Foes starting to figure out 'Bob'
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Foes starting to figure out 'Bob'
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers blew a three-goal, third-period lead and dropped a 5-4 shoot-out to visiting San Jose on Wednesday night, but the most alarming development may have been this: Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the rookie sensation, is starting to show some flaws in his game.
Teams have had some success when they shoot high on “Bob,” and the Sharks exposed that weakness several times.
It looks like opponents are getting the word: If you are going to beat Bobrovsky, shoot upstairs.
Bobrovsky, 22, was very passive in the shoot-out. He needs to come out of the net more and challenge the shooters. San Jose was 2 for 2 in the shoot-out and scored with ease.
Something to keep an eye on: Bobrovsky, who is among the league leaders in several categories, has lost his last four starts against teams with a winning record.
Meanwhile, impressive 21-year-old San Jose center Logan Couture notched his 13th goal _ tops among NHL rookies _ and the game-winner in the shoot-out. Couture is a leg up on “Bob” in the rookie-of-the-year race.
Brian Boucher will get the start Thursday night in Toronto. “Bob” has started four straight and six of the last seven _ and looks like he could use a break.
Bobrovsky is athletic and a very good student of the game. He and goalie coach Jeff Reese will make a few adjustments that can be carried into future games.
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Winger Dan Carcillo will remain a healthy scratch Thursday in Toronto.
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Breakaways. Chris Pronger blocked eight shots Wednesday….San Jose won 63 percent of the face-offs and scored two goals off draws…..The Flyers lead the NHL with 99 goals; Toronto has the third-lowest goal total (61).
Ok, wow, so now it's time for Leighton to come back? Now all of Bob's scouting reports are correct? Now he is done? Finished?— MichaelZoe- Sorry Sam you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that you shoot high on all butterfly goalies! But I'm sure you've never laced up a pair of skates and played hockey in your life. All goalies have flaws...stand up goalies aren't great with low shots, butterfly goalies are susceptible to high shots. Alarming? No. Simple hockey 101. Stick to covering baseball and high school sports.— aantny88
- No, Sam. Bobrovsky hasn't lost in his last four starts against teams with a winning record, the whole Flyers team has. Demers' goal was a great shot through a screen, Couture's goal was a great effort on his part, outhustling Pronger and Powe for the rebound, and Pavelski was left wide open in the slot for his goal. Putting this game squarely on Bobrovsky is ludicrous. If they want to win against good teams, the Flyers need to give it a rest with the terrible penalties late in games (looking at you, Briere) and improve on special teams. It wouldn't hurt if they could win faceoffs more often, evidenced by Pavelski's goal. If they played with one iota of determination in the third period, that game is a W. Instead, they went up 4-1 and decided to call it a night. That does not fall on Bobrovsky.— pidginwedge
Comment removed.- This is a rediculous article. If the goalie is down then you shoot high. WIth Brodeur you shoot low, this is not rocket science. There is nothing to figure out. Bob is a really good goalie and I haven't seen any weaknesses in his game. And yes he will give up more goals higher since he goes to his knees more then say a Broduer.— neddyflanders
- Here come the excuses for Bob, the untouchable one. Look, I like the kid, but he did not play well last night. You need your goalie to make big saves on tough shots and he did not do that. He looked terrible in the shootout. He has had plenty of good games, but last night was not one of them. When he plays well he deserves the credit, but when he doesn't, don't blame it on penalties. As far as the Flyers go, there were not even that many penalties last night, and none of them resulted in a 5 on 3. Keep it real.
- that was embarrassing on every front in the last ten minutes starting with Carter's penalty. him and briere - are you kidding me?!?!?— prominal88
- Actually snipes, I've read more accurate posts blaming the whole tean than posts blaming the refs. This loss was NOT Bob's fault.— dj.curly
- Bobrovsky always gets a free pass on this board. He is a kid and he makes rookie mistakes. People say things like, "he made 3 saves before they scored the 3rd goal" but they don't understand that if he stays square to the shooter instead of leaving his post, he makes one save and covers the rebound. He loses his angle regularly and gets beat on high shots. Butterfly goalies can be beaten on a high shot, but when he fails to keep his shoulders high, he will get beat a lot. 3 wins in 8 starts is not good.— Hexy4GM
Wow! your takin a beating on this one Sam.. But really, "shoot high on a butterfly goalie"...Huh! shoot period! on ML, ask Patrick Kane, he'll tell ya. The kid (Bob)is fine. Does he need some tuning? yes. Is he human? Yes. They gotta keep playing in front of him...that game should have never gotten that far. Coach Lavi.....I implore you .... Sit Shelley and play Carbomb. He brings spark, can win a fight and can actually play.- I find no fault with Bob last night. Among other things, he made two huge saves during the 4-min power play at the end of the game, enabling the flyers to at least get a point. If teams want to go high on him, fine ... those are precision shots that won't hit the target often, and aren't available with sound defensive coverage. And after all, while we have a good backup in Boucher, it's not like we have any other viable option for the No. 1 goalie. Don't even mention the lumbering, leaky, numb-foot waiver man, please.— eagle1971
- I dont remember all four of the goals but do remember 3 of them... First off, on the one goal, Bob made two saves on a stuff attempt and the third attempt went in (Yes, 3 attempts), not his fault, D has to clear the crease. Another goal went over just under the crossbar on a redirect off of Carle battling in front, no worries, it happens. The set play off the face off, hats off to the sharks and Joe Thorton for dominating the face-offs all night long! Needless to say, as everyone else has already pointed out, he is a butterfly goalie and it's not rocket science to know you try to shoot high. End of the day, no goalie is flawless but you need your goalie to steal a game for you, he didnt exactly steal the game last night but he has stolen plenty already in his brief stint with our club. Glad Sam was able to crack the code this far along in our season... Kudos.. haha— broadstbu11y
- Wow, and the media in this town says the FANS are reactionary! The kids played in more than 20 games, and had a bad 1st period in a game about 2 weeks ago, and a tough 3rd period last night, and "foes have figured out Bob?' Are you kidding? Like several others have posted, if you're facing a "butterfly' style goalie, it's always good to shoot higher and always has been, but that doesn't guarantee success as his 14-4-3 record would indicate. The kid is 3rd in the NHL in victories, and 7th in GAA and save%. I guess if the worst thing you can say about him is that he has one rocky period very few weeks, the Flyers really have found one hell of a goalie.— drbob1
- "Scored with ease" in the shoot out??? Are you kidding me??? Those were two excellent dekes and shots. I couldnt fault Bob on either.— Brauny
- DJ: I didn't say anything about fans blaming the refs. People blame the loss on the fact that the team took penalties, as if penalties have suddenly become an excuse for our goalies to let in goals. I don't remember people cutting Leighton, Emory, or even Boosh slack for giving up goals while shorthanded, so why does Bob get the free pass? Is a goal EVER his fault? Read these message boards and each and every goal let in under his watch is blamed on anyone but him. At some point, the goalie has to be at least somewhat accountable.
