Curse of the Presidents' Trophy

Last night's matchup between the Flyers and the Capitals was widely considered a preview of a possible meeting of the teams in the first round of the playoffs.  

The Flyers put to rest any notion that they could not go toe-to-toe with the Presidents' Trophy winners, beating the Caps in a shootout despite some questionable - to put it kindly - officiating.  

Yes, the Orange and Black finally won a shootout in South Philly, breaking a curse that has lingered for many seasons.  Steve Mason's glove save was one for the books.  

But that got me thinking about the Curse of the Presidents' Trophy. The award goes to the team with the best regular season record in the NHL and guarantees home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.  

However, only 8 of the 27 Presidents' Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup, with several of the most recent winners being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. 

A curse?  The jury's still out.  Yet the Caps certainly got a taste of what might be waiting for them in a few short weeks.  Having the best regular season is nice but it's no Stanley Cup.  

Here's hoping that the Presidents' Trophy becomes for the Caps what it has for so many other teams - a consolation prize.  

Razor

I was as surprised as anyone to see that the Flyers signed Ray Emery to a tryout contract yesterday.  I guess it makes sense to have a third goalie as insurance as the team heads down the stretch to the playoffs.

However, Emery was often criticized for his limited lateral movement, a residual effect of hip surgery to stave off avascular necrosis.  His return to hockey was pretty amazing given his bleak prognosis; however, opposing teams capitalized on his known weakness in order to score.  

In true Philadelphia fashion, he was once at the center of a goalie controversy with Steve Mason in 2014, when Emery went undefeated in regulation - including a win against the hated Penguins - while Mase went winless.  The Flyers missed the playoffs, though, and Michal Neuvirth replaced Emery as Mase's backup in 2015.

Emery, nickname "Razor," is known for his aggressive play, commitment to hockey, and mentoring younger players.  Yet he is also infamous for mugging the Caps' goalie Braden Holtby back in 2013 when the Caps were killing the Flyers 7-0 on home ice, following a Joel Ward hat trick.  

I was at that game.  Honestly, I love a good hockey fight as much as anyone, but that was not a good hockey fight.  As Emery charged down the ice, Holtby signaled that he did not want to fight and Razor jumped him anyway.  I truly felt as though I was witnessing assault and battery.  If that fight had taken place anywhere but a professional hockey rink Razor would have been brought up on criminal charges.  Emery didn't receive any supplemental discipline following the fight, which seems unfathomable today, given the punishment meted out by NHL Player Discipline on a regular basis.  

No matter, that game is ancient history now, but I couldn't help but reflect on it with the Caps back in town and Emery embarking on his third run with the Flyers.  

Whether or not we see Razor between the pipes is anyone's guess, but I doubt we'll see him in another goalie fight anytime soon.  

Ghosting

To most, "ghosting" refers to leaving a party without saying goodbye or ending a relationship by simply disappearing.  

But that was before Shayne Gostisbehere, the beloved "Ghost," came on the scene with the Flyers.  It's high time to change the definition.

For Flyers fans, ghosting means a player who: 

sets a record point streak by an NHL rookie defenseman
scores only tying or game winning goals
displays true talent by reading and making plays in a thrilling fashion
elevates and energizes the game of his teammates. 

Usage:  "Did you see that play at the blue line?  He's ghosting again."

By all accounts, the Flyers' game winning overtime goal last night never should have happened.  With 13 seconds left before a death sentence shootout, Ghost broke up a potential 2-on-1 rush by the Jets.  With a move that can only be described as magical, he connected with Giroux, who buried the puck.

It was one of the best hockey plays I've ever seen.  I can't remember the last time the Flyers had a player whose presence on the ice inspired so much confidence, or brought such excitement and joy to the game.

Ghost is something special.  The book isn't yet closed on this season, but no matter what happens, he's surely the star of the story.  






Image via phillyphaithful.com 

Haikus #PHIvsARI

Flyers left two in
the desert.  Playoffs? In their
hands, only time tells.

Mason's mask askew,
Puck hits twine.  A review and
a challenge, goal stands.

Giroux's head hits boards
Out cold. Simmer jumps, team fights
Forty seconds... loss.

Fans are groggy from
late night hockey, they wake up
Hope Flyers do too.

A Breath of Fresh Air

If you were just catching up on the news from the Flyers' West Coast tour this morning, you might think that the team was in a terrible accident, based on the headlines:

Slow Starts Killing Flyers

Flyers Getting Killed By Penalty Kill

Flyers Swallowed By Sharks 

Rest assured, the guys are fine, but the point is well taken.  This team needs new life, and fast.

I didn't expect such a dismal showing from the Orange and Black following their thrilling win over the Blues before Christmas.  That game surely felt like a turning point at the time.  But now, after one step forward, the team has taken a giant step back, allowing the Canes to leapfrog over them in the standings.

