And now it's official. The Flyers death march concluded last night, in a game that looked pretty much like the previous 3. I'll save my broader comments on the season for another post, but it was disappointing to see the Flyers fall so flatly this round.
I always had deep doubts about the transferability of the Penguins result. As I have said previously, that was a series of passion and the Flyers should simply forget it ever happened. The Penguins are a better team than the Devils, but the Penguins-Flyers series was a rivalry that created a unique series that was an exception to what was happening around the league.
While a letdown is not surprising, an effective collapse by the Flyers was. Twice in six regular season meetings the Devils handily controlled the Flyers, but to do it 4 times in a row? I did not imagine that could happen.
It's most disappointing to me that the Flyers completely failed to adjust to the Devils game plan. By game 5, they clearly had no ideas, and the Devils continued to own the puck, control the center of the ice, and dominate on the boards. At this point, I'm not sure how blame much falls on the players, and how much falls on the coaches.
The Devils forecheck continued to bedevil the Flyers (har har har), but the domination went beyond that. For instance, the Flyers PP, which utterly demolished the Penguins, was 3/19 against the Devils. That has nothing to do with the Devils even strength forecheck. Furthermore, in this series with a 3rd period lead, the Devils would change their forecheck and play more of a trap. The Flyers could not beat that either, as evidenced by their feeble 3rd period effort last night with their season on the line and nothing to lose.
At least with the Flyers out, I am free to cancel cable for the summer...
Notes:
-Spare me the finger pointing at Bryzgalov. There is no defending the game winning goal last night, but on the whole, he was the Flyers best player this series by a large margin. He didn't singlehandedly win a game, but the Devils were the far superior team in games 2 and 4 and Bryz played excellent games to keep the result in doubt until the 3rd period.
I'm pretty sure all hockey writers have a pre-written template for an article "Goaltending Fails the Flyers Again" with blank spaces for the name of the goalie. Those articles will pop up again. Ignore them. And before you say good goalies simply don't do what Bryz did last night, consider that Brodeur directly caused a goal in game 1 by passing the puck right up the center of the ice where Schenn intercepted it, and again turned over the puck to Schenn last night while still behind the goal, but Briere hit the post on a wide open net. The only difference between Bryzgalov's turnover and Brodeur's last night was luck.
-Rinaldo instantly made his presence felt this game, sparking the Flyers physical game early with a devastating hit on Volchenkov. As the game carried on, Rinaldo became irrelevant however, and he took a bad penalty.
-Another disappointing night for JVR, topped off with a particularly bad sequence. He had the puck with time and space behind the Devils net, but was stripped of the puck, and took a terrible offensive zone penalty while trying to backcheck. Kovalchuck would ice the series 4 seconds into that PP.
-Good for Talbot last night, as he was one of the few flyers that was johnny-on-the-spot on the puck, and his forechecking in the corner started a sequence of events that he would also finish to score the game's first goal.
-The team that scored first was 0-5 this series. The team that scored first was 1-5 last series. Hard to believe...
-Brief playoff performance recaps;
-Thumbs up: Briere (8 goals and 13 points), Giroux (17 points), Voracek (10 points), Schenn (9 points), Talbot (6 points, best +/- on team), Couturier, Coburn (played huge minutes), Grossmann (until getting injured), Gustafsson
-Thumbs down: Carle, Simmonds, Read (didn't get much ice time), JVR, Kubina (injured? either way wasn't there for the team)
-Meh: Hartnell (injured?), Jagr (injured?), Timonen (injured?), Bryzgalov, Lilja, Wellwood, Rinaldo
Opinions on NHL topics of the moment, but mostly on the Flyers.
Showing posts with label brodeur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brodeur. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Devils Game 4 Review
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Flyers may not be officially eliminated, but it would take a miracle. 3-1 comebacks are quite rare, and the Devils dominated game 2 and 4. It's very hard to envision the Flyers mounting any comeback of consequence. Maybe I'll give them a 1-in-3 chance of winning game 5, mainly because I have tickets to the game and I don't want to feel like I wasted my money.
