Coots will be a 3 rd 4th liner until he’s ltir for the rest of his career

He had a good run nothing against him

Tippett is streaky, he was a lot more noticeable last night. I think he scores soon. I would be surprised if Ersson was not in goal against SEA. Poehling has not been good. On the broadcast in the 3rd, Poehling was ,4-16 on faceoffs Just unacceptable.
- Trox88

yea, he adds little else right now, so faceoffs need to be a strength of his

Honestly, I think he stays with the team this year. The Flyers are SO bad at center they need all the help they can get at this point. I would have liked to see Cates in the game last night instead of Poehling. It would not have helped at the dot but I think Cates is a better defender.
- jd250

IMO, this would be a monumental mistake. Jett needs to go back and work on his offensive game. He has all the tools but I rather him play a ton of minuets and work on his development. He has been fine in the games he has played but he is not banging down the door that would force them to keep him up.

I want what is right for the kid in the future - not what is right for Torts trying to win games in a meaningless year. The kid still needs development.

not good enough to replace the 11:45 that EJ offers
- hello it's me 2050

That is a tough 11:45 to replace.

Good, they both have been bad pretty. Drysdale is such a pure skater but man he is a disaster defensively.
- Flyfly

Less offensive Ghost?

You are going to have defensive coverage break-downs when you play Edmonton, with McDavid and Draisaitl out there together, you just have to accept it. The key IMO to beating them is puck possession, and the Flyers were just destroyed in that department last night because no Flyer it seemed could win a faceoff when they needed to.
- jd250

Stating that a simple backdoor coverage and responsibility is something that you just have to expect because of the opponent, is unintelligent. Stating that puck watching and drifting out of position is something that has to be accepted, is unintelligent.

IMO, this would be a monumental mistake. Jett needs to go back and work on his offensive game. He has all the tools but I rather him play a ton of minuets and work on his development. He has been fine in the games he has played but he is not banging down the door that would force them to keep him up.

I want what is right for the kid in the future - not what is right for Torts trying to win games in a meaningless year. The kid still needs development.
- Flyfly

You are 100% correct in my opinion.

Less offensive Ghost?
- mickel25

I don't think Drysdale has been bad. On Michkov's 2nd goal, he was extremely good keeping the puck in the zone at the blueline. I just want to see Drysdale play at least 60 games and not be stuck with Johnson as a partner (Johnson needs to stay in the pressbox). I believe we are seeing the Torts hazing of earning playing time, just like York at the start of last season.
Hopefully there will be progression. Last night, the inability to get the puck out of the defensive zone was a team wide problem last night.

TK was the only Flyer back but he over skated the rebound following McDavid behind the net instead of remaining in front to clear the rebound. Had he done so, the Flyers have MM and TS all alone going the other way. Instead, Leon gathers the rebound point blank and buries it. Game over.

That said, good to get a point in that game and it was an exciting game that kept me up. Glad this Seattle game is the last of the 10:00 games for a while.
- Letterkenney

Nobody played that sequence well.

Ersson deserved a bit of help there.

Frost was 49.5 percent on faceoffs last year. So "terrible" is a major exaggeration. Average on draws is the accurate description.
- bmeltzer

Ok, maybe terrible is the wrong word. I think average is a bit lenient. The Flyers are a below average team in faceoffs in general. The above comments were not meant to be a slight against Frost specifically. Right now the Flyers are 28th in the league at 45% FOW. Last season they were slightly better at 19th in the league, but still under 50%. You don't have to be the top team in the league, last year Pittsburgh was 1st and the Devils were 3rd, but to contend a team needs to be about 50% FOW.

Less offensive Ghost?
- mickel25

Less everything. He's like the non-alcoholic version of Ryan Parent.

Stating that a simple backdoor coverage and responsibility is something that you just have to expect because of the opponent, is unintelligent. Stating that puck watching and drifting out of position is something that has to be accepted, is unintelligent.
- MJL

Thinking that defending McDavid and Draisaitl together is nothing more than a simple backdoor coverage is very unintelligent. They play at such a high speed that to an uninformed eye like yours it may look like the Flyers were puck watching, but in reality they were just overwhelmed. Its going to happen when you play them a few times a game, you just have to hope it doesn't happen too often or you hope your goalie can bail you out, and Ersson did on several occasions.

Less everything. He's like the non-alcoholic version of Ryan Parent.
- Tomahawk

That description definitely paints a picture.

Ok, maybe terrible is the wrong word. I think average is a bit lenient. The Flyers are a below average team in faceoffs in general. The above comments were not meant to be a slight against Frost specifically. Right now the Flyers are 28th in the league at 45% FOW. Last season they were slightly better at 19th in the league, but still under 50%. You don't have to be the top team in the league, last year Pittsburgh was 1st and the Devils were 3rd, but to contend a team needs to be about 50% FOW.
- jd250

Perhaps they just do not have good centers?

