Good News Bad News For Sixers

Tonight the Sixers will travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons.  Thankfully, the Sixers will get some help down low as Elton Brand returns to the starting lineup tonight.  Brand missed the last two games with a sprained thumb.

Unfortunately, news isn't so great regarding center Spencer Hawes.  Hawes met with a foot specialist, and it seems that he will be sidelined for at least another two weeks.

Although the Sixers will be without the services of Hawes over the course of the next two weeks, at least Brand's return will give the Sixers some much needed help down low.  The Sixers are getting burned in the paint right now, and it is having a trickle down effect on the rest of the team.  Without Hawes dishing it to guys from the middle of the floor, the Sixers have less options on offense.  Thus guys are settling for jumpers and not getting to the rim for easy high percentage shots.  The Sixers are also getting knocked around on the boards, and defensively they are not as strong down low without Hawes in the lineup.

Tonight will  be the Sixers' first game back from the All-Star break.  The Sixers most recently lost to the Houston Rockets, and are currently in the midst of a 5 game losing streak.  To get out of this slump, the Sixers are going to need Brand, Allen, and Vucevic to really step up their games.  The Sixers also need Jrue Holiday to be more aggressive and try to create some shots for himself.

The Pistons currently have the fifth worst record in the East, and the Sixers need to capitalize and pick up a much needed victory tonight.  Things don't get any easier for the Sixers as the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder come to the Wells Fargo Center tomorrow night.

Flyers Silent On Deadline Day

Today was the day of the trade deadline.  A day that perhaps some Flyers fans had been looking forward to in anticipation of another big blockbuster move.  Maybe the Flyers would bring in defenseman Rick Nash.  Or maybe the Flyers would part ways with one of their young guns like JVR or Brayden Schenn.  Surely the Flyers were going to make a lot of noise right?

Surprisingly, the Flyers were completely silent on deadline day, satisfied with the moves they made over the past two weeks for defenders Niklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina.  Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spoke to the media today addressing the team's silence at the deadline,

"We received some calls about a few of our players with some scenarios that we talked about, but nothing really made sense for us either in the short term or the long term.  I think we stated all along that anything we do needed to make sense both ways for us and nothing really came up."

Overall I'm fairly happy that the Flyers didn't trade away guys like Sergie Bobrovsky, JVR, or Brayden Schenn.  While a defender like Rick Nash would certainly help to solidify this defense, right now the Flyers' main defensive problem is Ilya Bryzgalov.  Bringing in all of the best defenders in the world isn't going to help if Bryzgalov continues to allow easy nonsense goals night after night.

Over the course of the next few weeks, hopefully the new defenders will begin to gel in the Flyers' scheme, and maybe Bryzgalov's first shootout win as a Flyer will help spark the defense.  But the key thing to remember about the trade deadline is that the Flyers were able to bolster their defense without giving up any of their young guns.  Holmgren also stated today,

“A couple weeks ago, we felt we lacked some things on our back end because of the absence of Chris [Pronger]. We addressed those issues without giving up anyone off our team."

The Flyers will have to make do with this current team.  Offensively, the Flyers certainly have all the weapons in the world.  They currently lead the NHL in total goals scored with 201, ahead of Vancouver, Boston, and Ottawa.  But on the defensive end, they are 25th in the league in goals against surrendering 182 goals as opposed to the Rangers and Blues who have both surrendered just 119 goals and are ranked first and second in the league respectively.

We will just have to wait patiently through this final month as the defense attempts to find its game.  But even if the Flyers are unable to make a Stanley Cup run this year, by not trading away any of the major pieces, the Flyers will definitely be potent in the years to come.

Should The Eagles Make A Move For RG3?

On Friday, it was reported that Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III interviewed with the Eagles.  Now before you go getting all excited, many reporters and experts are describing the interview as "due diligence."  Couple that with the fact that the Eagles just inked Michael Vick to a big extension, and the RG3 excitement will surely die down.

And yet there is something very intriguing in the fact that the Eagles so far are the only team to meet with the Heisman Trophy winner.  Today on sports radio 94 WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic, experts went back and forth arguing the possibility of RG3 in an Eagles uniform.

Think about the whole situation before you draw any conclusions.  The Rams have the number 2 overall pick and seeing as they won't be interested in RG3 as they already have a young quarterback in Sam Bradford, they could be interested in a trade.  If the Eagles were willing to trade Desean Jackson, a first round pick, and maybe another young player, they could easily find themselves in a position to draft RG3 as their quarterback of the future.

It's certainly plausible that the Eagles have the talent and resources to make a trade, but now the question is should they make the trade?  Should they trade away young proven talent and a draft pick for a guy who has yet to even play a game in the NFL?  My answer is no based on the situation with Andy Reid, the fact that the Eagles already have Mike Vick as quarterback, and I truly believe that this team is just a few moves away from being a legitimate contender.

