The DGS Hockey Scouting Report

Most of you know that I used to play hockey. But there are some reasons as to why I don't play anymore, try to figure out my game through this scouting report.

The Down Goes Spezza Scouting Report

Height: 5'10

Weight: 155lbs

Position: Left Wing

Hands: This player is known for his ability to find the open guy like Ville Leino, but his shooting ability is akin to Andreas "No Goal" Nodl.

Skating: Scott Hartnell stays vertical more than DGS does.

Checking: Solid defensively and a great PK guy, kinda like Darrol Powe.

Discipline: His stick is all over the place, there's usually more stick fouls than Danny Briere on a bad night with this guy.

Health: His joints explode like Rick DiPietro. His bone's explode like Marion Gaborik. His brain explodes like Eric Lindros.

There, now you know something about me. 

Prospect Profile: Matt Read

If you’ve been reading my recent columns you’ve probably noticed that I keep mentioning Flyers prospect (yes, contrary to popular belief, the Flyers have a couple prospects out there) Matt Read. Read is a forward out of Bemidji State University (BSU) in Minnesota. He just signed a 3 year contract with the Flyers with a 900K cap hit, but most importantly, it’s a 1-way contract which means, he’s got to (possibly…the NHL CBA is conflicting on this) clear waivers right away.

Now, obviously giving him a 3-year 1-way contract means that someone in the Flyers front office thinks highly of Mr. Read, so in order to show what Matt Read could become, I’m going to draw some comparisons to some current Flyers players, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Darroll Powe and Andreas Nodl. I have reasons for picking these 4 players which I will explain quickly here, and in more detail as the profile moves on.

Claude Giroux: In limited AHL duty, Giroux and Read put up eerily similar numbers which later on in this post I will break down. Also, both players are roughly the same size (Read’s 5’10 180, Giroux 5’11 175) so you know what you’re getting in terms of appearance. (I haven’t seen enough video to tell if their skating ability is the same

James van Riemsdyk: Read’s college numbers were similar to JvR’s which I will break down in detail later.

Darroll Powe: Powe, like Read, is a “late bloomer” and Read’s already 25.

Andreas Nodl: both Read and Nodl are products of the USHL then WHCA so since their careers followed similar paths in the past, I’m going to use Nodl as another point of reference as to what Matt Read could be.

Now let’s put Matt Read’s numbers on display (Source is HockeyDB)

Matt Read:

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  

2006-07  Des Moines Buccaneers       USHL   58   28   34   62  110

2007-08  Bemidji State University    CHA    36    9   18   27   37

2008-09  Bemidji State University    CHA    37   15   25   40   50

2009-10  Bemidji State University    CHA    37   19   22   41   32

2010-11  Bemidji State University    WCHA   37   22   13   35   34

2010-11  Adirondack Phantoms         AHL    11    7    6   13    6

Yes, I realize, there is no NHL experience up there and very little AHL experience on the board, so we need points of reference to NHL players to hopefully come up with a possible extension as to what this means.  Easiest way to do that, start with the beginning of Mr. Read’s career, the USHL and look at another USHL product on the Flyers, Andreas Nodl.

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  

2004-05  Sioux Falls Stampede        USHL   44    7    9   16   24  

2005-06  Sioux Falls Stampede        USHL   58   29   30   59   16  

In Nodl’s better USHL season compared to Read’s only USHL season the 2 players put up comparable offensive numbers. Seriously, they’re eerily similar.

Both Nodl and Read moved onto the WCHA after that. Nodl would play at St. Cloud State while Read played at BSU. I like this comparison because since both guys played in the USHL and WCHA they faced rather similar competition at both levels.

Here’s Nodl’s numbers:

2006-07  St. Cloud State             WCHA   40   18   28   46   32

2007-08  St. Cloud State             WCHA   40   18   26   44   22

And Read:

2007-08  Bemidji State University    CHA    36    9   18   27   37

2008-09  Bemidji State University    CHA    37   15   25   40   50

2009-10  Bemidji State University    CHA    37   19   22   41   32

2010-11  Bemidji State University    WCHA   37   22   13   35   34

Again, 2 very similar players, both were over a point a game for the most part, with Matt Read having an edge in terms of goals per game ratio (when discounting his 1^st year which seems to be an outlier). Another thing to notice, is with the goals, Nodl stayed the same while Matt Read improved every season, this is something of which it is important to take note.

