Im not "artificially lowering" my expectations of Bryz. I think that over the better part of a month he has been very strong.. He has let in a few weak ones still, but he hasnt been terrible. A lot of times tracking the puck is a matter of getting in a position to see the puck.. and I feel as though he did that. Typically when a goalie struggles to control rebounds it is because he is late to react.. which is normally what happens when they struggle to track the puck. My point was that the defense did a lot of standing around in front of the net last night. Either get there and block a shot, or GTFO of the goalies way. Clear the net.
- jak521

If people want to fault him for his team mates setting up Eberle for a perfect scoring chance fine. Otherwise he was pretty good last night and if that is what we get out of him the rest of the way we're in good shape.

It's perception. If someone wants to call it a building block, so be it. Whatever it takes to get him right.
- bradleyc4

It's a step on the path. He was battling, the puck stayed out and he made quite a few big stops. The second goal was probably stoppable, but it wasn't exactly a softie, and he didn't allow anything after it, which does indicate that a "questionable" goal isn't sitting in his head.

Amazingly, I saw a stat this morning. Bryzgalov is 8 of 9 on stopping penalty shots. That should be translating into shootouts somehow.

Dreger Twitter on Dustin Brown:

A quality young d-man and solid secondary scorer part of what might land Brown. He's worth it. #TradeCentre

Too rich for my blood
- hereticpride

brown in and of himself is a solid secondary scorer.

brown in and of himself is a solid secondary scorer.
- OrangeBlack27

I think the d-man is the key to a deal for Brown.

I think the d-man is the key to a deal for Brown.
- bradleyc4

It could be, but LA does have some good kids in the pipeline. It'd be interesting if the Flyers could land him. I wonder if he'd have a Simmonds like spike in production.

brown in and of himself is a solid secondary scorer.
- OrangeBlack27

which we have enough of.

brown in and of himself is a solid secondary scorer.
- OrangeBlack27

I would see if it were possible to upgrade Voracek to Brown if the price was right(Gus)... but it sounds like it'd cost Carle if not a 1st. No thanks.

It could be, but LA does have some good kids in the pipeline. It'd be interesting if the Flyers could land him. I wonder if he'd have a Simmonds like spike in production.
- Jsaquella

I don't think the Flyers have the defenseman to deal to make a trade happen. This has Brian Burke written all over it.

/sarcasm
- phi1671

I'm a little slow this morning after a late night watching the game!

I don't think the Flyers have the defenseman to deal to make a trade happen. This has Brian Burke written all over it.
- bradleyc4

Toronto is definitely a much more likely spot. Leafs and Kings match better as trade partners, at least on paper.

Fire Stevens
Trade Carter
Start the back-up goalie.....

F*#@ I forgot I cant use those excuses anymore....i guess i need to be an LA fan now to use those

I don't think the Flyers have the defenseman to deal to make a trade happen. This has Brian Burke written all over it.
- bradleyc4

You're right. Schenn + would be a great deal for Toronto to make. I think LA would go for it too.

Wow. I am sooooooooooo glad I stayed up late last night to watch the entirety of that complete garbage effort. BTW, that had to be the quietest stadium I have ever heard... and it was full. A quarter full Nassau stadium was way louder than that.

bill, thoughts on cartsy to LA?
- OrangeBlack27

1) The Blue Jackets almost HAD to move Carter because things weren't going to get better with him being so unhappy and ill-matched to playing with Nash.

2) We'll see how well it works out to have Richards and Carter back together again. I would have to think that Richards had input on the move, and assured management it wouldn't create headaches. It's a very risky move for both sides, and Dean Lombardi will pay with his job (and may not be an NHL GM again for a long, long time) if this one backfires.

3) Strictly from a hockey standpoint, I think Carter will do just fine in LA if he stays healthy. For all the criticisms he's taken -- some fair, some unfair -- he is still capable of scoring goals in bunches when he gets hot.

4) Jack Johnson could very well compile a staggering minus rating the rest of this season and next season in Columbus.

[quote=GoFlyersGoSlovakia]were you with one of those blondes they showed on CSN last night?

Ha Ha I wish!

I think the d-man is the key to a deal for Brown.
- bradleyc4

Flyers really don't have that to offer. All of their D except Coburn (whom I would not trade for Brown despite Coby's habitual hot-and-cold defensive stretches) are either impending UFAs and/or aging. I doubt there's enough interest in Gus or MAB to make it happen.

I would like to have Brown on the the Flyers, though. There have been rumblings that he and Richards have battled for control of the locker room and that has been part of the problem in LA. I always take those things with a grain of salt, being far removed from what is actually going on.

