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fruitcoops · 4 years ago

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Can you write a thing about the first time remus looks into the stands during a game, and he realizes that people are holding up a sign for him, or wearing his jersey? i just need him to be so loved by the lions fans

Yes, yes, YES. He deserves all the fans, every single one. SW credit goes to @lumosinlove, but Annie is mine!

Remus still couldn’t believe it. He had already played three games with the team—as a player, a real-life, on-the-ice, paid-to-skate player—but it still felt like a dream every time he stepped into the rink. His parents had flown back home the previous day after a million and a half promises not to get hurt and to wear his mouthguard, and while Remus was used to them being gone, it felt different playing without them in the stands.

He fist-bumped Sirius on the way out of the locker room and knocked the fronts of their helmets together; his ‘captain mode’ had already taken over, but Remus still saw a smile as he passed. “Let’s go!” James whooped as the roar of the fans ahead deafened them.

Remus grinned, wild and broad, as his pulse picked up and adrenaline burned hot in his throat. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. The ice was smooth beneath his skates, made perfect just for them—he did one loop around the goal, two, and a third before snagging a puck and lining up across from James for a quick passing game. The rhythm soothed him; his wrists relaxed. Let’s go.

Talker whacked the backs of his legs as he passed and Remus checked him lightly, earning himself a bark of laughter. “Watch it, Loops!”

“Square up, Talkie!”

“Careful, you’ve gotta set a good example for your admirers,” he teased.

Remus paused, bewildered. “What?”

Talker tilted his chin toward the row of seats to the right and Remus turned, only to stop cold as red and gold filled his vision. There were jerseys for James, Sirius, Kasey, Finn, Kuny—

And him.

Dead center in a group of kids was a young girl with two missing front teeth, jumping up and down in excitement. The bright 6 on her jersey shone like new and she waved to him with both hands. To him, as if he was some sort of hero.

Her eyes widened when she saw him watching, and though her shriek was lost in the noise of the crowd, her joy reverberated through the plexiglass. He was moving before his brain caught up to his skates; in his gloves, his hands had begun to shake. “Hi!” he called, crouching down to her level with a tentative wave.

She whipped around and grabbed a woman—her mother, perhaps—by the hand, pulling with all the strength in her body.

“Hi,” Remus said again. He was too stunned to think of anything witty.

She beamed at him and pressed both palms to the glass, speaking too fast for him to hear. He glanced up to the woman next to her. You’re her favorite, she mouthed.

“Me?” He looked back to the little girl and pointed to himself, and she nodded frantically. “I like your jersey!”

She bounced on her toes and held the front of it out for him to see; he grabbed a stray puck off the ice, nearly fumbling it in his hurry.

“One second!” He held up one finger to make sure she understood before skating as fast as he could to the bench and snagging a silver pen from the collection, yanking his glove off with his teeth and signing his name. He didn’t have an official signature or anything—sloppy cursive would have to do. He tossed the pen toward his seat, not sparing any of his racing thoughts to wonder whether it landed.

The girl lit up when he returned, and her dark eyes grew huge when she saw the puck.

“For you!” he said as loud as he could, pointing to her. He gave her a clear count of three before tossing it over the boards; she caught it, almost dropped it, then hugged it close to her chest. Her whole face folded and tears began pouring down her cheeks. Remus’ heart plummeted.

His horror must have shown on his face, because the kid’s mother waved to get his attention and shook her head with a smile. She’s happy, she said. At least, Remus hoped he was reading her lips right. The little girl stepped back to the glass and shouted ‘thank you’ loud enough that he heard her through the glass.

“You’re welcome!” Remus yelled back, giving her a thumbs-up. He gestured toward the tunnel. “Come over after the game, okay?”

The kid looked to her mother, who smiled, then turned back to Remus and nodded enthusiastically. He high-fived her through the glass and headed back to the team, still grinning like an idiot.

“Head in the game, Loops!” Logan laughed.

“She’s got my jersey,” he said, running through his drills on muscle memory, lighter than air. “Tremzy, she had my jersey.”

“Who?”

He pointed to the gang of children; his fan was still near the front, clutching her puck. “Aw, Loops,” Logan cooed. “You’ve got a secret admirer.”

“She’s got my jersey,” he repeated.

Logan’s smile turned soft and he nudged him. “You’re part of the team, remember? Always have been, always will be.”

“Part of the team,” Remus muttered absentmindedly.

“Now come on, Lightning McQueen, we need you!” Logan smacked him on the helmet and took off, cackling. Remus rolled his eyes, though he didn’t lose the floaty feeling for the rest of warmups.

-------------------------------------

They won the game. Remus broke the land-speed record showering and all but sprinted to the mouth of the tunnel, sending a silent prayer up that the kid’s mom knew where to go. Come on, come on—

There.

She was still bouncing on her toes, though it looked more like she was searching for someone. The mother saw him first, and gently turned her around; Remus tried to stay calm and collected when she gasped loud enough that he heard it ten feet away.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, crouching down to her level.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

“What’s your name?”

“This is Annie,” her mother informed him after a moment of silence.

“Nice to meet you, Annie. Nice jersey.” Her round cheeks flushed bright pink. “Did you know you’re the very first person I’ve seen wearing my number?”

She finally blinked. “Really?”

“Yep. It made my day.”

“You’re my favorite,” she blurted.

“Thanks,” he laughed. “Not a lot of people cheer for the rookies, so that means a lot.”

“You’re the fastest one on the team, and—and my mama says you’re really smart ‘cause you were on the bench an’ I know people were mean about you on the team but I don’t think that’s fair because you and Pots and Cap are the best line ever and yeah.” The flood of words left her a little breathless. “Yeah. Oh, and six is my lucky number.”

“Mine, too. Do you play hockey?”

“I want to. I think I’m too short.”

Remus felt his heart twist a little. “Annie, I was the shortest, scrawniest kid on my team until I was seventeen. You can do whatever you want to do. Don’t let anyone tell you different, okay?”

She stared at him for a long moment, then launched herself forward and threw her arms around his neck. “Annalise!” her mother gasped.

“It’s okay,” Remus assured her, holding down a laugh as he balanced himself to gently return her hug. “My little brother does this all the time.”

“You’ve gotta win the Cup this year,” Annie said—demanded, really—as she stepped back.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. A mob of reporters hurried down the hallway toward the locker room, and he caught several staring at them as they passed. “Alright, I think that’s my cue to go.”

“What do you say?” Annie’s mother prompted quietly.

Annie smiled at him, brighter than sunshine. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming to the game, and drive safe.”

“We will.”

People liked him. They liked him, he was someone’s favorite. It was an astounding thought, and he only paid half-attention to the few interview questions that went his way. Some of the hashtags he had seen were awful—many people were calling favoritism, and the number of rude DMs seemed to increase every day—but the look of pure happiness on Annie’s face when he passed her a simple puck made them insignificant.

Who cared what assholes thought when he could make someone smile like that?

“What’s on your mind?” Sirius asked as they headed home, exhausted.

Remus shook his head, unable to keep his grin off his face. “She had my jersey.”

#remus lupin #sirius black #logan tremblay #thomas walker #james potter #my fic #fanfic #lumosinlove #sweater weather #oc #coops

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myhockeyworld87 · 5 years ago

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Nervous Regrets - Tyler Seguin - Part 5

Requested: No

Word Count: 2838

Warning: Not really anything, maybe cursing at this point I think I at least use one swear word in if not more..haha

POV: Tyler

Notes: The next couple pieces are a bit fluffy. Currently working on Part 7, Part 6 will be up later this week. Also interested in maybe working on another piece, if anyone has any recommendations.

You were going to be a dad; it was the first thought that popped into your head as you opened your eyes. Though why that surprised you, you can’t be certain; as it was the last one you had before you fell asleep. What had transpired last evening was like something out of a movie. Never in a million years had you expected (Y/N) to tell you she was pregnant! That she loved you, you hoped; that you should go to hell was more likely. But never that she was carrying your baby.

