Flyers Overcoming Adversity

 Adversity : a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune.

   The latest edition of the Philadelphia Flyers have stared down adversity of all shapes and sizes since before this season even began. The players once considered the cornerstones of the franchise, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, were traded on the same day in what many called an unprecedented organizational face-lift. Who would replace their combined production of 59 goals and 132 points? Seven other players departed and fans were left to wonder whether or not this team was rebuidling, or retooling. Last years team averaged 3.12 goals per game at season end; good for 3rd in the league. This years team is averaging 3.12 goals per game, good for 3rd in the league. Suffice to say, the moves made by Paul Holmgren have payed off so far. The production that left has easily been replaced by younger and hungrier players, whether it be "Rookie of the Year" candidate Matt Read or a veteran player acquired in the offseason trades like Wayne Simmonds. Just 4 points out of home-ice advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs with 6 games to go (2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who they are chasing), what GM Paul Holmgren has managed to do is the definition of retooling.

   Alas, major changes were just the first dose of adversity. The second came in the form of a tidal wave of injuries. The suddenly red-hot Ilya Bryzgalov is just the latest in a long-list of battered combatants. It's unclear as to how Bryzgalov chipped a bone in his foot or how much time he will miss. It may have been from kicking defensemen Matt Carle in his posterior after his costly turnover in the 3rd period of Monday's game against Tampa Bay led to the deciding goal. Andrej Meszaros, the reigning Barry Ashbee Trophy winner (best Flyers defensemen as voted upon by the team) will miss another 5-7 weeks following his back surgery last week. Lest we forget about veteran defensemen and defacto leader Chris Pronger, who replaced Richards as Flyers captain. Just 13 games into his tenure, Pronger suffered a season-ending concussion. His presence was dearly missed for much of the middle of the season. The Flyers fell as low as 26th overall in goals against per game. General Manager Paul Holmgren didn't sit on his hands though. Instead, he went out and acquired Nicklas Grossmann and Pavel Kubina to shore up the defense in Prongers absence. Since then, The Flyers have allowed just 24 goals in 15 games, moving up to 20th overall in GAPG. Blossoming power-forward James van Riemsdyk, fresh off of a dominating performance in the playoffs, was awarded a big contract extension, and promptly suffered injury after injury, limiting him to just 43 of the teams 76 games thus far. 

   Concussions have been the hot-button topic yet again this season around the NHL. You want concussions? We've got concussions; six different Flyers to be exact. You'd be better off asking which players haven't yet suffered a serious injury this season.

Flyers Total Man-Games Lost to Injury:

• Laperriere 76
• Betts 73
• Pronger 62
• van Riemsdyk 32
• Gustafsson 21
• Schenn 20
• Sestito 19
• Lilja 13
• Briere 9
• Jagr 9
• Meszaros 12
• Couturier 5
• Timonen 5
• Kubina 6
• Giroux 4
• Rinaldo 4
• Read 3
• Voracek 3
• Bryzgalov 2
• Coburn 1
• Talbot 1

   If you exclude Laperriere and Betts, who were never in the Flyers plans for this season, you get a grand total of 229 Man-Games Lost to Injury, 11th most in the league. The only teams likely to make the playoffs ahead of the Flyers in this dubious category are Pittsburgh, Florida, and St. Louis.

   Turnover in personnel and injuries haven't been the only sources of adversity for the Orange & Black. For the first 5 months of the season, they had to overcome the wildly inconsistent goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky and the media frenzy that exacerbated it. Not only that, but they have been notorious for starting off slowly in games. No matter. They have the 3rd highest winning percentage when being scored upon first.

   The Flyers have found a way to score and more importantly, they have found a way to win. After the dramatic maneuvering of Paul Holmgren left fans and "experts" wondering if they would even be a playoff team this season, the Flyers have silenced all critics and are one of only 5 teams to have already clinched their spot in the post-season dance. Head coach Peter Laviolette deserves a lot of the credit for his ability to seamlessly integrate new players, a lot of which have been rookies, into his existing system. Adversity faced? Check. Adversity overcome? Check. They say overcoming adversity can turn a good team into a great team. Only time will tell.

