Bill Meltzer: Wrapup: Flyers Blank Panthers 1-0 in Home Opener

I'll re-post here in this fresh, brand spankin' new thread:

http://www.naturalstattri...6&stype=2&team=PHI&sit=ev

If anybody'd like to peruse some stats so far, here you go. There's some serious stink in here, but it's early and stats can get fluky in small samples. Interpret as you will.

Check out Manning, Schultz, the 4th line, and the 2nd. FWIW, look at Luke.

(Lifted the site from Feanor)

Great write up. Great game.

3 games is 3 games. Just checking out some other teams' stats, and some great possession players are doing meh. It's small sample size, and generally meaningless. Even 40 games can be too small a sample. But sometimes there's some warning signs that stick.

Manning has 70+% O zone starts. Second worst possession player relative to team. Schultz has been poor, but so has his usage. Putting Manning with MDZ perhaps not a great pairing, given his own back and forth play style. 4th line getting pummeled, and their usage has been tough. Maybe too tough. Luke has been their best possession d man yet he sits. He's always been a good possession d man so I think jury is out on him.

2nd line is all over the place. Simmer has been pretty bad in possession -- don't need numbers to prove that one. I thought Gagner looked good offensively and w/ puck, but a bit porous it would seem in other areas (1 game though). Could explain Schenn-Coots being subpar, given they're both performing better than either of their RWs. Laughton-Read doing very well. Don't read too much into this stuff though. Early yet.

I still think my favorite second line might be Read-Coots-Schenn.

Well the coach did a great job adjusting to their game plan from the previous game, well done to the Philly coaching staff

I like that they have been a lot more active and aggressive in the NZ. This isn't a perfect team, and they're going to need to gut out wins a lot of the time, but I like what I've seen overall thus far.

I feel games like tonight's and the opener will be more commonplace than blowouts. Saturday's game is more an outlier to me, due to the asinine score effects so early in the game.

Need to get the big guys going, and hopefully they get decent production from the secondary guys. Neuvirth showed he's a very solid backup at worst. Overall. Outside of Saturday, they've been a lot more fun to watch than last season.

3 games is 3 games. Just checking out some other teams' stats, and some great possession players are doing meh. It's small sample size, and generally meaningless. Even 40 games can be too small a sample. But sometimes there's some warning signs that stick.

Manning has 70+% O zone starts. Second worst possession player relative to team. Schultz has been poor, but so has his usage. Putting Manning with MDZ perhaps not a great pairing, given his own back and forth play style. 4th line getting pummeled, and their usage has been tough. Maybe too tough. Luke has been their best possession d man yet he sits. He's always been a good possession d man so I think jury is out on him.

2nd line is all over the place. Simmer has been pretty bad in possession -- don't need numbers to prove that one. I thought Gagner looked good offensively and w/ puck, but a bit porous it would seem in other areas (1 game though). Could explain Schenn-Coots being subpar, given they're both performing better than either of their RWs. Laughton-Read doing very well. Don't read too much into this stuff though. Early yet.

I still think my favorite second line might be Read-Coots-Schenn.
- Mononoke

The oddity of the game Saturday skews the numbers, too.

I think I lean to keeping Gagner in for now, and either keeping him with Couturier & Schenn( maybe flipping Schenn to RW) or using your suggestion and going with Read as the LW, and a line of Gagner, Laughton & Simmonds. Obviously if Gagner stays with Schenn & Couts, that gives the Laughton-Simmonds pair a third wheel of Read, which looks intriguing on paper.

I think Hakstol is going to continue to juggle for a bit. He's not a meddler, or hasn't been thus far, but I think he might try some different looks if the offense doesn't start to click at a more consistent rate. Still generating chances, though, so it might just be a case of going against a couple of good goalies and better execution.

Been impressed with Laughton so far.
Gudas was fine tonight.
Love the aggressiveness on the PK.
I do think they need the skill of Sam Gagner. He had a decent game tonight.
Feel bad for Umberger. Nice start to the season after the horror show last year and now injured after 2 games, ugh.
Hope whatever is going on with the Mason family is not too serious.

The oddity of the game Saturday skews the numbers, too.

I think I lean to keeping Gagner in for now, and either keeping him with Couturier & Schenn( maybe flipping Schenn to RW) or using your suggestion and going with Read as the LW, and a line of Gagner, Laughton & Simmonds. Obviously if Gagner stays with Schenn & Couts, that gives the Laughton-Simmonds pair a third wheel of Read, which looks intriguing on paper.

