For several weeks now, Jeff Carter has been Mr. Mumbles around the media.
"It's not you guys, he's upset with himself," one of the Flyers told me this afternoon at Skate Zone as the Flyers prepared for Game 3 on Sunday night.
Carter never has much to say, anyway, but lately, he's been giving one or two word answers to questions about himself and his injured left foot.
Not today.
Anyone who has seen Carter since returned to the Flyers' lineup after missing three weeks recognizes his foot fracture is still bothering him. Though Carter didn't use the foot as an excuse, he said more than a few words today and gave an honest assessment of himself when I pressed him at practice.
“Obviously, I’m frustrated,” Carter told me. “I mean, guys battle their asses off to get into the playoffs and I come back and obviously, I’m not playing the way I want to. So, yeah, definitely frustrated.”
He has 6 shots in this series and is -3. I totally disagreed with coach Peter Laviolette on a couple of things today and one of them was Carter. I don't think he had quality chances in Game 2. In fact, Ian Laperriere's one shot was better than any of the five Carter took.
Carter said was "frustrated" with himself and the fact his hands continue to be farther behind the rest of his game in getting back into any kind of groove.
Playoffs bring out the best and the worst in players. Carter had one goal in six games last year and has just 7 goals in 29 games for his career. He might have had a 40-goal year in the NHL last season but he has not shown himself to be a playoff guy.
Carter needs to fight through the foot pain and get going. If Zach Parise gets hot and starts to take over this series, the Flyers are finished. Parise has been a factor in games. Carter needs to become a factor in games along with Danny Briere
On the same tangent, I disagreed with Laviolette's assessment that taking James van Riemsdyk off Claude Giroux's line didn't hurt the FLyers. It killed them. That line was the only one with any chemistry and offense in the second period. Laviolette said the Hartnell Monster played well w/Giroux. I thought just the opposite.
Lotta fans are wondering when Scott Hartnell sits and Ville Leino plays. My answer? No this series. The coaches are willing to risk mindless penalties and wandering decisions by Hartnell on the ice as a fair tradeoff for his physical style which the Flyers need against the Devils.
I would disagree again with Laviolette here. I'd rather see more skill in these 2 home games. But Hartnell is not coming out of the lineup. The only guy we think who is, is defenseman Oskars Bartulis.
Looks like Lukas Krajicek will replace him and be paired with Ryan Parent for Game 3.
Here's my story on CSNPhilly.com:
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