Flyers Return Home From That Shit Hole California, Snap Losing Streak Against Montreal
Flyers 4, Canadiens 3 | (16-15-7)
Okay so first of all, fuck the entire state of California. That place can suck on a bag of dicks. The Cali trip almost never bodes well for the Flyers and the past three games were no exception. A 4-2 loss to the Ducks, a 4-2 loss to the Sharks and a 2-1 loss to the Kings. And not only does the team suck when they play out there, but the gametimes suck as well. They’re either 10 pm stars or some weird shit like a 4 pm start on a Saturday. Whatever, I’m over it and so are the Flyers after getting back in the win column last night against the Montreal Canadiens. Dave Hakstol did a bit of line shuffling heading into the game and it payed off. There was plenty of attention to be paid to the new top line of Voracek – Giroux – Simmonds, but it was the leftovers of Raffl – Couturier – Schenn that paid off the most as that line combined for 5 points on the night with Coots and Schenn both getting themselves on the board.
Obviously throwing Voracek, Giroux and Simmonds on the same line was a huge risk for Hakstol. The Flyers problem over the past few seasons has been a lack of secondary scoring and when you throw your 3 best players all on the same line, you’re sort of asking for trouble. But lucky for the Flyers, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier have been streaky at a minimum for them so far this season. And this goal to open up the game was just another example of that. Baby Schenn may not have been on a great stretch over the past 10 or so games, but here’s a little fun fact for everyone; Brayden is now on pace to score in every single game played in 2016. 2 games, 2 goals. And last night he had himself a nice little 3 point night so it’s a New Year, New Brayden.
Again, here’s that newly constructed 2nd line getting pressure in the offensive zone and Sean Couturier getting himself in the right spots. This is also the benefit of playing with that bum ass Nick Schultz. Guy can’t hit the net for the life of him but lucky for Coots it all worked out in the end and he was able to knock home the eventual game winner. And as has been the case with all of Couturier’s lines over the past few weeks, they hardly spent any extended time in the defensive zone. The Coots lines have all been able to get pucks deep, work the cycle around and keep the puck off the opponents’ sticks. Shit is finally starting to come together.
Who Ya Gonna Call?
I fucking love this kid. I really do. Along with the rest of the team in general, Shayne Gostisbehere hit the first rough stretch of his NHL career over the past 5 or so games. He was looking irrelevant out there at best and was making a few ill-advised turnovers each game. But last night we got to see the Ghost Show which we’ll all grow accustomed to seeing over the next decade. If North Korea thinks they’re hot shit with their hydrogen bombs, well they better stick that tail back between their legs after watching a Ghost Bomb from the point. The kid was clapping away last night and ended up with a goal and an assist. And it wasn’t just the offensive production for Shayne Gostisbehere last night. He was strong in the defensive zone, he limited his turnovers and he had a few key breakups in transition that resulted in transition offense going the other way. We talk about 200-ft forwards in hockey all the time (i.e. – guys like Sean Couturier), well Shayne Gostisbehere is a 200-ft defenseman.
Pork Chops – G – Wayne Train
They got their chances last night. They got a ton of pressure offensively. And Wayne Simmonds ended up with a goal on the power play. I’m not sure how long Hakstol plans on keeping this line the way it is, I don’t know if it was just a shake up move or not, but obviously they’re going to attract a ton of attention from opposing teams whenever they’re out on the ice together. They’re gonna draw the other team’s shutdown line so it’s not like they’ll be scoring at will. But I thought they looked really good together last night and as it would turn out, the Flyers actually have a pretty solid top 6 to work with. I’m sure it’ll be even better once Travis Konecny is up in the mix, but they’re doing just fine for now. Outside of the top 6, however, it’s a bit of a mess.
I still don’t get why RJ Umberger is out on the ice. I get that it was a salary cap decision to send Sam Gagner to Lehigh Valley and keep Umberger plugged in there but still. Laughton doesn’t have much to work with on his wings and Ryan white was playing like a fucking idiot last night. The top 2 lines for the Flyers were very good last night. The bottom 2 should spend the entire day watching film and feeling shame.
Neuvirth Is Going To Be Worth A Lot Come The Trade Deadline
The Flyers currently sit at 6th place in the Metro. They are 5 points out of a Wild Card spot but with plenty of teams standing in their way. I still don’t know if this is a playoff team or not but the realist in me says it’s not in the cards this year. Which means that moving Michal Neuvirth could be a very good move for the Flyers at the trade deadline. Because Neuvy is the best back up in the NHL right now. Hell, he’s been better than plenty of starters so far this year. And Cup contending teams could really benefit by bringing him in for the playoffs as a fail-safe in the playoffs. So much so that they’d probably be willing to give up a top prospect or a 1st round draft pick for his services. So I love the way that Neuvy has been playing and I think the risk the Flyers took to bring him in over the summer is going to pay off soon enough.
The Other Guys
– Faceoffs were about even last night. Would still obviously like to see the Flyers get stronger in the faceoff dot in the offensive zone. They were 48% last night.
– Flyers went 4/4 on the penalty kill last night. They got a little lucky here and there with Montreal missing the mark on a bunch of one timers but the Flyers PK unit was still keeping the Habs to the perimeter which you like to see.
– 25 recorded blocked shots for the Flyers last night. TWENTY FIVE. John Tortorella is jizzing his pants looking at that stat line.
– Ghost shirts should be up in the store soon.