Our undisciplined play allowed the Ducks to win by more than a goal in nearly a month.  Of course we can complain about the inept officiating in the Sharks game (not to mention, how Brent Burns got away without any supplemental discipline after his hit on Vandevelde boggles the mind) but that still doesn't excuse the total meltdown in the third period.  And the final score from Los Angeles doesn't accurately reflect what transpired on the ice - uninspired play through two periods and the inability (due to lack of confidence?) or unwillingness to take shots on goal.  

I don't envy the beat writers at this point.  There are only so many ways to say that the Flyers don't show up in the first period, fall behind early, fail to play for a full 60 minutes, take bad penalties, allow the other team to capitalize after terrible turnovers, don't take enough shots... and on and on.

You get the idea.  

We may have started a new year but the Flyers certainly look like the same old team.  Lack of focus after a long layoff has plagued them for years.  

Call me delusional, but I believe that the Flyers have enough talent to beat any team but they need to be dialed in, mentally.  Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn admitted that they simply were not focused on this road trip.

How to achieve focus and find and maintain mental acuity are tougher questions.  Where does it start?  Is it on Dave Hakstol to get in the players' heads?  A sports psychologist?  The captain?

I offer the following for your consideration.  Sometimes it pays to look to the past and apply its lessons to the future.  Perhaps the Flyers would do well to return to the five-man system implemented by Fred Shero back in the team's glory days.  I recently revisited, among other things, Stu Hackel's article on Shero from 2013, and while it's worth a read in its entirety, this, in particular, stood out to me:

What [Shero] did was establish rules for his team to follow in all sorts of situations and formulate daily practice drills for his players to learn them, to the point where they became automatic in their execution.  Among his famous sayings, written on the blackboard in the Flyers dressing room, was, "Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary thing extraordinarily well."

Today, that probably means that Giroux wouldn't be devoting much time in practice to the singular effort of scoring a goal off of the face-off.

Time for some new life, a new approach, and hopefully a renewed chance for the Flyers in 2016.

An Open Letter to the Isles Fan Sitting in Front of me Last Night

Dear Isles Fan,

You fooled me at first.  When you asked whether you were in the right row, I helpfully directed you to your seat since I've had season tickets in the section for years.

When you jumped up to cheer after Nielsen beat Mase just 55 seconds into the game, I cringed.

Then.  THEN.  You turned around and pointed at me.  You yelled YEAH BABY! in my face.

Are you kidding me?

Look, I get it.  I'm sure you get pushed around a lot in real life. You were pretty short.  You didn't even have the guts to wear any Isles gear to the game.

Don't do that again, I said.

Ok, baby, you said.

I hate you, I thought.

(I might have whispered it.)

Your presence made me cheer louder while the Flyers peppered Halak.  PEB's shorty was even more sweet because you had to see it in person.

You knew your team was getting outplayed.  So explain to me why, after my mom (yeah, my MOM) booed a particularly rough open ice hit on a Flyer you decided to turn around and yell at her:

THAT'S HOCKEY BABY SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET HIT!

Like, you just yelled at a stranger's mom at a hockey game. Over nothing.  Feel good?  Whatever you need to do to validate your existence, I guess.

At least you shut up after I shouted, Listen, DUDE, I don't need YOU to tell ME about hockey.  To which the entire section cheered, YOU GO GIRL.  AMEN.

(Your witty retort was to hide in your seat.)

We were all sick of you.

I'm sorry you got to see the Isles win in OT.  If you come back to Philly, please keep your mouth shut next time.

Better yet, just stay in Brooklyn.

Flyerdelphia Fan Files #2 - Winning Cures All

I had the thankless task of putting together the first Fan Files column about a month ago, when there was nothing good to say about the Flyers.  All I could do was preach optimism and keep my fingers crossed.

Much has changed since then, with the team on a three game winning streak and finally showing signs of life.

What, exactly, accounts for the difference?  Wayne Simmonds indicated that the guys are sticking up for one another.  The beats have written endlessly about the energy Shayne Gostisbehere brings to the ice.  Or maybe Dave Hakstol is finding his stride.

From a fan’s perspective, though, the Flyers, even when winning, can be maddening.  Currently, they are worst in the league in goal scoring and team shooting percentage, but 13^th in the penalty kill having killed off 24 straight penalties before allowing a game-tying power play goal in the final minute of regulation on Friday.   

Goaltending is the least of our problems for once.  Four of ten wins were shutouts but the Flyers are posting a dismal -18 goal differential.

The numbers tell one tale but the story is constantly changing.  As long as the Flyers keep putting up wins statistics will cease being the story. 

And that’s what keeps fans interested – the knowledge that fortunes in hockey turn on a dime.

The Flyers are on the right track.  Here’s hoping they keep grinding and give us all a reason to prove those who predicted another season of missing the playoffs wrong.