Really? I like the guy, but he had awful body language for a goalie. Every goal he let in was confidence sapping for the guys in front of him. He had a knack for getting deflated and then deflating his teammates with his attitude.

Won't defend Mase's terrible goal against, but let's not ignore he regrouped and made some great saves to keep them in the game up until the waning minutes. Whatever deflation occurred, he and the team got inflated again pretty darn quickly. That's some mettle.
- Mononoke

Prior to the stinker he let in, he made some excellent saves and the Flyers got lucky the Caps didn't hit the net, specifically OV. This game could have been over a lot earlier. Can't fault Mason at all. And the Flyers have scored 1 goal in 2 games. Holtby has been as impressive as the PP has been bad.

Just gotta go home and steal Game 3, go from there.

um we didn't make the playoffs last year
- 2Real

He was talking about Washington, and their recent lack of success, to this year being a favorite to win the Cup.

listen to how whiny this guy is

Here is a simple fact....the play of the goaltender is costing the Flyers this series.

The play of Holtby that is.

Washington is just a deeper, more talented team. And the only way for a team like the Flyers to beat them is to be opportunistic. Well, Holtby is playing lights out. Opportunities are just not there. So, the better team is going to win.

Most of us said making the playoffs this year was gravy. So really, you shouldn't be too upset if they lose.

The only key is what Hextall takes away from the series, where he believes the team really is, and what moves he makes this off-season.

Here is a simple fact....the play of the goaltender is costing the Flyers this series.

The play of Holtby that is.

Washington is just a deeper, more talented team. And the only way for a team like the Flyers to beat them is to be opportunistic. Well, Holtby is playing lights out. Opportunities are just not there. So, the better team is going to win.

Most of us said making the playoffs this year was gravy. So really, you shouldn't be too upset if they lose.

The only key is what Hextall takes away from the series, where he believes the team really is, and what moves he makes this off-season.
- TheGreat28

Totally agree! I just hope that Hexy doesn't just wait for the prospects to mature but also try to make some smart trades to get rid of the deadweight as soon as possible (Streit, Schultz, Umby) as well as upgrading Read, the fourth line and getting a top 6 scorer.

I've been saying it all year Giroux is the most over-rated player in the league. People on these boards have been bashing me about it and defending him. He isn't a superstar but sure gets paid like one. Never won anything individually or as a team. Non-exists in 5 on 5, never has scored 30 goals in a season & provides no leadership. Left off team Canada this year, gee I wonder why?
- Williamc5468

Perhaps one of the dumbest posts in hockeybuzz history.

Prior to the stinker he let in, he made some excellent saves and the Flyers got lucky the Caps didn't hit the net, specifically OV. This game could have been over a lot earlier. Can't fault Mason at all. And the Flyers have scored 1 goal in 2 games. Holtby has been as impressive as the PP has been bad.

Just gotta go home and steal Game 3, go from there.
- wolfhounds

Yeah. As bad as that goal was, the team owes him a lot, and they should be able to score another goal to bail him out. The offense has been weirdly off the whole season, including the power play. This is just an odd year, but the future is still bright.

I'm actually really amazed that they've gone this far with the D they have. Shows you what a good job Hak has done.

Totally agree! I just hope that Hexy doesn't just wait for the prospects to mature but also try to make some smart trades to get rid of the deadweight as soon as possible (Streit, Schultz, Umby) as well as upgrading Read, the fourth line and getting a top 6 scorer.
- PhillySteen

Agree agree agree! Hextall can't " wait around" for prospects to plug all the holes.
Deals have to be made and hopefully at least one quality UFA. Easier said than done, but that's what's GM's are supposed to do. You look at Wahsington and you see how far we have to go.

Flyers need to Call up Alt and replace Manning and Streit with Alt and Medvedev. Both players have been killing us with Penalties. Medvedev and Alt are also better skaters. We could really use MDZ right now....

Agree agree agree! Hextall can't " wait around" for prospects to plug all the holes.
Deals have to be made and hopefully at least one quality UFA. Easier said than done, but that's what's GM's are supposed to do. You look at Wahsington and you see how far we have to go.
- 3flyerkids

Demers. I'm on board.

