Flyers Down Habs 3-2

The Flyers opened up a true home-and-home tonight in South Philly versus the Canadiens.  Fresh off two come from behind wins over the Devils, the Flyers would look to move up in the very tight Eastern Conference race.  Michael Leighton was again in goal for Philly while Carey Price was in for Montreal.  Jeff Carter would get the Flyers on the board first, late in the first period.  Briere picked up the orginal rebound from Carter and sent it out in front where Scott Hartnell had a few whacks at it, only to be stuffed by Price.  But Carter found the loose puck and slipped it by Price for the 1-0 lead.  The Flyers stormed out in the 2nd period scoring twice in two minutes.  Carter added his second to make it 2-0, and Matt Carle scored to make it 3-0.  The Flyers seemed to be in command at this point.  But they would come out a bit flat in the 3rd and let Montreal tget it back to 3-2 with goals from (former Flyer, noticing a theme here folks?) and newly acquired Dominic Moore.  Both the Habs goals seemed to come from our in ability to clear the puck from the zone.  Metropolit’s goal seemed to bounce high off the glass, and nobody could find it, except for him.  With a minute left, Darroll Powe laid out Jaroslav Spacek behind the Montreal net.  The play resulted in 5min major and Game Misconduct for Powe.  The hit didn’t look especially dirty or anything, as Spacek turned just as Powe came in to hit him.  Spacek’s status is unknown.  Montreal pulled the goalie for the remaining time, but was unable to capitalize.  And the Flyers pulled out a 3-2 win.  As the game ended a scrum ensued, with Gionta and Gomez the lead antagonists for Montreal.  Have to wonder what they were thinking mixing it up with Pronger and Lappy.  The whole thing lasted a few mintues until the men in stripes were finally able to separate everyone.  No doubt Montreal sticking up for Spacek and sending a little message for tomorrow night.

All around a pretty good effort tonight, save for that spurt early in the 3rd period.  The Power Play continued to struggle, failing to convert on numerous chances in the 3rd period.  Leighton looked sharp in goal once again.  Jeff Carter continued his fine play, adding two more goals.  The Flyers are right back at it again tomorrow night in Montreal, for the final game before the Olympic Break.

Pre-Olympic Trade Recap

With the Trade Freeze going into effect at 3pm this afternoon, teams looked to make a few moves early.  There were two notable deals completed today.

The first was between the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks.  Chicago sent D Cam Barker to Minnesota for (former Flyer) D Kim Johnsson, and D Nick Leddy, a 1st round pick in 2009.  This sure looks like a salary cap move for the Blackhawks.

The second deal involved Ottawa and Carolina.  Carolina sent veteran winger Ray Whitney to the Senators for (former Flyer) D Alexandre Picard and a 2nd round pick.  It’s not much of a surprise that Whitney was moved, as the rumor mill was churning for quite some time.  Whitney was a guy I thought we could use here in Philly for some extra scoring depth.  Following this, the Senators also place Johnathon Cheechoo on waivers.

Flyers Sign D Lukas Krajicek

Various outlets are reporting the Flyers have agreed to terms with Lukas Krajicek, who was recently waived and bought out by the Lightning.  This seems to be what fit what GM Paul Holmgren was saying in recent weeks, mentioning that he would like to add depth on the blueline.  After losing Ryan Parent for 6 weeks, you kind of felt that something would have to be done.  Krajicek should provide solid depth for the team while Parent recovers.  The question is whether he replaces OKT or Bartulis.  Krajicek is expected to play tomorrow in Calgary.  Personally, I’d rather he replace OKT, who seems to look lost at times.  Not to mention that he ends up out of position after trying for the big hit too often.

Krajicek spent the last two seasons in Tampa Bay.  Putting up 20 points in 94 games, while at -12.

Leighton, A Pleasant Surprise in Goal

They Flyers seemed to have the goaltender position sorted out for the season.  With Ray Emery coming over from Russia, and an old friend in Brian Boucher serving as the backup.  And early on, things were going well, and the bottom fell out.  Emery came out and said about his abdominal injury, and he would then be lost for 4-6 weeks.  Ok now it’s Boucher’s job.  I think anyone following the game knew Boucher would do fine untill Ray could get back.  Boucher was in a similar spot with San Jose not long ago, and performed admirably.  The only worry, at that point, was possible fatigue.  Could Boucher handle the load, or would the rookie Backlund need to get in for a game or two?  All was good, and then Boucher injured his finger.  Time to hit the panic button.  With Carolina struggling after losing Cam Ward to an injury, and then signing Manny Legace, Michael Leighton sudden became available via waivers.  The Flyers made a claim for the struggling netminder.  Leighton gace the team an experienced option while Boucher was on the mend.  I don’t think anyone knew what to expect, based off the numbers it looked ugly.  Not to mention the tailspin we already found ourselves in.

