Crashing the Crease: Statistical Deviants

By Justin Brennan
Posted on 07/26/2012 at 9:00 am

When I started writing this week’s article, I had initially planned to try and give some insight into the pressures of goaltending and how a massive contract can impact a guy. I kind of veered left, though, as I looked for a way to quantify not just a goalie’s performance, but his overall value to the team. It may seem pretty straightforward, but to fully understand it, I felt that some simple metrics could be combined to give a better total insight. Using www.capgeek.com, I pulled the cap hits for the goalies with the top 25 cap hits for the 2012-2013 …

As the world turns

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 07/19/2012 at 11:36 pm

Each of the 30 teams in the NHL shares one common goal: winning the Stanley Cup. Yet no two teams take the same route to the Cup. There are just too many variables involved. If it was as simple as following the plan that brought the reigning champ to victory, every team would inevitably go the same route but the fact of the matter is that it is not the case. Teams are restricted by any number of factors, including the salary cap, funds available, and/or the ability the draft and develop talent. In the case of a big market …

Then and Now: Mika Pyorala

By Craig F
Posted on 07/04/2012 at 9:42 am

Mika Pyorala was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers in June of 2009. Even though the Finn never played a game in the NHL, the Flyers believed Pyorala proved himself enough in the SM-liiga and Elitserien to earn a shot in North America. With a cap hit of $500,000 for the 2009-2010 season, Pekka Rinne’s brother-in-law posted pretty decent numbers for the Flyers and the Phantoms. In his 36 games with the Orange and Black, Pyorala had two goals and two assists. His first goal as a Flyer was important, as he potted one in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on November …

On Drafting Defenseman

By penaltykiller
Posted on 06/20/2012 at 1:23 pm

The 2012 draft is days away and Flyers fans have been discussing draft strategy for the first round. What should the Flyers do? The general consensus seems to be that they need to draft a defenseman in the first round and anything else is disappointing. There has also been lots of talk on whether or not the Flyers should move up to draft one of the higher ranked defenders. Most specifically, Ryan Murray, who will likely be selected second. I’ve seen someone go as far as suggesting a trade of James van Riemsdyk, Andrej Meszaros, Sergei Bobrovsky, and a first-round …

Then and Now: Matt Ellison

By Craig F
Posted on 06/06/2012 at 9:00 am

In the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games for their first title in 49 years. The team from The Second City had nine players record at least 10 points in their 22-game playoff run. One of those players was forward Patrick Sharp, who tied Dustin Byfuglien for a team-high 11 goals and finished third in points behind Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Sharp used to be a member of the Philadelphia Flyers until December of 2005, when he and Eric Meloche were traded to the Blackhawks for Matt Ellison and …

Image Courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Atlantic Watch: 3/21-3/27

By Craig F
Posted on 03/28/2012 at 10:08 am

In their three home games this week, the Flyers were able to clinch a playoff spot with a pair of wins over teams currently sitting outside the postseason scenario. Unfortunately, Ilya Bryzgalov suffered a chip fracture in his right foot. Hopefully for Philly, Bryzgalov will be back by the end of next week when the club takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers as part of their four-game schedule over the next few days. On Thursday, the Orange and Black earned two points against the Washington Capitals with a 2-1 shootout win at the Wells Fargo Center. Wayne Simmonds potted …

Live Hockey

By ecnewman
Posted on 01/20/2012 at 12:00 pm

So, I saw the game in Nashville this past Saturday. Wait, that’s too subdued. SO! I SAW the GAME in NASHVILLE last week and it WAS AWESOME! Yeah, that’s better. Well, Flyers lost and that sucked royally and even sadder was the consensus of the Flyers fans around me when we found out that Bryzgalov would be in goal. “Yeah, we’re gonna lose.” But that’s an entirely different discussion. I haven’t been to a live NHL game since March of last year, and any live hockey game since May of last year. The Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is really nice. …

Atlantic Watch: 1/11-1/17

By Craig F
Posted on 01/18/2012 at 10:00 am

The Flyers won two of their three games this week, as they finished the week by handling the free-falling Minnesota Wild. After Sergei Bobrovsky earned the start on Thursday night on Long Island, Ilya Bryzgalov got the call for the last two games of the week making 46 saves on 50 shots against. Philly looks forward to a difficult week, as two of their four games are against division leaders in the Eastern Conference. The Orange and Black started off with a 3-2 in New York against the Islanders. Sean Couturier scored with 1:30 left in regulation to extend the …

The case for Ryan Suter

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 12/16/2011 at 11:43 am

Allow me to preface this column by stating that I believe the Flyers have no urgent need to add a defensemen. Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, Andrej Meszaros, and Braydon Coburn are more than capable of shouldering the load with the likes of Marc-Andre Bourdon, Kevin Marshall, and Erik Gustafsson eating up some minutes as well. However, if the Flyers do, indeed decide to pursue a defender at some — the trade deadline seems to be the most realistic option — then Ryan Suter could be the primary target for the Flyers. The 26-year-old defender for the Nashville Predators comes from …

Print Media

By ecnewman
Posted on 11/04/2011 at 12:00 pm

On my very messy desk (it gets bulldozed on the weekend, sometimes), sit two issues of The Hockey News. My very first two issues in truth. Being a subscriber to Gamecenter Live means I get a lot of advertisement emails from NHL.com and the like and this was the fifth email about getting 10 issues of The Hockey News for some low price. I’d just been asked to write here on flyersfaithful.com and I thought, I need to know more about hockey, why not? I like magazines and catalogues. It might be more the joy of getting something in the …

READ:12 »