It was crazy how when you heard the news; all the doubts you had about being a good father, good husband had just vanished out the window. When she uttered those words all you could think about was; is she ok, is the baby ok, only their well-being mattered. In that moment you realized that your passion for hockey waned in comparison to your need to protect them, care for them, and most of all love them. If you could have only known this three months ago. There was no changing the past now; you needed to work towards the future, a future with (Y/N) and your unborn child.

That meant getting your ass out of bed, going to morning skate and start playing like you deserved the eight-year contract you just signed. With renewed hope, you hauled yourself to the kitchen to feed the dogs and yourself. Making yourself a healthy breakfast you caught yourself singing along to the radio playing in the background. It was the first time in months you’d actually felt alive.

Entering the arena, a tad late, you bolted onto the ice; whizzing around getting your skating legs underneath you. The drills that had only just days ago seem mundane and useless, now skated with renewed precision. Working with your line; passes were crisper, shots perfectly placed. Taking aim at the net, you brought your stick back, cracking the puck and letting it soar past Bishop, into the net. God it felt good. “That a boy, Seggy,” Monty finally being able to cheer you on. The hour flew by, faster than when you were five-years-old; thinking it had only been ten minutes. You were last off the ice, taking a few extra practice shots before heading into the locker room. By the time you entered most of your teammates had left, a few lingered; but you sensed Jamie stayed on purpose.

Once everyone else had taken leave Jamie finally came up to you. “So, I take it things went well last night?” He had known you were going to the charity event in hopes to see (Y/N). While he didn’t entirely approve of your methods, he was rooting for the two of you to reconcile.

“I wouldn’t put it that way exactly. But we’re making progress.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Needing to rehash some of last night, you nodded. Staff still milled around, and it was not a discussion that you needed everyone hearing. “I’ve gotta drop this shit off at my house then I’ll be over.” People didn’t give Jamie enough credit; he was an excellent captain, always knowing what his fellow teammates needed, always handling things with digression.

Packing up you headed back to your place; the short ride giving you time to re-evaluate. Jamie pulled in almost immediately behind you. Making coffee you began to recount your night. “I put her through hell Chubbs. You have no idea.”

“I’m sure things haven’t been easy for her.”

“That’s putting it mildly. The beginning of the night was an all-out battle. She doesn’t trust me, and I can’t blame her.” You described all the details of what transpired to Jamie, how she didn’t sleep for days, got dismissed from work, and finally how depression had overtaken her. There was just one last thing to mention; tiny as it might be in form, it was probably the biggest aspect of the night. “All that shit I put her through, but that wasn’t the worst thing. And, not that it’s a bad thing. Shit, I don’t even know how to say it. Or even if I should be.” Vaguely wondering who all (Y/N) had already told.

“Segs I’m not going to say anything to anyone if that’s what you’re worried about. And trust me I’m not going to look at (Y/N) any differently.”

“Well she’s gonna look differently.” Jamie just stared at you, your comment not making any sense at all. You had a feeling it was the look you had given when (Y/N) had said ‘we’re gone,’ last night. “She’s pregnant man, with my baby.” The possessiveness in you making you add that last part.

“Fuck are you serious?”

“Yeah, I was fucking stunned. And then of course I did the most stupid thing possible and asked if it was mine.”

“Jesus, Tyler! You know that woman loves you. She would never cheat on you.” The fact that he just called you Tyler made you again realize how badly you’d screwed up last night.

“Well it wouldn’t have been cheating, we weren’t together.” Jamie just shook his head at the stupidity of your statement. You’d tried to lessen the blow for yourself, by justifying your questioning. It rang hollow even to your ears. “You’re right I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking then. Anyway, she’s like fifteen weeks along. I would’ve thought she’d be showing by then or something.”

“Usually happens around like twelve or sixteen weeks on a first pregnancy. Everyone’s different though” Your quizzical expression had him following up that statement. “What, my sister just had a baby, I know some shit.”

“Well then you’re gonna teach me. I came home last night and ordered a bunch of books on Amazon.” Admittedly you might have gotten carried away downloading them all; there was, Dad’s Guide to Pregnancy for Dummies, Pregnancy: Put Yourself in her Shoes, We’re Pregnant, and Everything You Wanted To Know About Pregnancy But Were Too Afraid or Embarrassed to Ask. It was a little overwhelming, but you needed to prepare yourself. “I’m kind of at a loss on where to start.”

Clapping you on the back, giving your shoulder a squeeze; Jamie encouraged you. “You’re gonna do great Seggy. I know my brother-in-law felt the same way, and now he’s a pro with my niece.”

“Yeah, I hope I even get the chance. I need to get all this shit with (Y/N) figured out before the baby comes. Any ideas on how I can make that happen?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know man. It needs to be big though. Like fucking fall on your knees beg for forgiveness type of shit.”

“Thanks Captain Obvious. I know that already. I’ve already got flowers being delivered to her office on Monday, since I have no clue where she’s living at the moment.”

“You need a god damn flower wall, not just a bouquet.” Jamie was right, you needed to think bigger. Something that said ‘I love you, I’m never leaving you, as well as I’ll never fucking cheat on you again, not even in a million years. That you couldn’t really buy a gift like that at the nearest mall, wasn’t lost on you. It needed to be something that showed her you were working towards your future together; moving on from past mistakes.

Then like a light switch turning on a lamp; it hit you. “I got it!” excitement sounding in your voice. “A few weeks ago the realtor called. That house I’ve always wanted was coming on the market. (Y/N) and I have ridden past it a million times. We talked about buying it one day or building something like it. It has the perfect backyard for the dogs and kids. I’m gonna buy it, and give it to her. That is if it’s still for sale.” Getting the call weeks ago, you had dismissed the idea. That was your dream home, the place where you wanted to make your life with (Y/N); without her, at the time you just couldn’t even see contemplating it. Now, it was the perfect plan to show her where you wanted your lives to go.

“I don’t know Segs. That seems a little….extreme.” You wouldn’t let Jamie’s reluctance sway you. “I was thinking more along the lines of like, couples’ therapy.”

Flashing Jamie, a distasteful look, you grabbed your phone dialing the realtor’s number. A few quick questions and you set up a time tomorrow evening to view the home with (Y/N). Hanging up you gave Chubbs a pleased look. “This is gonna work man. I just feel it.”

Continuing to shake his head at your strategy, Jamie got up to leave. “Look, I’m gonna head home and grab a nap before the game tonight. Just give it a little more thought before you follow this through. Would you Seggy?”

“You just don’t get the beauty of it yet, Chubbs. Just wait you’ll see. I’ll talk to you tonight.” Walking him to the door, you glanced at your watch; (Y/N) should’ve called by now. Wordlessly you sent up a quick prayer that she wouldn’t back out. Throwing yourself on the couch, you watched time slowly tick by minute by painstaking minute. You let your mind drift to a time in the near future; you and (Y/N) walking into your new home, carrying a small little bundle in a car carrier. (Y/N) looked gorgeous as always, glancing down at the carrier you checked in on your new born; trying to determine if it was a boy or a girl. The ring on your phone brought you back from your imaginings. (Y/N)’s face appeared on the screen and you smiled to your empty living room.

“Hey, babe.” It was an easy term of endearment that fell off your lips, after all the time the two of you had spent together.

“Hey Ty. How was your morning skate?”

This easy routine conversation felt like a million that you’d had before with her; one that you would have every time you were on the road. It was nice to feel some normalcy again. “Really great. I feel like tonight is going to be a good night for me, ya know.” You meant all those words, after practice you just had a renewed sense about the game.

“That’s great Tyler. I’m glad you’re feeling better about hockey at least.”

“I’m feeling better about a lot of things.” Unsaid words hung in the air. There was a long pause, as if she didn’t know what to say next and so to fill the void you added. “You wouldn’t want to come tonight, would you?”

“Ummmm…I….Ummm…”you frowned knowing the answer she was trying to spit out; your brain already trying to work on a response. “I just don’t think I’d feel comfortable doing that yet Ty.”

