GDT: Round Robin #3: FLYERS (away) vs. Lightning (home) at Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, 8:00 pm ET

[FlyerFaithful17]

Can someone explain why people think that faceoffs are more important than actual hockey play between the whistles?

I think maybe we should stop defending bad players by citing faceoff ability. I've seen this as a defense of Grant multiple times over the past week.

You know what I like? Amazing hockey players who are also amazing at faceoffs. We’re spoiled by Coots and Giroux.

 

[Striiker]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even the best face off guys lose 40% of the time. So that means when you send in a 4C who's best attribute is his faceoff ability but his actual play is sub par, there is a 40% chance he is going to e forced to play a meaningful shift before he puck gets moved out of the zone and he can get off the ice. I would rather take the guy that has a 60% chance of losing the draw but then being able to play effective defence.

Also ghostsbeer supporting Grants play and going against the consensus. What a twist!

Oh well

Couts is great, I see no flaws on the team. The cup is a lock.

Exactly, it’s nice to have guys who are good at faceoffs (shoutout to G and Couts) but if that’s one of the top 10 (let alone top 2) things you list when talking about a players contributions... Thats not a player you want in the lineup.

And yeah, no surprise there. Praising bad players and bashing good players is to be expected.

 

[kudymen]

Couts is great, I see no flaws on the team. The cup is a lock.

Good good

 

[Din Djarin]

There is nothing wrong with your computer screens, Mark Madden actually said that we have a great chance to win the Stanley Cup.

 

[Jettany]

There is nothing wrong with your computer screens, Mark Madden actually said that we have a great chance to win the Stanley Cup.

I use to play high level dek hockey against teams he coached from Lancaster pa.
He was a character.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

He looks like he cant move. I was fine with him before the break but is he just really out of shape now or taking it easy out there like an established vet with no worries? Whatever the cause, his inability to skate is the main reason the 3rd line looks bad. Not JVR, NAK or Pitlick. The center cant move. I mean just watch him. It's bad.

I’m by no means saying Grant has been good at ES the last 3 games.

I’m just saying that anyone who believes faceoffs, ability to play C, & PKing, particularly with Raffl out & Laughton at LW, aren’t (and/or shouldn’t be) major considerations for the last couple of lineup spots, is being unrealistic.

I never get hung up on the role players like so many do (who seem to think niche roles at the bottom of the lineup aren’t important).

 

[flyerslducks]

I’m by no means saying Grant has been good at ES the last 3 games.

I’m just saying that anyone who believes faceoffs, ability to play C, & PKing, particularly with Raffl out & Laughton at LW, aren’t (and/or shouldn’t be) major considerations for the last couple of lineup spots, is being unrealistic.

I never get hung up on the role players like so many do (who seem to think niche roles at the bottom of the lineup aren’t important).

same. When I look and compare the bottom 6 players who are capable of playing center right now it comes down to what they can do for the team. It's either grant, thompson, or bunnaman. Frost, unfortunately, ain't gunna play. Out of those 3 guys, I want grant as the 3rd C if AV is going to be stubborn.

Yesterday was a great example of why FO is kinda important for a bottom 6 line. AV continuously put oout the 4th line against the top line of the caps. Idk why he did that but you cant lose those FO in your own zone against top lines when you have 4th line and hagg out there. I don't trust bunnaman at all in that situation, late in-game when another team has last change. I hate thompson but I don't see a major upgrade in other categories of the game from bunnaman. That is the only reason most bring up fo. It's unfortunate we even have to pick between those 3 for any of the 2C roles but it is what it is rn.

 

[Rebels57]

He looks like he cant move. I was fine with him before the break but is he just really out of shape now or taking it easy out there like an established vet with no worries? Whatever the cause, his inability to skate is the main reason the 3rd line looks bad. Not JVR, NAK or Pitlick. The center cant move. I mean just watch him. It's bad.

He has actually been worse than Thompson, which I was not expecting. He was pretty good before the break, even if his fancy stats didn't match the eye test.

 

[deadhead]

AV simply doesn't trust Frost, and it's not age or size, look how much PT he gave Farabee from the get go.

 

[Rebels57]

AV simply doesn't trust Frost, and it's not age or size, look how much PT he gave Farabee from the get go.

