Goalies have gotten huge - but will shrinking them 'fix' scoring? Courtesy Ottawa Sun.

Crashing the Crease: Will Smaller Pads Really “Fix” NHL Scoring?

By Kevin A
Posted on 03/21/2013 at 9:00 am

With the league’s 30 General Managers meeting to discuss ways to tweak the NHL product, the issue of goal scoring totals has once again reared its head. Since the resumption of play from the cancelled 2004-05 season, scoring has slipped from 6.05 goals per game to 5.25 goals per game. Whether or not that is really a problem that needs fixing is an argument for another column, but the fixes being discussed are rather relevant to goalies. What is the solution? Well, according to some – including Mike Babcock — the answer is a simple ultimatum: bigger nets, or smaller …

Breaking down the Bullies: Third-period meltdowns

By Marc Siciliano
Posted on 03/20/2013 at 1:00 pm

When the Flyers take the ice against Pittsburgh later this week, they might have a much different mindset than that of about month prior versus Winnipeg. With the team likely to be in a selling mode as their long layoff drags on, that game might best be described as the last time the Flyers had hope. After a rough start to the season, the team needed to go on a run to turn things around. Entering the third period of this contest the Flyers were trailing, but they were able to overcome adversity and get their game together when it …

It’s time to say goodbye to dump and chase and emphasize puck possession

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 03/18/2013 at 11:00 am

I’ve always been the kind of person to ask “why”. I tend to not just accept things as they are presented to me, but rather, I’d like to understand the nuances behind whatever it may be. I apply this same questioning to the game of hockey; and of late, particularly why the Flyers, and the game of ice hockey in general, can’t seem to rid itself of dump and chase and strongly emphasize puck possession. If you know me personally, you know that I’ve played roller hockey my entire life, into my young adulthood. I played ECRHA and AIHL hockey, …

Ilya Bryzgalov lays face down on the ice after making a save against the Boston Bruins during the game on March 9, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts - Image Courtesy of Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America

Crashing the Crease: Ilya Bryzgalov Cannot Succeed in Philadelphia

By Justin Brennan
Posted on 03/14/2013 at 9:00 am

This week’s Crashing the Crease comes to you with a somber tone, as the Flyers’ season appears primed to crash and burn. Some of the same wretched storylines we’re so used to being beaten over the head with are creeping into view: “Should [insert Flyers coach] be worried about his job? Who should the Flyers next goalie be? What major move will the Flyers make to fix this?” Part of the issue, in my mind, is this overly reactive approach from the top down. Don’t get me wrong — I love and respect what Ed Snider did for the city …

Breaking down the Bullies: buy or sell?

By Marc Siciliano
Posted on 03/13/2013 at 1:00 pm

The gauntlet of opponents the Flyers have faced over the last 10 days was supposed to provide some answers about what type of team they really were. Instead, a series of sporadic efforts has left both the organization and its followers with many of the same questions they faced a week ago. Some speak of playoffs, while others speak of prospects. With the trade deadline looming and the end of the season shortly thereafter, is there any way to truly categorize this team as a buyer, seller, or even something in between? After the nightmare on Broadway, the Flyers played …

A Look on the Flyers Bright Side (and not so bright side): Voracek, Giroux, Simmonds, Couturier and more over the last 10 games

By pavialax
Posted on 03/10/2013 at 3:31 pm

Sigh, the Flyers. I could probably end this right here and have summed up the feelings of thousands of Flyers fans. There have been a few bright spots in this otherwise dim, dreary season for our Flyers. It’s hard to put your finger on just one thing that is wrong with this season, but to be honest there’s only a couple of things going right, so naturally they are easy to point out. I wanted to really see if we should have seen this coming, so I looked at the top 4 performing Flyers so far this season and compared …

Breaking down the Bullies: Keeping track of the mistakes

By Marc Siciliano
Posted on 03/06/2013 at 1:00 pm

It was so close. The now mythical three-game winning streak, a feat not yet accomplished by the Flyers in 2013, was just 41 minutes away in Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. Sitting at .500 after back-to-back wins, the first period produced both offense and optimism; it seemed like all was right in the land of the orange and black. Then THE line change happened: you know, that awful, inexcusable line change with less than a minute to go in the period that allowed Ryan Callahan to tie the game. Two goals from Rick Nash later, the team …

CBA Explained: Cap Advantage Recapture penalty

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 03/04/2013 at 11:00 am

This week CBA Explained will dive into one of the more unique aspects of the new collective bargaining agreement; the “Cap Advantage Recapture” provision. It is designed to penalize teams for signing players to “back-diving” contracts that serve to reduce a player’s cap hit. It has the potential to haunt teams that signed players to these cap circumventing deals, even if those players were traded away. This led to some worry for Flyers fans in the cases of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. As stated in the summary of terms: “For all existing SPCs with terms in excess of six (6) …

Crashing the Crease: Bryzgalov Wearing Down?

By Justin Brennan
Posted on 02/28/2013 at 9:00 am

How much can one reasonably expect from a goaltender when playing him almost nightly behind a worn down, somewhat-ramshackle NHL defense? If you live in Philadelphia, the answer may be to simply look at his cap hit for your answer. Recently, there’s been a lot of talk regarding Ilya Bryzgalov and how well he “should” be playing based on his AAV of $5.67 million. In a lot of ways, it’s a reliable fallback story for a season full of nearly regular Jekyll-and-Hyde nights where serious hockey analysis of defensive breakdowns and failed offensive forays will bore and confuse the average …

Analyzing Giroux’s faceoff opponents; is he just cleaning up on weak competition?

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 02/25/2013 at 11:00 am

Through 20 games in the 2013 season, Claude Giroux has been winning faceoffs at a clip of 55 percent. That places him at 18th in the league in faceoff percentage for anyone playing at least 10 games (as of Sunday 2/24). Last Wednesday against Pittsburgh, Giroux struggled winning only 12 of 31 for 38.7 percent, while Sidney Crosby–who many of those draws were against, who ranks 10th at 57 percent–was 21 of 28 for 75 percent. It got me thinking, is Giroux just not good enough to hang with the big boys? As our only good faceoff man, is Giroux …

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