What Does Shayne Gostisbehere’s Callup Mean for the Flyers

Late Friday Shayne Gostisbehere, the strongest defensive candidate in the Flyers organization for some time, was called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms due to injuries to Braydon Coburn and Andrew MacDonald leaving the Flyers with just five healthy defensemen.

Ron Hextall’s plan to give Gostisbehere a full year down on the farm was a bit rushed due to injuries, but Flyers poor play in their own end forced his hand as well.

The Philadelphia Flyers have suffered from a difficulty in getting the puck out of their own end and into the offensive zone. 

A fairly immobile defensive corps with the most adept defensemen being over 35 years old did not help matters at all.

The call to Gostisbehere over more seasoned defensemen like Mark Alt, Brandon Manning, or Robert Hagg was due to the Flyers need to push the puck up ice. 

The lack of mobility on the blueline has caused consternation for the team and fans who realize that without mobile defensemen to help out on the rush or in the offensive zone the forwards are doing far too much of the heavy lifting in the offensive zone.

Look for a faster pace tonight with Shayne Gostisbehere and Michael Del Zotto leading the charge and the rush for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Notes

Back-to-back games are often difficult for players in terms of conserving energy.  The seemingly poor performance in Chicago was overshadowed by a stellar performance against Pittsburgh the next night.

It is easy to quickly criticize a poor effort on one end of a back-to-back but one has to understand that in the NHL the travel schedule and conserving energy is just as much a part of the game as the play on the ice.

Players will often conserve energy for the back half if the opponent is a bigger rival or of greater importance in the standings as was the case this week.

They players chose to conserve their energy and come out blazing against their divisional rival the Pittsburgh Penguins picking up a much needed victory in the process.

Going into tonight it will be important to continue with the positive momentum as the Flyers right he ship and fight through injuries.

Can the Lehigh Valley Phantoms please launch their website?  Thank you.

Time to Break up the Top Line

We may only be four games into the 2014-15 campaign, but the Philadelphia Flyers appear to have the same problems that plagued them last season.  Most notably, major problems at even strength.

The power play has been a strength with the team going five for seventeen, good enough for eighth in the league.

The penalty kill has been just as effective with the Flyers one for ten which puts them at tenth.

In terms of penalties the Flyers sit in a very strange position, having accrued the least penalty minutes per game in the league at 7.2 penalty minutes per game.

This has exposed the weakest part of the Flyers game, even strength, where they have given up thirteen even strength goals and scored only six.

The Flyers minus seven put them near the bottom of the league tied with both Buffalo and Colorado with Edmonton the worst even strength team in the NHL at a minus nine.

The problems can be traced specifically to one line and one defensive pairing.  The top line of Michael Raffl/Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek has accounted for an outsized portion of these goals. 

Michael Raffl has been on the ice for eight even strength goals while Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have been on the ice for seven each.  These numbers are greatly affected by their poor game against the New Jersey Devils but it does point to a larger problem.  The top line is not as effective at five on five than they should be. 

The case can be made that the Flyers should replace Voracek with Wayne Simmonds on the right side of the top line and begin looking for a replacement on the left side with the possibility of moving Brayden Schenn back up to left wing on the top line.

Simmonds and Schenn can provide the muscle down low and create space for Giroux to work around faceoff circles.

But that is not the only major problem, the defensive pairing of Luke Schenn and Michael Del Zotto has been a problem as well with Luke on the ice for nine even strength goals and Del Zotto eight. 

Again, these numbers are a bit outsized due to the New Jersey Devils game where these five individuals happened to be on ice for a number of New Jersey goals.

I am not sure about a solution for the defense because the Flyers desperately need Del Zotto's speed and ability to push the puck up ice.  Without Del Zotto the Flyers defense is slow and immobile. 

The Flyers should consider a different partner, perhaps Braydon Coburn, when he returns from injury for Michael Del Zotto.

The final two areas of concern are singular players who may not be good fits overall or just looking for the right partner.

R.J.Umberger has been on the ice for six even strength goals against so far this year and Andrew MacDonald five.  No other player accounts for being on the ice for five or more goals.

This is not to say that the pairing of Claude Giroux, Michael Raffl, and Jakub Voracek cannot be effective as they can still anchor the top power play line but it appears that they are not an effective even strength line combination.