So, enter Michael Leighton.  He would play his first full game for the Flyers (and first since the 2006-07 season in Orange and Black) on Dec 23rd in Tampa Bay.  Leighton stopped 31 of 33 shots as the Flyers won that game 5-2.  Sure it was a good effort from everyone to finally get a win, but Leighton looked shaky at times.  One of the most notable things with him was that he tended to over commit when things got down low around the net.  A few times he’d slide over to cover a pass or take a shot, and would end up on the far side of the net, and way out of position.  Essentially the net was life wide open with only a d-man standing there.  Ok, so it didn’t necessarily cause any major issues, but that’s the kind of thing that will get you into trouble really quick in the NHL.  His next game was in Carolina, against the team that just waived him not long ago.  You know he really wanted this one.  And he looked good again, still a few minor issues here and there, but solid all around.

Here’s a guy who is struggling mightily in Carolina, gets waived, and his then claimed by the Flyers.  Who at this point, are just not playing well, at all.  At quick glance, this looks like a complete and utter disaster waiting to happen.  Despite looking a little shaky the first time out, he suddenly finds a groove and is practically unbeatable.  He looks very solid in net, seeming to have fixed the minor issues he had at first.  In fact in each game that’s he’s started with the Flyers he hasn’t lost in regulation.  His only loss coming at the Winter Classic in overtime, despite that he played pretty well in that game.  Over the ten games he’s played in Philly, Leighton is 7-0-1with a Goals Against Average of 2.13 and a save percentage at .938.  Pretty impressive numbers compared to the ones he put up in Carolina, and considering that he came onto a team that seemed to be doing everything wrong at the time.

Recently, we learned that Ray Emery was healthy and would soon be back with the Flyers.  So now we have a problem.  You have your #1 guy back, who was playing pretty well up to his injury.  Your regular backup, who played good when he got his chances. And the your stopgap solution who is just playing lights out right now.  So what do you do?  Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has stated that the team will keep all three goalies for the time being.  There are going to be a few important things to keep an eye on here.  First is Emery’s health.  he says he’s ready, ahead of schedule.  And played with the Phantoms over the weekend in a conditioning assignment.  Emery’s now back with the Flyers, because the Phantoms are off until Wednesday.  The other thing to watch his the health of defensemen OK Tollefsen and Ryan Parent.  When one returns somebody’s gonna have to go.  The question is who.  It’s pretty safe to say that Ray isn’t going anywhere.  That leaves Boucher and Leighton.  Both have small cap numbers, so nothing there. Boucher is signed through next year, while Leighton is a UFA at season’s end.  So what do you do?

Here’s my thoughts.  At this point, I believe that you cannot sit Leighton.  He’s simply on a roll right now, and the team seems to have gotten it’s act back together, for the most part.  He’s basically saved our season up to this point, and clearly deserves to stay in until he has a bad game or two.  But what about Boosh and Razor?  I’d like to see Razor back with the Phantoms for another conditioning stint.  We need to make sure that’s he has fully recovered.  It does us no good to have him come back, and then go out again for a long time. And abdominal injures can be tricky sometimes.  So I would, for once, like to see the Flyers take the safe road here.  We all now injuries have gone with the team over recent years.  Player is said to be fully recovered, comes back and plays for a few games, and then re-injures himself.  See Danny Briere, Simon Gagne, Peter Forsberg, etc.  The list goes on and on.  So let’s say that after another AHL stint that Ray is fine and returns to the big club.  That again leaves Leighton and Boosh.  Now I love Boosh as much as the next guy, but I think at this point he’s the odd man out,  that is unless Leighton begins to struggle mightily.  When you don’t have a true #1 guy in net and you have these 1A and 1B situations, it’s normally a good bet to ride the hot hand.  And Leighton just isn’t giving Boucher a chance right now. At that point Emery is your starter, with Leighton backing him up.

