Flyers dominate this NHL stat; waffles heaved at Leafs
BOSTON _ As a byproduct of being the NHL's highest-scoring team _ and having the league's best goal differential, at plus-28 _ the Flyers are dominating the plus-minus stats.
Flyers dominate this NHL stat; waffles heaved at Leafs
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON _ As a byproduct of being the NHL's highest-scoring team _ and having the league's best goal differential, at plus-28 _ the Flyers are dominating the plus-minus stats.
For the first time this season, five Flyers are in the league's top 10 in that category.
Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell, who compose the team's third defensive pairing, share the NHL lead at plus-18 each. Danny Briere (plus-16) has moved into a tie for fourth, and Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell are tied for ninth with plus-14 ratings.
The line of Briere, Leino and Hartnell was a combined plus-8 in Thursday's 4-1 win in Toronto.
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Michael Leighton made 29 saves in the Phantoms' 5-2 win over Syracuse Friday, snapping the team's 10-game losing streak. Leighton, on a rehab assignment, is also expected to start Saturday.
Flyers defenseman Matt Walker began a conditioning stint with the Phantoms Friday and was minus-1.
When Leighton returns to the Flyers, the team may try to push Walker through waivers and send him to the Phantoms. The Flyers now have 23 players on their roster _ the maximum allowed _ and will need to make room for Leighton.
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After his team lost Thursday, a disgruntled Toronto fan threw waffles onto the ice, with some hitting the stick of Leafs defenseman Francois Beauchemin. “The way we’re playing, it’s frustrating for everybody,” Beauchemin told the Toronto Sun.
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So who should be the Flyers' starting goalie Saturday night in Boston?
On one hand, Sergei Bobrovsky is rested and is among the league leaders in several categories.
On the other hand, Brian Boucher was outstanding in Thursday's victory in Toronto.
Who would you start?
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Give Boucher another game then back to Bob, if we're really thinking of making Bob the starter this year and after— th- Give Boucher another game then back to Bob, if we're really thinking of making Bob the starter this year and after— th
- I know I only pressed that once...I just wanted to add WHO IS WASTING WAFFLES!— th
Boucher has earned another start. Stellar performance last night.— dogman5- I would start Leighton, with Dan Carcillo as his backup. Didn't Bobrovsky just lose the Bruins? Give it to Boosh.— Hexy4GM
at first glance you start boosh but there are a few things to consider besides the hot hand. if bob is the starter do you sit him 2 games in a row when he likely isn't tired? do you have bob sit down almost a week then come back cold against the pens? it seems logical to start bob the next 2, then start boosh in montreal for the second game of a back to back. of course now boosh will start saturday.- I'd start Boosh as he has played well and earned it. No need to wear out Bob in the first half of the season. Plus I think Boosh is from the New England area.— max-power
- Bob all the way.— dbone
- Bob for 3 more... then bouch. Rinse and Repeat. Leighton can sit in the skybox watching the team win.— SPro
- yeah, boosh earned another start with a fine performance last night. the kid Bob is the future however..no question.— prominal88
- Refer to the Red Wings and Sharks of past seasons. Huge plus/minus stats, total wins, points, and regular season kings. The difference? Red Wings win multiple Cups while Nabokov becomes an alki, leaves the NHL and fades away. Sharks still have no Cups. The Flyers needs to take a HARD look at the insane amount of PIMS they're collecting, along with JVR, Zherdev and Nodl. 2 out of those 3 should be gone to clear cap space and bring in a Cup-winning forward like Dusty Byfuglyn to play with Richards or Carter. The team should not be ready to count of rookies and cast-offs to the win the Cup. The D is awesome, the goaltending is great and the penalty kill is dangerous. Despite the amount of goals scored, there is a huge difference game to game, night to night, in the consistency of the play of their stars and role players. They are missing something to bind them together. Paul, your mission is clear. Act now.— MichaelZoe
- Hexy4GM: Why would you have Carcillo as a backup Goalie?— Shooby
- Shooby- It was a weak stab at humor by Hexy4GM.— phlyersfan
- Plus minus is the most worthless stat in all of sports.— JSaq
- Zoe, Byfuglien is a castoff and he's also back to playing D this season, btw.— Raggamonkey
- Plus/minus is not a worthless stat at all for defensemen. The most worthless stat is shots on goal.— joeyritter
- JSaq, have you ever played in an organized league not with Pee-Wee in the title? For a forward, +/- in conjunction with points scored are a good indication of their defensive performance reliability. And common sense will tell you why it is good for D-men. If you're on ice for more goals scored against than goals for, you're doing something wrong.— phillybilly11
- Plus minus is much more of a team stat. Mike Green is a bad defensive player. But he was a plus 39 last year. Chris Therien is a plus 130 for his career. Randy Carlyle was a very good defenseman and won a Norris trophy, but he was a minus 135 for his career, spent mostly with bad teams. plus minus is, at best, a very flawed statistic. It also largely ignores special teams play-PPG's don't get a plus or minus.— JSaq
- +/- is a stat that can be used inside the confines of a team. Like a few years ago when Richards was +14, and Briere was -22. I would be willing to say that Richards was more responsible in a defensive role there. Aside from that, a guy gets a plus when someone scores into an empty net from 120 feet away. That doesn't mean much to me, and another player can get a minus because a defenseman makes a poor change at the bench. It is a shaky stat at the best of times.— Hexy4GM
- To be fair, I did overstate it when I called it the most worthless stat...when used in context it can be a good tool. I just dislike it because a lot of hockey writers that don't dig deeper use it as a crutch.— JSaq
Boosh certainly played well last night - against the lowly Maple Leafs who are clearly in a downward spiral. The next game will be entirely different as in the Bruins they will meet a premier defense-first team much improved over the last season and an old rival just a few points behind Philly. Therefore, our No. 1 goalie should be the starter, and that's Bob. Big game tonight, it will be hard to solve Thomas and Chara in their own barn, make no mistake about it.- I would start Bob. Boosh has an excellent team mentality and knows that Bob is likely the starter for the future. Besides, you don't want to give Bob too much time to think about his last outing. Leighton is only going to see playing time in a flyers jersey if Homer has a trade set up for him. He made his bed when he signed the contract with Homer and did not disclose his injury.
— flyerrod
