Richards, complete defensive effort shut down Flames, 3-0

Tim Panaccio must have been watching a different game tonight. Or, he’s been reading too much Eklund the last two days. Or, shit, I don’t know, but he’s not too bright right now. In his recap article of tonight’s 3-0 shut out against the Calgary Flames, Panaccio writes: “The 3-0 victory was anything but pretty hockey against a Calgary team that had won just once in its past 10 games.” Timmy, the Flyers held the Flames to under 20 shots, didn’t allow them to score one goal, answered every defensive test that came their way, and had possession of the puck for a large amount of tonight’s game. If that’s not crucial to helping your club win a hockey game, then I’m not entirely sure what is, and maybe you should be the coach of this team. Automatic Stanley Cup? Unless I’ve mistaken your wording for something other than what it really is, c’mon man.

Tonight was the first of three games out West for the Flyers. They’ll follow up this performance with a game Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers who beat up on the Hurricanes tonight, and then close out the trip against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

In a game where the opposition was facing several line-up changes, the Flyers did the best they could to shut them down entirely. When the defense couldn’t make the stops they needed to make, Ray Emery was up to the task. Emery stopped every one of the 18 shots that came his way en route to the 3-0 shut out and looked like a “game-changer” tonight. He also seemed to regain a sense of his rebound control and puck movement tonight as well.

Mike Richards was by far the Flyers best player tonight. Richards scored his 100th and 101st NHL goal (21st and 22nd on the season) and was an aggressive piece of the forecheck. If I had to give Mike Richards an evaluation for tonight’s performance, he’d get an A+. He didn’t look lethargic, lost, and confused on the ice. He didn’t seem to not care at all. He didn’t make terrible line changes on the back check, and he was part of almost every scoring chance that his line developed.

Claude Giroux had another noticeably good outing, which included an extremely nifty backhander on Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. Giroux fooled Kipper into believing that he was bringing the puck back to his forehand, but never actually made the switch back and, at the last second, lifted the puck right over Kipprusoff’s shoulder on the back hand. Claude Giroux continues to amaze me night after night. There’s no telling how good the kid’s going to be two or three years from now. Bill Clement put it perfectly during CSN’s TV broadcast when he said that Giroux “will never beat you with the same move twice,” and that he is always “creating his moves based on the play that is developing around him.” It’s so true. The creativity and vision that Giroux carries goes unmatched on this team, and maybe in the NHL as a whole.

Two other Flyers who also played noticeably good games were Arron Asham and Matt Carle. Carle’s been struggling as of late and tonight’s game will only help his confidence heading into the Olympic break. Like I keep saying, Asham continues to be an underrated forward. The skill set that he carries aids Giroux and JVR so well, though. It’s so fun to watch them play together.

Did I really go this long without mentioning the stellar play by the newly acquired Lukas Krajicek? I did, didn’t I?

Krajicek logged 18:25 of ice time tonight and earned every one of those minutes. Many Flyer fans and writers were skeptical about Krejicek’s signing, but I think with tonight’s effort, he’s at least earned another game. He didn’t make many mistakes that I saw and he always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time. Was this just a case of playing with a new team and being overly excited, or is he just the piece that the Flyers needed to take some of the stress off of Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen?

The Flyers are back in action Wednesday night at 9:30EST in Edmonton, Alberta when they face-off against the Oilers in the second leg of this road trip.

While you’re waiting for Wednesday, be sure to check out the news on the new WeBelieveInOrange Podcast that’s launching next week!

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Gameday Preview: Hurricanes at Flyers

Andy isn’t around to cover this game preview, so I get to give this a shot. In an afternoon matchup at the Wachovia Center, the Carolina Hurricanes (15-27-7) take on the Flyers, fresh off their victory over the Rangers. The Flyers have defeated the Hurricanes in the three previous matchups between the two clubs this season, shutting out the ‘Canes in the first game of their season. The Flyers blew out the Hurricanes 6-1 on Halloween, a game Michael Leighton started for Carolina. Their next meeting was a 4-3 shootout win, where Leighton, in goal for the Flyers after being claimed off of waivers, stoned both Carolina shooters in the shootout to secure the victory. It will be interesting to see if Peter Laviolette goes with Emery fresh off of a shutout, or with Leighton against his former club.

The Hurricanes have been abysmal this season, stacking their roster with veterans off of a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. That has landed them in the basement of the Eastern Conference, with many Hurricanes fans already set on drafting Taylor Hall first overall. While their play of late has been better, the team is looking to move a number of their veterans with no-trade clauses, and has somewhat started the rebuild by anointing Eric Staal captain of the team. Veteran Rod Brind’ Amour, a Philadelphia fan favorite in the 1990′s, has been among the worst in terms of plus/minus in the NHL for the past two seasons, and may be playing one of his last games in front of the Philly faithful.