Also fun fact: Read put up better college numbers than JvR, granted JvR played in the tougher Hockey East division:

JvR’s numbers:

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM

2007-08  U. of New Hampshire         H-Eas  31   11   23   34   36

2008-09  U. of New Hampshire         H-Eas  36   17   23   40   47

Also all 3 of these players out produced Darroll Powe in college:

Powe

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM

2003-04  Princeton University        ECAC   29    4    5    9   28

2004-05  Princeton University        ECAC   30    5    2    7   41

2005-06  Princeton University        ECAC   27    6   10   16   48

2006-07  Princeton University        ECAC   34   13   15   28   63

Now of course, we all know that Nodl, prior to this past season, has had trouble scoring earning the nickname No-Goal-Nodl but this is where you’ll notice a huge difference in their progression up the minors, Matt Read (in a limited sample) produced in the AHL:

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  
2010-11  Adirondack Phantoms         AHL    11    7    6   13    6

Compared to Nodl:

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
2008-09  Philadelphia Phantoms       AHL    39    6   14   20   20   

2009-10  Adirondack Phantoms         AHL    65   14   20   34   24

Now, in Read’s limited sample we see that Read was over a point-a-game player in the AHL, while Nodl was putting up .52 Points Per Game, in this limited sample, it’s easy to see that Nodl’s game dropped off when he hit the AHL, and again in the NHL. Do you know what current Flyers player put up similar AHL numbers than Read?

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM

2008-09  Philadelphia Phantoms       AHL    33   17   17   34   22

That’s Claude Giroux in the AHL right there. If you adjust Matt Read’s numbers for the same 33 games Claude Giroux played, Read would have had 21G 18A 18PIMs which means, Matt Read is better than rookie Claude Giroux.

I am not saying Read is better than Giroux right now, Giroux is 23 and only getting better, Matt Read is 25 and about to peak so it’s probably fair to expect something similar to Giroux’s rookie season for Matt Read, so let’s pull Claude Giroux’s rookie NHL season:

Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM

2008-09  Philadelphia Flyers         NHL    42    9   18   27   14

Claude Giroux put up decent numbers as rookie; now let’s adjust those numbers for 82 games played.

The 82 game adjust numbers

Goals: 17.57
Assists: 35.14
Points:  52.71

Those numbers, rounded off, come to 18 goals, 35 assists and 53 points, and that total, should look creepishly similar to a current Flyers player who’s a couple years older than Matt Read; his name is Ville Leino. Since Read’s production in the AHL had a slightly skewed goal-assist ratio compared to Giroux I am going to assume it’s accounted in the fact that the 2010-11 Phantoms had no talent for Read to work with compared to Giroux’s 08-09 Phantoms who were not completely terrible. Because of this, I would like to think that Matt Read has the potential to produce like Claude Giroux or James van Riemsdyk did as a rookie, but without the hype of becoming a top superstar.

Conclusion: If Matt Read progresses as his numbers indicate, at 900K he’s the perfect replacement for Ville Leino. If you can get 50 points from Read at 900K or 55 points from Leino at 2.5M against the Cap, the 5 points are worth the 1.6M that Matt Read would save because that could be used to acquire a goalie who would save goals on the other end.

Conversely, if Matt Read goes bust like Nodl did as rookie, I highly doubt anyone would claim him on waivers on the way down, which would free up the Flyers to make another move, such as importing a European player or making a trade.

The Flyers NEED Matt Read to be closer to Leino than Nodl however, because, the Flyers lack draft picks to restock the system. I’ve run the numbers, now the question is: who is Matt Read? Ville Leino or Andreas Nodl.

Flyers Forwards: What's Going to Happen Next

As I did a few days ago with the goalies, here we go with the forwards. I only did the 14 guys who played over 50 games this season. Anyone who's waiver exempt and spent more time with the Phantoms was not included.

Guaranteed to be back next year:

Mike Richards: he's the captain, a favorite of GM Paul Holmgren and coach Peter Laviolette. No one INSIDE the organization has ever questioned his leadership and the fact that he has another 10 years onn his contract helps too.

Jeff Carter: he's an alternate captain and the same as Richards. Also, it would be incredibly disrespectful to trade someone so soon after inking an 11 year extension with them.

Danny Briere: he's making 6.5M against the cap for 3 more years and has an NMC. Even if the Flyers wanted to, there's no way to move him.

