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Flyers rebound, kick off homestand with 3-1 victory over Leafs

[Boxscore] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [Toronto Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Face-Offs] - [Shift Charts]

Well that's better.  After a frustrating performance against Buffalo (and a terrible performance against Florida before that), the Flyers started off their 4-game homestand with a solid 3-1 victory.  Yes, the Maple Leafs are bad.  Yes, they're very bad.  But the importance of tonight's game cannot be trivialized.  They needed a win, and they got it.

CSN named Dan Carcillo the player of the game and that's hard to disagree with.  Drawing a four-minute powerplay out of Colton Orr showed just how far he has come since being acquired last year.  He took at least 3 shots to the face (as Peter Laviolette told the officials from the bench) without retaliating.  While the Flyers didn't score on the ensuing powerplay, he got involved in the game in a good way.

After Carcillo fed Simon Gagne in the slot for a 2-1 Flyers lead, he appeared to put the Flyers up 3-1 with a beautiful backhand over Jean-Sebastien Giguere's right shoulder later in the second.  Unfortunately, the play was called offside, but Carcillo was able to take Dion Phaneuf off the ice for two-minutes of 4-on-4 action after responding to his shoves.

Beyond that, Michael Leighton was back to his steady but unspectacular self.  There were rebounds and some scares, but the only goal against came off a blocked shot.  Oh, there was also a blown defensive assignment on the goal too.  Despite the desire to praise his play, it's important to remember once again that the game came against the Maple Leafs.

Jump for Random Thoughts, Questions with Answers and the Comment of the Night.

Star-divide

Random Thoughts:

I know this feature has gone away, but I only have two:

  • Didn't hear Ryan Parent's name a whole lot tonight.  For him, that's a really good thing.
  • Colton Orr is either a Turd Sandwhich or Giant Douche.  There isn't much to say about him, other than that.  Imagine how much crap would be said about Flyers goonery if he was wearing Orange and Black.  Just a huge disgrace.

Questions with Answers:

  1. Does Rosehill's insertion into the lineup mean anything? We all know this will likely be a big, fat no.  Big, fat no.
  2. Can Giguere keep the Leafs in the game?  Not sure if it was Giguere, exactly, but he did a decent job.  Was badly screened on the first goal, then got beat on the second, and fell victim to a cross-ice pass on the third.
  3. Will Mike Richards keep up his torrid post-Olympic pace (six points in 3 games so far)?  He had an assist, but that's hardly "torrid."  Seven points in 4 games is still good though.
  4. Which Michael Leighton shows up - Pre-break Leights or Post-break Leights?  Pre-break Leights.

Maybe it’s just me, but I would expect that if someone were planning to hold up a sign asking a player to marry them, they would at least put in the effort of making a real sign….

DragonGirl0583

0 recs  |  Comment 63 comments  |  Add comment |

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Meh. They’re still not back to pre-Olympic levels of togetherness.

Carcillo and Leighton were good, as was Gagne. He is a man on a mission.

Let’s get some more wins.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 7, 2010 10:40 PM EST reply actions  

Carcillo and Leighton were good, as was Gagne

If only there was some kind of way of rewarding them, ideally using some sort of celestial body.

They are my 3 Pluto’s for the night

"NZFlyerfan"

by ToddtheFox on Mar 8, 2010 3:21 AM EST up reply actions  

better then “uranuses” HARHARFHARFDERP

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 8, 2010 9:17 AM EST up reply actions  

To be fair in the answer to question three, wasn’t Richard’s 6 points in 3 games really 4 points in the first game followed by 1 point in each of the next two? So 1 more in the fourth game is still a good pace, but the pace was only ever torrid because of the one game in Tampa.

by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 7, 2010 10:43 PM EST reply actions  

Yeah, probably true.

Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 8, 2010 8:39 AM EST up reply actions  

awesome quote, BTW

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 8, 2010 9:17 AM EST up reply actions  

Bad news...

… Anaheim blew a 3-1 lead with less than 2 minutes to play and lost to Montreal in a shootout. The teams behind us need to lose and I don’t feel comfortable unless they do.

