Archive: March, 2010
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
All season, the Flyers have been Team Enigma, streakier than your car windows after your vehicle has been sitting under a sap-dropping oak tree for a few days.
Hot. Cold. Coach fired. Cold. Hot. Cold. Hot. Olympic break. Cold.
All of which means that another hot streak is coming.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
My, that looked easy.
The Flyers _ whose late-season fade had started to conjure memories of the infamous '64 Phillies _ finally put together three solid periods Sunday. They got three goals from defensemen for the first time since 2005, killed all six shorthanded situations, and ended a five-game losing streak by defeating the visiting New Jersey Devils, 5-1.
“We took the initiative on offense and got a full effort,” coach Peter Laviolette said.
Now they need to repeat that effort in the final six games of the regular season. They don't play again until Thursday against the host New York Islanders.
The Flyers, who moved from No. 8 to No. 6 in the Eastern Conference, haven't won two straight since March 7-9 _ 11 games ago.
For what it's worth, the Flyers are 13-2 against the New York area teams _ 5-1 vs. the New Jersey Devils, 5-0 against the New York Islanders, and 3-1 against the New York Rangers.
The line of Danny Briere, Simon Gagne and Ville Leino was dominating Sunday. Ditto the Flyers’ penalty-killing units, led by Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts.
Goalie Brian Boucher outplayed the legendary Martin Brodeur, who was replaced after two periods and continued to struggle against the Flyers.
Defensemen Kimmo Timonen, Lukas Krajicek and Matt Carle were among the Flyers' scorers. It ws the first time three of their defensemen had scored in a game since Oct. 14, 2005, when Derian Hatcher, Joni Pitkanen and Mike Rathje had goals in a 6-5 OT win in Pittsburgh.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH - The Flyers, it has become clear, have serious character flaws.
When they get a break - like the gift goal goalie Marc-Andre Fleury handed them early in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins - they fail to keep a deflated opponent down.
And when they face adversity - like when Simon Gagne’s second-period goal, which would have given the Flyers a 2-1 lead, was disallowed - they fold.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE: Backlund indeed will get the start Saturday in Pittsburgh.
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Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
After the Flyers’ 2-0 loss in Ottawa Tuesday, Mike Richards said his team didn’t play with enough urgency.
As the Flyers’ captain, it’s time for Richards to get into the faces of the players he thinks are guilty.
This is Richards’ second year as captain; it’s also the second year the Flyers have folded down the stretch.
A year ago, the Flyers went 7-7-1 in their final 15 regular-season games and slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference, losing the home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It was a recipe for disaster, and the Flyers fell to the Penguins in six games.
Tuesday’s loss was the Flyers’ fifth in six games. They are tied for sixth, but are only four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta.
Richards said the Flyers “had a little bit of a lack of motivation and a lack of urgency, which shouldn’t be there. It’s frustrating and it has to change.”
The Flyers, who are without injured star Jeff Carter for the rest of the regular season, have scored two goals or fewer in five of their last eight games.
Most of the players on the top three lines have been unproductive recently. Consider:
** Darroll Powe hasn’t scored a goal in his last 25 games.
** James van Riemsdyk and Arron Asham each haven’t scored in their last 12 games.
** Dan Carcillo has one goal in his last 12 games.
** Danny Briere has one goal in his last nine games.
** Claude Giroux, who took Carter’s spot on the second line Tuesday, has two goals in the last 19 games.
** Richards has two goals in his last 10 games.
** Scott Hartnell has three goals in his last 27 games.
To make matters worse, the Flyers are 0 for 13 on the power play in their last four games.
They will try to regroup Thursday against visiting Minnesota. It’s a proverbial “must” game for the Flyers, who have been outscored in the first periods of their last five games, 10-3. They have trailed at the end of the first period in each of those five games.
Yep, another recipe for disaster.
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Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
With Jeff Carter sidelined for the rest of the regular season because of a broken bone in his left foot, the Flyers are counting on Cluade Giroux to break out of his scoring slump and pick up some of the slack.
Giroux has just two goals in his last 18 games entering Tuesday's key matchup in Ottawa. He has been elevated to the second line, taking Carter's spot and flanked by wingers Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere.
Here are the Flyers' lines for Tuesday's contest:
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers’ playoff charge may have been derailed by the stunning news Monday that Jeff Carter, their leading scorer, will miss the next three to four weeks with a broken bone in his left foot.
Carter was injured blocking a shot taken by Atlanta’s Clarke MacArthur in the first period of Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Thrashers. Carter played the rest of the game, but an MRI on Monday revealed the fracture.
Carter, who has played in 286 straight games _ the third-longest streak in franchise history _ leads the Flyers with 33 goals and 60 points.
“Obviously, he’s a big part of our team; he’s a big-time goal scorer that we rely on,” defenseman Chris Pronger said. “It’s going to take a group effort to kind of fill in from the offensive production standpoint, but he does a lot more things for our team than that. That’s where he’s going to be missed as well.”
