This is getting to a point where I honestly might watch the 76ers over the Flyers when they're playing at the same time (provided Embiid is in the lineup). This team is infuriating to watch. There's no real fight minus a few players, the coach makes questionable move after questionable move with no accountability, the goalies are left out to dry 5+ times a game, and this offense is atrocious 5-on-5.
In the past, I've always found people who complain about Giroux to be moronic, but based on his play this season, it's starting to get a bit difficult to defend him. His 5-on-5 play has been subpar at best, in all three zones. I'm really starting to question what he'll look like in a couple of years. Even the stickhandling isn't what it was a couple of seasons ago, which is troubling to me. Hopefully he's just in a rut but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
I fundamentally don't understand the Konecny and Ghost scratchings right now. I'd venture to guess that the team doesn't either and those two players almost certainly do not. I get that Ghost has not been good this year, but you need to allow him to play through it or put him in a more favorable position to get his confidence back, given that he fits directly into the team's future, while Manning, Schultz, Streit, MacDonald and Del Zotto do not. If anything, you're generating a rift between two players who figure heavily into this team's future. Given that they're two of the three newest players on the team, Hakstol is infecting the bridge that the future rookies will be crossing when they come to the league. It's a very bad decision.