Let's start first with Big Red.  In case you didn't catch Jeff Lurie's press conference earlier this year, basically Lurie made it pretty clear that the 2011 season was completely unacceptable.  In other words, Andy Reid is on the hot seat this year, and in all likelihood this will be his final year in Philadelphia providing he doesn't win a Super Bowl.  If you trade away a decent portion of your young nucleus to get a franchise quarterback, after this year you may not be able to draw in potential coaches who would be forced to use RG3.  Maybe potential coaches won't like his style of play or whatever, but you would certainly be limiting your pool of potential coaches by locking them in with a quarterback they maybe don't want.

Remember a guy by the name of Mike Vick?  People quickly forget just how utterly amazing Vick was in 2010.  He may have had a rough year last season, but I truly believe that we have yet to see the best of number 7.  If the lockout hurt anyone last year, it probably hurt Vick the most.  After his first full year back in the NFL, the rug was quickly pulled out from under him with the lockout.  Many people have written Vick off after last year but I think Vick is going to come back with a fire in 2012.  Drafting RG3 could be detrimental to Vick's confidence as the Eagles would basically be saying to Vick that 2012 would be his last chance.

Lastly if the Eagles were to trade away Desean Jackson, a couple young players, and a first round draft pick for RG3, the Eagles would be setting themselves back at least two, maybe even three years.  I think that this current Eagles team is a few moves away from being a legitimate contender. But trading away vital pieces could hurt them next year and in the years to come.  Also this core of Lesean McCoy, Brent Celek, and Jeremy Maclin are young now, but in three years they could be completely different players.  The Eagles would have to take a large step back to acquire RG3, and by the time he is fully ready, the Eagles offense may not be the same potent offense that it is right now.

Based on last year, I'm not so sure the Eagles made a good choice by inking Vick to a big contract.  But overall I think we have to stick with MV7 rather than make move for RG3.  Of course this is completely hypothetical situation and I want to reiterate the fact that the meeting between RG3 and the Eagles was complete due diligence on the Eagles' part.  Still, it's something to ponder and keep in mind as we move closer to draft day.  

Is It Time To Panic?

The Sixers could not have limped into the All Star break any worse. They have lost their last five games and have two of their better players out with injuries. While it doesn't seem that Elton Brand's thumb injury is too severe, the Sixers have not released much information on Spencer Hawes' achilles injury and his return date is unknown. Over the All Star break he is receiving a second opinion on the injury and is still currently in a walking boot. While the Sixers have played awful as of late and lost five in a row, I still don't think there is need to panic just yet.

Without Spencer Hawes the Sixers have struggled in the worst of ways having gone 8-12 in his absence. With him in the lineup the Sixers are a sensational 12-2. That statistic alone should tell you that when Hawes does return, things will start to go better for the Sixers. They will have a legitimate center who is a threat to not only score, but is a great passer of the ball and gets open looks for everyone else. One of the problems that the Sixers have had since Hawes has been out of the lineup is that they are settling for too many long and contested jumpers. Hawes would give them another guy to open up the floor and give open shots to the guards around him.

Another reason that there is little reason to panic for now about the Sixers is that the Sixers aren't losing to bad teams. In their recent five game losing streak the Sixers lost to five over .500 teams, four of them coming on the road. While some of those games were very winnable including the Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Rockets games; ending up on the losing end of all three games is not the worst thing in the world because they are talented teams. If the Sixers had lost five in a row to some of the worst teams in the league the level of panic would be much higher, but it is going to be tough to beat an over .500 team on the road without Brand and Hawes.

Although it seems the Sixers haven't won in forever, they still remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and have a 3.5 game lead over Linsanity and the Knicks in the division. It seems that barring a massive collapse the Sixers are safely locked in as one of the eight teams that will make the playoffs out of the Eastern Conference.

The front office shouldn't look at the five game losing streak and think that a trade is necessary. If the right trade comes to them then it is fine if they take it, but they shouldn't do anything stupid and trade away too much to fill the front court hole they have without Hawes. Hawes will be back soon enough and their is no need to panic just yet over their recent struggles. Things will turn around when they get back to full health, have the All Star break to rest, and start playing some games at home again. We have seen first hand how good this team can be when they knocked off some of the better teams in the league in that brutal seven game stretch that they had just about a month ago. The Sixers are definitely slumping into the All Star break, but in my mind there is not much reason to panic because this team has shown a lot of potential when fully healthy and will revert back to their roles they feel comfortable in once Hawes and Brand return.

Flyers Fall To Oilers

Last night, Ilya Bryzgalov had a fantastic game.  Although he allowed 2 goals, he had some truly unbelievable saves on odd man rushes, and on the power play.  The defense in front of him had some obvious lapses, but for the most part Bryzgalov stayed strong and allowed just two goals.

The two goals allowed by Bryzgalov both came in the second period.  The first goal came on the Oilers' power play when Taylor Hall snapped a tough angle shot right past the left pad of Ilya Bryzgalov.  Bryz knew what was coming but unfortunately couldn't react and get to the spot in time.  The second goal surrendered by Bryzgalov is one that he definitely should have saved.  But in his defense, the Flyers were in transition and getting ready to shift into offense when miraculously Jordan Eberle of the Oilers kept the puck in the zone, got it back in the slot, and shot one through the five-hole of Bryzgalov.  Again a save Bryz probably should have made, but not a terribly weak goal by any means.

