A number of things stand out on the Flyers 5-game Western Canada road swing which sees the Flyers with 4 points after consecutive shootout wins.
Starters:
1) You have to go back to March of 2006 to find the last time the Flyers won two games in a row in a shootout.
Simple theory here. Ilya Bryzgalov was terrible in shootouts - 4-7 with the Flyers. The team has zero confidence in his ability to win one and it placed added pressure on the skaters to get a goal knowing they had to outscore someone b/c there would be no saves.
Steve Mason embodies confidence in the shootout. He allows his teammates to go out there relaxed thinking, "mace is going to shut them down, maybe one goal but we can get two."
Big difference.
2) Braydon Coburn. He was horrific with the puck in both Edmonton and Vancouver. Turnover in the first 32 seconds in Edmonton led to a Taylor Hall goal.
Two turnovers in the opening minutes against Vancouver where Mason had to deny Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins or it would have been 2-0.
Sad thing is, Coburn should have been -2 last night but instead it was Luke Schenn, who along with Andrej Meszaros, was brutal.
Coburn came into the game with 25 giveaways. Thing is, it may not rank in the top 60 but they have mostly been HUGE turnovers that led to quality scoring chances or goals. Too many in front of his own net.
The Flyers will not go far in the playoffs if the defense keeps handling the puck like it's a live grenade which is why - and I applaud this _ coach Craig Berube was livid after "stealing" 2 points in the Canucks' win.
Berube knows the defense has to tighten up. Coburn and Meszaros are terrible right now with the puck on their stick in their own end. Mark Streit is a much better play as the guy coming into the play from the back end without having to skate the puck out of his own end where his troubles usually begin.
I'm not sure how the Flyers can address the defense but GM Paul Holmgren needs to wake up and smell the espresso because only a MAJOR upgrade is going to help. The patchwork thing isn't working.
3) Claude Giroux. I think it is safe to say he has solidified his spot on Team Canada. He's had a great second quarter as we had to one-half mark of the season. He has become a team leader and is acting and playing like a captain.
When the chips have been down lately, Giroux has answered the call for his teammates. He is growing into his captaincy role after 2 seasons of struggling with the "C."
I will be joining the Flyers tomorrow in Denver as I had a few days where I tried my hand at in-studio analysis with John Boruk and Al Morganti. A lot of fun. But more difficult than writing about the team.
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