07-08 Philadelphia Flyers Season Thread

[Seabiscuit36]

i loved Lucic bergeroning himself, then hatch making the kid his bitch

[BigEd76]

Flyers hold on to win 6-4 at Washington

[ice grillin you]

i was like 8 bloodys and 12 beers deep at the game...pretty much a miracle i didnt get in a scrap

[MDS]

praise jesus

[BigEd76]

looked and sounded like a lot of Flyers fans at the game.  Didn't see you on TV though.  The only black guy there was Brashear... 

[ice grillin you]

the brothers sit way up top out of camera range...you know we arent gettin face time

[Seabiscuit36]

Good time IGY?  How did downie look in person.  The Gawd was having a rough game for a little bit it seemed, but him with Downie and Hartnell is one of the better grit lines in the league

[Seabiscuit36]

Downie called on in clutch situation

By WAYNE FISH
phillyBurbs.com

In a one-goal game and less than a minute to play, the last place you would expect to find a raw rookie is on the ice.

However, that's exactly where Steve Downie was in Sunday's game against the Capitals.

Coach John Stevens has seen enough of Downie's quickly developing maturity to trust him in such a clutch situation.

There seems to be a consensus of opinion: If the kid can stay out of trouble, he's going to be a keeper.

"Johnny's rewarding him with some time at the end," veteran Mike Knuble said after the Flyers' 6-4 win. "I think the hardest part, when you come up as a young player ... you want to get your offense going.

"In Steve's case, he's lucky, it came. But the most important thing for a young player is to be responsible defensively. Play within the coach's system, and Steve's done that. He's been an extremely strong player for us."

Downie's center, Mike Richards, indicates Downie has been translating his natural skill into valuable contributions.

"Steve's such a competitor, no matter what time of the game he's going to battle for position," Richards said. "To have him out there at the end of the game like that, it obviously shows the confidence that Johnny has in him.

But he's always going to battle along the wall, and that's the type of guy you need in those situations."

Downie has overcome an early 20-game suspension and several scrapes since then to get to this point.

"I definitely feel good out there," he said. "I'm playing with two great players (Richards, Scott Hartnell), it helps my confidence. I continue to get more confidence every day, and that's a positive."

No doubt the coach's confidence in him during that crucial last minute can help as well.

"He gave me an opportunity to do that," Downie said. "I just didn't want to make any mistakes. Just play simple hockey that last minute there."

"I thought he was just terrific today," Stevens said. "I thought he earned the right to be out there at the end just because he was so good everywhere, heavy on the puck, he just doesn't seem to lose puck battles anywhere. He's hard to play against. That's his best outing since he's been here."

No qualms about using him in tight spots?

"No, he had composure with the puck," Stevens added. "Even at the end there, he moves his feet, gets to the red line and gets it deep. He's shown he can be a defensively responsible player."

Knuble inspired

Knuble scored just his third even-strength goal of the season Sunday, and he gave some of the credit to a recent chat with Stevens.

"Whether you've played five games or 500, there are times when you get down on yourself," Knuble said. "You're not happy with the way things are going for yourself. You're struggling a bit.

"We just had a chat to center me a bit and get me back to what I do well. Win battles on the boards, play around the net a little bit. That kind of freed my brain up a bit. You go out there feeling like a new person. It comes from a coach knowing his player, too."

Short shots

The Flyers have scored a power play goal in 15 of their last 17 games. ... Washington's Michal Nylander scored his 200th NHL goal in the third period.

Wayne Fish can be reached at 215-949-4215 or wfish@phillyBurbs.com.


January 14, 2008 6:36 AM
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...8-1470664.html
__________________

[SunMo]

can't win with a guy like that!

[ice grillin you]

Good time IGY?  How did downie look in person.  The Gawd was having a rough game for a little bit it seemed, but him with Downie and Hartnell is one of the better grit lines in the league

the most impressive thing about downie to me is his skills with the puck...he makes some nice saucer passes...and he makes a lot of under the radar great passes...such as chipping the puck off the boards in the defensesive zone and not just getting it out but chipping it on someones stick to start a break out...hes never gonna be a big time scorer or a mike richards but if he stops acting like child and matures he can be a very good third line type guy

[Seabiscuit36]

Downe is very impressive to me along the boards, and like you said his control of the puck when opposing players are all over him.  He's a victim of the media blowing shtein up about him, because when you watch him, he's got some real skill, and shows that there was a reason he was a first round pick.  I'm just amazed at the forward depth the team has beyond players already on the team, you have:
Andreas Nodl-tearing up the ncaa
JVR-tearing up the ncaa as a freshman
Potulny- good player, hobey baker finalist, needs to get healthy but is a 3rd line center/4th line center
Giroux- seems like the playmaking rw that Carter needs to take him to the next level
Mastumoto-very good player for the phantoms, was an very good ncaa player
Greentree- same as masumoto, really adds depth and size
Klotz-manchild fighter who is years away from the big game, but he's 6'6 and rarely ever loses fights

[rjs246]

Stop saying manchild.

[Seabiscuit36]

Stop saying manchild.

is manbearpig better?

[ice grillin you]

stop saying EVERY flyer player and prospect is the best thing since air conditoning


ryan potulny for exmple sucks ostrich nuts

[rjs246]

Stop saying manchild.

is manbearpig better?

Much.