Special teams, emphasis on net presence pace Flyers in 5-1 win over Wild
by Travis Hughes on Jan 17, 2012 10:56 PM EST
in Philadelphia Flyers Game Recaps - 11-12
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PHILADELPHIA -- I overheard somebody in the press box from the Minnesota delegation tonight: "This team will be lucky if they win 10 more games the rest of this year!" If the game on the ice was any indication, he's probably about right. The Wild were flat out abysmal for 60 solid minutes tonight, and considering the Flyers played one of their most complete of the season, the equation certainly worked out in favor of the good guys.
All four lines were rolling well tonight, and for the first time all year for the first time against the not-Columbus Blue Jackets, the specialty teams got goals on both the penalty kill and the power play. Of course, it was Sean Couturier who scored the shorthanded goal, because he's still incredible. Peter Laviolette remarked about how he gets chances because of his positioning defensively, and how he's able to generate chances off the rush from the defensive end. Five straight games with a goal ain't bad at all.
A lot of the players also mentioned the emphasis on getting pucks on net from the point tonight. That's not an easy feat against the Wild, who boast the league's best shot-blocking numbers, but the Flyers were successful in moving the puck laterally from D-to-D, generating traffic in front of Josh Harding and then getting pucks in the mix down low.
Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn each scored goals as a result of that strategy, with Juicy and Jake Voracek adding the other two. Oh, and Darroll Powe scored against his old team. Good for him. We won, though.
- Claude Giroux got his 200th point on Timonen's goal, but he still doesn't look quite right. After even the most inconsequential of plays, you can see him slamming his stick against the ice, putting his stick on his head and looking to the sky, or any number of very outward signs that he's frustrated. Players go through slumps, it's not a huge deal. He just needs to stop pressing so hard. He's Claude freakin' Giroux, you know?
- Jody Shelley played and wasn't awful. He got 9:02 in ice time as a result of not being awful. Good things.
- Scott Hartnell scored his 20th point goal of the year. He should be an All-Star, but he's not. Maybe he will be with injuries. Not that his game necessarily translates to an ASG anyway.
- Ilya Bryzgalov wasn't really challenged tonight, but when he did see pucks, he was solid. We'll take it.
- The Corsi/Fenwick shot differential sheet from tonight's game -- linked at the top -- shows you just how big special teams were tonight. That sheet only includes even strength situations, and most Flyers players had a negative score tonight at even strength. Yet on the game, they outshot the Wild 34 to 26. A lot of those shots were on the power play, and we have Cal Clutterbuck and his four minor penalties to thank for that tonight.
Questions with Answers
It's bad (or perhaps it's good) when you answer all the questions to answer in the recap. Anyway...
- How's Ilya Bryzgalov play? Solid, if relatively unchallenged.
- Does Sean Couturier keep his goal scoring streak going tonight? He certainly does. That's 10 goals now on the season.
- Can Claude Giroux (and the top line) get going again? The line was good, but G still seems a little lost, even despite his point on Timonen's goal.
- Jody Shelley sees the ice. He clearly tries to do something to prove his importance, right? He didn't fight or anything, and Cal Clutterbuck was likely asking for it tonight, too, but Shelley was a positive contributor. Three hits, two shots on goal. Finished with a positive shot differential, even.
Comment of the Night
Next up... New York Rangers!!!
Come on down! You're the next contestant on the Regression is Right!
>> goldomatic, who is King in the art of wishful thinking
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Hahaha URL mastery.
cal-clutterbuck-is-dumb
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
That said, via the idiocy mentioned...
…we should rename Cal Clutterbuck into Cal Clusterfuck since he was responsible for so many of the Wild’s PIMs.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
Ha, I changed mine,
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:02 PM EST up reply actions
for the first time all year, the specialty teams got goals on both the penalty kill and the power play.
Didn’t they get both in the Blue Jackets massacre?