“Yeah sure, I completely understand. Plus, it’ll be noisy and loud, probably not good for the baby.” She laughed at that; the sound, music to your ears.

“I think the baby can probably handle it, it’s got a lot surrounding it in there.”

“Oh well, yeah…you’re probably right. Are you feeling ok today?” You hadn’t had a chance to discuss all the particulars with her; however, you’d read quickly last night that most morning sickness is over in the second trimester, which is where (Y/N) was at right now.

“Yeah, baby and I are having a good morning.” You could almost hear the smile in her voice.

“That’s great hun. You know we haven’t talked a lot about things, I mean where the baby’s concerned. I realized that when I was talking to Jamie.”

Screaming into the phone at you, she yelled, “You told Jamie I’m pregnant!?!”

Clearly this was another obvious mistake on your part; this was not the direction you wanted the conversation to go. You’d had enough screaming and yelling last night. “Um…Yeah. I didn’t think it’s that big of deal. I mean your friends know right?”

“No Tyler, I haven’t fucking told a sole.” This said in a much softer voice. You hadn’t really given any real credence to her not telling anyone; automatically assuming her friends had this knowledge. After all they were the ones who had taken her to the doctor’s office in the first place.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I just thought…well since they took you and all.” It was yet another apology you were having to make to her.

“No…It’s fine. I should’ve said something last night. I’m sorry I yelled.” Her regret at least showed you were making some headway.

“Babe, why haven’t you told anyone?” It was a small question and one you wanted answered. Waking up this morning you were bubbling with excitement about the news, wanting to share it. That she had kept this secret from all those she loved for three weeks, was almost unfathomable.

A long pause prefaced her answer. “I…Ummm…I don’t know Ty. I’m scared.” The last part barely a whisper.

You knew that giving birth could be a scary time for a woman; hell, you had a feeling that when the time came, you would never know fear like you would in that moment. Already the baby and (Y/N) meant so much to you, and you hadn’t even known for twenty-four hours. Reassuring her, you spoke. “I know it can be scary hun, but we’ll get through this, together.”

“I think that’s what I’m scared about Ty, the together part. Like I just don’t know.” Couldn’t she realize the life the three of you would have; correction six with the dogs. It would be almost out of a storybook. Lazy summer Sundays at the lake, where you’re laying in the grass, the baby between you. Taking them home after a victory. Hell, you’d already had a crystal-clear image of more kids to come. Knowing your sins of the past, weren’t quite forgiven yet, wasn’t an obstacle you would let get in the way of all that.

“(Y/N), I know we have a long road ahead of us, but you’ve got to know; no got to believe, we are going to get through this. I promise you.” It was a promise you would continue to make, until she knew it deep in her bones.

“I wish I could be as certain as you.”

“We’ll get there, babe. You’ll see.” Silence ensued after that comment, but it wasn’t a bad thing. Your arms ached wanting to hold this woman in them right now and just reassure her. After a moment, you steered the conversation elsewhere. “So, I was kind of hoping that maybe tomorrow after work we could spend some time together. I’ve got something I need to show you.”

Grateful for the change, she answered, “Really, what’s that?”

“Oh no, you’re not going to ruin the surprise. You’ve just got to wait and see. So, can I pick you up about seven?”

Finally relenting with a, “Yeah, sure. I’ll text you my new address.”

It was a step you didn’t think she would take, that she did, had your heart soaring. “Excellent!”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The appointment on Tuesday is at four in the afternoon. Did you want to meet me there or go together?”

Was this really a question, you could only imagine the stares, you would receive walking in to an OB/GYN office by yourself. “Honestly, I’d feel a bit weird walking in there by myself. Could I pick you up at the office or wherever you’re going to be and we’ll go together?”

The light chuckle she gave, told you she already knew your reply. “I had a feeling. And yes, I’ll probably be at work; so, if you wouldn’t mind coming there, that would be great.” Plans made for the next few days, your adrenaline was pumping; knowing that you’d get to see her two days in a row. “I should probably let you get a nap; you’ve got a big game.”

Frowning, time was always too short with her. You longed for those days when she would be around constantly; sharing naps with you. Sighing, you knew that time would come soon enough. “Yeah, I probably should. I’ll see you tomorrow at seven, maybe we could grab something to eat too. Gotta keep you two healthy.” It was also an ulterior motive to be around her longer.

“Sounds good. Have a good game Ty.”

“Thanks, babe. I love you.” The last part automatically coming out of your mouth, but the words were always true. Silently you willed her to say them back.

“Me too.” It wasn’t exactly the response you were looking for, but then again, she didn’t hang up on you either. Laying the phone down on the table; you focused on what tomorrow would bring, closing your eyes, dreaming of all the possibilities that your future held with (Y/N) by your side.

#tyler seguin #tyler seguin imagine #tyler seguin imagines #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #dallas stars #dallas stars imagine #dallas stars imagines #fanfic #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

Text

That’s All Folks (Probably)… Thoughts after Capitals 5, Flyers 3

As the Flyers skated off the ice down two goals to the Washington Capitals at the end of the first period Wednesday, they were met by an overwhelming boo from the fans in attendance.

It was a little much, especially since the Flyers have repeatedly overcome two-goal deficits – or larger – this season and with the way the team had been playing for two months, one bad period while missing two of it’s top six forwards against the defending Stanley Cup Champions didn’t deserve such ire from the fans.

I said as much on twitter and had fans tell me I have no right to tell them how to react when they paid so much money for their seats.

My two responses to that are:

It’s not my fault you couldn’t find cheaper seats than the ridiculous sums you pay to see a regular season hockey game. That’s on you.

While you do have a right to react any way you want, just because you spend money on a ticket doesn’t mean your reaction is the right one.

Then the second period started.

Alex Ovechkin scored before everyone was back to their seats from an intermission bathroom break.

Andre Burakovsky less than two minutes later and Brian Elliott’s night was mercifully over.

The first shot Cam Talbot saw in relief came 80 seconds later from Nicklas Backstrom – and it too went in the goal.

And the boos rained down again. This time, it was deserved.

No, the Flyers didn’t quit – they never do – and actually got the game back to its eventual final score of 5-3, making the final 12 minutes or so interesting, but overcoming a five-goal deficit – even one that occurred within the game’s first 25 minutes – is incredibly difficult to do.

Even more so against a team as good as Washington. Even more so without Jake Voracek or Nolan Patrick in the lineup.

And with that, the Flyers playoff chances took a huge hit and for all intents and purposes could evaporate completely in the next four days.

The Flyers remain seven points out of a playoff spot with just 15 games remaining. Carolina, Pittsburgh and Montreal all have 79 points and the Flyers have 72. The Hurricanes and Penguins have a game in hand on the Flyers and all three teams have a significant edge in regulation wins, which is the first tiebreaker.

The Penguins host Columbus – another team ahead of the Flyers, albeit on the outside looking in – and Montreal is in San Jose tonight before heading to Anaheim Friday. The Hurricanes host Winnipeg Friday night. The Penguins then travel to Columbus on Saturday to complete their home-and-home series and host Boston on Sunday while Carolina travels to Nashville Saturday night.

That’s a lot of games that could impact the Flyers in the next four days and the only one the Flyers can control themselves is a game in New York against the Islanders Saturday night.

And while the stars could align in such a way that the next time the Flyers are on home ice against Ottawa Monday they are only five points out of a playoff spot, it could also go incredibly sideways and look like this come Monday morning:

Pittsburgh 84 points

Carolina 83 points

Montreal 83 points

Columbus 80 points

FLYERS 72 points

(Top three are playoff spots)

Yeah, that’s why the game at home against Washington was so important. And that’s why a 25-minute brain fart was not ideal.

“There’s obviously minimal room for error at this point for us,” said alternate captain Andrew MacDonald after the game. “It’s obviously not realistic to say we’re going to win every single game, but these divisional games are pretty important. It’s kind of a missed opportunity for us.”

