Advice to Flyers: don't change aggressive style
Winning in a shot-blocking era.
Advice to Flyers: don't change aggressive style
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
It has been more than a week now since the Flyers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils. Somewhere, coach Peter Laviolette and his staff, along with general manager Paul Holmgren, are going about the annual ritual of assessment and reassessment after you lose -- what went right, what went wrong, what needs to be fixed, what needs to be tweaked. It happens every spring -- and in the Flyers’ case, 37 springs and counting.
Their analysis does not take place in a vacuum. Teams are still playing. There is a game every night on television, and there is a narrative that is being sold and told and re-told. It is about blocked shots. The New York Rangers are the leading practitioner of the art, and they are in the conference final -- tied at one game apiece with the Devils.
Compared to 5 years ago, playoff shot-blocking is up about 10 percent. That is a real number. The Rangers already have blocked 309 shots in 16 playoff games. The Washington Capitals blocked 308 shots in 14 games. The leader in the 2006-07 playoffs was Ottawa, which blocked 310 shots in 20 games. So, yes, this is happening.
Some of it is better equipment, which makes players more fearless. More of it is tactical. The NHL, like all pro sports, is full of copycats -- and if the Rangers were to win the Stanley Cup, the notion of shot-blocking-as-secret-formula would be debated in every one of the league’s outposts.
The short answer, for Holmgren and Laviolette, is to resist the conversation.
The formula, for the Flyers, is to giddy-up and go.
That is not to say that shot-blocking is meaningless. There are times when it matters a lot, such as the night of Game 6 in the first round when the Flyers did, in fact, build a wall in front of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins. In general, though, it is not the metric that matters the most for a team that is best when it is skating aggressively and asking questions later.
True Fact I: The Flyers blocked more shots than the Penguins did in the first round (116-81) and won the series in six games.
True Fact II: The Flyers blocked more shots than the Devils did in the second round (77-65) and lost the series in five games.
Against the Devils, the Flyers were out-blocked -- is that even a term? -- in Game 1 and won anyway. Then they out-blocked the Devils in Games 2, 3 and 4 and lost each time.
Shot-blocking is not the reason the Flyers are currently spectating instead of playing. They had plenty of blocked shots. What they didn’t have enough of against the Devils was shots.
It wasn’t shot-blocking. It wasn’t the goaltender. It was the Flyers’ inability to sustain a forecheck and to prevent the Devils from sustaining theirs. It was about an imbalance in time of possession in the offensive zone. It was about not getting enough shots against a 40-year-old goaltender who looked gettable at many points during the series.
If you want to argue that the young-and-overconfident Flyers took a big punch from the Devils in Game 2 of the series and never recovered, there is plenty of evidence to support that theory. If you want to say that the obviously-injured defensemen, Kimmo Timonen and Nicklas Grossman, were not at the top of their games, it is a fair comment.
None of that is about shot-blocking, though. None of that is about style of play. The truth is that the Flyers won games when they skated and possessed the puck and they lost games when they didn’t. In the five games against the Devils, when you compare total shot attempts -- shots, blocked shots and missed shots -- and use that as a proxy for effective possession of the puck, this is what you come up with:
The team with the most shot attempts won every game. The Flyers’ advantage in Game 1 was 71-47 and they looked great after a slow first period. Their deficit in Game 2 was 70-37 and they looked godawful. In Game 3, the Devils won in overtime and had the 59-46 advantage. Game 4, it was 64-33 and more lopsided. In Game 5, a much more competitive game, the Devils led by 60-55.
The Flyers do not need to re-make themselves. They need to learn to sustain their effort, and to hope for (or acquire) healthier defensemen. And for the sake of everyone who likes the game, and who likes speed, and who likes offense, they need to remain the kind of team that values skating most of all.
Nobody ever fell in love with a blocked shot, after all.
You decide: Flyers Stay or Go
I do not understand when fans whine about Snider. One of Snider's jobs is to write a check and he does it very well. He spends a lot of money on the team that he loves. Yes, it might be business 1st with him but at the same time he wants to win. He is a loyal owner and fan.— Nitroglycerin- Agreed, Nitro. Last time I checked Snider had zero ice time. It's not his fault that they went out early.
— backhand - High shot-blocking numbers often reflect a team buying into a defensive system, but standing alone the statistic doesn't mean anything at all. It could simply mean you were outshot 60-10, in which case blocking all the shots in the world won't help. So, in that sense, I agree, but if you think a team can forego blocking shots, not buy into a responsible defensive system, and "possess the puck" to win, you're batsh*t crazy.— Darren9
- Shot blocking is another stupid and meaningless statistic. Teams that have the puck, are not blocking shots. The reason that the Flyers blocked more shots against New Jersey....New Jersey was always in the offensive zone. This Flyers team needs to stay aggressive when they have the puck in their control, but moreso, they need to be aggressive when they are chasing the puck. That is what New Jersey did to the Flyers.
