Round 2: Flyers vs Islanders Thread

[OccamsRazor]

13 minutes ago, eleven24 said:

Still, I'd like to see G rewarded with a legit run before his time here is done.

 

Well he has to go out there and make it happen like he use to prior to 2012 like he use to.

 

If Danny Briere could do it at 32 then so should he be able to impose his will on the opposing team.

 

I think it's deep down buried inside of him and he needs to find it before it's too late.

 

I'm sorry if he can't find it tonight in the biggest game of his career up until this point it will never happen again in the orange and black and he will have to listen to the question about his tenure in Philly all offseason...

 

[OccamsRazor]

48 minutes ago, Podein25 said:

I have only one desire for today's game which I know we are going to lose

 

Sounds like you're out of bourbon.

 

I hope they can find a way to man up and win tonight besides I am not ready tonshave my playoff beard especially how all the young ladies I work with have told me how distinguished I look.

 

And it will give us all something else to talk about for another day or two.

 

Let's not lose hope yet. I will help remind you if you help remind me...I will need it.

 

[OccamsRazor]

@Podein25

 

There is a slight glimmer of hope AV helped lead the Rangers back down 3-1 to the Penguins on their way to the Cup finals in 2013-14.

 

And again in 2014-15 down 3-1 to the Caps in the second round.

 

First team ever to come back down 3-1 in back to back years.

 

So there is my positive post for today...

[Podein25]

2 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

@Podein25

 

There is a slight glimmer of hope AV helped lead the Rangers back down 3-1 to the Penguins on their way to the Cup finals in 2013-14.

 

And again in 2014-15 down 3-1 to the Caps in the second round.

 

First team ever to come back down 3-1 in back to back years.

 

So there is my positive post for today...

 

I appreciate it. 

[RonJeremy]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

Yes. And now AV will have a full year and playoff run under his belt to give Chuckles the feedback he needs to further access the situation.

 

Guys I don't want back:

 

Braun

Thompson

Grant

JVR

 

I have seen enough of those guys to know it is time to find other replacements for them weather it is younger prospects who can take next year to learn on the job or though free agent replacements.

 

The tougher decisions:

 

Giroux

Voracek

Laughton

Raffl

Ghost

Hagg

Elliott

 

Chuckles has his work cut out for him.

Haag blocks alot of shots and does the majority of the hitting on defense,  if we dump Braun and Zamula steps in, then I would keep Haag and Ghost and split their time mext season,  unless someone makes a good  offer for Ghost. Ghost can be shopped at the draft for an offensive player, or a better pick, but if there is no worthwhile deal to be had,  then you have to let him play enough games to showcase him and hope he returns to form,  otherwise,  we are mot getting much for him.

Laughton is one of our hardest working players, he is a perfect third line guy,  I would keep him. G and Voracek, I would see if anyone is insane enough to give us a good prospect for them, maybe we pick up some of the contract $$

[MaineFlyFan]

So here is an interesting take (maybe obvious) that I heard on NHL radio yesterday on my drive home.

 

The guy talked about teams playing consistent hockey, win or loose. The Flyers play SUPER DUPER GOOD, but then play SUPER DUPER DUPER BAD....Their highs are HIGH but their lows are L.O.W.

 

The Isles have played the SAME even keeled (albeit boring) hockey ALL SEASON. What you see is what you get. They stick to it....they are patient. Trotz? Personel? who knows.

 

Again, one of the biggest things that gets me about this team....they are either playing LIGHTS OUT hockey or look like utter crap. There is no in between with this team. Plus G having no goals is a serious problem as is the money tied up in JVR.

 

I;ve been saying it for like 5 seasons now. JECKYLE AND HYDE! Can't have that if your gonna win it all.....10 game win streak where they DOMINATE ALL COMPETITION followed by 9 game loosing streaks where they look like the ****** Coyotes!!..... MADDENING!!

 

And in my opinion, the ONLY thing this team has not changed is it's leadership/core....

 

See ya all in Dec for some more Schizophrenic hockey!!

[OccamsRazor]

Bill Meltzer

 

@billmeltzer

 

AV mentioned that Giroux and JVR were the Farabees and the TKs of the team during the 2010 comeback against Boston. Said "maybe it's their turn to put the big boy pants on.... it's a great opportunity for this guys to step to the forefront."

 

 

I wish Giroux had like 5 goals and 11 points through the first two rounds.

 

I wish. Farabee did have two vs Montreal and TK has 4 helpers but far and away not Giroux and JVR of 2010.

 

But hey maybe they can both make their mark tonight. If not now then when?