Demers. I'm on board.
- Just5

I would look at Okposo. Have know idea of what the cost and term would be but at least take a look. We need Hextall to make a great off season trade. I hate the
(Frank)ing Pens but I give Rutherford credit for the Haglan for Perron trade. Speed, speed, speed... We could use that. I thought the Caps made another great deal last summer by getting Oshie. We need these type of deals

I hate to say it gang (well), but its time for the Flyers franchise to really take a look in the mirror. There are certain FACTS of the NHL that just ARE. The most important being, you cant win without TOP END, TOP NOTCH offensive talent. and the second most important being you don't get that talent in trades or free agency. Stamkos this year is once in a decade (if not longer) UFA. I cant think of the last guy that was out there that could turn a franchise around.

I say this with a HUGE amount of respect, please understand. Maybe with the passing of Mr. Snider, it is now easier to gut the whole team, suffer a little and retool it all. Its really not like you have been competing for Cups in a long while, and you have the type of team that you could really get a ransom of picks for trading the vets. Honestly, look around the league and be HONEST....as far as #1 centers go, where is Giroux?? Hed be an AMAZING #2, but a true #1?? where is he? 16?? 20??. I can honestly tell you that looking at OUR team...I don't know if Id trade a 25 year old Ryan O'Reilly straight up for him. If you also traded Simmonds and Voracek at the draft...youd get a BOATLOAD...

I am NOT trying to be an ass..just how I see it...I like nothing more that hating the Flyers, and this franchise in its current state is making it hard to hate....I see you very much as us in the Vanek/Miller/Pommiville/Roy years....some talent that on any given night can impress, but when the poop gets real...they just ARENT good enough.. It HURT watching us linger in last for 2 years but now...watch Eichel and Reinhart (who you cant believe how good he is...) do their thing and watching what we received for trading Vanek, Miller, Pomminville, et al start to come together...Id do it all over..we aren't PERFECT or even COMPETING yet....but its coming...

I know the idea of watching these guys walk out the door is going to be hard. But like us in those years...how much longer are you willing to watch the Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier, Vorachek show just MIDDLE it?

Not trying to be an ass I could write the same post to Boston, Ottawa and any number of other teams

I hate to say it gang (well), but its time for the Flyers franchise to really take a look in the mirror. There are certain FACTS of the NHL that just ARE. The most important being, you cant win without TOP END, TOP NOTCH offensive talent. and the second most important being you don't get that talent in trades or free agency. Stamkos this year is once in a decade (if not longer) UFA. I cant think of the last guy that was out there that could turn a franchise around.

I say this with a HUGE amount of respect, please understand. Maybe with the passing of Mr. Snider, it is now easier to gut the whole team, suffer a little and retool it all. Its really not like you have been competing for Cups in a long while, and you have the type of team that you could really get a ransom of picks for trading the vets. Honestly, look around the league and be HONEST....as far as #1 centers go, where is Giroux?? Hed be an AMAZING #2, but a true #1?? where is he? 16?? 20??. I can honestly tell you that looking at OUR team...I don't know if Id trade a 24 year old Ryan O'Reilly straight up for him. If you also traded Simmonds and Voracek at the draft...youd get a BOATLOAD...

I am NOT trying to be an ass..just how I see it...I like nothing more that hating the Flyers, and this franchise in its current state is making it hard to hate....I see you very much as us in the Vanek/Miller/Pommiville/Roy years....some talent that on any given night can impress, but when the poop gets real...they just ARENT good enough.. It HURT watching us linger in last for 2 years but now...watch Eichel and Reinhart (who you cant believe how good he is...) do their thing and watching what we received for trading Vanek, Miller, Pomminville, et al start to come together...Id do it all over..we aren't PERFECT or even COMPETING yet....but its coming...

I know the idea of watching these guys walk out the door is going to be hard. But like us in those years...how much longer are you willing to watch the Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier, Vorachek show just MIDDLE it?

