The Official Thread of the Philadelphia Flyers (Established 2005)

[Sully]

Ok, I figured we have a decent number of Flyers fans here at OS, so I'd start our own thread to discuss the team. It's the 2nd intermission of our game with the Pens and I just wanted to post some random thoughts.

- Forsberg and Gags are clicking right now. It's amazing how quickly they've developed such great chemistry. Let's hope it continues.

- Mike Richards has been solid so far in this young season, but Jeff Carter looks lost out there. Tonight, through 2 periods, he's logged 4 minutes and is a -2. Ouch.

- I know we're only 4 games in, but our goaltending situation is unsettled right now. The job appears to be wide open, as both Nitty and Esche have been inconsistent between the pipes.

- I can't wait until this team finally gels, but I don't expect it for at least another month. They'll be fun to watch in the 2nd half of the season.

5-3 Flyers leading the Pens, after two. Let's hold on, and pick up our 2nd win of the season.

[TheLetterZ]

That might've been the softest goal in the history of the NHL.

[JJLinn]

Forsberg and Gagne are beating everyone, it's amazing and I f-ing love it. I was expecting a little more from Carter so far, he's definitely been a disappointment. Nitty looked realllly good up until the late 2nd and 3rd period, then he (and the rest of the team) just fell off. Oh well, we got a win thanks to Rathje's wrister with 1 minute and change left in OT. 2-2!

[TheLetterZ]

Hitchcock's post-game press conference was hilarious.

Reporter: Nittymaki didn't look ready on that fifth goal.
Hitchcock: No ****.

[Skerik]

Nobody in my entire section tonight (106) saw that 5th Penguins goal go in. Because we were all doing exactly what Nitty was doing - watching the replay of Forsberg's ridiculous drag-through-the-legs move at the opposite blue line to set up a scoring chance. I still can't believe our goalie wasn't paying attention on a faceoff late in a one-goal game. That's just like, absurd.

But hey, welcome to the new NHL where no lead is safe. The Flyers clearly haven't figured out how to play with a lead under the new rules, but hopefully they'll have that sorted out sooner than later. It's also a little disturbing that we once again don't have a solid #1 goaltender, and that no lines other than the Forsberg-Gagne-Knuble show are generating any offense.

Above all though, we've got to get the power play going. When you've got a 5-on-3 PP and you have TWO chances when the opposing center breaks his stick on a defensive zone draw and you can't score, you know your PP is having issues. We also still look timid when it comes to clearing out in front of the net, especially on the penalty kill. The Pens 2nd and 3rd goals were just products of generating traffic in front and throwing the puck on the net.

As for Jeff Carter, he looks a little Chris Gratton-esque right now in that he's always a step behind the play. He did have one or two good scoring chances tonight, so maybe he'll get a little confidence once that first one goes in.

Also, can anyone figure out why we didn't just buy out Brashear before the season? Anyone? He's useless out there, but Hitch continues to give him a ton of ice time for some reason.

I guess Esche gets another chance to have a non-lousy game against the Isles tomorrow night....

[Matteh]

That Caron save was RIDICULOUS. Easily the best of the season so far.

[Sully]

[JJLinn]

Well....umm...that was quick. 4-1 Flyers over Islanders with 11:45 left in the 2nd.

[Skerik]

Hooray. In tonight's 5-1 win over the Isles we finally:

A) held onto a lead,
B) killed penalties well, and
C) got scoring from people other than Forsberg and Gags.

In other news, Carter still looks lost, Richards still looks excellent, and I'll give a shout out to Pitkanen for his play so far this year. He's really doing a nice job of rushing the puck and generating some offense through the neutral zone.

[JJLinn]

I thought Carter looked a little better, but you're right, he still looks lost. Also great to see Esche only giving up a goal. Nice to see we have to capable goalies in him and Nitty, but there's still room for both to improve.