Solid game. Bryz looked fine other than that goal to Powe. Getting guys standing in front of Harding on those goals by Timonen, Hartnell, and Schenn (assuming they’ll change Coby’s goal to him) was excellent, and it really needs to continue.
by everybodyhitswoohoo on Jan 17, 2012 11:05 PM EST reply actions
Good call.
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by Travis Hughes on Jan 17, 2012 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
Clearly Giroux should be switched with Shelley because he is definitely irrelevant
by profoundnotions on Jan 17, 2012 11:09 PM EST via mobile reply actions
That’s a whoops.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:13 PM EST up reply actions
In short, Bryz got the job done in a win. Hopefully a couple more of these and we can take a shit on that goalie controversy narrative
"Start playing with some jam in here"
by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Jan 17, 2012 11:14 PM EST reply actions
Philadelphia without goalie controversy is like Bruce Boudreau without Haagen Dazs. It just doesn’t happen.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:18 PM EST up reply actions
Why are they bound to hit a true slump?
by Anders Jensen on Jan 18, 2012 2:22 PM EST up reply actions
Because it happens to every team in a 82 game season. I mean it might not happen but odds are heavily in favor of it. You gonna have times when you flip a coin and get heads 10 times in a row and tails 10 times in a row. Aside from the effects of random variation, there’s also the effects of cumulative fatigue which unfortunately are difficult if not just plain impossible to quantify.
as much as I don’t like Lavvy, he’s a decent coach, of a strategy that I don’t agree with, especially because of the current situation. Lavvy is one of the better coaches at the beginning of the game. I’d argue because it’s because his strategy works. But when you have a 2 goal lead, Lavvy’s strategy fails. Players will ease up when they have a decent lead. Now, this isn’t a problem in say a defensive minded system, because the players are in place. But in an offensive minded system, it can really hurt, and does really hurt the Flyers
"Start playing with some jam in here"
by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Jan 18, 2012 1:20 PM EST up reply actions
So Lavvy’s system sucks because the players don’t play it for 60 minutes?
I understand what you’re saying about human nature, but I don’t see this issue as the coach’s fault. The players have to play their game in order to be successful. I don’t care if you’re coached by Mike Babcock or Mike Yeo; if you don’t execute your game plan for 60 minutes, you’re going to lose. It is incumbent upon the coach to stress his philosophy and the players to execute.
That said, maybe the Flyers can alter their style to protect third-period leads. Look at the Rangers. They’re a generally pesky team to play against, but their forecheck gets especially stifling when they’re ahead late in the game. So Torts has a way in which they alter their style slightly in that situation. If Laviolette did the same and got the desired results, I think we’d all be happy with that.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
I think, and correct me if I’m wrong, CCB is saying that no NHL team will continue to press when up 2 goals, regardless of system. But because Lavy’s system is pressure-oriented, this natural reaction that every team goes through, is worse than if it was a defensive system.
In other words, when things go wrong, Lavy’s system creates problems that a defensive system would be better prepared to fix.
Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
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by Geoff Detweiler on Jan 18, 2012 6:18 PM EST up reply actions
So what’s Lavy’s system anyway? I read it’s a 3rd man high which is a variation of the left-wing lock that came about as a counter to the counter of the left wing lock.
haha, I’ll let CCB answer this.
Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
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by Geoff Detweiler on Jan 18, 2012 8:36 PM EST up reply actions
Okay, but the Rangers’ system is pressure-oriented too and it works for them. When they’re leading in the third, they pressure the puck carriers and take time and space away from them. Either way, they keep their feet moving the whole time. They don’t sit back and let you come at them. And if they get winded, they have Lundqvist back there to bail them out.
Technically the Flyers should have the latter luxury as well. If Bryzgalov turns it around and Bob keeps his solid play up, I don’t see why the Flyers can’t employ a similar approach. In fact, I think they’re supposed to. Why they don’t do it is on the players, not on the coach.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Agree with everything but the last statement. He’s in charge, so the players are doing what he says, if they aren’t, why are they getting ice time? He said in 24/7 you earn it, so if you are taking the whole third period off and not following his game plan, I can’t see him being happy with you.