Unfortunately, as has been the case so many times this year, the Flyers offense went cold while the defense played relatively well.  But it wasn't as if the Flyers didn't get their fair share of chances against Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk.  The Flyers got a ton of quality odd man rushes but either made too many passes or just didn't finish and were never able to find the back of the net.  Wayne Simmonds had numerous chances, as did Brayden Schenn and Danny Briere.  But quality chances don't get you goals, and unfortunately the Flyers were shutout in this one by a final of 2-0.

You really can't get too angry at any player in particular after this tough loss.  Bryzgalov played great, the offense had numerous chances, and overall if the Flyers could have had a couple pucks bounce their way they easily could have won this one.  If I had to call out any one player or group of players I would probably call out the defense.  I know that with newcomers Pavel Kubina and Nicklas Grossman the Flyers defense is still adjusting, but there were times during the game where the Flyers simply couldn't get the puck out of the zone.  And a costly defensive lapse led to the Oilers' second goal of the night as well.

But overall the Flyers just have to continue playing hard.  Bryzgalov's solid outing is encouraging, and hopefully the Flyers can right the ship when they head to Calgary on Saturday night to take on the Flames.

Flyers Jets Preview

On the season it seems like there are two teams that the Flyers just can't beat: the New York Rangers and the Winnipeg Jets.  The Flyers have lost all three games to the Jets this year, including a memorable high flying 9-8 defeat back in late October.  The Flyers again lost to the Jets in November in another high scoring game this time by a final of 6-4.  Most recently the Flyers lost in a shootout to the Jets on January 31st by a final of 2-1.

After Saturday's embarrassing 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Paul Holmgren added more depth to the defense by trading draft picks for the 34 year old Pavel Kubina.  Kubina, along with Nicklas Grossman, will try to improve things in front of the net and try to help out goalies Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky as they continue to search for consistency.  The new look defense will hopefully help these two get back on track and it will be interesting to see how they play.

I think the key to tonight's game for the Flyers will be to continually attack the net.  After Saturday's debacle, it's clear that no lead is safe and the Flyers have to continue to try and find ways to score because the defense playing behind them is basically in shambles right now.  It will take time for the two new guys to get used to the system so there might be a few mistakes between the two.  The Flyers need to start this game with some jam and make a statement early on.

Guys like Jagr, Simmonds, and Giroux need to continue their hot play and try and put in as many goals as possible.  In addition, I would like to see JVR continue to play well.  In his first game back on Saturday after being sidelined with a concussion for over a month, JVR created some great opportunities.  He needs to continue to be aggressive tonight.

It's quite obvious that the Flyers are beginning to get fed up with the goalie situation.  While the players and coaches may not express it verbally, you have to figure that they are not happy that both Bob and Bryz continue to give up nonsense goals and squander leads.  The key for the Flyers is just to keep working hard and hope that the goalies and defenders figure things out.

Sixers Desperately Need A Big Man

As a Pennsbury High School graduate, I was overjoyed when I found out that the Sixers had drafted Pennsbury and Temple alum Lavoy Allen.  I got to watch this guy through out his high school and collegiate career, and having him start his professional career with the Sixers was all anyone could ask for really.

So far Allen and fellow big man Nikola Vucevic have been very impressive in their rookie campaigns.  Both Allen and Vucevic have seen increased minutes in the wake of Spencer Hawes' many injuries.  But the fact of the matter is that both Vucevic and Allen are both still young and developing players, and last night they were exposed going up against Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Love finished with 15 rebounds and 20 points, while Pekovic nearly had a double ripping down 9 boards to go along with 17 points.  But here's the real kicker: both Love and Pekovic had 5 offensive rebounds each.  On the other end Allen finished with 8 boards and 6 points while Vucevic finished with just 4 boards and 8 points.  Statistically the Wolves didn't dominate the Sixers on the boards, but overall Pekovic and Love basically dominated the paint and scored at will to the dismay of the Sixers.  

After a crazy hot start to the season, the Sixers have lost 5 of their last 7.  I think a lot of the Sixers' recent struggles have to do with the absence of Spencer Hawes.  After Hawes played in the Sixers win over the Los Angeles Lakers back on February 6th, Hawes has since been sidelined with a left achilles strain.  Thus Allen, Vucevic, and Elton Brand have all seen increased minutes, and the three of them just can't handle the scoring and rebounding burden left by Hawes.

At this point it looks as if Hawes won't be back until after the All-Star break.  This means that the Sixers have 2-4 more games that they have to play without Hawes.  While Hawes may not be a potent scorer, he definitely changes how the Sixers operate on offense when he is in the game.  This is most clearly seen by the Sixers "settling" for poor jump shots during their past few games.  Instead of trying to work the ball in down low, they are instead relying too much on their outside game to score.

