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Headphoneus Supremus
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- Mar 25, 2005
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There are three things that have really crippled the Flyers this season: (1) injuries, (2) inexperienced and slow defense, and (3) special teams play.
The injury problem is self-evident if you look at the number of man-games that the Flyers lost this season. It's really somewhat surprising that they managed to stay as competitive as they did. Most significant to the Flyers' chances in the playoffs is the loss of Keith Primeau and the leadership he brings to the team. He has almost single-handedly revived the Flyers when they behind in playoff series in recent years.
The Flyers defense is not well-suited for today's NHL. Injuries play a factor here, too, as the Flyers really miss Kim Johnnson for his ability to move the puck on defense. I'm so tired of seeing Eric Desjardin take a pass and spend about 3 seconds turning his entire body before he finally releases the shot. (On the bright side, at least injuries have prevented us from having to watch Chris "Bundy" Therien, who has perhaps the slowest release in the history of the National Hockey League.)
With respect to special teams, the Flyers are an enigma. They have guys who should be able to put the puck in the net. Yet they have a power play system that hasn't changed one bit since the beginning of the season, even though it hasn't been effective since about the third week of the season. (Note: moving Sami Kapanen to the point is NOT a change in the power play system.) It relies on Forsberg or Nedved to quarterback the power play from the half boards. They try to cycle the puck from the half boards to collapse the defense and then either work the puck to the point for a quick shot (which doesn't work, see point number 1 above) or try for a cross ice pass. They have no presence in the slot on the power play, and so while they often dominate in attack zone time, they generate far too few quality scoring chances. Their penalty kill, on the other hand, is the most passive that I can ever remember seeing it.
This Flyers team has some talent, and a really strong, young core, but they just don't have all of the pieces in place to compete this year. That said, I think that they will come out strong tonight at home. However, assuming that they force a game 7 in Buffalo, I haven't seen much so far that would lead me to believe that the Flyers can win that game.
The injury problem is self-evident if you look at the number of man-games that the Flyers lost this season. It's really somewhat surprising that they managed to stay as competitive as they did. Most significant to the Flyers' chances in the playoffs is the loss of Keith Primeau and the leadership he brings to the team. He has almost single-handedly revived the Flyers when they behind in playoff series in recent years.
The Flyers defense is not well-suited for today's NHL. Injuries play a factor here, too, as the Flyers really miss Kim Johnnson for his ability to move the puck on defense. I'm so tired of seeing Eric Desjardin take a pass and spend about 3 seconds turning his entire body before he finally releases the shot. (On the bright side, at least injuries have prevented us from having to watch Chris "Bundy" Therien, who has perhaps the slowest release in the history of the National Hockey League.)
With respect to special teams, the Flyers are an enigma. They have guys who should be able to put the puck in the net. Yet they have a power play system that hasn't changed one bit since the beginning of the season, even though it hasn't been effective since about the third week of the season. (Note: moving Sami Kapanen to the point is NOT a change in the power play system.) It relies on Forsberg or Nedved to quarterback the power play from the half boards. They try to cycle the puck from the half boards to collapse the defense and then either work the puck to the point for a quick shot (which doesn't work, see point number 1 above) or try for a cross ice pass. They have no presence in the slot on the power play, and so while they often dominate in attack zone time, they generate far too few quality scoring chances. Their penalty kill, on the other hand, is the most passive that I can ever remember seeing it.
This Flyers team has some talent, and a really strong, young core, but they just don't have all of the pieces in place to compete this year. That said, I think that they will come out strong tonight at home. However, assuming that they force a game 7 in Buffalo, I haven't seen much so far that would lead me to believe that the Flyers can win that game.
