GDT: #11 | Blues vs Flyers | Thursday, October 31, 2024 | 7:00 PM | NBCSP, 97.5 FM

[dats81]

Sanheim has been a beast the last couple of games.
Back to boring but successfull Torts trademark hockey.

 

[Ironmanrulez]

It's really just coming down to trust.

Do you think that Torts is developing a system that the team can stand on and then develop offense on top of... or do you think that he's a complete hack who is past his prime.

I really have no idea what to think and I've been on this forum for 10 goddamn years.

Rick Nash was a 40 Goal scrorer. For Torts he was a 20 Goalscorer. That is all i need to look at.

2012–13	New York Rangers	NHL	44	21	21	42	26	12	1	4	5	0
2013–14	New York Rangers	NHL	65	26	13	39	36	25	3	7	10	8
2014–15	New York Rangers	NHL	79	42	27	69	36	19	5	9	14	4
2015–16	New York Rangers	NHL	60	15	21	36	30	5	2	2	4	4
2016–17	New York Rangers	NHL	67	23	15	38	26	12	3	2	5	4
2017–18	New York Rangers	NHL	60	18	10	28	24

 

[mr figgles]

The question is, where are they rolling to?

Judging by Tort’s record for the last 20 years, missing the playoffs or getting bounced in th 1st.

 

[04hockey]

But can Brink fight?

no.....but can he pass that pucker

 

[Flyer lurker]

44 would have tipped the shot like Brink.

Friendly reminder 44 should NEVER play over Brink again and this moron coach will probably to it in the next 20 days knowing him.

 

[HeadLiceHatty]

This game was extremely hard to watch. Idk I never really was a torts hater or jumped on him, but this is a horrific brand of hockey.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

The problem with the team on offense is they're just not meshing right now, and they're missing shots, they were trying to go high on Bennington and missed two or three shots that went just over the net. And they had a number of passes in front of the net that were just off, or deflected wide. Could have scored 4-5 goals if they make those connections. In the Minn game, everything clicked, last two games they had to grind out wins.

Ersson has his mojo back, it helps that they're blocking a lot of shots but he came up big when he had to.

Sanheim - Risto playing as well as York - Sanheim, and both are holding their own as 1st pairs.
Drysdale is still an adventure, but not as bad tonight, still a lot for Seeler to cover.
Andrae moves well, playing better than Zamula, but not ready for top 4 duties.

Michkov is really struggling, too early for the "wall," I think it's playing a bunch of physical, checking teams, he's just not used to the NHL pace and probably needs to hit the weight room next summer. He got knocked around a bit, finesse is nice but good defensive teams don't give good offensive players a lot of time or room.

Poehling had a spectacular rush culminating in the Hathaway goal. He's just a solid bottom six guy, always flying around, if only he had skills.

Frost is off to a horrible start, GF/GA 2/10, some of it's bad puck luck, some of it is he just doesn't look that explosive in his skating and doesn't finish plays.

Couts is not going to be a 1C anymore, but he's still a solid veteran center, and down the road he'll be a solid veteran LW. But he might want a shorter stick, seems to fumble a lot of pucks.

Brink since he returned to the lineup has played with a much higher motor, he's no longer waiting for an offensive play to come to him, he's back checking, forechecking, blocking shots, going into the corners after pucks. Lost his man on the St Louis goal but redeemed himself. Playing faster and more physical than last season.

Farabee had a nice pass for the goal but seems to be struggling with his skating, he wasn't a speed demon but now he looks slow.

If Ersson continues to play like this, it's closer to a 90 point than 80 point team, even with the 1B goalie(s) struggling. The problem on offense isn't the defensive play, they got a number of rushes off blocked shots, it's just a matter of finishing plays consistently.

Sam has a career .893 save %. Glad he has his mojo back.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Rick Nash was a 40 Goal scrorer. For Torts he was a 20 Goalscorer. That is all i need to look at.

