First impressions on 0-2 Flyers
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First impressions on 0-2 Flyers
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE: Zac Rinaldo will miss a minimum of one week because of a lacerated right leg, GM Paul Holmgren said. Tye McGinn will be recalled from the Phantoms.
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BUFFALO - A dozen first impressions on the 2013 Flyers, who are 0-2 for the first time since 2008:
1. Luke Schenn needs to play with more discipline AND more physicality. That’s a fine line, and it takes time to find the right balance.
2. Brayden Schenn has not been that effective on the top line. But it’s early and he deserves a longer look-see before Wayne Simmonds or Jake Voracek is moved to the first unit.
3. The power play is out of sync and dearly misses the injured Danny Briere, who won’t be back until Saturday at the earliest. In addition, the team has been weak on faceoffs.
4. The defense played well in the opener against the Penguins, but left Ilya Bryzgalov out to dry in Sunday’s 5-2 loss in Buffalo. They allowed 41 shots against the Sabres, a team that should have looked rusty because it was playing its first game.
5. Scott Laughton, the team’s No. 1 pick, plays with a tenacity and poise beyond his years. He will give the Flyers a difficult decision on whether to keep him here after he plays five games.
6. The penalty kill has been atrocious. Yes, there have been some bad bounces, but they are giving teams too much room. Opponents are 5 for 9 on their PP against the Flyers, including an empty-net goal. Luke Schenn and Ruslan Fedotenko are newcomers on the team's PK.
7. It’s only two games, but the Flyers have not displayed enough physical play. They have one of the league’s biggest D corps and need to show that size DOES matter.
8. Bryzgalov has been mostly sharp, and the 0-2 start can’t be pinned on him.
9. Don’t expect Flyers management to be patient, especially in a 48-game season. If they start this year like they did the lockout-shortened 1995 season (3-7-1), a major move is coming.
10. The Flyers miss Jaromir Jagr’s presence a lot more than many probably imagined.
11. Rinaldo has played with lots of fire (nine hits in less than 12 minutes), but is now sidelined by a leg injury. The Flyers need to play with Rinaldo's passion.
12. It’s still early, even in a shortened season. Exhale. Breathe. Didn’t that feel good?
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
Concise and to the point, Sam. Good observations.— fentonhardy- Please buy Bryzgaloof out at the end of this season. He reminds me of Roman Checkmanek, waving his arms around after allowing a soft goal.— TommyGun
- 13. no Stanley Cup this year ... or any Philadephia championships for awhile...— warbiscuit
- Wow Sam, keep drinking the Kool-Aid. This team is in big trouble, other than Giroux, there is no scoring, defense is soft and Bryzgalov is not a very good goalie. 37 years and counting...— UDTate
- Who is this "Danny Brriere" fella? Spell check.— Dawk20
- No need to panic but also no time to waste. Holmgren can pick up help at nominal cost in the form of unsigned players available now to address glaring needs:
1. For a sniper to take the pressure off Giroux there is Petr Sykora and Daymond Langkow
2. For a gritty forward to pressure the opposing net and provide some leadership in the locker room there is Jason Arnott, Mike Knuble and Andrew Brunette.
For a apuck moving defenseman with speed there is Chris Campoli
4. For veteran 2-way players providing depth there is Brian Rolston and Brendan Morrison.
There are options. Waiting to make a move to improve this roster to me is not an option.— Claudio Vernight - Stink x 12.........is the impressions.— STEPHEN1988
- The 48 game schedule would have been perfect for Jagr. Who needs him, we got Eric Wellwood.— BobbyD
- They need a top scoring right winger on Giroux's line. That should have been addressed once the decision was made to not resign Jagr. Why does it seem like it's always the Flyers who get off to the slow starts and never seem prepared?— LCBline
- Can we bring back the lockout?— n62
- this team will get its legs and then it will be fine, langenbrunner would give veteran presence and solid penalty kill and he's teriffic on faceoffs— SyddBarrett
- All the talk about Bryz being lousy is clearly by people who aren't watching 60 mins of hockey. Pens game: two in the first, shut them out the rest of the game. One was on him, one was bad deflection. Offense should have pressed harder because once you get the Pens back on their heels, they retreat into a defensive shell, which can be broken. Sabres game-couple bad ones on his part, but poor defense as well. On top of that, refs had an influence in the game. Many of their calls were poor, esp the goalie interference call. The early whistle is my personal favorite. They delay the whistle at the Flyers end, yet Miller hits the ice and it blows pretty fast. Plus they hand Buffalo a goal when the guy kicked it in off his skate. The stick was nowhere near the puck. The refs weren't the reason they lost-sloppy and slow play with poor decision making--but it sure didn't help because they usually called something once some momentum built up. They have to find their timing and hockey sense fast--they have about half the time normally. Plus other good teams around the league are off to bad starts-Rangers, Vancouver (who incidentally pulled their goalie after the first 14 shots were sent his way. Sure he let in 5 but still). I think we will see a better team Tues nite. I also think the system is fine-the players just have to execute it.— ena1977
- Keep Laughton and McGinn on active roster and drop Sestito and Shelley who are mostly always scratches. Like to see these young guys develop and this half season will have an * next to it anyway so why not now— connorjr
- No Leadership! Homer has assembled the softest Flyers ever!— quigly46
- See item 6 above as perhaps the most glaring deficiency to be addressed immediately. In a sprint like this, there is precious little margin for error. Penalties will come and must be dealt with effectively; goals given up on the penalty kill are sure-fire back-breakers. The underachievement (to be kind) of the special teams in the first two games is completely unacceptable.
In a standard season, garnering roughly half of the possible points will gain a playoff berth. Gaining roughly 5/8 of the possible total will frequently win a division and a top three seed. Gaining 2/3 will likely win home ice advantage through the playoffs. Assuming these rough rules of thumb hold now, a team cannot afford to kick away four points as the Flyers did this weekend and expect to come away with much of anything to show for the season.
The time to make corrections is now. It is not impossible that by Groundhog Day the die will have been cast, and we'll know whether there's anything to anticipate--or whether the balance of the season will be spent as straight men / foils / also-rans.— 1940LaSalle