No doubt. But what went wrong? How do you come out so flat when you know coming in that so much is on the line for the team?

“I don’t think there was one thing,” coach Scott Gordon said. “Our pace of play, I didn’t think we did a lot away from the puck to support. [In the] offensive zone, we had a few turnovers. [In the] defensive zone coming back for breakouts, I thought we made it easy for them to gain the zone and attack. [We had] missed-coverages in the slot. [On the] first goal we have three guys in the area, Ovechkin comes up with it, falling down makes a pass to the front and it goes right to their guy and they score, and we don’t get anything on it, a stick on it or anything. So, that kind of typified the first [25 minutes].”

Ovechkin sets up Tom Wilson from his knees – NHL https://t.co/nU7VzxoY68

— Hockey24x7

(@hockeynews24x7) March 7, 2019

Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim get caught running around a little bit, and Phil Varone always seems one step behind on this goal.

It’s one Gordon didn’t like, but also credit Ovechkin for a great play.

However there were a few other goals that were pretty bad.

Moose Droppings

Brian Elliott had been excellent for the Flyers since returning from injury a couple weeks ago. Two solid relief appearances and four strong starts in which the team went 3-0-1 was a significant reason for why the Flyers were still thinking playoffs in March despite being the worst team in the NHL in January.

But Elliott crashed back to earth against the Caps.

He allowed three bad goals, which ended up being the difference in the game.

You might want to cover your eyes on this first one:

BRETT CONNOLLY DOUBLES THE CAPITALS LEAD!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/LGfG3NcjHw

— Hockey Daily (@HockeyDaily365) March 7, 2019

“I think he shot [and] at the same time one of our D men… [they] kind of whacked sticks,” Elliott said. “It’s kind of an off-speed pitch.”

Sure, Brett Connolly’s shot flutters on him a bit, but a goalie can’t whiff with his glove like that. That’s a save that needs to be made.

Then there’s Ovi again:

Ovechkin goes 5 hole off a beautiful pass by Backstrom for his 46th of the season pic.twitter.com/LI1K14nB82

— Heart of NHL (@HeartofNHL) March 7, 2019

Yes, it’s a nice keep by John Carlson. Yes, Backstrom does a good job shielding the puck, absorbing a hit from Radko Gudas and finding Ovechkin open on the far side. But that doesn’t mean you have to leave the wickets that open. It’s too inviting to any shooter, never mind arguably the game’s greatest goal scorer ever.

“It was a broken play that we pressured on the boards and became a two-on-one pretty quick,” Elliott said. “He’s a good player. [He] caught me trying to read if he was going to pass or shoot, and he scored.”

Appreciate the honesty Moose. But still, it’s not like it was a trademark Ovechkin rocket. That’s another goal that needs to be prevented by the goalie.

Then this was pretty much the death knell:

Burakovsky snipe feat. Eller's bloody lip#CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/6V4tTMmkvc

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 7, 2019

Phil Myers with a rookie mistake on this one getting caught in the neutral zone as two guys get behind him with the puck, but Shayne Gostisbehere does a nice job of closing on Burakovsky to force the weak shot.

But Elliott whiffs on this one too. Just listen to Brian Boucher on the broadcast (in the video above) talk about Elliott. It’s why Boosh is the best in the business. He should be on the No. 1 broadcast team and not freakin’ Pierre McGuire.

I digress.

Elliott was pulled. Talbot came in. But the damage was done.

Phil Myers

Hey, the kid made a mistake on that fourth goal, but otherwise had a pretty good night one that resulted in this:

The first of many for @philmyers06! Congrats! #WSHvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/ZdWoNVD0p4

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 7, 2019

It’s a sweet goal for the rookie, who Russ was able to snap a picture of celebrating his first NHL goal in the locker room (at least Russ was good for something at this game!)

Here's @NHLFlyers defenseman Philippe Myers with his first NHL goal puck. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/Xh3sGs90Ze

— Russ Joy (@JoyOnBroad) March 7, 2019

But scoring a goal is not all we should talk about with Myers. You notice him on the ice – and not just because he’s a big kid. But he’s such a fluid skater for his size as well.

Take this play for example:

Phil Myers – very good at the sport of hockey pic.twitter.com/ZJ3z7cU3VN

— Brandon Murphy (@2Murphy8) March 7, 2019

He’s going to be a very good player at this level. The Flyers are going to have to deal with the mistakes like what happened on the Burakovsky goal for a little while, but those are growing pains that will be worth it in the long run.

Myers is a confident kid and a hard worker who is proving he belongs at this level. Would he have been a difference maker if he was called up sooner though:

The idea that the Flyers season would have played out differently if Hart would have been up since the start is dumb (he was bad in the AHL for the first two months). The idea that January might have went a lot better had Philippe Myers been up — that holds water for me.

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) March 7, 2019

I often agree with Charlie on his assessments, but I don’t know if I can get behind this completely. A rookie defenseman would have been the difference between winning and losing in the first five games of the month of January when the team was outscored 20-8 – in what would have been the first games of his NHL career no less? That is a little much.

Myers is going to be very good. But let’s not elevate him to Bobby Orr status this quickly. He’s not a difference maker yet.

Other stuff

This game was the first time in Flyers history that they scored a goal in the last 15 seconds of one period and the first 15 seconds of the subsequent period as Myers closed out the second and Claude Giroux opened the scoring in the third period.

Speaking of Giroux, it was his 20th goal of the season, marking the seventh time in his career he reached the 20-goal plateau. Giroux is on pace for 88 points this season, which would be the third highest in his career.

Sean Couturier had two more assists. He now has 63 points in 65 games this season. He is on pace for 78 points, which would eclipse last season’s 76 points as a career best. Not too shabby for a guy who only had three points in his first 11 games (which is 60 in the last 54 games).

As was reported here yesterday and confirmed with more details last night on Twitter and the Press Row Show, the Flyers will open next season in Prague, Czech Republic with two games against the Los Angeles Kings. There will likely be an exhibition game there as well as part of the trip. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer was the first to report the Flyers would be playing in Europe and Dave Isaac of the Courier Post was the first to link the Flyers and Kings as potential opponents using some ingenuity and connecting dots.

(Kinkead: apologies for the generic cover image, our photo service is currently down)

The post That’s All Folks (Probably)… Thoughts after Capitals 5, Flyers 3 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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kubyrant-blog · 7 years ago

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NHL Playoff Night Game 3s - Kings Goes Down 0-3 - Minnesota Finally Exploits Jet-D - OV Scores Twice in Second Period Collapse (PART 1)

First ever Tumblr Post, so you can be sure that I simply have no idea what I’m doing. But gonna try to summarized my thoughts in simple points.

So the biggest news of the night was Kings losing 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in a span of 21 seconds. Yes, not even enough time to past gas if you’re going for a two timer.

I don’t personally feel it’s fair to blame the loss entirely on the Kings, as they played a very solid defensive game all the way to that point in the game, but let’s say we are just being respectful to the game that Jonathan Quick had tonight looking like a reborn Stanley Cup goaltender. I mean he still is a top-notch goalie, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t even know who was defending on the ice in front of him when I saw the two goals, both live. First one was this slick juke (by James neal I heard when they reported the goal), spinning off the defender from the boards and beating Quick five-hole. That was a tough one because the guy had a airplane landing path to the net, literally, and then on the second goal, the pass was a flick back-hand no-look pass made with two Kings hounding the Knight player carrying the puck from behind the net, and the player who eventually scored, was (hear this) drafted 53 overall in the second round in 2011, now you can also imagine the season that the Knights are having. No one thought he was going to score 43 goals this season (because last season he only scored 6 playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets), he potted the game-winner past quick with a perfect redirect shot to the far left corner of the net (William Karlsson is this stud fella’s name, a young Swedish player of course, as you do expect in these days NHL formidable stars).