Overall Allen, Vucevic, and Brand will have to make up for Hawes as he continues to nurse his injury.  Even if the Sixers don't win their upcoming games, at least Allen and Vucevic will be gaining valuable playing time as they continue to grow and develop into dominant forces in the paint.

Howard Injury Update

We all remember Ryan Howard making the final out of the NLDS, while also tearing his Achilles tendon.  It was an awful picture to watch and unfortunately it will hurt his start time for this season.  Howard isn't expected to make his return to the lineup until at least May, the Phillies want to take it nice and easy working him back in.

Position players aren't required to report to Spring Training until Tuesday, but Howard has been here for several weeks.  He has been working really hard to rehab from his surgery in the offseason.  The good news is Manager Charlie Manuel says that he is ahead of schedule.  They will still take it easy though as they do not want Howard to have a setback on his recovery.

After a reporter spotted him jogging in the outfield the other day, today everyone was clear to see Howard take the field.  He was taking ground balls today moving laterally a little bit, but nothing to much.  He also took some soft toss after as well.  He is making some steps towards significant baseball activities.  This is some good progress and look for his workload to increase even more as Spring Training gets into full gear.

Goalie Problems Continue As Flyers Fall To Pens

Coming off a big 7-2 victory on Thursday, the Flyers came into today's game against the Penguins desperate for a victory once again.

The Penguins scored first thanks to a break away goal from Matt Cooke.  The Penguins led for most of the first until Jaromir Jagr exploded for two goals at the tail end of the period.  Jagr grabbed hold of the puck at center ice, skated into the slot and wristed one past Marc-Andre Fleury for his first goal.  For his second tally, the Flyers were on the power play and Jagr again beat Fleury with the wrist shot, this time sailing the puck past his left shoulder.

For much of the second, neither team could find the back of the net.  But toward the later part of the period, the Penguins cashed in on two goals to take the lead and chase Ilya Bryzgalov from the game.  The Flyers quickly responded with Eric Wellwood's first career NHL goal.  Going into the third the game was tied at 3.

In the third, the Penguins scored two quick goals against Bob to take a commanding 5-3 lead.  From there both teams tacked on another goal a piece and the game ended in a 6-4 Pittsburgh victory.

The big story of the game was the goaltending.  Ilya Bryzgalov gave up 3 incredibly soft goals.  The first goal he gave up came within the first few minutes on a break away.  Definitely a save he should have made but I'll give him that one.  The second goal came when the Flyers were on the power play.  It was a wrist shot that simply should have been stopped.  He wasn't screened or anything and he just missed it.  The third goal came when the Flyers had a two man advantage, and after surrendering the goal, Peter Laviolette had seen enough and removed him from the game.  It's becoming increasingly difficult to tolerate Bryzgalov.  Overall Bryzgalov continues to go through slumps in which he can look great one game and then look lost in the woods the next.

To make matters worse, the Flyers didn't have a hot Bobrovsky to go to in today's game.  Bob came in and allowed 3 goals in just one period of play.  The offense is not a concern at all at this point in the season.  Guys like Jagr, Giroux, and Simmonds continue to play well.  But the defense, namely the goalies, are a major problem.  The Flyers don't have a great defense, but the goalies can and should come up with some big saves every once and while.  These last few games, it seems like we would be better off with a cardboard cut-out in net.

But there were a few things that I did like about today's game.  First off Jaromir Jagr was spot on with his wrist shot.  His two quick goals gave the Flyers a ton of life and energy and it is good to see him continue to compete at a high level.  In addition, newcomer Nicklas Grossman looked pretty solid in his first game as a Flyer.  And in his first game back from his concussion injury, JVR created some great opportunities both for himself and his teammates.

But the Flyers can't win games if they can't stop the other team from putting the puck in the net; it's that simple.  Defense is already and needs to continue to be a top priority as the trade deadline approaches.

Flyers Look To Right Ship Against Sabres

Tonight the Flyers will host the Buffalo Sabres as they attempt to rebound from consecutive losses to both the Rangers and Red Wings.

After being sidelined the past three games with the flu, tonight Ilya Bryzgalov will get the start in net as he tries to continue his strong play and give this defense some much needed answers.  Over the past three games, Sergei Bobrovsky and the defense have surrendered a total of 12 goals.

The Flyers currently hold a 2-0 season series advantage over the Sabres.  Back on November 2nd, the Flyers beat the Sabres by a final of 3-2.  Most recently the Flyers again defeated the Sabres in a 5-4 overtime thriller on December 7th. Claude Giroux had the game winning break away goal in the extra session and hopefully he can have continued success against the Sabres tonight.

For the Flyers, they can't let things spiral out of control too much.  The Flyers need this win to help get them back on track, and also help them get ready for an important game coming up this Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Although the Flyers will have Bryzgalov back tonight, it looks like they will be without Jagr, Voracek, Meszaros, and JVR.  The Flyers will have to make do without them as they need any type of victory tonight in the worst way.

