Post-Game Talk: MDSF, Game 6: Capitals at Flyers, Sunday, April 24

[Beef Invictus]

I mean I guess Gagner could play center again. That's worked so well in the past.

 

[AndHeMissedTheNet]

He still played great defense. He held their top six nearly even.


How in the world is the team better off without him doing that?

How about the state of the PP? That first unit all goes through Giroux.

Giroux sitting out would have been best for the team? What delusional world do you live in? Who would replace him? Couturier was already out. The Flyers don't have the center depth to lose two top six forwards, let alone their two best centers.

Someone who was healthy enough to play.

 

[VanFlyer]

Not really. Neuvy played really well but three games shouldn't override eight years of data that says he's not a frontline starter. I wouldn't even be surprised if his save percentage dips under .920% next year (I'm thinking it will be around .915% but that's still above league average for a backup). He's still a really good backup though.

Yes, but you can not deny his 3 games of playoff hockey were more stellar and eye dropping than Mason. Don't get me wrong, I like Mason allot, but when it comes to money time, he seems to wilt. The other thing is, that for whatever reason, the team, at least in the playoffs, seemed to play better for him.

At the end of the day, I think Mason was gassed, as was the whole team to just make the playoffs. Its nice to have a guy like neuvy that can step in and shine the way he did. I was just stirring the pot a bit and love both as a goalie tandem.

On a team note, I could not be prouder and as Flyer fan for the effort they put forth and their no quit-die demeanor. Kudos to the team and Hakstol. Just need to refine the PP / PK coaches and some personnel adjustments.

Everyone said this year we would not even be in the playoffs (and that was an accurate assessment). To have made it and play a game 6 against the best team in the east and arguably the best in the league and lose 1-0 is nothing to be shameful about.

I think both teams took a beating physically, just that Washington coasted down the stretch. Other than Holtby standing on his head, I see Pitts having a cakewalk over Washington and they should be taking the entire Flyers team out to dinner to thank for that.

 

[Beef Invictus]

How about the state of the PP? That first unit all goes through Giroux.

Who remotely does a better job?

Someone who was healthy enough to play.

With Couturier out, who even touches the defensive work Giroux put in? He wasn't scoring, but he was doing a damned good job keeping the Caps top six from scoring at even strength. And after the PK was finally wound back to what worked years ago, he was big on the PK too.


Who exactly do we have who surpasses him there? Weal?

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Realistically Umberger was the first guy off the bench. If it wasn't for his contract he likely wouldn't be on an NHL roster right now. The least we forget how terrible this guy is/was. It took that ****er over a full calendar year to score goal this year.

If we had anything viable to make the switch for guys like Voracek or Giroux it would have happened just like it did with Mason & Neuvirth.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Yes, but you can not deny his 3 games of playoff hockey were more stellar and eye dropping than Mason. Don't get me wrong, I like Mason allot, but when it comes to money time, he seems to wilt. The other thing is, that for whatever reason, the team, at least in the playoffs, seemed to play better for him.

At the end of the day, I think Mason was gassed, as was the whole team to just make the playoffs. Its nice to have a guy like neuvy that can step in and shine the way he did. I was just stirring the pot a bit and love both as a goalie tandem.

On a team note, I could not be prouder and as Flyer fan for the effort they put forth and their no quit-die demeanor. Kudos to the team and Hakstol. Just need to refine the PP / PK coaches and some personnel adjustments.

Everyone said this year we would not even be in the playoffs (and that was an accurate assessment). To have made it and play a game 6 against the best team in the east and arguably the best in the league and lose 1-0 is nothing to be shameful about.

I think both teams took a beating physically, just that Washington coasted down the stretch. Other than Holtby standing on his head, I see Pitts having a cakewalk over Washington and they should be taking the entire Flyers team out to dinner to thank for that.

You're just gonna ignore him being a tank on his own for the final stretch of the season, even playing in back to backs, to get his team into the playoffs? You're just gonna ignore him damned near stealing the Rangers series when he came back concussed?

 

[Curufinwe]

Ignore is the key word here.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Mason is one of the only reasons we made the playoffs. The guy had a couple of rough starts in the playoffs. To dismiss what he did to get this team into the playoffs is pretty dumb.
I like Nuevy a lot but the guy is even more brittle than Mason. He is a good goalie when he is healthy and he is more than capable of running with the #1 goalie spot for a short stretch but I don't think he is a #1 goalie.

 

[VanFlyer]

You're just gonna ignore him being a tank on his own for the final stretch of the season, even playing in back to backs, to get his team into the playoffs? You're just gonna ignore him damned near stealing the Rangers series when he came back concussed?

I guess you only read the first two sentences of my post and missed this part:

"At the end of the day, I think Mason was gassed, as was the whole team to just make the playoffs. Its nice to have a guy like neuvy that can step in and shine the way he did. I was just stirring the pot a bit and love both as a goalie tandem."

Thanks for playing though

 

[Beef Invictus]

I guess you only read the first two sentences of my post and missed this part:

"At the end of the day, I think Mason was gassed, as was the whole team to just make the playoffs. Its nice to have a guy like neuvy that can step in and shine the way he did. I was just stirring the pot a bit and love both as a goalie tandem."

Thanks for playing though

Nothing you said afterwards justifies the notion that he has a tendency to wilt in big game situations.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Great series. You guys should be proud of the way your team fights for its survival. You've got a team with a strong character. As an outsider, I'd definitely call this season a success for the Flyers.

You should be pretty excited about your team's future with all those solid prospects coming up.

 

[VanFlyer]

Nothing you said afterwards justifies the notion that he has a tendency to wilt in big game situations.