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Flyers Need To Play With Consistent "Jam"

   If there's one thing we learned about Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette from HBO's "24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic" documentary, it's that Lavvy is constantly professing the necessity to play with "jam."

   Now, he's not talking about the kind of jam you pair up with some of Jaromir Jagr's Creamy Peanut Butter for an afternoon snack. Lavvy's talking about winning battles and wearing the opponents defense down. He's talking about that extra vigor that was present over the weekend while facing rival opponents Boston and Pittsburgh, but was missing on Tuesday night at home vs. Florida. When the Flyers play with "jam," they are quickly on top of defensemen on the forecheck, pounding pucks loose and creating not just one scoring chance, but two and three good looks at the net. When their not playing with "jam," they are opting for a brand of hockey that can best be described as "too cute." They pass up open shot opportunities and look for the perfect goal, rather than the ugly one (a Wayne Simmonds goal) Sure, they may have out-shot Florida 36-13, completely stifling them defensively, but the physical presence and second chance opportunities were not there in Floridas end. Save for the last 5 minutes, it may have been the quietest 36 shots of the season, and because the Flyers failed to wear down the Panthers defense, they were able to hold off the late surge for the 2-1 victory.

   We've seen this from the Flyers (and other teams for that matter) before. They have a tendency to elevate their emotional level against rival opponents, before letting it drop against the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers of the league. Obviously, points against rivals count just the same as points against the rest of the league.

   The loss on Tuesday night at home vs. the Panthers may have been the final nail in the coffin on the Flyers attempt to win the Atlantic Divison, and ultimately the Eastern Conference. They now sit 7 points back of the Division and Conference leading New York Rangers with 9 remaining. The 5 losses in 5 games vs. the Rangers this season and their inadequacy in shoot-outs (3-6 record) may be the main culprit, but crucial losses to Florida, Long Island, Edmonton and Winnipeg over the last couple of months may prove to be just as costly. Nevertheless, the Flyers can still catch the Penguins and secure home-ice advantage in the 1st round. They are just 4 points back with 2 games against them.

   There are fans that are of the opinion that since the Flyers have been such a good road team this season (4 more wins on the road than at home thus far), home-ice advantage is not essential. I disagree. Having the best fans in hockey behind you to kick off the playoffs has always been, and will always be an advantage for the Orange & Black. Regardless of who they play in the 1st round or what city the series beings in, they can beat any team they face..as long as they play with "jam."

CAN THE FLYERS BEAT ANY TEAM THEY FACE IN THE 1ST ROUND? IS HOME ICE ADVANTAGE A NECESSITY OR A LUXURY? LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW!

Back to Bryzness



Bryzgalov with 1 of his 17 saves in 3-0 shut-out win over New Jersey.

   I'm sure we're all familiar with the phrase, "The universe has a way of correcting itself." What we never could have imagined was that a phrase as deep as space itself could draw such a parallel to the roller-coaster season of enigmatic Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

   On Tuesday night in Philadelphia vs. the New Jersey Devils, "Universe," a nickname Bryzgalov earned during his interview on HBO's documentary '24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic' after his musings on how "humangous big" the universe is and how we shouldn't sweat the small things in life, earned his 3rd consecutive shut-out and 4th in 5 starts. In the processs, he was named 1st star of the game for his 5th consecutive start. Get on the bandwagon while the gettin' is good.

