GDT: #66: FLYERS at Islanders, Sunday, Mar. 3, 2019, 3:00 pm ET

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (37-20-7) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (31-26-8)
at NYCB LIVE/Nassau Coliseum

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Television: SN1, TVAS, MSG+, NBCSP
• Radio: 97.5 FM 97.5 The Fanatic unless a change to 93.3 FM 93.3 WMMR - Everything That Rocks!
• Flyers 24/7: Flyers Radio 24/7
• Streams: Do not post or request any streams or links to unauthorized sites.

TEAMS' WEBSITES

• Flyers' Facebook: Security Check Required
• Flyers' Twitter: Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) | Twitter
• Flyers' Website: Official Philadelphia Flyers Website
• Islanders' Website: Official New York Islanders Website

GAME PREVIEW, NOTES and STATISTICS

• Preview: Flyers' postseason aspirations top of mind vs. Islanders
• NHL Stats: NHL.com - Stats
• Flyers' Stats: Philadelphia Flyers Stats | 2018-2019
• Islanders' Stats: New York Islanders Stats | 2018-2019

TEAMS' STATISTICS

Teams	Games	Record	Points	Home	Away	GF	GA	PPG	PK%	FO%	Save%
Islanders	64	37-20-7	81	19-9-4	18-11-3	186	153	16.2	82.3	47.9	.925
Flyers	65	31-26-8	70	17-12-4	14-14-4	197	218	17.8	77.2	55.2	.896

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

​

Possible Lineup
Lines

28 Claude Giroux -19 Nolan Patrick - 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk - 21 Scott Laughton - 38 Ryan Hartman
10 Corbin Knight - 44 Phil Varone - 12 Michael Raffl ​

Pairings

9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hägg - 3 Radko Gudas​

Goalies

33 Cam Talbot - 37 Brian Elliott (could start)​

Power Plays

PP1: Van Riemsdyk, Couturier, Giroux, Gostisbehere, Voracek
PP2: Konecny, Patrick, Lindblom, Sanheim, Provorov​

Injuries and Scratches

5 Sam Morin (D) will not play but is skating after returning from an injury in May (Feb. 25).
30 Michal Neuvirth (G) is on IR due to a lower body injury (Jan. 3). No timetable for his return.
47 Andrew MacDonald could be a healthy scratch.
79 Carter Hart (G) suffered an ankle injury (Feb. 23). He could return this week but not today (Mar.3)​

MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Web site -- The Athletic
Alexander Appleyard's Twitter -- Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) | Twitter
Charlie O'Connor's Twitter -- Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) | Twitter​

Courier Post of South Jersey

Web site -- Flyers - NHL - News - CourierPostOnline.com
Dave Isaac's Twitter -- Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) | Twitter​

Hockey Buzz

Web site -- HockeyBuzz.com - NHL Rumors
Bill Meltzer's Twitter -- Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) | Twitter​

NBC Sports Philadelphia

Web site -- NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) | Twitter
John Boruk's Twitter -- John Boruk (@johnborukNBCS) | Twitter​

Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer

Web site -- http://www.philly.com/topic/broad-street-bull/
Sam Carchidi's Twitter -- Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) | Twitter​

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Possible Lineup
Lines

27 Anders Lee - 29 Brock Nelson - 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier - 13 Mathew Barzal - 12 Josh Bailey
14 Tom Kuhnkackl -51 Valtteri Filppula - 47 Leo Komarov
32 Ross Johnston - 53 Casey Cizikas - 15 Cal Clutterbuck​

Pairings

2 Nick Leddy - 55 Johnny Boychuk
3 Adam Pelech - 6 Ryan Pulock
24 Scott Mayfield - 25 Devon Toews​

Goalies

1 Thomas Greiss - 40 Robin Lehner (could start)​

Injuries and Scratches

4 Thomas Hockey (D) could be a healthy scratch.
16 Andrew Ladd (F) could be a healthy scratch.
17 Matt Martin (F) is day-to-day with an upper body injury (Mar. 2).
21 Luca Sbisa (D) could be a healthy scratch.
44 Dennis Seidenberg (D) could be a healthy scratch.
​

MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Arthur Staple's Twitter -- Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) | Twitter​

Lighthouse Hockey

Web site -- New York Islanders Schedule, Roster, News, and Rumors | Lighthouse Hockey
Twitter -- Dominik & LHHFriends (@LHHockey) | Twitter​

