Post-Game Talk: #39| FLYERS at Devils | Sat., Jan. 3, 2015 |

[DeflatedFootball7]

Nice! Here's the room listening to Berube's motivational speech:

Voracek and Grossmann from this angle.

 

[Domino666]

I guess this what it feels like to be a Buffalo or Edmonton fan

 

[BillDineen]

after most games i wanna die but this game makes me wish i never existed

Great line.

 

[dats81]

Didn't watch the game and not intend watching the replay for good reason.
Just from checking the box-score I see Coburn and Grossmann both only got 14min TOI - what happened? Did Berube finally accept that they both suck?

 

[Tripod]

Not necessarily fed up, I just don't always like the negativity. It's certainly not unwarranted, but I don't see the point in subjecting myself to it. Especially if I'm already bummed out about a loss.

It's just been a brutal week of hockey. Not only are we losing in convincing fashion, the things that I find enjoyable in a season like this, like Couturier's development, Giroux, Voracek, Mason, are all going very poorly. Hextall and Berube come out and say that they might have ruined Couturer's offense, Giroux narrowly avoids what could have possibly been a career altering injury, Voracek has like, 1 assist in the last 3 games, and well, I've hardly even noticed Mason with what else has been going on.

And yet you would think, with Giroux and Laughton both hurt, you give your 22 year old, former #8 overall pick and QMJHL scoring champion a shot on a scoring line.

This game alone shows how dumb Berube is.

With all credit to Jagr, NJ has no Sid, Malkin, Seguin, Tavares that you need to deploy a shutdown C against. So why not TRY Couts in a 100% scoring role for a game with you are missing your 2 other centers that play on scoring lines?

Not to mention.....Laughtin is not scoring. He is doing other things, but points are not one of them despite getting opportunities.(aside from Berube being dumb again and removing him from the 2nd PP)

So why not switch Couts and Laughton for a bit......especially when you are playing against teams without an elite C scorer. Tell Couts to go focus on offense, take a few more chances, get the offensive juices going.

Am I wrong in thinking this?

 

[FlyRoutine]

VDV with 14:53 of icetime? This has to be a joke right?
After Berube gets fired, I would be really shocked if he ever gets to coach an NHL team again.

 

[BillDineen]

VDV with 14:53 of icetime? This has to be a joke right?
After Berube gets fired, I would be really shocked if he ever gets to coach an NHL team again.

If Homer didn't hire him, I doubt any team would have ever either. Cote wouldn't be an AHL assistant coach anywhere either.

 

[1865]

Woah. 5 in 7 for Vinny, who knew?

 

[bb12]

I notice a combo of it's the players and it's the coaches fault. In this case beside our d which could be better with proper pairings, our fowards are not bad at all. Literally cup potential on paper. The problem is the systems in place, the inability to find generating line combos and the style of hockey. It all comes from coaching. Think about our PK last year was top fleet, this year it's dead last. The only missing piece is Hall so clearly that's got to be a little more on Lappy and his pk system.

 

[CSKA1974]

I notice a combo of it's the players and it's the coaches fault. In this case beside our d which could be better with proper pairings, our fowards are not bad at all. Literally cup potential on paper. The problem is the systems in place, the inability to find generating line combos and the style of hockey. It all comes from coaching. Think about our PK last year was top fleet, this year it's dead last. The only missing piece is Hall so clearly that's got to be a little more on Lappy and his pk system.

Not denying coaching fault, but you also are missing Kimo.

 

[kelmitchell]

If we tank for a draft pick, we should fold up the tent and lose our franchise, what crap. Get rid of this loser coach and get the real thing, NOW. If we finish with a good draft pick because we are really that bad, so be it. But we're not that bad, our coaching staff sucks. Berube was a lousy asst coach and is a worse HC, Lappy never coached until now, and Murphy couldn't win when he coached, losers the whole group. We've managed to fire the two best coaches we had in the last 15 years yet we hold on to these amateurs.

Don't forget we also fired hitchcock

 

[dats81]

Not denying coaching fault, but you also are missing Kimo.

As far as the PK is concerned, yes, his absence factors in.

But in respect to goals against in general not so much. Wasn't he just the #5D in terms of even strength ice time last year?

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Question: did Hextall give out the McDonald contract?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Question: did Hextall give out the McDonald contract?

No, Paul Holmgren was the GM at the time.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I think you're mistaken if you think Hexy didn't have a say in that contract.

 

[GKJ]

If we tank for a draft pick, we should fold up the tent and lose our franchise, what crap. Get rid of this loser coach and get the real thing, NOW. If we finish with a good draft pick because we are really that bad, so be it. But we're not that bad, our coaching staff sucks. Berube was a lousy asst coach and is a worse HC, Lappy never coached until now, and Murphy couldn't win when he coached, losers the whole group. We've managed to fire the two best coaches we had in the last 15 years yet we hold on to these amateurs.

