Flyers believe in Bryz
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Flyers believe in Bryz
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
EDMONTON, Alberta _ Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who will start Thursday night’s game in Edmonton, knows he has had an up-and-down first year with the Flyers, but also realizes he can still save the season.
“Twenty three games left. Plenty of time to fix it,” he said.
Bryzgalov is 21-11-6 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .898 save percentage. After Thursday’s morning skate, coach Peter Laviolette hinted he will ride Bryzgalov down the stretch.
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if the 31-year-old goalie started all four games on the road trip, which started with Tuesday’s riveting 5-4 overtime win in Winnipeg.
Bryzgalov knows if he regains his mojo and has a strong playoff run, his regular-season funk will be forgotten.
“If I can play at the level I can and we have success, nobody will care what was in the past,” he told Edmonton reporters on Wednesday.
Center Claude Giroux said the Flyers, aware Bryzgalov is going through a tumultuous period, “have his back.”
Danny Briere agreed.
“He’s had some bad games, but he’s also been good at times. It’s just a matter of time,” Briere said. “We all go through bad stretches, and goalies are not any different. There’s a reason why they signed him to a big contract. He’s a good goaltender, and I think it’s just a matter of him getting his confidence and getting his swagger back.”
Bryzgalov has played in 41 games, Sergei Bobrovsky has been in 24.
“We will need them; there’s no other way around it,” Briere said. “We need both of these guys to get going for us to be successful.”
Briere said Bryzgalov has received unfair criticism.
“People are quick to report how Bryz has struggled, but they forget how he’s had good stretches. It kind of gets lost some time,” Briere said. “I’m not worried. I think Bryz is a good goaltender and he’ll be there when it matters. That’s what we all believe.”
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Left winger James van Riemsdyk reiterated he wanted to stay with the Flyers, but he wasn’t going to worry about something that was out of his control.
The trade deadline is Monday, and JVR’s name has been in the rumor mill.
“This is where I want to be. Obviously, I like all the guys on the team,” he said. “I just want to play my game and focus on hockey and what I can control. Coming back from an injury, I just want to play consistently. Just play as well as I can and the rest will take care of itself.”
* * *
Probable lines tonight in Edmonton:
* Hartnell-G-Simmonds.
* Read-Briere-Jagr
* JVR-Schenn-Voracek.
* Talbot-Couturier-Rinaldo.
* * *
Columbus dealt former Flyer Jeff Carter to the Kings for defenseman Jack Johnson and a No. 1 pick in 2012 or 2013.
Carter will be reunited with Mike Richards; the two go together like Cheech & Chong back in the day. Inseparable.
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Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
Bryz is a nice guy but a mediocre goalie. It's hard to hate on a likeable guy but there's a lot at stake- we need points and he lets in too many softies. However, Flyers fans are used to mediocre goaltending so we'll eventually settle in to each other, but he will never live up to his contract playing under the pressure of a hardcore hockey city. This ain't Phoenix and we hold players accountable for poor play. His best performances come from playing in a city with very few expectations, but when you throw in the pressure to win he folds like a card table so don't expect any deep playoff runs with Bryz either.— Fly Guy- I'm starting to believe that Philly has turned into the Bermuda Triangle for talented hockey players. Star forwards arrive and go through a laundry list of injuries from the first day they don the jersey. Established, star goalies become shaky and inconsistent at best. Leaves me scratching my head (not recommended for Flyers players, for they will likely end up concussed).— Hugh Jass
- As long as he is winning.....— shmoo
- SO carter is back with Richards.......This should be interestering.
They both can party in the same town again......