The Devils have completely swarmed the Flyers. Game 1 started off this way, but everyone wrote it off due the Devils being sharp and the Flyers waking up from the week-long layoff. Instead, that trend has accelerated.
I feel like there's a "chicken and the egg" scenario at play. The Devils forecheck has overwhelmed the Flyers, and now they look confused and are being completely outskated. Which came first? The overwhelming forecheck making the Flyers look slow, or the Flyers simply didn't have jump which allowed the Devils to forecheck so effectively?
I think it's probably the tactics. The Flyers forwards try to leave the zone so quickly, as they have all year, but the Devils have successfully pressured the Flyers defensemen. Without the time or ability to find the forwards, the defensemen keep playing the puck to empty space, and the Devils get there first.
At the same time, I don't discount the Flyers mental let-down from beating Pittsburgh. They put so much energy and passion into this series, it was like they couldn't get up for this series mentally. The situation was ripe for a letdown, and the Flyers fan base was certainly lulled into a false sense of security--"we killed the mighty Pens, so we'll crush the Devils easily." Admittedly, I didn't think a letdown would become a total disintegration like we are seeing though.
The Flyers look confused and tentative, and Laviolette probably does not have some magic elixir up his sleeve. The Devils might put them out of their misery pretty quick.
Notes:
-An up and down night for Giroux. He scored a nice shorthanded goal, allaying my fears that the rumors of his bad groin would prevent him from bursts of speed. After scoring however, he was more interested in barking at the ref than anything else. It was a bad sign, indicating his emotions were getting away from him.
Later, after the officials blew a call on Brodeur for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, Giroux again assailed the officials, then took out his frustration with a dirty check to Zubrus's head. This was pretty much the type of headshot for which I roasted Malkin and Neal. Late, opportunistic headhunting. If it was my NHL, Giroux would be suspended. As it is, given that Giroux didn't make an egregiously illegal hit by leaving his feet or throwing an elbow, has no prior history, and Zubrus wasn't hurt, I suspect all we'll see is a fine.
-Speaking of Brodeur, his special treatment from the refs continues. The interference call on Hartnell was blatantly wrong, as Hartnell was clearly checked into him, and at mild contact Brodeur wildly kicked his legs and threw his arms around. He also dodged a penalty for handling the puck. That's 3 games in a row where Brodeur has drawn a penalty on the Flyers when there simply wasn't much (or anything at all) there. [JVR called for slashing in Game 2 when going for a loose puck, Schenn makes slight skate-to-skate contact and Broduer flops in game 3].
-The Flyers' lines are all mixed up. Couturier played, but barely. This broke up his checking line with Wellwood and Talbot, so Wellwood also barely played. I do support Laviolette's decision to break up the Jagr-Giroux-Hartnell. Whether it's injuries or whatever, their not playing well individually or collectively.
-Regarding Bryzgalov, anyone who tries to pin this debacle on the goaltending is an idiot. The Flyers were dominated in games 2 and 4, but the game was close to the end because of Bryzgalov. I don't like how he threw up his hands after the Devils' 3rd goal last night though, even if it was shockingly bad coverage. For once the Flyers can reflect on their playoff run and don't need to ask themselves how they were sabotaged by goaltending.
The Devils have completely swarmed the Flyers. Game 1 started off this way, but everyone wrote it off due the Devils being sharp and the Flyers waking up from the week-long layoff. Instead, that trend has accelerated.
I feel like there's a "chicken and the egg" scenario at play. The Devils forecheck has overwhelmed the Flyers, and now they look confused and are being completely outskated. Which came first? The overwhelming forecheck making the Flyers look slow, or the Flyers simply didn't have jump which allowed the Devils to forecheck so effectively?
I think it's probably the tactics. The Flyers forwards try to leave the zone so quickly, as they have all year, but the Devils have successfully pressured the Flyers defensemen. Without the time or ability to find the forwards, the defensemen keep playing the puck to empty space, and the Devils get there first.