The Flyers are in the midst of a roster overhaul focusing on plus skaters with skill and their play has not been that bad.  The key, as they begin an important road trip, is to find effective line combinations at even strength for both the forwards and defense. 

While breaking up some combinations may be unpopular it is necessary if the Flyers expect to turn around the season after a slow start.

2014-15 Philadelphia Flyers Season Predictions

Season Predictions

The 2014-15 Philadelphia Flyers are similar in many respects to the team that ended last season, but if you look closely one can see new GM Ron Hextall putting his stamp on the club.  Gone are the slow skaters that took significant penalty minutes and in are plus skaters with less penalty minutes.

The club that takes the ice in Boston should be faster, more disciplined, and more adept with the puck.

Players were made aware that they needed to show up in shape for training camp after a few were called out in Ron Hextall’s initial press conference.

While the Flyers were a poor puck possession team last year that can be partially attributed to the Flyers leading the NHL in penalty minutes.  The team often had problems getting in sync with the even strength lines never getting the opportunity to present a sustained forecheck like the Los Angeles Kings.

The constant swapping between special teams units can wreck havoc on a lineup as players constantly move from one role to the next. 

The lack of production from the fourth line was a problem as well with Zac Rinaldo and Jay Rosehill not assisting the top three lines causing a shortened bench for most games. 

This season the fourth line should be able to log a few more quality minutes per game, giving the Flyers the ability to properly reset the top lines after prolonged stretches on special teams.

While the third line seems to be a work in progress when compared with the top two lines they should feel the most pressure to produce with exciting young rookies like Scott Laughton starting the season with the Phantoms.

The same goes for the blueline where a number of players with less than two years remaining on their contracts will feel the heat from young defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Samuel Morin, and Robert Hagg. 

Ron Hextall learned from Dean Lombardi in Los Angeles that prospects need seasoning in the minors and he wants them to prove that they belong on the roster rather than being handed a role. 

To that extent, it is more than likely that the top prospects will spend at least a full season with the Phantoms unless they force Hextall’s hand, putting him in a position where he needs to make a deal.

The first call ups may not be the sexy names that fans salivate over, but the guys called up will be asked to fill specific roles, be it as an enforcer or penalty kill specialist.

The roster this year is a work in process with the team that ends this year likely looking very different from the team that starts this year. 

While the Flyers do not have a lot of wiggle room under the cap and Pronger, Timonen, and White on LTIR they do have some flexibility in terms of making deals and we will likely see a few deals done as the year progresses.

The division itself is challenging with the Pittsburgh Penguins always a favorite and the New York Rangers are coming off a run that took them to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings.

The late trades by the New York Islanders to add defense to their roster indicate that they will be knocking on the playoff doors as will the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

A small step back should not be looked at as a disappointment as the Flyers are in the process of retooling their roster to emphasize more skill and better skating over slow, pugilistic play. 

There are a number of pieces to the puzzle that are already in place with this roster.  The top two lines can match up with any team in the NHL.  The third line is a bit of a work-in-process while the fourth line transitions to more of a speed and grind line rather than a pugilistic line.

The Flyers were able to manage to make the playoffs with almost the same lineup last year after a horrendous start.

This year under the steady and analytical minds of General Manager Ron Hextall and Head Coach Craig Berube the Flyers will shift from a grinding team to a faster and more disciplined team.  

The Flyers should be in the mix for a playoff spot in the highly competitive Eastern Conference where a number of teams have their eyes set on the playoffs.

More importantly, the roster should be judged not on how they start but how they finish as tinkering will take place over the course of the season as new stars emerge from the Phantoms and trades are made to create a better overall roster fit.

The Flyers benefitted last year from a very healthy roster logging some of the fewest man games lost in the NHL.

If they can stay healthy the Flyers should be a playoff team as they have significant scoring depth and adequate defense to get into the playoffs.  Once there it will depend on matchups.

The keys will be to stay healthy and cut down on the penalty minutes while playing a more skilled and disciplined style of hockey.

In terms of actual numbers from players I am looking for balanced scoring much like last year when eight players netted over 20 goals.


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2014-15 Philadelphia Flyers Goaltending and Defense

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.

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.

Follow me on Twitter @dcurban1.