Goal Differential

[Maverick426h]

There are 18 teams in the Nhl with a positive goal differential. 16 of them will make the playoffs. One in each conference will not.

Our record vs. these teams: 21-17-10

Vs. all others: 12-12-8

This includes a 7-1 combined record against Pittsburgh/Washington, but a 3-7-3 record against Columbus/NJ/Carolina.

Why can't we win a game at Jersey or Carolina when we can stroll into Consol and pummel the Pens any time we like?

I'm a stats guy, but these particular numbers are enough to make my head spin and then blow chunks.

After cleaning up the mess however, I realize that we have the team to compete as currently assembled, we just can't sleep on anyone. Bring it every single night. There is no reason to only get up for a top tier team or a main rival.

This team is an absolute mystery, but the talent appears to be there at every position. We're just extremely inconsistent.

 

[JBM73]

Check the Flyers' Home and Away record and goal differential. I don't have time right now to do it, but that's the problem that needs fixing. The team has been awful on the road this year.

 

[awaz]

Check the Flyers' Home and Away record and goal differential. I don't have time right now to do it, but that's the problem that needs fixing. The team has been awful on the road this year.

Almost comical.

Home: +26
Away: -33

Home: 23-9-7 (1.36 points/game)
Away: 10-20-11 (.75 points/game)

If they carried that home record across the whole season, they'd have 111 points. Which, in case anyone missed it, clinched the Presidents Trophy for the Rags last night.

 

[awaz]

Almost comical.

Home: +26
Away: -33

Home: 23-9-7 (1.36 points/game)
Away: 10-20-11 (.75 points/game)

If they carried that home record across the whole season, they'd have 111 points. Which, in case you missed it, clinched the Presidents Trophy for the Rags last night.

However, more so than the team 'sucking on the road' I think this more shows the lack of depth the Flyers have. I don't think it's really a surprise that their home record is night and day different than their away record. At home they can get G and Voracek away from shut down pairs and can shelter certain dmen from tough assignments. On the road, it's easy to match up. That probably shouldn't make THAT big of a difference, but it certainly will make a big one. Shut down G and Voracek and you shut down the Flyers.

 

[Retroram52]

The Flyers have had several "under-the-radar" issues this year that have shaken them perhaps into inconsistent play. Certainly injuries have contributed but every team has those. Then there was the firing of the goalie coach that led to Berube dissing Mason and I am sure that rocked the team to not care a whole lot about anything Berube had to say or the outcome of games. Then there is the trading of Kimonen, albeit rather late in the season, and the change of teh roster to include several younger new players as Hextall continues to collect picks and get our stuck financial situation liquid and flexible. All of these issues translate into statistics which tell the story of inconsistency. I am quite certain that as Hextall continues to complete these issues, the team will experience a renewal which in turn can lead to a better team in the future.

 

[chy1127]

However, more so than the team 'sucking on the road' I think this more shows the lack of depth the Flyers have. I don't think it's really a surprise that their home record is night and day different than their away record. At home they can get G and Voracek away from shut down pairs and can shelter certain dmen from tough assignments. On the road, it's easy to match up. That probably shouldn't make THAT big of a difference, but it certainly will make a big one. Shut down G and Voracek and you shut down the Flyers.

I think you are right and take it one step further. On the road other teams set up against the d pairing of their choice. Without a true 1st line pairing on d, you can get some very favorable match ups as the home team. Shut down our studs and take advantage of our weak gives a serious negative goal differential.

 

[JBM73]

However, more so than the team 'sucking on the road' I think this more shows the lack of depth the Flyers have. I don't think it's really a surprise that their home record is night and day different than their away record. At home they can get G and Voracek away from shut down pairs and can shelter certain dmen from tough assignments. On the road, it's easy to match up. That probably shouldn't make THAT big of a difference, but it certainly will make a big one. Shut down G and Voracek and you shut down the Flyers.

Voracek
Home - 39 games, 42 points
Away - 41 games, 39 points

Giroux
Home - 39 games, 39 points
Away - 41 games, 33 points

Looks like a slight drop-off, but not enough to account for the drastic overall team performance disparity. If I remember correctly, Meltzer provided Home vs. Away stats at some point for the PP and PK, which more closely mirrored overall team Home vs Away performance.

 

[awaz]

Voracek
Home - 39 games, 42 points
Away - 41 games, 39 points

Giroux
Home - 39 games, 39 points
Away - 41 games, 33 points

Looks like a slight drop-off, but not enough to account for the drastic overall team performance disparity. If I remember correctly, Meltzer provided Home vs. Away stats at some point for the PP and PK, which more closely mirrored overall team Home vs Away performance.

Hm, touché sir. I would've thought that would be a large part of the discrepancy.

