Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: 2/13/12 PLUS win Flyers-Penguins tickets (2/18 game)

Goaltending, D zone coverage, PK, equals game over.

Horrible defensive zone coverage, mediocre goaltending, giving up the blueline easily, turnovers.....

UGH, I feel sick

It really seems this team doesn't watch film of previous games ...like i'd love to see what this team does in practice because from what I see on the ice they haven't even tried to improve defensive coverage

you no it some times makes you sick to watch a game and the game against the red wings last night was one of those

after leading the game on 2 seperate occasions the flyers blow the lead and end up losing the game ...an inportant game because of the history involved no to mention the 2 points that were lost

it has been over 2 months since the pronger loss and this team still hasn't done anything to shore up its defencive problems and yes there are problems the flyers have been leaning way to much on Kimmo the man can not be on the ice every shift coburn carle and mezz need to step it up we need to add a solid d-man for the penalty kill bordon ans gust.. just wont cut it in the play offs and this team will be lucky to make it out the 1st round with the "d" we have right now.... the team needs to find a solution and it needs to make a move and to determin if they want to mortage the future to win now which is what they may have to do to land a top d-man or pick up a utillity d-man at little cost ( hal gil) if they want to win this year then it is going to cost alot to land that big d-man ....

and my last point "BOB" has looked completly out of his element in his last couple of games he has looked shalen and almost lost at times he makes some huge saves and looks just terible on some goals he lets in .. now i no he is young and still has a lot to learn and that we can all see the talent and the potential for him to be a very good goalie but is he the right guy to help this team win a cup... is he strong enuff to be there when we need him ... please dont jump all over me i like "BOB" but my confidence as well as some friends of mine ( who are flyers fans) is shaken we need him to be on his game to be able to come in in situations and steal games and make the huge saves that wins the close 1's .... but we i dont see it anymore.

i bleed orange and black and when the team loses it bothers me i am a die hard always have been always will i try not to write on here after games we lose because of my anger over the loss... i no some of you will tell me " its just a game" and i no it is but hockey is a passion ...........

It really seems this team doesn't watch film of previous games ...like i'd love to see what this team does in practice because from what I see on the ice they haven't even tried to improve defensive coverage
- keatondixon

we should probably (frank)ing fire lavy or get rid of the idiots that can't learn

we should probably (frank)ing fire lavy or get rid of the idiots that can't learn
- 2Real

yea fire the coach that will do it

jagr

jagr
- wingz4life

useless plug

yea fire the coach that will do it
- Slammed81

bring in someone that will whip these pussies into shape

bring in someone that will whip these pussies into shape
- 2Real

no... 8 rookies in the lineup and 4th in the east... sorry u dont fire the coach

no... 8 rookies in the lineup and 4th in the east... sorry u dont fire the coach
- Slammed81

sorry lavy has had more then enough time with those idiots carle coburn and mezsaros

the rookie argument is a bullpoop excuse

no... 8 rookies in the lineup and 4th in the east... sorry u dont fire the coach
- Slammed81

this

this
- wingz4life

blah blah cop out

you should know what it takes to be a winner being a wings fan in all

blah blah cop out

you should know what it takes to be a winner being a wings fan in all
- 2Real

developing young platers,drafting well

theres always growing pains with rookies,young players
two nice pieces in schenn and coururier


the defense is another story
woefully thin without Pronger

developing young platers,drafting well

theres always growing pains with rookies,young players
two nice pieces in schenn and coururier


the defense is another story
woefully thin without Pronger
- wingz4life

defense is friggen brutal we can't develop dmen for poop

Well, guess it's moron hour here at the Olde Hockey Buzz....

Go figure a team with 8 or 9 rookies regularly dressing struggles. Amazing. Of course some folks think that guys come out of the box and are all stars. Or that if a guy isn't a superstar within 2 or 3 years that he's a bust.

Well, it takes time to develop a team into one as good as the Red Wings. They built from the ground up-smart drafting and player development, well considered trades and the patience to not dump a guy if he didn't develop as quickly as they would like.

Right now, there's a combination of guys hitting rookie walls, guys filling roles that they have never had to fill at the NHL level, and guys who are either out with injuries or playing through them. They have had to deal with issue in confidence and just sheer bad luck, and right now it's combining on them.

At the same time, over the past 48 hours, they have played the top two teams in the NHL, and played them evenly at 5 on 5. They got killed by breakdowns and poor special teams play. It happens. Now, they have a few days to fix what has gone wrong and refocus.

As far as making changes, they have to be prudent. Overpaying for a rental at this point is stupid. They have a talented team that isn't playing well right now. Making a bad trade doesn't help. Neither does simply making a trade, if the players who remain do not pick up their games.

Well, guess it's moron hour here at the Olde Hockey Buzz....

Go figure a team with 8 or 9 rookies regularly dressing struggles. Amazing. Of course some folks think that guys come out of the box and are all stars. Or that if a guy isn't a superstar within 2 or 3 years that he's a bust.

Well, it takes time to develop a team into one as good as the Red Wings. They built from the ground up-smart drafting and player development, well considered trades and the patience to not dump a guy if he didn't develop as quickly as they would like.