Flyers Searching For Answers

The second half of the season has not been kind to the Philadelphia Flyers.  Since returning from the All-Star break, the Flyers have gone 2-6 picking up just 6 points in the process.  The defense is atrocious, the offense is up and down, and overall the Flyers don't have any answers right now.

The Flyers definitely picked a good time to go into a slump.  We are still well over a month from the playoffs and the Flyers have all of the time to get things back on track.  Among the defensive struggles and offensive ups and downs, the Flyers are struggling the most on special teams.  The Flyers aren't getting it done on the power play and are giving up way too many easy opportunities on the penalty kill.

If the Flyers' struggles continue, it may lead people to believe that the first half was just a fluke and that the true colors of this team are finally beginning to shine forth.  I don't think that's the case and I think the offense is just too talented and balanced to let the Flyers go into a drastic slump.

Plus don't forget about the goalie situation.  Ilya Bryzgalov has been out the last three games with the flu, but before getting sick he was starting to look pretty good.  Bryzgalov is expected to play tomorrow night against the Sabres, and hopefully a great start by Bryz will help spark this team.

In addition to Bryzgalov returning, JVR who has been out with a concussion could possibly start tomorrow night agasint Buffalo as well.  JVR suited up for some practice today and he could add some life to the offense.

Now is not the time to panic for the Flyers.  They still have 26 games to right the ship, and I think that the balanced offense and the possible surge of Ilya Bryzgalov will help spark this team for the rest of the season.  Jaromir Jagr, who is suffering from the flu and will most likely miss tomorrow's game, had this to say on the Flyers' recent struggles.

“The games are going to be a little tighter than the first month or so for everybody. Teams are battling for the playoffs and they’re going to play tighter defense and it’s going to be tougher to score. Those teams are going to play just as they play in the playoffs just to get in the playoffs. These last 20 games are always the toughest.”

JVR Coping With Concussion

Young Flyers star James Van Riemsdyk has been out since January 12th with a concussion.  JVR was officially ruled "out indefinitely" on January 14th, and on Wednesday he finally opened up to reporters on how he is dealing with the concussion.

"I've tried not to let that word, frustration, seep into my vocabulary," van Riemsdyk said. "[I] just try to stay positive. Obviously, when you are in a better mind-set, it's better for healing and getting better. That's what I'm trying to focus on. Just little positive things every day, and take it from there.  If you talk to me at different times of the day, maybe I will feel a little better sometimes than other [times], when I feel really sick."

The one thing that really scares me about that interview is at the end where he says that at times he feels really sick.  That tells me that JVR is probably suffering from nausea and severe head aches, indicating it could possibly be a severe concussion.

And today bad news once again came out regarding JVR's status.  Sam Carchidi, Flyers beat writer for the Inquirer tweeted earlier,

"JVR , battling post-concussion syndrome, says he still feels like he is in a fog. He isn't likely to return for a while."

It looks like JVR has quite a long road ahead of him.  The one thing that will definitely help JVR is his optimistic attitude.  He needs to continue to stay positive and try to seek out the advice and support of other players who have dealt with what he is currently going through.

What's Wrong With Claude?

Since returning from his concussion on December 21st, Claude Giroux has not been the same player.  Maybe it's the concussion or maybe it's the fact that teams are defending him better, but statistically Giroux simply has not been as productive since his concussion.

Since December 21st, Giroux has played in 22 games tallying 5 goals and 17 assists for a total of 22 points.  Assists wise, Giroux is still finding the open guy and making plays for his teammates.  But Giroux has yet to get on a consistent goal scoring streak since his injury.

I really don't think that Claude's goal scoring problems have anything to do with his injury.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Claude was so ridiculously hot in the beginning of the year that teams were forced to respond by putting down the clamps on Giroux once he returned from his injury.  As a result of increased attention toward Giroux, the rest of the line's production has decreased slightly as well.  Since the 21st Jagr has played in 18 games notching just 3 goals and 9 assists in the process.  Scott Hartnell has been pretty consistent with 10 goals and 8 assists during that span.

Now those numbers aren't bad, but when you look at that line's production during the first few months of the season they simply don't compare.

Ultimately I think that Claude's competitive nature will help his goal scoring improve in the near future.  The key for Giroux is to just stay calm and try not to get overly frustrated.  Team's are going to play their best defenders against him; that's unavoidable and out of Giroux's control.  But what he can control is how he responds and plays going up against the best defenders of opposing teams.  And even if he can't find the back of the net then he should just continue to help out his teammates.  17 assists is very impressive and he needs to keep making plays and helping his team win games.

Flyers Leafs Preview

Tonight the Flyers will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs as they attempt to rebound from Tuesday night's embarassing 1-0 shootout loss.  The Flyers have lost 4 of their last 5 picking up just 3 points in the process.  The Flyers desperately need this win against a quality opponent like the Leafs as they try to regain some confidence befoe the Rangers come to town on Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers will definitely have their hands full as the Leafs come in having won 3 of their last 4 including a 5-0 shutout against Ottawa and a 6 goal performance against Edmonton.  The Leafs' top three point scorers are Phil Kessel, former Flyer Joffrey Lupul, and Mikhail Grabovski.  The Leafs also feature Luke Schenn, older brother of Brayden Schenn of the Flyers.

