Rekt
- RAGSareDANGERus

You talking about Stepan's leg?

Saddled w/ Z1 and a guy fresh off a LIB, still adjusting to NA... can't blame the guy for over-handling the puck.
- Tomahawk

I get that. But you can make smart plays even with lackluster talent. Even if you make the smart play and the winger screws it up at least you did what was right play to make.

Why can't the answer be

Streit coburn
Macdonald schenn
Grossman MDZ

If this were the SATs I'd skip the question. But this is my best answer
- Just5

One issue is that MDZ struggled badly in the past playing right D, and Grossmann is also more comfortable at LD.

But yeah, I like Streit & Coburn together.

Bill, is it crazy to start viewing Ghost as a blue chip prospect? I mean the level of skill he shows with the puck is starting to make me think he has the tools to becone a legit top pairing pick mover. I know ge still needs to bulk up a little and improve his defensive play some but maybe in a few years you pair him with Coburn and you have a pretty sound pairing.
- hereticpride

He's a blue-chip offensive defenseman and skates very well but is an average prospect right now in other areas. You noted the areas where he needs work. As Terry Murray very astutely said after the Rookies Game against the Caps, let's say Gostisbehere plays 22 minutes. What he does for the 20 minutes where he does NOT have the puck or is otherwise able to pinch up on the play will determine how good of a pro he will be.

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Preseason Game Day: 9/230/14 vs. NYR, Devils-Flyers Wrap and More
- bmeltzer

Just got to watch the highlights of this game. That first goal on mase was a real stinker. However, it looks like after that he played reasonably well.. As was mentioned, haggerty was walking around Coburn and Amac like they were standing still.. jebus..

I know Ghost isn't supposed to make the squad, but unless our supposed top six starts D start picking it up, maybe he deserves to make it.. I love the shots he gets.. As someone mentioned previously, the last guy we had that always seemed to get the puck through to goal from the point like that was Pronger.. and it's something we've missed. Even if he starts in the A, I think we'll see him up later in the year.

Why can't the answer be

Streit coburn
Macdonald schenn
Grossman MDZ

If this were the SATs I'd skip the question. But this is my best answer
- Just5

MDZ can't play right side.

I would go with:

Grossmann, Coburn
MacDonald, Streit
MDZ, LSchenn

1. Everyone knows my views on a good fourth line.


2. I hope that they do not rush Gostisbehere. He still has stuff to work on, but he's so much fun to watch. I'm not sold he needs a ton of AHL time. That said the weak areas do need work. He needs to be better without the puck, especially in his own end and get a bit stronger. Still the skills are drool inducing.

3. Not a fan of Schenn & Coburn, but also not a fan of MacDonald & Coburn. There's not really an ideal set up here.

4. Jones has impressed, but I'm always wary of guys who have been around having good camps/pre-seasons. I always go back to Jon Sim or Mike Maneluk.

5. Akeson had some iffy moments last night. I think he sticks because he's been decent overall and they face losing him on waivers if they send him down.
- Jsaquella

I understand the lack of an ideal set up. I think Coburn could use a more physicall partner. That would allow him to play to his stregnths with skating and not have to be the more physicall player. i feel with MacDonald he has to be the more defensive dman and would rather he try to use his skating more.

5 games in 6 nights is so stupid. If the team can't practice AS A TEAM, isn't the purpose of the preseason defeated? They're icing a half-NHL, half-AHL team. It'll help prepare the players individually but not as a team.

I don't think so, mainly because he has an offensive skillset most defensemen do not possess. Guys with his ability with the puck are not a common commodity and it's a huge benefit to a team if they have a defenseman that has his skills.
- Jsaquella

Spot on. Young offensive defenseman like him are very rare and normally command a King's ransom. If he can get his d game rounded, I think he's going to be a good one and a regular on D here.

He's a blue-chip offensive defenseman and skates very well but is an average prospect right now in other areas. You noted the areas where he needs work. As Terry Murray very astutely said after the Rookies Game against the Caps, let's say Gostisbehere plays 22 minutes. What he does for the 20 minutes where he does NOT have the puck or is otherwise able to pinch up on the play will determine how good of a pro he will be.
- bmeltzer

Bill, how much "seasoning" in the A do you think Ghost needs? Can Murray help refine his game in a single year in the A or does he need a couple? Seems like a bright kid in interviews, so maybe he's a quick learner!

