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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Good effort, bad result; no interest in Shanahan (yet)

  The Flyers fired a season-high 43 shots Tuesday night, were 2 for 5 on the power play and got mostly solid goaltending from Ray Emery.

   Normally, that translates into a win.

   Tonight, it turned into a 4-2 loss to the host Washington Capitals.

   The Flyers blew a 2-0 lead, failed on a penalty shot (Darroll Powe) and could not convert numerous opportunities against the usually shaky Jose Theodore, Washington's goalie.

   "For whatever reason, we're not finding the net," coach John Stevens said.

    With the score tied at 2-2, Alexander Semin's shot from the left circle deflected off Kimmo Timonen's knee and into the upper left corner of the net with 14:36 left in regulation.

     Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal to close the scoring.

     The Flyers failed to score in even-strength situations. They have been outscored 18-17 in five-on-fives this year.

    "That's my biggest concern," Timonen said. "You can't count on your power play" to score all the goals.

     The Flyers were supposed to have Wednesday off, but Stevens has now scheduled a practice.

   * * * * * * * 

       With Simon Gagne sidelined with two hernias and with the Flyers' offense struggling, GM Paul Holmgren may look to make a deal.

     Holmgren said Tuesday he is not interested in free-agent winger Brendan Shanahan.

     If the offense continues to scuffle, however, that could change.

 

Posted by Sam Carchidi @ 11:00 PM  Permalink | 10 comments
10
Comments   
Posted 12:19 AM, 10/28/2009
sawgrass
Big concerns about Coburn. Is he that bad or he off to a bad start. He seems timid afraid to get hit always out of position although he scored tonight he usually misses the net.
Posted 09:13 AM, 10/28/2009
knight
Explain why Shanahan will solve the problem? 40+ shots last night, 35+ the last few games. Coaching and D are the issues here. Also can we admit the Cote and Carcillo (sp) experiments are over and bring in real Wingers??
Posted 09:26 AM, 10/28/2009
jdeang
I think a problem with the Flyers is they have too many centers and not enough good wingers. I would like to see them put Briere back at center along with Giroux, Richards and Powe, and move Carter to a winger, where I think he is much better suited given his shot. I would also like to see a line with Giroux centering Carter and JVR, that would be a very hard line to stop. I really like the way JVR is playing this year. Briere and Gagne had a good chemistry when Briere first came to the Flyers, perhaps they can be re-united. It will be hard to make a deal for a good winger at this point given where the Flyers are with the cap, perhaps they should call up some players similar to what the Bruins have done, which gave them a big spark after some injuries and a lack-luster start.
Posted 11:15 AM, 10/28/2009
pizano13
Can we now, finally and definitly admit that carrying an 'enforcer' who is there specifically as a deterence is a wasted roster spot unless its the Pens or Rangers? Bring up Nodl or someone else with some skill. You don't replace 30+ goals from Gagne with 0 goals from Cote.
Posted 01:03 PM, 10/28/2009
knight
pizano13- Stevens uses the formula where 30 punches to the head = 1 goal. So in that respect Cote is very close to Gagne!
Posted 03:13 PM, 10/28/2009
Kevin O.
Enforcers all always a wasted roster spot, until you don't have one and other teams start taking runs at your top players knowing they won't pay the price.
Posted 03:31 PM, 10/28/2009
Tar Heel 1
One enforcer is needed.....not 3-4. The Flyers have too many that are unskilled and not needed. Do we really need Cote, Carcillo and Asham. Asham has some skill, so keep him and ditch the rest. Carcillo shows some flashes of skill, but again, it's a numbers game.
Posted 04:57 PM, 10/28/2009
jjritchie148
Carter should move to the wing..he isnt very good on faceoffs and he looked very good playing wing at the team Canada camp..
Posted 06:07 PM, 10/28/2009
flyerdup
There is plenty of talent on this Flyer's team. The problem is, and will remain, the head coach. As the saying goes, "An organization is a direct reflection is of it's leadership". Time for Homer to bring in a proven head coach with intensity who will demand that his player's play a full 60 minutes.
Posted 07:51 PM, 10/28/2009
BearOnIce
Homer's wound pretty tight right about now.. This season has been a disaster... Stevens will be out the door within 5-10 games. I fully expect this organization to go outside and bring in say McTavish, or another task-master. otherwise Homer's credibility is shot. Too much Comcast money/investment to allow otherwise..
About Sam Carchidi
Sam Carchidi, who has covered primarily South Jersey high school sports and the Phillies for three decades, is in his second year as the Flyers’ beat writer. He has followed the Flyers since their inception in 1967-68, and remembers when only the third periods of their games were broadcast on the radio - just seven years before they became the city's most popular franchise.

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.

A lifelong South Jersey resident, Carchidi lives in Wenonah, N.J., with his wife, JoAnn, and he is a passionate sports fan of the colleges attended by his daughter, Sara (tiny Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland, which qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last season and is unbeaten in football since 1951) and his son, Sammy (West Virginia, an annual challenger for the nation’s No. 1 ranking in football and men’s basketball).
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