MSG Networks

Web site -- New York Islanders
Brendan Burke's Twitter -- Brendan Burke (@brendanmburke) | Twitter
Shannon Hogan's Twitter -- Shannon Hogan (@Shannon_Hogan) | Twitter
Eric Hornick's Twitter -- Eric Hornick (@ehornick) | Twitter​

New York Post

Web site -- New York Islanders | New York Post
Brett Cyrgalis' Twitter -- Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) | Twitter​

Newsday

Web site -- New York Islanders News, Scores, Schedules & Standings
Andrew Gross' Twitter -- Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) | Twitter​

SportsNet New York

Web site -- The Home of All Things New York Sports​

FLYERS' UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	Television (subject to change)
March 6	vs. Washington	7:30 pm	NBCSN, TVAS
March 9	at NY Islanders	7:00 pm	MSG+, NBCSP
March 11	vs. Ottawa	7:00 pm	NBCSP, TSN5, RDS
March 14	vs. Washington	7:00 pm	NBCSP, NBCSWA
March 15	at Toronto	7:00 pm	TVAS, TSN4, NBCSP+
March 17	at Pittsburgh	7:30 pm	NBCSN

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

FROM THE PAST

​

GAME DAY THREAD MUSIC

"(We Are) The Road Crew" by Motorhead
​

Click to read more...

 

[wankstifier]

I think I'd give MacDonald a look over Hagg.

 

[DancingPanther]

It all comes down to this

 

[CanadianSniper]

Has there been anything said about when Morin is gonna get a game? Maybe against Ottawa on the 11th?

 

[Embiid]

Fire Gordor!

 

[CapnZin]

Hopefully that game shows the Flyers how having a good forechecking and high pressure system can take some opponents out of the game. The devils did that well. Sadly, a lot of their play was kinda dirty, but still. They had an AHL level team that controlled well over 25min of the game.

I think that Varone/Knight and Hagg should sit for NAK and Morin soon. Knight seems like he’d be a Pierre Eduard-Bellemare. Safe play, nothing impressive, and experienced- sounds like Hakstol.

Maybe:

Giroux - Patrick - Konency
Lindblom - Couturier - Voracek
JVR - Laughton - Hartman
Raffl - Varone - NAK
Knight/Bailey

Provorov - Sanheim
Ghost - Myers
Morin - Gudas
Hagg

Hart
Elliot/Talbot

 

[wankstifier]

In the last 22 games, the Flyers are 16-4-2. Prior to the current streak, they went 6-15-5 in the previous 26.

If by some stroke of luck the Flyers make the playoffs, it will be one of the most wild Flyers seasons I've witnessed--almost on par with 2009-2010.

 

[wankstifier]

Hopefully that game shows the Flyers how having a good forechecking and high pressure system can take some opponents out of the game. The devils did that well. Sadly, a lot of their play was kinda dirty, but still. They had an AHL level team that controlled well over 25min of the game.

I think that Varone/Knight and Hagg should sit for NAK and Morin soon. Knight seems like he’d be a Pierre Eduard-Bellemare. Safe play, nothing impressive, and experienced- sounds like Hakstol.

Maybe:

Giroux - Patrick - Konency
Lindblom - Couturier - Voracek
JVR - Laughton - Hartman
Raffl - Varone - NAK
Knight/Bailey

Provorov - Sanheim
Ghost - Myers
Morin - Gudas
Hagg

Hart
Elliot/Talbot

Aube Kube just suffered a concussion, I think.

 

[CapnZin]

Aube Kube just suffered a concussion, I think.

Hmmm... that blows. Probably wouldn’t have happened if he was on the flyers like he should be.

 

[Dicky Dangles]

"JuggerTrotz" proves how important a great coach can be.

 

[Outlaw Samurai]

I'd rather look at Lemmy's scary face in the game day music video than see Hogg's face any longer..ugh.

This will be tough. Trotz's fat ass can outcoach Gordo let alone his big brain.

 

[mja]

I think I'd give MacDonald a look over Hagg.

Easily. Hagg’s been the worst defenseman on the team for two years now. AMac for all of his flaws is the better player.

Has there been anything said about when Morin is gonna get a game? Maybe against Ottawa on the 11th?

I’m anxious to see him play but I’m fine with them being cautious with Morin. Dude just hasn’t played a lot of hockey the last two years. I don’t think he gets into a game until they’re definitively out of the playoffs. Wouldn’t mind see him get the Phil Myers treatment earlier than that though with the team dressing 7 D in a game to ease him in that way.

