Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: 2/8/12

~First! Go SABRES!~

~First! Go SABRES!~
- Flynox

ew.

In other news, matt carle (frank)ING SUCKS

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: 2/8/12
- bmeltzer

Why its terrible to lose in the shootout the Flyers did alot of good things out on the ice yesterday. Unfortunately they werent rewarded with the win but they played a great all around game. The goaltending was good (considering the workload), the defense did a nice job and the offense created numerous scoring chances. We lose again in the stupid gimmick and it will be great to see playoff hockey without that garbage ending a game. The Flyers got back on track last night with their play but you have to credit Nabokov as he was outstanding in net.

~First! Go SABRES!~
- Flynox

Send Ville back to Philly!!!

Send Ville back to Philly!!!
- puckhead7

Yikes, with that contract?

SHELLEY!

The Flyers got back on track last night with their play but you have to credit Nabokov as he was outstanding in net.

The Flyers hit Nabokov with the puck 40 times...Nabby maybe saved five scoring opportunities. This team lacks a sniperish goal scorer. And no the guy in Columbus for the time being is not that sniperish goal scorer that this teams sorely lacks! Rather than all this talk about Weber & Suter, how about getting a skilled sniper who can finish and not the hit the goalie in the chest or glove shot after shot after shot after shot on goal or at goal!

It is a apparent from the shootout that the Flyers lack a skilled goal scorer. Danny had another great attempt, Simmonds not so much...you can't blame Bryz if he is practicing against this lack of skill on the shootout. The Flyers only shootout win came against Florida if I am not mistaken...but take a look at who Florida rolled out on the shootout. Go back and look at Versteeg's feeble attempt on the shootout.

This team lacks a sniperish goal scorer.
- puckhead7

I consider Giroux and Briere snipers. Giroux is just in a funk right now and Briere was in his first game back off a concussion. Jagr isn't the goal-scorer he was in his prime but it's awfully hard to say that the 11th all-time goal scorer in NHL history doesn't have sniping ability.

The Flyers hit Nabokov with the puck 40 times...Nabby maybe saved five scoring opportunities. This team lacks a sniperish goal scorer. And no the guy in Columbus for the time being is not that sniperish goal scorer that this teams sorely lacks! Rather than all this talk about Weber & Suter, how about getting a skilled sniper who can finish and not the hit the goalie in the chest or glove shot after shot after shot after shot on goal or at goal!

It is a apparent from the shootout that the Flyers lack a skilled goal scorer. Danny had another great attempt, Simmonds not so much...you can't blame Bryz if he is practicing against this lack of skill on the shootout. The Flyers only shootout win came against Carolina if I am not mistaken...but take a look at who Carolina rolled out on the shootout. I am pretty sure Jeff Skinner wasn't there.
- puckhead7

Last night wasn't about a sniper. When you see a Goalie in the zone that Nabokov is in, it's due to his playing the puck and having his angles down, and being square to the shooter. The problem was that they lacked traffic at the net. For screens, deflections, rebounds etc. They let Nabokov see the puck to well. Giroux had glorious chances. He will be better there most times.


And by the way, that sniper in Columbus has scored 2 goals in 3 games since coming back including another meaningless goal to tie the game with under 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. But you know what Carter has to do with the Flyers right now? Nothing

That was the WORST game I have ever been too, I paid 20 bucks for my seats and I overpaid. From a hockey standpoint, it was a very frustrating game, the refs blew about 5-7 offsides calls where the flyers could have had an odd man rush. IMO there were too many missed chances lastnight, I saw 1 too many passes from every line and the d looked awful up until the end.

Dont even get me started with the pp

Nice to see Bryz rite the ship after having a rough game.

The offense didn't do enough to get to the dirty areas and make life hard on Nabby.

Claude needs to bury 1 or 2 of the many chances he had. When you are the best player on the team and you get as many chances as he did, he needs to finish a couple of 'em.

Danny started to look more comfy as the game wore on.

The Flyers really played a sloppy first but started to play a 5 man unit game later in the second and in the 3rd periods.

~First! Go SABRES!~
- Flynox

Bryz played a solid game...


Shootout sucks


That is all!!!

That was the WORST game I have ever been too, I paid 20 bucks for my seats and I overpaid. From a hockey standpoint, it was a very frustrating game, the refs blew about 5-7 offsides calls where the flyers could have had an odd man rush. IMO there were too many missed chances lastnight, I saw 1 too many passes from every line and the d looked awful up until the end.

Dont even get me started with the pp
- flyers4487

The Flyers attempted 86 (!) shots last night and put 45 of them on the net, so it wasn't like they were reluctant to pull the trigger. The PP generated plenty of good puck movement, too, but just couldn't bag a goal. The first unit couldn't get shots through, and the second unit couldn't produce deflections/rebounds but did have a few chances from the slot.