I think Hakstol is going to continue to juggle for a bit. He's not a meddler, or hasn't been thus far, but I think he might try some different looks if the offense doesn't start to click at a more consistent rate. Still generating chances, though, so it might just be a case of going against a couple of good goalies and better execution.
- Jsaquella

Funny enough the Flyers outshot Panthers at evens on Sat, so if anything it skewed in their favor possession wise.

But I agree with you, Hakstol isn't a meddler nor should he be (yet). I would like to see Gagner on that line again. In the o zone they had stuff going, and you're never going to break up the only line to score a goal. Given Read-Laughton-(Umby or no Umby) have looked solid it's for the best to keep them together now. I'd be very much in favor of moving Umby down to 4 though to replace White or VDV. Manning though hasn't looked particularly good in my paying attention to him, but those stats don't lie and are horrific. He is being sheltered out the wazoo...and getting obliterated in the process. Don't see how Schenn is a justifiable scratch, and I didn't all preseason either. I know others think Schultz is an important part of the d corps (me not so much), but I'd have Luke in the lineup over him, Manning, or Gudas -- special emphasis on Manning.

bill,

i wonder if this personal family issue started before the clown show on saturday night and if so, was a distraction for mason and contributed heavily to his performance.

whatever it is, i hope it's nothing terrible and he can rejoin the team soon.

i don't know which season robbie moore earned his shutout, but at least with the others, they were all playoff bound seasons...so perhaps this is a good omen for the team...leading to:

snider missing the home opener. jinx/drought over. stanley cup, here we come. woooooooooo!

I hope Snider is alright. They can down play it but missing the open for the first time since the 60s? While some are unhappy with his leadership I think we can all agree, overall, he has created a wonderful and entertaining product and done a lot of good in the community. All my best Ed.

well hakstol sure corrected that fast

Ed snider has consistently chased a championship for our fan base sparring absolutely no expense. Has he messed us up with his win now philosophy in the cap Era and need to have shiny new toys ? Yes at times. But.. I'm not sure if we still are but we had one the highest franchise winning percentage of any professional sports team for a while idk if last couple years changed that. Snider gets some credit for that. And his foundations do a lot of good. Hope he is well.

Don't see how Schenn is a justifiable scratch, and I didn't all preseason either. I know others think Schultz is an important part of the d corps (me not so much), but I'd have Luke in the lineup over him, Manning, or Gudas -- special emphasis on Manning.
- Mononoke

I think Schenn should absolutely be in for Manning. At least at this stage the game. I liked what gudas Brought to the table he had a solid game and he went after the biggest Panthers and steamrolled them with clean hits. That gets the team going.

It'll be interesting when umberger is back. He was our leading scorer through 2 games and played good solid play. Gagner I thought showed a lot last night but I do think he needs sheltered pp and top 6 minutes. So whose in and out for you there?

Ed snider has consistently chased a championship for our fan base sparring absolutely no expense. Has he messed us up with his win now philosophy in the cap Era and need to have shiny new toys ? Yes at times. But.. I'm not sure if we still are but we had one the highest franchise winning percentage of any professional sports team for a while idk if last couple years changed that. Snider gets some credit for that. And his foundations do a lot of good. Hope he is well.
- Tfaehner

Anybody that poops on the legacy that Ed Snider has created in this city is an idiot.

And old timers can spare me their Jerry Wolman stories. I know that bit.

Ed Snider is the best sports owner this town has ever seen, both on and off the field of play. And it's really not even close.

Flyers can't score. This is going to be a very long season.

Anybody that poops on the legacy that Ed Snider has created in this city is an idiot.

And old timers can spare me their Jerry Wolman stories. I know that bit.

Ed Snider is the best sports owner this town has ever seen, both on and off the field of play. And it's really not even close.
- johndewar

Glad they won last night, always good to get 2 points in regulation.

But lets face it, if Neuvirth doesn't stand on his head late in the game, they are going into OT. They have to find a way to start generating some offense and it starts with getting a forecheck established on a consistent basis. Too many one on one battles are being lost in the O zone, this has to stop.

Averaging 1.33 goals per game is not going to cut it.

Glad they won last night, always good to get 2 points in regulation.