 

[BiggE]

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (37-20-7) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (31-26-8)

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Television: SN1, TVAS, MSG+, NBCSP
• Radio: 97.5 FM 97.5 The Fanatic unless a change to 93.3 FM 93.3 WMMR - Everything That Rocks!
• Flyers 24/7: Flyers Radio 24/7
• Streams: Do not post or request any streams or links to unauthorized sites.

TEAMS' WEBSITES

• Flyers' Facebook: Security Check Required
• Flyers' Twitter: Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) | Twitter
• Flyers' Website: Official Philadelphia Flyers Website
• Islanders' Website: Official New York Islanders Website

GAME PREVIEW, NOTES and STATISTICS

• Preview:
• NHL Stats: NHL.com - Stats
• Flyers' Stats: Philadelphia Flyers Stats | 2018-2019
• Islanders' Stats: New York Islanders Stats | 2018-2019

TEAMS' STATISTICS

Teams	Games	Record	Points	Home	Away	GF	GA	PPG	PK%	FO%	Save%
Islanders	64	37-20-7	81	19-9-4	18-11-3	186	153	16.2	82.3	47.9	.925
Flyers	65	31-26-8	70	17-12-4	14-14-4	197	218	17.8	77.2	55.2	.896

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

​

Possible Lineup
Lines

28 Claude Giroux -19 Nolan Patrick - 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk - 21 Scott Laughton - 38 Ryan Hartman
10 Corbin Knight - 44 Phil Varone - 12 Michael Raffl ​

Pairings

9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hägg - 3 Radko Gudas​

Goalies

33 Cam Talbot - 37 Brian Elliott ​

Power Plays

PP1: Van Riemsdyk, Couturier, Giroux, Gostisbehere, Voracek
PP2: Konecny, Patrick, Lindblom, Sanheim, Provorov​

Injuries and Scratches

5 Sam Morin (D) will not play but is skating after returning from an injury in May (Feb. 25).
30 Michal Neuvirth (G) is on IR due to a lower body injury (Jan. 3). No timetable for his return.
47 Andrew MacDonald could be a healthy scratch.
79 Carter Hart (G) suffered an ankle injury (Feb. 23). He2 could return this week (Mar.1)​

MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Web site -- The Athletic
Alexander Appleyard's Twitter -- Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) | Twitter
Charlie O'Connor's Twitter -- Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) | Twitter​

Courier Post of South Jersey

Web site -- Flyers - NHL - News - CourierPostOnline.com
Dave Isaac's Twitter -- Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) | Twitter​

Hockey Buzz

Web site -- HockeyBuzz.com - NHL Rumors
Bill Meltzer's Twitter -- Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) | Twitter​

NBC Sports Philadelphia

Web site -- NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) | Twitter
John Boruk's Twitter -- John Boruk (@johnborukNBCS) | Twitter​

Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer

Web site -- http://www.philly.com/topic/broad-street-bull/
Sam Carchidi's Twitter -- Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) | Twitter​

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Possible Lineup
Lines

27 Anders Lee - 29 Brock Nelson - 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier - 13 Mathew Barzal - 12 Josh Bailey
14 Tom Kuhnkackl -51 Valtteri Filppula - 47 Leo Komarov
32 Ross Johnston - 53 Casey Cizikas - 15 Cal Clutterbuck​

Pairings

2 Nick Leddy - 55 Johnny Boychuk
3 Adam Pelech - 6 Ryan Pulock
24 Scott Mayfield - 25 Devon Toews​

Goalies

1 Thomas Greiss - 40 Robin Lehner ​

Injuries and Scratches

4 Thomas Hockey (D) could be a healthy scratch.
16 Andrew Ladd (F) could be a healthy scratch.
17 Matt Martin (F) is day-to-day with an upper body injury.
21 Luca Sbisa (D) could be a healthy scratch.
44 Dennis Seidenberg (D) could be a healthy scratch.
​

MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Arthur Staple's Twitter -- Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) | Twitter​

Lighthouse Hockey

Web site -- New York Islanders Schedule, Roster, News, and Rumors | Lighthouse Hockey
Twitter -- Dominik & LHHFriends (@LHHockey) | Twitter​

MSG Networks

Web site -- New York Islanders
Brendan Burke's Twitter -- Brendan Burke (@brendanmburke) | Twitter
Shannon Hogan's Twitter -- Shannon Hogan (@Shannon_Hogan) | Twitter
Eric Hornick's Twitter -- Eric Hornick (@ehornick) | Twitter​

New York Post

Web site -- New York Islanders | New York Post
Brett Cyrgalis' Twitter -- Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) | Twitter​

Newsday

Web site -- New York Islanders News, Scores, Schedules & Standings
Andrew Gross' Twitter -- Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) | Twitter​