Remember the other surprise this season though, is that the Kings missed the playoff last season, but this season they were able to record half a goal more per game. However you want to intuitively believe in “stat’ in the hockey world, it did make a difference in securing the LA. Kings into a post-season spot, but truth be told when any of the possible equations to evaluate tonight’s match-up between the two teams, is factoring the importance of an ‘eye-test’ gained by simply watching the game, I think it’s rather definitely just a disappointment that the Kings couldn’t get the game back to a possible even 2-2, as they got ‘royally’ out-played, out-skilled, and out-coached by the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4, who just smartly out-scored & found the back of the net at the key opportunistic moments that happened in the game.

It was in the third period, it happened tonight. Within just this span of 21 seconds as mentioned, they swiftly put two pucks behind Jonathan Quick, who by my standards played good enough to take absolutely no blame for the loss, given he was stopping pucks through screens, tips, and those blatant give-way leading to odd-man and break-away opportunities for the Golden Knights, but did get beat on the first goal unluckily with the puck going five-hole (still really not his fault when the guy dumbly reached and got burned by James Neal off the board), and then he got beat again on a bang-bang play behind the net, when the puck shot out from off the board onto the stick of an uncovered William Karlsson (bad type feeling for goalies, worse than a 2-on-1 imo because instead of having a ‘lounging’ chance at the pass-shot, with the tight quarter pass the goalie has no chance to properly react anyhow from his crease, plus Karlsson also put it perfectly to the left far post, so unless he grew an inch or two that was a sure goal executed to perfection by the Knight’s forward). And following the two goals, the Kings simply couldn’t muster enough offensive support to help their deserving moving wall of a man in the crease, thus dropped their third consecutive contest to the Knights. You could say defensive zone break-downs, where guys are simply left with their stick unchecked for chances, may be the sure thing that the Kings need to adjust going ahead into Game 4.

Yes, thus far the three games have been really close in scores, 1-0. 2-1, and tonight 3-2. You do see a trend here, right? Kings are scoring more and more, almost double than “half a goal” better each game, but they’re still down in a 0-3 hole. Gotta give the Knight credit, they back the King’s defense up the entire knight. If you watch the replay or the games they’ve been playing, it will show one strategic flaw clear as crystal: Gerard Gallant isn’t giving the King any chance to make a pass through the neutral zone, and so far as the series scoreboard indicates he’s doing this up to this point better than any other coach has proven in the playoff race, along with the constant fueling of the knights offense, their combo of strat and depth scoring talents, he likely going to put his team to a series sweep of the Kings. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and watch the first three games, this is what you will see.

Kings D-Man collects the puck (*Other than Daughty really, you won’t really see anyone moving the puck up for them).

And he’ll try to make a pass up the center.

It will get knocked away or intercepted by well-placed sticks. Usually the ladder form, if so passed off then to an open wing-man readily moving half-way down the center circle, to this point forcing both of the two bigger and slower D-Man to have to back up to show respect for the forwards’ speed and ability to make a bolt right pass them. (They sometimes also try to do the old, dump-and-chase, but with the speed in their line-up, they simply run out of energy doing so all game).

Eventually, what happened in the third, is too much turn-over and failed dump-and-chase, causing tired legs while the Vegas Knights had fresh legs playing off their trap strategy. Even the commentator simply described that, “they (Kings) are just playing panic hockey, at this point” (after being tired and then getting scored on).

It was like watching a sad re-roll entertainment of an old film this night. Even I personally felt bad for them, not being a Kings fan (actually the total opposite), as I wanted them to at least get it to overtime for a showdown, but I realized later that they simply could not sustain against the Knights and their deployment of the trap strategy that devised a good amount of energy saving for the Knights while the Kings were furiously applying attacking pressure in-between the first and second periods.

One of the Kings Commentator also concurred to the fact at the end of the game, saying “They simply ran out of gas.” That’s literally more of a proof than anything, when the old pros and observers says this in the most non-bias and accurate analytical manner that they said about anything else that the Kings had done in the broadcast game the entire night. It was a definitely a highly physical affair between the two teams (like much of a men’s game played), some would say a true outing between the two battle ‘royale’ teams.

But in the end now, as the dust settles after their tilt tonight in the Staples Center arena, what are the Kings chances, if any, to come back from a 0-3 series?

I think the writing on the wall was set by the way things played out tonight, There is. Absolutely. Nada. Nulla. Nope. No chance that they come back.

Sure you can say, as a Kings fan, there’s always a chance for a reverse sweep, because it’s been done many times before in the past, but let’s not look at the stats and just focus on the deciding factors of their comeback, and here’s in my opinion the basic missing pieces in the puzzle for the Kings to convince me that they can win out:

1) Most important reason ofr me. Kings don’t have Justin William (and Marian Gaborik) to save your touchy royal butts. Both players were lost in the team roster movement, and tonight was the perfect situation when they could have really used a playoff game-changer. Kings don’t play the run-and-gun game. They never did have played that style, as far as I know from watching them come to the rise in 2012. If they trade chances with a more depth-pacted team, it’s going to be a loss 10/10 time.

2) Drew Daughty and Anze Kopiter, they both have scored in the series and Anze finally got his first tonight late in the third tonight, to cut it from 3-1 to 3-2, these players cannot simply carry the entire team on their backs. On the side and backend, you do have two other important core players in Muzin and Lewis, both becoming more and more like aging role-players who can no longer to support their TOP 6 forwards when they have an offensive drought like they tonight. (To be fair though, Muzin can still produce in the regular season and defend very well, seen him caught up in the back-foot to a few guys while back-checking tonight, but really guys, the energy he’s spending just playing defense because of the Knights potent and ‘perfectly perfected’, counter-attack rush off the turn over, it has just tremendously impacted his individual offensive production game in this series, and this regular season alone he scored 8 Goals from the back for the kings +34 helpers). The only person who the Kings had before was Trevor Lewis and the other guy Pearson, first Lewis is still a great player, but what I consider him to be now is a Ryan Kesler type of aging star in particularly playing well below his ability in his prime years. But I still remember Lewis’ game-changing goals in the Stanley Cup Playoff, he basically is the pillar of supporting forward for them. And Pearson, he simply looked gas’ed tonight, especially in the third when he had tons of great scoring opportunities.

Again, this is why I love watching these NHL playoff games. Especially in the first round, a lot of stats and analytics become actually proven in result shown on the ice. Golden Knights proved to us that they are a very well-coached, fast and talented opponent to be reckon with in this year’s NHL playoff bracket. While so many times, the team that beats adversity in the first round, goes on to the conference final or the cup final. Looking at the kings this point, it’s likely not going to happen, where the Knights lose in the next 4/4. Again, the strategy deployed by coaching by Gerard Gallant, combined with a lost of their key playoff performing players and scorers, plus an aging forward core (defense they have Drew Daughty and Muzzin and both are still producing at their prime rate, so not gonna pick on them), their playoff odds does not look too great at this point. Finally, the Kings is on the third year after their Cup Run. Kings GM Rob Blake has refused to blow up the team up until the end of this year, albeit I know that it may be because they held down a playoff spot all year, but they have certainly a lot of depth problems to address on their roster in this upcoming off-season, which may be much sooner than he had anticipated.

*I want to put in a final word here, just because we are talking about these older teams in the NHL and new young starts rising quickly from the juniors, SHL, and college levels: the problem is not that GMs aren’t willing to blow up the team, rather when they do it and how much cap room they can expand. You can say, making playoff is great, but the Kings simply won’t win another Cup with this current roster. If they match against the Knights every year, they’d lose that contest if they could continue to rely on the anchoring defense of Drew Daughty in the back, we all had believed in the start of Game 1 that they may be able to handle the Knights potent offensive weapons. But as it’s come to our full view, looking back at everyone’s game prediction for this series, the line-up depth of teams are now more important than their elite players on the roster in order to determine any given match-up of games/series. Thus, my pick for this years final 4: Boston (with tons of young lead by Bergeron, Merchand, and added weapons of the likes of Rick Nash), Tampa (lead by former Art Ross winner Stamkos, over Pittsburgh), Nashville and Vegas (over Winnipeg, both no need for explanation).

