Defense
The much maligned defense of last
season will be returning once again for the 2014-15 campaign with the addition
of Michael Del Zotto who is replacing Kimmo Timonen.
Starting with the top pairing of
Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn the Flyers will get two workhorse, yet unexciting,
defensemen whose jack-of-all-trades skills are underappreciated by Flyers fans.
Coburn led the team in total ice
time last year with 22:26 per game and MacDonald jumped into the fray with the second
most ice time tallying 21:59 since his arrival late last year from the New York
Islanders.
On the penalty kill Coburn tallied
3:59 of ice time leading more than the team; his shorthanded ice time lead the
entire NHL greatly contributing to the Flyers being one of the top shorthanded
teams in the league.
While much has been made by fans of
his giveaways, Coburn’s giveaways are far less than the top defensemen in the
NHL.
This pairing is not a sexy top line
defensive pairing, but both Coburn and MacDonald will log a lot of minutes and
do a lot of the dirty work while not gaining a significant amount of attention.
The second pairing of Nicklas Grossman and Mark Streit provide the smooth skating and power play QB roles
that fans will be watching closely.
Streit will provide the puck movement and smooth skating necessary to
push the play up ice while Grossman hangs back in a defense role.
This pairing may be the most
interesting to watch. Grossman is known
for his shot blocking and stay at home skills nicely complements Streit’s
offensive prowess.
The final pairing of Michael Del
Zotto and Luke Schenn are two defensemen looking for redemption after
disappointing campaigns last year.
Luke Schenn showed some flashes of
the skills that made the Flyers take a risk by trading for him two seasons ago,
but last year reverted back into his old, bad habits. The Flyers are hoping that this year he can once again show the skills that made the Flyers take a chance on him.
Michael Del Zotto is a smooth
skating defenseman who has yet to live up to his potential with both the New
York Rangers and Nashville Predators. Teams were wary to sign him allowing the Flyers to pick him up on a one year low-risk contract.
While Del Zotto will not replace
Kimmo Timonen he will be given a significant opportunity with the Flyers to
help fill Timonen’s 3:25 of ice time per game on the power play. While nobody expects Del Zotto to completely
fill Timonen’s shoes he is being given the opportunity to make a significant
impact with the Flyers on special teams.
This pairing will be seen as a
reclamation pairing for the season with Schenn having the most to prove.
Nick Schultz will be the teams
seventh defenseman and called upon to provide a veteran presence on the
blueline should one of the regulars go down.
While not sexy the defensive corps for the Flyers were more than able to hold their own last year and will be asked to do the same this year until the next generation of Flyers defensemen are ready to take their place.
While not sexy the defensive corps for the Flyers were more than able to hold their own last year and will be asked to do the same this year until the next generation of Flyers defensemen are ready to take their place.
Goaltending
The tandem of Steve Mason and Ray Emery will be back for another season between the pipes for the Flyers. While not a sexy combination, Steve Mason has
solidified his game since coming over from Columbus and Ray Emery has filled in
as an adequate backup.
This pairing may be of greater concern
if Steve Mason goes down for an extended period of time as Ray Emery’s lack of
lateral movement was exposed is last years seven game playoff series with the
New York Rangers.
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Tomorrow my thoughts on the upcoming season for the Flyers.
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Tomorrow my thoughts on the upcoming season for the Flyers.
Follow me on Twitter @dcurban1.
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