Philadelphia Flyers First Ten Games: Pluses and Minuses

Ten games are already in the books and the Flyers sit at 5-4-1 with 11 points, good for second place in the Atlantic Division, behind the powerful, yet injury-riddled Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers have looked good at times thus far, but also terrible in certain games. It’s still a bit early to call them a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, specifically with so many new faces and still a questionable amount of chemistry on each line. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at the pluses and minuses of the Philadelphia Flyers’ first ten games of the 2011-12 NHL season:

 

+ Giroux-Jagr

Everyone in the Philadelphia area has known how talented Claude Giroux is. But his rise to superstardom is just starting to trickle through the NHL ranks. Jaromir Jagr is one of the best players in NHL history, sitting third all-time in points per game, behind Gretzky and Lemieux. There were questions about how much he had left in the tank, but he answered those questions with the rigor of a Rhodes Scholar. Together, the two create one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in the NHL.

 

- Discipline

The Flyers are fourth in the league in penalty minutes per game, with 16.8. But the more troubling figure is their 56 minor penalties, which leads the league. Most of these are lazy penalties such as tripping, holding, or hooking, or stick fouls. The Flyers seem to commit these penalties at the most inopportune times, such as after they score a goal or in the midst of their own power play. Twelve Flyers already have at least six penalty minutes, which makes them as undisciplined as a fifth-grade class clown.

 

+ Defensive play/Coaching

The two may not seem to belong in the same category, but the Flyers’ great zone defense is reflective of the effectiveness of the coaching staff. Peter Laviolette’s trademark Box Plus-1 is generally holding opponents to the outside of the ice and creating numerous counter rush opportunities for the speedy forwards on Philly’s roster. The team ranks fourth in the league in blocked shots (albeit 16th in takeaways). The penalty kill has also looked fairly good, notwithstanding an 80.4 percent success rate.

 

- Bryzgalov

The largest goaltending pickup in Flyers’ history has been nothing to write home about just yet. Although he shows flashes of the great goaltender he is, Bryzgalov has made many fans as nervous and worried as a Jewish mother. His puckhandling skills rival that of a mite, while he simply looks careless most of the time. The Flyers surely didn’t pay millions of dollars for a .870 save percentage, a 3.45 goals against average, and a 28th league ranking in goals against per game. Bryzgalov clearly has the ability and the talent to be one of the best in the league – but he needs to start showing it.

 

+ Offensive Depth/Rookies

Every full-time Flyers forward has a goal already, and almost everyone looks like they belong on this roster. Five rookies (Sean Couturier, Matt Read, Harry Zolnierczyk, Zac Rinaldo, and Brayden Schenn) making impacts have also been a large point of interest for the entire organization. This has been the trademark of the Flyers since the lockout, and will be the main reason for their eventual success. The power play has been helped by this depth as well, ranked fourth in the league.

 

- Consistency

The first five games were great. After that, it pretty much went downhill. Their five-on-five goals ratio dropped from second in the league to 19th. They beat some good teams, then lost to those who were struggling. The team also has won just 43 percent of the games in which they scored, showing just how inconsistent this organization is throughout a game and how difficult a time they are having holding a lead.

 

Alan Bass, a former writer for The Hockey News and THN.com, is the author of The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed The NHL Forever. He has worked for the Philadelphia Flyers’ Fan Development department, going to schools throughout the tri-state area to teach about fitness and the importance of teamwork. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College Division II hockey team as well. You can contact him at Alanbasswriting@aol.com.

Philadelphia Flyers: Impressions From Game 1

With the season opener in the books and the Flyers getting (very slight) revenge on the Boston Bruins by defeating them 2-1, the overall first impression is that the team is good. Very good. Here are some impressions from the Flyers’ opening game of the 2011-12 NHL season:

• Unfortunately for the Flyers, rookie Sean Couturier may not be here for more than eight games. If the team decides to return him to his junior team, which they very well may to protect his contract, they will be missing out on a potentially great piece of this year’s roster. With Over four-and-a-half minutes of shorthanded time on ice and 14 minutes total, Couturier showed that although he might be a bit small, he still has the talent to play in this league. He was defensively sound, showed great hockey sense, and an ability to get to the net.
• JVR-Giroux-Jagr just might be the best line in the NHL this season. True, Claude Giroux’s first period goal was solely a result of him dipsy-doodling around the Boston defense. But JVR looked like he was picking up where he left off in last year’s postseason, and Jaromir Jagr looked like he hasn’t missed a beat. He was just as fast, powerful, and talented as he was when he bolted the New York Rangers for the Kontinental League. And don’t forget, with that one assist tonight, he now has 1,600 for his career. Impressive, to say the least.
• It is still early, but Max Talbot could be the dark horse pickup of the summer. A fourth-liner on the Penguins (and Game 7 Stanley Cup hero, many forget), Talbot’s place is on the defensive side of the puck. He’ll be lucky to score 10 goals this season. But if he plays the way he did tonight, he will have a positive plus/minus rating and a hell of a lot more games with 16-plus minutes of ice time by the end of the season.
• Ilya Bryzgalov looked as good as Flyers fans expected him to look, but also remember how much help he had from his teammates. The offense was good, but the defense was incredible. Forwards were Backchecking, there were very few odd-man rushes, and numerous defensemen helped prevent goals (including Timonen’s personal save of the game). But, of course, Bryzgalov still managed some impressive saves that reminded GM Paul Holmgren why he pays the ridiculous Russian the big bucks.
• Not to go too much onto the other side of the ice, but Bruins forward Brad Marchand looked like the best Bruins player. In addition to Boston’s lone goal, the first for this NHL season, he was all over the ice, just as he was in the Stanley Cup final last year. He may not put pucks in the net all the time, but he is going to have a huge influence on the ice for the Bruins, who may very well find themselves back in the playoffs in late May.

 

Game one is in the books – the Flyers are 1-0, Jagr and Giroux showed great chemistry, the defense looks great, and the goaltending fire looks momentarily extinguished. Next up: a trip to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

 

Alan Bass, a former writer for The Hockey News and THN.com, is the author of The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed The NHL Forever. He has worked for the Philadelphia Flyers’ Fan Development department, going to schools throughout the tri-state area to teach about fitness and the importance of teamwork. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College Division II hockey team as well. You can contact him atAlanbasswriting@aol.com.mailto:BergHockey24@gmail.com

Hockey At Its Purest Essence

“Go kick his ass!” a man screams as the crowd erupts like an active volcano. The play? A hometown forward is faceplanted on the ice after tripping over his opponent’s stick. The man? His coach. Revenge seems not only imminent, but necessary. The player gets up, looks around, and finds his man. He makes a beeline toward the opposing player. He raises his arms to his opponent’s head level and prepares to make contact with the intruder. Time stops.

In this moment, many reactions are apparent. The fans in the stands, eager with anticipation, focus their eyes on the two players about to become one. The coach behind the bench, licking his chops as if a Big Mac were placed in front of him. The referee, frozen with disbelief, can’t even begin to skate toward the scene of a crime that has yet to happen. Whatever happens next – broken leg, concussion, escape with simple negative feelings – can only be the result of a Bruins-Canadiens rivalry.

Or, you know, two mites teams facing off in a cold, dank arena in rural Pennsylvania.

These fans aren’t just any fans – they’re parents. And this coach isn’t Scotty Bowman – he’s some schmo that works in a small, heatless office building by day, yet dreams of being Punch Imlach by night. Problem is, Imlach coached NHLers. This guy coaches seven and eight year olds, most of who play solely because their parents tell them to.

This is just one example, but reveals a frightening trend in youth hockey. With dreams of professional hockey settling in the minds of the coaches and parents of these kids, the ramifications of this simple play are not even paid attention.

What everyone seems to forget is that these young kids aren’t going to the NHL. This level of hockey might be the highest the ever reach. They’re playing a game where the object is to put a piece of rubber in a six-by-four net and have some fun with their friends – not to bear down on your opponent with the fire of a Navy SEAL looking through his sniper scope at the enemy.

Yet coaches each day are telling their young players how important it is to get revenge, knock someone down, or even worse, win. At this age, no athlete in the world should even know the score of the game, let alone give a hoot about winning. Hockey players at this age should be focused on developing their hockey skills, making some friends, and most importantly, having fun. Most likely, none of these kids will play hockey at a high enough level to even consider thinking about a career in the NHL. Perhaps this young man will be a doctor one day, saving a patient’s life. Or perhaps his opponent will become a researcher that could one day develop a cure for HIV.

Whatever they do become, neither one is going to remember the score of the game tomorrow, let alone 30 years from now. Neither will remember when the kid tripped and got right up.

But I promise you that they will both remember the night the opponent lay on the ground motionless because an overly-compensating coach and some angry parents told their innocent young boy it was okay to pull the trigger.

 

Alan Bass, a former writer for The Hockey News and THN.com, is the author of The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed The NHL Forever. He has worked for the Philadelphia Flyers’ Fan Development department, going to schools throughout the tri-state area to teach about fitness and the importance of teamwork. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College Division II hockey team as well. You can contact him at Alanbasswriting@aol.com.