Carcillo is actually a hockey player now? I like it! (Source: Yardbarker)

Carter, Gagne, and Briere lead the Flyers to a 3-1 win over Toronto.  There’s still work to be done, but the team is looking a lot better. Carcillo has finally become the player we were promised that we would get in that unpopular trade a year ago. He had a sweet goal taken back, and showed some self-discipline that helped draw a pair of penalties.

Colton Orr, a bum, tried starting a fight by giving Carcillo a face wash shoving him into the boards.  No retaliation came, and the Flyers went on the PP. They didn’t score (more on that in a bit) but a few more penalties occurred, one after another, and they finally cashed in.  With a nice screen in front, Pronger loaded the canon and took aim. Instead of firing, the sent a slap pass to a wide open Carter, and he had time to settle, aim and release into an empty net. Though they had 3 or 4 PP’s in a row, it took a while for this kind of chance to develop.  The Flyers did not keep constant pressure in the Toronto end, and didn’t generate a ton of shots. That’s not good, especially when you consider that Toronto has the worst PK, and the Flyers have the 3rd best PP. That goal would turn out to be the only PP goal in 6 chances.

The second period saw Toronto tie things up about four minutes in. There was no desperation on the Flyers’ part, and they seemed to play down to the level of their competition.  Things changed quickly in the last few minutes.  First, Carcillo set up Gagne for a nice rising shot that found net.  Less than a minute after that, Carcillo broke into the zone as Richards lofted a puck over a few players. Carcillo settled the puck with his first touched, pushed it with his second, and roofed a backhander with his third touch. Unfortunately, the play was called offsides.  It didn’t matter, because Briere caught a Coburn pass with his skate, directed it to his stick, and ripped a shot home. After that it was smooth coasting.  The rest of the game saw the Flyers dumb it down a bit, and neither team really controlled the tempo.  The biggest highlight of the third was a Hartnell-Phaneuf fight, but it wasn’t all that great.  They both took off their helmets, went at each other, grappled, spun around, tried throwing a few hooks, and tumbled to the ice.  A little more balance and it could have been much better. These teams meet one more time, so hopefully they’ll work on that.

Next up are the Islanders, making it back-to-back games against the worst teams in the East.  Sure the Flyers won this game, but I still don’t like how they look.  Teams like this should get pounded in every aspect of the game.  I want to see more of the killer instinct, and I want it to happen fast. There’s not a ton of time left for it to grow. The season is winding down, and they’ve had more than enough time to gel. Pick it up, and handle business!

Thanks for reading.

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Miller is too good!

Ryan Miller continues to give the Sabres a chance in every game as he helps them defeat my Flyers 3-2 last night.  This game was on CN8, and of course Verizon doesn’t have that channel, so I have to write about it by basing everything on highlights and recaps.  I tried listening on the radio, but that’s a bit hard to judge things on. Anyway, from what I saw Leighton had a ton of good saves, but is on the hook for 2 of the 3 goals.  Meanwhile, the defense still hasn’t recovered from the layoff, and is starting to give away too many chances.   The  Flyers gave up 6 or 7 shots to open the game before getting one of their own.  They ended up being outshot 35-29.  I know that shots are not the best indicator of how a team is playing, because anyone can just throw pucks at the net.  Still, for the season the Flyers are 7th in shots per game, and 6th in shots against.  That means that they generally carry the play.  However, they just gave up 43 shots to Florida, and 38 to Tampa. This is three straight games with heavy shot totals, and that means that they’re not getting the puck out of the zone quickly, and their transition game is not working.  Also, They are not forechecking as hard as they were in January and February, or else they’d have more time in the offensive zone.  I’m starting to wonder whether Pronger and Timonen, the two best defenders on the team, are to blame because they’re still tired from the Olympics.  Anyway, when a team is playing poorly on defense, they need their goalie to save them.

