There isn't a team in the league that wouldn't kill to have Couturier on their roster. He should be in the Selke conversation.
- BiggE

agree

Its hard not to be excited about the development of many of their young(er) players throughout the organization. Even Cousins. Maybe ideally you want him as your 4th line center but nonetheless I love what he brings. it does make me wonder if they should have allowed Laughton more time in the AHL

Back in my day, goalies weren't 6'4" 220lb freak (frank)ing athletes with massive pads who took up most of the net while standing still
- Jsaquella

Back in my day save % was a fancy stat.

Garrett Sparks seems to have trouble stopping pucks, controlling rebounds and positioning. Outside of that he's a great goalie.

Back in my day save % was a fancy stat.
- twotoekenn

Hahha, yeah, in 1987 Hexy's .900 was near top in the NHL...now if you are below .915 you are benched

His usage is pretty identical: 1.5% increase in oz starts doesn't really explain a point jump. Personally, I don't believe faceoffs matter a ton -- I mean just last game Backstrom took G to the cleaners...and lost every single faceoff. It all pales in comparison to not saddling him with a half-dead Read or a dead Umberger or a brain dead Rinaldo. Compared to them I'd say Raffl, Jake, Simmer, Schenn, Gagner are more than slightly better lol. All good players like G or Jake see top quality of competition and can slay them, and quality of comp. is very important for sure, but who YOU play with is probably most important.

Berube gave Coots a bucket of poop and told him to make lemonade. Hak has given him every single opportunity to be a 2-way guy, not a defensive forward. And it has paid off in spades. Given room to breath, he's developing confidence and showing his skills in his own right. One has lead to the other.
- Mononoke

It's higher than that.

14-15: 281 OZS - 426 DZS = 39.7%

15-16: 213 - 266 = 44.5%

But I'd agree improving the wingers is more important. Even then Raffl and Read are his 2nd and 3rd most common 5 on 5 teammates after Simmonds. He hasn't played as much with Voracek and Schenn as I thought.

http://stats.hockeyanalys...ue&season=2015-16&sit=5v5

Garrett Sparks seems to have trouble stopping pucks, controlling rebounds and positioning. Outside of that he's a great goalie.
- Jsaquella

He's telling himself........this isn't the OHL anymore, this isn't the OHL anymore........I'm in trouble.

Hahha, yeah, in 1987 Hexy's .900 was near top in the NHL...now if you are below .915 you are benched
- Jsaquella

Or in the ECHL

So back reading coots has the perception of brindy as a flyer. Okay option but could do better. At least he didn't win a cup to prove the doubters wrong. Oh wait.

Garrett Sparks seems to have trouble stopping pucks, controlling rebounds and positioning. Outside of that he's a great goalie.
- Jsaquella

and this is why i'm elated to have the goalie tandem we have

last year he had 37 pts in 82 games. this year he has 37 in 59. .451 jump to .627 all while still being ask to go up against the opposition's top line.
- nastyflyergirl

Now he has increased PP time, which is great. However, when this season is over, the numbers are what they are, not what they could have been if a player was healthy.

Jake Voracek scored 22 goals during the half season. I'm assuming that projects he could have had a 40 goal scorer. I don't buy that Jake will ever score 40 in his career. I love Jake but I'm trying to be realistic.

One thing about this team, is outside of you know, one guy who comes off as a douchey-frat-bro to me (and this may very well be a reflection on my personal biases), I like every single player on this team. They are just flat-out likeable. They play hard, they look like they're having fun, they seem to honestly respect and like one another.

They're not (by a longshot) the best Flyer team I've ever seen, but I think that just makes me want them to win all that much more... if that makes any sense.
- Doc_Sarcasm

Absolutely. You see it after the games in the celebration line as the players leave the ice and how they clown around with each other.

They are easy to cheer for. They aren't the most talented, in fact I am convinced there are smoke and mirrors involved, but they do their job, there is no ME guys or unlikable characters (at least for me.)

Garrett Sparks seems to have trouble stopping pucks, controlling rebounds and positioning. Outside of that he's a great goalie.
- Jsaquella

Babcock doing his best to help his current and former teams causes. Guy is a genious

Mason has fewer goals than Nick Schultz. The guy is (frank)ing terrible
- Jsaquella

ftfy.

that game against Detroit is HUGE.
- nastyflyergirl

yuge?

FTFY
- Doc_Sarcasm

Thanks, you made it better for sure.

...and in this installment of #basketball_buzz we point out that 'Nova just went on a 25-0 run against Oklahoma. Did anybody see THIS coming?

Thanks, you made it better for sure.

- MBFlyerfan

any time!

It's higher than that.

14-15: 281 OZS - 426 DZS = 39.7%

15-16: 213 - 266 = 44.5%

But I'd agree improving the wingers is more important. Even then Raffl and Read are his 2nd and 3rd most common 5 on 5 teammates after Simmonds. He hasn't played as much with Voracek and Schenn as I thought.

http://stats.hockeyanalys...ue&season=2015-16&sit=5v5
- Feanor

I just looked at o zone faceoff %, not OZ For %. Latter doesn't include NZ%. So we are both right. I looked at his relative faceoffs and both seasons he has the lowest relative zone starts for by a wide margin, but this year he has seen a lot less d zone faceoffs. Last year was certainly rather extreme from a faceoff standpoint. But that seems to be his biggest zone change. Could play into Hak's 4 line mentality where usage is a bit evened out across the spectrum.

Now he's gotta increased PP time, which is great. However, when this season is over, the numbers are what they are, not what they could have been if a player healthy.

Jake Voracek scored 22 goals during the half season. I'm assuming that projects he could have been a 40 goal scorer. I don't buy that Jake will ever score 40 in his career. I love Jake but I'm trying to be realistic.
- SuperSchennBros

injuries absolutely come into play. fact is his production is up ppg. period. all while still playing against the top lines more often than not.

Garrett Sparks seems to have trouble stopping pucks, controlling rebounds and positioning. Outside of that he's a great goalie.
- Jsaquella

he's actually quite good - based on the limited play i've seen, some of which was in person last summer. he's still very young. lot of upside with him.

injuries absolutely come into play. fact is his production is up ppg. period. all while still playing against the top lines more often than not.
- nastyflyergirl

JvR had an injury riddled final season with the Flyers but nobody ever remembers this. People say he took steps back and we traded him. Injuries are only a factor when it suits certain fans, mostly the fans who defend players who are still here.

Coots and Ghost have played the same amount of games. It's up to you to choose who has had what impact.

2-1.

he's actually quite good - based on the limited play i've seen, some of which was in person last summer. he's still very young. lot of upside with him.
- hammarby31

He'll suck tonight. But you knew that

Why not kadri. Your team (frank)ing blows anyway

Wow. 2 minute minor for a cross check to the head. Wings got hosed

He'll suck tonight. But you knew that
- Just5

he's fighting it from the few minutes i've watched so far.