When the whole goalie situation went downhill, and after claiming Leighton I don’t think any of us saw this coming.  I know I didn’t.  But I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how well Leighton has performed.  According to official Flyers twitter account Leighton will once again be in goal tomorrow versus the Stars.

One other note.  With playing Dallas tomorrow I’d like to give a shout out to our friend Cole Jones over at http://www.theother6seconds.com/.

Flyers @ Panthers – 10/16 – Live Blogging the Game

Thought we’d try something new and live blog the game.  Borrowing this idea from John Buccigross at ESPN, I suggest reading his weekly column when you can.  And I know we’re a bit late already, but this was a last minute idea.  So here we go.

1st Period

6:35 – Asham scores.  Flyers lead 1-0.

10:00 – Some good work by JvR/Asham/Pyorala.  This has the looks of one of those sneaky lines,  that can really make some things happen.  The little I’ve seen so far, JvR looks good in his return.  Made a few nice passes and assisted on Asham’s goal.

15:00 – Lots of pressure here. Briere creates a few chances down low.  Carle found the post.  Clemmensen made a few big saves in the past minute or so.  Lot of people don’t realize that he’s actually pretty decent goalie.  guess that’s what happens when you sit behind Brodeur for years.  Panthers PP coming up.

20:00 – Solid PK effort.  Florida never really got in the zone and set.  Flyers have so many quality guys to rotate on the PK, should be interesting to watch over the season.  Florida created some pressure late, but never really got much from it; good job of recovering and clearing the zone.  Giroux makes a great play as time winds down, but just barely misses.  Good first period.

2nd Period

1:00 – Early chance by Gagne on a 2-on-1.  Clemmensen gets a piece and knocks it aside.

4:00 – Carcillo vs Campbell.   Carcillo got a few good shots in.  Advantage Carcillo.  So my partner for the night, Andy has fallen asleep so sounds like it might just be me tonight.  Another fight, Allen vs Laperiere.  Nothing much here mostly just grappling and struggling for position.  Call it a draw.

6:50 - Pronger takes a slashing penalty.  Florida ties it up on Weiss’ PP goal.  Great screen setup in front of Emery, no chance to see that one.  Game tied up 1-1.

12:00 – Emery with a huge save on Ballard.  Incredible lateral quickness.  Good transition out of the zone.  Giroux handcuffs Clemmensen with a shot that finds it’s way in the back of net.   Reviewed to check if it crossed the line. 2-1 Flyers.  Flyers PP coming up

16:00 – Clemmensen makes a big save on Carter early on the PP, sliding across the crease and stacking the pads.  Florida gets a opportunity off the rush later, but Coburn makes a nice defensive play to turn them away.

19:00 – Florida ties it up on Horton’s goal.  Could kind of feel that one coming as Florida was creating pressure in the Flyers zone.  Leopold’s shot from the point was almost like the knucklepuck as his fluttered in.  Horton got a stick on it in front to redirect it past Emery.  Tie game 2-2.

3rd Period

5:00 – Coburn gets beat on the play and has to take the hooking penalty.  Florida’s best chance on the PP catches iron.  Have to wonder how the Flyers’ defense will hold up through the rest of game, when they’re basically playing with four d-men (after Parent left with a lower body injury and Syvret not seeing alot of ice.)  Flyers PP coming up.

7:00 – Florida winds the puck around the boards to clear.  Pronger pinches in to save and and the puck gets by.  Dvorak beats Pronger to the puck and scores the shorthanded goal.  Florida leads 3-2.

17:00 – Not much happening recently, the odd chance here or there.  Flyers get the offensive zone draw coming up here.  Giroux had a great shift, staying with the puck three or four times, created a decent scoring chance because of it.

17:30 – Carter lets a quick shot go off the draw and nearly beats Clemmensen with it

18:40 – Florida adds the empty net goal and go ahead 4-2.  Bad timing as the puck got back to the neutral zone just as Emery got to the bench.

20:00 – The Panthers hand the Flyers their first road loss this season, winning 4-2.  Also Clemmensen’s first win for Florida.  Despite the mismatch on paper, I’m not surprised at how tight this one was.  Florida’s given us fits over the years.  Florida got the bounces tonight.  Flyers are back at it Thursday night (10/22 – hooray NHL scheduling) at home for a game with the Bruins.