It will definitely be an interesting matchup.  The Flyers beat the Leafs back in October 4-2 behind the fantastic play of Jaromir Jagr and Scott Hartnell who had two goals a piece.  Sergei Bobrovsky was the goalie in that game and it will be interesting to see if Lavy gives him the nod tonight.

Like I said before, the Flyers really need this win.  The Rangers are coming into town on Saturday, and right now the Flyers have to be somewhat shaken in their confidence.  A big win against a quality Eastern Conference opponent could bode well for the Flyers on Saturday.

Update 2:13 PM: Bob will get the start tonight as Bryz is out with the flu.  Special thanks to @sdolan3.

Stand By Bryz

Aside from Sunday's collapse against the New York Rangers, Ilya Bryzgalov has done very well since the All-Star break.  The Bryz allowed just a shootout goal last Tuesday, surrendered one goal last Thursday against the Jets, stepped in for Bob in the Devils game on Saturday and didn't allow a goal, and last night he again allowed just a shoot out goal in a 1-0 loss to the Islanders.

As we head into the final two months of the season, it is going to be absolutely crucial for Flyers coaches, players, and fans to stick by Bryz.  I truly believe that at long last Bryzgalov is settling into his role as Flyers goalie, and is finally beginning to feel more and more comfortable with each passing game.

I think Bryzgalov's recent surge has a lot to do with the time off he had during the All-Star break.  As a non-participant in the game, Bryzgalov was able to get away for a few days to spend time with his family and basically just clear his mind of everything having to do with hockey.  Since returning, Bryzgalov looks sharp and seems to be living up to expectations.

If Bryzgalov continues to play well it will help the Flyers win games but it could also stop the Flyers from trading away a young star in exchange for a quality defender.  Let's face it, the Chris Pronger injury has hurt and will continue to hurt the Flyers for the rest of the season.  Pronger is an irreplaceable defensive force, and there simply aren't any guys like Pronger out there on the market.  I think that to trade away a young star like Matt Read, Sean Cotourier, or even JVR for a sub par defenseman would be extremely hurtful to the Flyers down the line.  Hopefully Bryzgalov can continue to play well to help the Flyers win and prevent a possibly detrimental trade.

The main sentiment that I think everyone shares is that if the Flyers win the Stanley Cup this year, it will be largely due to the play of Ilya Bryzgalov.  Bill Matz, a columnist on bleacherreport.com said it best:

"Ilya Bryzgalov will be the new answer in Philadelphia.  The man capable of bringing the Broad Street Bullies to a Stanley Cup Championship.  Not since Bernie Parent and young Ron Hextall have the Flyers gone into the playoffs with a legitimate number one goaltender.  Bryzgalov is that goalie."

I know that it's been an extremely frustrating year with Bryzgalov.  This past Sunday's game in which Bryzgalov gave up untimely goals is a perfect example of just how infuriating it can be to watch him play.  But overall the Flyers' chances at winning the Cup hinge on the play of Ilya Bryzgalov.  Players, fans, and coaches have to support him as he continues to find his game.

Flyers Have To Right Ship Against Rangers

This year the Flyers have lost all four games to the New York Rangers.  The Flyers lost to the Rangers back in November, in late December, in the Winter Classic, and most recently they suffered a 5-2 defeat this past Sunday in Madison Square Garden.

Obviously losing 4 games to your division rival is never a good thing during the regular season.  The Flyers have surrendered a total of 8 points to the hated Rangers, and if one or more of those games had gone the Flyers' way, it would currently be a very different story in the Atlantic Division standings. 

To close out the season series, the Flyers will host the Rangers this Saturday, and will then host them again on April 3rd.  In the best case scenario the Flyers will salvage the final two games of the season series.  In the worst case scenario the Flyers will lose the final two games and go 0-6 against the Rangers this year. 

Let's just assume that the Flyers split the final two games with the Rangers.  Going into the playoffs, the Rangers would then hold on to a very favorable 5-1 season series advantage.  If the Flyers and Rangers met in the playoffs, the Flyers would have all the motivation and hatred in the world geared toward the Rangers having lost the season series in such an ugly fashion.  The Rangers on the other hand could possibly be over confident and overlook the Flyers based on their regular season victories.

Of course this could work against the Flyers as well.  The Flyers could go into a potential playoff series against the Rangers with zero confidence and the Rangers could steam roll them out of the post season.

Whether or not the regular season will affect a potential playoff series between these two teams remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: if the Flyers want to get back to the Stanley Cup, they will have to get past the New York Rangers.

