In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, beat writer Sam Carchidi compiled a
list of 10 questions surrounding the team at the start of training camp. In addition to the questions Sam listed, I think there are at least three more major issues the team needs to resolve this season in order to better last year's performance.
1. Will the team reduce the number of bad penalties it takes?
Balancing aggressive play with discipline is an issue that John Stevens has discussed many times during his two-plus seasons as Flyers' head coach. Nevertheless, the message hasn't sunk in, and it's dubious whether the current roster will be able to avoid the types of penalties that can derail a club's momentum in important games.
For all the good things they bring to a club, neither Scott Hartnell nor new addition Chris Pronger have ever been able to keep their emotions in check enough to avoid gratuitous penalties in situations where the club can't afford to play shorthanded. Ditto new addition Ian Laperriere. Meanwhile, Dan Carcillo needs to make sure he takes someone else off with him as often as possible. When he gets in the lineup, seventh defenseman Ole Tollefsen needs to show some smarts as well as toughness -- something that has eluded him thus far in his career.
With the departure of Mike Knuble and last season's trade of Scottie Upshall, Daniel Briere becomes the Flyers' regular who is the most likely to take an offensive zone penalty. With Knuble, the penalties were often of the interference, holding or hooking variety, and somewhat unavoidable given his role on the club. With Briere, the penalties are often of the slashing or high-sticking variety as he tries to prevent opponents from taking liberties on him due to his diminutive size.
Regardless of the reason for the infraction, the club needs to make a bigger priority out of cutting down the number of penalties that don't involve an opposing scoring chance or standing up for a teammate.
2. Will the club reduce the number of failed clears and turnovers from the defensive dots to the offensive blueline?
Over the course of the last two seasons, the Flyers have had several key games in which they've gotten off to a fine start only to see themselves shoot themselves in the foot through ill-timed turnovers. This has been a particular problem when the Flyers play either the Penguins (who create enough offense of their own without help) or the Devils (still one of the most opportunistic clubs in the East).
Even when such plays do not result in an opposition goal, the usual result is an extended shift in the defensive zone, a penalty or an eventual icing. The league's top defensive clubs minimize these situations. In recent seasons, the Flyers have not.
3. Will the team improve its faceoff performance?
In the mid-1990s, Flyers fans became spoiled by the likes of Eric Lindros, Rod Brind'Amour and Joel Otto when it came to faceoffs. A little later, the club knew it could rely on Keith Primeau to win most of his key draws. The current team lacks a dominant faceoff man.
Jeff Carter is an enigma as a faceoff man. With his size and quick hands, he should be much more consistent in the faceoff circle. After a slow start last season, Mike Richards came on but will still not be confused with Bobby Clarke. Newly arrived Ian Laperriere should help but he's no panacea, either. Converted winger Claude Giroux and Briere need to hold their own on drawns but it's not realistic to expect them to dominate.
That said, faceoffs aren't just the responsibility of the center. The other players on the ice need to help out and win the scrums for the puck in the frequent situations in which neither draw man can win the faceoff cleanly. That's another area where the Flyers have come up a little short in recent years.
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I really enjoyed working with Steve Kolbe and Mike Vogel on the broadcast of yesterday's prospects game between the Flyers and Capitals. Steve's play-by-play made things easy on a broadcasting novice such as myself and I really enjoyed talking hockey with Mike and
Steve, both on and off the air.
As far as the game itself went, everyone was buzzing about the dazzling four-goal performance of the Flyers' James van Riemsdyk. He scored gritty goals. He scored pretty goals. He had a spectacular assist. He was also strong away from the puck and in the corners.
Other game-long standouts on the Flyers side included Kevin Marshall, Zac Rinaldo, defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori and tryout forward Tomas Sinisalo. After a rough start, goalie Jacob DeSerres was impressive in relief of Adam Morrison.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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