At the same time, I don't discount the Flyers mental let-down from beating Pittsburgh. They put so much energy and passion into this series, it was like they couldn't get up for this series mentally. The situation was ripe for a letdown, and the Flyers fan base was certainly lulled into a false sense of security--"we killed the mighty Pens, so we'll crush the Devils easily." Admittedly, I didn't think a letdown would become a total disintegration like we are seeing though.
The Flyers look confused and tentative, and Laviolette probably does not have some magic elixir up his sleeve. The Devils might put them out of their misery pretty quick.
Notes:
-An up and down night for Giroux. He scored a nice shorthanded goal, allaying my fears that the rumors of his bad groin would prevent him from bursts of speed. After scoring however, he was more interested in barking at the ref than anything else. It was a bad sign, indicating his emotions were getting away from him.
Later, after the officials blew a call on Brodeur for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, Giroux again assailed the officials, then took out his frustration with a dirty check to Zubrus's head. This was pretty much the type of headshot for which I roasted Malkin and Neal. Late, opportunistic headhunting. If it was my NHL, Giroux would be suspended. As it is, given that Giroux didn't make an egregiously illegal hit by leaving his feet or throwing an elbow, has no prior history, and Zubrus wasn't hurt, I suspect all we'll see is a fine.
-Speaking of Brodeur, his special treatment from the refs continues. The interference call on Hartnell was blatantly wrong, as Hartnell was clearly checked into him, and at mild contact Brodeur wildly kicked his legs and threw his arms around. He also dodged a penalty for handling the puck. That's 3 games in a row where Brodeur has drawn a penalty on the Flyers when there simply wasn't much (or anything at all) there. [JVR called for slashing in Game 2 when going for a loose puck, Schenn makes slight skate-to-skate contact and Broduer flops in game 3].
-The Flyers' lines are all mixed up. Couturier played, but barely. This broke up his checking line with Wellwood and Talbot, so Wellwood also barely played. I do support Laviolette's decision to break up the Jagr-Giroux-Hartnell. Whether it's injuries or whatever, their not playing well individually or collectively.
-Regarding Bryzgalov, anyone who tries to pin this debacle on the goaltending is an idiot. The Flyers were dominated in games 2 and 4, but the game was close to the end because of Bryzgalov. I don't like how he threw up his hands after the Devils' 3rd goal last night though, even if it was shockingly bad coverage. For once the Flyers can reflect on their playoff run and don't need to ask themselves how they were sabotaged by goaltending.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Devils Game 3 Review
The margin of error is now officially gone for the Flyers, and they face a virtual must-win on Sunday.
It was the most evenly played game of the series, and the result was in a precarious balance throughout. The Devils appeared to be playing with more desire and purpose, and were deserved winners.
This year's Flyers squad has experienced more than their share of ups and downs. They seem unstoppable one game, and completely incompetent the next. I think many fooled themselves that, after beating the mighty Pens, the Flyers had turned a corner and become a different, more powerful team. Truthfully, the Flyers were still the same team---often irresistible on offense but terribly inconsistent and inattentive.
The Devils were a much trickier match-up than people wanted to acknowledge. Now the Flyers have to start skating and banging again, as the Devils are simply playing with much more jump.
The time for jumping off a bridge has not yet come. This is a remarkably resilient team, so let's see how they do in Game 4. Nothing is too big for this team to accomplish.
Notes:
-It's time for Claude Giroux to re-assert himself. He's allowed to have bad games, but he and his line have not mounted consistent threats. The Flyers need him again. It may also be time to completely change his linemates.
-Brodeur has the officials eating out of his hand. His complaints about the game 1 winner being goaltender interference, a claim completely without merit, has led to a very quick whistle or penalties every time the Flyers get near him. The Schenn interference penalty was completely overblown contact, though I won't complain too much because the Flyers were only on a powerplay due to an erroneous call on Kovalchuk for shooting the puck out of play. Conversely, Kovalchuk rung a potential game winner off the post on a play where a Devil lost his edge and interfered with Bryzgalov. Clearly there are different standards for each goalie.
