GDT: #1 | Flyers at Canucks | Friday, October 11, 2024 | 10:00 PM Torture Time | NBCSP

[orangecrush8]

On the Canucks side I didn’t really notice Pettersson at all. Thought Connor Garland looked like the most dangerous forward

Completely agree on Garland. Felt like he was creating all night.

 

[Striiker]

I can’t believe you guys tricked me into watching that bullshit last night.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

A little disingenuous to highlight that the Flyers have tons of talent on the roster because they have 15 first-rounders, including Johnson.

Not a bad idea sometimes to collect former first-rounders who maybe didn't live up to expectations in terms of numbers.

Lou Lamoriello did this often during the Devils' glory years. Guys like Grant Marshall, Dainus Zubrus, Steve Bernier, Bobby Holik and others were all drafted by other teams but while not putting up big numbers played key roles in their playoff runs.


Was interesting that it was Johnson and Ristolainen killing the late penalty last night.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Went to bed after the 1st period. Good to see them find a way to win the game. Ersson is going to be good so long as they don’t run him into the ground

 

[deadhead]

Flyers have exciting youth and don't have to fear shootouts like plague!? What universe is this!?

@CanadianFlyer88 , yeah, I did not torture myself w watching this. Not that much about Šilovs, but am bit ill (have been off ever since Prague). There's Flyers matinee in 2 weeks, will save my excitement for that [: Life is hard as European NHL fan over 30

From what I understand, Michkov had flashes of brilliance but in general seemed rather nervous? If this counts as his ''down day'' we'll all take it

He was a little jittery the first period, but most of his struggles were just adjusting to smaller windows and faster players, KHL to preseason to regular season.

But that adjustment took all of two periods, by the third period he was playing with confidence - the biggest problem is similar to playing with an elite point guard in basketball - his teammates have to get used to passes arriving before they usually expect - because he sees them coming open before they realize they are.

As far as Luchanko, I can see why they fell in love with him, right now he's still operating more on instincts, but broke up a number of plays in the D-zone, other than one glaring mistake, seemed like he belonged on the ice. Better center than Couts or Poehling. And looked really good on the PP, probably b/c right now the extra space lets him use his passing skills, whereas 5x5 he's still trying to figure out how to make plays.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Flyers’ game speed and timing were off for much of the game. To be expected, I suppose, for the 1st regular season game, following a 10-day layoff from game action & on a West Coast road trip.

They got better as the game progressed, though.

Thankfully Ersson was an exception to the rust. He was fantastic the whole way. They don’t win without Ers being on his game.

Brink really struggled except for a couple nice plays.

Drysdale also struggled mightily. Yes, he had those two blocked shots in the 1st, but Vancouver’s extended offensive sequence was initiated by an inexcusably stupid Drysdale turnover near the top of the Flyers’ offensive zone.

Couturier is probably going to need to be used in a 3C role. Let him focus on D.

Zamula did Zamula things. One or two nice plays, but a couple of horrendous errors that outweigh the good. Nearly cost them the game with about 30 seconds left in the 3rd.

Foerster was excellent. I see a big season. Aside from the goal, he was very noticeable overall, & his smarts, wall play, & neutral zone D are very advanced.

 

[PHILOUDELPHIA]

17 the only thing I had a problem with, was him late getting back to stop his man on the 2nd Van goal. He immediately got coaching on the bench, he will learn. As far as rest of game, he needs to feel his way and get acclimated to the speed of NHL. His first game everyone needs relax.

The worst player was

Zamula he should be sent down a turnover machine.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Players of interest:

Drysdale - threw the body around more than he EVER has, but was a bit of a train wreck in his dzone. He runs around everywhere. Also you can tell, his confidence with the puck is shot. Need to rebuild that confidence.

Risto - actually thought he had a couple of nice takeaways, not bad. Also he's credited for 0 takeaways, so maybe it was just him removing someone from the puck LOL

Michkov - You could tell he was nervous, the ice also sucking did NOT help him. Hate making excuses but lets be real, that was absolutely terrible ice last night

Ersson - Fantastic. What more do you want?

Coots - injured, so gonna hold off on him.

Luchanko - I actually thought had some good moments. I never once thought he was out of place. Won 2 d zone faceoffs, I believe went 50% on the dot. Obviously lost his man on the goal, but I'm curious what the rotation on that goal should have been. Also showed legitimately good PATIENCE and CREATIVITY on the PP. Also how about those zone entries! Incredible considering how bad we were last year.

Tippett - quietly a good game.

 

[VladDrag]

My thoughts :

No one really stood out consistently, but no one looked completely terrible. Some bright spots from Farabee and Brink, Foerster looked solid, Frost and Michkov have some chemistry.

Ersson looked solid for most of the game. I few rebounds were a bit iffy.

The defense corp looked fine, lacked skill at times but fine.

I have a very slight concern on Tippett. He’s looked off since training camp. The speed isn’t evident, the separation and power in his skating isn’t there yet…. I think he started slow last year so maybe he’s just a slow starter.

 

[IronMarshal]

17 the only thing I had a problem with, was him late getting back to stop his man on the 2nd Van goal. He immediately got coaching on the bench, he will learn. As far as rest of game, he needs to feel his way and get acclimated to the speed of NHL. His first game everyone needs relax.

The worst player was

Zamula he should be sent down a turnover machine.

Zamula is locked in. He is Michkov and Fedotov’s translator on the bench.

 

[ellja3]

He was a little jittery the first period, but most of his struggles were just adjusting to smaller windows and faster players, KHL to preseason to regular season.

But that adjustment took all of two periods, by the third period he was playing with confidence - the biggest problem is similar to playing with an elite point guard in basketball - his teammates have to get used to passes arriving before they usually expect - because he sees them coming open before they realize they are.