Ultimately I think it's best to hope that the Flyers figure things out against the Rangers in their final two regular season meetings.  Having two straight victories against the Rangers to close out the year could help erase a very painful season series.  The Flyers will have the opportunity to turn things around this Saturday when the Rangers come to town.      

Flyers Rangers Preview

Although the Flyers have lost 2 out of 3 since returning from the All-Star break, they still have a big opportunity to do some damage today when they head to Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers.  Although the Flyers are 3 points behind the Rangers and won't be able to take over first place, this afternoon will be a great opportunity for them to try and salvage the season series and also let the Rangers know who's boss in the Atlantic Division.

It's still very early in the second half, but one positive that can be taken from the Flyers' past three games is the play of Ilya Bryzgalov.  After allowing 1 official goal against the Jets on Tuesday, Bryzgalov followed that with another 1 goal performance in a 4-1 victory on Thursday against the Predators.  And yesterday Bryzgalov looked great again as he stepped in for Bob in the second period and didn't allow a single goal the rest of the way.

While his improved play is definitely a good sign, I would be even more impressed if he is be able to put up a big game against a rival like the New York Rangers.  Good goalies come through in big games, and Bryz has to do that for the Flyers this afternoon.

Bryz is not the only one I'm expecting a big game from.  Look for Claude Giroux who has been somewhat lacking in the goals department to come through today against the Rangers.  Giroux had a 12 game scoreless streak which began way back on January 5th.  But in Thursday's victory against the Predators, Giroux scored on an empty netter which had to feel good for the young star.  Yesterday Giroux had another goal scoring on a snap shot in the slot.

Overall it's going to be a great game.  These two teams clearly hate each other as edvidenced by their previous three meetings and it should make for a heated battle.  The absolute key for the Flyers will be to keep it close early.  If they fall behind and rely too heavily on their defense in the early going, they could be in for yet another defeat at the hands of the hated New York Rangers.

Under Review: Analyzing The Carter And Richards Trades

After Wayne Simmonds' big game the other night in which he had 2 goals, I decided to run the stats and do a review of the block buster trades the Flyers made during the past summer.

When the Flyers traded away Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, it literally shook the hockey world.  The Flyers traded away two stars to clear cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov, and in doing so completely changed the entire foundation of their team.

For those of you who don't remember the exact specifics of the trades, I have posted below exactly who got traded and who the Flyers got in return.

Traded: Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Recieved: First round pick (Sean Couturier) and third round draft pick (Nick Cousins) in 2011 draft and Jakub Voracek.

Traded: Mike Richards to Los Angeles Kings.
Recieved: Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds and a second round draft pick in the 2012 draft.

I could make the case that with the departure of Richards and Carter the Flyers were then able to sign guys like Max Talbot and Jaromir Jagr. But I will keep my analysis of the trades strictly focused on the players directly involved.

The first trade under review will be the Jeff Carter trade.  To be perfectly fair, it's a little hard to fully evaluate the trade given the fact that Carter has only played in 31 games this year.  But even so, the statistics are very intriguing.  In 31 games this year Carter has just 11 goals and 7 assists totaling 18 points.  Voracek has played in 51 games this year tallying 9 goals and 21 assists.  And in his rookie season, the 19 year old Sean Couturier has 10 goals and 10 assists in the span of 47 games.  Again it's tough to make a full evalutation at this point given the difference of games played, but I think it's safe to say that the Flyers made out well on the Carter trade.

While it's tough to fully evaluate the Carter trade, we can easily and fully analyze the trade involving Mike Richards.  Richards has 14 goals and 12 assists on the year and has appeared in 44 games.  Meanwhile, Wayne Simmonds has 16 goals and 14 assists in somewhat of a surprise season.  Brayden Schenn was hurt during the early portion of the season, but he has still managed to tally 4 goals and 3 assists.  Also Schenn is beginning to play a lot more physical and is giving the Flyers a much needed tough identity.

Statistically it is definitely safe to say that the Flyers made out better in both trades.  And when you dig deeper and look at the players the Flyers were able to acquire due to the freed up cap space, you have to factor in players like Jaromir Jagr, Max Talbot, and also young stars like Matt Read.

The big trades were viewed by many hockey experts as extremely risky.  But so far they are paying off as the Flyers continue to play extremely good hockey and fight with the Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.  The ultimate deciding factor on the success of both trades hinges on whether or not the Flyers can go deep into the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup.  But thanks to the big trades, the Flyers have a very young nucleus with a very bright future.  Even if they don't get it done this year, I think we are in store for a very exciting era of Flyers hockey.

Thoughts On Reid's Press Conference

After about a month of full silence, Andy Reid finally addressed the media Tuesday afternoon at the Nova Care Complex.  After watching a decent amount of the interview, it was definitely clear that Reid's attitude toward the media had changed dramatically.

Reid was much more friendly and engaging and overall didn't come off as arrogant or rude.  Reid also furthered Lurie's sentiments that his "arrogance" was really a form of him protecting his players and trying to keep the locker room united.