James van Riemsdyk: Making 1.654 against the cap, the Flyers shopped him in November 2010, the asking price then was 2 firsts and 2 seconds and a prospect. At this point, the Flyers might want 4 firsts for him since his 2012 RFA offer sheet would probably be in that range.

Claude Giroux: He was a huge star for the Flyers all year. Also averaged an assist per game in the playoffs. He's back.

75% Chance of returning:

Scott Hartnell: making 4.25 against the cap. He's a fan favorite and a "Philadelphia Type" player. That being said, the Flyers apparently tried to trade him to Edmonton a couple years back for Sheldon Souray but Souray refused to waive his NTC. He might get moved, but I doubt it.

Blair Betts: Blair's major strength, winning PK faceoffs disappeared at the end of this season, right after he broke a finger, because of his 700K cap hit, he is moveable to a team looking for a PK guy, (eyeing you Vancouver, more on this later)

Jody Shelley: He's making 1.1 against the cap, which for an enforcer, is rather steep. He also had a broken orbital bone causing him to miss a lot of time towards the end of the season, and it rendered him unavailable for the first round of the playoffs as well. 

Darroll Powe: He's an RFA looking for a raise from his 725K salary to something close to 950K. Barring major cap issues; I can't see him going anywhere.

Andreas Nodl: Same as Powe, but I think Nodl gets moved BEFORE Powe does as Matt Read is under contract for next year at 900K and he's a similar player to Nodl.

50% Chance of returning

Kris Versteeg: It's not his fault by any stretch the team struggled. He was hurt and all. That being said, 20 goal 20 assist guys who can play all 3 forward positions and PP/PK situations don't grow on trees. His cap hit is reasonable and he's an RFA in 2012. This could fetch something decent in a trade, especially if the Flyers need to create cap room.

Dan Carcillo: An RFA, who, no matter what, is one of many of his kind. Tom Sestito plays the same type of game and should be 250K cheaper. Because of this, I would think Carbomb's the odd man out.

Ville Leino: He's a UFA who disappeared during the playoffs. He's 28, and probably won't be better than the 19G 34A he had this season. He's not an elite offensive talent, and not a top line talent by any stretch. Because of that, he can walk and I personally, will not miss him.

Will Not Return

Nikolay Zherdev: his known attitude problems and clashing with Laviolette means Z is going to be either back in Russia, or on another NHL team.

I mentioned Betts earlier and I thought I toss in a trade idea.

Vancouver and Philadelphia both have major cap issues as well as mutual needs so I came up with this trade to solve both teams problems.

To PHL: Cory Schneider (G)

To VAN: Matt Carle (D), Blair Betts (C), Johan Backlund (G) 1st in 2012, 6th in 2011

Why this works: The Canucks probably won't be able to afford retaining the services of Christian Ehrhoff in the off-season so they'll need a new D-man to take his spot. Carle does this at about 60% of the cost of Ehrhoff which save Van about $2.1M in cap space. Johan Backlund is on a 1-way 800K contract, he would take over as Luongo's backup. Blair Betts would be the PK center that Manny Malholtra was since Manny has the eye problems. The picks make up for the fact that Cory Schneider is a legit NHL starter in the making.

Sound good?

The Curious Case of the Flyers Leadership Problem (Another Editorial)

(Editor's Note: Matt originally wrote this piece for another site that he writes for, it was so popular there and sparked a lot of positive discussion that we thought it best to double post it here for the DGS regulars. If you want to read the article at its original location click here)


A lot of people have recently began to loudly and vocally question whether or not Mike Richards should be wearing the "C" in Philadelphia. These people are mostly angry Flyers fans who seem to think that Richards is the sole holder of the blame of the Flyers struggles over the last 20 games. But is Mike Richards really the problem? I say not exactly.

First off, let's look at what wearing the "C" on your sweater actually means from a league perspective. The "C" is used to define who the captain of the team is. This means that the player with the "C" has the responsibility of delegating with the referees over disputed calls, communicating messages from the coach to the referees or scorers bench or timekeeper or penalty box staff. This is it, there's no provision that the "C" has to be 'pleasant' to the media. There's no provision that the "C" has to be excessively vocal or score 80 points a season. There's NO provision that a "C" has to like the city's baseball team. Richards handles his assigned duties well, and he's respected in the lockerroom by his teammates, coaches and GM.