Flyers really don't have that to offer. All of their D except Coburn (whom I would not trade for Brown despite Coby's habitual hot-and-cold defensive stretches) are either impending UFAs and/or aging. I doubt there's enough interest in Gus or MAB to make it happen.

I would like to have Brown on the the Flyers, though. There have been rumblings that he and Richards have battled for control of the locker room and that has been part of the problem in LA. I always take those things with a grain of salt, being far removed from what is actually going on.
- bmeltzer

I wonder if, with the promotion of Voynov, if a defenseman is really that paramount to a Brown trade.

Is it fair to ask if this team has started to tune the coach out? This is now a staggering 18 games without consecutive wins, throw in the fact they can't beat an egg at home.

This team was first in the Conference around Christmas time, (granted playing above expectations) but they are a bad weekend away from going from # 1 to # 7 in the course of two months. WTF is going on? I guess the easy answer is the goaltending has sucked (it didn't last night) but there are a lot of things that are very concerning right now.

1) The Blue Jackets almost HAD to move Carter because things weren't going to get better with him being so unhappy and ill-matched to playing with Nash.

2) We'll see how well it works out to have Richards and Carter back together again. I would have to think that Richards had input on the move, and assured management it wouldn't create headaches. It's a very risky move for both sides, and Dean Lombardi will pay with his job (and may not be an NHL GM again for a long, long time) if this one backfires.

3) Strictly from a hockey standpoint, I think Carter will do just fine in LA if he stays healthy. For all the criticisms he's taken -- some fair, some unfair -- he is still capable of scoring goals in bunches when he gets hot.

4) Jack Johnson could very well compile a staggering minus rating the rest of this season and next season in Columbus.
- bmeltzer

I'm willing to bury the hatchet with Ritchie and Carter. I think the move was bad for LA and made a couple jokes on twitter about it but they gave us some good memories and I will try to root for those two guys out there.

I would see if it were possible to upgrade Voracek to Brown if the price was right(Gus)... but it sounds like it'd cost Carle if not a 1st. No thanks.
- hereticpride

I would not trade Voracek, in fact I would try to resign him as he was flying last night, he was by far the Flyers best player last night and created lots of chances by his skating alone

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: 2/24/12
- bmeltzer

they sucked last night, in virtually every category, except goaltending. these post- ASG nose-dives have become more than irritating. to get shutout by a last place team with a backup goalie is unacceptable.

Flyers really don't have that to offer. All of their D except Coburn (whom I would not trade for Brown despite Coby's habitual hot-and-cold defensive stretches) are either impending UFAs and/or aging. I doubt there's enough interest in Gus or MAB to make it happen.

I would like to have Brown on the the Flyers, though. There have been rumblings that he and Richards have battled for control of the locker room and that has been part of the problem in LA. I always take those things with a grain of salt, being far removed from what is actually going on.
- bmeltzer

I thought Richards was a very quite guy? From reports in Philly he was a lead by example player on the ice and didnt say much in the locker room. Maybe I have been misinformed.

Is it fair to ask if this team has started to tune the coach out? This is now a staggering 18 games without consecutive wins, throw in the fact they can't beat an egg at home.

This team was first in the Conference around Christmas time, (granted playing above expectations) but they are a bad weekend away from going from # 1 to # 7 in the course of two months. WTF is going on? I guess the easy answer is the goaltending has sucked (it didn't last night) but there are a lot of things that are very concerning right now.
- PLindbergh31

Maybe it's just one of those things a team can go through sometimes. Vancouver and Boston went through it early on this year. I think Detroit had a bad spell to early on. Either way within the next month they need to get it together or they might not even be in the playoffs.

Is it fair to ask if this team has started to tune the coach out? This is now a staggering 18 games without consecutive wins, throw in the fact they can't beat an egg at home.

This team was first in the Conference around Christmas time, (granted playing above expectations) but they are a bad weekend away from going from # 1 to # 7 in the course of two months. WTF is going on? I guess the easy answer is the goaltending has sucked (it didn't last night) but there are a lot of things that are very concerning right now.
- PLindbergh31

Yes it is fair. I was discussing this on twitter last night. Laviolette has made some questionable calls, and really hasn't made adjustments that have helped to stem the tide of mistakes on defense.

Is it fair to ask if this team has started to tune the coach out? This is now a staggering 18 games without consecutive wins, throw in the fact they can't beat an egg at home.

This team was first in the Conference around Christmas time, (granted playing above expectations) but they are a bad weekend away from going from # 1 to # 7 in the course of two months. WTF is going on? I guess the easy answer is the goaltending has sucked (it didn't last night) but there are a lot of things that are very concerning right now.
- PLindbergh31

I think the goaltending has taken most of the blame all season but when you watch the play of the Flyers last night they were outworked in every aspect of the game. Flyers gave up too many scoring chances and the PK still looks terrible.