He's been fine in the defensive zone. Uses his stick really well in the corners to poke the puck to the forward up the boards. His breakout passes are very accurate. - Trox88
Thank you! It's good to hear that he is doing well.
He could be a huge cornerstone of our franchise if he peaks
Thanks for the update!
Hayes looks like he WANTS to be bought out. Torts sounds like he wants to make a future captain out of TK. Looks like Torts' idea to send York down to get his game refined is paying off. He told the media as much too.
Hayes looks like he WANTS to be bought out. Torts sounds like he wants to make a future captain out of TK. - Phillywhiteout
I hope buy out is not an option. I don't expect this situation to get better over time. Retain 50% salary makes more sense then 6 yrs worth of cap charges. Hayes played 14 minutes and was on PP1. He played 3rd line minutes tonight.
The Flyers will never be lucky enough to get Bedard. After Bedard, which player would you like to see the Flyers end up with? Go for a Center/Winger that can actually put the puck in the net or best player available?
-Thors-Hammer
I want Fantilli, he's a center and has really good size already. He reminds me of Matthew Tkachuk.
Hayes looks like he WANTS to be bought out. Torts sounds like he wants to make a future captain out of TK. Looks like Torts' idea to send York down to get his game refined is paying off. He told the media as much too. - Phillywhiteout
Hey .. stop trying to make a rift between Hayes and Torts
Provorov and Ristolainen is such a weird pair. They look steady or at least fine until one of them slips up. Like, I don’t see very many “close calls” unless once screws up and the result is a goal. Ristolainen is definitely an upgrade over DeAngelo on that pair though. - SuperSchennBros
Even though Risto fell down on that 2nd Columbus goal, he had a positive night last night. You have to consider that Risto had only 30% osffesive zone starts and playing for a team that is poor on faceoffs, you are not going to have the puck much at least to start. Risto was able to generate some shot attempts for last night and thus his Corsi was above 50% and his relative Corsi was good considering his D Zone starts. I think its really important to understand what feeds into the metrics that are thrown on a player. Last night by the metrics, Risto had a good game, granted against a banged-up team.
Even though Risto fell down on that 2nd Columbus goal, he had a positive night last night. You have to consider that Risto had 70% defensive zone starts and playing for a team that is poor in faceoffs, you are not going to have the puck much at least to start. Risto was able to generate some shot attempts for last night and thus his Corsi was above 50% and his relative Corsi was good considering his D Zone starts. I think its really important to understand what feeds into the metrics that are thrown on a player. Last night by the metrics, Risto had a good game, granted against a banged-up team. - jd250
Zone start percentage is not an excuse. Top defenseman get heavy defensive zone start percentages all the time. Not saying that Ristolainen is a top defenseman. Obviously he is not. It's not that Ristolainen fell down on that goal. It's his read that is the issue and his complete lack of hockey sense. On the play, he's looking at 3 Blue Jacket players coming right at him. Instead of getting on his horse and retreating. He tries to lunge at the puck, losing his balance. The Flyers were playing a bottom feeder.
It's interesting though that you frequently have told others to put down the spread sheet and watch the game. Now you're using analytics and preaching to others that they have to understand what goes into the metrics.
By the way, Ristolainen had 29 shifts in the game last night. 5 of those shifts were defensive zone starts.
With Ristolainen on the ice, he was at 50% CF. SC% was 38% and HDSC% was 22%. His RelCF% was -5.71 although I don't think that's really a great stat.
Zone start percentage is not an excuse. Top defenseman get heavy defensive zone start percentages all the time. Not saying that Ristolainen is a top defenseman. Obviously he is not. It's not that Ristolainen fell down on that goal. It's his read that is the issue and his complete lack of hockey sense. On the play, he's looking at 3 Blue Jacket players coming right at him. Instead of getting on his horse and retreating. He tries to lunge at the puck, losing his balance. The Flyers were playing a bottom feeder.
It's interesting though that you frequently have told others to put down the spread sheet and watch the game. Now you're using analytics and preaching to others that they have to understand what goes into the metrics.
By the way, Ristolainen had 29 shifts in the game last night. 5 of those shifts were defensive zone starts.
With Ristolainen on the ice, he was at 50% CF. SC% was 38% and HDSC% was 22%. His RelCF% was -5.71 although I don't think that's really a great stat. - MJL
Last night Risto had 9 defensive zone starts and overall his OZS% was 30%. Having a slightly negative RelCF% is really good for a player playing for this team. My only point here was to follow up on the discussion we had earlier about Risto, where I mentioned that Risto's lack of offense has really hurt his underlying metrics, and that he was actually playing better defensively than he has in the past. Last night Risto was even with CFF and CFA events which means he helped generate some offense while he was on the ice, albeit against an injured team.
