Posted: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 1:22 AM | 18 comments |
 

Flyers' effort unacceptable
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   TORONTO _ The Flyers' season is at a crossroad.

   Either they regroup, take some momentum into the playoffs and make a strong Stanley Cup challenge.

    Or they continue their lackluster play, finish with a poor seeding and bow out in the first round of the playoffs.

    This is a team that has been very good for most of the season. Not great, but very good. After starting the season with six straight losses (0-3-3), the Flyers became one of the NHL's better teams.

    Until recently.

    On Wednesday night, they dropped a 3-2 decision to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs and missed a chance to move closer to the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils, who dropped their sixth straight.

    It was the Flyers' third loss in their last four games, and it left them tied for the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seed with Pittsburgh. The Flyers have six games left _ one more than the Penguins.

     Don't look now, but the Flyers (92 points) are closer to ninth-seeded Florida (87) than to third-seeded New Jersey (98 ) in the East.

     Inexplicably, the Flyers looked listless for 2 1/2 periods Wednesday. Against a Toronto team that has already been knocked out of the playoff picture and was forced to use a way-past-his-prime goalie (Curtis Joseph).

    Defenseman Kimmo Timonen called the effort unacceptable. He won't get an argument from here.

    It wasn't until the final 10 minutes of the game that the Flyers showed any urgency. And this from a team that all week was saying it wanted to finish strongly, like last year, and carry the momentum into the playoffs. 

    The Flyers plan to have a team meeting Thursday, but talk is cheap. The proof is on the ice. We'll see how they respond when they host Toronto on Friday.

   Notes. Marty Biron, who allowed three goals on 28 shots, was not happy to get pulled late in the second period with the Flyers trailing, 3-1.....The Flyers had 24 hits _ 15 more than the Leafs. Braydon Coburn had a game-high four hits......The Leafs blocked 19 shots _ 10 more than the Flyers.....Ryan Parent, Danny Briere and Timonen were each a minus-2.....Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist.....Jeff Carter had a game-high seven shots on goal but did not score. 

 

  
Posted by Sam Carchidi @ 1:22 AM  Permalink | 18 comments
18
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:12 AM, 04/02/2009
    watch them fall to the 8th or 9th seed. Does any blame John Stevens for the extreme up's and down's since he has been coaching?
    — gulls3012
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:26 AM, 04/02/2009
    why did they pull the Marty...how about call a time out and t-off?
    — lionpres
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:04 AM, 04/02/2009
    How about not allowing 28 shots in 2 periods. Maybe it is time to say that the D just plain stinks and perhaps the team just stinks. How can a contender in this spot in the season continually lay eggs. How can motivation be an issue. I hope Homer has the answers because I surely don't.
    — Reggie92
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:14 AM, 04/02/2009
    The lack of defensive talent has finally caught up to this team. Too many shots and not enough team effort on the ice. I was embarrassed to watch that team last night.
    — MH
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:29 AM, 04/02/2009
    John Stevens is an awful coach. There is no accountability on this team.
    — spj108
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:09 AM, 04/02/2009
    no heart!!! I didn't think i would ever say this but Mike Richards but he played horribly..... last two games the effort was a JOKE
    — flip77
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:07 PM, 04/02/2009
    Richards is too young to be captain. Give it to Knuble, and just let Richie play.
    — element_104
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:35 PM, 04/02/2009
    We have to keep in mind that this sport is a business and the money it generates is huge. And when the Flyers played the Leafs last night, they played the most money making team in the NHL. The problem with the Leafs though is they were bounced from the playoffs when they lost their last game and add to this equation the fact that the game was televised all across Canada on TSN. It all adds up to the fact the Leafs had to win or Bettman would have had a hissy fit. Last nights game was all about money, not standings and I believe the Flyers had to play with one hand behind their back. Even Detroit would have lost last night…no question. But Flyers fans have faith…wait until the Leafs show up in Philly...it will be a bombing because the Flyers will be allowed to win for a change. You could see in the third period when the Flyers were allowed to play and they controlled the play when they did. I am a huge hockey fan but I am finding alot or parallels with wrestling nowadays. It’s all about the money...not the hockey. Thanks Gary.
    — Hockey Dad
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:54 PM, 04/02/2009
    Let's not make excuses and blame the league for the lack of effort we saw last night. Sam's right, talk is cheap, and I don't care how many Team Meetings they'll have. The fact is the Devils have lost 6 straight and the Flyers are still 6 points back. That alone is unacceptable, regardless of the loss they had last night. And I hate hearing all this about "games in hand". At this point in the season they shouldn't need motivation or excuses to win games. There have been coaches that have been run out of this town for the wrong reasons, but I can't begin to blame the players on this team. If anyone should take the blame for the inconsistency this team has showed all year it should be John Stevens. This team has a chance to have 5, FIVE 30 goal scorers. And they don't lead their division? There's something wrong there.
    — mettore
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:32 PM, 04/02/2009
    absolutely horrible effort. They got beat to every puck and lost every battle. How depressed does Giroux have to be playing on a line with Carcillo? This does not look a team that is going to finish with a home playoff spot.
    — PhillyInVa
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:41 PM, 04/02/2009
    Look at possible playoff matchups -- if the Flyers get in -- and what do you see? Right now, there's overwhelming potential for a first-round exit. Pittsburgh and Carolina are playing exponentially better. A series vs. the Rangers would probably be a seven-game struggle. The only matchup I would feel good about is against Montreal, which is a long shot anyway. There are just too many nights when the Flyers are easy to play against.
    — Snap Crackle Propp
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:43 PM, 04/02/2009
    People. The Flyers are 41-25-10 (41-22-7 since that awful start). They've lost 3 out of 4 after two huge wins against PIT and NJ. Enough please with the default panic - haven't the Phils taken this down for you a notch? - and give a team that has by and large been very resilient a chance to sort this out. It's a young team with a young coach, fresh off a Conference Finals appearance, that is clearly on the rise. Thankfully, many of you aren't GM's - I'd hate to see coaches fired, GM's ripped over one bad move amongst 12, and teams torn up based on your whims and insecurity.
    — EaglesWest
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:17 PM, 04/02/2009
    this team just can't seem to get up for games against weaker teams. it's like they're waiting for the poor teams to fail on their own instead of taking it to them. i watched the whole game last nite, granted with 3 yappy women in the room, and i didn't even know briere played. they showed no heart last nite til 10 minutes were left. pathetic...
    — WC-Jonesy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:20 PM, 04/02/2009
    Unacceptable effort!!! Who to Blame?????? Everyone!!! that wore a orange sweater last night!! No excuses for this joke of an effort. The Flyers could have lost to an ECHL team last night, they needed to play hungry last night, problem is the wrong team played hungry, Toronto and all they are playing for is there pride and jobs.. Come on Flyers, get your act together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    — cote32
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:16 AM, 04/03/2009
    Hockeydad...that is maybe the most ridiculous post ever
    — duuuuude


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About Sam Carchidi
Sam Carchidi is in his fourth year as the Flyers' beat reporter. He became an Inquirer staff writer in 1984 and covered mostly South Jersey high school sports and the Phillies before taking the Flyers beat.

Carchidi has written three books _ the nationally acclaimed Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story, which he co-authored with Scott Brown; Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports; and Standing Tall: The Kevin Everett Story, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He also contributed to a 1993 Inquirer book on the Phillies.

A lifelong South Jersey resident, Carchidi lives in Wenonah with his wife, JoAnn, and their two children, Sara and Sammy.

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