The Los Angeles Kings are the most defensively responsible team in the playoffs. They have given up fewer odd-man rushes in the entire series against Phoenix, than the Flyers allowed in the average period. Quick has not had to be spectacular since early in the Vancouver series. Kings always have a third man high, they never allow 3-on-2 rushes, and they forecheck like demons.
Teams, like the Flyers, score a lot of goals when they take more risks offensively. They also allow a lot more....like the Flyers.— Hexy4GM 
Comment removed.- flyers1000 is totally on the money on all 4 points...as sad as it is to say. however, the future is untold. more deals and and a coaching change are sure to come in next 1-2 years. kings look unreal. deep, skilled and tough with an outstanding goaltender. i look forward to a competitive stanley cup series with either the rangers or devils playing la. i'll hope for a game 7 and overtime...— wilcowaits
- This is one of the most idiotic articles in a long time on this board. Wake up...it is the style...they are not a responsibly defensive team...period. They out-"blocked" the Devils and were out-"shot"...translation, the Flyers couldn't defend them! This style puts incredible emphasis on "giddy up and go" which overshadows the need to play defense and often puts players in a position that is difficult to recover to play defense (both a mental and structural dilemma). In addition, this coaching staff is inept on TEACHING defense....with even man rushes where our d-men allow attackers, unabated, to walk in and shoot at the top (and even inside) the circles. Watch the whole season...some of these chances Bryzgalov has no chance. Of course be aggressive, but it MUST be a balanced attack, and our team defense is what let us down and must improve if we are to win in the playoffs and a cup!
- Defensive support is the key. You can play up tempo all you want, but the puck moves faster than any man on the ice.
Watch the Kings and learn...agressive attack with equally agressive support, it's like rugby trying to get into their zone only then to face one of the best goalies in the league.
Attack
Support - this is where the neutral zone turnover is KEY!
Defend
Repeat
Bruins did it last year, Kings are doing it now...Flyers failed, again.
— Dangler9 - The Flyers made great deals last off season, less the freak goalie mental case. Richards and Carter are not the reason LA is winning, so don't kid yourself. Dump JVR for a good defenseman and get the goalie to stop being mental case and this team can win.— Tar Heel 1
- When "up-tempo" and "jam" are mentioned, it doesn't mean just towards the offensive zone. Why doesn't anyone on here EVER understand that? The purpose of this article was to say that the Flyers don't need to retool to get a team without skilled forewards, to replace our guys with oafs who are only defensive minded. The uptempo game is all about out working and out hustling the other team. You get to the puck first, or you crush the unlucky fool who did. Then you take the puck and out hustle their D. Did you see the Devils? They out "up-tempo'd" the Flyers. Cause they did it at both ends of the ice. That's where having 60% rookies kills you because they don't know how to sustain that for a full 60 minutes. AND... that's exactly where you miss a Pronger. We were a terrible goal away from Game 7 of the Finals two years ago. That was uptempo.
So before any more dopes start blaming Bryz, or Laviolette, or saying that Rich wrote a dumb article... think before you type. Defensive zone and neutral zone support are generated from working hard, which means skating hard, which IS UP-TEMPO!— macd41144 - I agree 100%. Flyers have a lot of talent on the team and need to sustain playing their game. Many times in the Devils series they looked tired and slow--Low-Tempo if you will. I think things will solidify next year and with the rookies having experience, the goaltender with a year of what the fans expect under his belt, they will come together and play well. — ena1977
- Keep the philosophy. It's worked well for 38 years and counting!— WhatWhiners
- this is not complicated.....stay out of the penalty box and shoot the puck (good shots, bad shots, traffic, doesnt matter)--MAKE the goalie make the save, handle the puck, give up rebounds, deflections happen, etc....stop passing, stop hesitating....the more shots, the better.— btbenz
- Give me a break, you guys keep talking about richards, Carter and the rest of the traded players like they would have made a difference. I've got news for you, they would not have fared any different because the defense would have still got manhandled. If the defense had not been so depleted, and we had Pronger healthy I believe the Devils would be playing golf right now. All those young players they got in those deals were worth the risk, and will pay big dividends in the future if Homer hangs on to them and does not panic. They do however need to draft some young goalies to develop in case Bryz is truly a bust. I would trade Bob unless he straightens out his penchant for going down early and getting beat by those high shots. I think Bernie could probably straighten him right out.
