this should be fun coming of a home and home sweep in against the Thrashers and playing pretty bad on the recent road trip, did you have one go up just before the break I betting this one is going to be at least 20 points lower. Remember we are not as good as our best game nor as bas as our worst. 70% if you factor in Emery won’t be back next year and maybe Coburn gets an RFA offer and turns into some draft picks some of you this is the worse team ever guys might be a little more excited

I think this just shows that Boosh isn’t the guy (well, we already knew this) but it doesn’t look like he is going to pull a Leighton and really wow anyone in net….he will steal a couple games going down the stretch but most likely we are going to eat more ugly losses to less deserving teams….playoffs will probably end quickly for us as well….if we don’t tailspin right out of it.

Perfect question. That is why my confidence has dipped to 10% regarding the current direction of the team. I expect them to make the playoffs and bow out fairly quickly.

Assuming they make the playoffs, Holmgren will get one more chance to right the ship. But as the talent level of the team has ostensibly gone up, the chemistry has gone down, and that’s a problem. Two years ago we had a team that was not nearly as talented as this year’s edition, but they enjoyed playing together and rode that momentum to the conference finals. Last year’s team was the same way until February, then everything went to Gehenna in a Gehandbasket. Now we have this bunch, who are the most talented group we’ve had here in a while and yet when the chips are down, they cannot find their asses with both hands.

People can rag on abstract qualities such as “heart,” “desire,” and “chemistry” as much as they want. In response, I will point to Fred Shero’s quote which is most relevant to this affair:

“I don’t have the best players. I have the best team.”

Right now the Flyers have better players than they had two years ago. But the 2007-08 bunch was a much better team in the sense of being more cohesive, getting along, etc. And yes, I am suggesting that this year’s edition does not constantly play as a cohesive unit because they do not get along very well as individuals.

At this point, after hearing about Carter’s injury, I am still hopeful, yet my confidence level has dropped. Basically I view the game against Ottawa on Tuesday as a MUST win. If we don’t overtake them in the standings (to finish 5th and play NJ) I really lack confidence to make it into the second round. However, if we play Jersey, we can beat them, gain confidence, maybe Carter is back and rested (granted he comes back when they say he will) and who knows what would happen in the second round. In the playoffs anything could happen. I wouldn’t have bet 10 cents on Shittsburgh beating Detroit, with all their veterans and ringbearers in a game 7 Cup final but hey… Ok now i just made myself thinking about the friggin Penguins. Time to work off the shame with some wii fit.

Yeah, completely at a loss to understand what is happening with this team. We all know what they can do at best and worst from different parts of this season. I think it is a coaching and leadership issue, since the same guys suit up from night to night and either score 6 goals and blow away the opposition or can’t find the net. The D has been up and down, and I think the Pronger deal was another “should’ve had him one/two years ago”. He plays great at some times, and then flubs passes for 10 minutes and can’t remember how to check in open ice. I know Coburn has been an issue all year, even with the great article on here a while back about his numbers being about the same as the last few years, there’s just something that doesn’t work with him. Same with Hartnell—plays hard most nights, but then tries to throw backhand passes across ice thru 4 players…huh? Forsberg couldn’t make that pass (and wouldn’t have tried). Also tries clearing up the middle, which you should never do (well, almost never).

I’m not sure it’s a chemistry issue, maybe some, because although I didn’t watch the entire game last night, I watched the beginning and then some at the end of the 2nd into the 3rd. And there were two different teams on the ice last night. The first was the the new line combos, and they couldn’t find their butts with both hands. The second was when the lines were put back to “Normal”—read 12-18-13, 17-48-19, 28-21-45, 11-14-??. I flipped in with about 5 left in the 2nd and thought, wow they’re really playing now. And then I noticed the line combos. So the right guys do still work well with each other, it’s just a mystery why they can’t put goals in some nights.

Two things I have noticed. Communication or something is lacking on the ice. When they have problems in the defensive end, it’s usually because someone makes the wrong decision. Reverse when you should wheel. Chip to the guy behind the net when you should’ve tried to go back up the boards hard. Then the scramble starts, and fans hold their breath or just moan. Then they dump on the way in and can’t get control, and the Thrashers proved this weekend that the Flyers are venerable to counters when that happens. The other thing is control and possession. They finally seemed to have figured out especially 4 on 4 that puck possession is what it’s all about. They are playing better that way, and when they control the puck coming out of their own end they are somewhat unstoppable. Almost every clear that is dumped out is a problem. And they get stuck doing it over and over, never able to get possession back, running around chasing the puck for 5 minutes at a time.

Sorry for being long winded. I’m not even going to talk about goal tending, you just can’t plan on what has happened there, in the good (Leighton’s play) and bad ways (injury, Boosh’s recent play).