I don't usually spend much time recapping relatively meaningless regular season losses, and I'm not going to get into much detail on the Flyers' overall efforts last night. Just like the players on the ice, most of us fans just want to move on and think about something else. They got smoked by the Sharks, 4-1, at home. There you have it.
However, a few early season trends were apparent last night, and they are worthy of a look, even it's too early to think they mean much yet.
The backup goaltending situation: With a limited budget to shore up the netminding, Paul Holmgren got creative in bringing Ray Emery out of exile and saved a few bucks in so doing. So far that gamble has paid off fairly well. But, if Emery falters, or, as often happens over the course of a long NHL season, needs injury relief, Brian Boucher is a question mark at best. We knew that coming in. Boosh had a fine campaign in San Jose last season, filling in for the felled Evgeni Nabokov, but over his recent career, he has been little more than a modest backup. Now back in Philly, Boosh started his season with an injury, and then last night, his first start resulted in a loss to his former team.
As is usually the case with the losing club's goalie, it wasn't all his fault. The Sharks played a solid game, and they're a very good and dangerous team. Boosh let in some soft goals though, and he had noticeable trouble maintaining mastery of his domain crease. He was eaten up by some long rebounds, and even had a puck deflect in off of his stick at a key point in the game.
That little ditty also brought to light another worry—Braydon Coburn, off of whom that puck first bounced. I can't be sure, but Coburn may in fact have violated a Native American burial ground in the off-season. he has been a bright spot on the blue line for the Flyers since coming over in a hijack of a trade, and it was anticipated that the advent of Chris Pronger would help Coburn and every other d-man. Matt Carle? Yes. He's leading the team in assists and plus/minus (+7). Coburn? Not so much. A team-worst minus-8 is only part of the problem. Some of the fluky turnovers and bounces, like last night's, have me convinced he's cursed.
Scoring depth is a key element to a contending season, and the Flyers have it. Still, although several of the Flyers big guns are scoring at a good clip, it's a little frustrating to see the game's only goal come from the checking line. It's really not a problem at this point, I think, and it's great to see guys like Powe and Asham cashing in. All of the Flyers lines combined for 38 shots despite a solid defensive showing from the Sharks, they just had trouble getting to the San Jose backup, kinda like the Phillies when the face a guy with a 6+ERA.
Offensively, I'm not worried. I just want the floodgates to open and the Flyers to be a powerhouse, which they clearly are not so far.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/bo...