So, what is the problem then? Well, I personally began to think, what if there are too many cooks in the Flyers kitchen. Now, I already mentioned Richards, but let's look at some of the other people in and around the Flyers.

Peter Laviolette is a very hands on, outspoken, active coach who doesn't mix words and tends to keep secrets from the media, and probably his players too, even though I cannot prove that.

Chris Pronger is a vocal, loud leader who isn't afraid to call teammates out while wearing the "A" for alternate captain.

Kimmo Timonen has recently taking to calling for hustle and urgency from his teammates in his straight to the point style.

Sean O'Donnell is a 39 year old veteran who's won a cup, when Pronger is being sarcastic to the media, SOD is usually the guy giving detailed answers to the media because of Richards media shortcomings and Pronger's massive use of sarcasm and snark.

Danny Briere is a former Captain of the Buffalo Sabres. His scoring touch and willingness to handle the French speaking media has been helpful to the team as he's the most experienced Francophone on the team. Also, his skill in the playoffs, even being called Mr Playoffs makes people look to him as a person who should be emulated during crunch time.

Jody Shelley's another player who, like OD, has a respected veteran voice in the lockerroom. This voice is why Lavi refused to scratch him during the middle of the season.

During the preseason, the following players wore "A"s: Braydon Coburn, Claude Giroux, Blair Betts, Darroll Powe and Scott Hartnell.

That's 10 players with leadership experience when there's 20 players on the ice. That's 50% of the team. Each person has their own unique style and while they seem to work together, and for sure intend to work together, are they somehow actually causing detriment to the team. Are they actually corrupting young and new players like Bartulis, Meszaros, Versteeg, Zherdev, Carcillo and the rest of that other half of the team.

To me the phrase "Too many cooks in the kitchen ruins the soup" comes to mind here. All of these guys together, no matter how hard they try, are not going to be 100% unified on every issue. Not only that, but the more "leaders" and "alpha personalities" in one room, the more likely that small issues will actually be big issues if the natural egos of leaders start rubbing together. There's something to be said about having a small corps of leaders, and maybe the Flyers recent struggles have lasted so long because the team's leadership had too many different ideas on how to stop it. It's a slippery slope, and quite honestly, none of us are in that lockerroom all the time to really know what's going on, but this playoff run will truly test this group. If they can get it together, this team has the talent to go far, if not, maybe, the solution is trading these "leaders" for solid players with more passive personalities so the committed long term leaders like Richards and Carter who will wear the orange and black for another decade, can really lead this team.

Maybe that's the answer, or maybe I'm just crazy.

Mid Season Awards: Who's gonna win what

We're now at the halfway point of the season which means we should probably hand out some sort of midseason awards. Thankfully, we're prepared to do just that.



Most Handsome Man with a Girl's Name: Obviously it's Jody Shelley

Oh ladies, you can't say 'no' tho this lovely smile

Most likely to be a Finnish Rockstar in the offseason: Kimmo Timonen

Yeah, Kimmo's cooler than you, no biggie

Most Likely to Cause an Orgasm with a deke: Claude Giroux

It's the Grilled Cheese, I swear!

Best Use of Sad Puppy Dog Eyes: Michael Leighton

Well, it's time we "waive" goodbye and start anew

The Smile of the Year Award: Draw between Daniel Carcillo and Darroll Powe

It's not like I have teeth to show...

I like Toques, and being wanted to creeping

The Most "Hip" Award: Matt Walker

(Editor's Note: Apparently no pictures of Walker in a Flyers uniform actually exist)


The Big Bird Award for the Biggest Nose: Braydon Coburn

If only I could afford a nose job, alas, I'm not Dan Ellis.

The Most Likely to do ANYTHING for a teammate Award: JvR gets head...from Mike Richards

Mike, uhh, that felt really good...

The Biggest Loser Award: Scott Hartnell.

No, there isn't gonna be a joke about losing his wife to Jeff Carter to here.

Above: Before, Below, After

See, no hair make Hartnell angry

The I Better Get An Award Or Else Award: Chris Pronger

This face scares me, it says "Beware
of Elbow" Chris Pronger is god.

What The Flyers Want For Christmas

Hey, it's getting close to Christmas and you know what that means. It's that time where people start making their lists of what they want. Needless to say the DGS SuperSpies were able to get a list of what some of the Flyers want for Christmas. In hopes that the gifts are received by the team, we've posted the list here for you to see.