With a little less than three weeks left in the regular season, Carter wouldn’t return until the first-round of the playoffs _ if the Flyers get there.
They entered Monday's action tied for fifth in the East, but are just four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta. The Flyers have lost four of their last five games.
"This year has been full of opportunities for others to step up.....Guys now have an opportunity to play a role and more minutes," said coach Peter Laviolette, whose team plays a key game in Ottawa Tuesday.
Carter's injury figures to give Claude Giroux more ice time. Giroux has been mired in a deep slump _ two goals in his last 18 games _ and needs to produce if the Flyers are going to reach the post-season.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Are the Flyers collapsing right before our eyes?
Two straight losses to sad-sack Atlanta, including Sunday’s 3-1 setback at the Wachovia Center, have raised that question.
Entering a home-and-home weekend series with the Thrashers, the Flyers had the NHL’s second-best record over the last 10 weeks.
But all that consistent play means nothing if they don’t get their act together down the stretch.
In Sunday’s loss, Atlanta goalie Ondrej Pavelec (44 saves) outplayed a shaky Brian Boucher (28 saves), moving ninth-place Atlanta to within four points of the Flyers in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers have 79 points, the same number as Montreal and Ottawa. All three teams are tied for fifth (excluding tie-breakers) and have 10 games left.
The Flyers play at struggling Ottawa Tuesday, host Minnesota on Thursday, and then travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Ottawa, which has lost five straight, plays at Montreal on Monday. That means the Flyers will drop to sixth or seventh before their next game.
Suddenly, the playoffs aren’t a lock.
The Flyers, who somehow lost all four games to Atlanta this season, fell into a 2-0 first-period hole Sunday and never recovered. In their last four games, they have been outscored in the first period by a combined 9-3.
“Obviously it’s easier to play with a lead than coming back; we’re not making enough offense in the first period to get the opportunities and get goals and then play with the lead,” said Mike Richards, who scored his second goal in the last nine games. “Some of that obviously has to be corrected, and in a hurry.”
If not, there will be major changes made in the off-season.
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Phantoms goalie Johan Backlund, who is recovering from a groin injury, appears about ready to join the Flyers.
Just a hunch: Backlund gets a start Thursday against Minnesota.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA _ Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere, the Flyers’ veteran leaders, were incredulous about the team’s listless 5-2 loss to lowly Atlanta on Saturday.
So was head coach Peter Laviolette.
The visiting Flyers showed little offense _ they had a total of 12 shots in the first two periods _ and their defensemen allowed the Thrashers to camp around the net all night as they fell to an inexplicable 0-3 against Atlanta this season.
The Flyers were fortunate to stay in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they need a much better effort Sunday night if they are going to beat Atlanta at the Wachovia Center.
The Flyers have 11 games left, and if they play like they did Saturday, it won’t matter who they face in the playoffs. They will be first-round fodder.
It should be noted that the Flyers have been one of the NHL’s most consistent teams the last 10 weeks. Since Jan. 6, only Washington has a better record.
But they are fading at in an inopportune time. They finished 1-2-1 on the road trip, one that started at ended with clunkers against the Rangers and Thrashers, respectively.
Laviolette was puzzled as to how the Flyers didn’t match the Thrashers’ intensity.
“You can talk the talk; ultimately, though, it comes down to how you walk. And they walked with a pretty good swagger and a pretty good pace tonight,” he said. “We played like it was just another game.”
Said Pronger: “We haven’t been able to get any consistency through the course of the season. We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty. We need to find it.”
The defensive pairing of Braydon Coburn (minus-three) and Ryan Parent (minus-2) struggled mightily. It wouldn’t be surprising if Oskars Bartulis is inserted into the lineup Sunday.
Atlanta moved to within a point of Boston for the eighth and final East playoff spot.
“We need those points as much as they do,” said Laperriere, whose team has the same amount of points as Ottawa and Montreal. “We’re not in the playoffs by any means.”
The Flyers are just six points ahead of the ninth-place Thrashers.
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Early in the game, Laperriere lost a decision to Eric Boulton in his 200th NHL fight.
"That's pretty much shows that I have been around a long time,” Laperriere said. “It is not something I came into the league thinking about. Fighting is part of my role to help my team win. I still think like that at 36. The day I change my mind I am going to have to retire because I won't be as effective."
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Breakaways. Dan Carcillo and Blair Betts scored for the Flyers…..Claude Giroux was minus-3……Mike Richards has one goal in the last eight games….. Atlanta blocked 21 shots _ 11 more than the Flyers…..Colby Armstrong, whom the Flyers tried to acquire before the trade deadline, had his second straight two-goal game…..Goalie Brian Boucher had little defensive support. Three of Atlanta’s goals were scored on rebounds….Atlanta coach John Anderson expects a more competitive game Sunday. “Going into Philly will be a little tougher,” he said. “”They’re going to be a little more prepared. They’re going to play hard.”