-The Devils continue to outskate the Flyers, and Parise in a particular had a rocket up his ass last night. If the Flyers don't match the Devils jump, they will not win.
-The Flyers power play is playing incredibly loose and careless. Most of their problem against the Devils is in gaining the zone, something they accomplished easily against the Pens. Still, clarity of purpose has been lacking in all aspects of their game, and nowhere is this more clear than on the PP. Additionally, these hopeless Flyers power plays are having the negative effect of sparking the Devils in the moments thereafter.
It was the most evenly played game of the series, and the result was in a precarious balance throughout. The Devils appeared to be playing with more desire and purpose, and were deserved winners.
This year's Flyers squad has experienced more than their share of ups and downs. They seem unstoppable one game, and completely incompetent the next. I think many fooled themselves that, after beating the mighty Pens, the Flyers had turned a corner and become a different, more powerful team. Truthfully, the Flyers were still the same team---often irresistible on offense but terribly inconsistent and inattentive.
The Devils were a much trickier match-up than people wanted to acknowledge. Now the Flyers have to start skating and banging again, as the Devils are simply playing with much more jump.
The time for jumping off a bridge has not yet come. This is a remarkably resilient team, so let's see how they do in Game 4. Nothing is too big for this team to accomplish.
Notes:
-It's time for Claude Giroux to re-assert himself. He's allowed to have bad games, but he and his line have not mounted consistent threats. The Flyers need him again. It may also be time to completely change his linemates.
-Brodeur has the officials eating out of his hand. His complaints about the game 1 winner being goaltender interference, a claim completely without merit, has led to a very quick whistle or penalties every time the Flyers get near him. The Schenn interference penalty was completely overblown contact, though I won't complain too much because the Flyers were only on a powerplay due to an erroneous call on Kovalchuk for shooting the puck out of play. Conversely, Kovalchuk rung a potential game winner off the post on a play where a Devil lost his edge and interfered with Bryzgalov. Clearly there are different standards for each goalie.
-The Devils continue to outskate the Flyers, and Parise in a particular had a rocket up his ass last night. If the Flyers don't match the Devils jump, they will not win.
-The Flyers power play is playing incredibly loose and careless. Most of their problem against the Devils is in gaining the zone, something they accomplished easily against the Pens. Still, clarity of purpose has been lacking in all aspects of their game, and nowhere is this more clear than on the PP. Additionally, these hopeless Flyers power plays are having the negative effect of sparking the Devils in the moments thereafter.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Devils Game 1 Review
It all seemed too predictable.
Predictably, the long layoff exacerbated the Flyers' slow starts, and the Devils had the game's first 10 shots and its first goal.
Predictably, the Flyers slowly took over the game against a fatigued Devils team.
Predictably, Brodeur had some real strong stretches, but doesn't dominate entire games anymore.
Predictably, it was Danny Briere popping up to score two key goals.
Overall, I think we saw a preview of what this series will look like. The Devils contained the Flyers at times, denying the Flyers space and stopping attacks before they started. In time, however, the Flyers asserted their superiority.
Notes:
-Briere simply turns it up in the playoffs. He had a terrible regular season, making the success of his season entirely hinge on his playoff performance. Well now he has 7 goals in 7 playoff games. As good as he was in the playoffs last year, it took him 8 games to get 7 goals then. This is all the more impressive considering he finished the season with only 3 goals in his last 34 regular season games.
-Playoff JVR is back. He revved it up and drove the net a few times. He didn't finish any of those plays, though he did roof a loose puck with style for one goal. Laviolette put JVR up with Briere and Voracek, reducing the ice time of Schenn in the process, but it looks like that may be the right call.
-The Flyers were able to spread out their defensemen's ice time much more tonight than at any point of the Pittsburgh series. The health of Grossman, increased faith in Lilja and Gustafsson, and quite frankly less threatening forward talent on the Devils made this possible. This may not be a good sign because of what it implies about his health, but Timonen actually had the fewest even strength minutes of any defensemen.