Chris Pronger: I'm kinda hoping he's asking for me, but more realistically it's probably targets for his elbows to hit.

Peter Laviollette: A working power play unit.

Ville Leino: A new contract.

Claude Giroux: More grilled cheese sandwiches

Daniel Carcillo: That Nikolay Zherdev keeps being Nikolay Zherdev.

Sergei Bobrovsky: Getting a shutout, hopefully in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals

Brian Boucher: Employment, anywhere, just not in Russia

Eric Wellwood: To NOT become Kyle Wellwood

Nikolay Zherdev: Judging by his recent performances, I'd say he would like to learn how to pass

Mike Richards: PK Subban's head on a platter

Jeff Carter: Lisa Hartnell...wait no..sorry...Jeff wouldn't be asking for something he has...Jeff Carter wants the ability to not go high and wide

Scott Hartnell: Lisa Hartnell

Paul Holmgren: The ability to do math.

Darroll Powe: More time hanging out with guys like Max Lapierre.

Flyers Nicknames: The First of my "Request" posts

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I an rather engaging of anyone who wants to talk. Hell, I'm on AIM at the screen name Down Goes Spezza for any one who wants to chat hockey (or criminal psychology) with me.

Late 90s Flyers from Alicia_44

Anyway since the season is starting soon, I have complied a list of nicknames of the Flyers nicknames in order to help you understand who I'm talking about during the season.

• Chris Pronger: God
  
  
• Kimmo Timonen: The Timonator
  
  
• Andrej Meszaros: Big Mesz, WHAT IN THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING HOLMGREN?
  
  
• Oskars Bartulis: Barty, Lil Latvian, the Ogre
  
  
• Michael Leighton: Leights, GODDAMMIT STOP SUCKING ALREADY!
  
  
• Brian Boucher: Bouch, oh god PLEASE NO ANYTHING BUT HIM AGAIN!
  
  
• Jeff Carter: Carts, Adulterer
  
  
• Scott Hartnell: Caveman, Carrot-top, Harts, 2 minute minor for...
  
  
• Nik Zherdev: whoopps he's gone...just disappeared again
  
  
• Darroll Powe: honestly, with a last name that awesome, he doesn't need a nickname
  
  
• Dan Carcillo: Trade Bait (guaranteed to attract a Sutter or Sather)
  
  
• Blair Betts: LTIR with Right Shoulder Injury, also Rick Tocchet's favorite player (Right DTV?)
  
  
• Bill Guerin: Billy G, Crosby's Ex
  
  
• Sergei Bobrovsky: Bob, oh my (a real) goalie!
  
  
• Claude Giroux: G, the Deke-master
  
  
• Braydon Coburn: Big C, Burner, BURN HIM!

This Left Feels Right: Wings that is

Today, we start looking at the Flyers wings. Like my pieces on goaltending, defense, and centers, we're gonna talk about the wings.


Dan Carcillo: Should be an effective player during the 4 minutes of time he gets to show his talents when not in the penalty box or serving a suspension. Should be traded at the deadline with the worst defensemen we have to the Maple Leafs for Luke Schenn, ala Downie/Eminger for Matt Carle.

Riley Cote: Unlike Brett Favre, I expect Riley to stay retired.

Claude Giroux: The little guy is gonna step up his game, finally bringing his playmaking skills to the regular season as well as the playoffs. If not, well, then he won't get a pick RFA payday at the end of the year.

Scott Hartnell: Hopefully will speed up due to the lack of resistance of the hair that he finally cut.

Ian Laperriere: Should find a clever way to break his face during the season even though he will be wearing a shield.

Ville Leino: If he's the 2nd coming of Gagne, then I will stop hating the Gagne trade, and replace it with great disdain.

Darroll Powe: Will hopefully be the new Arron Asham type player, in that he can score 10-12 goals, and hopefully be effective as a role player. Will kill penalties with a Betts-like effectiveness, no jokes here.

Jody Shelley: AHL Bus please, but will probably be a more expensive Cote. Hopefully he scores at the same pace with the Flyers, that he scored against the Flyers last year...then I won't totally hate him.*

Nik Zherdev: Back to Russia! Give me Simon!

James van Riemsdyk: Trade bait please? I'd deal him and Meszaros for Kaberle, too bad JFJ is no longer the Leafs GM.




*- Offer null and void if the guy gives me awesome fights.

