Pre-Game Talk: Flyers in Ottawa, Thurs. 7:30 pm on TSN5

[Sens of Anarchy]

Karma is if, say, Erik Karlsson dies and he lived a life of goodness and purity, he will come back in his next life as a eagle or a tiger or something cool. But if he lived a life of evil he would come back as a slug or a goat, for example.

Karma (car-ma) is a word meaning the result of a person's actions as well as the actions themselves. It is a term about the cycle of cause and effect. According to the theory of Karma, what happens to a person, happens because they caused it with their actions. (According to Wikipedia..,, but close enough)
So Boucher's Karma of living through the pain of 3rd period collapses is caused by his treatment of rookies and particularly their ice time.. Those rookies feel pain in the lack of trust shown in them. Their pride is hurt. This pain energy directs itself at the cause, Boucher. Boucher in turn suffers through the anxiety of blown leads, tired, and overplayed players. There really is no end to where this can go.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Filip Chlapik is a point a game in his career so far. Clearly we don't need a top 6 forward and we just found our new number 1 center. Congrats on the first point & assist!

He didn't even get rewarded for the point

 

[SpezDispenser]

I remember wondering why the hell we signed Thompson in the off season, but the minute it happened Anaheim fans told us exactly why it was such a great move. I'm not a fan of the main board most of the time, but this was one of those times where my stance was changed immediately. And they were completely right.

 

[SpezDispenser]

He didn't even get rewarded for the point

He's going to be good, but he was struggling against Philly''s heavy forecheck every time he was on the ice. Or it seemed that way. I don't really blame Boucher for not playing him too much.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I remember wondering why the hell we signed Thompson in the off season, but the minute it happened Anaheim fans told us exactly why it was such a great move. I'm not a fan of the main board most of the time, but this was one of those times where my stance was changed immediately. And they were completely right.

Yup they told us we would love him.. I never got the negativity out of the box... its ridiculous really... Always have to give a guy a chance to show what he can do.. he is a good fit here.

 

[HSF]

I remember wondering why the hell we signed Thompson in the off season, but the minute it happened Anaheim fans told us exactly why it was such a great move. I'm not a fan of the main board most of the time, but this was one of those times where my stance was changed immediately. And they were completely right.

pretty simple actually. We had no 4th line against pitts so it was a clear weakness so Dorion went out and fixed it with a good 4th liner.

Logically it made sense

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Viletho]

From what I remember it wasn't Thompson as a player that some didn't like but rather the cost and length of the deal. Saying that we could have get a better player, according to them, for that money.

At least for the first 10 games of year 1, i think we can say he deserve the money he was signed for. Let's see if he can keep that up for another 72 games

 

[starling]

I somehow missed last night what Flyera D was doing on this play. Can't stop laughing now.

 

[bert]

Yup they told us we would love him.. I never got the negativity out of the box... its ridiculous really... Always have to give a guy a chance to show what he can do.. he is a good fit here.

Seems like the first real hockey guy, vet this team has had in a while. Looks like a beauty, plays like one and acts like one, great addition to the team on and off the ice.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Boucher is going to cement him on the top line..

 

[Xspyrit]

Finally watched the game, some Game notes :

- Good first period for Oduya (nice clear on Flyers 1st PP too). Keeping a close eye on him because I have noticed that he is starting to be scapegoated.

- Great save by Andy on the 2nd Flyers PP, saved a goal there

- Man, Dzingel, could easily have had 2 goals so far (nice save after his take away in the 1st, missed an open in the slot in the early 2nd)

- Nice pressure from the Sens in the early 2nd, spent like 2 minutes in Flyers zone with a few great scoring chances. You read the GDT first and watch the game after, you end up confused lol

- Karlsson has to stop with his turnovers. Another bad one with 14:17 left in the 2nd

- Hard to not be in love with Pyatt. Man this guy is all over the place and has more skill than what people give him credit for.

- Great first 30 minutes for the Sens, still leading 3-0 and dominating the play. Flyers when had posession in Sens zone were almost only cycling around the perimeter and shooting from afar, exactly what Boucher wants.

- 1st goal against : bad turnover by Pageau in the offensive zone, created a 3 on 2. He should just have reversed it behind the Flyers net. And then it was just the unluckiest bounce you could get.