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yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 8 years ago

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What We Learned: Can Blue Jackets really challenge for Stanley Cup?

(Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.)

After a prolonged slump without much to cheer for, the Columbus Blue Jackets had a heck of a week.

A big ‘W’ over the Wild — behind a 40-save Sergei Bobrovsky shutout — gave way to a loss at Ottawa, but then three straight wins against New Jersey (twice) and then Buffalo. It was enough to get people in the dressing room and the greater Columbus area once again talking about taking a run at Washington’s claim to the Presidents’ Trophy.

(No word, yet, what blowing a 3-0 lead to the Sabres on Saturday night does to those designs.)

But to call this team’s season a roller coaster isn’t totally accurate. They won 27(!) of their first 36, including 16 straight — albeit mostly against soft competition — but are only 16-12-2 since then. That’s a pace for 93 points, which is a playoff pace, but only by a hair. Moreover, they’re only 12-13-6 in regulation over the last 31 games, which is also a little bit worrying.

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Now, before we go any deeper into the issue, let’s just acknowledge that your old friend RL has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Columbus because he had the audacity to suggest that a team with a lot of capital-‘W’ Wins “isn’t one of the best teams in the league, but their play [circa mid-December was] enough to convince even the most cynical observer that they’ve figured out a thing or two with their previous problems.”

The results-related struggles they’ve had since their impressive winning streak ended — 12 regulation wins in 31 games is not very good and heavily reliant on one-goal games to get their wins — kind of point me back in that direction, as well they should. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why they were winning back when that was happening consistently. Their power play was operating at an incredible efficiency early in the season, well above 30 percent and not doing it simply with a high shooting percentage (though they had that too); they were generating a lot of high-quality chances and, to their credit, converting on them.

When you come up with a new-look power play — and hey, Torts, where was that for the World Cup, huh? — and you execute it well, it’ll take the league a while to catch up. It took the league a while to catch up here. And indeed, it has. In terms of overall numbers, that power play still looks very good, running sixth in the league at 21.6 percent. But given that white-hot start, you have to consider how much they’ve dropped off as well, and it’s not pretty:

That’s a lot of goals per 60 to shed over the past two months or so, especially when you consider the decline started while the team was still in the midst of that winning streak. It seems that a lot of teams have figured out how to take away a lot of the looks they used to be able to get. Much like a relatively new pitcher can maybe look pretty good the first few times they play each team in the league, hitters eventually get enough reps to find out how to get on base. I think that’s a reasonable take on what “went wrong” with Columbus’s power play: They’re just not surprising anyone any more.

(For example, Columbus fans like to talk about how they have two wins against the Caps this year. They won the first two meetings 2-1 and 3-2 in a five-day period in mid-November; they got shellacked 5-0 in early January. Randomness of individual games aside, the Caps had more than a month of video/scouting the second time around, and that’s gonna help.)

Again, the ability to score so many goals on the power play is going to buoy your results to a signficant extent; they scored 30 of their first 113 goals this season on the power play, a huge percentage.

There were so many goals that it papered over a few of the underlying problems alluded to above: so-so on-ice performances against top teams chief among them, despite the Ws that kept on piling up.

Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky, finally healthy after all these years, is showing why he won a Vezina. He’s a high-end goalie, and that’s always going to make your percentages look better. It’s always going to keep you in games where you’re getting outplayed, and snuff out any meager resistance when you’ve got it all going right. It’s also going to make your PK look pretty good (Columbus’s is currently ranked 10th).

The extent to which winning really does cloud people’s judgment is significant: Because the Blue Jackets don’t have morning skates, and they had so much success in the first two-and-a-half months of the season, people were legitimately talking about the league as a whole maybe doing away with them. And when I say “the league,” I mean “The National Hockey League,” which hates changing things for the better so much that it, well, operates as it does. So this was a big deal.

But again that doesn’t really address the whole “this is a mediocre team” issue. Again, lots of teams rode hot percentages to great records they didn’t deserve, but a lot of them were outright bad, rather than what Columbus is, which is only pretty good. Right now I’d put them in the No. 12-15 range in the entire NHL in terms of quality.

Here’s the fundamental difference: When bad teams have uncharacteristically high shooting and save percentages, they look solidly middle-of-the-pack or maybe a little better. When just-okay teams like Columbus have those same kinds of percentages, they look unbeatable. And again, some of that comes from having a power play that caught a lot of teams off guard, but nonetheless, look at this rolling 10-game shooting percentage for the first 35 games of the season or so:

It should also be noted that the 9-plus percent shooting success they’ve had in the last 15 games or so is still a little high (the league average is 8.7), but even still, the results are thinning for them.

This has always appeared to me to be a team that could, at most, win a round in the playoffs, then bow out quietly against an actual elite team like Washington or Pittsburgh. If they’d been able to win that division somehow, I would have liked their chances against a wild card team. But the way the last 30 or so games have gone, they’ve all but assured themselves a date with one of those Pittsburgh or Washington in the first round, and then the other in the second. It’s hard to like that matchup for them, regardless of how they’ve done in a small handful of games this year. Both the Pens and Caps are 1-1-1 against them, and Columbus hasn’t beaten either in regulation in three meetings since the streak ended.

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What it boils down to for me is that this is a higher-end mediocre team that can pummel bad teams (while still getting some fortunate bounces) and squeak by good ones as long as they get lucky. Which they did for quite a while, to their credit.

And overall, their process remains sound in terms of having a lot of top-10 or so stats at full strength. But their biggest issue has probably always been that they don’t have a ton of high-end offensive talent to keep that shooting percentage high enough to outperform expected goals long-term. Certainly not against top teams.

Is this a good team? It depends how you define good. Is it a team that is going to be a tough out in the postseason? Sure. Is it one that should be favored against the Caps or Penguins? Well, Bobrovsky can certainly steal any series if he gets really hot, but two in a row, coming out of this division? No.

The answer to what this team “is” is probably somewhere in the middle of these two extremes:

That’s not bad. But it’s not enough to make you a serious Cup contender either.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Man, remember that Ducks team that won a Stanley Cup? It was rolling 30 minutes of Scott Niedermayer and then 30 minutes of Chris Pronger. Every night. I think I figured out how they won.

Arizona Coyotes: Don’t you guys know that winning is actually bad when you’re trying to tank?

Boston Bruins: Ah yes, Bruce Cassidy is a genius. Clearly.

Buffalo Sabres: This might be my favorite result of the season. An entire city went from “Fire Bylsma” to winning a game in about 45 minutes.

Calgary Flames: Nine wins in a row, eh? Sounds like someone might make a run at the Presidents’ Trophy!!!!

Carolina Hurricanes: It really has been this kinda season in Carolina. Goalie goes to play the puck, misses it, and gets called for interference.

Chicago: The amount of shade Tomas Jurco has to throw at the Red Wings and Detroit in this column is astounding.

Colorado Avalanche: Hmm, congrats.

Columbus Blue Jackets: It’s uhh, actually good that they lost to the Sabres. Yup.

Dallas Stars: The overall point that there was logically going to be a season in which this goaltending group would totally collapse — especially in the wake of losing a first- and second-pairing defenseman and replacing them with nobody whatsoever — is well taken.

Detroit Red Wings: It’s good when you have to clarify this.

Edmonton Oilers: Headline: “Player makes team great.” Quote from coach in article: “He doesn’t add a lot statistically, but…” The Edmonton media rules.

Florida Panthers: Moves like this are why the Panthers are going to be very good sooner than later. They still have holes in the lineup but as long as they recognize inefficiencies in the UFA market they’re gonna make themselves better.

Los Angeles Kings: If I’m the Wild, I’m hoping like hell this Washington team doesn’t pull into the 8 seed by the end of the season. I wouldn’t want to play ’em.

Minnesota Wild: There’s something that’s so awesome about Chicago looming over the Western Conference like Sauron and everyone no matter how good lives in fear of that team turning its eye to them next. That rules.