Don't Trade Simon, Trade Carter instead

I think the title's pretty simple. Today I'm gonna make the case that the Flyers should trade C Jeff Carter over LW Simon Gagne.

Cap Hit
Gagne: 5.25
Carter: 5.0

Essentially even

Carter's younger, yes, and an RFA next year who's gonna cost 5.5-6.5 to keep. Gagne's a UFA but his cap hit should drop to the 3.3-3.7 range, this leaves the Flyers with $2-3 million to make a move.


Carter will bring back more than Gagne in a trade, Carter can bring in a true #1 goalie. You know, the thing that the Flyers haven't had since Ron Hextall.

The Flyers are stacked at center, losing Carter isn't all bad. We would still have Richards, Briere, Giroux, Powe, Betts...and there's talk of moving JvR to center as well.



Trades the Flyers should make, you know, if I were the GM:


Calgary's Sutter seems like a moron, so let's try this out

Meszaros and Zherdev $6 million against the cap to Calgary for Curtis Glencross and Cory Sarich (4.8 combined cap hits)

then again, if Iginla wants out of town... Big Mesz and Zherdev for Iggy (Sutter WOULD do that deal)




Ok, now, into the almost real world.


Jeff Carter and Brian Boucher to Los Angeles for Jon Bernier, Jarret Stoll

It could be a stretch, but Carter long term would produce far more than Stoll and Bernier is stuck behind Jon Quick, Boucher could fill the AHL starter post, and fill in for short bursts in the NHL should Quick or Erik Ersberg get hurt. Now the Flyers would only save 1.4 in regards to the cap here, but that should be fine. I wouldn't mind losing Carcillo and his stupid penalties, but keep Powe.

Remember Carter's good at scoring, with his teammates wives...(don't tell other GMs that last part.)

If Hartnell didn't have that damn NTC, we could trade him to Edmonton, yes, I hate him THAT MUCH.


But alas, in words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want" and that means I'll be soon mourning the loss of Simon Gagne

Why Losing Game 1 is NOT the end of the world

Real simple idea behind this post. It's some reasons why losing game 1 was not the end of the world for the Flyers. I don't intend to have any wit or sarcasm in this post, but hey, things happen and maybe something funny will pop up.

1. After being out of it for 8 days the Flyers showed a lot of rust early on, that should come off as the series goes on.

2. The Flyers proved that Rask is beatable. Rask isn't as inhuman as some make him out to be, in related news, the guy who drafted this guy is a genius. (whoops, I meant JFJ is a moron for trading him.)

3. Dan Carcillo can stay in control of himself and play solidly.

4. The Powe/Betts/Nodl line has a lot of potential as checkers.





Things that the Flyers need to win:

1. Brian Boucher needs to not dip into one of his cold streaks.

2. The Flyers need to win faceoffs

3. The Flyers need to keep traffic in front of Rask

4. While I don't wish injuries on anyone, the Flyers need to take advantage of the lack of Sobotka, and Sturm and get to Boston in Game 2.

5. Richards/Pronger need to rally the troops and keep the team unified.

6. Danny Briere needs to be more responsible in the defensive zone, I'm not asking for Selke award winning stuff, but he needs to be in the right place at the right time.

Uh-oh

Just got word from the Flyers, no Gagne, no Carter tomorrow night.

This spells trouble for the Flyers, look for Leino and one of the call-ups to be in the line up.

My picks for line combos:

Carcillo-Richards-Briere
Hartnell-Giroux-JVR
Leino-Powe-Asham
Laperriere-Betts-[Nodl/Kalinski/Laliberte]

the D will remain the same, and Boucher will be in net again.


Also: since both Gagne and Carter play the PP and PK, this is how those units should look

PP1

Up Front: Carcillo-Richards-Giroux
Blue-Line: Pronger-Timonen

PP2
Up Front: Hartnell-Briere-JVR
Blue-Line: Carle-Coburn [though expect Pronger to play the whole 2 minutes]

PK1
Up Front: Betts/Lappy
D-men: Pronger/Carle

PK2
Up Front: Richards/Hartnell
D-Men: Timonen/Coburn



My opinion here is that Homer's playing this one safe, losing in NJ isn't that important with Game 6 back in Philly.

Keep rocking the Orange


EDIT:
Gagne's out 3 weeks, Carter's out 6, this is NOT good. Hopefully the rest of the team can pick it up though. Flyers have depth, and that helps.