Hi guys, Flyers Fan here coming in peace and seeking some help.
Firstly, Congratulations on winning your division and drawing the blackhawks.
Every year i make a playoff pool in which every player on every team is selected. There are always some fringe players who might play and might not play and since i am not so familiar with playoff teams other than the flyers it is always difficult to predict which players will dress for game one.
So if you could help me out, please give me the Game #1 playoff line up for your team (ie. Line 1, Line 2.. etc) including defensive lines.. it would be greatly appreciated.
I'm really not sure how the defense is really going to look, the Yandle-Morris pair is the only one I'm certain we'll see. Stone played the last couple games and so may very well start the series in place of somebody. Schlemko could see time as well but hasn't played much since coming back from injury.
I'm really not sure how the defense is really going to look, the Yandle-Morris pair is the only one I'm certain we'll see. Stone played the last couple games and so may very well start the series in place of somebody. Schlemko could see time as well but hasn't played much since coming back from injury.
looks about right. tip may flip flop korpi and brule for a few shifts but who knows
Chippy will certainly see plenty of ice time this series. In place of who? Not sure. Possibly anyone banged up in Game 1. It's nice to see depth on both O and D that we haven't seen all year.
Just realized I forgot to put Biz in as an extra forward and Summers as an extra dman. Added them on there. I would assume Pyatt or Brule would be the first ones to be replaced in case of lineup changes among the forwards with Chip being the first option to come in.
Just realized I forgot to put Biz in as an extra forward and Summers as an extra dman. Added them on there. I would assume Pyatt or Brule would be the first ones to be replaced in case of lineup changes among the forwards with Chip being the first option to come in.
I absolutely do NOT want to see Brule taken out of the line-up for anything other than an injury. I think it's very understated how important he's been since coming to the valley.
Stempniak was always useless in the playoffs. Torres brings much needed grit.
I'd take OEL over Jovo any day.
Our D is much deeper with zero question mark. Shlemko has grown into a better player. We can survive an injury to one of our D-men.
Brule provides a level of energy and skill that Ebbett can only dream of.
Langkow / Belanger is a wash.
My only real fear is our lack of anything resembling a backup goalie. For us to get passed the first round, we'll need Smith to be our MVP. If the guy gets hurt or tired, we're ****ed.
just about anyone >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bryz (in playoffs last year)
Ya that is why I think we get over the top this year and make it past the first round Bryz was always shaky in the spotlight. Mike seems to relish the big time moments hence the current 5 game winning streak were on.
I agree, all those players are an upgrade but we also have some players who have really found their game as of late. Boedker is much improved in the last 10 games. Vrbata looks like he has found his groove again. Torres has really ramped it up in the last month and so has Gordon. And Morris seems to be returning to form. And I almost forgot, Stone played exceptionally well as of late, especially the last game. He really stood out to me so I think many of these guys have found a new gear just in time for the playoffs and we did not have a single defense-man any where near OEL's caliber a year ago. I think we are ready for this one!
Ummmm...major upgrade in net going into the playoffs this year?!!!!!!
This x1000000
Our goalie is probably the toughest guy on the team, couldn't say the same about Bryz. It's hard for our forwards and Dmen to play their best when their goalie doesn't have any confidence.
I agree, all those players are an upgrade but we also have some players who have really found their game as of late. Boedker is much improved in the last 10 games. Vrbata looks like he has found his groove again. Torres has really ramped it up in the last month and so has Gordon. And Morris seems to be returning to form. And I almost forgot, Stone played exceptionally well as of late, especially the last game. He really stood out to me so I think many of these guys have found a new gear just in time for the playoffs and we did not have a single defense-man any where near OEL's caliber a year ago. I think we are ready for this one!
I'm expecting great things from Torres. Maybe I'm just fantasizing, but he knows he is on a team with not a lot of playoff experience. I see him coming out and setting the tone his first shift, with a massive hit, and really gets this team going. He's been to the Stanley Cup, and nearly won it. You can even tell from his interviews and such, he wants it.
Earlier today, when asked about the division title, "The sooner we can forget about it the better." Dude gets it, and I'm stoked for this series, more so than last year. Could be that doing what we did to the Blues last week has something to do with it, but I think we can get out of this first round for once.
Frankly, other than the emergence of OEL and Torres's playoff experience, I'm not certain this team is better.
Langkow and Belanger are interchangeable but otherwise I'd definitely give the nod to the 2012 skaters. In fact a HUGE nod in the cases of OEL, Vermette and Brule. I'm tempted to include Torres in that as well. While I think regular season Torres and Stempniak are a close matchup, I expect Torres to at least maintain his game in the playoffs, perhaps even thrive where as Stemp always seemed to be a shrinking violet once the post-season started.
First, I should mention that the dropoff from Vermette to Turris isn't huge if it's there at all. Lest we forget, Turris had a great series last year.
That said, of the other 11 starters, here's my take:
Whitney: About the same, maybe a bit improved
Hanzal: About the same
Vrbata: Probably a bit improved
Boedker: Probably a bit improved
Doan: Probably a little worse
Korpikoski: Probably a little worse
Taylor Pyatt: Worse but who would notice?
