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Meltzer's Musings: 10/2/10

October 2, 2010, 10:19 AM ET [ Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Notes and observations as the exhibition schedule winds down:

* One of the most encouraging signs of the preseason has been the play of James Van Riemsdyk. His increased upper body strength has been in evidence throughout the exhibition schedule. Early in the exhibition schedule, he was a little bit snakebitten in terms of being able to put pucks in the net, but that was of no concern because JVR's hands are the one thing nobody has ever questioned about him. Heading into the season, the big challenge for JVR will be to continue staying involved physically and using his size and increased strength to set up his finesse game.

* Ville Leino had a tremendous first preseason appearance after being cleared to play following off-season hip surgery. Playing in his second straight game last night, he didn't have quite as much jump. It's all part of the recuperation process.

* The Flyers ended an 0-for-18 slump on the powerplay with tallies by Nikolay (no longer spelled Nikolai) Zherdev and JVR. Even had they not done so, preseason powerplay numbers are nothing to get too worked up about, with all the personnel shuffling that goes on before the season. Last night was more like what we'll we when the games start to count. Zherdev now has five goals in six preseason outings.

* Brian Boucher has had a good preseason and looks ready to start the season on one of his streaks of solid play in net. He's been taking fewer gambles with his puckhandling in the preseason, which is something that got him into trouble at times last season.

* As it turns out, a big part of the reason why Dan Carcillo did not appear to have much jump early in camp and the preseason was the fact that he quietly underwent two offseason surgeries that often take awhile from which to fully recuperate -- sports hernia repair and a hip procedure. He was unable to skate until camp began and it has taken him awhile to begin to get his skating legs back. Considering that, apart from being an agitator, Carcillo's game is predicated on his energy, it's understandable why the player has been a non-factor in most of his appearances.
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