Archive for May 6th, 2011

Thoughts after period 2 of Flyers-Bruins game 4

May 6th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on Thoughts after period 2 of Flyers-Bruins game 4 | Filed in Baseball, Flyers, Hockey, Phillies

– I forgot that VS. was going to put the game on after the Red-Wings-San Jose game, because the coverage on Hockey Night in Canada has been fantastic. The color from Garry Galley and play-by-play of Dean Brown has made the game seem so epic.

– Bobrovsky looked fantastic that period. He is the main reason why the score is tied.

-Great job by Versteeg, he has played awful this series, but finally showed why the Flyers traded for him. He can make plays, finally made a good decision to wait shooting on Tim Thomas. Nice pass by Richards to set it up.

-Hartnell has had a rough game, but made a good decision on drawing that 4 on 4. The Flyers skate much better in the open ice.

-It would be a perfect time for JVR to step up. He has played fantastic this series and this would be the perfect time to step up when the captain is starting to play like one, he made a great pass to set up Versteeg.

-Tough loss for Cliff Lee. Hard to believe but he got out dueled by Derek Lowe.  16 k’s is hard to beat, but the offense worries me.

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Looking Ahead to Game 4

May 6th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | 1 Comment | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

As hard as it is to believe this could be the last night that the public tunes in to watch Philadelphia Flyers hockey. It is hard to believe when any season ends for a team that you root for. You just don’t understand why everything didn’t fall into place, why the other team caught the breaks that they needed to move on. To make matters worse if the Flyers lose tonight they will have gone out like a lamb. They have played uninspired hockey in two out of the three games so far in this series. Make no mistake though, this is a Flyers team that was hard to stop at times during the season, they have the talent to come back in this series, using those talents correctly is a different story.

This isn’t just on the Flyers though, Boston has stepped up to the occasion, they came ready to play, minus the first 5 minutes of game 2. They have been much more physical, if you don’t believe me, go back an watch any part of game 3, especially when Kris Versteeg was on the ice. The Flyers have to try and stay one step ahead of the Bruins tonight. When they are going for the big hit, slide out of the way, similar to what Mike Richards did to Adam McQuaid in game 2. The worst thing that could happen tonight is to see a repeat of game 3 in the physical department.

Sergei Bobrovsky should start in net tonight. He had problems stopping the puck in game 1, but that was more so to do with the fact that the Flyers just couldn’t stop the Bruins at all that game. He looked fantastic for the 6 and a half minutes he played in game 2 and only got burned by Chara on a shot that no goaltender in the league could stop. It is not just his responsibility though, the team in front of him has to play better.

With Chris Pronger likely out, the defense has to be smart. They have to pick when to be aggressive, in order to turn the tide of the series the Flyers have to try and put the Bruins on their heels.

Perhaps most importantly the Flyers have to be patient when they get the puck around Tim Thomas. Too many times Zherdev, Giroux, or any one else on the offensive attack will fire a shot at Thomas when he is way out of the net. You have to make him have the sense that he is out on an island away from the net. He will begin to over think and then you can take advantage of him. The Flyers have to look for that extra pass, if they do it will lead to a wide open net.

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