The most frustrating thing about last night's game was that the top line in particular had all sorts of scoring chances from the first period right through overtime and just couldn't finish any of them. It happens.

The Flyers attempted 86 (!) shots last night and put 45 of them on the net, so it wasn't like they were reluctant to pull the trigger. The PP generated plenty of good puck movement, too, but just couldn't bag a goal. The first unit couldn't get shots through, and the second unit couldn't produce deflections/rebounds but did have a few chances from the slot.

The most frustrating thing about last night's game was that the top line in particular had all sorts of scoring chances from the first period right through overtime and just couldn't finish any of them. It happens.
- bmeltzer

Teams are getting so good at getting in shooting lanes these days. In previous eras I bet if you attempted those same 86 shots you would probably get 60-70 of them through.

Better now then two months from now. Some of the Flyers teams that went deepest in the playoffs struggled before or around the All-star break and came back like a house of fire. This team has heart and guts... it's young and we are seeing inconsistent young hockey. They will be ready to roll come playoff time.

I would like to see the Flyers get Hal Gill. I don't know how much he'd cost, but a big, physical, imposing defenseman is something they could use to clear out the front of the net on the pk and in general. Could a 4th or 3rd round pick get it done?

I consider Giroux and Briere snipers. Giroux is just in a funk right now and Briere was in his first game back off a concussion. Jagr isn't the goal-scorer he was in his prime but it's awfully hard to say that the 11th all-time goal scorer in NHL history doesn't have sniping ability.
- bmeltzer

Not to mention they're still second in the league in goals scored. They have plenty of guys who can put the puck in the net. Nabokov was just better last night.

Last night wasn't about a sniper. When you see a Goalie in the zone that Nabokov is in, it's due to his playing the puck and having his angles down, and being square to the shooter. The problem was that they lacked traffic at the net. For screens, deflections, rebounds etc. They let Nabokov see the puck to well. Giroux had glorious chances. He will be better there most times.


And by the way, that sniper in Columbus has scored 2 goals in 3 games since coming back including another meaningless goal to tie the game with under 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. But you know what Carter has to do with the Flyers right now? Nothing
- MJL

absolutely

The Flyers attempted 86 (!) shots last night and put 45 of them on the net, so it wasn't like they were reluctant to pull the trigger. The PP generated plenty of good puck movement, too, but just couldn't bag a goal. The first unit couldn't get shots through, and the second unit couldn't produce deflections/rebounds but did have a few chances from the slot.

The most frustrating thing about last night's game was that the top line in particular had all sorts of scoring chances from the first period right through overtime and just couldn't finish any of them. It happens.
- bmeltzer

w/o question, an element the flyers could use is a solid point shot that creates follow up chances...a guy who can get shots thru. that's another aspect of pronger's absence that stings.

Flyers suck anymore

I was very happy w/Bryz last night in regulation. Standing tall and making stops while the d was breaking down and allowing odd man chances against early in the game is exactly what they need from him to give his teammates time to pull up their socks and right their game.

Made the mistake of listening to WIP this morning.

Angelo and a caller were in agreement that the best play would be to pull Bryz for Bob in the shootout. It makes perfect sense if you can look past the fact that you're throwing in a goalie who's been sitting for the past 3 hours. And that Bob was pretty bad in shootouts and breakaways last year. And that you actually need to score goals to win shootouts too.

But hey, why should that matter? Bryz sucks at shootouts and that's clearly why they lost.

Either way, I might be remembering wrong, but didn't John Stevens switch goalies in the shootout once? I think it might have been against Atlanta, but I'm not sure.

Made the mistake of listening to WIP this morning.

Angelo and a caller were in agreement that the best play would be to pull Bryz for Bob in the shootout. It makes perfect sense if you can look past the fact that you're throwing in a goalie who's been sitting for the past 3 hours. And that Bob was pretty bad in shootouts and breakaways last year. And that you actually need to score goals to win shootouts too.

But hey, why should that matter? Bryz sucks at shootouts and that's clearly why they lost.

Either way, I might be remembering wrong, but didn't John Stevens switch goalies in the shootout once? I think it might have been against Atlanta, but I'm not sure.
- jd342

I thought it was Atlanta that did it vs. the Flyers?

I was very happy w/Bryz last night in regulation. Standing tall and making stops while the d was breaking down and allowing odd man chances against early in the game is exactly what they need from him to give his teammates time to pull up their socks and right their game.
- flyguy12

Bryz played solid. Ran into a hot tender and we didn't make life difficult for him.

Positive thought of the day.. Bryz's Sp% is now at .900!!! Yess..