Flyers Early Elimination Unacceptable

The Flyers season came to a disappointing end Saturday when they lost to the Penguins in the 1st round in 6 games, 4-2. This is not a situation where it is nice for the Flyers to make the playoffs, and we are happy just being there. It is quite the opposite, as lately, we have seen the Flyers make the playoffs year after year, and had to go through the agony of watching us get eliminated every one of those years.

Starting with the 1994-1995 season, the Flyers have made the playoffs every season except for the disappointing 2006-2007 season. In all of those years in the playoffs, we have seen our Flyers get eliminated in every round of the postseason, including a loss to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup, and multiple losses in the Eastern Conference Finals, including losses to the Lightning and Devils, among others. This season started out with very lofty expectations. The Flyers made the Eastern Conference finals last season, and lost to the Penguins. But the Flyers did a great job last season, and ran into a better Penguins team. The Flyers are a very good offensive team, with a lot of young stars, so we expected a lot out of them this season. The regular season never seems to be a problem for this team. The Flyers always are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and are usually one of the better seeds in the playoffs.

This season, due to struggling down the stretch, the Flyers fell to the 5th seed, and had to play the 4th seeded Penguins. This was a very bad draw for the Flyers, as the Penguins might be the most talented team in the Eastern Conference. However, the Flyers were in this position because of their own doing by playing poor hockey down the stretch. So another offseason comes quicker than we would have liked. The fans deserve more. We deserve a Stanley Cup. As successful as the Flyers have been, they have not won a Stanley Cup since the 1974-1975 season. I, like many other younger fans, was not even alive at that point. Unfortunately, it has usually been the same story as of late with this team. When Bobby Clarke took over, he always seemed to have slower, more physical players. Clarke never liked the speedy, softer European players, or Russians. To Clarke's credit, he did do a successful job with the Flyers, but he never got us over the hump.

Now with Paul Holmgren in charge, he seems to feel the same way about players and talent evaluation as Clarke did. It is not fair to criticize Holmgren, as he has not had the job long enough to build his team, and that is not what this is about. But at some point, the Flyers philosophies have to change. Don't get me wrong - I love being a physical team. I love being able to beat the crap out of softer teams, and muscle teams around. But you need to add in speedy, finesse players to compliment them, and the Flyers have lacked that as of recently.

The offense, while inconsistent at times, is usually not the problem however. The Flyers defense, beyond Timonen and Coburn, is average. Saying the Flyers need to get better at defense each offseason has become like the Eagles need to bring in a #1 receiver. It is the truth, however; the Flyers do need to get better at defense. Too many times, when you see the opposing team score a goal, you say there is nothing that the goalie could have done to save that. That is on the defense. With this team, the offense is set. You have good, young players on offense who can make plays and score goals. You need to get better at defense. Marty Biron is over 30, and is a free agent, and may not come back next season. If Biron does not come back, you need to get better at the goalie position as well. I am not going to bash the goaltending as much as some others, I feel like putting a solid defense in from of the goalie will improve that position greatly.

Bottom line - losing in the 1st round of the playoffs to whoever is not acceptable. To take a 3-0 lead in Game 6, and then lose that game is not okay. The players, and coaches should be livid. The fans are. As fans, we expect and deserve more from the Flyers. Other teams in the Eastern Conference such as the Devils, Capitals, and Penguins aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and will always be among the teams competing in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers need to step up their game, improve their team, and finally win the Cup that we all have been waiting for.

Flyers Avoid Elimination With Win

The Flyers stayed alive for at least two more days, fighting off elimination, and beating the Penguins 3-0 in Pittsburgh. Everyone can grow their playoff beards at least a little longer, and hopefully a lot longer.

The Flyers know they can play with the Penguins, and I think were a little angry at themselves for losing two games (Game 2 & Game 4) which wer every winnable. The Flyers came out and played a very focused, determined, and smart Game 5, while still playing their game. The Flyers victory allows the series to come back to Philadelphia for Game 6, where the most intimidating fans in the NHL are waiting.

After a scoreless first, Arron Asham got the Flyers on the board in the 2nd, with a nasty slap shot that couldn't have been placed any more perfectly in the upper corner of the net. In the 3rd period, the Flyers got goals from Giroux and Knuble to put the game away. The defense played their best game of the series, and Marty Biron obviously was solid, getting the shutout. The game was evenly played, the Flyers just being the team to put the puck in the back of the net. The Flyers did a great job back-checking, and not allowing the Penguins stars to ever get anything going.

This has been a very good series, probably the best first round series in the NHL so far, especially since it is between two rivals. Both teams now have 13 goals in this series. The Flyers need to keep doing what they have been doing the past few games in this series. They need to still play with a lot of focus, and desperation. Even though we held off elimination for one game, we still have to two more. We are still down in the series, and it's not going to be easy. But one game at a time is how the team has to approach it... and they did their job in Game 5. The series comes back to Philadelphia for a day game on Saturday.

