Hell yes: Flyers reclaim 6th place in 5-1 triumph over Devils
by Travis Hughes on Mar 28, 2010 11:27 PM EDT
in Philadelphia Flyers Game Recaps - 09-10
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Well, we might never know where that came from, but it doesn't really matter. The Philadelphia Flyers just played a complete hockey game, and in the process, they cruised to a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
From top to bottom, everything went right for the orange and black tonight. Brian Boucher played a solid, sometimes lucky, game. The Flyers jumped out of the gate and right down the throats of the Devils. They established position in the Devils end, they moved the puck well once they got down there, and it ultimately led to excellent scoring opportunities.
When you play like that and create chances for yourself, good things happen, and that certainly happened for the Flyers tonight. The line of Simon Gagne, Danny Briere and Ville Leino was absolutely fantastic all night long. The power play looked good. The Flyers got themselves in some penalty trouble in the second period, but the penalty killers bailed them out five times in total with a little bit of that luck and a nice, solid dose of hard work.
On defense, the entire unit was positionally sound all night long. Matt Carle looked solid in his return to action after missing a few games with a minor injury. The one down side of this game was a Dan Carcillo match penalty in the third period.
There was no replay on the CSN broadcast, but reports say that Carcillo cross-checked a Devil in the face. Match penalties call for a game misconduct and automatic review by the league for supplemental discipline, so we'll see where this goes.
In any event, the Flyers need to build off of this win. It's a huge one, but in the end it's just two points. They need to make this the end of the slump -- the building block they use as they head toward the playoffs. If not, playoffs are no guarantee.
After the jump, a look at the playoff race, questions with answers and the comment of the night.
Questions with Answers
- Can somebody -- anybody -- score a goal? Give us a spark? Please? The whole team had a spark from the get go.
- Martin Brodeur has looked shaky against the Flyers more than a few times this season. Tonight? Marty looked terrible and the Flyers chased him after the second period.
- How's Matt Carle look in his first game back? Fantastic, and he scored a goal right off the bat.
- Do the Flyers play with the urgency necessary in this situation? They certainly did. Nice change of pace.
Comment of the Night
There are good odd-man rushes now? Is that when the offense is bringing the goalie pizza or something?
>> ToddtheFox
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OMGAGNE YES! Comment of the night, I’ve been waiting for so long.
In the picture, does anyone else get the impression Giroux and Hartnell are looking at the refs wondering if the goal will be called off?
"NZFlyerfan"
I get the primary assist for screwing up my post. Haha.
They do kind of have half-smiles in quiet fear of an overturn.
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on Mar 28, 2010 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions
My Michigan is in double OT now for a spot in the Frozen 4, but I needed to stop in to say…
If Scott Hartnell never put on a Flyer jersey again I wouldn’t mind in the slightest. There HAS to be someone better in Adirondack.
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Broad Street Hockey.
by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 28, 2010 11:42 PM EDT reply actions
Are you forgetting the power of the Rothenbooster? Hartnell will now have a hat trick in the Flyers next game.
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".
Certainly not, but its the power of the Rothenbooster vs the Floppy Haired Enigma Scott Hartnell.
Which of these ancient and mystical powers will win out on the night? Only time will tell.
"NZFlyerfan"
I’m just afraid he’s forcing it now and it will backfire, just like overzealous use of the Lucky Puck has reduced its effectiveness on certain occasions. I know it made a resurgence tonight, but I’m afraid the Rothenbooster will need to be treated with care as well.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Let’s get super-positive in here! First of all, I totally disagree on Hartnell. Hartnell played a great game. He used his effort and strength to create a ton of chances (Look back at the first period). I know Leino might not kill it night after night but tonight he showed that he can be really solid contributor.
Boucher needs a ton of defense like tonight but the good news is we know the D has the ability to provide it when they’re clicking (That includes having Carle in the line-up, Parent out, and Kraijcek looking really good offensively).
Back story on Hartnell comment: Ben said after last game that he never wanted to see Leino in a Flyers uniform again and that there had to be someone better in Adirondack. Leino turned around and played like he did tonight. It’s the Rothenbooster.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 28, 2010 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions
it’s catching on! I like it!
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on Mar 29, 2010 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions
I’d better get some serious royalties from that one.
The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.
by Ben Rothenberg on Mar 29, 2010 8:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Also, I LOVED the line combinations tonight. Hartnell-Briere-Carcillo had two workhorses compensating for the lackluster D Briere almost always gives. Briere still didn’t look too good. He seems to be the only one that didn’t show any turnaround tonight.