   This is the goaltender Paul Holmgren went out and signed to a nine year, $51 million dollar contract this past offseason. This is the goaltender who posted a Save Percentage of at least .920 in 3 of the last 4 seasons in Phoenix and was nominated for a Vezina Trophy as leagues best goalie. You know, the man who was supposed to put an end to the 20 years the Flyers have gone without a stable, long-term #1 netminder. The goaltender who had a Save Percentage as low as .890 just a few months ago, well below an NHL netminders "mendoza line" of .900 and good for 63rd in the league at the time, is now a distant memory. He has climbed 30 spots already to 33rd in Save Percentage (.908) and his 6 shut-outs are 3rd most in the NHL and 6 more than the Flyers goaltending combined for all of last season.

   How, when, where and why this dramatic turn-around occured for the man nicknamed "Universe" may be a mystery on the scale of the actual universe. Did it start on a frigid night in Calgary where Bryz finally got the shoot-out monkey off his back, stopping 4 of 5 shots in a thrilling triumph? That's irrelevant. What is relevant is that if this superb play between the pipes continues, the Flyers look like a legitimate threat to come out of the Eastern Conference. For now, It appears as though Bryz has found that "peace in his soul to play in this city" he alluded to less than one month ago. Cue the cautious optimism Flyers faithful. 

How confident are you that Bryzgalov has officially turned it around? Leave your thoughts below and don't forget to Follow my blog by clicking the icon on the right!

Where Is the Suspension for Kronwall?



Kronwall targeting Voracek's head



   Let me start off by saying that when it comes to physical play in the NHL, I am far from a pacifist. I love clean, bone-crunching hits just as much as I love top-shelf slap-shots off the cross-bar and in. That being said, what Niklas Kronwall did to Jakub Voracek on Tuesday night was illegal and should have resulted in a suspension of at least 2 games.

  Jakub Voracek attempted to get a head start on moving the puck up ice by beginning to skate forward while reaching backwards to retrieve the puck. When he turned around, he was immediately and maliciously greeted by Niklas Kronwall's shoulder right to the mouth, sending him flying backwards to the ice and leaving him dazed for a half a minute. Play carried on until the Flyers regained possesion and although Brayden Schenn offered to engage Kronwall in fistacuffs, Kronwall declined (no surprise considering he has never once answered the bell in his career), and there was never any revenge issued (an issue for another post).



   We saw a lot of this type of hit in the 90s. New Jersey Devils Hall of Fame defensemen Scott Stevens was the poster child for it. It was within the parameters of the rules the league had in place. You could target the opponents head as long as you made contact with your shoulder and kept your elbow tucked in at your side. Stevens leveled many an unsuspecting player with the same type of hit. Paul Kariya, Slava Kozlov, Shane Willis; the list goes on and on. Were some of these hits an attempt to injure? Absolutely. Were they legal? Sure, so I had no problem with them. Even when he ended Lindros' career as a Flyer in game 6 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals by olbiterating "The Big E" as he manuvered through the neutral zone with his head down, I never complained.

   Then the league changed the rule to this:

48.1 Illegal Check To The Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted. However, in determining whether such a hit should have been permitted, the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was unavoidable, can be considered

   The first highlighted line explains why it was illegal and the second explains why i'm assuming the NHLs lead disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan interpreted it as legal. However, It is clear in the replay that Kronwall targeted Voracek's head. He had the time and opportunity to target the chest, and actually raised his trajectory at the last second to the point where his skates almost left the ice surface to deliberately make the head the principal point of contact. Contact with the head was not unavoidable. No penalty was assessed on the play, and no subsequental discipline was given to Kronwall. Even after the rule change handcuffed every other player, he continues on his path of predatory head-hunting without repercussions.

  In a league where concussions and player safety in general have become a major cause for concern, Shanahan dropped the ball by not disciplining this hit. It is the second time in two weeks that a questionable hit, that we have seen result in a suspension in other instances, occured against a Flyer and was not dealt with (San Jose Sharks defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic check from behind on Danny Briere). Flyers forward and pugilist Zac Rinaldo's hit on Detroit defensemen Jonathan Ericsson was a clean shoulder to the chest and far less dangerous hit and he was suspended for 2 games. How badly does someone have to be injured by Kronwall before the NHL puts a stop to him? All we are asking for is a little consistency from the league. Is that so much to ask?

