As all of you have seen through the first eight games of playoff hockey this season there are many ups and downs. And unfortunately right now things seem to be on the down slope of that scale. After the amazing ending to the Selkirk Steelers series where the Flyers won three straight games, all in overtime, with Lazorko scoring the winning goal each and every game, things appeared to be going in the right direction and the absolute right time.But then came the division final. The Flyers effort in game one was far less then any game of the first series. It was shocking to see a team that had played so great against the Steelers come out absolutely flat to start a hugely important game. It almost seemed as though they were experiencing a bit of a first round hangover. And even though they had five days to get ready for the Saints the weekend with three straight overtime games seemed to drain them.
One night later, along came game two. And what a start it was. After scoring a minute in and making it 2-0 halfway through the first it made a lot of people (including myself) breathe a sigh of relief. But then the train seemed to fall off the tracks. The Saints adjusted to get better and the Flyers weren’t able to keep up.
Being down 2-0 in the series is not where the Flyers wanted to be but its where they are. And as they say in baseball they are just a bloop and a blast away from tying things up. I know that may be way easier said then done but its true. The first period in game two proved then it can be done. However, as good as that period was there is no way that the Flyers are good enough to think that they can play a 20 minute hockey game and still win. Especially in the division final!!!
They know they can still win and we need to have confidence in them too. If they are able to squeak out a win at the Dakota tomorrow night then tying up the series at home is a real possibility.
Some things need to happen. The Flyers need to start playing better as a team. They have as much, if not more talent then the Saints but at the moment the Saints are playing way more as a team then Winkler. They use each other and trust each other to be where they are supposed to be. They know that their goaltender will make the big save and that the defense will get the puck out of their zone. All things that the Flyers are sadly finding out rather late.
I hate being critical but thems the facts. If this thing comes to an end this weekend there will be a whole long list of things we can talk about as to why, after such an exciting start to the playoffs, did it go south in such a hurry.
But for now lets not think about that. There is still for sure two more games to go and lets give them all the support that we can and hope that the boys are able to give it all they have and are able to go home after the season with no regrets.
I know things are looking a bad right now but it only takes a couple more wins and it’s a different ball game.
Most of the Flyers deserved to win Tuesday's game. The ones taking the selfish penalties were rewarded with more ice time instead of bench time and the result was we lost yet again. Does no one see a pattern? We gave the Saints 8 power play opportunities. Playing the fourth line right after being scored on is not a big help either.
ReplyDeleteI think all the Flyers deserved to win. I don't think there was anyone on the ice who wasn't putting in an effort and trying to win the game. As far as selfish penalties go most of the penalties that were called last night were ones that were not called in Sundays game.(tough to play when refs are so inconsistent as to how the game is called) A selfish penalty is generally a retaliation one and I didn't see any of those last night. The Flyers didn't give the Saints 8 powerplays, Galley did. There were some very border line calls. Every game has little things that determine the outcome. If Wilgosh scores instead of hitting the post the Flyers probably win the game. If Leclerc doesn't come up with huge save at the end of the third period Winkler wins in regulation.
ReplyDeleteI think at this point the Flyers will need to focus on outworking the Saints on every shift and taking it one shift one period and one game at a time. There is no one on this team that wants to lose this series. Good luck on Friday, it may seem like an almost impossible task but it will need to start with a win on Friday. Lets come out and support the Flyers in their quest to beat the Saints on Friday.
Good Luck Flyers
On a fundamental front, the Flyers as players have three down falls and have had these same down falls all year:
ReplyDelete1.)90% are Soft = Unwilling to sacrifice and potentially get hurt for the betterment of the team
2.)80% are Selfish = Unwilling to move the puck for the betterment of your team and line-mates
3.)90% are blind = Inability to see the rhythm of the game and/or see others in a more favorable position
Simply put most of the team should be called flowers, not flyers. Furthermore, it is an illusion for many of them to actually call themselves hockey players.
On a strategical front, they are playing a brand of hockey from the 1990's. East and West puck movement is all but invisible and non-existent within the flyer style of play. There are only 3-areas on the rink that the flyers move the puck east-west.
1.) Behind their own net
2.) After winning a center ice draw at their own blue line
3.) The Blue line in the offensive zone
All of which have been in existence for 100+ years.