Montreal Canadiens: This is why I said they shouldn’t all drink out of that one big trough in the dressing room but no one wanted to listen to me.

Nashville Predators: This is another team where it’s like, “Oh yeah, I don’t want to see them in the playoffs at all.”

New Jersey Devils: That’s 10 losses in a row. Including a 5-4 loss to the Coyotes. Yikes.

New York Islanders: On the one hand: Nice to get another W. On the other: Maybe don’t blow a late lead to the Canucks.

New York Rangers: Remember when every other story was, “Henrik Lundqvist is having an awful season?” He’s up to roughly the league average and was .931 in his last 14 games. His getting hurt now ensures this will be his first sub-.920 season since 2008-09.

Ottawa Senators: I honestly thought they’d collapse by now but they just keep rolling. Pretty impressive, especially because they didn’t do the thing I was afraid they were going to do and trade a bunch of futures for a mediocre player.

Philadelphia Flyers: That’ll just about do it. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy than the one who hurt McDavid on purpose.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Now this is a team I could see theoretically overtaking Washington for the Presidents’ Trophy. I don’t think it’s gonna happen, but it’s more likely than Columbus doing it.

San Jose Sharks: This is a very good team but sometimes the way they lose is both puzzling and upsetting.

St. Louis Blues: Seems like almost everyone’s streaking right now, one way or the other.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Losing not one not two but three centers in one game? Good lord.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Okay, how are you just noticing this?

Vancouver Canucks: Hmm, I guess this is fine. But also, like, why?

Vegas Golden Knights: This is an interesting look at how the Vegas front office will work.

Washington Capitals: I don’t like these guys any more I think they’re bad now instead.

Winnipeg Jets: Things just get continually worse for this team. It’s amazing.

Play of the Weekend

What a freakin’ goal for Nick Foligno. Granted, it was against the Sabres, but…

Gold Star Award

Brian Elliott has been lights-out for quite a while now. That signing is finally starting to look very good.

Minus of the Weekend

On the other hand Cory Schneider gave up four goals on 10 shots to Arizona and has an .881 save percentage in five games this month. Not great.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “Canucks” isn’t a Devils fan.

To Winnipeg: Cory Schneider To New Jersey: Jacob Trouba & Connor Hellebuyck

Signoff

Yes, eat all of our shirts.

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:

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#_revsp:21d636bb-8aa8-4731-9147-93a932d2b27a #NHL #Hockey #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Ryan Lambert #Columbus Blue Jackets #_uuid:af972791-669e-312f-b257-1e33efd8ac2f #$nhl #What We Learned

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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That’s All Folks (Probably)… Thoughts after Capitals 5, Flyers 3

As the Flyers skated off the ice down two goals to the Washington Capitals at the end of the first period Wednesday, they were met by an overwhelming boo from the fans in attendance.

I said as much on twitter and had fans tell me I have no right to tell them how to react when they paid so much money for their seats.

My two responses to that are:

It’s not my fault you couldn’t find cheaper seats than the ridiculous sums you pay to see a regular season hockey game. That’s on you.

While you do have a right to react any way you want, just because you spend money on a ticket doesn’t mean your reaction is the right one.

Then the second period started.

Alex Ovechkin scored before everyone was back to their seats from an intermission bathroom break.

Andre Burakovsky less than two minutes later and Brian Elliott’s night was mercifully over.

The first shot Cam Talbot saw in relief came 80 seconds later from Nicklas Backstrom – and it too went in the goal.

And the boos rained down again. This time, it was deserved.

Even more so against a team as good as Washington. Even more so without Jake Voracek or Nolan Patrick in the lineup.

And with that, the Flyers playoff chances took a huge hit and for all intents and purposes could evaporate completely in the next four days.

That’s a lot of games that could impact the Flyers in the next four days and the only one the Flyers can control themselves is a game in New York against the Islanders Saturday night.

Pittsburgh 84 points

Carolina 83 points

Montreal 83 points

Columbus 80 points

FLYERS 72 points

(Top three are playoff spots)

Yeah, that’s why the game at home against Washington was so important. And that’s why a 25-minute brain fart was not ideal.

No doubt. But what went wrong? How do you come out so flat when you know coming in that so much is on the line for the team?

Ovechkin sets up Tom Wilson from his knees – NHL https://t.co/nU7VzxoY68

— Hockey24x7

(@hockeynews24x7) March 7, 2019

Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim get caught running around a little bit, and Phil Varone always seems one step behind on this goal.

It’s one Gordon didn’t like, but also credit Ovechkin for a great play.

However there were a few other goals that were pretty bad.

Moose Droppings

But Elliott crashed back to earth against the Caps.

He allowed three bad goals, which ended up being the difference in the game.

You might want to cover your eyes on this first one:

BRETT CONNOLLY DOUBLES THE CAPITALS LEAD!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/LGfG3NcjHw

— Hockey Daily (@HockeyDaily365) March 7, 2019

“I think he shot [and] at the same time one of our D men… [they] kind of whacked sticks,” Elliott said. “It’s kind of an off-speed pitch.”

Sure, Brett Connolly’s shot flutters on him a bit, but a goalie can’t whiff with his glove like that. That’s a save that needs to be made.

Then there’s Ovi again:

Ovechkin goes 5 hole off a beautiful pass by Backstrom for his 46th of the season pic.twitter.com/LI1K14nB82

— Heart of NHL (@HeartofNHL) March 7, 2019

Appreciate the honesty Moose. But still, it’s not like it was a trademark Ovechkin rocket. That’s another goal that needs to be prevented by the goalie.

Then this was pretty much the death knell:

Burakovsky snipe feat. Eller's bloody lip#CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/6V4tTMmkvc

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 7, 2019

I digress.

Elliott was pulled. Talbot came in. But the damage was done.

Phil Myers

Hey, the kid made a mistake on that fourth goal, but otherwise had a pretty good night one that resulted in this:

The first of many for @philmyers06! Congrats! #WSHvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/ZdWoNVD0p4

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 7, 2019

It’s a sweet goal for the rookie, who Russ was able to snap a picture of celebrating his first NHL goal in the locker room (at least Russ was good for something at this game!)

Here's @NHLFlyers defenseman Philippe Myers with his first NHL goal puck. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/Xh3sGs90Ze

— Russ Joy (@JoyOnBroad) March 7, 2019

But scoring a goal is not all we should talk about with Myers. You notice him on the ice – and not just because he’s a big kid. But he’s such a fluid skater for his size as well.

Take this play for example:

Phil Myers – very good at the sport of hockey pic.twitter.com/ZJ3z7cU3VN

— Brandon Murphy (@2Murphy8) March 7, 2019

Myers is a confident kid and a hard worker who is proving he belongs at this level. Would he have been a difference maker if he was called up sooner though:

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) March 7, 2019

Myers is going to be very good. But let’s not elevate him to Bobby Orr status this quickly. He’s not a difference maker yet.

Other stuff

(Kinkead: apologies for the generic cover image, our photo service is currently down)

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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This Was Better Than You Think: Thoughts from Golden Knights 1, Flyers 0

Losing a hockey game in the final two minutes of regulation always hurts.

Losing a hockey game in the final two minutes when your most defensively responsible player commits a turnover that results in the game-winning goal, hurts even more.

Losing a hockey game to a long-time nemesis goalie who made one spectacular save after another after another, pretty much crushes the soul.

But losing a game when you played exactly the way you wanted to play and did all the things correctly that you wanted to improve, well, I’ll let coach Dave Hakstol tell you how that feels:

“We played a hell of a game today and it stinks walking away with nothing to show for it.”

The Flyers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in an entertaining, fast-paced, grind-it-out, flat-out fun hockey game, and although it was eye-candy for those of us whose only job is to be a spectator, it’s easy to understand the frustration that permeated the Flyers’ locker room after such a loss.

