Flyers show character flaws - again
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Flyers show character flaws - again
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.
About a minute after the goal was nullified because Ville Leino made what the referees called “incidental contact” with Fleury, Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead of its own.
Funny team, these Flyers. They were woefully inconsistent under John Stevens. Up and down. Up and down. The same thing has happened under Peter Laviolette.
This just in: It’s the players, not the coaches.
This team lacks leadership and character.
Not to mention goal scorers.
Trailing 2-1 in Saturday’s second period, the Flyers’ Claude Giroux broke in alone, but lost control of the puck and got off a weak shot.
Giroux is going to be a terrific player down the road. Right now, though, he and most of his teammates are in hard-to-fathom scoring funks.
Consider the following slumping players:
- Darroll Powe: 0 goals in his last 27 games.
- James van Riemsdyk: 0 goals in his last 14 games.
- Arron Asham: 1 goal (scored Saturday) in his last 14 games.
- Dan Carcillo: 2 goals in his last 14 games.
- Danny Briere: 1 goal in his last 11 games.
- Giroux: 2 goals in his last 21 games.
- Mike Richards: 2 goals in his last 12 games.
- Scott Hartnell: 3 goals in his last 29 games.
The Flyers, who suffered another goalie injury (see accompanying story), fell to eighth place in the Eastern Conference on Saturday, and they are in danger of falling out of the playoffs. Atlanta, which is in ninth, can climb to within two points of the Flyers with a win Saturday night.
Flyers fans deserve better. They have filled the Wachovia Center to 99.8 percent capacity this season. They are being cheated of their hard-earned money by a team that takes periods off and, too frequently, plays without a sense of urgency.
Comments (63)
So, what you guys are saying...it's Snider's fault, and Pronger needs to have the C on his chest in order to be a team leader and yell at people? Hah, OK.— sf1027- Here's the real kicker, we're paying Briere and Hartnell a combined 10.7 million dollars this year. Ryan Miller......makes 6.25 million this year. When will this management group start feeling the heat? Who are the robots still going to this slop they call games??— tim17600
- Thanks for finally having the balls to tell it like it is. Richards should be stripped of the C ASAP, Snider , Lukko and Holmgren need to go , but the Fans need to stop sipping the 35 yr old champagne and stop filling the building— ghost78
retzlaff -- what city do you live in??? This is PHILLY, where we take our sports seriously. Don't like it? Move to Atlanta and follow the mighty Thrashers....you can be one of their 300 fans. Thought for a second there Mike Richards or Danny Briere or HairBoy Hartnell were reading the comments here and posted as "retzlaff" : "demean athletes who just lost a game". I heard similar words from our laid-back Captain both last year and this in the stretch drive after each inexplicable loss..... If it IS you, Richie: Hello! Guess you're not talking to Carchidi for the next fortnight, eh? :-)- I've attended most of home games this year and what is happening is not a surprise. Look at this team. Is Carcillo a top six forward? He is for the Flyers. Your best goaltender was picked up off the waiver wire. One of your top 6 Defenseman came from the waiver wire. These guys spend too much time standing around waiting for something to happen instead of forcing the issue. Here's something else to think about. Outside of Backlund there is no help coming from the Phantoms. The Flyers do not have a first or second round pick in the upcoming draft. The way things are going this year, it wouldn't surprise me if they missed the playoffs and won the draft lottery and didn't get the top player because they traded it for Pronger. Here is something else to think about. I don't see this team beating either Pittsburgh or Washington in a series in the next 5 years. That means the 40th anniversary of not winning a cup is just around the corner.— Flyers_Fan
- This situation is not going to get better unless there are a lot of empty seats in the Wachovia Center. Flyer fans are too loyal and the NHL knows it. What incentive is their to win if you sell out the building win or lose. I don't belive in coincidence and I find it odd that the big market teams have not been able to win a cup in quite awhile. The markets that have problems filling the building seem to have more success. Just in case you haven't heard, the HBO documentary on the Broad Street Bullies will air on Tuesday May 4th at 10PM. I believe this will be HBO's first sports documentary on hockey. Take that and stick it Pittsburgh fans. The Flyers have the loyal Flyers Fans to thank for being so honored.— Flyers_Fan
- Way to go Sam! This team is a bunch of mutts. Who can you build around for the future?...........................(I'm still waiting for an answer)...— Brauny
- Seems like they have stunk ever since Palin dropped the puck. Bad karma is a nasty thing Snider.— JonKap
- Telling it like it is! I agree with every word!— flyers1313
- I am no longer a Stepford. Got Union season tickets and will not be paying attention to the Flyers the rest of this year or next year unless the core group of inconsistent (heartless) players are shipped out. Enough is enough. You still like this team, Homer?— johnnygriswold
- Fraud Street Bullies.— MaC130
- GM has to go! Laviolette wont be successful with all of these players who were put together to play a different style than the style that he coaches. Another good fit by Homer! Lets bring in a new coach to play a different style but keep all the same old players and expect different results. Are you kidding me?— Brauny
- MEMO TO COMCAST: This level of play is not acceptable! Clean house before you play in front of an empty house! Flyers fans are loyal but we are not stupid and we wont put up with this garbage for much longer. I cant see renewing my season tickets for this level of play...— Brauny
- With the Capitals in the Ovechkin era and the Pens in the Crosby/Malkin era, it's going to be super tough for the Flyers or any of the other Eastern Conference teams to get to the Cup Finals for the next few years at least. So,rather than have a "go for it" mentality every year (like trading major draft picks for Pronger)...have a longer term strategy. Get younger and faster; get a goalie you can build around; and get one big enforcer (Boogaard, Parros, etc.) who can serve the job of three mediocre players (Carcilo, Asham, LaPerriere). I'd rather lose with young kids making mistakes than watching some of the players you see now such as Coburn (The Invisible Man)and Hartnell (more interested in his hair than his game).— MikefromNJ
- My two cents is that we shouldn't overreact. 1) Everybody has enjoyed knocking Homer around the past few weeks, but does anybody remember what an utter mess this team was just a few years ago? They completely sucked. After they blew Clarke out, Homer made some sharp deals...Coburn, Timonen, he's brought Pronger in here, signed Hartnell (he was better when he actually gave a damn). Homer helped resurrect this franchise in record time!!!! 2)There's nothing wrong with management. Why call for Snider's head? What will that really accomplish? Will that REALLY change the chemistry in the locker room? Will that REALLY change the effort level on the ice?? Give me a break. Snider stands willing to drop $$$ on players and always has...that's the most you can ask for from executive management in pro sports. 3) Bottom line, this team has no leadership and no character. Here's what I would do: trade Richards for a strong goalie. Richards has overstayed his welcome in Philly and he's definitely not captain material. But, he definitely has value on the open market -- so leverage that into a top goalie. Next, bounce Boucher. He's not starter material and he's unreliable as a backup, at best. I like Leighton and I think he's worth keeping as a backup for whomever we could get in return for Richards (and maybe somebody else in a package). Outside that, we have a strong core --- JC is a big-time goal scorer, Giroux has a bright future, JVR has a bright future, Coburn has a bright future, Timonen and Pronger will be around for a while. There are a lot of good things going on here...let's just address two things (leadership with Richards) and goaltending (with Boucher).— johnsb9041
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Broad Street Bull is the Inquirer's blog covering the Philadelphia Flyers and the National Hockey League.
Reach Sam at scarchidi@phillynews.com.
Sam Carchidi
Inquirer Staff Writer
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