Flyers Try To Avoid Elimination Tonight

The Flyers try to avoid elimination tonight against the Penguins in Game 5 of the first round series. The Penguins took a 3-1 series lead with a 3-1 victory in Game 4.

As bad an idea as it seems, there is nothing the Flyers can do other than continue to play the way they have played in the past two games. The Flyers won Game 3, and dominated the action in the Game 4 loss, but they want to keep doing what they have been doing. If that means playing another hard fought game, and losing, then so be it. The Flyers can claim they lost to the more skilled team, which is probably the case.

On offense, we need to see more from the top players. The Flyers had six 25-goal scorers in the regular season, but no one has really stepped up their game on offense, except for Claude Giroux. Danny Briere had a great assist in Game 3; unfortunately we expect more from Briere. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards both have one goal apiece, and we need more from both of them, especially when you get 8 power play opportunities in a game. The star counterparts on the Penguins have been doing their jobs. Malkin and Crosby are the reasons that the Penguins hold a 3-1 series advantage, along with Fleury, who has outplayed Biron in between the pipes.

A loss tonight would mark a disappointing end to the season. We expect more than a first round series loss from this Flyers team and this Flyers organization. The Flyers are an organization that has reached an elite status among NHL teams, yet have no recent Stanley Cups to show for it. We are always one of the better, more competitive teams, and thus first round losses are considered a disappointment. So hopefully we can put away our razors at least for one more game and grow our playoff beards a little longer.

Flyers Penguins 1st Round Preview

The Flyers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs, with Game 1 getting under way tonight in Pittsburgh. The Flyers lost out on home ice advantage in this series by losing in the season finale to the Rangers.

Unfortunately, much like football and the NFC East, I am not too happy that the Flyers play an Atlantic Division foe in the Penguins. Going into the playoffs, I would have rather played any other team in the playoffs than the Pens, Devils, and even the Rangers. The Flyers are 2-4 against the Penguins this season, with one loss coming in OT, and another coming in a shootout. These two teams also met up last season in the Eastern Conference final, with the Penguins winning the series and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ohhh yeah, and these two teams don’t like each other too much. Anytime you play a team as much as the Flyers and Penguins do throughout the season, and meet up in two consecutive playoff series’, there is going to be a good rivalry. These two teams have forged one of the better hockey rivalries as of late, with the cross-state teams both being among the elite in the Eastern Conference.

If the Flyers want to have any chance in advancing in these playoffs, and this series, they need to start playing better hockey than they have been down the stretch. The Flyers have been playing average hockey to end the season, while the Penguins have been playing very good hockey. The Flyers are just 3-4-1 in their last eight games. The offense hasn’t been poor for the most part, but the defense hasn’t been great, and Biron has been very inconsistent. All of that said, the Flyers still could have had home ice in this series had they just beaten/lost in OT to the Rangers in the last game of the regular season. They had a 3-2 lead in the 3rd period on home ice, and ended up losing the game in regulation. Good teams don’t let that happen. Teams that will go far into the playoffs don’t let that happen. I’m not saying the Flyers can’t do it, because I believe they can, but they will need to rebound quickly in order to even hang with the Penguins in this series. They will need to rely on their offense to do so. The Flyers offense is dangerous, with six 25 goal scorers in Carter, Richard, Gagne, Hartnell, Knuble, and Lupul. Throw a healthy Briere, and rookie Giroux in the mix, and the Flyers offense is among the best in the league. The defense, beyond Timonen, and Coburn is just average, and Biron will need to have another playoffs like last season for the Flyers to be successful.

The Penguins on the other hand have a record of 18-3-4 since February 15th, when Dan Bylsma became the interim head coach. Bylsma is obviously getting the most out of his players, because when he took over, the Penguins weren’t even in the playoff picture. No matter how the Penguins are playing, they are still an extremely scary team, as they feature two of the top three players in the world on their roster. Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby are a lethal combination. Malkin finished the season as the NHL scoring champion, compiling 113 points, which Crosby was 3rd with 103 points. Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins goalie, always seems to own the Flyers also no matter when or where they play.

No matter what the outcome, it will be an exciting series for the fans to watch. These two teams always play each other well, and like I stated before, have a great rivalry going on right now. The Flyers can make it even more fun to watch by winning the series and advancing. Even if the Flyers play well and lose the series, a first round loss is not what we are looking for out of this team. The Flyers are too good, and have too many good players, that a first round loss is considered a disappointment, especially considering where this team went last season in the playoffs. The Flyers are still a young team, but do have enough talent to win this series against the Penguins.

Picks
Mr. Green: Flyers in 6
Roget: Flyers in 6
Queen Aoleon: Flyers in 5

Flyers Look Ahead to Postseason

The Flyers are holding desperately onto the #4 seed, trying to get home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs this season. The Flyers control their own destiny, as they are tied with Carolina with 95 points, but have a game in hand. The Penguins have 93 points, but the Flyers have a game in hand on them also. Unfortunately, this team isn’t making it easy on themselves, losing 3 of 4 games, and 4 of 6. The Flyers also still have tough games among the final four games, with two against the Rangers, and one against the Panthers. The Rangers and Panthers are tied for 8th in the Eastern Conference, so they will be fighting hard to get into the playoffs.