For the last 2-decades (wether on an attack or on a power-play), the one-touch or one-timer is a method of scoring that is a result of an East and West pass. This sort of play is only possible with vision, the willingness to pass the puck and of course the skill to make such a pass. Maybe they also lack the skill to pass too? That is worse yet. And here I thought they were just too selfish to pass.
You can count the number of one-timer goals the flyers have scored this year on two hands. This is not good.
Other teams within the MJHL use it. Teams in the W and other Major clubs use it. Today, 70% to 80% of the goals scored in the NHL are one-timer shots. This is a staple in the game and is considered a necessity as a skill in GAME OF HOCKEY. This is NOT a new invention. The one-timer play has been perfected over the last 20 years.
This brand of play takes vision and the ability to make a pass, which clearly are Two major elements that the majority of the flyers players lack.
Or potentially they lack the ability to see that their team-mate is in a better position to score then they are personally and that the play is a pass NOT another shot from a rotten-bad position with no chance of scoring.
They make themselves look like PeeWee's when they are shooting at the net from an off angle and the goalie is already laughing at them. Mean while their line-mate is WIDE-OPEN on the weak-side or back-door for a one-timer or tap-in.
When the flyers score, it most often is by accident and chance, not by design. Ask yourslef, how many goals have the flyers been able to recreate? How many times have we seen them set up the same goal? The only answer is a screen shot from the point. Again, this is 1990 hockey and not very predictable. The one-touch and one-timer puts teams in better scoring positions by default and on more of a regular basis. Furthermore it puts the shooter in a position to score on an average of almost 80% of the time.
Blaming the Ref's? This is a stretch. These Play-off losses are nothing more than lack of Vision, Physical and Team oriented play that the flyers have demonstrated for all but a few games this season.
They might squeeze a win out of this series, however their slop brand of curling whereby putting the rock through the house is not consitant enough to pull them out of their current position.
Sorry boys.
Good luck next season
It appears that I am not the only one that is paying attention to game details. Or should I say a lot of game details.
ReplyDeleteLoyal Flyers Fan
First of all just cause you can write a huge explanation about making a simple cross ice pass doesn't make you an expert on playing the age old game of ICE hockey. So you spent four paragraph's talking about a one timer. Yes it is a good way to score but often it is not a very high percentage play, and coach Thiess nailed into these players head to shoot from everywhere. If ever once you saw a flyer practice you would see that all the drills that were run were built to discourage creative style of play. These young players with plenty of potential go to the rink everyday and are taught to play the way there specific coach wants them to play( which might not necesarilly be the correct way i might add) and our coach in winkler was not a creative coach at all. He preached getting the puck on net. So next time you want to spend twenty minutes writing an essay bashing young men who put there lives on hold trying to make it somewhere in the Hockey world, check all the facts. I'm embarrassed for all the fans who turn and bash the players who give it 110% every day of the year.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you there, however most do consider me an expert at the age old game of Ice Hockey. Additionally, the "simple" cross ice pass is not as simple, as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see that you believe the one-timer is a good way to score. Clearly the NHL believes it to be a pretty kool idea too. Being they utilize this play almost 60% more than a traditional carry and shoot option. But then maybe you think the NHL is a bit off too.
Furthermore, in most cases (which is another way saying most often) the one-timer is the highest percentage play on the rink. I do not have my Doctorate in Physics, however I am not sure how passing the puck to a team-mate that is on the other side of the rink (which is another way of saying - where the goalie is not) is a lower % play then shooting from the same side of the rink in which the goalie is already on?
Take the one-timer out of the equation. Your correct. I NEVER saw a practice however, I do not need to see a practice to identify soft and selfish players. Was the coach training them not to hit, not to finish their checks and not to advance the puck to an open line-mate too? Are you really suggesting that a player would get reprimanded for getting an assist? This I find hard to believe.
Last of all. I was not, nor am I now bashing the players that gave 110%. Just those that gave 75% to 90%. Which is to say 4 to 5 of the players were not getting bashed.
Sorry, I did not understand that the coaching was as bad as most of the team.
I guess it is fitting to replace the coach. One can only hope that they replace 85% of the team too.
The Peters athlete is the only one that aged-out that would have been worthy to keep around. The brand of play of rest should not be missed.