SportsNet New York

Web site -- The Home of All Things New York Sports​

FLYERS' UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	Television (subject to change)
March 6	vs. Washington	7:30 pm	NBCSN, TVAS
March 9	at NY Islanders	7:00 pm	MSG+, NBCSP
March 11	vs. Ottawa	7:00 pm	NBCSP, TSN5, RDS
March 14	vs. Washington	7:00 pm	NBCSP, NBCSWA
March 15	at Toronto	7:00 pm	TVAS, TSN4, NBCSP+
March 17	at Pittsburgh	7:30 pm	NBCSN

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

FROM THE PAST

​

GAME DAY THREAD MUSIC

"We Are the Road Crew" by Motorhead
​

Motorhead!!

 

[TheKingPin]

Whoever Morin is ready he needs to come in for Hagg. He’s horrible and the weakest link.

Big game

 

[JojoTheWhale]

The other component to the lineup decisions is that if Hagg is potentially available in the offseason, you don't want a string of recent healthy scratches on his record.

 

[BiggE]

Whoever Morin is ready he needs to come in for Hagg. He’s horrible and the weakest link.

Big game

Agreed. They can ease him in for 10-12 minutes per game. He’ll help the pk and add a little muscle and snarl to the lineup. Plus, since he’s replacing Hagg, there is no downside.

 

[Striiker]

The other component to the lineup decisions is that if Hagg is potentially available in the offseason, you don't want a string of recent healthy scratches on his record.

I have zero faith that this team can recognize that Hagg needs to go.

These idiots will think he's a cheap and servicable bottom pair option and keep him around.

 

[BiggE]

The other component to the lineup decisions is that if Hagg is potentially available in the offseason, you don't want a string of recent healthy scratches on his record.

Teams have scouts and access to film. In the lineup or not, you aren’t getting a lot for Hagg. On the plus side he’s young and comes cheap, but on the negative side he’s really not good at hockey.

Damaging Hagg’s trade value or lack thereof, shouldn’t be a consideration

 

[BiggE]

I have zero faith that this team can recognize that Hagg needs to go.

These idiots will think he's a cheap and servicable bottom pair option and keep him around.

Yeah, most likely


sigh

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I have zero faith that this team can recognize that Hagg needs to go.

These idiots will think he's a cheap and servicable bottom pair option and keep him around.

They can both make that mistake and still trade him. They're not mutually exclusive.

To be clear, I'm not saying they will. I just don't think being sure they won't is fair given Fletcher's body of work so far.

Teams have scouts and access to film. In the lineup or not, you aren’t getting a lot for Hagg. On the plus side he’s young and comes cheap, but on the negative side he’s really not good at hockey.

Damaging Hagg’s trade value or lack thereof, shouldn’t be a consideration

I think you'd be surprised at what Hagg's trade value is and I assure you I have been screaming for 4+ years that he's not good. I'm under no delusions he's anything but a massive net negative.

Like Simmonds was, a lot of this value is tied to his contract. Traditional hockey GM approach is to identify an area of need and then see who is available to fill it -- "I need a bottom pairing guy who can just be solid and I need to be sure he can step in immediately, but I don't have cap space." There really just aren't many of those around.

Now your market is limited because teams like Toronto aren't going to want him, but every year we have physical plug Defensemen returning value and in this case, you don't have to find salary matches. That's HUGE.

 

[Striiker]

They can both make that mistake and still trade him. They're not mutually exclusive.

To be clear, I'm not saying they will. I just don't think being sure they won't is fair given Fletcher's body of work so far.

Fletchers body of work so far is incredibly underwhelming to me. If anything it makes me doubt him even more than before the moves.

It took him way too long to call up Myers, Vorobyev and NAK are still unknowns, he only removed the trash guys who were already out of the lineup, the Simmonds trade wasn’t encouraging, and even firing Hakstol might not have happened if it wasn’t for Isaacs article. The Talbot trade could have been good if they actually used him before yesterday too, but of course not.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Fletchers body of work so far is incredibly underwhelming to me. If anything it makes me doubt him even more than before the moves.

It took him way too long to call up Myers, Vorobyev and NAK are still unknowns, he only removed the trash guys who were already out of the lineup, the Simmonds trade wasn’t encouraging, and even firing Hakstol might not have happened if it wasn’t for Isaacs article. The Talbot trade could have been good if they actually used him before yesterday too, but of course not.

Ok, but it’s not as simple as “I don’t like what Fletcher has done, so his future moves will be bad too.” We’re starting to get enough data points to examine his thought processes. Look at the players going in and out. Forget about timing and value and focus on what archetypes were leveraged.