The Flyers come in off of a hard-fought win over the Rangers on Thursday night. The physical play was on another level, as a number of scrums and fights broke out, and the Flyers returned to their effective intimidation style of old. However, with a number of players riding hot streaks into this game, most notably, Jeff Carter, James Van Riemsdyk, Mike Richards, and Chris Pronger, the Flyers should be look to continue those streaks and exploit the weak Carolina defense. Through their previous two matchups, almost all of the goals have been scored at even strength, which should make this game an interesting one. The Flyers have managed to pounce on teams early lately, scoring the first goal a number of times. Hopefully the team comes out with some energy, and doesn’t perform like they did in a 4-0 loss to Toronto earlier this month. Also adding distraction are news reports about Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter was in attendance Thursday night to discuss a trade with the Flyers, which has started the spectulation of numerous rumors, with the most amusing being Dion Phaneuf for Jeff Carter (which would make me sick, personally).

Other Notes:

• Cam Ward is starting his 18th straight game for the Hurricanes.
• Mike Richards has 14 points in his last 14GP.
• Jeff Carter has 7 goals and 15 points in his last 13GP.
• Daniel Briere has 13 points in his last 13GP.
• Chris Pronger has 10 points in his last 8GP.
• Aaron Asham has 8 points in his last 9GP.
• James van Riemsdyk 10 points in his last 9GP.

Injury Report:

Hurricanes: Erik Cole (upper body), Tuomo Ruutu (upper body), Scott Walker (shoulder), Joe Corvo (leg)

Flyers: Danny Syvret (shoulder), Ryan Parent (back)

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Mike Richards is the leader of this team, but is it a little too soon for him?

Ever since the Flyers started their disastrous plunge to the bottom of the standings way back in November, I’ve been asking myself the same question night in and night out: Why is Mike Richards the captain of this hockey team? Lately, he hasn’t been giving me any reasons to negate this question and it’s starting to worry me. I really think the leadership of this team is in the wrong hands. Sure, it’s only a letter, but that letter goes a long way in terms of keeping the power of leadership to one person.

Since the promotion of Richards to the captaincy, his famed “lead by example” style of play and leadership hasn’t impressed me all too much. Like any player, Mike’s had his share of ups and downs, and that’s to be expected; but, when it starts to affect the team’s play night in and night out, there’s reason for concern. I can count several instances in the last two weeks that show Richards not playing like a captain should play.

• Last Thursday’s Maple Leafs slugging. Jay Rosehill’s disallowed goal. Richards loses his stick, and instead of keeping his check, he stands still behind the net like a clueless deer and lets the play develop.
• Sunday’s game vs the Caps. Matt Carle makes a terrible drop pass to Richards which would have been impossible for him to receive anyway, but instead of keeping with Brooks Laich (Of all fucking people), he threw a miserable shoulder check that barely nudged Laich, and let him skate right by him. Then as Laich went alone on Emery for a breakaway goal, Richards followed up by sluggishly backchecking and then shaking his head after Laich scored.
• After the Maple Leafs beating, Jay Rosehill gave a cheap shot to the back of Richards’ skull with his elbow, and Richards skated away like nothing happened. I’m sorry, but after an embarrassing performance against one of the league’s worst clubs, you don’t just skate away from something like that. You keep your team fired up.

Minus the third bullet, those are two events that stood out to me because they ended up allowing goals for the opposition. There are other countless mistakes that he’s making, though. He carelessly throws the puck all over the ice before looking for a sure, solid pass. Instead of kicking a puck back to the point from the corner, he’ll blindly throw it to the front of the net. In some circumstances, that’s okay, it really is. Not all the time, though. He makes so many attempts at big hits and misses 90% of the time, leaving him out of position. A captain shouldn’t be that careless. He’s just been downright lazy and it’s not going to lift this team when they need someone to turn to in times like these.

I don’t want to get on his tail too much for blowing up at the media recently. The whole thing is just a result of Philadelphia reporters being, well, Philadelphia reporters. They’re annoying. Still, Mike Richards is the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. That means he’s the voice of the Philadelphia Flyers.

He needs to present himself in a respectable manner, and this whole situation is flat out making him look like a baby. I know he’s a 25 year old NHL star making millions of dollars. I expect him to go out and have a good time with his teammates. I get that. But when it comes at the risk of your team’s performance, the team who is paying you to live this lifestyle, I think you should have a little bit of decency to know when to say no, and stay inside for the night.

I know Mike Richards. I’ve watched him grow as a hockey player. I know he has the ability to lead. I know he can elevate his play better than anyone else when he needs to. I just don’t know why he’s not doing it this year. He’s been lethargic all season long. Is it because of the Stevens firing? Is he bitter towards the ownership to the point where he’s going to let it sacrifice his play? I don’t want to see Mike Richards stripped of his captaincy if he’s going to man up and play, lead, and learn like an adult. Until then, I stand by my opinion on removing the “C,” and giving it to someone who can lead this team emotionally. Example apparently isn’t doing it anymore (not that there’s been one).

