0 deficit late in the second period of Thursday's home opener. Vincent Lecavalier, who set up Simmonds' buzzer-beating second goal, quickly retied the game at 4-4 after New Jersey regained the lead. The Flyers, who went 2-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, simply hemorrhaged too many even strength goals to New Jersey.Steve Mason got the start in both the first and second games. He was outstanding in Boston (31 saves on 33 shots) and ordinary against New Jersey (20 saves on 25 shots). None of the first four goals he yielded in the Devils game were his fault -- one was scored through a heavy screen, two were unstoppable deflections and one was scored by a wide-open Patrik Elias from point blank range. However, the game winning goal by ex-Flyer Dainius Zubrus was a stoppable shot.Top pairing defenseman Braydon Coburn sustained a lower-body injury in the Boston game. Nick Schultz started in Coburn's lineup spot on Thursday. Coburn was on crutches during the pregame introductions at the home opener. Initially feared to be lost for an extended period of time, Coburn received a better-than-expected diagnosis yesterday. He will be re-evaluated again early next week. If all goes well, Coburn's absence from the lineup may be more of a day-to-day situation than a multi-week prognosis.Canadiens OutlookThe Canadiens opened their regular season schedule with a 4-3 win in Toronto on Wednesday and 2-1 victory via shootout in Washington the following evening. Tonight's game is the third in a four-game road trip for the Habs.On opening night in Toronto, the Canadiens got goals from Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban and a pair of tallies by Tomas Plekanec to down the Maple Leafs in a seesaw affair of a game. Carey Price turned aside 24 of 27 shots to earn the win. The Canadiens went 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.The Canadiens got off to a very slow start in the Capitals game. The Habs relied heavily on goaltender Dustin Tokarski (30 saves on 31 shots) to keep the game close until they got their legs moving. Washington clung to an early 1-0 lead that they nursed until midway through the third period. Finally, Plekanec knotted the score with his third goal in two games. In the shootout, Brendan Gallagher notched the game-winning goal in the fifth round. First-round and second-round shooters Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais also converted their attempts.Montreal went 0-for-5 on the power play in Washington. The Canadiens were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill against the Capitals.Projected Lineups (subject to change, will be updated as needed)FLYERS12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek10 Brayden Schenn - 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 18 R.J. Umberger36 Zac Rinaldo - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 42 Jason Akeson47 Andrew MacDonald - 55 Nick Schultz8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit15 Michael Del Zotto - 22 Luke Schenn29 Ray Emery[35 Steve Mason]Scratches: Blair Jones (healthy), Braydon Coburn (lower body).CANADIENS27 Alex Galchenyuk - 14 Tomas Plekanec - 11 Brendan Gallagher67 Max Pacioretty - 51 David Desharnais - 15 P.A. Parenteau17 Rene Bourque - 81 Lars Eller - 26 Jiri Sekac8 Brandon Prust - 20 Manny Malhotra - 32 Travis Moen74 Alexei Emelin - 76 P.K. Subban79 Andrei Markov - 77 Tom Gilbert28 Nathan Beaulieu - 43 Mike Weaver31 Carey Price[35 Dustin Tokarski]Scratches: Michael Bournival (healthy), Jarred Tinordi (healthy), Dale Weise (healthy)================================================================================================================================ Ok thoughts? Opinions? Can there be an important game so early in the season as the 3rd game of the season. I dunno, but for the Flyers looking the Ducks / Starts / Blackhawks / Pens / Red Wings / Kings / and Bolts all looming on the horizon, a loss tonight could have the Flyers looking in very step hole. Granted it is still only the 3rd game of game of the season, but already this defense has more holes in in than than a porcupine"s underwear. Razor gets the nod in goal tonight over Mason. Montreal is good at moving the puck and will certainly test Emery's side to side movement , which we all know got utterly exposed during the playoffs last year. the 1st line of McDud and Schultz absolutely is appalling and is making me want to throw up just typing that out. OMG what a freaking disaster in the making. Interesting to note they moved VLC up to the 2nd line center position. IMO, I thought Coot's second line was doing a pretty good job. The only reason I can think of is that fact Berube wants Coots to hope be a defensive specialist ans shut down the top line of Montreal. I see VLC was on 2nd line Thursday night, but I though it was just for a shift or two. Did not think it was going to be permanent. The great experiment trying to find a winger for G and Jake continues as Raffl is now on the top line. Sadly I see the Flyers defense to continue their woes. Montreal was a playoff team last year with some good players. With this defense as it is now and lack of side to side mobility of Razor....... Habs 5Flyers 2 (Simmer / Read) Folks this is gonna get much more uglier before it gets better. Trying not to be so negative....but with current defensive line-up we throw out there, many top AHL line-ups could abuse this defense.
flyercanuck Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 @pilldoc Can't say I'm looking forward to this....too many Han fan friends...can we bring LeClair and Briere in for a game? I don't consider you being realistic as being negative. The team just isn't that good. I think it's closer (this year) to mcDavid than it is to a cup.
mojo1917 Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 i have this vision of the Harlem Globetrotters with this game...guess who i think will play the part of the washington generals... ugh
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 @pilldoc Can't say I'm looking forward to this....too many Han fan friends...can we bring LeClair and Briere in for a game? I don't consider you being realistic as being negative. The team just isn't that good. I think it's closer (this year) to mcDavid than it is to a cup. And I would be ok with that..... As I stated numerous times, as long as they don't take shifts off and try to play as much as 60 minutes as possible. Berube can only do so much with this defense as what he has been handed to him.