- 2nd goal against : just an awful bench change. Didomenico should have put it deeper in the Flyers zone but the whole team is to blame here. Borowiecki was going way too slow to the bench. Just pure laziness for a few guys. Can't have both the defense and forwards change at the same time when your bench is in the other zone... particularly when the puck isn't behind the other team's net.

- wow great goal by Stone, nice patience by Dzingel

- Great first 2 period for the Sens, minus that awful bench change. Neuvirth made a few difficult saves. He looked "weak" on 2 goals in the first but I think it was more bad luck as he was screened until the last second on both. Flyers outside of the PP didn't generate great chances, most were shots from far, easy for Andy.

- Not much happening in the first 10 minutes of the 3rd period. Until that disallowed goal from Philly. Easy call here. Weal is the blue paint, the goalie needs all that area to work and be in position to make the save. Weal prevents Andy to go out and cut the angles of the shot. If there wasn't for this rule, players would stand in the blue paint of goalies all game, making their job even more hell that it already is

- Infuriating call on Karlsson with 6:24 left in the 3rd. He was clearly hooked just before. Sure EK shouldn't have replied but at LEAST, give a penalty to both. What the heck was that call?

- 3rd goal against : where are the forwards on that play? OK i understand they might be gassed at this point but Provorov had too much time and space to shoot. All Ceci could do was try and block a lane but he might have ended up screening Andy a bit. Anderson could have stopped it, but I wouldn't blame this goal on him, more on the forwards.

- Great moves by Dzingel, another glorious chance alone in front (3rd this game) but good save by the goalie.

- 4th goal against : Unnecessary icing by Oduya but if you're going to start blaming players who iced the puck before, it will just never stop

- Cody Ceci is the only guy busting his ass in the defensive zone in the last few minutes.

- 2 good saves by Andy with 1 minute left, again not enough energy left to defend.

- lol at Flyers fans coming here saying how mad they are about the "goal waved off" at the end. First it was quickly called stoppage of play when Andy had it. Even if the puck crossed the line in Andy's glove (and it looked inconclusive from every angle), it is because Couturier was whacking on Andy's glove with his stick.

- Well, not a bad game, particularly considering all the injuries and the flu bug. Flyers were opportunistic but the Sens gift wrapped them 2 goals as well with the horrible line changes (both D + F when the bench is at the other side) and the MIA forwards coverage on Provorov goal. In the end, it makes their life complicated as it finished 5-4 instead of 5-2

BUT really not the catastrophic game some were painting through the GDT

Note : I am worried about Burrowsaurus. Several positive posts in this GDT

 

[solidprospect]

I somehow missed last night what Flyera D was doing on this play. Can't stop laughing now.

Dzingel still getting alot of chances like last year. Aim for the posts or something?

 

[Xspyrit]

i wish u guys had this karma last year.

To be fair, I can't think about another team that has been as ravaged by injuries as the Sens so far this season, except maybe the Ducks... Last night they were playing without 3 of their supposed top-6 forwards (Turris, Ryan, MacArthur), a great 3rd liner that usually fill in the top-6 when there is injuries (Smith) and a rookie with a mature game that could be in the middle-six right away (White). They played with 8 NHL forwards, 3 of them should be our 4th line and 2 of them should be on our 3rd line. Only 3 top-6 forwards...

Based on that, I'll take the luck on the calls that went Sens way last night. They got screwed so many times in the past. Just in the Game 7 against the Pens last playoffs, Kessel clearly dove on the boards but Phaneuf got a penalty and the Pens scored to take the lead with just a few minutes left. Who knows what would have happened if Kessel is the one that got penalized, or at least if they evened the calls. I am still pissed about that call and I have no respect for Kessel anymore because if his pathetic dive, like if the Pens didn't already have all the support they can get.

If we didn't give up third period leads so easily we would only have 1 loss this year. Maybe add one more for the sake of argument - we should probably have 8 or 9 wins

I personally don't see Shootout Loss as losses (no shootout in the playoffs) so in reality we are 4-2-4 (4 ties)

It's way too early and the sample size is too small is draw any conclusion but based on the fact that Karlsson missed the first 5 games and is still not 100%, on top of all the other key injuries, I'll take this. Only ONE regulation loss in 10 games is great. On pace to lose only 8 regulation games? lol it won't happen but that's great.