One issue is that MDZ struggled badly in the past playing right D, and Grossmann is also more comfortable at LD.

But yeah, I like Streit & Coburn together.
- Jsaquella

I was thinking the same thing about that pairing. I am not sure if AMac can handle #1 pairing minutes. Streit would not be perfect, but at least he's used to the role. Maybe they know how much Streit will be needed on the PP, so they don't want him logging crazy minutes at 5 on 5.

Saddled w/ Z1 and a guy fresh off a LIB, still adjusting to NA... can't blame the guy for over-handling the puck.
- Tomahawk

I'm an Akeson advocate, but he did not look good in his own end last night. Just making poor decisions with the puck. Even if his linemates offered no help, he shouldn't have put himself in those situations. He had 2 awful turnovers that led to prime scoring chances for the rags in the first period.

Bill, how much "seasoning" in the A do you think Ghost needs? Can Murray help refine his game in a single year in the A or does he need a couple? Seems like a bright kid in interviews, so maybe he's a quick learner!
- Hextall271

I think half-to-one-year might do it. He is not horrible defensively but needs to make adjustments from the college to pro games and also show he can deal with big forwards since he'll routinely be giving up muscle.

I'm an Akeson advocate, but he did look good in his own end last night. Just making poor decisions with the puck. Even if his linemates offered no help, he shouldn't have put himself in those situations. He had 2 awful turnovers that led to prime scoring chances for the rags in the first period.
- PhillySportsGuy

That was my thing. I am ok with him making the roster but he seems to be making some bad plays. I understand you might have lesser talent on your line but that shouldn't stop you from making the correct plays. Coaches know when you make the correct play or read and the other guy screws up.

I think half-to-one-year might do it. He is not horrible defensively but needs to make adjustments from the college to pro games and also show he can deal with big forwards since he'll routinely be giving up muscle.
- bmeltzer

That would be fine by me. I didn't know if he'd be as effective offensively at the pro level, but I've been really impressed.

I think half-to-one-year might do it. He is not horrible defensively but needs to make adjustments from the college to pro games and also show he can deal with big forwards since he'll routinely be giving up muscle.
- bmeltzer

I'd rather they just keep him down in the minors all year if the team isn't going to give enough support to their defenseman. I don't want to throw him into this hot mess.

I'd rather they just keep him down in the minors all year if the team isn't going to give enough support to their defenseman. I don't want to throw him into this hot mess.
- PhillySportsGuy

Well, to be fair, I'd hope that if we had our full group of regular forwards, we wouldn't have let the Rangers prospects stroll through the neutral zone so easily, but you never know..

That was my thing. I am ok with him making the roster but he seems to be making some bad plays. I understand you might have lesser talent on your line but that shouldn't stop you from making the correct plays. Coaches know when you make the correct play or read and the other guy screws up.
- J35Bacher

He made some nice offensive plays last night too. He just needs to play smarter in the defensive zone. If the support isn't there, then just chip it out.

Well, to be fair, I'd hope that if we had our full group of regular forwards, we wouldn't have let the Rangers prospects stroll through the neutral zone so easily, but you never know..
- Hextall271

That wasn't the case last year and this team did very little to improve their forwards. The gaps between the forwards and defenseman last night was horrendous. The Rangers could have had 8 goals last night if the Flyers didn't have their #1 goalie in net.

I said this last night, but the Flyers truly looked like the Oilers from the last few years.

Truth be told, I turned the game off with about 5 to go in the first and just kinda jumped back for a minute or so from time time. So while I can't comment onthe whole game, the first 10 minutes were atrocious. The defense was bad, the forwards had nothing going, and Mason wasn't great (that first goal has to be stopped).

Ghost continues to show why, as much as I like him, he needs AHL seasoning. He had a very good game offensively, but he still has trouble in board battles, and he can get careless with the puck. One sequence in particular stood out, where he had the puck near the blueline in his own zone, and didn't bear down. The puck slipped off his stick right to a Ranger in the neutral zone, who sprung his forward. Luckily, the play was offside, otherwise it would be a breakaway. Those are the growing pains we'll see from him.

Morin looked okay. His reach lets him cover up for some positional mistakes, and with a little bit more upper-body strength, he'll have an unbeatable advantage in board battles due to the torque he can put on his stick.

Laughton looked better than the rest of the forwards, but that's not saying much. He seemed to have some jump in his game, and was at least hustling out there.

