Flyers lacking heart through first third
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Flyers lacking heart through first third
MONTRÉAL -- Captain Claude Giroux called out his teammates for “going through the motions.”
Danny Briere said the Flyers “need to want it more.”
Kimmo Timonen pointed toward the Flyers’ attitude and said “it needs to change.”
“You have to go beat people to win games,” Timonen said. “The attitude has to be that ‘We’re the Flyers.’ We go into games and people should be afraid. They’re not.”
Canadiens backup goaltender Peter Budaj certainly wasn’t afraid on Saturday night at Bell Centre. Why should he have been? The Flyers managed just 2 shots in the first period - and 6 total through the first 32 minutes of the game. They were on-pace to set a new franchise record for fewest shots (13) in a game.
The end result, a thorough 4-1 beating, was predictable based on the start.
The harsh words from the Flyers post-game were just that: words. There is nothing this team has done on the ice this season to strike fear in any opponent. And it many ways, it is mind-boggling.
For once, it hasn’t been the goaltending. That trend continued on Saturday night, even as the Flyers turned to their backup - Brian Boucher - for the second time in 16 games this season.
It hasn’t been penalty kill. The Flyers have killed off 16 straight power plays and they’re 33-for-35 (94.3 percent) in their last 9 games.
It certainly can't be because of talent. Look at the rosters of the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, or Devils - teams they've lost to on this road trip. Can you say the Flyers are inferior to those teams talent-wise?
The offense deserves a lot the blame - from Giroux on down. The Flyers have failed to score more than 2 goals in 11 of their 16 games this season.
“With all of the scorers we have on this team, it’s tough to understand at this point,” Briere said. “There’s a lot of frustration.”
To me, the Flyers' offensive struggles, like almost every other deficiency with this team, seem to stem from their own brains.
How else do you explain going offsides 4 times in one period alone? Finishing second on seemingly every puck battle? A too-many-men on the ice penalty at a crucial point in the game? Three power plays without a single shot on net?
“We were not competing,” Giroux said. “We were not winning battles. It’s just frustrating to see. We need to cut those mistakes down. We’re aware that mental mistakes are out there. We need to cut that.”
It was amazing to see that no matter how bad the Flyers’ start was on Saturday, they were still trailing just 2-1 entering the third period. It was a very winnable game - even before you consider who was in net for Montreal.
Instead, it seemed like once Briere’s shot snuck through Budaj to cut the Canadiens’ lead in half, they settled rather than pushing the gas pedal to the floor.
“We need to just want to win more,” Giroux said. “In the third period we were down 2-1. We need to find a way to get it done.”
The same thing happened in New Jersey on Friday night. The Flyers battled for a 3-1 lead. Once they got it, they hit the snooze bar.
Twice this season, the Flyers have scored in the first minute of the game - as they did in Toronto last Monday night - and they’ve found a way to give it back rather quickly.
“Playing not to lose, that’s what comes to mind,” Timonen said. “It’s too much up and down. You can’t win games in this league that way.”
Yes, the Flyers have injuries to key players. Yes, their schedule has not been easy - they’ve played 5 back-to-back sets already of their 16 games. But they’re no different than any other team in the league in both of those categories.
It’s impossible to look at any one of the Flyers’ 9 losses and say they didn’t have a chance to at least take the game over at one point or another. They’ve been right there in a lot of games, and a lot of them have turned out to be lopsided losses. Four of them have been by 3 goals or more.
“We’re in the game and it’s like the game keeps slipping away from us,” Mike Knuble said. “We’re just having a hard time mustering the tying goal or the goal to get us back in the game. Once they get on top of us, it’s been easy for teams to close out the game on us. The game’s on the line and we’ve just kind of played it out. It’s the will to win, I don’t think it’s been there enough for us yet.”
It’s time to get concerned. Peter Laviolette said the Flyers were “concerned before the game,” and they’ll continue to be concerned. The Flyers are the first team in the NHL to have played a third of this 48-game schedule. They’re 2-8-0 on the road. Teams that they’re chasing for playoff spots - like the Jets, Rangers and Hurricanes - all have 3 games in-hand at this point.
“The league’s not going to wait around,” Knuble said. “Nobody’s happy about it. That’s unacceptable for our group, from our last player to our top guy. You don’t have time to practice your way out of it, you don’t have time to play your way out of it. The urgency, it’s got to be there. You’ve got 60 possible points left to get. Other teams are going to win their share of games, it’s going to get harder and harder to climb your way up the ladder.”