Not trying to be an ass I could write the same post to Boston, Ottawa and any number of other teams
- Ripped Fuel

Nice try, Hinkie.

I hate to say it gang (well), but its time for the Flyers franchise to really take a look in the mirror. There are certain FACTS of the NHL that just ARE. The most important being, you cant win without TOP END, TOP NOTCH offensive talent. and the second most important being you don't get that talent in trades or free agency. Stamkos this year is once in a decade (if not longer) UFA. I cant think of the last guy that was out there that could turn a franchise around.

I say this with a HUGE amount of respect, please understand. Maybe with the passing of Mr. Snider, it is now easier to gut the whole team, suffer a little and retool it all. Its really not like you have been competing for Cups in a long while, and you have the type of team that you could really get a ransom of picks for trading the vets. Honestly, look around the league and be HONEST....as far as #1 centers go, where is Giroux?? Hed be an AMAZING #2, but a true #1?? where is he? 16?? 20??. I can honestly tell you that looking at OUR team...I don't know if Id trade a 25 year old Ryan O'Reilly straight up for him. If you also traded Simmonds and Voracek at the draft...youd get a BOATLOAD...

I am NOT trying to be an ass..just how I see it...I like nothing more that hating the Flyers, and this franchise in its current state is making it hard to hate....I see you very much as us in the Vanek/Miller/Pommiville/Roy years....some talent that on any given night can impress, but when the poop gets real...they just ARENT good enough.. It HURT watching us linger in last for 2 years but now...watch Eichel and Reinhart (who you cant believe how good he is...) do their thing and watching what we received for trading Vanek, Miller, Pomminville, et al start to come together...Id do it all over..we aren't PERFECT or even COMPETING yet....but its coming...

I know the idea of watching these guys walk out the door is going to be hard. But like us in those years...how much longer are you willing to watch the Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier, Vorachek show just MIDDLE it?

Not trying to be an ass I could write the same post to Boston, Ottawa and any number of other teams
- Ripped Fuel

Well they say your critics are your best friends... Very good points.

I hate to say it gang (well), but its time for the Flyers franchise to really take a look in the mirror. There are certain FACTS of the NHL that just ARE. The most important being, you cant win without TOP END, TOP NOTCH offensive talent. and the second most important being you don't get that talent in trades or free agency. Stamkos this year is once in a decade (if not longer) UFA. I cant think of the last guy that was out there that could turn a franchise around.

I say this with a HUGE amount of respect, please understand. Maybe with the passing of Mr. Snider, it is now easier to gut the whole team, suffer a little and retool it all. Its really not like you have been competing for Cups in a long while, and you have the type of team that you could really get a ransom of picks for trading the vets. Honestly, look around the league and be HONEST....as far as #1 centers go, where is Giroux?? Hed be an AMAZING #2, but a true #1?? where is he? 16?? 20??. I can honestly tell you that looking at OUR team...I don't know if Id trade a 25 year old Ryan O'Reilly straight up for him. If you also traded Simmonds and Voracek at the draft...youd get a BOATLOAD...

I am NOT trying to be an ass..just how I see it...I like nothing more that hating the Flyers, and this franchise in its current state is making it hard to hate....I see you very much as us in the Vanek/Miller/Pommiville/Roy years....some talent that on any given night can impress, but when the poop gets real...they just ARENT good enough.. It HURT watching us linger in last for 2 years but now...watch Eichel and Reinhart (who you cant believe how good he is...) do their thing and watching what we received for trading Vanek, Miller, Pomminville, et al start to come together...Id do it all over..we aren't PERFECT or even COMPETING yet....but its coming...

I know the idea of watching these guys walk out the door is going to be hard. But like us in those years...how much longer are you willing to watch the Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier, Vorachek show just MIDDLE it?

Not trying to be an ass I could write the same post to Boston, Ottawa and any number of other teams
- Ripped Fuel

It's noted. Many of us have the same concerns with the age gap regarding the core veterans and the young prospects who will be near NHL ready. If your watching t these games. This is not the Voracek that we are accustomed to. He's coming back from injury that would have ended his season had they not been going on this run.