[OccamsRazor]

Let's not forget TK did get his feet wet back in 2008-09 in the playoffs.

 

This is Joel first playoff run  and not sure about TK it's his second playoffs and he was an Allstars this year, just can't figure this team out.

[RonJeremy]

Has anyone heard anything about the lineup tonight?  Are we,  at minimum, shaking up the lines a bit, or do we keep the same losing combinations together and hope that the Pitlick line wins it for us? Maybe bench Thompson, put in Frost or maybe dress Ghost for PP duty and a few shifts on wing , at least he can keep up with the Isles speed.  The worst thing that can happen is ,we lose. Isnt the definition of insanity basically doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Our line combinations suck, switch things up, do something. 

[CoachX]

6 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Has anyone heard anything about the lineup tonight?  Are we,  at minimum, shaking up the lines a bit, or do we keep the same losing combinations together and hope that the Pitlick line wins it for us? Maybe bench Thompson, put in Frost or maybe dress Ghost for PP duty and a few shifts on wing , at least he can keep up with the Isles speed.  The worst thing that can happen is ,we lose. Isnt the definition of insanity basically doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Our line combinations suck, switch things up, do something. 

I agree with everything you say, but in reality,  the lines have been changed up quite a bit. The result has been the same

 

Insane!

[OccamsRazor]

11 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Has anyone heard anything about the lineup tonight?  Are we,  at minimum, shaking up the lines a bit, or do we keep the same losing combinations together and hope that the Pitlick line wins it for us? Maybe bench Thompson, put in Frost or maybe dress Ghost for PP duty and a few shifts on wing , at least he can keep up with the Isles speed.  The worst thing that can happen is ,we lose. Isnt the definition of insanity basically doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Our line combinations suck, switch things up, do something. 

 

From Bill M. tweet he said Raffl was skating but said he didn't think AV wasn't going to change anything up.

[Digityman]

27 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Maybe bench Thompson, put in Frost or maybe dress Ghost for PP duty and a few shifts on wing , at least he can keep up with the Isles speed. 

 

^^^ This.  Change it up.  Down 3-1 and getting outclassed usually means it's time to change it up - and not just the lines.

[RonJeremy]

21 minutes ago, CoachX said:

I agree with everything you say, but in reality,  the lines have been changed up quite a bit. The result has been the same

 

Insane!

They change the lines fof a shift or two,  what do they expect. Giroux and Voracek especially need to be on different lines.

[RonJeremy]

18 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

From Bill M. tweet he said Raffl was skating but said he didn't think AV wasn't going to change anything up.

Oh , thank god  ringer like Raffl is the answer to our prayers. Raffl should certainly be playing over Thompson or Grant, is he hurt or just benched?

[eleven24]

My NHL20 lines tonight would be:

 

NAK - Giroux - Voracek

Frost - Couturier -  Konecny

Raffl - Hayes - JVR

Farabee - Laughton - Pitlick

 

Myers - Provorov

Sanheim - Hagg

Niskanen - Ghost

[OccamsRazor]

53 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Oh , thank god  ringer like Raffl is the answer to our prayers. Raffl should certainly be playing over Thompson or Grant, is he hurt or just benched?

 

He the 2nd leading a scorer in the playoffs for them, let that sink in for a minute...

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by OccamsRazor
Trust The Bourbon!!!!

[RonJeremy]

41 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

He the 2nd leading a scorer in the playoffs for them, let that sink in for a minute...

 

So then why the hell is he benched in favor of Nate Thompson. 

[OccamsRazor]

Just now, RonJeremy said:

So then why the hell is he benched in favor of Nate Thompson. 

 

I think he is dealing with an injury remember they can't reveal that stuff...unless you're Montreal of course.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I love that AV has put the heat on G, JVR and the rest of the veterans tonight. It's time for them to step up and break through the Islanders. This is also the firing shot that if they fail, there's going to be repercussions this offseason. Don't think for one second that he and Chuck don't have a list of players already that they're going to get rid of. 

 

As for who to get rid of, I've already posted who I think they should get rid of. They need to let Thompson, Grant, and Braun walk and look at moving Voracek, J van Useless, Hagg and Gostibehere. I also had Laughton, but that would require a very good return. It's not like they're gutting the team either, especially when others are capable of stepping up (I'd put NAK on the right side of Giroux - Couturier, Lindblom on the left side of Hayes - Konecny and then have Laughton on the wing on a line of Frost - Patrick and finally a fourth of Raffl - Laczynski - Pitlick; the defense would be Provorov - Niskanen; Sanheim - Meyers; Zamula/Hogberg - Friedman). The Flyers also free up money and can replenish the pipeline in some of those trades.