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Time for a shake up...expect a trade soon. Unfortunately, I think it will be a smaller one to send a message. I'm not sure the flyers have the pieces to return a difference maker at this point.— philly thug- There's going to be lots of elbow room at Xfinity Live! come late April. No playoff games at the big stagecoach this year.— drbob1
- I don't want a trade because I like our you guns and nobody's going to take the old vets off our hands and give us anything of value in return. The best shakeup this team could have right now without making itself any worse is to fire Lavi. His system is not working here anymore and quite frankly I'm less than impressed with how this team starts games, starts periods, and plays so gutless at times. They obviously don't respect him anymore and it's time for fresh blood behind the bench. We used to be the team other teams feared. This team though is a bunch of fairies.— Fly Guy
- Most players and coaches learn from their mistakes and try to improve game to game but not these guys. do they not have a video room..I mean Enough of the Timonen to Giroux sloppy passing up top on the Power Play,the entire league has figured that play out and it doesnt even work...change it up...skate a little bit for god sakes...Get Timonen off the PP he is horrible...too slow, too indisicive, and a poor shot...also throwing the puck around the boards cant be you entire offensive strategy, at some point you have to grow a pair and fight to bring the puck to the center of the xone so you can actually take a damn shot on net...— kadhia
- "throwing the puck around the boards" - i.e., "the cycle" -- has been the foolish goal of this team for years and years, dating back to Lindros. When the puck is on the boards, the other team is quite happy: you can't score from there. When the rugby scrums end, when the team consistently SKATES the puck into the offensive zone (vs. the equally stupid "dump and chase"), then we'll know the team is serious about hockey in general and in improvement in particular.
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- Once again, Quixote II is correct in his analysis. This team has no sniper with the exception of the smallish Danny Briere. Flyers offensive hockey, since the Pelle Lindbergh/Ron Hextall era, was cycle the puck down low, create a jam around the net and bang the puck in amidst the chaos. We need that real sniper or two.
Giving up on an HOF player like Jagr was ill advised, too. - This team, from the owner on down, is a joke. Their play is completely unacceptable yet it's tolerated by management, themselves, and many fans. I don't want to hear this team has talent either. Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't bring it every game.
The personnel decisions have been horrible. JVR trade was a mistake. I understand he was due a large salary bump but Luke Schenn sucks. Leighton over Bob? Are you kidding me? Not re-signing Jagr. Giroux has been exposed and can't stand on his own without bigger bodies around him. Hartnell is overrated.
The bottom line is the entire organization is lost in the woods.
They need to put in place a better defense. And if Giroux is their star and their future they need to surround him with better and bigger talent.
— Kramark - The team exists comfortably inside the protective bubble of The Evil Empire (Comcast). They have very little pure hockey talent, yet you get the moron Coates and crew praising them endlessly. Clement last night said the effort was there, they just need different strategy. Ridiculous. The style of play and the talent they recruit (wack-a-Mole goons rather than skaters) must happen at the direction of the owner, because they have been playing this way since the 1970s.
Nothing will change til the owner does. Stop going to games. Call out Comcast for being the evil propaganda organ that it is.
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- @Quixote II: Great points. And to think how for years we all cried for the Gang of Six to sell the Phils out to Comcast. Looking at Corporate Ownership of Pro Sports Teams, I find a hard time to find ONE Corporate Owner who created and nurtured a championship winning team. The Flyers have now entered that phase of unwatchability thanks to these empty soul-less ba$tard$. The Sixers stunk under Comcast. The Cubs stunk under the Tribune. The Yankess stunk under CBS. I suppose the Busch family with the Cards may qualify, but no other...
You need an owner who loves the sport, his town and his team. Not a bunch of bean counters looking at it as a revenue enhancer and tax break... - Come on, guys. Nobody tries harder than Mr. Snider.
He has spent to the max signing top free agents like Roenick and Forsberg. More recently he spent megabucks to sign the top free agent goalie available...
The Flyers have always been among the top spending teams in the league... - HOF is right. The founder of the Flyers bleeds orange and black, and no one's gut grinds more than his when they lose. Blaming Mr. Snider because our power play sucks is absurd. If you want to point fingers for a lackluster offense, point them at Lavy.
- What can I say that hasn't been said well by you all cept for philly-thug. Trading someone isn't going to wake this team, Lavi gotta go. Agree with you Kadhia cept who is going to play on the PP if not Timmo. whole team is garbage at this point. LAVI GOTTA GO!!!— DG3
- I am also beginning to think a change behind the bench is the only real thing they can do right now to put a flame under the players' bottoms. It seems that Lavy's system doesn't work with the personnel they are having. The Flyers are good at the PK, but atrocious on even strength, which points to the fact they are playing the wrong strategy.— flyerdommo
- They lack real talent more than lacking heart. #1975 isn't funny.— shawnmac