-The Devils had success taking away the Flyers passing outlets and forcing the Flyers defensemen to carry the puck further than they normally would up the ice. The Devils got their 3rd goal on a chain of events that started this way.
-Wellwood played a very good game, and looked like one of the few Flyers ready to go from the start. As a member of the checking line with Talbot and Cooter, Wellwood will continue to see more ice time than Schenn, Read or Simmonds.
-My review of Bryzgalov today was a pretty strong start, but could've been better later. In particular, he was a little slow moving around and reacting, leaving his five-hole open. Bryzgalov didn't have much to do in the 3rd period, but he should've done better on the Sykora goal and made a momentum preserving stop.
Predictably, the long layoff exacerbated the Flyers' slow starts, and the Devils had the game's first 10 shots and its first goal.
Predictably, the Flyers slowly took over the game against a fatigued Devils team.
Predictably, Brodeur had some real strong stretches, but doesn't dominate entire games anymore.
Predictably, it was Danny Briere popping up to score two key goals.
Overall, I think we saw a preview of what this series will look like. The Devils contained the Flyers at times, denying the Flyers space and stopping attacks before they started. In time, however, the Flyers asserted their superiority.
Notes:
-Briere simply turns it up in the playoffs. He had a terrible regular season, making the success of his season entirely hinge on his playoff performance. Well now he has 7 goals in 7 playoff games. As good as he was in the playoffs last year, it took him 8 games to get 7 goals then. This is all the more impressive considering he finished the season with only 3 goals in his last 34 regular season games.
-Playoff JVR is back. He revved it up and drove the net a few times. He didn't finish any of those plays, though he did roof a loose puck with style for one goal. Laviolette put JVR up with Briere and Voracek, reducing the ice time of Schenn in the process, but it looks like that may be the right call.
-The Flyers were able to spread out their defensemen's ice time much more tonight than at any point of the Pittsburgh series. The health of Grossman, increased faith in Lilja and Gustafsson, and quite frankly less threatening forward talent on the Devils made this possible. This may not be a good sign because of what it implies about his health, but Timonen actually had the fewest even strength minutes of any defensemen.
-The Devils had success taking away the Flyers passing outlets and forcing the Flyers defensemen to carry the puck further than they normally would up the ice. The Devils got their 3rd goal on a chain of events that started this way.
-Wellwood played a very good game, and looked like one of the few Flyers ready to go from the start. As a member of the checking line with Talbot and Cooter, Wellwood will continue to see more ice time than Schenn, Read or Simmonds.
-My review of Bryzgalov today was a pretty strong start, but could've been better later. In particular, he was a little slow moving around and reacting, leaving his five-hole open. Bryzgalov didn't have much to do in the 3rd period, but he should've done better on the Sykora goal and made a momentum preserving stop.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Finally, an Opponent
After dispatching the Flyer's archrival of the moment, the Flyers will now face their chief rival from about 1995-2005, the New Jersey Devils.
This year's Devils aren't the most formidable team, but they are capable of playing some good hockey. Brodeur is also a legend, but at 39 he is much more vulnerable than he used to be.
The Flyers are capable of winning this series convincingly, but a victory lap would be premature. The Flyers's bad starts and lack of 60 minute efforts could make this a long series if the Devils stay the course.
The Flyers largely need to forget the last series. It was a wide-open series of passion. This series will not be. The Devils this year allowed the second fewest shots against in the NHL, and were 4th from the bottom in generating their own shots, so prepare for much tighter hockey. Fortunately for the Flyers, the Devils weren't suffocating when protecting leads either.
Notes:
-The Flyers will not be repeating their 50+% power play percentage. Better, more reliable 5-on-5 play will be required. Despite a poor first round performance, the Devils PK was #1 in the league this year in the regular season (the Penguins were #3, FWIW).
