Flyers head coach John Stevens has repeatedly stressed the fact that teams can't overrely on the powerplay this time of year. To their credit, the Flyers have shown significant improvement in their five-on-five play compared with earlier in the season.
Nevertheless, one need only look at the Flyers' record after the all-star break to see that the team's success (or lack thereof) on special teams is deeply connected to their ability to win games. Most recently, the wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey were driven by the Flyers' powerplay success.
The Flyers have a 15-11-1 record since the All-Star break. In the 15 wins, they've connected on the powerplay at about a 30% success ratio. In the 12 losses, they've posted a dismal 13.8% success rate.
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Kimmo Timonen felt well enough to practice with the team today after playing last night. He played just 17:30 and had some rough moments (5 shot attempts -- four of which were blocked, one of which missed the net -- as well as taking a crucial penalty with barely over two minutes left and the club trailing by a goal.
For the record, I don't think Timonen should have been called for interference on the play. H
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I'm a little bit puzzled by the signing of Johan Backlund. He's an above-average Elitserien goaltender and has played for the Swedish national team, but he's never been a true standout. I think he's pretty marginal as an NHL prospect. I wouldn't even automatically pencil him in as an NHL backup next season if Antero Niittymäki departs via free agency.
At age 28 next season, he's going to have to adapt to the small rink game - a process that usually a little bit of time. Backlund has good reflexes but I've also seen him get sloppy on routine shots.
If the Flyers were going to push for an Elitserien goaltender, the guy they should have made a move for is 24-year-old Färjestad goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. He's younger, he has similar size and higher upside.
Gustavsson had an eye-opening season and is the number one reason why FBK has clinched a spot in the finals. Gustavsson set a new playoff shutoff streak record (snapped in the decisive game of the semifinals). Through eight playoff games, he merely has an 0.48 goals against average, .979 save percentage and five shutouts.
Several NHL teams have been courting Gustavsson, so the Flyers wouldn't have been alone in their pursuit. I believe that his contract with FBK has a couple of seasons to run but (like most players) he has an NHL out-clause as long as it's exercised within a given time frame after the current season.
I wouldn't say that Gustavsson by any means is a shoo-in for NHL success, but I like his chances more than Backlund's.
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The newest installment of
Spectrum Memories is now online at Philadelphiaflyers.com. This time around, we take a look at
Dave Schultz's return to the Spectrum shortly after the Flyers traded "The Hammer" to the Los Angeles Kings.
In addition, my
recap of last night's 4-2 loss to the Panthers is also available in the Flyers' site.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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