07-08 Philadelphia Flyers Season Thread

[ice grillin you]

I don't know about colossal, but he hasn't been what was expected from a scoring standpoint.  He does a great job on the PP and is a big reason for their being #2 in the league

i dont mean colassal this year altho hes been pretty bad...minus 5 is unacceptable...the colassal part of it will occur in the coming years...hes making ovr six million until 2013 and hell be 33 before this season is over...we all can do the math.....its not good

[BigEd76]

Lupul ties last year's goal total with a penalty shot in the 1st

1-1 right now

[SD_Eagle5]

Back to back!

[SD_Eagle5]

Nitty with the well deserved shutout

[Seabiscuit36]

Bob Ford | At 22, Flyers' Richards is something special (Todays paper news)

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Posted on Fri, Jan. 4, 2008


Bob Ford | At 22, Flyers' Richards is something special

By Bob Ford

Inquirer Columnist

Mike Richards is not particularly big by modern NHL standards, and doesn't do anything particularly outstanding with the puck, compared with some of the more dazzling centers in the league.
"I'm not a very flashy guy," Richards concedes. "I don't have a whole lot of moves in my repertoire."

What he has, however, just a month shy of his 23d birthday, is that thing, the indefinable thing winners always have at the centering position. It is the same thing great football quarterbacks bring into the huddle, the willingness to lead and the ability to recruit followers.

This is a lot to say about Richards, only halfway through his third season in the league, but those in the locker room with him say it freely. His coach seconds the praise, and, sometime later this month, Richards will almost certainly be added to the Eastern Conference team headed for the NHL All-Star Game.

"It's a little bit overwhelming to be talked about like that," Richards said yesterday, after the team practiced for tonight's game against the Devils. "I feel like I've worked hard to get in the position I'm in, and it's flattering to see that it's paying off a little bit."

For the Flyers, who have scuffled along since a fast start, Richards is one of the players providing what modicum of consistency they have had. He leads the team in goals (18), assists (25), points (43), shorthanded goals (4), power-play assists (14), and shots (109). He's on the ice more than any other forward on the team - an average of just under 22 minutes per game - and his line, which includes Joffrey Lupul and Scott Hartnell, makes opponents think twice about using all their best defensemen to stop Danny Briere's top line.

In all, it has been a quick rise for a player who came to the team bearing the twin burdens of great expectations and no experience. Coach Ken Hitchcock was tough on Richards in his first outings, seeming to yank him from the ice every time there was a turnover on his watch. John Stevens, who also coached Richards with the Phantoms, was more encouraging upon his promotion, but shoulder surgery limited Richards to just 59 games last season.

Healthy again and playing with confidence, Richards has become the player the organization always thought he could be. At least the organization better hope so, having signed Richards to a 12-year, $59 million contract extension last month, a guaranteed commitment that extends to the end of the 2019-20 season.

"We loved everything about him when he came in as a player," Stevens said. "He had the usual adjustments and growing pains that all players have at the NHL level . . . but he's always been a guy who liked to make plays. Maybe he tried to make too many plays at first, but he's learned to manage his game for the good of the team. And when he gets the opportunity to attack, he does."

Playing for Stevens, Richards says he doesn't make as many mistakes because he doesn't worry about making mistakes. He's no longer typecast as a primarily defensive centerman, and his game continues to expand its reach.

"John played the game," Richards said. "He knows it's a game of instincts, and knows how fast things happen on the ice. If you're out there thinking, 'No turnovers, no turnovers,' you're just worried about the negative instead of trying to make plays. You've got to play the game."

The way Richards is playing is opening eyes. He wasn't on the official all-star ballot, but has received more than 45,000 write-in votes (probably including a few not deposited at the Wachovia Center). His teammates have noticed his play more than anyone, of course.

"Coming from the West, I didn't know too much about him as a player," said Lupul, who played in Edmonton last season. "I had no idea how much offensive skill he had. Everybody knows the work ethic he brings, but I was really surprised at the skill."

Briere, who probably will join Richards in Atlanta for the Jan. 27 All-Star Game, enjoys watching Richards when opposing players have the puck.

"He knows what they're going to do," Briere said. "He anticipates, pretends to go one way, and then goes back the other way and intercepts the puck. It's amazing, and he does it over and over again. Then, obviously, he makes some plays to finish those off as well."

Richards has the respect of the locker room because he works for what he gets, doesn't say all that much about it, and doesn't skate away from a challenge. It won't be many more seasons before he is the team captain - everyone recognizes that - and Richards will wear that jersey well, too.

For the moment, though, this is his season of becoming. It might be the same thing for the Flyers as a whole, but the team has not yet decided how good it will be.

In the muddle of the Eastern Conference, where there are about 10 teams you can't tell apart, there is plenty of room for rapid growth, however.

"We've been doing a lot of little things and, hopefully, they will pay off soon," Richards said.

If they pay off as quickly as Richards has paid off for the Flyers, that would be just fine.

[Munson]

Hey I heard somewhere that this Mike Richards kid is pretty good.

[ice grillin you]

dont forget....usa canada junior semi today at 130....its on the same link that sb posted the other day

[Seabiscuit36]

www.channelsurfing.net

just dont be surprised if it cuts out, i'll be willing to bet this will be the largest audience that the network has ever handled. 

JVR has been lights out.  10 points, in 4 games, leads the tournament and is the 4th youngest player, but the largest on the US squad.  I think the actual game starts at 2pm, TSN does their lead in at 130

[Geowhizzer]

dont forget....usa canada junior semi today at 130....its on the same link that sb posted the other day

It's also on the NHL Network for those that have it.

[Seabiscuit36]

dont forget....usa canada junior semi today at 130....its on the same link that sb posted the other day

It's also on the NHL Network for those that have it.

And replaying at 10pm

[SunMo]

sb, why are there two links on that site for the game?

[Geowhizzer]

sb, why are there two links on that site for the game?

I think one is in French.

[SunMo]

ahhhh

[Seabiscuit36]

you can also enter this into your wmp
mms://a24.l4537754023.c45377.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/24/45377/v0001/reflector:54023

[SunMo]

wow, tsn's opening was so farging corny