The helium-filled balloon is 243 feet long. It is part of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Netted Sensor System

Gotta love military division names.
- jmatchett383

I just read the thing is worth 2.7 billion dollars. This probably won't end well.

The Flyers have a roided-up Dolph Lundgren?
- jmatchett383

Gudas. That man could kill Apollo Creed with his beard

Luke has a less severe case of Matt Carle Syndrome. Give him your well wishes
- Mononoke

Certainly with the fan base.

I think the dissatisfaction from the team with Luke is that he doesn't separate players from the puck enough in the defensive zone. Thats probably what they want from him.

In my opinion there is no solution involving changing the defense pairings, or even balance out usage. The solution is to get Couturier back in the lineup, and saddle him with D zone situations. The question is do they want to do that to improve the team, or are they more concerned with putting Couturier is better situations to develop offensively. Up to this point, Laughton is not ready to take on that role yet.
- MJL

It's a good point. The Laughton line all got swamped last night. The Sabres are better this season, but to have them dominate possession in Philly was pretty disappointing.

It was the Larsson-Eichel-Reinhart line that killed us, along with Franson on D.

Certainly with the fan base.

I think the dissatisfaction from the team with Luke is that he doesn't separate players from the puck enough in the defensive zone. Thats probably what they want from him.
- PhillySportsGuy

I'm of the opinion Luke is a solid, respectable bottom pairing defenseman, when a lot of players aren't even that. He can even be a #4 guy with the right partner like you said.

Luke confuses people because he makes no sense. While good on the PK, he is not a good defender at evens. He can lose position easily and has the knack for making the ugliest of unnecessary turnovers....which allows people to ignore he's a much better puck mover than is given credit for given his size and lack of foot speed. When he take a shot in the zone, I have as much faith as anyone he can get it through. But I also don't know if I've ever seen him take a slapper in his life that would get the fans' attention. Tape to tape passes through the NZ also doesn't grab attention.

I'd love it if Schenn was set-and-forget, and I will admit he is moving better than last season, but I just don't know that he reads the game well enough to overcome his limitations
- AllInForFlyers

If I had a legit top 4, I would be very comfortable with Schenn on my third pair. Look around the league at third pairs. They aren't good players. Thats why teams are constantly changing them over. There may be a #6 defenseman better than Luke, but it's not going to be enough to make any kind of difference.

Tbh, if you find a defenseman better than Luke, there's a good chance he'd slide into the top 4 in this group.

Tbh, if you find a defenseman better than Luke, there's a good chance he'd slide into the top 4 in this group.
- PhillySportsGuy

That's what Gudas has done, even though he makes his fair share of mistakes.

Finally Vinny draws back into the lineup! We are saved...

It's best not to really judge until then, but goddamnit I'm gonna look!

I'm not casting any real judgments, but trends can start to develop this early. And some stats have nothing to do with that, like MDZ having a 1% team shooting percent when on ice. Helps explain his lack of ES points. I would wager to say that MDZ and Medvedev will continue to be two of our best possession puck movers.
- Mononoke

Yeah, anything that bucks a strong historical trend: disregard.

I'm of the opinion Luke is a solid, respectable bottom pairing defenseman, when a lot of players aren't even that. He can even be a #4 guy with the right partner like you said.

Luke confuses people because he makes no sense. While good on the PK, he is not a good defender at evens. He can lose position easily and has the knack for making the ugliest of unnecessary turnovers....which allows people to ignore he's a much better puck mover than is given credit for given his size and lack of foot speed. When he take a shot in the zone, I have as much faith as anyone he can get it through. But I also don't know if I've ever seen him take a slapper in his life that would get the fans' attention. Tape to tape passes through the NZ also doesn't grab attention.
- Mononoke

That's the thing, though: You just can't minimize the fact that he is below the bar at ES -- even in games with plenty of penalties, what, 70 percent is played at ES?

Hockey is a game of mistakes. The things Schenn doesn't do at ES are painful, because he makes too many mistakes at ES. We all expect some, but at some point, he has to find a way to be just average at ES

I'm of the opinion Luke is a solid, respectable bottom pairing defenseman, when a lot of players aren't even that. He can even be a #4 guy with the right partner like you said.

Luke confuses people because he makes no sense. While good on the PK, he is not a good defender at evens. He can lose position easily and has the knack for making the ugliest of unnecessary turnovers....which allows people to ignore he's a much better puck mover than is given credit for given his size and lack of foot speed. When he take a shot in the zone, I have as much faith as anyone he can get it through. But I also don't know if I've ever seen him take a slapper in his life that would get the fans' attention. Tape to tape passes through the NZ also doesn't grab attention.
- Mononoke

I agree with you. Flyers just aren't a good fit for him right now.