The biggest problem is their depth. It's almost non existent and they are playing this series without any 1 or 2 dmen.

I don't think they compare to those sabres teams who were dominant in the regular season and were beat in the playoffs. Tearing down is always an option at anytime.

Nice try, Hinkie.
- feelingkettle

That's where I am -- it's been proven that for every "elite" player in the league who leads their team to a Cup, there are numerous others who fall short. It's pro sports.

Why doesn't Charles Barkley have a ring? Why doesn't Joe Thornton have a ring? Henrik Lundqvist? I don't see John Tavares with one yet. Steven Stamkos, either. Alex Ovechkin is ringless.

On and on and on.

Tearing down your team just to slot in the newest flavor of the week guarantees absolutely nothing.You still need luck, health, pieces around you. You don't get those pieces by tanking every other year or five years or whatever

You draft, trade, use FA, find a freaking goalie, No. 1 center and No. 1 defenseman if you can and take your best shot

Who knows, maybe Hak is cracking a bit under the pressure, first time on the biggest hockey stage there is and he's working with a less than ideal lineup.

Either way, the holes on this team are being highlighted and noted by Hexy as the series moves along. That is one thing that makes this much more bearable.
- wolfhounds

This is exactly why I think it's an unqualified victory for the Flyers that they even made the playoffs this year... better to get these growing pains (e.g. rookie coach, rookie star player) out of the way now when we're "not expected to win anyway" then to have to wait until (hopefully just) next year to learn those lessons when the expectations will be higher.

That all being said - darnit, we're there now in the playoffs - win some darn games already!

I hate to say it gang (well), but its time for the Flyers franchise to really take a look in the mirror. There are certain FACTS of the NHL that just ARE. The most important being, you cant win without TOP END, TOP NOTCH offensive talent. and the second most important being you don't get that talent in trades or free agency. Stamkos this year is once in a decade (if not longer) UFA. I cant think of the last guy that was out there that could turn a franchise around.

I say this with a HUGE amount of respect, please understand. Maybe with the passing of Mr. Snider, it is now easier to gut the whole team, suffer a little and retool it all. Its really not like you have been competing for Cups in a long while, and you have the type of team that you could really get a ransom of picks for trading the vets. Honestly, look around the league and be HONEST....as far as #1 centers go, where is Giroux?? Hed be an AMAZING #2, but a true #1?? where is he? 16?? 20??. I can honestly tell you that looking at OUR team...I don't know if Id trade a 25 year old Ryan O'Reilly straight up for him. If you also traded Simmonds and Voracek at the draft...youd get a BOATLOAD...

I am NOT trying to be an ass..just how I see it...I like nothing more that hating the Flyers, and this franchise in its current state is making it hard to hate....I see you very much as us in the Vanek/Miller/Pommiville/Roy years....some talent that on any given night can impress, but when the poop gets real...they just ARENT good enough.. It HURT watching us linger in last for 2 years but now...watch Eichel and Reinhart (who you cant believe how good he is...) do their thing and watching what we received for trading Vanek, Miller, Pomminville, et al start to come together...Id do it all over..we aren't PERFECT or even COMPETING yet....but its coming...

I know the idea of watching these guys walk out the door is going to be hard. But like us in those years...how much longer are you willing to watch the Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier, Vorachek show just MIDDLE it?

Not trying to be an ass I could write the same post to Boston, Ottawa and any number of other teams
- Ripped Fuel

You bring up some interesting points. However, if that path was to have been taken, it should have started a year or two ago. I think it is easier to say"Let's gut the team and rebuild" when you are not responsible for the outcomes each game and maintaining a fan base and revenue stream. Has it been done? Yes, of course. How is it working out for Edmonton with all the top draft picks?
I am not saying Hexy's plan has been perfect or if it will even eventually end up with another cup run or two,but you have to admit the last two seasons he has changed the roster for the better and he still has some work to do, but at east he did not sell assets and tank on purpose in order to receive better draft picks.

on the TV feed in Canada they kept replaying 3 hits by Washington.. 2 of then were elbows to the head of Giroux.. now not saying they should be called or complaining about the ref's but they are getting Giroux off his game by doing to him what Giroux did to Crosby a few years ago.