AV trusts Grant defensively and probably realizes he is a zero offensively and I suppose he is willing to accept that for now while the top 6 is carrying the team to wins. This could change after a loss or two.

 

[deadhead]

AV trusts Grant defensively and probably realizes he is a zero offensively and I suppose he is willing to accept that for now while the top 6 is carrying the team to wins. This could change after a loss or two.

If you look at top playoff teams, most of their scoring tends to come from the top 2 lines, once in a while a bottom six player will have a "lucky" stretch (see Smith-Pelly and his 7 goals in 26 games v 15 in two regular seasons), but basically you want the bottom two lines to check and play defense and create a few goals.

This is no shock, what makes a top team is usually 3 or 4 elite talents on the first two lines.
The Flyer advantage is their depth of offensive talent on defense, if the bottom two lines forecheck well, they create opportunities for defensemen to score.

 

[Striiker]

 

[Alex K]

 

[Ghosts Beer]

If you look at top playoff teams, most of their scoring tends to come from the top 2 lines, once in a while a bottom six player will have a "lucky" stretch (see Smith-Pelly and his 7 goals in 26 games v 15 in two regular seasons), but basically you want the bottom two lines to check and play defense and create a few goals.

This is no shock, what makes a top team is usually 3 or 4 elite talents on the first two lines.
The Flyer advantage is their depth of offensive talent on defense, if the bottom two lines forecheck well, they create opportunities for defensemen to score.

True. AV wants reliability & simplicity from his bottom 6. Do the little things, stay behind the puck, don’t force plays, minimize mistakes, win draws, forecheck like fiends, win battles, don’t get knocked off the puck, & wear the opponent out. That’s their job.

 

[TCTC]

Great opportunity for Farabee. If he has a good game that should secure a spot in the lineup.

 

[BiggE]

Ghost in: good
JVR in: good
No Jake: ruh roh

 

[Striiker]

Ghost in: good
JVR in: good
No Jake: ruh roh

Every time there's a little good it has to be paired with some bad.

 

[dragonoffrost]

Ghost in: good
JVR in: good
No Jake: ruh roh

Didn't I hear Jake took a stick high last game. Possible concussion symptoms?

 

[Rebels57]

Sucks that Jake isnt available, but..

Ghost - Braun is sex

Farabee getting a chance to skate with G & Coots could spark them too after a bit of a lackluster game.

JVR getting back in is good but he's still with Grant so he's gonna have to put in a Herculean effort to have a positive impact

 

[JojoTheWhale]

The Thompson line is probably better than the Grant line if that's the deployment. See, I have nothing against Nate Thompson.

If you look at top playoff teams, most of their scoring tends to come from the top 2 lines, once in a while a bottom six player will have a "lucky" stretch (see Smith-Pelly and his 7 goals in 26 games v 15 in two regular seasons), but basically you want the bottom two lines to check and play defense and create a few goals.

Did you perchance include PP scoring in this and/or not control for ice time in some way?

Usually what you get in teams that go deep is meaningful depth of scoring and one line or Forward that goes absolutely bananas. For example, the only one of the Final Four last year you could really argue was a Top 6 and Bottom 6 on scoring output was St Louis, but even then I would argue that it's far more instructive that ROR and Schwartz went nuts than Brayden Schenn outscoring 4th liners by 3 Points over 26 Games.

 

[flyersnorth]

Sucks that Jake isnt available, but..

Ghost - Braun is sex

Farabee getting a chance to skate with G & Coots could spark them too after a bit of a lackluster game.

JVR getting back in is good but he's still with Grant so he's gonna have to put in a Herculean effort to have a positive impact

Sounds like lots of change ups for the final game.

So is what you're saying confirmed? Not really Ghost/Braun fan, but it's better than Hagg/Braun.

Also, what happened to Jake? "Unfit to play?"

What are we looking at -

G/Coots/Farabee
Scoot/Hayes/TK
JVR/Grant/NAK
Bunnaman/Thompson/Pitlick?

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Hope nothing serious for Jake, but this is encouraging otherwise.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Big opportunity for Ghost and Farabee. They both need to make an impact.

With Jake out, think he'll go ghost/provy on PP1?

 

[Chinatown88]

Too much of mom's home cooking smh Jake.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

*

* Besides the Jake part.