For Carcillo, I’m guessing they have to have called that under the general attempt to injure guidelines (21.1), since that appears in the actual definition of a match penalty and would therefore appear as just “Match Penalty” in the box score… To me, that is hilarious because half the time they pretend that rule isn’t even on the books! Oh wait, this is the Flyers, so today that rule does exist.
I love how one of the Devils fans commented in their own thread that we might be justified in our paranoia. I think that might be one of the guys who is from this area, but props to him for actually saying it out loud.
I’m glad we played well as a team tonight (most important part, I think that’s the closest we’ve looked to cohesive in a while), but we’ve owned the Devils this year and thus I am prepared to deal with it being an anomaly if necessary.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 12:48 AM EDT reply actions
I really don’t see how what Carcillo did in the 3rd period was any different from what Letourneau-Leblond did to him in the first period.
Lebond was the second dude in during a shoving match, cross checked Carcillo to the face, and only got 2 minutes.
Oh well, baby steps for the refs I guess, at there were no disallowed goals tonight.
If Jeff Carter plays again this season, I really like these line combinations
Giroux-Richards-Carter
Gagne-Briere-Leino
Hartnell-Powe-Asham
Carcillo-Betts-Laperierre
Have we had Giroux on the left at all this season? I don’t think I remember that, it’s an interesting idea but I don’t know if we have a precedent for it.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions
True, I just meant it as an honest question.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Good point. I think this may fall back to what I said a couple days ago, about me personally feeling like Giroux’s play hasn’t been noticeable enough lately, because that didn’t quite register. I’m sure it’s probably worth a try.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I like that Gags-Briere-Leino line, and I still think they need to get Carcillo back with Betts and Lappy to make that line effective, but the problem is replacing Carcillo on the Richards line, and thats what I came up with.
We saw what a nice job Hartnell did last night setting up scoring opportunities on that line. Ideally, they’d have a Belanger/Malhotra-type player for faceoffs and finishing a bit better instead of Powe and that would be a fantastic lineup (note for this summer as both players are UFAs).
I believe Giroux played on the Right and Carcillo played the left but yeah I totally agree that Giroux should be on wing I much rather see this line if Carter gets back, everyone is in their natural position and it has a shooter and playmaker and a guy who get in front to do some dirty work in Hartnell if only he could get his touch back.
Hartnell – Carter – Giroux
He was a very successful right win in Juniors, even if his skills can support your argument. I honestly think he can be successful in either role, he just needs good people around him. When he’s got himself in the zone, we can barely believe those passes sometimes as spectators, so he needs a player who is paying attention if they’re going to take that pass and bury it. Some players do that better than others (albeit they aren’t always the ones you expect to be good at it). I feel like we forget that this is his first full season sometimes, our expectations for him being so high. I know I’m guilty of it.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
If I’m going to specifically discuss him and JVR, I don’t think JVR’s skills would be the problem, rather both him and Giroux’s positions in the development cycle. I don’t think the two of them, with their current levels of inexperience, should be trying to mature in the NHL together. If you paired them 2 years in the future, we might have something. But right now, I think both of them need more experienced players to help them channel their raw talent, not two kids with a lot raw talent trying to figure it out together. G is way ahead of JVR here, but they’re both not in a position yet where they can make the other better. Just my opinion.
As far as Powe and Asham, I don’t know. Maybe one of the two with a different third guy mixed in on the line, but not any combination of the 3 of them by themselves. There’s too much missing, they’d need to bring in a different third guy for me.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 29, 2010 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Was at the game. Great fucking game to be at.
Chico looked good, real good. One odd stand out play for me was him slapping the puck out of mid-air down in our blue to showcase his 2-way play, and later drawing a penalty with no retaliation. But yeah. The end of the game things got sloppy, and Chico came out of fucking nowhere to put an end to it. I’m half certain he rushed straight off the bench to get into the fight, and thats why he got hit a bit harder with the hate.
Fuck the officiating, this was proof that if you play hard, you can win despite the anti-flyer bias.
by BroadStreetBully on Mar 29, 2010 4:45 PM EDT reply actions
Ha, nah, the devs fans pretty much left when it was 4-0. My girlfriend is actually a Devs fan. Went to the rock for the first time to see the Devs Rangers game on thursday. It was only after seeing entire sections of fans wearing blue shirts in new jersey that I finally appreciated watching a drunken philadelphian beat the hell out of a Father wearing a rangers jersey in front of his family.
by BroadStreetBully on Mar 29, 2010 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions
That is the problem you can never really tell Devils fans from Rangers fans. Really if you think about Devils fans are really ex-rangers fans that turn-coated when the mickey mouse organization lucked the fuck out and got Brodeur. If not for that moment in history the Devils would probably be in like Kansas City now rejuvenating the scouts fans of the early 70’s.
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