So, who do I give the “C” to? Easy. Ian Laperrière. There is no other guy on this team who plays with more heart, passion, grit, determination, and guts than Lappy and he doesn’t seem to get enough credit for it. Laperrière has a history of being a guy that the team turns to when they’re down, and I don’t see what that would be any different here, especially with such a young team. There hasn’t been a shift all season where I’ve said, “Wow, Laperrière isn’t even trying,” and I think I’ve said that with the majority of guys on this team. Every night Laperrière laces up his skates, he tries harder than the previous night. He makes every shift worth it and plays it like it’s going to be his last. That’s the guy I want to play for. That’s the guy I want to help win the Stanley Cup. Not a guy who’s going to get blown by in the neutral zone and skate back to the bench for a line change and a drink of water.

Here’s where you guys come in. In the comments below, leave your opinions on this whole situation. Try and keep the Richards vs Media argument out of things, because that’s laughable at this point. I’m interested to know what the other fans think. I can’t be alone here.

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A couple of Six Packs over the Weekend

So, Andy and I were able to witness the 6-1 drubbing of the Hurricanes in person. Unfortunately, we were also treated to a lackluster Halloween Costume Contest that Lou Nolan would simply dub, “pretty shitty.” Some big things stood out to me during that game:

• Matt Carle looks dominant so far. He’s obviously playing with confidence being paired with Pronger, and looks like the Hobey Baker award winner from seasons ago. He’s racking up assists so far and has shown a great feel for the offensive zone. His goal in this game was the result of him taking control on the powerplay and banging in a wrap around that Leighton horribly overplayed.
• Chris Pronger looks comfortable and has been worth the price of admission most nights. His passes are on the tape, and his shot has been deadly accurate this year. The first goal was set up off another one of his slappers. He’s been dominant on the PP and has been fine in his own zone to this point.
• The Timonen-Coburn pairing was broken up, and both responded well. Timonen chipped in with an assist and looked more comfortable. Coburn finished off a broken 2-on-1 with JVR and also buried a bomb from the point, notching both goals in the third. Together, the two have looked lost, but perhaps this showing gets them going once again.
• Ryan Parent played and had an assist, but left after re-aggravating an injury.

• JVR has gone from potential bust to star in an offseason it seems. He’s using his size to his advantage, scoring a great goal by driving the net and deking out Wallin and Leighton with a weak backhander, but he’s also showing that he’s not afraid to at least get somewhat physical, responding to a challenge from Andrew Alberts. I’m sure the time in the weightroom helped, as he looks stronger and more determined this year. Could be shaping up to be a darkhorse candidate for ROY.
• David Laliberte, who I assumed would be called up with Briere’s injury, responded with a goal and an assist his first NHL game. Considering he was in the ECHL 2 seasons ago, he’s had a monumental rise. He has the talent to stick around and produce from the looks of it, and has some chemistry with Carter it seems. I’m seeing why he stuck around so long in camp. The hot streak he went on at the end of last year with the Phantoms doesn’t seem to be a fluke.
• Arron Asham is awesome. Enough said. This needs no explaining.
• Somehow, the great check of the game was not the monster shot Laperriere landed on Carcillo that had Andy and I in stitches. :/
• This game got physical, and the Flyers responded well. Bonus points for escaping without Conboy biting anybody this time around.

Monday night’s game was almost a replay, as the Flyers dropped the Lightning by a 6-2 final. They didn’t dominate this game like I thought they did against Carolina, but they made their shots count and embarrassed Mike Smith to an extent. Carter had a pair of nice goals, as well as setting up Laliberte for another one. Pronger had a couple of sweet assists to Richards on the night, and I thought Claude Giroux had an excellent game, with a highlight reel pass back to Pronger on the 5th goal. The points haven’t been there for Claude, but as long as he’s moving his feet and working his magic with the puck, you know he’s on. The only negative was that Syvret had a relatively poor game in limited action, and the third line seemed to get burned on the TB goals. Stamkos ripped a laser which nobody would have stopped, and the Halpern goal was crappy to say the least. Overall, an excellent past 3 days for the Flyers and their fans.

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Flyers Fall to Panthers

After almost a full week off and some relaxing team bonding in Ft. Lauderdale, the Philadelphia Flyers took on the Florida Panthers Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center.  What began as a commanding start to the game soon led to a Flyers team that lost all their drive and fell to the Panthers 4-2.

Arron Asham and Claude Giroux both scored a goal for the first time this season as the team experienced their first loss on the road.

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Flyers Home Opener – Nothing Short of Thrilling

In a battle of two unbeaten, rival teams coming into Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers bested the Washington Capitals in a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory. Danny Briere, celebrating his 32nd birthday, netted the overtime winner, giving the Flyers a 3-0 start for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

The sold-out crowd of 19,567 was full of anticipation for the first home game of the season. “I think the teams match up very well and I hope the Flyers will have the advantage because of the crowd,” said Adam Necelis, a fan eagerly waiting to see the team for the first time. “I’m very excited for this season, especially with the additions of Pronger and Emery.”

The excited crowd made sure the Capitals wouldn’t forget where they were with their loud and raucous cheers and boos. Mike Knuble, on the other hand, received a nice ovation from the appreciative crowd for his four years of service as a Flyer.

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