Quick Hits: November 1, 2016
1) After an off-day on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers return to practice on Tuesday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. The team will prepare for Wednesday night's nationally televised game with the Detroit Red Wings and the start of another three-in-four gauntlet of games.
This three-in-four for Philly is particularly tough.
After Wednesday's home match, the Flyers are in Brooklyn on Thursday to take on the New York Islanders and then, after what will either be a light (and quite possibly optional) practice or an off-ice day on Friday, the team will return to Montreal for a second crack at the red-hot Canadiens (who will be in the final game of their own three-in-four, back-to-back stretch).
2) When a team plays so many games in a short span, there is scarcely time to practice and reinforce systems or for the goalies to get the reps they need to iron out any kinks that have arisen in their games. While the recent stretch of six games in nine nights was not the primary reason for the Flyers' spotty team defense and roller coaster goaltending in the first 10 games, it did somewhat complicate the process of getting things corrected as a team.
While neither Steve Mason (who strung together three straight solid appearances and then struggled in the last two) nor Michal Neuvirth have played to their capabilities in the early going, one should remember that it is foolish to draw any conclusions from a small sampling of games. Things tend to revert back to their norms, and both goalies have proven over a larger body of work to be better than they've looked so far. Just as the leaguewide uptick in scoring will probably settle down relatively soon and can be partially explained by the effect the World Cup had on teams' training camps so, too, will there likely be fewer games where early multi-goal leads and deficits mean little.
For the Flyers, there have been a lot of factors at work in why they've given up so many goals in the first 10 games. Forwards can do a better job at back pressure. The blueline play without the puck has to get better. Collectively, the gap control has to be better and more consistent, especially through the neutral zone.
Fans are not going to want to hear this, but the Flyers' high ratio of goals scored has also hurt them a little bit defensively. Unintentionally, they've fallen into a cycle where they are trying to outscore the breakdowns that end up in their own net. That rarely works for long.
So far -- and, again, it's doubtful this keeps up -- the 2016-17 Flyers have been unwittingly channeling the 1993-94 Flyers who had four forwards with 80-plus points and two defensemen with 50-plus points and yet missed the playoffs because of defensive issues and spotty goaltending. That was the final year in the NHL of 80s-era scoring. After that,, the New Jersey Devils and their stultifying neutral zone trap followed by the Florida Panthers clutching and grabbing their way to the 1996 Cup Finals despite having very little offensive firepower, ushered in a different era.
The NHL has not suddenly made a 180-degree turn back to the '80s and early '90s. It's doubtful that the Flyers or most teams will ultimately have three players averaging a point per game or higher (as Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek have done through 10 games) or six putting up seven points for every 10 games.
The fact that the Flyers have led or been tied at some juncture of the third period of all 10 games thus far despite their defensive and goaltending issues suggests that most teams are kind of in the same boat right now. That said, a 4-5-1 record over 10 games shows that the Flyers need to start better and close out stronger. Playing 20 to 40 quality minutes won't get it done on a regular basis. It's a recipe for needing to score by the bushels just to be hovering around .500. That's not a good path to success.
Defensively, the Flyers' blueline play has just not been very good collectively even when there's been adequate forward support. The veterans take the heat -- and some justification -- but everyone shares some responsibility.
The fact that, if the Barry Ashbee Trophy were awarded after 10 games, Brandon Manning would be the landslide winner is not a slap at the solid season Manning is having so far. Rather, it an indication that there wouldn't be any other candidates so far. Radko Gudas only a few games removed from his six-game suspension, Michael Del Zotto still a few days from be eligible to come off long-term injured reserve and most everyone else having had their share of ups and downs thus dar.
Among the younger players, Shayne Gostisbehere's defensive performance in the early going cannot just be blamed on his partners. Flat out,he has not made good decisions consistently enough without the puck. The seven points in 10 games are nice, but he has to get back to refining his all-around game as he did over the course of his stellar rookie year with room for more improvement. In the meantime, Ivan Provorov is experiencing all the expected growing pains of a 19-year-old NHL defenseman along with showing plenty of signs that he will eventually thrive.
The Flyers have some tough tests coming up in the nights to come. A productive and focused practice on Tuesday, followed by a strong performance against Detroit (who tends to struggle against the Flyers in Philly while prevailing on their own home ice), would be a good first step to a better run over the next set of 10 games.
3) Today on the Flyers' official website, there will be a full rundown of Flyers prospects playing in the CHL leagues, Europe and collegiate hockey. A few highlights:
* Oskar Lindblom has not only maintained a high level of two-way play, he's second in the SHL in scoring despite playing primarily a third-line role at even strength.
* Anthony Salintri is on an eight-game point streak in the OHL.
* Carter Hart has continued his emergence as one of the most promising goalies in any of the CHL leagues.
* Unfortunately, Pascal Laberge and Philippe Myers have missed time due to concussions.
* 2016 first-round pick German Rubtsov, healed from a early season foot injury, has benefited from being reassigned to the Russian junior league (MHL) rather than playing only a few shifts per game for his KHL team. He's regained the form that made him a first-rounder this summer and is now building off it.
* Wade Allison and Tanner Laczynski are off to very promising starts in their freshman collegiate seasons.
4) There are still various kinks being ironed out from the beta version, but the Flyers 50th Anniversary Website -- a microsite that is part of the Flyers' official website -- is now online. Each day, there is a Today in Flyers History and there is also a Flyers A-to-Z, with Flyers career bios of all 593 players to appear in a game from 196 through the first 10 games of 2016-17.