The primary reason the Flyers came up empty was Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped all 26 shots he faced. You could see it from early on; he was dialed in. He made several incredible stops – two particularly on Claude Giroux.

I’m not going to dive in too deeply on Fleury, because Russ caught up with the Golden Knights’ netminder after the game as has all those details for us.

The Flyers, though, should take solace that except for not being able to cash in against Fleury, they played exactly the kind of game that winning hockey teams play. They locked it down defensively in the neutral zone and really played solid team defense. When that defense broke down, Brian Elliott was there to make the needed save… right up until the very end. They played the game with a lot of speed. They created a bevy of scoring chances. They killed penalties with great pressure up ice, not really letting Vegas set up in the offensive zone.

The Flyers should take this as a blueprint for the way they need to play moving forward and carry that banner through the remaining 77 games. Because if they do, more often than not they’ll be earning points in the standings.

“You don’t get moral points for a loss, but we played a hell of a hockey game today,” Hakstol said. “There’s not a much there I would change. One of the things we wanted to do better is have better starts in our building – we did that. We wanted to have better starts at the beginnings of the second and third periods – we did that. We wanted to sustain that and keep our pace of play – stay on our toes, stay aggressive, keep pushing – we did all those things.

“This is one of those nights where, you know what, I tip my hat to Fleury in net and they made a play late in the hockey game and it hurts like hell to walk out of here with nothing.”

Sometimes Hakstol surprises me with a good, firm, honest answer that really lets you in to his real feelings that he tends to keep close to the vest publicly.

But not in this game. This time, he’s absolutely correct. Everything he said is spot on. The Flyers deserved a better fate for the way they played this hockey game. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t turn out that way and they are now 2-3-0 heading into Tuesday’s tilt with Florida.

But, if we’re being honest with each other right now, this was the best the Flyers have played this season.

Yes, they need to find a way to get at least one puck past Fleury, no matter how well he’s playing. Maybe they need to rattle his cage a bit, maybe they need to bump him a little. Get him off his game a little.

Sean Couturier, who ended up being the goat in this game – and that’s in the original use of the word goat and not the modern day moniker bestowed upon the sports elite – admitted that traffic in front of Fleury is the game plan, but they felt they did it anyway – and he’s right… they did. There was a lot of moving parts in front of Fleury – it just wasn’t enough.

But everything else was enough – save the one turnover by Couturier. Here are some observations:

1. Couturier’s gaffe

Coots was a Selke finalist for a reason. The guy is hands down one of the three best defensive forwards in the NHL. He very rarely makes a mistake in his own end.

Saturday was one of those rare occasions. Here’s his explanation:

“I just got handcuffed. The puck was kind of at my feet and I didn’t get a good grip of it. I fanned on it and tried to chip it out. Next thing you know I’m trying to find coverage and there’s a guy open…”

And then this happened:

Cody Eakin makes it 1-0 with 1:25 to go. pic.twitter.com/04cTNuzzLX

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) October 13, 2018

It was a heartbreaker of a play for the Flyers. Credit to Vegas for capitalizing on the turnover by Couturier, but sometimes this is that fine line in a hockey game that is the difference between two points and no points.

It’s hard to kill Couturier for this play considering he has so much built up in the opposite column, but nevertheless, he’s not the guy you expect to be the cause for a defeat resulting from a bad play.

2. Scott Laughton

You want to see a player who is coming into his own? Watch Scott Laughton play hockey this season. Where he is now from where he was a year ago is night and day. Maybe it’s the fact that the pressure is off of him being a former first round pick and now he can just play the game in a role that’s suited for him among the Flyers top nine forwards.

Or maybe it just took him this long to become the player the Flyers expected him to become.

Either way, the guy is playing at a higher level through the first five games.

He’s generating offense. He’s playing his tail off on the penalty kill, and he’s definitely a noticeable player in the defensive zone as well.

He’s been rewarded for his efforts with three goals already and almost had a fourth today were it not for Fleury:

Laughton needed help getting to the locker room after going into the boards in a bad position. pic.twitter.com/zXOITHRASh

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) October 13, 2018

Yes, Laughton went into the boards hard there and definitely hurt… something. He came back onto the bench very early in the third period and after discussions with team trainer Jim McCrossin and Hakstol, he was able to give the Flyers a few strong shifts in the final stanza – including another fine performance on the penalty kill.

He earned big praise from Hakstol after the game for the way he’s playing – and deservedly so. He’s been a bright spot for the Flyers so far this season.

3. So has Michael Raffl…

Yeah. Raffl has been as good as Laughton on the penalty kill, if not better. He’s wreaking havoc up ice and giving teams a real hard time getting the puck up ice and set up into the zone.

He also gives great shifts on the fourth line, often being incredibly difficult to knock off the puck. He too was feted by Hakstol after the game. Again, deservedly so.

And speaking of that fourth line….

4. Jori Lehtera and Dale Weise are filling their roles just fine, thank you

I know the criticism of these two forwards is always at the top of the things for Flyers fans to bitch about list. Probably right behind Andrew MacDonald and probably just ahead of Dave Hakstol.

But the reality is, they have been very good in the roles they are being asked to play so far this season.

Yes, the season is five games old, and things can change over the course of a long season. But, as fourth line forwards and penalty killers exclusively, and being deployed a the right times, these guys are doing the job.

Lehtera is still slow as molasses in January (anyone else remember that saying, or was that just germane to my West Philly neighborhood in the 1980s?) but he has been reliable and, dare I say, noticeably strong in the offensive end.

Weise came into the lineup against Ottawa and had his first multi-point game in more than a year. He obviously didn’t put any points on the board against Vegas (no Flyer did), but he had a good bite in the game too. Again on the PK – and also retaliating on Brayden McNabb after a dirty hit on Oskar Lindblom:

Dale Weise doin' work. pic.twitter.com/unHXDnNnql

— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 13, 2018

5. Robert Hagg

You want to know why he’s playing second pair minutes ahead of Travis Sanheim? Because the guy is really good on the wall and in the corners. He doesn’t shy away from contact, but it’s not just that. He takes good angles toward puck carriers and really has an impact when he arrives.

I know hits are a stat that most advanced guys think are unnecessary, but I’ll tell you they are not. Can they be overblown? Sure. But, at the same time, playing defense requires physical contact sometimes, and Hagg gives the Flyers the right amount.

On top of that, he’s much more active offensively than he was last season. It’s surprised a lot of observers, including yours truly.

But, this is the way he played in Sweden for Modo, and is finding some early success playing this way for the Flyers as well.

That’s not to say Sanheim is playing poorly. He’s not. He’s just been less even than Hagg. Sanheim is starting to show some signs of having a breakthrough offensively. You can see him getting more and more confident with the puck up ice, but Hagg is ahead of him – for now – on the defensive side of the game.

6. Hakstol shines in a loss

Give credit where it’s due. Dave Hakstol has come up with an excellent game plan twice now against a team that was in the Stanley Cup Finals last season and had one of the best records in hockey.

He’s devised a way to really slow up a speedy team, and although the game did open up a little in the second half of the contest, the Flyers were prepared to skate with the Knights.

Yeah, Vegas is off to a slow start (2-4-0), but they had to play five of their first six game son the road, and the stop in Philly was the end of the five-game road trip.

They’re still a good team and a hard team to play against. I had a brief conversation with general manager George McPhee about their start and he wasn’t thrilled with it, but he did note how tough the Flyers played them.

That’s a feather in the cap for Hakstol.

Yes, the Flyers have been inconsistent, and yes, I’ve not been a Hakstol believer through the first three-plus seasons he’s been at the helm. But I do have to admit, I’m seeing a different Hakstol so far this season. It may not be translating through the media or on television or even his press conferences, but trust me when I tell you there’s a different vibe with the guy.

I think it’s a positive one. I don’t want to jump to conclusions because it’s still way early in the season, but I think it’s definitely something to keep an eye on. There might be more up his sleeve that he hasn’t shown us yet as he waits for his team to mature into what it needs to be first.

Just a thought….

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