Time for Richards to earn his 'C'; Carter surgery Fri.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Time for Richards to earn his 'C'; Carter surgery Fri.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
After the Flyers’ 2-0 loss in Ottawa Tuesday, Mike Richards said his team didn’t play with enough urgency.
As the Flyers’ captain, it’s time for Richards to get into the faces of the players he thinks are guilty.
This is Richards’ second year as captain; it’s also the second year the Flyers have folded down the stretch.
A year ago, the Flyers went 7-7-1 in their final 15 regular-season games and slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference, losing the home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It was a recipe for disaster, and the Flyers fell to the Penguins in six games.
Tuesday’s loss was the Flyers’ fifth in six games. They are tied for sixth, but are only four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta.
Richards said the Flyers “had a little bit of a lack of motivation and a lack of urgency, which shouldn’t be there. It’s frustrating and it has to change.”
The Flyers, who are without injured star Jeff Carter for the rest of the regular season, have scored two goals or fewer in five of their last eight games.
Most of the players on the top three lines have been unproductive recently. Consider:
** Darroll Powe hasn’t scored a goal in his last 25 games.
** James van Riemsdyk and Arron Asham each haven’t scored in their last 12 games.
** Dan Carcillo has one goal in his last 12 games.
** Danny Briere has one goal in his last nine games.
** Claude Giroux, who took Carter’s spot on the second line Tuesday, has two goals in the last 19 games.
** Richards has two goals in his last 10 games.
** Scott Hartnell has three goals in his last 27 games.
To make matters worse, the Flyers are 0 for 13 on the power play in their last four games.
They will try to regroup Thursday against visiting Minnesota. It’s a proverbial “must” game for the Flyers, who have been outscored in the first periods of their last five games, 10-3. They have trailed at the end of the first period in each of those five games.
Yep, another recipe for disaster.
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Center Jeff Carter will have surgery on his broken left foot Friday, but is still expected to return in the same time as the original prognosis _ three to four weeks, the Flyers announced.
Carter, who leads the team in goals (33) and points (60), broke a bone in the foot on Sunday. The surgery, in which a screw is inserted, will aid the healing process, GM Paul Holmgren said.
The Flyers hope Carter can return for the first round of the playoffs _ if they get there. They host Minnesota Thursday, and the new lines are expected to look like this:
Hartnell-Richards-Carcillo; Gagne-Briere-Leino; van Riemsdyk-Giroux-Powe;
Laperriere-Betts-Asham.
I still vote for a French Connection line of Briere, Giroux and Gagne. Hey, the way things are going, it's worth a look.
I think we should fire John Stevens again. Worked last time. Someone call him and tell him he is fired...again.— Hexy4GM- They have the chance to get into the playoffs, even get the fifth place. And they're not motivated? What's wrong with this team? If they'll play New Jersey, Pittsburgh or Washington in the first round, they're done. But like the Flyers are playing right now, they're not going to make the playoffs at all. I wonder if Holmgren still likes his team then...— Ruffles
- They're as motivated as they were last season down the stretch when they couldn't buy two points, remember how that ended. They have gone from making it to the final four two seasons ago, to getting wiped out in first round last season to most likely will be not making the playoffs this season. I'm sure Mr.Snider thinks Homer has the team headed in the right direction, and has a job for life just like his adopted son Bobby.— BobbyD
- yea, it's Richard's fault..How do you know he's NOT in some of their faces? Good idea, get in their faces while you clown beat writers are hanging around, because you deserve to see it..how do you know he's not and he's getting no response? is that his fault also? that others in the room can't act like pros should?— spittooncj
Nice leadership. A 2-minute penalty just seconds into the game. Leadership has a trickle-down effect, you'd never see Yzerman, Messier, or even Chicago's young Jonathan Toews start a game like that. His own lack of discipline tells the team that it's ok to play like that.- Richards is the problem.These forwards play no defense,led by"Little Richie".This team should be known as "The Philadelphia Phlunkies",starring,Richie,Carter,Hartnell,Gagne,and Coburn.Good Grief!!! Q— quigly46
maybe it's time for richie to get in another reporter's face. it's always their fault that this team, under his leadership, continues to pull no-shows game after game.— kdub13- Yes, it is Richard's fault if he can't get the guys to respond. He is the captain. It is his job to get the guys to respond. That is why they made him captain. So far, naming him captain has been a dismal failiure. They coasted into the playoffs last year, did not show up for game 1 of the playoffs, and then blew a 3-0 lead while facing elimination. There are 10 games left in the season and the team still has no identity. They claim they are a big goal scoring team, but rarely score more than 2 goals a game. They should not be worried about facing NJ, Pittsburgh or Washington in the playoffs, they should be worried about facing Minnesota tomorrow night.— AreaMan
let them drop out of the playoffs, I'm tired of the 4-1 first round losses. I'd rather get a top 15 draft pick than loss in the first round. the team has holes defensively and in goal due to injuries. Let's go Phillies!!!!— jamarder- Richards is not and will not be the man he is just not that good. Too bad we have Hartnell instead of Knuble too bad that Patrick Sharp or even Umberger are not in this mix instead of Briere or Gagne. Richie is small, slowish and cannot finish or will his team to win. It would also be nice if he actually won a faceoff. I know we have injuries but how many more seasons will the result be the same and only the coach takes the heat, BS. We don't score because we don't have scorers and if I have to see Hartnell miss the net one more time from 5 feet I will scream. Move Hartnell to the 3rd or 4th line and give Leino or JVR a shot.— bigtuna
- jamarder, the Flyers don't have a 1st rounder, so you can forget that "top 15 draft pick".— johnnygriswold
- I said it at the beginning of the season and I'll say it again...Pronger should be captain...period. I think Richards would play better without the additional pressure he's got to be feeling (same thing with Desjardins years ago). Make Hartnell a healthy scratch for a few games and allow some of the young Phantoms to move up and play. Hartnell's been worthless and needs to feel the pain. Move Carcillo back down to the 3rd or 4th line and move Leino to the 1st and see what he does with it. Again...how much worse can it get?— puckdad77
- bang on puckdad77! richards is the worst captain, so far, since desjardins. take the 'c' away and give it to pronger....hartnell is a waste and he nor carcillo should be occupying spots on the top two lines of any team that has cup aspirations.— kdub13
Pronger should be captain, he's the one who's speaking to the media like a pro captain does anyway. I like Richards but not sure he's the guy to be the main vocal leader and captain just yet. They would love him to be the second coming of Bobby Clarke but that is asking a lot and perhaps wishful thinking. Agree with the comments to give Leino more of a shot, it can't hurt. These guys can't seem to be able to shoot the puck into the ocean at the moment. Brutal. And whoever mentioned yesterday Boucher having the phrase "save by Boucher followed by a big rebound and then they score!" coined on him sure hit the nail on the head on the Alfredsson tally. I didn't even see it I just heard it while washing the dishes LOL!- Richard isn't the center of the problem. In case people haven't noticed: Carter is hurt, Gagne's been hurt, we're down to our third goalie, aside fom Pronger and Carle we have no defense, Hartnell looks lost out there, Carcillo for some reason is on the first line, and the young guys are starting to suck wind (JVR and Giroux). The problem is the same as last year. When your always coming from behind, your best players are out there too much and they start wearing down as the season goes on.— GerryZ