By and large, the players going out have been vet plugs or pending UFAs that didn’t factor into his future plans. The players coming back have at least fit the trends of the league. No, Varone is not who I wanted up either, but he’s a much more modern player than Lehtera. NAK should be up, but I understand as the new head of an org why you would want to reward the type of AHL production Varone had and choosing to make that stand with a player of limited upside. If he’s not up to start next year, that’s a real problem.

Myers is up and playing good Minutes. Yes, it took too long, but that’s missing the forest for the trees. What we care about is what Fletcher sees as the goal because we’re talking about offseason and team/org building approaches. It’s evident they have a problem with Vorobyev’s mental approach, so I don’t think that’s a hockey issue.

If you want to tell me you’re afraid that they’re going to hand a blank check to Matt Duchene or maybe trade Gostisbehere, I’m on board, but Fletcher’s trends just don’t add up to hitching his horse to a Hagg type. We should be nuanced enough in our discussion to differentiate between Hagg being around and being counted upon. We saw the latter and have the scars to prove it.

 

[Striiker]

Ok, but it’s not as simple as “I don’t like what Fletcher has done, so his future moves will be bad too.” We’re starting to get enough data points to examine his thought processes. Look at the players going in and out. Forget about timing and value and focus on what archetypes were leveraged.

By and large, the players going out have been vet plugs or pending UFAs that didn’t factor into his future plans. The players coming back have at least fit the trends of the league. No, Varone is not who I wanted up either, but he’s a much more modern player than Lehtera. NAK should be up, but I understand as the new head of an org why you would want to reward the type of AHL production Varone had and choosing to make that stand with a player of limited upside. If he’s not up to start next year, that’s a real problem.

Myers is up and playing good Minutes. Yes, it took too long, but that’s missing the forest for the trees. What we care about is what Fletcher sees as the goal because we’re talking about offseason and team/org building approaches. It’s evident they have a problem with Vorobyev’s mental approach, so I don’t think that’s a hockey issue.

If you want to tell me you’re afraid that they’re going to hand a blank check to Matt Duchene or maybe trade Gostisbehere, I’m on board, but Fletcher’s trends just don’t add up to hitching his horse to a Hagg type. We should be nuanced enough in our discussion to differentiate between Hagg being around and being counted upon. We saw the latter and have the scars to prove it.

Uhh... hold on.. I'm not saying that it's guaranteed to happen, I'm pointing out my personal concerns. I started off with "I have zero faith..." because I was establishing that, based on what he's done so far, I'm not optimistic about what he'll do in the future... not that I was stating facts.

We have a handful of data points and examining them doesn't fill me with hope or confidence in him. He's hasn't made a single big move that's something we can point to as a beacon of competence. His most significant trade so far was one where he even admitted to having a mentality that I definitely don't like. He hasn't done anything horrible either, so I'm also not worried about him trading Ghost or an equally stupid move.

 

[Deadpool8812]

Hagg has struggled a lot recently. This is the time you unleash Morin.

Also please get rid of Varone and Knight

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Uhh... hold on.. I'm not saying that it's guaranteed to happen, I'm pointing out my personal concerns. I started off with "I have zero faith..." because I was establishing that, based on what he's done so far, I'm not optimistic about what he'll do in the future... not that I was stating facts.

We have a handful of data points and examining them doesn't fill me with hope or confidence in him. He's hasn't made a single big move that's something we can point to as a beacon of competence. His most significant trade so far was one where he even admitted to having a mentality that I definitely don't like. He hasn't done anything horrible either, so I'm also not worried about him trading Ghost or an equally stupid move.

He moved Simmonds for a fair return even if I didn’t like the approach he took to the assets coming back. He called Myers up and created room for him through Folin’s trade and keeping Schlemko down. He sent Weise down. He traded Weise. He sent Lehtera down. He hired Rick Wilson, who has been a real positive. Feel free to tell me those were automatic, but after the previous era, I’m going to suggest we should know better than to brush them aside. For as much as Hartman was not what I wanted, he’s in no way a Filppula.

In the Talbot deal, I know what was said and I didn’t like it either, but the implied thought that keeps getting glossed over is that Talbot is a perfectly fine 1B type bet. So as long as he doesn’t overpay him, that’s fine assuming Stolarz wasn’t in their plans.

He’s not been good in the margins and that DEFINITELY matters, more than most think. But it’s largely been the margins where the errors are. That alone makes him an above average GM so far.