Yandle: Regressed slightly
Aucoin: Regressed but mostly just in stamina
Rozsival: Regressed a lot
Klesla: About the same
There's also Chipchura, Bissonnette, Schlemko, Summers and Stone. I wouldn't expect any of them to see many minutes and most of them probably won't even play a game without injuries, but I don't think any of them is a liability.
First, I should mention that the dropoff from Vermette to Turris isn't huge if it's there at all. Lest we forget, Turris had a great series last year.
That said, of the other 11 starters, here's my take:
Whitney: About the same, maybe a bit improved
Hanzal: About the same
Vrbata: Probably a bit improved
Boedker: Probably a bit improved
Doan: Probably a little worse
Korpikoski: Probably a little worse
Taylor Pyatt: Worse but who would notice?
Yandle: Regressed slightly
Aucoin: Regressed but mostly just in stamina
Rozsival: Regressed a lot
Klesla: About the same
There's also Chipchura, Bissonnette, Schlemko, Summers and Stone. I wouldn't expect any of them to see many minutes and most of them probably won't even play a game without injuries, but I don't think any of them is a liability.
It's not how they play individually, but how they play as a team. The team wasn't nearly as cohesive last year, IMO. This year they are one team, one goal (One band, one sound - Drumline)
I'm expecting more heart out of this year's team than last year's. Last year's squad didn't even look like they were trying outside of Doan, Turris (ugh), Boedker, Klesla, and Schlemko. Guys like Belanger, Stempniak, Fiddler, and (of course) Bryzgalov went completely invisible in the playoffs. I think this is where guys like Torres, Gordon, Brule, Chipchura, Langkow, and (obviously) Smith will make us way better than last year's squad.
I'm expecting better out of Yandle this year. He had 5 points in 4 playoff games last year, but I remember his play being kinda bad. He tried too hard. I like that more than somebody who didn't try at all.
Also, OEL is so much better than Jovo, it's not even ****ing close. You want a litmus test on which analysts speak out of their ass, look for people who say Jovo was a loss. We let him go.
Korpikoski had 3 less points this year, but he was moved to more of a defensive role. I think he was hurt in the playoffs last year, but I'm pretty sure he's fine now.
Doan's production fell off, but he wasn't part of the bourgeoisie that got to play with Whitney for most of the year. He brings it in the playoffs and I think he's developing chemistry at the right time with Vermette and Boedker.
Lets not forget what was the problem last year. It was the defense. We did not play Dave Tippett hockey very well at all. We couldn't PK for ****. This year's team gets it. I feel really good this time around.
Frankly, other than the emergence of OEL and Torres's playoff experience, I'm not certain this team is better.
If you watched the games, you'd know. This team is built to be better in the post season. Floaters are gone. Everyone is all in. Taking Stemp, Belanger and Fiddler out (all no-shows) and putting in Brule, Torres, Gordon is a monumental shift. This years team is 5th in hits (up from 13) The defense is the same, went from 13th to 5th. PK alone jumped nearly 20 spots. This years team will be mentally prepared for all the inevitable torpedo shots coming from Quebec.
I have watched almost all of this season's games, as I have since 1996, and I'll stick with my weak assertion that, "I'm not certain this team is better." You can't cherry pick weak playoff performances from last season when we don't yet know how players such as Brule, Gordon, and Vermette will perform for the team during the 2012 playoffs.
So here's my assessment, for what it's worth. I will limit the number of greater than symbols to a maximum of two.
OEL > Schlemko -- no disagreement that OEL is better, although Schlemko was playing great this season before the injury.
DeMo < Jovo -- I'm not a Jovocough fan, but he did know how to play the point on the PP, and we're going to need something better than 29th best in the league to win playoff games.
Vermette < Turris -- I hate Turris with every fiber of my being, but the Turris of the 2011 playoffs is a proven commodity. Vermette's two-way game is fine, but I sure hope he pitches in with some points.
Gordon > Fiddler -- Fiddler's disappearing act in the 2011 playoffs remains a mystery to me, so I'll give the nod to Gordon. If it came down to the last two regular seasons, I think the two players are nearly interchangeable.
Langkow = Belanger -- My favorite line in Coyotes history was Nagy-Langkow-Johnson. I was a big fan, but there are a couple hundred other guys who can do what Langkow did this season.
Brule > Ebbett -- Ebbett was in over his head during the playoffs.
Torres >> Stempniak -- Agreed. Torres has a lot of playoff experience.
OK, now that I wrote all that, I suppose this year's changes are a net upgrade. But as PhoPhan pointed out later in this thread, the 11 returning players don't necessarily represent an improvement, particularly with aging D-men.
Finally, I know it's sacrilege to say this, but we also don't yet know how Smith will perform under the spotlight. Many of us were pretty sold on Bryz at the end of last season until his string of soul-crushing softies in each playoff game.
I will be the happiest person on this list if we learn in a couple weeks that my assessment is dead wrong.