Good news: Jeff Deslauriers shut out the Devils. There’s proof that even if the Flyers had Ilya Kovalchuk, they would not have scored on Deslauriers.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 7, 2010 10:51 PM EST reply actions   1 recs

Jeff Deslauriers: Future All-Star.

Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 8, 2010 8:40 AM EST up reply actions  

Jeff Deslauriers: the next Patrick Roy

Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".

by JFein on Mar 8, 2010 11:57 AM EST up reply actions  

Deh-LAH-wree-Ay does roll off the tongue nicely.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 8, 2010 8:06 PM EST up reply actions  

Updated spreadsheet stats through 4 games.

http://tinyurl.com/yk48apv

by SwimminDave on Mar 7, 2010 10:55 PM EST reply actions  

ehh… forgot to add one or two things here and there…

http://tinyurl.com/ykepgz5

by SwimminDave on Mar 7, 2010 11:04 PM EST up reply actions  

Keep doing this. Excellent, thanks.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 12:30 AM EST up reply actions  

It appears as if something got messed up on my FW column.. I’ll look into fixing that soon.

by SwimminDave on Mar 8, 2010 12:51 AM EST up reply actions  

Travis, I had a look at the PPP recap and they had Corsi/Fenwick, Head to Head TOI and other really cool stuff. Would this be difficult to add to our recaps?

I’m really interested in looking at all these stats but I really don’t know where to source the info from

"NZFlyerfan"

by ToddtheFox on Mar 8, 2010 12:57 AM EST up reply actions  

Sure, we can start doing that too. Look for it come Tuesday. Remind me if we forget.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 1:11 AM EST up reply actions  

Scratch that. Might as well add them for tonight too. Done.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 1:20 AM EST up reply actions  

Sweet thanks. Now I have to learn how to understand them

"NZFlyerfan"

by ToddtheFox on Mar 8, 2010 3:23 AM EST up reply actions  

One thing that’s popped out at me since the break is that except for the first game, our face offs have been pretty abysmal.

by SwimminDave on Mar 8, 2010 11:16 AM EST up reply actions  

Some reaction from the Wachovia Center:

  • Carcillo deserves serious props for staying calm in the face of Orr’s lunacy. Serious, serious props. He stood there and took about four total shots before Orr was finally peeled off of him. Much more on this coming from me in the AM.
  • Toronto is just bad, bad, bad. They were atrocious defensively, they couldn’t finish at all on the other end and Giguere was much more lucky than good.
  • Jay Rosehill tried to mix it up every time he stepped on the ice. He tried fighting with Laperriere at one point and Lappy just shrugged him away like a mosquito on his shoulder. Then, a few seconds later, he sprinted across the ice and took a run at one of the Flyers (not sure who) near the Toronto bench. I’m glad nobody gave in to his crap, either.
  • The Flyers weren’t great by any means tonight. They participated in a lot of sloppy passing, had trouble finishing themselves and they didn’t convert nearly as much as they should have on the power play. Still, the were good at limiting the Leafs chances and Michael Leighton made the saves he had to make to win the game.
  • There were a decent amount of Leafs fans in the building tonight, and at one point in the game you likely heard a USA! USA! chant. While I’ll maintain that bringing national pride into an NHL environment is pretty inane, it was a fitting put down to a group of Leafs fans who inexplicably started waiving a giant Canadian flag while singing some excuse for ‘Oh, Canada!’ (which by the way was cheered by most, booed by none within my earshot when performed by Lauren Hart). Yet somehow, someway, this action causes some people to call us ‘the dregs of society’.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 7, 2010 11:10 PM EST reply actions  

Oh, and one final thing:

  • Carcillo’s waived off goal was offsides by about a thousand feet. The Flyers were in the zone waaaaay before the puck, and the whistle was rightly blown when Carcillo picked up the puck right by the net. It was heard by almost nobody though because the horn was going off almost simultaneously. Most people thought it was a goal, were pissed that it wasn’t a goal while equally clueless because no announcement was made regarding the situation. The anger subsided rather quickly when Briere scored a few minutes later, though.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 7, 2010 11:14 PM EST up reply actions  

funny, I wondered what happened to make Flyers fans start to chant “USA”. It didnt’ make much sense seeings that the Flyers have more Canadian Olympians than the Leafs. In fact, the Leafs may have more US Olympians….

