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Odds and ends through a Philadelphia lens |
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Defenseman Randy Jones is one Flyers player who has gotten little mention so far in the playoffs, but has quietly done an outstanding job. He's been calm and decisive, and he moved the puck efficiently. Several times last night, the Canadiens flipped the puck into his corner and attempted to pressure him into turnovers, and he handled the plays flawlessly. He also blocked seven shots (a series high for either club so far) and ate up 21:22 of ice time without a single giveaway.
I would not be surprised if Jaroslav Modry, who is slated to return from bereavement leave today, is back in the Flyers' lineup for Game Four in place of Lasse Kukkonen.
The fearless Finn has not played badly in this series (plus-two, nine blocked shots in three games) but has sometimes gotten away from his usually solid positional game and worried a little too much about looking for blocks and hits. He's also had a few failed clears that did not prove costly.
If it were my call, I wouldn't make any changes in the lineup right now, but I could easily see the Flyers wanting to get Modry involved again. If so, Lasse would be the odd man out once again.
*****
Vaclav Prospal has really struggled since the sixth game of the Capitals series, and has been shut down by Montreal with the exception of one good Game Two rush that Daniel Briere turned into a goal.
He's moving like he's wearing cement skates and needs to be much harder on the puck. One thing he did do well last night was win faceoffs (see below), but he needs to elevate his play.
Briere is doing his part, but right now Prospal is not.
*****
The Flyers won 58% of their faceoffs last night (33 for 57), largely thanks to Mike Richards going 12 for 21 and Daniel Briere and Vaclav Prospal combining to go 7 for 7. But there were still some trouble spots that need to be addressed.
On at least two offensive zone faceoffs last night, Montreal won the draw cleanly with a man stationed at the top of the circle. A bang-bang scoring chance resulted. This is how Alexei Kovalev scored the game-tying goal late in Game One, and is a recipe for disaster if it continues. The Flyers centers may be better off tying up their opponent on defensive zone draws and letting the wingers battle for the puck.
In addition, the Flyers were just 4 for 13 (31%) on draws last night in shorthanded situations, which is a big part of the reason why they were scrambling at times. The Flyers' PK units, however, did come up with a few clutch clears, and Martin Biron has been the team's best penalty killer.
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The Canadiens have expressed full support and confidence in goaltender Carey Price, but you could see some negative body language when the Mike Richards shorthanded goal got past the rookie goaltender.
Right now, every shot to Price's glove side is an adventure. It's dangerously close to becoming a mental block -- despite Price's laid-back demeanor, he's still a rookie and young goalies have notoriously fragile psyches. You know that the Flyers' strategy from here on out will be to test Price's glove at every opportunity.
During last night's pregame warmup, Montreal players tried to shoot glove side on Price to help him settle in. But at one point, four in a row either beat him or were juggled.
Price will be back out for Game Four, and his response to his struggles will tell you a lot about how the remainder of this series will play out.
*******
Tomas Plekanec scored the Habs first goal last night, but his line with the Kostitsyn brothers was the Habs' weakest at even strength. They were invisible most of the night and deserving of their minus-two defensively.
I also think that the Markov-Komisarek pairing (especially Komisarek) is capable of better play than it has displayed through much of the first three games. Lastly, Christopher Higgins has had all sorts of glorious chances but is clearly squeezing his stick into sawdust rather than just reacting.
I still don't think the Flyers have seen Montreal's best game yet. Say what you will about shots and chances, but when one team hasn't played with a lead for a single second of regulation after three games, there are adjustments that need to be made.
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As for all those Montreal shots and chances, playing on the powerplay for 13:00 minutes of game action will certainly pad those totals. Last night, just 41 minutes were played at even strength. Montreal had 11 minutes of 5-on-4 time, plus a two minute 5-on-3.
The second Downie penalty arose from a situation where no call was initially made on Steve Downie for tripping Price. When referees Marc Joannette (who made all but one of last night's calls, I believe) and Brad Watson sorted out the ensuing scrum behind the Montreal net, an extra tripping penalty was added onto the matching roughing minors on Downie, Derian Hatcher, Komisarek and Maxime Lapierre.
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Upon reply of the late first period scrum, it seemed clear that Price embellished the play when Downie came in.
Seconds earlier, Martin Biron had been bumped into and he tried to give it some "salesmanship." In the third period, Jaroslav Halak acted like he'd been mugged when Mike Richards barely brushed into him. Neither of those were called, and play continued.
I don't care which team does it -- it looks horrible. There's way too much embellishing and flat out diving that goes on leaguewide, and the goalies are often among the biggest offenders. But that goes for any player on the ice. Players give up their feet too easily these days and immediately look up at the ref.
During the Caps series, when Scott Hartnell played dead on a play, he deserved to get called out for it. Scottie Upshall got nailed for diving when he snapped his head back violently on a light push.
Unfortunately, all too often, diving still get rewarded by referees or, at worse, coincidental minors are called and the teams skate 4-on-4.
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Coveted free agent left winger Fabian Brunnström was a non-factor in the Swedish playoffs, scoring just one point (a goal) in 12 postseason games for Färjestad, and was a minus-five. He accomplished nothing offensively when faced with tight checking from Linköping in the semifinals and was guilty of several giveaways as he tried to force the play.
Brunnström did not make Sweden's preliminary roster for the World Championships. Less hyped free agent (former Colorado Avs draft pick) Linus Videll made the cut on the list issued April 25.
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The minority of morons in both Montreal and Philadelphia -- those who booed the other team's national anthem and generally behaved like baboons on crack -- are an embarassment to everyone else.
There should never be a tyranny of idiots in any building. If you've read Julie's blog today, I think she described the situation perfectly.
Despite what some of the lazier writers out there would have you believe ("I'm sure I can still get some mileage out of that Philadelphia fans booing Santa Claus reference"), it exists everywhere. Any time you mix a big crowd, a big event and booze, there will be some ugly behavior. It happens in Philadelphia, Washington, Montreal, Chicago, Prague, Moscow and everywhere in between.
About an hour after last night's game, I met up with a few diehard Flyers fans I know via the message boards. One of them told me that he had escorted a couple of young Habs fans through one of the concourses because they felt nervous to go by themselves. The Habs supporters probably would have been just fine, but didn't want to take any chances.
The good fans far outnumber the bozos. But it's up to the good fans to do their part to make sure the morons don't ruin it for everyone else.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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