-Health will be a major issue. Grossmann appears ready to go, but Briere, Jagr and Timonen are all in various states of disrepair. Bryzgalov appears to be healthy, but you also can't forget his injury status. Lastly, Meszaros is increasing participation in practices, but all estimates peg him joining the series very late, if at all.
-The Flyers played the Devils 6 times this season
-10/8 - Bryzgalov gets a 20 save shutout in the 2nd game of the season. 3-0 Flyers.
-11/3 - The Flyers blow a 2-0 lead, losing 4-3 in a shootout. The Devils outshoot the Flyers 39-23
-1/21 - The Flyers again take a 2-0 lead, and a couple of PP goals by Hartnell ends in a 4-1 Flyers victory
-2/4 - The Devils get 3 PP goals and 1 SHG, and chase Bobrovsky from the game leading 6-0. The Flyers score 4 goals in the third period to make it respectable. 6-4 Devils.
-3/11 - A 1-1 game early in the 3rd period, the Devils score 3 unanswered goals, outshooting the Flyers 31-19 overall. 4-1 Devils.
-3/13 - In the back-end of the home-and-home series, the Flyers shut down NJ and Bryzgalov gets a 17 save shutout, 3-0 Flyers.
-FWIW, Bryzgalov's numbers against NJ this year were 3-0, 0.29 GAA, .987 save percentage, 2 shutouts. All losses fell on Bobrovsky, though Bobrovsky admittedly saw a lot more shots than Bryzgalov in those games.
-I will be interested to see how JVR performs this series, as hopefully his health will have improved significantly in the last week.
This year's Devils aren't the most formidable team, but they are capable of playing some good hockey. Brodeur is also a legend, but at 39 he is much more vulnerable than he used to be.
The Flyers are capable of winning this series convincingly, but a victory lap would be premature. The Flyers's bad starts and lack of 60 minute efforts could make this a long series if the Devils stay the course.
The Flyers largely need to forget the last series. It was a wide-open series of passion. This series will not be. The Devils this year allowed the second fewest shots against in the NHL, and were 4th from the bottom in generating their own shots, so prepare for much tighter hockey. Fortunately for the Flyers, the Devils weren't suffocating when protecting leads either.
Notes:
-The Flyers will not be repeating their 50+% power play percentage. Better, more reliable 5-on-5 play will be required. Despite a poor first round performance, the Devils PK was #1 in the league this year in the regular season (the Penguins were #3, FWIW).
-Health will be a major issue. Grossmann appears ready to go, but Briere, Jagr and Timonen are all in various states of disrepair. Bryzgalov appears to be healthy, but you also can't forget his injury status. Lastly, Meszaros is increasing participation in practices, but all estimates peg him joining the series very late, if at all.
-The Flyers played the Devils 6 times this season
-10/8 - Bryzgalov gets a 20 save shutout in the 2nd game of the season. 3-0 Flyers.
-11/3 - The Flyers blow a 2-0 lead, losing 4-3 in a shootout. The Devils outshoot the Flyers 39-23
-1/21 - The Flyers again take a 2-0 lead, and a couple of PP goals by Hartnell ends in a 4-1 Flyers victory
-2/4 - The Devils get 3 PP goals and 1 SHG, and chase Bobrovsky from the game leading 6-0. The Flyers score 4 goals in the third period to make it respectable. 6-4 Devils.
-3/11 - A 1-1 game early in the 3rd period, the Devils score 3 unanswered goals, outshooting the Flyers 31-19 overall. 4-1 Devils.
-3/13 - In the back-end of the home-and-home series, the Flyers shut down NJ and Bryzgalov gets a 17 save shutout, 3-0 Flyers.
-FWIW, Bryzgalov's numbers against NJ this year were 3-0, 0.29 GAA, .987 save percentage, 2 shutouts. All losses fell on Bobrovsky, though Bobrovsky admittedly saw a lot more shots than Bryzgalov in those games.
-I will be interested to see how JVR performs this series, as hopefully his health will have improved significantly in the last week.
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