G, the second coming of Foppa.
Embrace the Jagr.*
by JerseyDriver on Jan 18, 2012 11:30 PM EST up reply actions
So what’s their system called.? I mean if we’re calling it a system then I’m assuming it has some relevance outside of the Rangers and is a system of hockey in general. Or is the use of the word “system” in hockey speak not really based off the defintion of system? I’m not trying to be snarky, it’s just I see this word all the time and think that if it’s so called then there’s gotta a clear description about what they are and what to call them.
Good Sir!
If you’re going to reference Mr. Powe, please spell his name right. It’s Darroll.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
My apologies
Too much scotch, not enough attention to detail
Scott Hartnell scored his 20th point of the year.
Shouldn’t that say 20th goal?
Some guy at PSU Hershey Med Center just discovered a virus that eats cancer. Where were the CNN trucks for that? THON will probably break $10 mil this year. Put that on "Outside the Lines".
Third time’s a charm to call it out.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:38 PM EST up reply actions
whoops, just saw the others. My bad!
Some guy at PSU Hershey Med Center just discovered a virus that eats cancer. Where were the CNN trucks for that? THON will probably break $10 mil this year. Put that on "Outside the Lines".
No, no problem. I think it’s funny.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:42 PM EST up reply actions
OT, I guess
So who remembers Bobs-fishie?
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
I’ve decided that next time I’m going to try to get two fishies.
To be named…
1) Danny Dynamo Fishie
and
2) Niko Pelican Fishie.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 17, 2012 11:49 PM EST up reply actions
Probably!
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 18, 2012 12:14 AM EST up reply actions
missed the stinkin game!
now having a shitty night..ugh
Beets,Bears,Battlestar Galactica.
MICHAEL!
Political Correctness - the belief that one can pick up a turd by the clean end.
minnasota fan on their site b4 the game
Here’s mine…
It’s not a total Philadelphia blowout victory. That’s about as bold as I can get considering how bad the Wild have been on the road recently.
by JDesthubert on Jan 17, 2012 3:59 PM PST up reply actions
oh how wrong you were
Beets,Bears,Battlestar Galactica.
MICHAEL!
Political Correctness - the belief that one can pick up a turd by the clean end.
Thanks to all the copy editors. Yall rock. (Not being facetious, either. It helps.)
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Broad Street Hockey - Covering the Philadelphia Flyers. Have you accepted Ilya Bryzgalov as your savior?
Holy crap, awesome final minute of OT in LA-Vancouver. This is why shootouts are stupid.
by everybodyhitswoohoo on Jan 18, 2012 12:43 AM EST reply actions
And Richards gets the shootout winner.
by everybodyhitswoohoo on Jan 18, 2012 12:47 AM EST up reply actions
http://www.hockeywilderness.com/
Ha, pretty funny to try and interpret their game review through the censorship.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t just watch the shorthanded all- rookie 2 on 1 at least 20 times in a row.
by Clutterbuck4MVP on Jan 18, 2012 1:26 AM EST reply actions
That’s not an easy feat against the Wild, who boast the league’s best shot-blocking numbers
You fell for the trap [Akbar’d]. Yeah, they have the most blocked shots in the league. But guess what? They also have allowed the most shots on goal in the league.
They’ve had 1490 shots on their goal and blocked 775 shots — 2.9 on goal for each block. The Flyers have had 1280 shots on their goal and blocked 677 shots — 2.9 on goal for each block.
It’s not so much that they’re incredible shot blockers; it’s more that they get pinned in their own end under a barrage of shots and block a decent percentage of them.
@BSH_EricT
Writer at Broad Street Hockey
by Eric T. on Jan 18, 2012 1:51 AM EST reply actions 4 recs
Ah, so this is what that feels like.