The Flyers have been unnervingly inconsistent down the stretch. Their scoring has slowed down for the most part, despite the 8 goals they scored against Toronto last Friday. Neither goalie has really won the starting job going into the playoffs, although Biron has played better down the stretch. Heading into the playoffs, this team should be able to score goals, it is just still a matter of their defense not giving up easy opportunities for the opposition, and Biron making the saves that he needs to make. Come playoff time, just like pitching in baseball, goaltending in the NHL gets much more important. You cannot go deep into the playoffs unless you have sharp goaltending. Biron must do what he did last season and start playing his best hockey come playoff time.

Another thing to look at is the seed that the Flyers will end up getting. Currently, they are in the 4th spot with four games to play, yet still have not even clinched a playoff spot. Hopefully, they will stay in the 4 spot, but if they continue to play poor hockey, they could end up dropping out of the playoffs completely, or more realistically, losing home ice in the first round.

Home ice is important, but so is the team we will face in the first round. I’m not sure the players concern themselves with too much with who they will face, but as fans, we want to face the optimal matchup for our boys in orange and black. Right now, that appears to be the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina holds a two-point lead over the Penguins for the 5th spot, and as a Flyers fan, we hope it stays that way. We do not want to face the Penguins in the first round. The Flyers play exciting matchups against the Penguins, but you still do not want to face them. We believe the Flyers can beat anyone in the Eastern Conference if they are playing their game, but due to recent history, we would rather not see the Penguins or the Devils in a playoff match-up.

The Flyers have four games left and have to get their act together before the playoffs. They need to start playing a lot better defensively and get the puck in the back of the net if they want to advance in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers Season Preview

Let’s Go Fly-ers! Our men in orange and black are ready to embark on another jam-packed season. The Atlantic division should be incredibly competitive as usual with the Rangers, Flyers, Devils, and Penguins all packed into one division. No worries though, our team has the depth and is well coached. The Flyers are filled with a good mix of veterans and youngsters, who should have no problem keeping up with other young teams in the league.

Unfortunately, we lost a couple major cogs in our playoff run from last season. R.J. Umberger, Vaclav Prospal and Jason Smith are gone. The Flyers definitely had some major holes to fill in the offseason; and fill them we did! The Flyers picked up Glen Metropolit, Aaron Asham and a tough defensemen, Ossi Vaananen. In addition, we signed Jeff Carter to an extension, so no free agency for him…what a relief. Also, the Flyers gave young star Mike Richards the captaincy, and he should be leading the Flyers for a long time to come. Here at Kotite’s Corner, we are extremely confident that we can beat our 6th place finish from last season in the conference. It is not going to be easy as we will have many games against the aforementioned Rangers, Devils, and Penguins.

Another major addition is the return of one Simon Gagne from the disabled list. Gagne was playing well early last season, just as he always does, before he went down for the year. This guy has been a stud, and you know he is ready to finally prove he can stay healthy and be a veteran leader on this Flyers team. How ready are you to see Gags back on the ice during regular season hockey? We know we’re ready for it. He looked strong at camp and in the preseason games. Gagne is only 28, but has already played nine NHL seasons. We know he has a lot left in him and will fall back into the superstar status quickly. One of our other superstars, Briere, needs to step it up early in the season. He needs to be scoring goals and making the plays that he did in the playoffs last season right off the bat. We can’t wait for the playoffs for him to pick up his game this season, although much appreciated, we can’t afford it this year. Let’s not forget about the other stars on this team in Lupul, Upshall, Knuble and Hartnell. Those players are sometimes shadowed by Briere and Richards, yet still contribute and mean just as much as the “superstars” do.

On defense is where the Flyers will need to improve the most this season. The Flyers defense was better last season than it was two seasons ago, however, it will need to improve further if the Flyers want to go deep into the playoffs. The Flyers defense is led once again by all-star Kimmo Timonen, who is the best all-around player on defense for this team. Some of the younger defensemen in Braydon Coburn, and Randy Jones really played well last season, and will be asked to increase their role even more this season to make up for the loss of Jason Smith, and the injury issues of Derian Hatcher. The Flyers defense is going to make-or-break the season. We know the Flyers can score, and we know that we will get solid goaltending out of Martin Biron. The defense has to step up their game, and this team will go far.

Speaking of the goaltending, Martin Biron had an up-and-down season last year, but really came on in the latter stages of the year, especially in the playoffs. Biron was the playoff MVP for this team, and was the main reason we escaped our 1st round series with the Capitals, and won our 2nd round series with the Canadiens. Antero Niittymaki has been on this team for a few years now, and may soon be the starter. He came into big spots last season, and did very well as a backup goalie.

Although the season does begin this Saturday evening at 7:00pm, I’m looking forward to October 14th when we play the Penguins. They eliminated us out of the Stanley Cup hunt last year and we’re out for blood. The season does open Saturday against the hated Rangers. LET’S GET FLYERED UP!