Torts seems happy with Risto's play and overall I think he is better defensively than he was. You will get no debate from me in terms of his Hockey IQ, which is in single digits. However because of Fletcher's blunder, the Flyers are stuck with him and thus Torts is trying to get the most out of the player and I think he has. Torts and Shaw are trying to rebuild Risto's game from the ground up and I still believe as Risto gets more comfortable with what is expected from him (and Torts reiterated last night that he is happy with his play) his offense will come. I agree he will never be a top pairing defenseman, but for the money he is making, he needs to be a solid top 4 defenseman. I think he is on the road to getting there and if he does, Torts and Shaw deserve a lot of credit.
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY Joined: 05.05.2011
Dec 21 @ 8:35 AM ET
Even though Risto fell down on that 2nd Columbus goal, he had a positive night last night. You have to consider that Risto had only 30% osffesive zone starts and playing for a team that is poor on faceoffs, you are not going to have the puck much at least to start. Risto was able to generate some shot attempts for last night and thus his Corsi was above 50% and his relative Corsi was good considering his D Zone starts. I think its really important to understand what feeds into the metrics that are thrown on a player. Last night by the metrics, Risto had a good game, granted against a banged-up team. - jd250
Do not make excuses for him. This is a path I promise you do not want to take.
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY Joined: 05.05.2011
Dec 21 @ 8:37 AM ET
Zone start percentage is not an excuse. Top defenseman get heavy defensive zone start percentages all the time. Not saying that Ristolainen is a top defenseman. Obviously he is not. It's not that Ristolainen fell down on that goal. It's his read that is the issue and his complete lack of hockey sense. On the play, he's looking at 3 Blue Jacket players coming right at him. Instead of getting on his horse and retreating. He tries to lunge at the puck, losing his balance. The Flyers were playing a bottom feeder.
It's interesting though that you frequently have told others to put down the spread sheet and watch the game. Now you're using analytics and preaching to others that they have to understand what goes into the metrics.
By the way, Ristolainen had 29 shifts in the game last night. 5 of those shifts were defensive zone starts.
With Ristolainen on the ice, he was at 50% CF. SC% was 38% and HDSC% was 22%. His RelCF% was -5.71 although I don't think that's really a great stat. - MJL
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY Joined: 05.05.2011
Dec 21 @ 8:48 AM ET
Torts has a point about Hayes' defensive liability.
His past 4 seasons, xEVD/60:
-0.043
-0.087
-0.308
-0.335 - currently
What's kinda funny is that his even strength offense has never been better for the Flyers. His xGAR/60 is not nearly as bad as it was last year either.
Hayes, Tippett and Konecny are the worst defensive forwards on the team at this point. But considering Konecny's grit and more importantly, his offensive drive... he'll never sit.
Last night Risto had 9 defensive zone starts and overall his OZS% was 30%. Having a slightly negative RelCF% is really good for a player playing for this team. My only point here was to follow up on the discussion we had earlier about Risto, where I mentioned that Risto's lack of offense has really hurt his underlying metrics, and that he was actually playing better defensively than he has in the past. Last night Risto was even with CFF and CFA events which means he helped generate some offense while he was on the ice, albeit against an injured team.
Torts seems happy with Risto's play and overall I think he is better defensively than he was. You will get no debate from me in terms of his Hockey IQ, which is in single digits. However because of Fletcher's blunder, the Flyers are stuck with him and thus Torts is trying to get the most out of the player and I think he has. Torts and Shaw are trying to rebuild Risto's game from the ground up and I still believe as Risto gets more comfortable with what is expected from him (and Torts reiterated last night that he is happy with his play) his offense will come. I agree he will never be a top pairing defenseman, but for the money he is making, he needs to be a solid top 4 defenseman. I think he is on the road to getting there and if he does, Torts and Shaw deserve a lot of credit. - jd250
He had 5 defensive zone starts out of 29 total shifts.
Give me some evidence that he is playing better defensively. There is no rebuilding or fixing of Ristolainen's game. He is a 3rd pair defenseman at this point that is vastly overpaid. This is the same tired argument for Ristolainen that you have used over and over. This is his 10th NHL season I believe. He is in decline.
He had 5 defensive zone starts out of 29 total shifts.
Give me some evidence that he is playing better defensively. There is no rebuilding or fixing of Ristolainen's game. He is a 3rd pair defenseman at this point that is vastly overpaid. This is the same tired argument for Ristolainen that you have used over and over. This is his 10th NHL season I believe. He is in decline. - MJL
Ironically enough Risto is having his best defensive season to date. It's not good by any standard, but for him it is. Until this season, he has NEVER had a positive xDEF/60 rate.
On a side note, for those with ESPN+, have any of you experienced interruptions? While my desktop is getting old, I haven't experienced the same issues with any other streaming services. This has been the last three weeks or so. - GeorgeBailey
They time out to make sure you're still watching. NFL does the same with their streams.