As far as Luchanko, I can see why they fell in love with him, right now he's still operating more on instincts, but broke up a number of plays in the D-zone, other than one glaring mistake, seemed like he belonged on the ice. Better center than Couts or Poehling. And looked really good on the PP, probably b/c right now the extra space lets him use his passing skills, whereas 5x5 he's still trying to figure out how to make plays.

Thanks a ton for the detailed description. Such adjustment makes sense. I am sure we have enough talent to connect w his passes, thus I hope he'll be glued to Frost. Those two can cause serious damage.

Luchanko being better C than Poehling right away is crazy.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Only two things I noticed last night was Brink looked good and Ersson looked good. No one else really stood out either way but the team as a whole played well. Still a possibility for 81-0-1!

 

[Curufinwe]

That was a clutch SO goal by TK. Only the third of his career. Before last night he was 2/18, which is awful for such a good goal scorer.

 

[deadhead]

Only two things I noticed last night was Brink looked good and Ersson looked good. No one else really stood out either way but the team as a whole played well. Still a possibility for 81-0-1!

Brink? I thought he was awful except for the pass to Farabee to Foerster on the PP.
Very disappointing. Thought he was going to take a step up this season.
But it's only one game.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I'm a Kings fan living in Vancouver and the sole reason I went was to watch Michkov live. You guys got a stud on your hands.

Foerster was a pleasant surprise

Foerster has been flying under the radar but he's real good

 

[deadhead]

Foerster has been flying under the radar but he's real good

But, but he's big and slow and plays the "Flyers way."
Obviously has no future.

Foerster is a high IQ player, was 99% defensively as a rookie.
Big boi, listed at 6'2 215 on TC roster, but at 23 can fill out some more.
Skating has improved, but I think the biggest surprise is his passing skills.

Still think Mark Stone is his prototype - big, smart forward who makes up for average skating with anticipation and skillful plays.

You can get good players later in the 1st rd.

 

[thedjpd]

He belongs if you want to pigeon hole him and don't want his offense to develop.

Isn’t this pigeon holing him to say he can only develop one way?

 

[Winston Wolf]

Send Luchanko down now. Lots to like, but he needs the puck on his stick a lot and to score some goals. Don't want to see him whiff on every puck he has in a scoring position when he's 22.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

After some time to digest...

Ersson was really solid. His puck tracking is so much better than when he started playing regularly in the NHL. He has the tools to be a legit number one.

Luchanko looked more settled than Michkov in their respective first games, but I don't see Luchanko sticking around this year. Not a fan of Cates at centre, but give him a shot with Brink and Farabee and see how it goes.

Michkov had several small high IQ plays scattered throughout the night, but was really fighting the puck.

Brink's confidence remains at an all time high. He made some questionable puck decisions, but he's actually thinking about making plays and controlling the pace of the game, where he has been a bit of a passenger in his NHL career to this point.

Couts and Laughton looked cooked. I hope Couts slowly warms up... no hope of a Laughton improvement. Fourth line was fine overall, though.

Frost struggled without Michkov. Asinine to separate them after the preseason they had together. Both played better when reunited. Tippett had a bad night, no matter who he was playing with.

Foerster is a joy to watch live. Incredibly intelligent player. Happy to see him score.

Sanheim/York were solid. Risto had a fee bad moments but I found myself cursing him less that Drysdale and Zamula. Drysdale needs a lot of work. Zamula is so close to being a good defenseman, but carries rookie-like inconsistencies. I give credit to Johnson, who filled in well enough on his off side.

PK looked decent enough. Felt less confident when Risto and Johnson were out together.

PP had its ups and downs. Frost really needs to start winning PP faceoffs. Don't think he won one until the third period. 2nd unit looked better than the first, probably because Michkov lacked confidence.

Overall, pretty ugly hockey game. Vancouver was really unimpressive and neither team took advantage of the other's sub-par defense core.

Felt like fewer Flyers fans there than normal, but had a good group in my section.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

How many even strength shots did Vancouver have? In the period I saw they didn’t seem to generate much pressure 5 on 5.

 

[FLYguy3911]

How many even strength shots did Vancouver have? In the period I saw they didn’t seem to generate much pressure 5 on 5.

Flyers had more shots on goal but Van outchanced them handily.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

Luchanko - I actually thought had some good moments. I never once thought he was out of place. Won 2 d zone faceoffs, I believe went 50% on the dot.

I agree with everything else you listed for Luchanko, but this one stat doesn't feel correct based on my viewing. It prompted me to check the NHL app and that is showing 33% from the dot, which does feels very correct. Unless you are specifically saying he was 50% on D-Zone faceoffs, in which case there is a chance your stat is correct and I don't really use the stats sites that check that

 

[Hexxxy]

Foerster's defense is like Mike Richards if you combined him with Coots. His stick and positioning is exquisite. He's the best all-around player on the team.

 

[Tripod]

Isn’t this pigeon holing him to say he can only develop one way?

It's common sense that a guy just drafted who was a PPG player, could grow the offensive side of his game much more in Jr. In the NHL he will play to not make mistakes for fear of being sent down.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

I agree with everything else you listed for Luchanko, but this one stat doesn't feel correct based on my viewing. It prompted me to check the NHL app and that is showing 33% from the dot, which does feels very correct. Unless you are specifically saying he was 50% on D-Zone faceoffs, in which case there is a chance your stat is correct and I don't really use the stats sites that check that

I think Luchanko was 2/2 in the dzone. One was after an icing, the other I can't remember.

How about this - he at least won 2 faceoffs in the dzone, he may have had more total and lost a few, but i think he won 2 in the dzone

Edit - Philadelphia Flyers - Vancouver Canucks - Oct 11, 2024 | NHL.com

See if this works, i think he was 2/2?