the flyers for all their physicality this year are being out hit out hustled and just plainly out played by the Caps . the Caps are the better team for the last 2 games and deserved to win.Every time the flyers missed the net on a shot the caps broke it out there was not enuff net presence 42 shots is great but its the quality of the shots that matter... the shots that flutter in and are an easy save blows that stat up...If the flyers want to win in this series then its gut check time they need to be 1st on the puck they need to hit Ovechkin every chance they get they need to make Holtby uncomfortable in his net..and until they start playing the type of hockey that got them to the playoffs they will not win in the playoffs.

I'm not frustrated -- this is part of the process. It always has been.

Reading some of the typical comments...it's Negadelphia at its finest. No perspective, no desire to have any.

This Washington team is the President's Trophy winner. The best team in the sport and have been all year. They have been building to this team, this moment.

Building from what? A first-round loss in 2012-13. Missing the playoffs in 2013-14. A second-round loss last year. To this year, a team that is loaded for bear and could very well win the Cup.

Does no one else see how comparable the Flyers trajectory is to what the Capitals are now, with a little patience and luck?

Two years ago -- just two years ago -- Alex Ovechkin was a team cancer, was worst in the league in plus-minus, should be stripped of his captaincy. Adam Oates got fired, George McPhee got the boot -- after trading Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat.

I know I won't change the mind of a single hater. But this Flyers team isn't the best version of what this franchise is going to be in two years. It's just not. They are learning some good, tough lessons, the kind you have to learn -- think Nick Cousins won't have his head on a swivel now, coming through the neutral zone in the playoffs?

Those of us who have watched hockey or sports know it's true -- sometimes, you aren't quite set to face a powerful team and you get your asses kicked.

But it can turn so freaking quickly, it can make your head spin. And the Flyers have a few prospects, a little cap room, and players on the right side of 30

Their time is coming
- AllInForFlyers

Like this post a lot. Let's go Flyers.

Nice try, Hinkie.
- feelingkettle

It lacked the necessary Warren Buffet and Abraham Lincoln quotes

Neuvirth has been better than Mason all year and is really the reason they're in the playoffs. Sure, Mason had to play down the stretch but they would have made it if Neuvirth was available too. He's similar to how Hextall was in a way. He sometimes makes amazing saves so everyone thinks he's great but he has a high GAA and if you want to win with him you'd better be able to score 4 or 5 a night because he's not stealing you many 1-0 or 2-1 wins.
- lar6767

Mason was markedly better in the second half of the season, and outplayed Neuvirth since January 1st. Neuvirth's overall numbers are better mainly due to three really incredible months-October, November & December-where he posted a save % in the .930's. Since then, Neuvirth's save % by month has been lower than Mason's and his GAA has been higher.

For the 2015-16 season, Mason's GAA is 0.24 higher than Neuvirth's for the season. His save % is .006 lower.

The truth is, Neuvirth was the better goalie for three months. Mason has outplayed him since the beginning of 2016, and has been far and away the better goalie over the past 3 years or so.

Neuvirth: Mason:
Oct .939, 1.91 .900 .3.39
Nov .939, 2.14 .920, 2.34
Dec .932, 2.09 .909, 2.97
Jan .918, 2.38 .929, 2.29
Feb . 908, 2.44 .917, 2.61
Mar .895, 3.03 .933, 1.88

JR ragged on mason a lot too
- 2Real

JR is as bad as Milbury in his inability to see reason.

We're outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned.

See, Hamilton applies to everything.

For those who say why bother. It is good, really, for the younger players to see the difference between what they've been doing (regular season) and what the ultimate goal is (post-season). They're getting a taste of the game on another level and that can't hurt.

Like this post a lot. Let's go Flyers.
- copelal

And they already did what buffalo did when they traded richards/carter a few years ago. Along with moving kimmo and coburn.

After what they proved this year with the shortcomings they had going into the season. It lends even more credence to the position that this leadership core has the chops to get it done. Now supplement