Fair enough. That dump-in goal was an anomaly for sure. For me, without going to the the extreme stats pages, the eyeball test shows me that the team played stronger in front of Neuvy than Mason. Does that mean that Mason, wilts, no. Perhaps I should have chosen my verb better. Read my whole post and you will see that I really like Mason AND Neuvy, just that Neuvy outshined Mason in the playoffs and that statistically and eyeball test can not be denied.

 

[TheKingPin]

Watching Tavares do what he did last night, you really do miss it when your game changer is silent. He has to be hurt.

 

[Appleyard]

Watching Tavares do what he did last night, you really do miss it when your game changer is silent. He has to be hurt.

Tavares did have the luxury of 66% OZone starts through the period... and 81% last night.

Tavares had 21 Ozone starts last game alone at 5v5... Giroux had 25 ALL series!

 

[GKJ]

Fair enough. That dump-in goal was an anomaly for sure. For me, without going to the the extreme stats pages, the eyeball test shows me that the team played stronger in front of Neuvy than Mason. Does that mean that Mason, wilts, no. Perhaps I should have chosen my verb better. Read my whole post and you will see that I really like Mason AND Neuvy, just that Neuvy outshined Mason in the playoffs and that statistically and eyeball test can not be denied.

They didn't show they play better in front of Neuvirth. They should've been crushed in Game 5 and Game 6, and for a good part of Game 4 too. They also changed the strategy on the PK late in the series, Mason wasn't getting the aggressive penalty killers that Neuvirth did.

 

[JXC]

Watching Tavares do what he did last night, you really do miss it when your game changer is silent. He has to be hurt.

Tavares really came up big when his team needed him, that's for sure.

The game tying goal was no gem though.

 

[thelos]

Any reports on our player's injuries yet?

 

[JXC]

Tavares did have the luxury of 66% OZone starts through the period... and 81% last night.

Tavares had 21 Ozone starts last game alone at 5v5... Giroux had 25 ALL series!

Neither of Tavares' goals was the product of an OZone Start.

 

[BernieParent]

Great series. You guys should be proud of the way your team fights for its survival. You've got a team with a strong character. As an outsider, I'd definitely call this season a success for the Flyers.

You should be pretty excited about your team's future with all those solid prospects coming up.

Thanks for your kind words. I think it was – ignoring a biblical-level miracle series win – the best possible outcome: the team competed, exorcized the game 3 debacle, and gained experience, while the areas of need were readily apparent. Like I have posted previously, I would be nervous if we were still in the Paul Holmgren era, as there might be the temptation to deal some of the hard-won prospects for more immediate help.

Yeah, the future is bright and the rebuild seems to be a couple of steps ahead of schedule.

Now, please go out and beat Pittsburgh. Despite the recent animosity, I am a fan of the Capitals line-up (most of them), particularly Holtby.

 

[Rebels57]

It sucks that when the season ends, all of the clueless casual fans come out of the woodwork with their absurd claims.

"Gotta trade Giroux"

"Mason proved his wasn't a #1"

Blah, ****ing, blah.

 

[Hiesenberg]

I like Neuvirth as much as the next guy. Guy can't stay healthy. Stop clamoring for him to be the #1

 

[Rebels57]

Tavares did have the luxury of 66% OZone starts through the period... and 81% last night.

Tavares had 21 Ozone starts last game alone at 5v5... Giroux had 25 ALL series!

That's the luxury of having Frans Nielsen in the lineup.

Also, the tying goal as more of a **** up by Florida than anything else. Barkov failed to pick-up Tavares coming off the bench and Luongo can't let that puck leak through him.

OT goal was a gem though, but again, what the hell was Luongo doing? He just got stuck in cement on one side of the net and watch Tavares take it around the net for the wrap-around.

 

[deadhead]

When a team plays above expectations, how come there's always a cadre of fans that will castigate them for not playing even better?

Flyers were a tired team going into the playoffs, off a long stretch run on a team with limited depth - Giroux has logged top minutes the last few years and he's not that big - that's where depth makes a difference - shave a minute a game for 80 games and it's like giving him four games off during the regular season.

Washington not only had depth, they had a big lead going into the playoffs and could rest anyone with a "ding."

Yet the Flyers still took them to 6 games and lost it 1-0. Yes, Neuwirth provided very good goalie play, but the guy on the other side was pretty darn good, and both teams were responsible and disciplined on defense. So what's wrong with the Cap forwards who couldn't score 5x5?

There is nothing wrong with the core of this team, they need to add depth, primary speed and some skill, though my prediction is the forwards will look a lot better as the defense improves - when you have a top defenseman on every shift who can skate and shoot, there will be more scoring chances for the forwards.

However, stop coming up with names of "figure skaters" as additions - the template for this team is pretty obvious, if you aren't willing to forecheck and get back on defense (no cherry picking, that means you, Vinny), there's no place for you. I have to give Gagner credit, he got a lot tougher as the season progressed, still has a way to go to be a true two way forward, but it showed what it took to get into the lineup. And he was a career 40-45 point forward who couldn't get PT on the 3rd line until he was willing to get dirty.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Gagner showed enough progress that I'd have no problem bringing him back. Yeah, I know he's not great, but it's good to reward that kind of progress sometimes. The coaches asked him to change how he plays to be more effective and he did that. Guy was actually forechecking and not just playing the boards, but starting to play effectively there.


Additionally, he's willing to and able to create/take shots. That's something the team lacked all year. In that department we've lost Hartnell and Umberger falling off a cliff means that hasn't been replaced at all, and we've basically lost Read as a shooter. We have Raffl, but his role changed; he was often leading lines trying to make plays instead of mucking in the corner and going to the net to finish plays made by G and V.

 

[Striiker]

The closest thing we have to a shooter is Schenn.