hattrick Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=182344&hubname=nhl Associated Press 10/29/2006 4:35:21 PM VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) - The renewed optimism John Stevens brought with him in his first week as Flyers coach lasted all of one game. Now it's Stevens' turn to get Philadelphia back on track after a humbling, blowout loss - something Ken Hitchcock could never do before he was fired last week. Stevens took a step Sunday, meeting with the Flyers' veteran leadership committee a day after Sidney Crosby's first career hat trick led Pittsburgh to an 8-2 win over Philadelphia. The Flyers called a nearly 20-minute team meeting after the loss, looking for some sort of way to snap out of a breakdown that's led to an NHL-worst 2-7-1 record. Stevens was looking for more answers on Sunday. "We had a real good talk about where we're at and what's going on in the locker room," Stevens said. "The thing they came up with was, `Who are we? What's our identity?' It's a real good question. I think we have to go back and put a real big emphasis on our play without the puck. We need to work and we need to check." The Flyers are 1-1 under Stevens, beating Atlanta in a shootout on Thursday. It's the only home win in four games for the Flyers, who host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. A loss to Chicago would leave the Flyers with their worst record in team history through 11 games. It was the second embarrassing loss this season for Philadelphia. Flyers chairman Ed Snider said he knew he had to fire Hitchcock after a 9-1 loss at Buffalo, one of the worst in team history. "We have to get back to playing better first," interim general manager Paul Holmgren said. "We took some steps in the right direction against Atlanta. I know what the coach's message was today - let's get back to work, let's get back to taking care of our own end first." The Flyers will play without right wing Mike Knuble, who fractured his middle finger against the Penguins and had surgery on Sunday. Knuble, who played all 92 regular-season games and six playoff games since joining the Flyers at the start of the 2005-06 season, will miss about two weeks. Tough break, for sure. But the Flyers desperately need to tighten their defence more than anything if they're going to get back into playoff contention. R.J. Umberger said the Flyers spent much of Sunday's practice working on defence. The eight goals scored by the Penguins has brought the season total to a whopping 43 goals allowed, most in the Atlantic Division. "We're back to square one," Umberger said. "We worked on defensive positioning. We came out hard (vs. Pittsburgh), that isn't the issue. We're giving up too much. We knew this wasn't going to change overnight. "It's a process that's not going to be easy. I think we have to establish ourselves as a defensive team and go from there. We got in a track meet with them (the Penguins) and we can't do that." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 "It's a process that's not going to be easy. I think we have to establish ourselves as a defensive team and go from there. We got in a track meet with them (the Penguins) and we can't do that." An excitingly defensive team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 That game the Flyers started off fine. Got the lead even but the Pens bounced back to grab a one-goal lead by intermission. The 2nd they just turned on the jets and skated circles around the Flyer D. First came Talbott's second which was just a beauty on a 2-on-1 with a great finish. Then on the next shift, the Pens' big line pounced and kept working until Crosby finished off a Malkin rebound to get Niittymaki out. Then the Flyers had several great chances to get back in this game where they cycled the puck effectively and got some great setups but either missed the net or had plays broken up by hustling Pens. They didn't take advantage. Then Crosby made an incredible play stripping Hatcher and scoring his hat trick and the rout was on. These types of implosions are pretty common when a team struggles. They can play well for a little bit but as soon as things go bad, it escalates. Plus the match-up against such a young and gifted team wasn't exactly the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils-2003 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 A defensive team? With Hacther,Gauthier,Rathje??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Clarke built a competitive team for the 90's, but not the new NHL. Philly is desperate and I can see teams like San Jose, Vancouver and the Kings picking the bones off this team in trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vadvlfan Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Clarke built a competitive team for the 90's, but not the new NHL. Philly is desperate and I can see teams like San Jose, Vancouver and the Kings picking the bones off this team in trades. I think Clarke had no real vision. He plugged in names. For example, Kyle Calder brings nothing to this team for almost 3 mil per year. while giving up Handzues. The great thing about this is, there's not a team that will take one of these pieces of schizzle off their hands because of their price. I think forsberg's over playing in the nhl, I doubt he'll resign there. I think thye'll be paying for clarke's mistakes for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattrick Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) I think thye'll be paying for clarke's mistakes for a while. We can only hope so Edited October 30, 2006 by hattrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainScotty Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Considering that our own has gotten lit up a couple times this season, i don't think we are sitting pretty either. Granted the Flyers are going down fast (mwahahaha!), but our team has shown itself to be fragile. Brodeur is taking his time getting back into the game (who knows if he is still a top goaltender with Vokoun, Kiprusoff, and Lehtonen all stealing the highlight reels these days), the defense is a mess, and will be particularly susceptible to the type of attack that the Pens unleashed against Philly when Lukowich and Matvichuk do come back. Up front, we have one line, and a bunch of spare parts. If Zajac pans out, I'll eat my words, but for now, its being held together with silly putty. If the team comes together like it did last year, then great. Still not too sure about the d (too bad Lou couldn't sign Jovanovski...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 How many of those highlight reel stealing goalies have 3 shutouts so far this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattrick Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) Considering that our own has gotten lit up a couple times this season, i don't think we are sitting pretty either.Granted the Flyers are going down fast (mwahahaha!), but our team has shown itself to be fragile. Brodeur is taking his time getting back into the game (who knows if he is still a top goaltender with Vokoun, Kiprusoff, and Lehtonen all stealing the highlight reels these days), the defense is a mess, and will be particularly susceptible to the type of attack that the Pens unleashed against Philly when Lukowich and Matvichuk do come back. Up front, we have one line, and a bunch of spare parts. If Zajac pans out, I'll eat my words, but for now, its being held together with silly putty. If the team comes together like it did last year, then great. Still not too sure about the d (too bad Lou couldn't sign Jovanovski...) The difference between the Flyers and the Devils is that the Devils know how to correct their mistakes and can recover from debacles and embarrassments. The Devils foundation and philosophy is much better than the Flyers. It's been proven time and time again over the last 12 or so years. The Devils have a better GM, netminder, etc. The problem with the Flyers is their knee-jerk reactions to negative outcomes. They are not patient. And yes, I know the Devils can have knee-jerk reactions also as any team does, but it's not as severe and intense as the Flyers. Edited October 30, 2006 by hattrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlman Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 well you know what they say: Flyers Suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattrick Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 well you know what they say: Flyers Suck! I 2nd this motion!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 `Who are we? Umm Big-n-Slow on the blue line What's our identity?' Last Place Losers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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