2012–13	New York Rangers	NHL	44	21	21	42	26	12	1	4	5	0
2013–14	New York Rangers	NHL	65	26	13	39	36	25	3	7	10	8
2014–15	New York Rangers	NHL	79	42	27	69	36	19	5	9	14	4
2015–16	New York Rangers	NHL	60	15	21	36	30	5	2	2	4	4
2016–17	New York Rangers	NHL	67	23	15	38	26	12	3	2	5	4
2017–18	New York Rangers	NHL	60	18	10	28	24

-Ducks-

Nash probably scores 40 or at least 35+ if he plays 82 in 2012-2013 and his 2012-2013 was better than his 2011-2012 with CBJ

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Coaching staff showing alot of confidence in Andrae.. over 17 mins ice time with over 2 mins on the PP and a little time on the PK

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Coaching staff showing alot of confidence in Andrae.. over 17 mins ice time with over 2 mins on the PP and a little time on the PK

They really need to figure out how to be more incisive on the PP. The puck movement has been waaaaay better, but often times they actually hamper themselves by putting one guy on both posts. It condenses the other teams structure and we settle for bad angles or a screen with a shot provided from the D

 

[blackjackmulligan]

Coaching staff showing alot of confidence in Andrae.. over 17 mins ice time with over 2 mins on the PP and a little time on the PK

or they realize the other options not to enticing.

 

[zizbuka]

Is it that this team doesn't have the offensive talent, or is it torts "structure" that is hindering this team from finding offensive success?

They had offensive talent, it's just the coaching staff sucks it out of them. I feel bad for Foerster, Frost, Michkov, etc. They'd do so much better elsewhere.

 

[VladDrag]

I don't have a problem with Michkov sitting a certain period of time...A game here or there, a few shifts -- that's fine. But The Flyers are one of the worst development teams in the league. They are doing a bunch of dumb team things right now (and not just for Michkov).

 

[deadhead]

He's 19. It's easy to forget that. He's also been an offensive force in the KHL, it's not as easy in the NHL. And he's playing with ridiculous expectations that he should be an immediate superstar.

The last few games Michkov has really struggled, on a good team he'd be on the 3rd line, playing 10-12 minutes at 5x5 in a sheltered role and starting on PP2.

Here he's on the top line and the key player on PP1. That's a lot to ask of a 19 year old.

 

[deadhead]

I don't have a problem with Michkov sitting a certain period of time...A game here or there, a few shifts -- that's fine. But The Flyers are one of the worst development teams in the league. They are doing a bunch of dumb team things right now (and not just for Michkov).

View attachment 924857

Torts has been very patient, he said in camp he expected Michkov to make mistakes.

The focus isn't on skills, it's on fundamentals, at times Michkov "cherry picks," that doesn't work in the NHL (unless you want to develop the next Gagner). He also forces a lot of bad passes lately, bad habits probably from playing in the KHL where he could get away with it.

Just look at TK, Torts hasn't tried to "fix" him, God knows he'd drive any HC crazy, but that's his game, he takes risks and is overly aggressive at times, but it pays off (if it didn't pay off, he'd be treated differently). But TK also back checks hard, puts out the effort in his D-zone, so he's earned a long leash.

I'm not worried about Michkov/Torts, the problem comes with prima donnas who put their stat line above the team. Michkov is highly competitive and hates to lose, I'm sure when he sees the film he understands he has to get better at certain things to help the team. Torts isn't asking him to be a 3rd line checker, he wants him to be offense first without sacrificing the basics so he isn't a black hole.

Just look at Brink, whine about him being benched, but the last two games he's played the best hockey since he's been here, a complete player doing the little things to help his team, playing hard and with focus. He'll still make mistakes (like losing his man), but this Brink is a legitimate top 6 forward. Now he has to learn to sustain this effort over a full season.

 

[VladDrag]

Torts has been very patient, he said in camp he expected Michkov to make mistakes.

