Don't Panic

So this last month has been pretty tough if you're a Flyers fan. Since the Flyers beat the LA Kings a month ago, the Flyers are 3-11-1. John Stevens has been fired, and the trade rumors are starting to swirl. Despite this slide, I'm not ready to hit the panic button yet and declare the season over.

While November and December are traditionally strong months for the Flyers, this year they battled a TON of injuries. On this losing streak they've lost: Blair Betts, Darrol Powe, Jared Ross, Ole Kristian Tollefsen and Ray Emery to injuries. Plus they haven't had Gagne since October.

One of the biggest reason for the losing streak has been the Flyers inability to kill penalties. When you lose one of your top PK men (Betts), it gets a lot harder to kill penalties. Another area where the Flyers have struggled is scoring. Powe, when he was injured, had had 6 goals in 19 games. While not stunning numbers, he was off to the best start of his career, and he is a sparkplug for the 3rd and 4th lines. Powe is set to return next week, as is Gagne and Betts came back last night. Hopefully with the Flyers getting healthy, we'll see their game start to pick up.

The Flyers are also still adjusting to new coach Peter Laviolette. Laviolette brings a whole new style of play with him, and with frequent games, it has been hard for the Flyers to practice the new system. Laviolette likes to run a two man forecheck, and to play aggressively in the offensive zone. This isn't something the Flyers are used to, and it requires a lot of conditioning to execute it well. The Flyers obviously weren't conditioned to run this system under Stevens, so it may take a little time for them to get used to it.

The bottom line is, this team has too much talent not to contend with Pittsburgh and other elite teams. This is a rough patch for them, but they have weathered worse in the past (remember that 10 game losing streak back in 08?). I fully expect the Flyers to recover from this slump (they just played a great game against Pittsburgh last night) and to get on a roll for the second half the season. Keep the faith!

What Would You Do for Free Flyers Tickets?

This is what I did:

I came in second, but still lost by like 17... It would've been cool to win the santa sack, but the consolation prize was great!

Also- Flyers need to get their act together.

Inconsistent Discipline Strikes Again!

Apparently Danny Briere has been suspended for two games because he cross checked Scott Hannan in the neck in the second period last night. There was no penalty on the play, and Hannan isn't expected to miss much time, yet the league decided it was worth suspending Briere over. In the Flyers past three games, Giroux has been boarded (went into the boards nose first) and cross checked hard in the neck after scoring, Powe was hit late behind a play where the defenseman took five or six strides to come hit him, resulting in a shoulder injury that has had him out of the lineup for the past two games, and he'll be out for five more weeks, and Jeff Carter was boarded and went face first into the boards last night in Colorado. Yet none of these plays drew a second look from the disciplinarians in Toronto. The league's bias against the Flyers is pretty amazing sometimes...

Blue Line Attack

If anyone is interested in helping beta test a hockey mmorpg- sign up here: http://www.bluelineattack.com/

It's kinda cool. If you have questions, I can answer them for you.

Flyers Wrap

So now that the Flyers are finally playing games again...

They've been so-so since the week long break. They split games with Florida, losing 4-2 in Fl, but crushing them 5-1 here. They beat Boston in a shootout (on a beautiful goal by Claude Giroux) and played extremely uninspired hockey against San Jose in a 4-1 loss.

Is it just me, or do the Flyers seem bored on the ice recently? They looked good in the win against Florida, but in the loss to Fl, the Boston game and the San Jose game, they just looked like they don't want to be out on the ice. Coburn has really regressed this year imo, and Timonen isn't looking like his usual self either. Pronger has been ok... but he hasn't been the game changer I was expecting.

I think a lot of the Flyers problems stem from Mike Richards. Now I'm a huge Richards fan, but he's been making me grimace more than cheer this season. He started off the season really hot, but he's as uninspiring a leader as ever... and now he's in the middle of a couple of controversies as he's acting like a petulant brat and refusing to speak to the Philly media, and he narrowly avoided a suspension last week after his ugly hit on David Booth (granted, while I don't think he was trying to hurt Booth, it's still never a good thing to see a hit like that). Richards is young, only 24, but he is sorely lacking leadership skills needed to captain a winning hockey team. Richards is going to be here a long time, and he needs to grow up. That being said, the Flyers brass needs to recognize that he might not be fit for the captaincy right now. It was given to him before last season because there really was no better option. Now that Pronger is here, it might be wise to make him the leader of the team for the time being and let Richards learn under him. Pronger has won everywhere he's been (even in St. Louis), and he knows what it takes to bring Philadelphia fans what they want most. I say that if the Flyers continue to play the way they've been, it's time to send them a message that it won't be tolerated by stripping Richards of the captaincy.

Also- Brian Boucher sucks. Bring back Nitty.

This One's For Harry

2/3 of the way there. Four more wins til we repeat. Do it for Harry!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbJrAAaUcKg

Has Hockey Season Started?

It feels like the summer all over again. 1 game in 11 days is KILLING ME. It's a good thing the Phils have been playing well or I'd be out of my mind right now.