I spoke to Ossi Vaananen at the morning skate about his impending status as a helathy scratch for tonight against Ottawa. He was.
Here's his reaction:
“I could smash my stick against the bench, but what good would that do?” Vaananen said.
He hasn't played well; hasn't done much to be a defensive force in front of the net which is why his ice time dwindled to a combined 9 minutes over the weekend at Boston and Atlanta.
“I’m sure I need to be more consistent on what I bring and I know what is expected of me,” he said. “You mention the first Boston game [minus-3]. I don’t know if this is about one game or more. We had a good conversation. I need to be more consistent.”
COach John Stevens has been muted on getting specific about why Vaananen is in his dog house but ...
“We want him to be a good defender, but be consistently aggressive. Use his size," Stevens told me.
"He’s played against the top guys most of the year. When you’re in that situation, his strength as a defender, I’d like to see him first and foremost be a good defender. And also be a hard guy to play against.”
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • 
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