Michael Leighton, is showing more and more that he’s not the man for the job. He could learn a thing or two from Miller, who faces the seventh most shots, and is at or near the top in every major goaltending category.  First, Leighton made a rookie mistake of hesitating, and it cost him the first goal.  As a puck rolled slowly towards the left corner, he took too long to think about coming out to play it or letting it go.  Once he started to move, he took a weak swing, missed, and started to slide back twoards his net.  Vanek got to the corner, and banked it off a retreating Leighton and into the net. Now I know what the confusion for Leighton was, but it’s something that a player at the level must decide quickly on.  Vanek was clearly going to be the first skater to get to the puck, so here were the choices: 1. Race out to get to the puck and flip it out of the zone or cover it; 2. Stay in net, because the puck is headed twoards the corner and let the defense deal with Vanek because he’s not in a dangerous shooting position.  Leighton kind of did the in between, and he got burned.

The third goal, which was the overtime winner, was also his fault.  Lydman took a low shot that Leighton stopped, but left the rebound just out of his own reach for Connolly to rebound into the net.  Shooters are taught to aim low towards the inner part of a pad when they are trying to create a rebound because it’s a spot where a goalie doesn’t normally catch the puck, and it’s hard to trap with the pads. It’s also a spot where it’s difficult for a goalie to redirect into a corner, so the rebound should pop into the middle of the area. This is exactly what Lydman was aiming for (maybe hoping five hole) but the shot went a little high.  Leighton could have reached out the glove and caught it, because there was no screen and he saw the shot the whole way.  Instead, he allowed the puck to hit his pad, land in front, and we know the rest.

Notes

• Another point about the defense: the Flyers had a 2-1 lead late in the game. This is a Sabres team not known for their offense.  You need to be able to shut them down, especially with the playoffs looming.
• Mike Richards made a nice play to give the Flyers the 2-1 lead.  He picked off a cross-ice pass from Connolly, and since the defense were wide apart, he had a free path to the net. Fake the forehand, alip to the backhand, works almost everytime on almost every goalie.
• Gagne opened the scoring, and continues to look better.  He’s been here forever, but he’s only 30 years old.  I think if he stays healthy, it’s worth keeping him another 5 or more years.  He’s a low profile player that puts up good numbers on both ends of the ice. It’d be nice for the entire team to start clicking for the final 19 games.
• Although they were outshot, Flyers had a ton of chances. Of course, Miller continues to play incredible and not give up any soft or easy goals.  I’ve been watching hockey for 16 years already, and in the time the Flyers have never had a goalie of that calibur.  I think it’s time to tinker with the scouting system, because everyone else in our division seems to have one (maybe not the Isles, but I blame injuries for that.).
• Ville Leino, a Flyers addition from before the break, has sounded pretty good. I haven’t watched him too closely yet, but from what I’ve seen he’s a nice support player.  He’s got some decent vision and has adapted pretty well so far.

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By the time Boosh came in, the Flyers were pretty much out of it.

Florida crushed the Flyers 7-4, and secured the season series.  The first period featured 3 fights in the first 2:45, and one more 14 minutes later. The third of those fights was between Mike Richards and David Booth.  Booth, of course, wants revenge for being knocked out and missing 42 games after a clean hit by Richie earlier this year.  More importantly, it was the Panthers who came out energized, and jumped on a 2-0 lead. The rest of the game featured a Flyers goal, followed by a Panther goal.  At no point did Philly manage to tie things up. I mentioned yesterday that the defense looks a bit loose and needs to kick it into gear, and they got burned tonight.  It doesn’t help that we have a garbage goalie.  I don’t care what the stats say, he was completely exposed tonight.  He gave up four goals before he was pulled, and three were completely his fault. Boucher didn’t play much better, but he’s gotta be rusty because he hasn’t played in forever. Here’s a breakdown of the goals Leighton gave up:

Goal 1: From the half boards along the left, Stillman sends a floater through the goalmouth that bounces off of Reinprecht and in. I blame Leighton because he could have intercepted the pass, or slid across to stop any shot attempt, instead of assuming that the puck would float by harmlessly.

Goal 2: Screen in front, cross ice passing,  powerplay, I won’t blame Leighton for this one.

Goal3: Cross ice pass to Booth, who stops the puck and winds up.  Meanwhile, Leighton slides across, remains on his feet for a change, sets up, and has no screen in front of him. Easy save for a pro right? Wrong!  It goes through the five-hole.

Goal 4: Pretty much the same play as goal three, except reverse the side where the pass came from, and turn the slapper into a wrister. Once again there was no screen, and the puck went five-hole. And with that, Leighton’s night ends.