We have been dominating or stay close in every game except the 3-0 loss to Vancouver, but even in that one we played well. More shots, more scoring chances, just a bit of bad luck and a hot goalie who was "bigger" that his net that game. Canucks played a flawless road game, they surprised me defensively in that one.

Is that the quickest point by a Sen player in his first game on his first shift? Our goalies are worrisome at times & why do they have so much trouble keeping a lead in a game they dominate for the first 40 minutes?

Must be. And it could in history of the NHL. I mean, how do you beat 5 seconds... Also, I agree that without looking at the stats, our goaltending hasn't been that great so far this season...

On several occasions in tonight’s game, I thought Brassard was lazy, just like he was in the game where Karlsson told him to smarten up last year and hustle.

Several instances in the last 2 games, Karlsson looked as "lazy" as anyone, if not even more.

I still can't figure out how this Flyers team isn't better than this and higher in the standings. They have so many impact players: Voracek, Simmonds, Giroux, Konecny, Ghost, now Provorov. Is it that difficult to supplement them with decent players?

Well, most teams have several quality players. The Sens for example, have more. Karlsson, Stone, Hoffman, Turris, Brassard, Ryan, Phaneuf, Ceci... And if you count Konecky as an impact player, I'm sure you could find a few more among the Sens

From what I remember it wasn't Thompson as a player that some didn't like but rather the cost and length of the deal. Saying that we could have get a better player, according to them, for that money.

At least for the first 10 games of year 1, i think we can say he deserve the money he was signed for. Let's see if he can keep that up for another 72 games

But like always it's a storm in a glass of water... 2 years isn't that long and 1,650,000$ isn't that much if the player can contribute. NT is worth way more than that so far.

 

[Viletho]

I'm starting to Wonder what i guy like Pyatt could do on the PP. let's say the 2nd PP.

Like Xspirit says his skills are underated and if there is one thing that Pyatt do well is forchecking, battle along the bord and winning those battle. He is extremely skill at protecting the puck in close, it's kinda impressive when you realize that he is probably no better then a 3rd line player who should play the 4th line.

He could be very useful at entering with speed and protecting the puck before going in front of the net and battle there. I could see him gaining possession when we have to chip the puck behind the D.

 

[Agent Zub]

Dzingel really should try a deke on the breakaway. He keeps shooting and it keeps getting saved.

 

[SpezDispenser]

pretty simple actually. We had no 4th line against pitts so it was a clear weakness so Dorion went out and fixed it with a good 4th liner.

Logically it made sense

Specifically a 4th line c, yeah. Really nice move by Dorion.

 

[SpezDispenser]

I'm starting to Wonder what i guy like Pyatt could do on the PP. let's say the 2nd PP.

Like Xspirit says his skills are underated and if there is one thing that Pyatt do well is forchecking, battle along the bord and winning those battle. He is extremely skill at protecting the puck in close, it's kinda impressive when you realize that he is probably no better then a 3rd line player who should play the 4th line.

He could be very useful at entering with speed and protecting the puck before going in front of the net and battle there. I could see him gaining possession when we have to chip the puck behind the D.

Love to see it. He could replace Burrows for a bit as puck retriever and net front.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

pretty simple actually. We had no 4th line against pitts so it was a clear weakness so Dorion went out and fixed it with a good 4th liner.

Logically it made sense

Stalberg wingels is no fourth line? If we were healthy they were our fourth line. And the 2.5 million dollar man burrows.

 

[SAK11]

Stalberg wingels is no fourth line? If we were healthy they were our fourth line. And the 2.5 million dollar man burrows.

That's a 4th line that combined for 0 playoff goals last year.

The 4th line was a big weakness in that Pittsburgh series after Burrows got hurt. They essentially played games 5, 6, and 7 with 11 forwards since White and Kelly barely played when they did get the call. With a healthy lineup, Ottawa's forward depth helped them a lot in that playoff run but even then they really didn't have a 4th line center throughout the playoffs. Smith was used there at times, Wingels a little bit but he only played half the games and then Kelly who Boucher didn't trust at all.
Thompson filled an obvious need and has played well. He took Kelly's place as a veteran 4 line center who kills penalties, and Ducks fans told us that he was a good player in that role.