I think I’ve researched this before, but I believe the Flyers have the largest makeup of Canadians on their team than any other team in the league.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 8, 2010 10:04 AM EST up reply actions  

In fact, the Leafs may have more US Olympians….

They do. Of the four American on their roster, one played for the US in Vancouver (Phil Kessel) and one would have played for the US if not for being hurt (Mike Komisarek). While none of the three Americans (James van Riemsdyk, Matt Carle & Brian Boucher) that play for the Flyers went to Vancouver, I guarantee that JvR makes Team USA in Sochi 2014.

by flyrsfrk05 on Mar 8, 2010 10:17 AM EST up reply actions  

Don’t forget Brian Burke, either.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 10:22 AM EST up reply actions  

Ah, very good point and Ron Wilson for that matter.

Hey, Homer was on the team selection committee if that means anything!?

by flyrsfrk05 on Mar 8, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions  

I think the fact that you can’t give Olympic hockey players NTCs disappointed him and forever turned him off to the Olympics.

Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor".

by JFein on Mar 8, 2010 11:59 AM EST up reply actions  

Just did a rough calculation for giggles. (these are just rough calculations)

This Flyer team is 71% Canadian

This is more Canadian than every Canadian team except for maybe the Oilers (depending on which roster you look at)

Breakdown:

Canucks: 63%
Oilers: 75%
Flames: 63%
Senators: 50%
Leafs: 50%
Canadiens: 54%

So (not that anyone cares) for the Flyers fans to start chanting USA is almost disrespectful to their own team, haha. Maybe that’s our problem, we’re too Canadian!

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 8, 2010 10:56 AM EST up reply actions  

Not impressed. The better team won tonight…. but that isn’t saying much.

21 shots on goal…. 19 PIMS. I’m sorry, but when your PIMS are equal to or above your shots on goal…. you have a problem. They’re still taking penalties in horrible places, and the playoffs will show that isn’t a good idea. They continue to be that mentally inept on plays, take those penalties, and they’re going to get ripped apart in a 7 game.

At least defensively, they move to the right spots most of the time.

Spots of decent offensive play….but just nothing worth writing to anyone about, and certainly nothing close to spot on for the talent on the roster. Certainly, there was no time when I thought they were dominating play. As usual, they sat on the worst lead in hockey….and a better team is going to rip them up for it.

If they put Downie in next game over Leino…..GRRRRRRR.

Just not impressed.

by Dinky on Mar 7, 2010 11:23 PM EST reply actions  

Downie? I do wAnna see more leino tho.

by MadmanSamCarcillo on Mar 7, 2010 11:30 PM EST via mobile up reply actions  

Lol… sorry. Meant Powe. Keyboard and brain, not in synch on that one.

by Dinky on Mar 7, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions  

Leighton really needs someone to work on his rebound control, as well. I was ok with his overall play tonight, but still don’t think he’s a long term answer. (Long term being the rest of season…though we’re stuck, obviously) He’s late on reading the play, although his postioning was mildly improved tonight.

When all is said, I don’t think he was really tested on most shots. He made some rather routine saves look spectacular because he relied on athleticism instead of good positioning to make the save.

by Dinky on Mar 7, 2010 11:30 PM EST up reply actions  

As I said above, the Flyers on the whole are still not back into their pre-Olympic break groove, from Leighton on out. They’re getting closer game-by-game, though.

Hopefully they take advantage of the none-too-difficult schedule to get back in shape (so to speak) for the tougher teams and take it from there.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 7, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions  

Yeah weak month as far as schedule goes…. Isles twice, Thrashers twice, and Preddlies.

I’ve already circled the 27th and 28th on my Flyers calendar.

Pens and Jersey…. back to back games.