— shmoo - It's also possible Yellowstone will explode as a supervolcano. It's been 600,000 years since the last explosion, so we're due.— 4thand10
- The question posted for this message board is disturbing. It seems like an invitation to have a two-minute-hate on Bryzgalov. That happens anyway everyday without direct prompt. I try not to bag on the writers, but this is a tired topic and the question seems rhetorical. How about: do you think Bryzgalov has the ability to play well? or: Is it too late for Bryz in Philly? Can he turn his game around? What does he need to do to change his game? Any of these might elicit more constructive answers than a question: are you confident in the goalie that hasn't been able to steal a game, yet? or how about: do you like it when the Flyers lose? How do you feel when a puck goes in our net? Hate-bating journalism is lame.— stonelamb
- I believe in Andy Reid.— eaglessuck@life
- A goalie that isn't flailing around for a save is a good thing - at least that what I was taught, and Bryz is sure statuesque in net - maybe too much. He seems to be so slow to react to shots, like a couple others, I suspect his vision isn't as sharp as he thinks it is.— doctorlivingstone
- Go Bryz Buddy!!— NFLD Flyer
- The Flyers are screwed. After last year's meltdown in the playoffs, Phoenix fans lined up to help him pack when he left. They were saying good riddence— rustypop58
- I can't see Bryz finding his mojo this season. He's never responded to pressure and that is just increasing now, as the playoffs approach. Sorry to read the coach may ride him now rather than trying to get the more athletic Bob ready for the postseason.— VicM
- A lot of money for a goalie who has not been the (winning) difference in any game this year. Here's a question, for all of the money does he put in extra time to work on his terrible shoot out skills? I'm guessing not. He's content with his contract and won't find mojo if he just sits around waiting for it. Send him tiger hunting to Siberia.— burholme
- According to Frank Seravalli's Kubina article: "The Oilers were by far Ilya Bryzgalov's worst Western Conference opponent (3.00 goals-against, 8-6-0 record) during his 6 years spent with Anaheim and Phoenix". This should be an interesting game.
— icarus - He's always been excellent in the regular season and shaky in the playoffs so if he decided to switch it around this year I'll take it!— hillbillybirdsfan
- Why didnt philly.com post my last comment on this article there was absolutely nothing wrong with what I posted..Its OK though to plaster everybodys computer with garbage spam and advertisements that is potentially dangerous..You people need to grow up!!!!— TheRod
- ...and I believe I'll have another drink.— Nicher
- Im with wheelhouse, support one and support them all. Its entertainment for me, and thats one thing they are, from Ilya to Jagr, is entertaining. A cup would be nice too, but its just a game, there's bigger problems in the world. I say Rinaldo drops the gloves tonight and Jagr gets another goal.— arcadegm
- glad to hear this is his perspective as it is very true! Only way to redeem himself and put everything in the past is to kick a** the rest of the way. He could still be a hero here but we need to see a real turnaround or this will not go away but will get worse. rootin for Ilya!— connorjr
- The old saying , "actions speak louder than words" applies in Bryz's case. He still has time to "fix it".— dogman5
- Good to see the team unite and Bryz with the confidence to change things around. I, for one, am going to support this team and enjoy the remainder of the season. Whether you like him or not, the Flyers have decided that Bryz is their goalie. You can complain about the ridiculous contract all day, but it's better to hope we get something out of it. I've been a Flyers fan all my life. I'm not old enough to remember Parent, but I remember the bad Hextall years as much as the good ones. There's something about this team this year that gets me going. Call me a cheerleader or whatever, but at least I'm having fun watching and I hope everyone else can have fun, too.— PhillyWheelhouse
- Look for a big game out of the Schenn/JVR/Voracek line tonight, huge matchup advantage for them and I think they're due to have a nice night.— sla6yer
- I asked this question before and no one replied... I'll try again.
How do you think the Flyers would do if they pulled their goalie from the drop of the puck each game.
Humor me. Think about it. Can it get any worse?— MarkusAllen - 1. Bryz is a likeable guy but I'm tired of reading his quotes. I'd like to see him shut up and play.
2. Did I miss something, Sam? When did he have this mojo that he now needs to regain? I haven't seen any period of consistently good play from him since he won 6 of those 7 straight wins in the first half of December (and even then, he gave up 14 goals in 6 games, so it's not like he was lights-out). I'm not sure, but I think that was also the only time this season that Bryz started and finished more than 4 games in a row.
3. 23 games could be enough time to "fix it" (by which I assume he means fix his game, not advance in the standings), but it's not "plenty of time". I don't like the sound of that at all; reminds me of Mike Richards saying "It's just one loss".
4. On the plus side, it will be nice to see the team step out there without any injury scratches other than the long-term guys. This is a very winnable game -- looking forward to a W tonight.— 1980 - Sun came up today, Flyers still have goalie problems. What else is new.— DennyP
- tee hee?— Crayonic
- and Linus believes in the "Great Pumpkin" on Halloween— warbiscuit