And of course, help is NOT on the way.  At the deadline, the Flyers stood pat. I don’t get it. Does management really think this team has a chance to win it all? There was nothing we could do to shift the balance of power? On paper this team is good, but they’ve played inconsistently all season long.  They’ve had stretches of great play with tons of offense, and they’e had stretches of the complete opposite.  I understand when you look bad for a game or two. But it’s not ok to have a few dry spells.  They look better than last year, but the top teams in the East are still in a league of their own.  We’ll see what plays out in the final 20 games.

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Philadelphia 7, Tampa Bay 2

In their first game back after a two week break, the Flyers crushed Tampa Bay 7-2.  The game was tied at 2 after two periods, but the floodgates opened in the third. Richie celebrated his gold medal by opening the scoring in the first period, before Stamkos tied the game four minutes later. Stamkos gave TB the lead for two minutes until Carcillo tied it up.  In the third, Giroux had a pair, and Gagne, Carter, and JVR added a goal each. There are a few issues off the ice to discuss, so I’m not going to recap the goals. You can check out the highlights NHL.com. Richards look good all night, adding three assist to his goal. Giroux and Gagne also looked good, Gags especially.  In an interview he recently mentioned confidence issues, so hopefully his play tonight helps him in the long run.  The team had a ton of skating drills during the break, and after a stale first period, it showed.  There were a few defensive lapses that lead to many odd-man rushes, but I think that’s  little rust showing from the break, and it probably will not be a normal occurrence.

Does he have to get rid of it already?

Ray Emery – I loved the signing, and I was happy with how he played.  He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been, and already has a Stanley Cup appearance on his resume.  Unfortunately, he’s got hip and groin injuries that have plagued him all season.  Emery has been ruled out for the rest of the season, leaving Michael Leighton as the starter, and Brian Boucher as the backup. Coach Laviolette and GM Holmgren say they are content with this duo, but I disagree 100%.   I think the team defense, prior to the break, is a bit underrated.  The 6 individuals on D haven’t been exactly up to par, but the entire group combined has been pretty good.  That explains Leighton’s good numbers more than his play does.  I still don’t trust him, and I really hope he doesn’t become complacent now that Emery is out of the picture.

Trade deadline – Wednesday, March 03, 2010 at 3:00PM is when all trades are due.  I haven’t heard any rumors regarding major moves for the Flyers.  Their horrible salary cap management leaves them with very few options.  They’ve improved over the last few months and have climbed the standings, and beaten some very good teams.  However, I don’t think anyone looks at this team as a favorite to win the Cup.Maybe an outside chance, but they definitely need some help.  Most likely we’ll see a depth move or a move to create cap space for an emergency. However, when Homer took over a few years ago he pulled a few surprise moves that have mostly been awesome (Coburn, Upshall, Timonen) and resulted in a Conference Final Berth.  Who knows if he has any tricks up his sleeve for this season.  I sure hope so.

Miller's only mistake, at the worst moment.

Olympics – Congrats to Canada, they really were the best team. I hate Crosby, and I hate the goal he scored to win it all.  Miller had been incredible for the entire tournament, and I think the winner was a bit soft.  He look unprepared for the shot, and it’s not the way I wanted it to end. Speaking of Miller, he did EXACTLY what was necessary for the USA.  The team overachieved because they had confidence in their goalie, and were able to take risks on offense (not to mention a ridiculous collapse by Finland).  If any other goalie is in net aside from Miller, the US loses the first game to Canada, the seedings are different, and we probably get a dream Russia-Canada final. As far as tv ratings go, the US-Canada matchup was the better result. The NHL needs to capitalize quickly on the great numbers (2^nd most watch program since 1980 US-Finland gold medal game) to draw  a ton more fans.  I don’t know how to do it, but I’m sure someone in marketing can figure it out.   Back to Miller: When I look at Buffalo I see a team with the same make-up as the US team.  A bunch of talented guys, no superstars, and tons of speed.  They win because Miller is out of his mind this season.  Come playoff time, they will be very hard to beat.  All the big dogs might have already peaked, and Miller can help the Sabers get farther than most of us expect.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2V7_VzVaWk