Coburn and AMac has largely unforgettable nights, for the wrong reason(s).

He made some nice offensive plays last night too. He just needs to play smarter in the defensive zone. If the support isn't there, then just chip it out.
- PhillySportsGuy

He did. You can see his offensive instincts are there. But he just needs to really be smarter in the defensive zone. With the Flyers now having legit prospects i don't think it would take many defensive turnovers to get a players like Leirer, Jones, Laughton to maybe take his spot. He just doesn't have that much leeway

3. Not a fan of Schenn & Coburn, but also not a fan of MacDonald & Coburn. There's not really an ideal set up here.
- Jsaquella

That's about it. There is no good answer at the moment.

That wasn't the case last year and this team did very little to improve their forwards. The gaps between the forwards and defenseman last night was horrendous. The Rangers could have had 8 goals last night if the Flyers didn't have their #1 goalie in net.

I said this last night, but the Flyers truly looked like the Oilers from the last few years.
- PhillySportsGuy

They didn't look great but it is only preseason, and having a regular squad would have made a difference. The part I just hat about this is that the team has been split up because of the schedule and really hasn't played together. I expect Chief will go with a full squad the next two games, and then the practices over the weekend will be only with the guys making the squad. I think that would really help. Despite all of this, I am very worried about the D.

Truth be told, I turned the game off with about 5 to go in the first and just kinda jumped back for a minute or so from time time. So while I can't comment onthe whole game, the first 10 minutes were atrocious. The defense was bad, the forwards had nothing going, and Mason wasn't great (that first goal has to be stopped).

Ghost continues to show why, as much as I like him, he needs AHL seasoning. He had a very good game offensively, but he still has trouble in board battles, and he can get careless with the puck. One sequence in particular stood out, where he had the puck near the blueline in his own zone, and didn't bear down. The puck slipped off his stick right to a Ranger in the neutral zone, who sprung his forward. Luckily, the play was offside, otherwise it would be a breakaway. Those are the growing pains we'll see from him.

Morin looked okay. His reach lets him cover up for some positional mistakes, and with a little bit more upper-body strength, he'll have an unbeatable advantage in board battles due to the torque he can put on his stick.

Laughton looked better than the rest of the forwards, but that's not saying much. He seemed to have some jump in his game, and was at least hustling out there.

Coburn and AMac has largely unforgettable nights, for the wrong reason(s).
- jmatchett383

With all these games right in a row and no real opportunity to ice a complete roster, I'm with MJL, I just don't want anyone to get hurt. The whole exercise is ridiculous.

Bill, have any other teams had to play 4 games in 5 nights? (5 in 6 nights if you count the Phantoms game)

Its idiotic.

Truth be told, I turned the game off with about 5 to go in the first and just kinda jumped back for a minute or so from time time. So while I can't comment onthe whole game, the first 10 minutes were atrocious. The defense was bad, the forwards had nothing going, and Mason wasn't great (that first goal has to be stopped).

Ghost continues to show why, as much as I like him, he needs AHL seasoning. He had a very good game offensively, but he still has trouble in board battles, and he can get careless with the puck. One sequence in particular stood out, where he had the puck near the blueline in his own zone, and didn't bear down. The puck slipped off his stick right to a Ranger in the neutral zone, who sprung his forward. Luckily, the play was offside, otherwise it would be a breakaway. Those are the growing pains we'll see from him.

Morin looked okay. His reach lets him cover up for some positional mistakes, and with a little bit more upper-body strength, he'll have an unbeatable advantage in board battles due to the torque he can put on his stick.

Laughton looked better than the rest of the forwards, but that's not saying much. He seemed to have some jump in his game, and was at least hustling out there.

Coburn and AMac has largely unforgettable nights, for the wrong reason(s).
- jmatchett383

Unfortunately I dont think that has anything to do with growing pains. I also remember the play.. and it would have been costly if Sinclair wasnt offside. However, that is part of the territory that comes with having an offensive d-man. The puck died on the ice and he lost control. It was a quirky play, but I dont think it was a growing pain.

His issues in my eyes are more along the lines of defensive positioning along the boards, and learning how to deal with big strong faster players. As soon as he gets the speed of the pro game down pat, and understands and develops a better way to play the board game I think he will come up.

However, he will always be a candidate for team lead in turnovers. Just how things go with offensive d-men.