Reid was extremely unclear on what exactly happened with Steve Spagnuolo.  Hall of fame analyst Ray Didinger asked a tough question on whether or not they had actively pursued Spags.  Reid said that he made it clear to Spags that "the job was open if he couldn't find anything else."

"Steve Spagnuolo I know was another topic, and I understand, he’s a fine football coach. Steve and I are good friends. And we talked throughout the season, as we do every year. When Steve was released from the Rams I did offer him a spot here to coach, if he needed one. A place to land, with open arms. My feeling was if you can have two great coaches on defense, That’s even better than just having Juan himself. That’s about how far as it went there. We didn’t talk about titles or anything else."

While Reid was open on the Spags issue he didn't give any definite answers and it was extremely hard for reporters to fully pin him down.  And the key phrase from that quote is "if he needed one."  It sounds to me like Reid didn't actively pursue Spags and instead made a half hearted effort to make him the next defensive coordinator.

Another key element of Reid's press conference was his comments regarding Desean Jackson.

“I was proud of DeSean for standing up….“I thought he showed maturity this season.  I think he’s done that every year he’s been here.  He showed it and admitted to everybody that he didn’t handle things the right way.  I’ll tell you the last six games he did a nice job for us.  I was proud of him for that.”

Notice that Reid again didn't give a clear response.  He could have very easily stated "I'm not worried about Desean.  He's a very important part of this team's success and we are going to get a deal done."  Instead Reid reflected on the past and didn't give a clear answer on whether or not number 10 will be in midnight green next year.  My feeling is that if it were up to Reid, he would bring Jackson back in a heart beat.  But this is a decision that is out of Reid's hands and Howie Roseman and Joe Banner will be calling the shots on this one.

While I'm a fully documented Reid supporter, I know that this is in all likelihood his final year.  For Reid, he has to fix his past mistakes and focus on uniting all of the talent that he clearly has at his disposal.  This upcoming season, Reid can't continue to give us the same excuses.  If he does, he could very easily find himself on the outside looking in come 2013.

Sixers Handle Bulls Easily

If there were any doubters about the Sixers before this game, they can start believing now. In front of a jammed packed and rocking Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia 76ers knocked off the best team in the Eastern Conference by a final score of 98-82. The Sixers and Bulls played a very even first half that saw the Sixers take a five point lead into the break, but after half time it was a whole new ball game. The Sixers outscored the Bulls 26-11 in the third quarter holding the Bulls to their lowest point total in a quarter all season. The fourth quarter started with the Sixers up 20 points on the best team in the conference and it got so bad that the starters were pulled early in the quarter and bench legend Brian Scalabrine was brought in with eight minutes left in the game.

The Sixers got great play from almost everyone on their roster. Tonight's game was Jrue Holiday's best of the year as he ended up with 17 points (8-15 shooting), 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. It was also rookie Lavoy Allen's best game of the year as he quietly had 15 points off the bench. Although those two played great games, the best player on the court tonight was Andre Iguodala who had 19 points and 9 rebounds. His defense was spectacular all night and was the spark for the Sixers huge third quarter. The Bulls were led by backup point guard C.J. Watson who had 20 points, many of which came in garbage time. Derrick Rose also poured in 18 for the Bulls in a losing effort.

Game Notes:

The third quarter the Sixers played tonight was the best quarter they've played all season. Not only did they score 26 points against one of the best defenses in the league, but they also held the Chicago Bulls to 11 points. Iguodala was the catalyst in the quarter and did it all for the Sixers both offensively and defensively.

It seems as if Lavoy Allen has somewhat replaced Nikola Vucevic as the big man off the bench. Vucevic who is apparently fine to play now was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Allen is making a serious impact when he is getting into the game and is really making the Sixers look smart for taking him late in the second round. He had 15 points (7-10 from the field) in just a 26 minute run. In my mind the best thing to do for the Sixers would be to play both Allen and Vucevic and not just stick to one. They both have shown potential this season and have looked good whenever they have gotten in the game. Even if it is just for 10 minutes a game when Hawes comes back, getting both these guys action will be key to their improvement as NBA players.

The Sixers defense continues to impress as they held the Bulls to 43 % from the field and forced 17 turnovers. The team had a total of 10 steals on the game, many of which came in the third quarter. The most notable one of the game was when Jrue Holiday picked the pocket of Derrick Rose in the middle of the third quarter and took it coast to coast slamming it home and igniting the Wells Fargo Center.

This was the best win of the season as the Sixers knocked off the best team in the Eastern Conference and did it in fashion. However it doesn't get any easier as the Big Three and the Miami Heat come into town on Friday and will play in front of what almost definitely will be a sold out crowd. The Sixers have already played the Heat this year down in Miami and got ran out of the building losing by a final of 113-92. With the Heat's loss to the Bucks tonight and the Sixers victory over the Bulls, the Sixers jumped to second in the Eastern Conference just a game behind the Bulls.

Player of the Game: Andre Iguodala

Record: 16-6 (2nd in Eastern Conference)

Up Next: vs. Miami Heat, Friday 7 p.m.