But lets face it, if Neuvirth doesn't stand on his head late in the game, they are going into OT. They have to find a way to start generating some offense and it starts with getting a forecheck established on a consistent basis. Too many one on one battles are being lost in the O zone, this has to stop.

Averaging 1.33 goals per game is not going to cut it.
- BiggE

Not to mention giving up 6 PP's against most teams will usually cost you. The one on one battles are crucial like you said, they also cost us penalties .. Because we can't win them.
Need scoring, need scoring, need scoring,....and yes I still believe in Manning as a "quality" 6 man at a great price!

Definitely good to get a win, and the results were better than the previous two games obviously. The TB game was really the best game they played. The first Florida game was a disaster brought on by Mason's uncharacteristic implosion, which I believe was brought on by having his heart and mind elsewhere. Can't blame him for that. Family is everything. Last night, I thought they played hard, but overall it's not a pattern of a game that you're going to win with consistently. Out shot and way too many penalties.

Not to mention giving up 6 PP's against most teams will usually cost you. The one on one battles are crucial like you said, they also cost us penalties .. Because we can't win them.
Need scoring, need scoring, need scoring,....and yes I still believe in Manning as a "quality" 6 man at a great price!
- 3flyerkids

Building this D to where it needs to be is going to take time. On a true Cup contender:

Del Zotto is a #4, at best, mainly due to the frequent lapses in his decision making

Schultz and Streit are 4/5 guys and the rest are 3rd pair guys.

Until we have a legit 1, 2, and 3 on D, we will continue to struggle. As I've said before, all I really want from this season is to see a team that is committed to playing a system and playing hard for 60 minutes a night and continued positive development of the prospects. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Glad they won last night, always good to get 2 points in regulation.

But lets face it, if Neuvirth doesn't stand on his head late in the game, they are going into OT. They have to find a way to start generating some offense and it starts with getting a forecheck established on a consistent basis. Too many one on one battles are being lost in the O zone, this has to stop.

Averaging 1.33 goals per game is not going to cut it.
- BiggE

This will get better. PP isnt really clicking IMO and Giroux/Voracek seem untracked at the moment.

Definitely good to get a win, and the results were better than the previous two games obviously. The TB game was really the best game they played. The first Florida game was a disaster brought on by Mason's uncharacteristic implosion, which I believe was brought on by having his heart and mind elsewhere. Can't blame him for that. Family is everything. Last night, I thought they played hard, but overall it's not a pattern of a game that you're going to win with consistently. Out shot and way too many penalties.
- MJL

Yes they took penalties but they did play well defensively, IMO. Suppressed most of the quality chances. They need to shoot the puck with a purpose. Watch other teams...they will just fire it on net. Flyers are always looking for the perfect play. Raffl should have scored 5 hole on Luongo from that nice Voracek feed. Voracek should have slam dunked that open net. We really should have won 3-0......Gotta bury those chances and quit squeezing the stick to saw dust.

Yes they took penalties but they did play well defensively, IMO. Suppressed most of the quality chances. They need to shoot the puck with a purpose. Watch other teams...they will just fire it on net. Flyers are always looking for the perfect play. Raffl should have scored 5 hole on Luongo from that nice Voracek feed. Voracek should have slam dunked that open net. We really should have won 3-0......Gotta bury those chances and quit squeezing the stick to saw dust.
- GOA88

They could badly, really badly, use a pure sniper on this team. Giroux and Voracek are playmakers more than scorers. Simmonds gets his goals mainly by net work on the pp and Raffl is good at pouncing on chances down low as well, but no one seems to just have the ability to blow one by a goalie.

They could really use a Reggie Leach/Rick Macleish/Brian Propp/Tim Kerr/John Leclair/Eric Lindros/Jeff Carter kind of player in the worst way.

Building this D to where it needs to be is going to take time. On a true Cup contender:

Del Zotto is a #4, at best, mainly due to the frequent lapses in his decision making

Schultz and Streit are 4/5 guys and the rest are 3rd pair guys.

Until we have a legit 1, 2, and 3 on D, we will continue to struggle. As I've said before, all I really want from this season is to see a team that is committed to playing a system and playing hard for 60 minutes a night and continued positive development of the prospects. Anything beyond that is a bonus.
- BiggE

I think Medvedev is a top 4 level defenseman also, but you're right, they don't have a top pair. And I also agree with wanting the team to compete consistently.