I know Carle had his share of detractors, but I'd kill for a guy with his hockey sense in that No. 6 hole
- AllInForFlyers

Any player with Matt Carle's ability and hockey sense that he showed when he was here, wouldn't be in the no. 6 hole obviously. He got ripped by many, who didn't realize how good of a player he was here, especially at ES.

If I had a legit top 4, I would be very comfortable with Schenn on my third pair. Look around the league at third pairs. They aren't good players. Thats why teams are constantly changing them over. There may be a #6 defenseman better than Luke, but it's not going to be enough to make any kind of difference.

Tbh, if you find a defenseman better than Luke, there's a good chance he'd slide into the top 4 in this group.
- PhillySportsGuy

I agree with you there: our biggest problem is that we just can't hide everybody

There are worse No. 6s than Schenn out there. I'll admit that freely

That's what Gudas has done, even though he makes his fair share of mistakes.
- Feanor

I've never seen a player consistently surrender odd man rushes simply by chasing neutral zone hits like Gudas

It's a good point. The Laughton line all got swamped last night. The Sabres are better this season, but to have them dominate possession in Philly was pretty disappointing.

It was the Larsson-Eichel-Reinhart line that killed us, along with Franson on D.
- Feanor

The little shrimp didn't do bad either last night.

I've never seen a player consistently surrender odd man rushes simply by chasing neutral zone hits like Gudas
- PhillySportsGuy

Remember Denis Gauthier? He played like that

That's the thing, though: You just can't minimize the fact that he is below the bar at ES -- even in games with plenty of penalties, what, 70 percent is played at ES?

Hockey is a game of mistakes. The things Schenn doesn't do at ES are painful, because he makes too many mistakes at ES. We all expect some, but at some point, he has to find a way to be just average at ES
- AllInForFlyers

I mean you're not going to find a shutdown defender on your third pair or he wouldn't be there. I was just saying he's not great defensively, but his offense is a hidden ability. As far as defensively, he's not really below the bar for a bottom pairing guy. He's adequate and nothing more

The little shrimp didn't do bad either last night.
- MJL

After seeing Ennis and Couturier together at the World Champs I wanted to trade for him.

I agree with you there: our biggest problem is that we just can't hide everybody

There are worse No. 6s than Schenn out there. I'll admit that freely
- AllInForFlyers

The question is what Luke Schenn are you getting? At his best, he's better than a 3rd pair, and makes a decent stay at home #4 who makes a decent first pass. At his worst and his inconsistent games, like last night, you want him stapled to the bench. He just never seems to find a consistent level of play.

What am I jumping to conclusions about? I'm looking at the stats to PREVENT people from jumping to conclusions on MDZ. He's been absurdly unlucky, regression to mean, blah blah blah
- Mononoke

I didn't post that as a shot at you.

It was more of a shot at folks using broad brushes at this early point in the season. It's not even Halloween yet.

I just read the thing is worth 2.7 billion dollars. This probably won't end well.
- PLindbergh31

Damn, and I thought kid party balloons were expensive.

I've never seen a player consistently surrender odd man rushes simply by chasing neutral zone hits like Gudas
- PhillySportsGuy

Yeah, he's going to make that big mistake... it's too bad, because he does a quietly good job at either end outside of those instances. He's like a better, more intimidating, Luke Schenn.

The question is what Luke Schenn are you getting? At his best, he's better than a 3rd pair, and makes a decent stay at home #4 who makes a decent first pass. At his worst and his inconsistent games, like last night, you want him stapled to the bench. He just never seems to find a consistent level of play.
- MJL

Exactly -- he is never set-and-forget. It's just tough on everybody, at times

We can dissect it all we want, the problems of this team were the same that were talked about all Summer. A lack of top pairing defenseman, and a consistent 2nd scoring line. They can play and compete when they play like they're capable of, and be a decent team, but they still have holes. Mark Streit shouldn't be playing with Schultz and the situations they play in. Find me a solution that makes sense, and will actually improve that? I don't think it exists with the current makeup of the team.

We can dissect it all we want, the problems of this team were the same that were talked about all Summer. A lack of top pairing defenseman, and a consistent 2nd scoring line. They can play and compete when they play like their capable of, and be a decent team, but they still have holes. Mark Streit shouldn't be playing with Schultz and the situations they play in. Find me a solution that makes sense, and will actually improve that? I don't think it exists with the current makeup of the team.
- MJL

The new problem is being without our two best defensive centers.