Flyers-Capitals Recap

The Colorado game was a 1/10 on the Scale Of Goodness. Last night was not a great game, but they certainly were better than Tuesday. Fuck it, they were still pretty horrible though because Flyers.

WSH-PHI: Backstrom line beats Giroux-Voracek. pic.twitter.com/8lG1uTtUJ7

— Muneeb Alam (@muneebalamcu) November 13, 2015

Here are some bright spots:

• Claude scored a powerplay goal!
• The Coots line (with Schenn/Schultz and Gudas/Del Zotto) did a really good job against the Ovechkin line. Oshie scored a goal where he was absolutely wide open 1 foot in front of the net, but one lapse for this team isn't bad. If you had told me we would be holding that line to 1 goal, I would have assumed the Flyers would win. 
• The fourth line also scored a goal. 
• Ryan White fought a guy. 
• Despite behind held completely off the scoresheet (again), there were a handful of moments last night where Jake Voracek impressed me. His contract doesn't worry me at all, but you can see the team is trying to force his first goal of the season. That will calm down, and we'll be left with one of the more talented wingers in the league. 
• I don't think Steve Mason had a bad game. It's tough to call goaltending a "bright spot" when you lose 5-2, but there weren't any other saves that a reasonable person could have expected Mase to make. 

And the negatives:

• As a team, the boys in orange combined for 20 shots. We should be aiming for about twice that many. 
• That Backstrom line dominated the G line (and Medvedev/Streit) at even strength. We loaded up with offensive-minded players, and it just flat out wasn't good enough. I think we need to end that strategy and balance our lines. 
• The Schenn/Gagner/Lecavalier experiment also has to end. They got matched up with Washington's fourth line all night and didn't generate anything. Literally not even a single scoring chance. 
• After the second time he fell down on his own last night (and between the bullshit cross-checking and hooking penalties he took), I found myself thinking that Michael Raffl kind of stinks. He's the Chris Kunitz of this team: he seems a lot better than he is because he plays with the best playmaker on the team. 
• Brayden Schenn won just 38% of his faceoffs last night, and Scott Laughton won just 25%. I understand that those are small sample sizes, but woof. 

Flyers Lineup Volume 7

The Brandan Shanahan Line

White - Giroux - Vandevelde

We saw it for about 5 seconds last night when Claude stayed out a little too late. I got my hopes up that he would stay out for an extra 30 seconds just to see what happened, but he didn't and I was sad. I know we'll probably never see these three together, but I've overthought it so much that I'm convinced it would work. The Giroux-White 2-on-1 was not ideal, but neither was the Giroux-Voracek 2-on-1 or any other 2-on-1 we've seen this season. 

The Coots Line

Read - Couturier - Voracek

My twitter friend Jake Fahringer has been tweeting about putting Jake on Coots' wing for like a month, and I'm finally convinced. I want to see it. Jake, for all of his offensive success last year, is a bruising forward. I have to see it. 

Hopefully This Line Can Score Goals

Gagner - Schenn - Simmonds

Gagner is a playmaker. Simmonds is a banger. Brayden is lowkey pretty talented but he hasn't quite found his niche. Well B, we're giving you your own line. Try not to fuck it up!

You Pick Three

Raffl - Laughton - Bellemare - Lecavalier - Umberger

(Puts gun in mouth.)

The Universal Studios Orlando Pair

Del Zotto - Gudas

They actually looked "good" last night (in quotes because this is the 2015-16 Flyers). I didn't see anything that made me want to vomit. They combine to have a nice mix of skill and physicality, and that makes for a decent d-pair. 

The CDs Are Released For Sale In Germany Pair

Medvedev - Schultz

I didn't see anything terrible from Schultz (he was trailing Chimera on one of his goals, but that was a flukey play). He is what he is - kinda shitty, but he tries hard and it seems like his teammates like him. Oh well. Medvedev, on the other hand, is a goddamn wizard with the puck. He's really entertaining, and his fakeout moves seem to be rubbing off on the other defensemen, especially (looks around the room) (whispers) Gudas. 

Streit - Schenn

Streit, it seems, lacks the ability to play with puck-dominant defensemen like Del Zotto and Medvedev. He gets Luke Schenn as his dance partner because Gudas plays well with DZ and because Schultz doesn't play well with anybody. So you're welcome, Mark, because we found you the perfect partner/scapegoat. 

Fun fact time: When Mark Streit was born, it was the 1977-78 NHL season. That year's All-Star team was Ken Dryden, Denis Potvin, Brad Park, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies, and Guy LaFleur. 

Luke Schenn was born during the 1989-90 NHL season. That year, the All-Star team was Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Mark Messier, Brett Hull, and Luc Robataille. 

Maybe it's the millennial in me, but I think the 89-90 team would cream the 77-78 team. right?