OFF THE POST: Do you agree with the NHLs decision to not suspend Niklas Kronwall for this hit? If so, why? Leave your thoughts below!

 

Howe's Honor Long Overdue

Mark Howe and Ron Hextall

   Mark Howe is the best defensemen in the history of the Philadelphia Flyers. On Tuesday night, with the Detroit Red Wings in town, Mark finally had his number '2' raised to the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center, joining Bobby Clarkes '16', Bill Barbers '7', Bernie Parents '1', and Barry Ashbees '4'. He is the first of the post-Stanley Cup era Flyers to receive this honorary distinction. It was a classy move on the organizations part to have the ceremony while the Red Wings were in town. Afterall, he played his final three seasons there and his legendary father, Gordie Howe, led the franchise to four Stanley Cups. 


   Author Jay Greenberg said it best in his book 'Full Spectrum (an essential read for all those who bleed Orange & Black)' - "Few players with a skill level as high as Mark Howe's have ever subverted their egos so for the good of their teams. He failed to score more than 480 points in his 594 regular season games only because the Flyers were ahead too often to need more goals."

   The question is, why did it take so long? Why did the Flyers feel it was necessary to wait until the NHL finally inducted him into the Hockey Hall of Fame before they could honor the son of "Mr. Hockey" themselves? Sure It's absolutely ridiculous that it took the NHL seventeen years to induct him into the Hall of Fame, but it's even more absurd that the Flyers organization felt it was necessary to wait until after that happened to retire his number. Did not yet being a member of the HOF change the fact that he was the anchor of their defense for an entire decade, nearly winning Stanley Cups in 1985 and 1987? No. Did it change the fact that he is the franchises all-time leading scorer in goals, assists, and points for a defensemen? Not-uh. His astounding +85 rating in the 1985-1986 season (the seventh best single-season +/- by an individual in the history of the NHL) alone should have been enough to have his number retired. Well, not really, but you get the idea. Howe was a legend, underrated by even the team he played for with such a rare combination of class and skill. He is widely considered "the best defensemen to never win the Norris Trophy (awarded to the NHLs best defensemen after each season)", finishing as a runner-up three times. He played in the highest-scoring era in league history, and made it look easy. Hopefully the next Flyers legend doesn't have to wait until the NHL honors their accomplishments before they do.

    Its been long overdue to see Mark Howe finally thrust back into the spotlight of hockey fans everywhere with his HOF induction, alumni game penalty-shot goal, and number retirement cermony. In a sad twist of fate, these moments all occured in the wake of dear friend and long-time defensive partner Brad McCrimmons passing in last years tragic Lokomotiv Ice Hockey team plane crash. If there is any one player Mark would have wanted to share these moments with, it would have been "the Beast."







OFF THE POST: It's been 22 years since the Flyers last retired a number. How long will it be before they retired another one? Will 'The Big E' or another member of the 90s teams that came ever so close to winning the Cup ever have their number retired? If Claude Giroux keeps doing what hes doing for the next decade or more, will it be the his '28'? Comment with your thoughts below!

Jaromir Jagr Loves Peanut Butter

   There may only be one thing that Jaromir Jagr, the eighth leading scorer in NHL history, loves more than doing his famous salute to the crowd after scoring a goal. This thing he loves is a creamy (and sometimes crunchy, but he's not into anything that perverse) spread that has been a staple of American households for generations and calls jelly its best friend. If you guessed peanut butter (or if you simply read the title of this post), you would be correct. It makes sense. Jagr in his prime may have been the smoothest player to ever lace up skates. Creamy even. Let's face it, they're a match made in heaven, or on Wonderbread with the crusts cut off.