The focus isn't on skills, it's on fundamentals, at times Michkov "cherry picks," that doesn't work in the NHL (unless you want to develop the next Gagner). He also forces a lot of bad passes lately, bad habits probably from playing in the KHL where he could get away with it.

Just look at TK, Torts hasn't tried to "fix" him, God knows he'd drive any HC crazy, but that's his game, he takes risks and is overly aggressive at times, but it pays off (if it didn't pay off, he'd be treated differently). But TK also back checks hard, puts out the effort in his D-zone, so he's earned a long leash.

I'm not worried about Michkov/Torts, the problem comes with prima donnas who put their stat line above the team. Michkov is highly competitive and hates to lose, I'm sure when he sees the film he understands he has to get better at certain things to help the team. Torts isn't asking him to be a 3rd line checker, he wants him to be offense first without sacrificing the basics so he isn't a black hole.

Just look at Brink, whine about him being benched, but the last two games he's played the best hockey since he's been here, a complete player doing the little things to help his team, playing hard and with focus. He'll still make mistakes (like losing his man), but this Brink is a legitimate top 6 forward. Now he has to learn to sustain this effort over a full season.

Whatever you have to tell yourself, deady.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

I would say the Flyers should be given no benefit of the doubt… but to actually maximize Michkov’s offensive potential, you have to think the explosiveness and decision making with his passing has to get much better. He’s made some very boneheaded passes where he gifts the puck away. Don’t turn him into a Couturier because he’ll never be that. Just make sure he can actually live up to his potential with his 5x5 offensive game because that’s where he’ll be a true difference maker.

 

[deadhead]

Ask Sidney if playing defense hurt his game and he'll flash his three rings in your face.

 

[04hockey]

Ask Sidney if playing defense hurt his game and he'll flash his three rings in your face.

 

[WIP CALLER]

When Alex Ovechkin hangs em up, the first thing people will bring up is his poor defense, not breaking Gretzky's goal record.

 

[VladDrag]

Ask Sidney if playing defense hurt his game and he'll flash his three rings in your face.

Defensive stalwart, Sidney Crosby:

Now, with these images being posted, to be fair to Crosby, he's got a few individual seasons where he excelled defensively, but few and far between.

 

[BillDineen]

CoC mentioned Torts concern not just the done but ozone, where MM has a tendency to go to high danger areas and wait. MM would be really benefiting if the d was moving the puck like last year creating odd man rushes. As it stands all lines are getting pinned too much un thir zone and too many penalties are killing any flow.

 

[deadhead]

Part of the reason you get stuck in the D-zone is forwards leaking out, which means you're playing 4 on 5.

Part is they are undersized, and lose too many board battles, you stop the cycle by regaining possession in these battles. They also get knocked off the puck trying to skate it out.

Part is talent, they don't have a lot of D-men with the vision to see the outlet pass quickly before the defense checks them.

 

[deadhead]

Defensive stalwart, Sidney Crosby:

View attachment 924885
View attachment 924888

View attachment 924890
View attachment 924891
View attachment 924892

Now, with these images being posted, to be fair to Crosby, he's got a few individual seasons where he excelled defensively, but few and far between.

Very few offense first forwards excel on defense, what you want is those "45" "48" seasons, not the "1s" that many top scorers post. That is, don't score for both teams!

I don't expect Flyer forwards to be Barkov or prime Couts or Kopitar or Stone, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect scoring forwards to put enough effort on defense not to be a liability.

Torts' scheme doesn't demand a lot of wings defensively, back check, pick up your man, be aware when to leak out and when to help your D-men.

Far more is demanded from centers, where they have to be able to get back quickly and are almost like a 3rd D-man. Which is why they like speed at that position, and enough size to handle yourself in the D-zone. I think they fell in love with Luchanko b/c he's the prototype of what they're looking for at that position. A center with speed and smarts can take more risks in the O-zone, b/c he can get back quickly and buy time for the wings to catch up.

This is why I expect Couts to end up at wing in a couple years, where he won't have to skate as far and can use his size and smarts to be a top PF.