You want to know where we stand…..those two games will tell you.

by Dinky on Mar 8, 2010 1:12 AM EST up reply actions  

i want see how we deal with the Blackhawks …I think we play them once. Huet isn’t the greatest of net minders I hear or were the 5 goals he surrendered last night more abberation than anythig else?

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 10:23 AM EST up reply actions  

It also helps that there’s basically no time off this month right on through the playoffs, me thinks. If they hit a groove they’ll likely be stuck in it, for better or worse.

Also part of the reason why Boosh needs some playing time down the stretch.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 10:51 AM EST via mobile up reply actions  

he let in one goal if he got a shutout somehow I think people would still complain about him

by chrislanci on Mar 8, 2010 9:21 AM EST up reply actions  

And that was a “tip your hat to the forward goal” as far as I could tell. Perhaps a blown defensive position didn’t make things any easier. but I don’tknow the exact nature of of how the defense should have been in the first place to say this for sure

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 9:56 AM EST up reply actions  

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – there’s no reason Powe (or as you call him, Downie) and Leino can’t be in the lineup together!!! What did Scott Hartnell contribute for the $50,000 he made in salary last night ($4.2 million divided by 82)? A whole lot of crappy passes, a couple missed hits, 2 shots on goal, and one fight with Dion Phaneuf in about 14 minutes of ice time. Couldn’t we have gotten that kind of performance from Riley Cote, whose $550,000 salary was waived last week? It is time to give Hartnell a game in the press box – he isn’t contributing on the ice, whereas the other three usual press-box suspects (Asham, Leino, and Powe) definitely are playing well and consistently. Oh, and did anyone notice how good Carter’s line looked the other night with Leino … and how poor they looked against Toronto with Hartnell? SIt him down, shave his head, whatever it takes to motivate him, but Scott Hartnell is playing worse and worse every day while the rest of the team seems to be finding their legs for the playoff run.

by penguinsfan on Mar 8, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions  

No way we could have gotten 2 shots on goal out of Cote….

by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 8, 2010 11:33 AM EST up reply actions  

It happens … once in a blue moon, but it happens :) Point taken.

by penguinsfan on Mar 8, 2010 11:41 AM EST up reply actions  

Somehow Darrel Powe became Downie whilst typing…. funny shit.

by Dinky on Mar 7, 2010 11:35 PM EST reply actions  

Did Giguere look slow tonight? Especially on those first two goals, but also throughout the game. Did anyone else notice this?

"NZFlyerfan"

by ToddtheFox on Mar 8, 2010 12:05 AM EST reply actions  

I imagine it must be what our goaltenders might have thunk before our penalty issues improved..“wow, another full period of PPgoaltending…when we weld my hips back on after the game I’ll thank you.” I didn’t notice if giggy was slower but why play hard when your team gives just about every advantage to their opponent. The amount of force butterfly goaltending subject the hips to is the equivalent to an Olympian style Clean and Jerk with competition weight . Giggy was one of 10%-12% who had a congential oblated spheroid for the head of his femur. It is supposed to be a sphere. Giggy’s femur was surgical shaved to a true sphere so that the head of femur now seats properly in the hip socket, transfers loads evenly across it’s face and therefore evenly across the acetabular labrum and can rotate in that space without femoroacetabular impingement. Perhaps after that and all the rehab, why risk anything more than necessary if those around you egregiously set you up to fail.

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 8:14 AM EST up reply actions  

For some reason I read that as “Giggy has a congenital oblated spheroid head” which made me picture Stewie Griffin as a goaltender.

by Phalange on Mar 8, 2010 8:44 AM EST up reply actions  

Orthopedic surgeon slang for reshaping oblated spheroid head of femur :
 shavin’ a stewie

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 8:56 AM EST up reply actions  

I noticed that as well, but yeah j reed is right. Toronto spent a lot of time (especially in the first) on the kill, that might have worn him down.

by Pondhockey on Mar 8, 2010 8:37 AM EST up reply actions  

In Gigure’s defense, on Carter’s goal, everyone was expecting Pronger to shoot. I even think Carter was little suprised by the pass. Not to mention that Gigure was being screened on the play and didn’t even realize Pronger had passed it to Carter until Carter had shot the puck. By that point, it was way too late. The Gagne goal was a bit weak but it was a nice stop and shoot by Gags.

by flyrsfrk05 on Mar 8, 2010 10:23 AM EST up reply actions  

how did giggy stop that coburn shot in the third? the puck magically unded up bein lodged underneath his leg pad.

if the flyers put up 1 or 2 more goals on the PP, i would call last night’s game a very nice showing.but they didn’t.