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 i have this vision of the Harlem Globetrotters with this game...guess who i think will play the part of the washington generals... ugh PK Subban = Curly Neal
flyercanuck Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 @pilldoc Exactly. And if the team can only win so many games (while showing some compete) then at least at the end of the season there's an upgrade at a position to look forward to in the future. Instead of trading those away for a fix now that just keeps us in the top half of the league for another couple of years.
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 @flyercanuck you know it is bad and that October is the month for Halloween... you have a 5th and 7th man d-man pairing masquerading as a top line pair..... (wish I could take credit for this...saw it posted somewhere else and it was so funny I had to share)
Samifan Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 This has all the makings of another blow out (like the Caps game a couple of years ago). Speedy Habs vs the artists currenlty known as the Flyers D. Score will get ugly, Emery will skate the length of the ice and mug Price. A couple of Flyers will get injured trying to participate in the brawl Emery starts. Flyers will use this humiliating loss as a rallying point and proceed to win 4 straight
brelic Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 I'm thinking Habs win 5-1. Berube is proving just as impatient as Laviolette when it comes to line combos. Brayden Schenn didn't even get a full game with G and Jake. You know, Schenn *might* not be the guy in the long run, but it sure as heck ain't gonna be Raffl. He does not belong on a top NHL line. Seriously, just give Schenn like 10 games with the top line.
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 This has all the makings of another blow out (like the Caps game a couple of years ago). Speedy Habs vs the artists currenlty known as the Flyers D. Score will get ugly, Emery will skate the length of the ice and mug Price. A couple of Flyers will get injured trying to participate in the brawl Emery starts. Flyers will use this humiliating loss as a rallying point and proceed to win 4 straight And the funny thing is I could see that happening
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 I'm thinking Habs win 5-1. Berube is proving just as impatient as Laviolette when it comes to line combos. Brayden Schenn didn't even get a full game with G and Jake. You know, Schenn *might* not be the guy in the long run, but it sure as heck ain't gonna be Raffl. He does not belong on a top NHL line. Seriously, just give Schenn like 10 games with the top line. well if we going down that road then why the hell is VLC back with Read and Simmer. IMO, I thought Coots was doing just fine as 2nd line center. Bejeebus...dosen't anyone is this organ-I-zation have any patience ....excluding Hexy.
brelic Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 well if we going down that road then why the hell is VLC back with Read and Simmer. IMO, I thought Coots was doing just fine as 2nd line center. Bejeebus...dosen't anyone is this organ-I-zation have any patience ....excluding Hexy.Exactly. I wish they would have given the lines a bit more of a chance.
briere48 Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 Exactly. I wish they would have given the lines a bit more of a chance. until they actually get a first line sniper or playmaker for that first line, scoring is going to be a problem, why do you think the kings first line was so good in the playoffs? because they added gabby which he was a speed skater but also a sniper, that first line clicked. braylon schenn is not gabby, he's not the answer, no one on the roster is answer they have trade for a sniper, that's the only way the first line is going to click.
hf101 Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 @pilldoc Can we not have a 0- 3 start for the third consecutive year?
pilldoc Posted October 11, 2014 Author Posted October 11, 2014 @pilldoc Can we not have a 0- 3 start for the third consecutive year? seams to be their MO recently....(rolling my eyes)
doom88 Posted October 11, 2014 Posted October 11, 2014 Rinaldo and Bellemare made an interesting PK combo, and Rinaldo actually created a short handed scoring chance 3 on 2. Good speed on those two.
mojo1917 Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 terrible third period...disinterested spectating will yield such a result too bad too, everyone was happy in the chat at the end of the second.
OccamsRazor Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 @pilldoc Can we not have a 0- 3 start for the third consecutive year? Yes!!! 0-2-1................there jinxed!!!!!!!!!!! Sort of..........
brelic Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Luke Schenn needs to be scratched. He is atrocious.
OccamsRazor Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Luke Schenn needs to be scratched. He is atrocious. Trade him and his brother for Mikkel Boedker frees up some cash and moves two mediocre guys at once and lands them a 24 year old LW for Giroux.
Samifan Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Earlier today someone posted this game was going to be like the Harlem Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals, well that 3rd period certainly looked it like. Never seen a game where one team dominated a zone so easily. Disgusting!
OccamsRazor Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Earlier today someone posted this game was going to be like the Harlem Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals, while that 3rd period certainly looked it like. Never seen a game where one team dominated a zone so easily. Disgusting! Luckily i got home late and didn't have to watch the whole thing i turned in on just in time to see the uninterested Flyer forward attempt a shootout. I checked earlier and seen it was 3-0 by the time i got home is was 3-3..........good ol Flyers.
brelic Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 I guess these are the growing pains we're all talking about, eh? The sloppy defensive zone play is not surprising so far. I think we all expected that. But I do see a lot of confused players - forwards included - in the d zone.
OccamsRazor Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 I guess these are the growing pains we're all talking about, eh? The sloppy defensive zone play is not surprising so far. I think we all expected that. But I do see a lot of confused players - forwards included - in the d zone. I can't comment on tonight because i didn't see but OT and the shootout. But what i saw in the other 2 games is what i expected. They stink. And i can't see this group of misfits getting much better.
sarsippius Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 You are what your record says you are, once said a coach for a team that I loathe. The Flyers are not better than average and we've discussed how things got this way ad naseum. The front office has to have the team in top 8 in the East for purely business reasons, and unfortunately I see this having the potential to stifle what we should be calling short term rebuild. Hexy needs to keep walking the walk and resist pressure from above to make a stupid deal that nets you maybe an extra couple points in the standings with a quick playoff exit anyway.
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