Right now, there's a combination of guys hitting rookie walls, guys filling roles that they have never had to fill at the NHL level, and guys who are either out with injuries or playing through them. They have had to deal with issue in confidence and just sheer bad luck, and right now it's combining on them.

At the same time, over the past 48 hours, they have played the top two teams in the NHL, and played them evenly at 5 on 5. They got killed by breakdowns and poor special teams play. It happens. Now, they have a few days to fix what has gone wrong and refocus.

As far as making changes, they have to be prudent. Overpaying for a rental at this point is stupid. They have a talented team that isn't playing well right now. Making a bad trade doesn't help. Neither does simply making a trade, if the players who remain do not pick up their games.
- Jsaquella

I agree with this. I don't know if it's a system thing or personnel thing, but I really want these guys to be a hard team to play against. Not only from a physicality standpoint. I want them tight from the goalie out. No lanes to the net. I love the goals, don't get me wrong, but i want the do anything to prevent a shot mentality of a Lappy. Perhaps it's too early and players are saving their health for the PO's, but as we saw last year, it's not easy or likely that you an flip the switch. I'm rambling here, but I'll end it on this: I want our 3rd and 4th lines to grind it out, block shots, play solid defensively and punish the other teams D. But there are injuries, differing personnel, and changing roles. Stability may help.

this
- wingz4life

It's cool to see a fan from another team actually not come in here and rub it in.

I know this is gonna have peeps want me sent out to get my head checked but here we go. As of right now despite a sudden rash of losses, I personally feel good about this team going forward. Yes they are struggling, yes the goalies have not always looked good, yes lavy has me shaking my head at times etc etc.

Here's the thing guys. This is a YOUNG team. It was accepted before the start of the season that they would go through growing pains. Despite all these losses they still sit in 4th place of the Eastern Conference. They are on pace to still hit 100 points. We have some very talented players on this team that with time will be perennial allstars. Right now the biggest problem is PK and overall team defense. These two things could easily get fixed in a hurry. No trades aren't going to be the end all.

I got aggravated on the other thread because a poster made the remark that this team took both weekends off. I'm sorry but if you feel that way go jump on NY's bandwagon. This team battled hard in these games. Maybe Timmonen was right that there were guys that half assed it out there but overall this team gave a full effort.

We keep railing about missing Pronger but I think another guy this team could use in a big way right now is Blair Betts. Couturier having to center for Sestito and Rinaldo is not in this team's best interest imo. That's not knocking cooter either. He's going to be an elite center. For goodness sakes he's 18 y/o and holding his own in the NHL that has to make you feel good. But getting back to the 4th line they can't keep rolling all rookies on that line. Maybe Homer can pick up a center at the deadline to fill that gap. Then you have the issue of where to put couturier, I'm not sure but as this season goes on it's looking more and more like Danny Briere is oddman out at center to me. If he could play wing I think that utilizes some of the other players a lot better.

This team is built to compete now but win for the future. IF you can't understand that then don't watch the game and go play XBOX. The Flyers front office has done a terrific job accumulating this amount of young talent and being able to compete with them. I know it sucks right now to watch them lose. But you have to see the silver lining with this team. This isn't the team from last year that was favored to win the cup at midseason and swan dived in the second half. The adversity this young group is going through will temper them into a championship caliber team down the line. Will it be this year? Probably not but going forward you have to feel good about, Giroux, Schenn, Couturier, Read etc. I mean even Rinaldo and Sestito are going to be top-notch in their roles. Coburn, Carle and Mezy are all still young too. Maybe Kimo isn't the guy to lead that D-corps. I know when Pronger is in there they look better, just saying.

Keep your head up flyer fans this team has tremendous upside you even had a wings fan pop in to tell you as much.

If I am lavi I get in a real quick practice to keep the legs warm and then head to the big screen for a nice long session of video review with these guys. Let them see how they are breaking down, and as important, what teams are doing to break them down.

Couple that with strong emphasis on puck support and making simpler plays and they can right this ship. This is a young group overall and teaching is more important than anything.

Make it so Lavi

I see a month better draft pick in the future for this team.

Seriously thr red wings were there and beat able, really ticks me off. It's the NHL guys players can and will make passes to guys standing unopposed in front of your net.

What's with the backwards passing in their own zone? OMG it makes me want to scream. It leads to so many goals against. Would be better icing the puck.

Tough weekend. I think the age of this team (youth) is showing a bit.

Rite now no one part of the team is picking up for the other, such as when the offense has a tough night the defense picks them up or if the goalie has a tough night the offense picks him up.

7 games in 10 days is brutal and i think it showed in the last 2 games. Alot of mental mistakes and breakdowns all over the ice.

It was a tough weekend but one the young guys will learn from and be better for in the long run.

I'm with Jsaquella. It should have been fundamentally clear to everyone at the time of the Richards/Carter trade that this would be a transition year, if not an outright rebuilding year. The fact that they've remained so competitive while giving so many minutes to the young guys speaks volumes about their potential. The team will be really really good in another 2+ years.

It's cool to see a fan from another team actually not come in here and rub it in.
- JoeRussomanno

Generally speaking, Red Wings fans have class. The whole "act like you've been there before" thing.