C+

Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance

by psudrozz on Mar 8, 2010 9:21 AM EST reply actions  

Rosehill knocked Coburn’s shot down with his leg. The puck changed directions and ended up stuck in Giggy’s equipment.

Toronto’s got some talented players but man are they sloppy.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Mar 8, 2010 9:46 AM EST up reply actions  

Sloppy..how can you say that about the likes of Colton Orr…..tha’t’ name alone is so gay porn star of the Vineyard and a sloppy gay man …finding that is about as likely as the Pirates no trading anyone

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 10:08 AM EST up reply actions  

C+ or C but with a few gold stars for certain peeps.

by j reed on Mar 8, 2010 10:09 AM EST up reply actions  

yes- we were lucky playin such an awful team like the Laffs – this might be a nice confidence builder in our march run.

by fitzy first on Mar 8, 2010 10:20 AM EST reply actions  

Dear Coach Laviolette – please BENCH Scott Hartnell. We’d like to see Carter’s line playing the way it did against Florida and Buffalo, not the lackluster turn-over filled showing last night. That means reinserting Ville Leino to that line, and while normally that would mean either Asham or Powe rides the press box, neither of those two players has done anything but give their usual 100% effort. Arron Asham has played well on the line with Giroux and JVR, while Powe is absolutely essential to victory as part of the “Lucky Charms” Line with Betts and Lappy. Hartnell, on the other hand, has committed turnover after turnover, bad pass following bad pass, missed hit on the tails of missed hit. I think maybe following the Rangers lead on this, and benching players who need it regardless of salary is a good idea. Hell, for all his recent contributions, which in memory since the Olympic break consists of one fight against Phaneuf, you could just as easily dress Riley Cote for the same outcome. The Carter line needs to be firing on all cylinders come the playoffs, and frankly if that means Hartnell is the cylinder that needs replacing so be it. Thank you – A Concerned Fan.

by penguinsfan on Mar 8, 2010 11:39 AM EST reply actions  

Just curious, how many times are you going to copy, paste, and post this nonsense?

by MarioD on Mar 8, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions  

I was going to ask if he believes that anyone connected with the Flyers actually reads this blog.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 8, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions  

Laviolette doesn’t but the people in the PR department do.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 8, 2010 2:18 PM EST up reply actions  

penguin fans actually fear hartnell

by fitzy first on Mar 8, 2010 2:50 PM EST up reply actions  

damn, i didn’t know that. They should have come and seen me after the wednesday game then! I guess I don’t quite have the right connections yet.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 8, 2010 3:17 PM EST up reply actions  

No. I am under no such illusion. It’s commonly called an open letter; often used for tongue-in-cheek critiques. And obviously, no one disagrees with the actual content, since there aren’t any comments upon it.

by penguinsfan on Mar 8, 2010 5:07 PM EST up reply actions  

And I am waiting to hear why it is, in fact, "nonsense’ Mario. You gonna tell me Hartnell has played well? That the Carter line didn’t look good with Leino? That while no one can exaplin it, the Flyers win games with Powe and Betts in the lineup? WHAT?!?

by penguinsfan on Mar 8, 2010 10:57 PM EST up reply actions  

And strangely enough, today’s Fly By announces not one, not two, but THREE instances where the media has also commented on Hartnell’s crappy play recently. You gonna respond, or just throw stones because you don’t like my screen name?

by penguinsfan on Mar 9, 2010 12:17 PM EST up reply actions  


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