James van Riemsdyk and the rest of Team USA were stymied, 4-0, by the undefeated Czech Republic in the medal round quarterfinals at the World Championships in Slovakia. The game was evenly played for the first 30 minutes or so but the Americans were unable to solve Atlanta Thrashers' goalie Ondrej Pavelec (the subject of this week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com), and Jaromir Jagr's hat trick was too much to overcome. The Czechs dominated the latter stages of play as the Americans realized they wouldn't be moving on.
JVR, who wore number 16 at the tourney, created a good scoring chance down low in the first period. Later, he was stopped by Pavelec on a bang-bang shot of the faceoff that was similar to a goal he scored in the Buffalo series. But JVR also took a costly elbowing penalty in the offensive zone that put Team USA down on a 5-on-3 and led to Jagr's second goal of the game. Van Riemsdyk's play was not particularly noticeable over the last 25 minutes of play.
The Czech team features a couple of former Flyers in defenseman Lukas Krajicek and center Petr Hubacek. Also, the club's third-string goalie is former Flyers' draftee Jakub Kovar. Now 7-0 in the tourney, the defending gold medalists will take on Sweden tomorrow in the semifinals.
Today, the other two quarterfinal games will be played. Finland takes on Norway at 10:15 AM eastern time and the marquee match pits Canada against Russia at 2:15 pm. Live streaming webcasts from Euro broadcast feeds are available
here.
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The Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Flyers and Bruins series already feels like it's been over for weeks. If the Flyers had gone seven games with the Bruins again this year, Game 7 would have been tonight at the Wells Fargo Center.
Saturday will mark the one year anniversary of the Flyers completing their comeback from series and Game 7 deficits of 0-3 against Boston. Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings will look to become the fourth team in NHL history to accomplish a series comeback from 0-3 when they take on the Sharks in San Jose. Of course, the Chicago Blackhawks nearly pulled off the feat in the first round this year against Vancouver but lost in overtime of Game 7.
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It has been rumored ever since last summer that Ed Snider has been urging Paul Holmgren to obtain an upgrade in goal. Salary cap issues and a desire not to remove significant pieces of the roster (beyond cap casualty Simon Gagne and role player Arron Asham) that brought the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 precluded a move last summer and during the 2010-11 regular season.
With the ultimately disastrous goaltending carousel that Peter Laviolette employed in the playoffs this spring, the Flyers' president is no longer staying quiet in public about the need for better goaltending. In an
interview with the Inquirer's Sam Carchidi, Snider said that he wants the goaltending issue resolved once and for all.
Last summer, there was a buyers' market for goaltenders. The available pool of players was less than spectacular and there really weren't too many teams looking for goalies. This year, there are more teams hunting for goaltending. Ilya Bryzgalov is going to command big money, whether he stays in Phoenix, signs elsewhere in the NHL or names his price to a willing KHL team. Tomas Vokoun will be a little more affordable but not much.
In making a cursory look around the NHL, I figure that as many as 10 teams other than the Flyers will be considering free agent goalies this summer. Most, however, will be looking for backups or split-time starters. Among the other teams in the league, I think the most intriguing situations are in Washington, Phoenix, Columbus and Colorado.
The Capitals have three promising young goalies in Michal Neuvirth (the emerging starter), Semyon Varlamov and Braden Holtby. All three have the potential to be long-term undisputed starting goalies in the NHL, and Neuvirth's play in the postseason was not why the Capitals got swept in the second round by Tampa Bay. But given the mounting pressure on the team to overcome its annual playoff swoons, would Washington swing for the fences with a win-now type of veteran goalie?
If Phoenix can't resign Bryzgalov -- which may have become more doable now that the team will be staying put -- they will still need to go get a starting goalie. In addition to Bryzgalov, backup keeper Jason Labarbera is also an impending unrestricted free agent.
In Colorado, I think it's crystal clear that the team needs an upgrade in goal over restricted free agent Brian Elliott and unrestricted free agent Peter Budaj. Over in Columbus, Mathieu Garon (who would be an ideal backup for a contending club with an undisputed number one goalie) is an unrestricted free agent. Steve Mason's salary jumps from $905,000 to $2.9 million next season, but can the Jackets rely on the erratic young goalie to be their full time starter?
Lastly, it will be interesting to see what the Devils do this offseason in terms of goaltending. Martin Brodeur is finally starting to look his age, and is entering the final season of his contract (and possibly his final NHL season). Veteran backup Johan Hedberg did a commendable job under brutal circumstances this past season but he's an unrestricted free agent and not a long-term solution. Jeff Frazee is in the farm system but more depth is needed.
I mentioned in previous blogs that I think young goalies Cory Schneider, Jonathan Bernier and Anders Lindback are all going to emerge as number one goalies in the NHL in the near future if they are traded from their current teams (where each of the three is stuck behind an accomplished veteran). I will also toss the names Jeremy Smith (stuck behind Pekka Rinne and Lindback) Eddie Lack (behind Roberto Luongo and Schneider) into the mix, because both young goaltenders also seem NHL ready.
The Devils are probably in better position right now than the Flyers to nab one of the younger goalies from another organization. The goalie could split time with the aging Brodeur next season and then emerge as a full-time number one goalie in 2012-13, with Frazee also making a push.
Personally speaking, I like Sergei Bobrovsky and think he will become an above-average NHL starting goalie. However, it's also my opinion that the upsides of all three among Schneider, Bernier and Lindback are higher than Bobrovsky's. That could simply be based on having seen Bobrovsky play more than the others, however. The more you see a player, especially a young goalie, the more you notice the flaws along with the strengths.
Regardless of the short-term and long-term decisions the Flyers make with their goaltenders, I just hope every possibility is considered carefully. Pressure from Ed Snider -- or the fan base -- to get Bryzgalov or Vokoun should not in and of itself be the deciding factor in the move that gets made.
If it were my choice to make today, I would go the veteran free agent route. That is because of the uncertainty with Chris Pronger's health and Kimmo Timonen seemingly getting worn down over this past season. A proven veteran starter can help cushion some of the impact if Pronger and/or Timonen are at less than peak form next season.
However, as a long-term move, the Flyers will need to identify a goalie of the future. Whether that's Bobrovsky, an NHL-ready young goalie from elsewhere or even Joacim Eriksson, Philly cannot afford to overlook the long-term picture in the interests of trying to win the Stanley Cup next season.
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In tomorrow's blog, I will give my take on whether the Flyers will be able to re-sign Ville Leino.
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