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Flyers Wrapup: 2/19/08 vs. Sens |
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Things have gotten so bad around Flyerdom in the last two weeks that tonight's 3-2 shootout loss -- in a game where the Flyers were outplayed for the majority of the night -- feels like a step in the right direction.
The Flyers showed negative body language after falling behind 2-0, and I have to admit I thought they were very unlikely to get even a point out of the game. But a brilliant shorthanded rush by R.J. Umberger and Kimmo Timonen gave the club some life and they at least found a way to get a deflection goal in the third period to tie the game.
Comments:
* Martin Biron deserves immense credit for keeping his team close and giving the Flyers a chance to come back. He also survived a scary moment when he got accidentally clipped in a collision with Jason Spezza.
*The Flyers powerplay, which had been the club's saving grace for the first four months of the season, is in a state of utter disarray right now. Not only is the time not scoring, they are making poor decisions with the puck.
* Claude Giroux played 9:27 in his NHL debut and had some good shifts, showing the ice vision and hands that have the Flyers so excited about his potential. He was even tabbed by John Stevens to go first in the shootout. Giroux beat Ray Emery with a fancy double backhand move, but narrowly missed finishing the play.
* Apart from their live-giving plays on the shorthanded goal, both R.J. Umberger and Kimmo Timonen turned in outstanding efforts in this game.
* Stevens finally flipped Lasse Kukkonen and Jim Vandermeer in the lineup. Tonight, he used Vandermeer as a fourth line winger/seventh D and giving Kukkonen regular shifts on the blueline. Kukkonen played a whale of a game, blocking everything in site and finishing his checks. I also thought Vandermeer had some decent shifts up front, especially in the first period, throwing his weight around.
* On the second Ottawa goal, Antoine Vermette made a nice deflection in front of the net. But the goal resulted from Briere losing his check and enabling Vermette to turn a harmless looking side-angle shot from the boards into a goal Biron had no chance to stop. At the offensive end, Briere is overthinking right now. If the Flyers are going to do anything the rest of this season, Briere needs to play better. It's as simple as that.
* Ryan Parent gave Flyers fans a glimpse of what's to come in the future as he gains experence and confidence. He's had some issues with giveaways in his brief NHL stint so far, but that's to be expected.
* Jason Smith is taking some heat from Flyers fans these days and is the subject of trade rumors (which may only intensify now that Jaroslav Modry has been acquired). What many fans don't realize, however, is that the captain is gritting his way through several nagging injuries that he should probably be resting.
Smith showed tonight why, if the Flyers are serious about competing for a playoff spot -- and having any prayer of advancing beyond a single round if they make it -- they need him. He was an absolute warrior tonight, as usual.
***
Today's Peter Forsberg interview in Sweden is a non-story, in my opinion.
Forsberg was asked if he's 100% certain that he's not coming back this season and essentially said the same thing Don Baizley did. He admitted that he's not ready, but is leaving the door open just a crack in case of a mini-miracle in the next seven days.
It's not going to happen within the next week for Forsberg if it didn't happen by now, folks. But that doesn't mean Forsberg is -- or should -- stop trying to push himself in the next week and (in all probability) beyond. If he didn't set a goal for himself, he might as well not even be skating.
He isn't stupid. Forsberg obviously knows teams are now moving on with other plans at the deadline and won't wait around for him. Baizley wouldn't have said it in the first place if his client didn't already realize that was the case.
***
The Flyers have acquired soon-to-be 37-year-old defenseman Jaroslav Modry from the Kings in exchange for a third-round draft pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.
Modry's days as an offensive-minded defenseman are behind him, but with Derian Hatcher on the shelf for several more weeks, Jason Smith playing despite being significantly banged and the rest of the defense struggling, he could still offer some help.
***
After two weeks of utter hell and seven consecutive losses, the Flyers (30-24-2-3, 65 points) will take on the Eastern Conference leading Senators (34-20-2-3, 73 points) in Ottawa tonight. The Flyers have won the two previous meetings this season, but they were a healthier, more confident hockey club at the time.
Top Flyers prospect Claude Giroux will make his NHL regular season debut tonight. The league at first denied and then approved a request by the Flyers to make an emergency recall of the youngster, who has dominated the QMJHL and played on the top line for gold-medalist Canada at the World Junior Championships.
With the concussions suffered by both Steve Downie and Denis Tolpeko over the weekend, the Flyers only had 10 healthy forwards. Meanwhile, the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms are at the minimum number of forwards, with the likes of Ryan Potulny out of the lineup with injury and the Flyers having recalled Stefan Ruzicka to fill one of the vacant roster spots.
Flyers coach John Stevens has not said which line Giroux will be playing on, only that "we didn't bring him up to play on the fourth line, and he'll probably get some powerplay time." He did say that he was thinking about giving Giroux some time with Mike Richards and Daniel Briere, but probably wil see shifts with others (Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell) as well.
Stevens indicated to Wayne Fish yesterday that he would likely continue to use Lasse Kukkonen as a fourth-line left winger and spot defenseman, but that may have changed with the team gaining approval to call up Giroux. On Sunday, Kukkonen got about seven and a half minutes of ice time, despite coming off an outstanding game on Saturday.
Stevens also appeared on Glen Macnow's radio program on WIP last night. The coach acknowledged some of the struggles that Jim Vandermeer has had but also defended the player. The coach pointed out that no player on the team can look himself in the mirror and say he's played his best hockey of late. He also pointed out "the many positive things Jimmy has brought since he's come back, with his physical presence and puck moving along with Kimmo [Timonen]."
While Stevens has shuffled around defensive pairings in the course of the last few games, he seems likely to go back to the same starting lineup he's been using.
Stevens also discussed Daniel Briere, admitting that the player's five-on-five struggles (he's now minus-21) and lack of recent scoring are a concern. However, he also pointed out Briere's powerplay contributions and the fact the player has looked to shoot the puck more often when he's had the chance in the last few games (three or more shots on goal in thee of the last four games).
Interestingly enough, Daniel Briere led the NHL in even-strength points a year ago. Obviously, the Sabres' run-and-gun style and Briere's linemates came into play a year ago. In the course of the interview, Stevens brought up Simon Gagne's absence for much of this season. But it also says Briere is capable of better five-on-five play in his own right.
Even without Gagne, he's played with some skilled linemates this season, too. He needs to produce more -- and would be the first to admit it.
Potential Flyers lines and scratches:
Hartnell - Briere - Giroux
Umberger - Richards - Kapanen
Upshall - Carter - Knuble
Cote - Dowd - Ruzicka/Kukkonen(?)
Timonen- Vandermeer
Jones - Coburn
Smith - Parent
Kukkonen(?)
Biron
[Niittymäki]
Scratches:
One of Ruzicka or Kukkonen (healthy)
Modry (not yet with team)
Hatcher (knee)
Lupul (high ankle sprain)
Downie (concussion)
Tolpeko (concussion)
Gagne (IR, concussion)
Fitzpatrick (IR, sports hernia)
Rathje (LTI)
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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