IMO, this would be a monumental mistake. Jett needs to go back and work on his offensive game. He has all the tools but I rather him play a ton of minuets and work on his development. He has been fine in the games he has played but he is not banging down the door that would force them to keep him up.

I want what is right for the kid in the future - not what is right for Torts trying to win games in a meaningless year. The kid still needs development.
- Flyfly

As the head coach, Tort's job is to win games and Torts will continue to play Luchanko as long as Torts feels gives his team the best chance to win. Its up to Briere to take the inputs from Torts, weigh other factors, and decide what is best for Luchanko's development. All I am saying is there is a chance Breire decides that Luchanko playing good minutes in all situations in the NHL is better for his development than going back to a bad Guelph team. The Flyers needs at center will be one of those factors unfortunately.

Drysdale just needs seeler back not a washed Erik Johnson

Ok, maybe terrible is the wrong word. I think average is a bit lenient. The Flyers are a below average team in faceoffs in general. The above comments were not meant to be a slight against Frost specifically. Right now the Flyers are 28th in the league at 45% FOW. Last season they were slightly better at 19th in the league, but still under 50%. You don't have to be the top team in the league, last year Pittsburgh was 1st and the Devils were 3rd, but to contend a team needs to be about 50% FOW.
- jd250

Two seasons ago, Frost was at 45.8 percent. Certainly not good BUT he was actually over 50 percent in the second half of the season. Last year, a tad under 50 percent for the season.

It really depends on which side the FO is on and who he matched up against. FO opponents like Jordan Staal or Charlie Coyle with a leverage and strength advantage still give him trouble.

Perhaps they just do not have good centers?
- mickel25

In the context of FOW% the Flyers do not have good centers other than Couts. Hopefuly Luchanko can development into a good faceoff center. The Flyers have below average centers in general but I think Frost is good in other areas like his speed, vision, skill, and he has improved his 200 foot play.

Two seasons ago, Frost was at 45.8 percent. Certainly not good BUT he was actually over 50 percent in the second half of the season. Last year, a tad under 50 percent for the season.

It really depends on which side the FO is on and who he matched up against. FO opponents like Jordan Staal or Charlie Coyle with a leverage and strength advantage still give him trouble.
- bmeltzer

I noticed this year Frost has been trying to go really low in the dot perhaps to improve his leverage? Is this something he is trying or was he doing this last year and I didn't notice it?

Thinking that defending McDavid and Draisaitl together is nothing more than a simple backdoor coverage is very unintelligent. They play at such a high speed that to an uninformed eye like yours it may look like the Flyers were puck watching, but in reality they were just overwhelmed. Its going to happen when you play them a few times a game, you just have to hope it doesn't happen too often or you hope your goalie can bail you out, and Ersson did on several occasions.
- jd250

Look at the Edmonton game tying goal in the 3rd period. A fundamental defensive breakdown by Brink LOL . Last night you tried to blame Sanheim for giving up the puck on the OT game winner. Your posts are absurd.

Keep poopting on drysdale when quitter has no points

We’re dealing with a player Anaheim put no development into and torts is just starting to teach him now

As the head coach, Tort's job is to win games and Torts will continue to play Luchanko as long as Torts feels gives his team the best chance to win. Its up to Briere to take the inputs from Torts, weigh other factors, and decide what is best for Luchanko's development. All I am saying is there is a chance Breire decides that Luchanko playing good minutes in all situations in the NHL is better for his development than going back to a bad Guelph team. The Flyers needs at center will be one of those factors unfortunately.
- jd250

If Briere or Tortorella come to that conclusion, then they're incompetent. Tortorella is calling the shots and Briere is just a puppet. Luchanko needs to go back to juniors. Winning games should not factor in.

Look at the Edmonton game tying goal in the 3rd period. A fundamental defensive breakdown by Brink LOL . Last night you tried to blame Sanheim for giving up the puck on the OT game winner. Your posts are absurd.
- MJL

Not arguing it wasn't a fundamental breakdown, but wht you fail to understand is McDavid and Draisait will cause those breakdowns to occur simple by the pure speed they play the game at and the chemistry they have with each other. And l'm not blaming Sanheim. I'm just saying I am sick and tired of seeing him out there in the 3 on 3 OT. He is not the offensive defenseman some believe him to be. I am tired of watching him skate and create chances only to not finish. I'm already sick of Tippet for the same reason. I would rather see Drysdale out there to start. Like I have said, in OT the object is to score, not defend. I put TK, Michkov and Drysdale out there against McDavid and Draisaitl and try to get those two guys to defend.

If Briere or Tortorella come to that conclusion, then they're incompetent. Tortorella is calling the shots and Briere is just a puppet. Luchanko needs to go back to juniors. Winning games should not factor in.
- MJL

Fine conspiracy theory, you sell the idea to NBC.

If Briere or Tortorella come to that conclusion, then they're incompetent. Tortorella is calling the shots and Briere is just a puppet. Luchanko needs to go back to juniors. Winning games should not factor in.
- MJL

how do you think Sam looked last night?