 

[elmatus]

I definitely think it's fair to look at moving some of the core. Certainly Voracek and JVR shouldn't be Flyers next season, and I would expect that to be on Fletch's list also. I would say the same for Ghost, if anyone wants him. Personally, I'm not opposed to moving Giroux either, though I doubt it'll happen for a variety of reasons.

 

That said, the sad and awful truth is we really don't have any high caliber studs waiting to take over this team. And yeah, that isn't necessary for every cup winning team, but for every 19-20 STL Blues, there are any number of Pens, Caps, Bruins, Hawks, Kings, etc, etc, etc. The vast majority of true contenders have at least one of the league's top players. We have zero such players now, and we have zero prospects who are likely to become that in the short term (or ever).

 

Frost, Allison, Rubstov... these guys may make the league, but it's highly likely they would top out as good supportive mid-six players at best. Patrick is really the only one who ever had top billing, and frankly we would have seen something from him by now if he had that level of potential.

 

Can guys develop an extra gear later in their careers? Sure, it's not impossible, but it's extremely rare. And those who do reach that level without much fanfare leading up to it rarely play at that level for very long (see: Benn, Jamie). 

 

The good news is we have a goalie and defensive core that is young and seems to be headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, finding key top-level forwards is an elusive prospect at best.

Edited September 1, 2020 by elmatus

[eleven24]

First time in the last 2 rounds I've seen the Flyers use the forecheck to dictate play the entire period.  

 

Need another 40 minutes of it.

 

Giroux looks great too.

[SCFlyguy]

59 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

As for who to get rid of, I've already posted who I think they should get rid of. They need to let Thompson, Grant, and Braun walk and look at moving Voracek, J van Useless, Hagg and Gostibehere. I also had Laughton, but that would require a very good return. It's not like they're gutting the team either, especially when others are capable of stepping up (I'd put NAK on the right side of Giroux - Couturier, Lindblom on the left side of Hayes - Konecny and then have Laughton on the wing on a line of Frost - Patrick and finally a fourth of Raffl - Laczynski - Pitlick; the defense would be Provorov - Niskanen; Sanheim - Meyers; Zamula/Hogberg - Friedman). The Flyers also free up money and can replenish the pipeline in some of those trades.

Like 5% of this is going to happen.  Zamula is not going to go from the minors to the NHL.  Laczynski isn't going to go from the NCAA to the NHL.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

1 hour ago, SCFlyguy said:

Like 5% of this is going to happen.  Zamula is not going to go from the minors to the NHL.  Laczynski isn't going to go from the NCAA to the NHL.

Why not? Laczynski has been mentioned numerous times by the organization as being ready to make the jump. He's an older prospect, put in three years worth of school, has filled out, has played against men and is considered the most pro ready of the forwards. He'd also be playing on the fourth line, where he'd probably get about 10 to 11 minutes a night, nothing mind blowing. As for Zamula, the guy has practiced numerous times with the big club and is one of the 'black aces' as a player. There were other defensemen that could have been there, but they chose him for a reason. They want to see how close he is to being ready. And once again, he'd be a third pairing guy getting about 16 to 17 minutes a night. The days of the Ron Hextall and Dave Hakstol 'making prospects sit until they're beyond ready to join the big club' are gone. Fletcher and Vigneault are pushing these guys and they're basically saying it's sink or swim. There's zero reason to believe that these guys aren't ready to make the jump. Zero reason. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by BobbyClarkeFan16

[tucson83]

1 hour ago, elmatus said:

I definitely think it's fair to look at moving some of the core. Certainly Voracek and JVR shouldn't be Flyers next season, and I would expect that to be on Fletch's list also. I would say the same for Ghost, if anyone wants him. Personally, I'm not opposed to moving Giroux either, though I doubt it'll happen for a variety of reasons.

 

That said, the sad and awful truth is we really don't have any high caliber studs waiting to take over this team. And yeah, that isn't necessary for every cup winning team, but for every 19-20 STL Blues, there are any number of Pens, Caps, Bruins, Hawks, Kings, etc, etc, etc. The vast majority of true contenders have at least one of the league's top players. We have zero such players now, and we have zero prospects who are likely to become that in the short term (or ever).

 

 

do you see johnny g and jack eichel being that high caliber? because they are on the block i mean i dont know who else would that type of high caliber forward, not unless we have to get the jagr type of old player on this team until we find a young one somehow.

[trevluk]

I missed the explanation as to why our first 3rd goal was not actually a goal, can anyone fill me in? The puck was clearly stuck on the goalie pad and over the line.