Game Thread: @ Flyers: Keystone Rivalry

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: (5-1-0, 10 points, 83%)
GFA: 3.83
GAA: 2.50
Diff: +1.33
PP%: 77.8
PK%: 35.3
Streak: +2
Projected lineups:
L1: Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
L2: Jussi Jokinen - Evgeni Malkin - Chuck Kobasew
L3: Dustin Jeffrey - Brandon Sutter - Harry Zolnierczyk
L4: Tanner Glass - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
D1: Brooks Orpik - Paul Martin
D2: Rob Scuderi - Matt Niskanen
D3: Olli Maatta - Deryk Engelland
G: Marc-Andre Fleury

Philadelphia Flyers
Record: (1-6-0, 2 points, 29%)
GFA: 1.43
GAA: 2.86
Diff: -1.43
PP%: 6.9%
PK: 79.4%
Streak: -3
Projected lineups:
L1: Tye McGinn - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek
L2: Michael Raffi - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds
L3: Max Talbot - Sean Couturier - Matt Read
L4: Zac Rinaldo - Kris Newbury - Adam Hall
D1: Kimmo Timonen - Luke Schenn
D2: Mark Streit - Erik Gustafsson
D3: Nicklas Grossmann - Braydon Coburn
G: Steve Mason

Series notes
All-time: Flyers lead series 142-82-8 plus 30 ties
Last season: Pens won series 3-1-0
Last meeting: 3/24/13 @Pittsburgh, Pens won 2-1 in OT

Doob's view: Flyers are really struggling right now and in a very ironic way. Their offense is really underachieving, especially their power play which is scoring only 6% of the time. Meanwhile, goaltending seems to be their strength. Totally topsy turvy team from what we're used to seeing. At the same time, this is one of the top rivalries in the NHL today, and I fully expect the Flyers to play their very best against us.
Doob picks the Pens to win 3-2.

 

[mtm166]

It's just pure entertainment to watch Philthy in disarray like they are. They are about as poorly run an organization as there is in the NHL. Somewhere out there Bowhunter is smiling. Pens are gonna smack the Cryers around, 5-2.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Would love to see the Flyers' season to go from bad to worse with a blowout loss to the Pens but I never expect either team to blow the other out no matter how well or how bad either team is playing.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Good win by the Pens tonight, another strong game by MAF.

 

[thedddd]

Another good game for the Penguins.
That Flyer team is a shame they are finally getting good goaltending but can't score a goal to save their lives.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Yeah, how ironic that they finally find a good goalie and this happens to their offense. Penguin fans now have a word for that, it's called "lool".

 

[thedddd]

Yeah, how ironic that they finally find a good goalie and this happens to their offense. Penguin fans now have a word for that, it's called "lool".

Oh yeah...

But watching them struggle really takes from the rivalry. I love it more when both teams are playing good but I am not complaining.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I agree, didn't feel like your typical Pens vs Flyers game. At the end of the game I found myself feeling bad for the Flyers, which I don't ever recall happening before.

 

[evolver115]

I agree, didn't feel like your typical Pens vs Flyers game. At the end of the game I found myself feeling bad for the Flyers, which I don't ever recall happening before.

I don't bad for the rival. The position they currently find themselves in is of their own doing. They traded away their captain (Richards) only a season after he led them to their only SCF appearance of the past decade. They traded away their best goal-scorer (Carter), for Voracek, signed that head-case Russian net minder, who is currently unemployed after being cut from an ECHL team, and before this season, 'bolstered' their aging defensive core by adding another aging defenseman in Mark Streit. Plus, they added another aging forward in Lecavlier, who is on the obvious downside of a great career. And let's not forget the egregious mistake of giving up on the now reigning Vezina winner, Bobrovsky. Holgren's impatience, or Snider's has caused them to stunt the growth of their team.

One thing I've learned since the salary cap era began in the NHL; you can't be impatient and make knee-jerk reactions season after season. I give Shero a ton of credit for staying the course these past couple off-seasons, and not blowing up his core, even though he had many reasons to do so. Ray has remained calm and added and subtracted from his core only when he had no choice (Staal), instead of being reactionary like Holmgren, and make trade after trade, and overpaid for free agents season after season. Homer made his bed and now he has to lay in it, which will likely cost him his job.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I don't bad for the rival. The position they currently find themselves in is of their own doing. They traded away their captain (Richards) only a season after he led them to their only SCF appearance of the past decade. They traded away their best goal-scorer (Carter), for Voracek, signed that head-case Russian net minder, who is currently unemployed after being cut from an ECHL team, and before this season, 'bolstered' their aging defensive core by adding another aging defenseman in Mark Streit. Plus, they added another aging forward in Lecavlier, who is on the obvious downside of a great career. And let's not forget the egregious mistake of giving up on the now reigning Vezina winner, Bobrovsky. Holgren's impatience, or Snider's has caused them to stunt the growth of their team.

One thing I've learned since the salary cap era began in the NHL; you can't be impatient and make knee-jerk reactions season after season. I give Shero a ton of credit for staying the course these past couple off-seasons, and not blowing up his core, even though he had many reasons to do so. Ray has remained calm and added and subtracted from his core only when he had no choice (Staal), instead of being reactionary like Holmgren, and make trade after trade, and overpaid for free agents season after season. Homer made his bed and now he has to lay in it, which will likely cost him his job.

I'm not a fan of Paul Holmgren, I think he makes very impulsive decisions. I admire that he always wants to put together a great team and is willing to make big moves to do that, but he seems to always make moves the team eventually regrets and then he has to make another move to fix that move and that causes more problems and the cycle repeats.