No, this team actually is this bad. They're 24th in FF-Close and 25th in the league. The coaching is awful, but they're right exactly where they should be. A better coach is needed to realize things like why Del Zotto should be playing, and that Zac Rinaldo is actually a horrible hockey player who should be no where near an NHL rink.

And from a management standpoint, they should be thinking and wondering why a defenseman who just got a $30M contract and still is averaging 20 minutes a game only has 9 points.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Hextall is a very weird case to me. I've come away impressed by most of his comments, such as being a proponent of analytics. Then he goes out and signs Rinaldo to a multi year extension and does nothing about the back up situation.

 

[dats81]

You absolutely nailed it. I was about to say the same.

 

[Funf]

And yet you would think, with Giroux and Laughton both hurt, you give your 22 year old, former #8 overall pick and QMJHL scoring champion a shot on a scoring line.

This game alone shows how dumb Berube is.

With all credit to Jagr, NJ has no Sid, Malkin, Seguin, Tavares that you need to deploy a shutdown C against. So why not TRY Couts in a 100% scoring role for a game with you are missing your 2 other centers that play on scoring lines?

Not to mention.....Laughtin is not scoring. He is doing other things, but points are not one of them despite getting opportunities.(aside from Berube being dumb again and removing him from the 2nd PP)

So why not switch Couts and Laughton for a bit......especially when you are playing against teams without an elite C scorer. Tell Couts to go focus on offense, take a few more chances, get the offensive juices going.

Am I wrong in thinking this?

No, I thought the same thing, but I'm usually a little biased in favor of Couturier so I refrained from speaking my mind completely.

I had stopped paying attention by the 3rd period pretty much, but I noticed that Couts did finally get one or two shifts with Voracek, after two periods of Schenn looking completely invisible. I was doing other things by that point, so I couldn't tell you how they looked.

Totally agreed about Laughton, as well. Both Couturier and Giroux are getting buried with tough defensive zone draws this year, which they probably should be to a degree, but Bellemare and Laughton are both perfectly capable of taking some.

Edit: Forgot that Couts' did get some PP time in G's spot, after they had tried Lecavalier there - on his off side? I'm just hoping Berube can see the daylight sooner rather than later, and starts focusing on developing kids, rather than giving sheltered ice time to guys like Vinny in an effort to keep up (barely) with other teams.

 

[BillDineen]

If Couturier is the long term solution to 2C he should be playing with Simmonds and whichever of B.Schenn/Raffl is not on the first line. Read has been poor this season. No one is going to be consistently creating offense playing with Umberger.

 

[Funf]

If Couturier is the long term solution to 2C he should be playing with Simmonds and whichever of B.Schenn/Raffl is not on the first line. Read has been poor this season. No one is going to be consistently creating offense playing with Umberger.

That's another thing! I don't know how many times this season that Couturier has solid possession in the offensive zone, only to hand it to Read or Umberger who promptly turn it over. I mean, it's not just them, Couts has to be better, too. He doesn't always look confident, and I'd like to see him become less of a perimeter player, but those two certainly aren't helping him.

Another point along those lines - look at how they brought Voracek along. He did not always look good on that right wall on PP1, but they stuck with him in hopes that he would adjust. It payed off. If we're not going to contend, they absolutely should be doing this sort of thing with every young kid on the team.

Berube has to be looking at this - and soon. Couturier is 22, and has played over 200 NHL games. Time is running out on his development period. Which is a big deal. If we're looking 3 or 4 years down the line when this team should be a bit better, the difference between having a 15 goal, 35 point 3rd line defensive center, and something like a 25 goal, 55 point, Selke contending 2C is a big one.

 

[1865]

You remember when we said we weren't bad enough to be in the McEichel stakes...?

 

[RJ8812*]

Hextall is a very weird case to me. I've come away impressed by most of his comments, such as being a proponent of analytics. Then he goes out and signs Rinaldo to a multi year extension and does nothing about the back up situation.

I don't believe that. Maybe the other UFA goalies just didn't want to sign here? If Emery truly as his #1 pick to be the back-up this year, Hextall would have re-signed him before July 1st. He didn't. Emery was not signed until all of the other back-ups had already signed with other teams.

That all but tells you that he struck out with the other goalies and had to go back to Emery

 

[chupanibre]

I'm genuinely curious to see how the Flyers would do against Edmonton at this point

 

[Richi]

You remember when we said we weren't bad enough to be in the McEichel stakes...?

Problem is that we still aren´t. We may have lost against Carolina and New Jersey, but those two teams are still better at tanking than we are. And this gap will only get larger when heading towards season´s end.

And then there is still Edmonton...

If Giroux, Voracek and Mason would be out for the rest of the season things might be different. But right now it´s mostly due to our bonehead coach that we aren´t a playoff bubble team...