I read somewhere once that a good coach knows which players needed to be patted on the back, and which players need to be yelled at to get them motivated. Hopefully Lavvy (is that his new nickname now?) understands that.

Just something to consider. Maybe we put Carter on the top line at RW, then slide Danny down to the second line as the center. Dannys a natural center, and Im starting to think Carter might be more useful on the wing (given his scoring abilities).

Maybe something like this
JVR-Richards-Carter
Hartnell-Briere-Giroux

It would load up that first line, but last year, Danny and Claude played great with each other, so I think the second line would still be pretty strong.

Another thing I think this team needs is a Blair Betts return, but as someone pointed out (I think it was MarioD, but Im not sure) once you dislocate the sholder the first time, its basically game over.

Carter is definitely a winger in a centerman’s position. That said, if you pair him with another center-winger, like Giroux or Briere, it shouldn’t be an issue. What IS an issue is the way that the Flyers forwards are pressing so hard to score that they are ignoring their defensive responsibilities! This ain’t the Red Wings (prior to this season); you can’t just assume that you’ll pressure the offensive zone enough to effectively kill the other team. You have to skate back, cover your own zone, and then run with the opportunities good team defense gives you. I think the reason Timonen and Coburn look so bad is because they are not getting ANY support, while in the past there was always a third Flyer with them in the back of the defensive zone. In my mind, Carter is Public Enemy #1 for that infraction – he’s decided that he’s a scorer and hasn’t played defense all season. Remember him playing well against other teams top lines a couple seasons ago? Where’s that guy?
All that being said, I do agree that the line combinations need some stability. Unfortunate about the injuries, but now Briere is back so you can set them up pretty well. Once Gagne and Powe are healthy – not to mention Mr. Betts (WE MISS YOU) – you can juggle again.

Hartnell – Carter – Briere
JVR – Richards – Giroux
Carcillo – Lappy – Asham
Cote – Pyorala – Laliberte

Oh, and the Phantoms call-ups (ASIDE from Laliberte) have been AWFUL this year. Nodl still sucks, Kalinski isn’t there yet, etc etc.

The best thing to come out of the last few weeks has been the play of Oskar Bartulis – as obviously noticed by Holmgren and evidenced by the shiny new contract Barty got. Suggesting that Tollefsen is better just because he takes the body more is silly – Barty has been quietly doing his job VERY well on the back end. No huge hits (Tolly), no slick passes (Syvret), … but also NO mistakes. I’ll take that any day. I would like to see if Syvret and Barty have similar NHL chemistry as they did in the AHL, but Parent is evidently an NHL-caliber player too … sounds like there’s trade bait in the winds!!!

I think the Montreal game made my point quite clearly. In fact, other commentators have pointed out the lack of forward support in the defensive zone.