What's my line?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
What's my line?
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
If the Flyers are going to become a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, they need their top-6 forwards to step up. Quickly.
With that in mind, coach Peter Laviolette made a minor line change at Friday's practice, trying to jump-start his top two lines.
Scott Hartnell and Darroll Powe changed lines. Hartnell went to right wing on Mike Richards' unit, and Powe moved to left wing on Jeff Carter's line.
Five forwards on the first two lines _ Hartnell, Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, Richards and Powe _ are struggling mightily. (Read more about it in Saturday's Inquirer.) Carter is the lone top-6 forward who has been productive lately.
Laviolette also said goalie Ray Emery would get his seventh straight start Saturday when the Flyers face the visiting New York Islanders at 1 p.m. Emery is 3-3 with a 2.69 GAA since returning from an abdominal injury.
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Nobody asked me, but....
Speaking of lines, as this space has suggested before, I would take a look at a French Connection unit that has Claude Giroux centering Briere and Gagne. On the second line, I'd see if Richards centering Hartnell and Carter worked. Third line: JVR-Powe-Asham. Fourth line: Carcillo-Betts-Laperriere.
Carcillo, Betts and JVR lead the Flyers' forwards in the plus-minus ratings; each is plus-6.
What are your suggestions for the best line combinations?
Well Uncle Eddie, considering the fact that you've chosen a screen name that's a tribute to one of the nastiest pedophiles to ever be caught in this area, I'd say your opinions mean less than nothing.— srf466- Can't cry about Umberger leaving, he got a lot of chances to play on the top two lines while he was here. It wasn't until he got injured and came back to a competitive roster and they had nowhere to put him but on the 3rd & 4th lines until he found success. He used the confidence he got here to be a fulltime top line player in Columbus. Upshall also wasn't going to crack the top two lines here, so all he could do was be an energy player. Same thing happened to Fodatenko while he was here. The Flyers allow for too much comfort for their top 6 forwards, and expect the 3rd & 4th to do all the dirty work. They need to offer contracts that keep people hungry, or at the very least allow flexibility where the 3rd & 4th line guys can earn their way up the lineup. Right now, its a dead end. These guys need to compete for their jobs to keep them honest, just like what happens in the NFL. If they don't like it, there's always other talented guys looking for top forward positions. Besides, if you look at the age of their top 6 forwards, Hartnell/Gagne/Briere etc., are not as fast as the younger players earning positions on the bottom teams. Atlanta showed us that last night.— Danno
- As long as Flyers management is more concerned with the players job security than winning, we're going to have an underachieving team. We have a long wait until we can do this, but shorter contracts without no-trade clauses and more incentives rather than guaranteed money. Another idea to get rid of stupid penalties would be to work that into the contracts too. Too brutal? Screaming from the bench doesn't help (see Tortorella), and we sure can't scare anybody with a trade or demotion. Money talks and the rest walks.— Danno
- If Hartnell did not have the dopey hair, the fans would have turned on him weeks ago. He flat out stinks, and all he provides is taking penalties at the worst possible time. I'd trade him for a bag of kitty litter.— AreaMan
- I just think it is time to give JVR a chance to help the team. He is playing about 13 minutes a game and producing. Give him a couple minutes extra with some high-end talent and see what happens. When you look at his numbers, combined with his +/- you can tell that he produces without being a detriment to the system. Richie is not controlling the games like he has in the past. He either needs to take the entire game over, or take crucial moments into his own hands. Someone remind Richards and Gagne how great their shots are!! They pass up far too many shooting opportunities.— Hexy4GM
- Addressing Hartnell. He is a glue guy. He is cooky and a nutcase, but that is needed on a team. He is a little bit "snakebit" and he will get out of it. He still crashes the net, and he is still getting opportunities. If that guy could ever score on breakaways, he'd be a superstar. The bonehead penalties are part of his charm, and last year when he scored 30 goals it was a lot more acceptable.— Hexy4GM