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Broad Street Hockey - Covering the Philadelphia Flyers. Have you accepted Ilya Bryzgalov as your savior?
by Travis Hughes on Jan 18, 2012 10:29 AM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Is a 2.9 rate middle of the road?
Keeping alive the old Vaudeville joke, "I'd rather be dead than play Philadelphia."
It’s a tricky question to answer because of scorer bias (some teams record a lot more blocks than others).
Like George said, their raw rate is better than average, but not exceptional. But I think we’ll do better correcting the block rate as follows:
The average team blocks 13.84 shots per game at home and 14.18 per game on the road. So we’ll take the team’s road blocks per game, multiply by 0.975, and estimate that as how many home blocks they would have had with a league average scorer.
This moves Minnesota (who has only 312 home blocks vs 443 road blocks) up to third, while keeping Philly in 5th.
There’s still a little unfairness in there, because teams that have played more on the road will have higher block totals. But this difference would not change the ranks at all, because the spread between teams is larger than this correction factor would introduce.
So in the end: Yes, Minnesota is very good at blocking shots, and “hey, they’re no better than Philly” is true but not damning. But they’re not the best in the league at it — that honor goes to the Islanders, who are slightly second in road blocks per game (behind Minnesota) but above-average in SOGA/G (which Minnesota is last in).
@BSH_EricT
Writer at Broad Street Hockey
So in the end: Yes, Minnesota is very good at blocking shots, and "hey, they’re no better than Philly" is true but not damning. But they’re not the best in the league at it — that honor goes to the Islanders, who are slightly second in road blocks per game (behind Minnesota) but above-average in SOGA/G (which Minnesota is last in).
Excellent, this is what I was looking for. Thanks.
Keeping alive the old Vaudeville joke, "I'd rather be dead than play Philadelphia."
Your phrasing is off.
1490 SOG and 775 wouldn’t be 2.9 on goal per block, it’s 2.9 total shots per block (and of course, that’s excluding misses also). It’s 1.92 SOG per block.
Blueshirt Banter - Where Rangers' Fans Matter
Tracking the Rangers - Numbers don't lie. They just don't agree with you.
Twitter: RangerSmurf
"Oh, that sensible and sober* Rangers fan guy who is cool, actually" - Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey
*Statement has not been verified nor regressed
by George E. Ays on Jan 18, 2012 1:10 PM EST up reply actions
Meh…1.97. Which would be 7th best. SJS leads, allowing only 1.73 SOG per block. Philly is 5th (1.88)
Blueshirt Banter - Where Rangers' Fans Matter
Tracking the Rangers - Numbers don't lie. They just don't agree with you.
Twitter: RangerSmurf
"Oh, that sensible and sober* Rangers fan guy who is cool, actually" - Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey
*Statement has not been verified nor regressed
by George E. Ays on Jan 18, 2012 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
Gah, this is true. I started to do percent of shots that were blocked, but before I hit the “1/x” button to get that number, I realized it was a misleading stat with the misses excluded. So I decided to report it as a on-goal-to-blocked ratio, which is also wrong.
Anyway, I’m in the process of answering Snevik’s question betterer…post coming in a minute.
@BSH_EricT
Writer at Broad Street Hockey
Wow Scooter looks like a vampire in that picture.
Madly in love with Jaromir Jagr's brilliant smile and epic goal salute.
Sean Couturier and Matt Read for joint Calder Trophy winners!
Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun. Definition: Bad-assery on skates
by Chemistry66 on Jan 18, 2012 12:01 PM EST via Android app reply actions
a blood sucking cooter?
Beets,Bears,Battlestar Galactica.
MICHAEL!
Political Correctness - the belief that one can pick up a turd by the clean end.
So many directions to go with this…must…resist….
"I wouldn’t run if there was a fire. I wouldn’t run anywhere. I hate running." - O. Munn
brilliant. and on cable, not broadcast.
/s, more often than not
by flyersfaninchicago on Jan 18, 2012 10:19 PM EST up reply actions
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