  Jagr's fascinating and protein-rich condiment first hit store shelves in 1996. Jagr was a superstar at the time, one year removed from his first of five Art Ross trophies for leading scorer in the NHL. Naturally, endorsements were flying his way. Michael Jordan chose sneakers. Jaromir Jagr chose peanut butter. I think we all know who made the right choice. You can't eat sneakers, but if you could, I bet they'd taste better with 'Jagr's Creamy Peanut Butter' on them.

   The only thing better than 'Jagrs Creamy Peanut Butter' might be the shirt he's sporting in the picture to the right. The only thing better than his shirt might be his mullet. It makes the "business in the front, party in the back" look the 93' Phillies proudly displayed look like "high and tight" military fades by comparison.

   If you're a fan of collecting bizarre sports memorabilia, or just want to live dangerously and see how your body reacts to eating expired peanut butter (not recommended), you can purchase Jagr's Creamy Peanut Butter on eBay right now! Starting bid is just $10.00. STEAL OF THE CENTURY.

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Flyers Showcase NHLs Cultural Diversity

Andrej Meszaros and Matt Carle

   Over the past twenty-five years, the NHL has become the most culturally diverse of the major North American sports. Perhaps nothing better exemplifies this than the eight men charged with keeping pucks out of the Philadelphia Flyers net. Canada, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Russia and the United States are considered the seven Hockey super-powers. All seven of these countries are represented in one locker-room on Broad Street.

      DEFENSE

• Kimmo Timonen (Kuopio, FINLAND)        
• Braydon Coburn (Shaunavon, SK, CANADA)
• Matt Carle (Anchorage, AK, UNITED STATES)
• Andrej Meszaros (Považská Bystrica, SLOVAKIA)
• Nicklas Grossman (Stockholm, SWEDEN)
• Pavel Kubina (Celadna, CZECH REPUBLIC)

    GOALTENDING

• Ilya Bryzgalov (Novokuznetsk, RUSSIA)
• Sergei Bobrovsky (Togliatti, RUSSIA)

Ilya Bryzgalov - Team Russia

  The Flyers are the only team in the NHL with this varied distinction. With the exception of Bobrovsky, all of these players have represented their countries in various levels of international play. Timonen, Kubina, Meszaros, and Bryzgalov proudly donned their countries jerseys during the Winter Olympics. There was once a time in Flyers history where the organization vehemently despised Russian hockey players (spawned in large part by the famous 1976 exhibition between the Broad Street Bullies and the vaunted Soviet Red Army team) and considered European players soft. Fortunately that archaic philosophy no longer exists within the organization.

   When you look up and down the rosters of every NHL team you'll see an unprecedented assortment of countries represented. At one point in time, the NHL was nearly 100% Canadian. That number has shrunk to around 50% with players now originating from South Africa to Japan. In fact, forty different countries have now had at least one player in the NHL. With fantastic leagues in Europe, such as the Czech Extraliga and the Swedish Elite League, developing top flight prospects year after year, this trend won't be changing any time in the foreseeable future.


Kimmo Timonen - Team Finland

   The Flyers newly assembled international defense has only played four games together, all on the road. So far It's been a mixed-bag of results, exhibiting strong play in games in which the team was shut-out 2-0 in Edmonton and 1-0 in San Jose, and playing very loose in 5-4 wins over Calgary and Winnipeg. Before bringing in Kubina and Grossman, the Flyers were allowing 2.93 goals per game. Since then they have allowed 2.75 gpg, all while adjusting to new pairings each night as head coach Peter Laviolette continues to try and find what works best. The slowly improving play of Bryzgalov has been a factor, but It's a step in the right direction nonetheless. All that remains to be seen for this group of men hailing from eight separate nations is if they can gel into ONE nation, under Lavvy, and help bring the Holy Grail of sports back to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time in thirty-seven long, heartbreaking years.

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU'VE SEEN SO FAR FROM THE NEW LOOK INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE? COMMENTS BELOW ARE WELCOME!