 

[WOOTPOKER]

I know that "what if"s are no excuse, but I feel this is worth pointing out. The Flyers are 11 points out of a playoff spot. Had they not had that awful 3rd period tying goal with like 14 seconds left against the Bruins and pulled out that win, that's a four point swing. (2 less for Boston and 2 more for us). That puts them at 7 points out. They also have an astonishing 18 overtime losses, many of which coming in the shootout. Had they won, 5-7 more of those overtime games, they are still very much in the running for a playoff spot. Not to mention their baffling road troubles as well as some awful losses against teams they clearly should be beating. I know it's no excuse, but they really were their own worst enemy this season. Not to mention, they did all this without their top two defenseman for all or most of the season (Coburn and Timonen). On top of that, Read played injured mostly all year, as well as Umberger. This team without a doubt has its flaws and weaknesses, but perhaps they really aren't as far off as they appear. A healthy Read and Umberger, and better offensive seasons from Couturier and Read (and a full season from White and rebound season from Vinny also helps). The top end talent is there at forward (Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds) and goalie (Mason). They just need to add some secondary scoring and have some of their guys rebound to what they can be. The defense is obviously a weakness, but Del Zotto is having a great resurgence. Streit is also like top 5 in D scoring (51 points is really solid!). They make a few tweaks, add in some of the young blood on D over the next 2 years, and this team really isn't as far off as we might think. Just some food for thought......

 

[Maverick426h]

I think that the main reason we have struggled on the road (besides being a little young at forward) was the loss of Timonen. His veteran leadership would've stabilized things somewhat.

That said, we've taken way, way too many games into OT this season. To have 18 OT losses, 11 of them in the shootout is absolutely ridiculous. It is looking like the Kings will miss the playoffs due to a lot of the same issues.

 

[FlyerFinFan]

Special teams on the road suck, Timonen injured hurt badly, and the shoot out killed them. Hopefully they fix OT next year 3-3 will help. D should be better as well...

 

[Maverick426h]

We need Mason to play 65+ games and get better production out of our backup. It still amazes me how he is 5th in GAA and 3rd in SV % with such a poor win/loss record. He does need to be better in shootouts. Too many goalies are better than him in that area.

 

[wbon22]

There are two really good points floating around here.
1. The Flyers record differential against playoff team vs "weaker" teams
2. The Flyers "under the radar" issues.

The fact that the Flyers are capable of rising up and smashing the Penguins and beating the Capitals, the Bruins and the Kings in rather convincing fashion is cause for hope, concern and frustration. This is the same team that simply cannot compete with teams that ... compete. Carolina is a team that when healthy is a bubble playoff team. The reason they give the Flyers so much trouble is that they simply do not quit. Also, they have four lines that physically overmatch the Flyers enough to create breakdowns. Some of it is a simple as the players letting down against "lesser" opponents. That is natural, they are people. Some of it is the failure of Berube to make adjustments to get the best match up he can on the ice.

The Under the Radar issues is something that really goes back to the Hartnell trade IMHO. Hextall openly sided with the coach over the players in dealing Hartnell. This created two problems. There was no top line LW for the Giroux line, and Cooter was saddled with in injured Umberger. Look at how well Cooter and Read have been playing since Umberger was removed from the lineup....I like RJ, I like the way he plays ....when he is healthy and isn't skating slower than me. That was and is a coaching decision that hurt the team. Umberger was in no way capable of playing better than Vinny (for example) but was dressed every night. Then add in the Kimmo's health issues and the firing/departure of Reese and the contempt that Berube showed to Mason being injured (prior to his surgery) and then when he returned. The trade of Kimmo really is/was the final straw I think.

There was a rumor floating that the players were playing to save Berube. At this point, I think they are playing in spite of Berube, to get Jake an Art Ross and to show what they are capable of for next season.

 

[Cobiemonster]

There are two really good points floating around here.
1. The Flyers record differential against playoff team vs "weaker" teams
2. The Flyers "under the radar" issues.

The fact that the Flyers are capable of rising up and smashing the Penguins and beating the Capitals, the Bruins and the Kings in rather convincing fashion is cause for hope, concern and frustration. This is the same team that simply cannot compete with teams that ... compete. Carolina is a team that when healthy is a bubble playoff team. The reason they give the Flyers so much trouble is that they simply do not quit. Also, they have four lines that physically overmatch the Flyers enough to create breakdowns. Some of it is a simple as the players letting down against "lesser" opponents. That is natural, they are people. Some of it is the failure of Berube to make adjustments to get the best match up he can on the ice.

The Under the Radar issues is something that really goes back to the Hartnell trade IMHO. Hextall openly sided with the coach over the players in dealing Hartnell. This created two problems. There was no top line LW for the Giroux line, and Cooter was saddled with in injured Umberger. Look at how well Cooter and Read have been playing since Umberger was removed from the lineup....I like RJ, I like the way he plays ....when he is healthy and isn't skating slower than me. That was and is a coaching decision that hurt the team. Umberger was in no way capable of playing better than Vinny (for example) but was dressed every night. Then add in the Kimmo's health issues and the firing/departure of Reese and the contempt that Berube showed to Mason being injured (prior to his surgery) and then when he returned. The trade of Kimmo really is/was the final straw I think.

There was a rumor floating that the players were playing to save Berube. At this point, I think they are playing in spite of Berube, to get Jake an Art Ross and to show what they are capable of for next season.

The Flyers might not have the best forward group in the league, but if Carolina is outmatching them then there's a problem - Carolina has a crappy forward group and even with guys on the Flyers struggling, they shouldn't be getting overmatched - plain and simple

Also, there's no way they're playing to SAVE the coach - the coach has burned so many bridges that I don't see how the players are playing to save him - if they were playing to save him then they would have had much better efforts a while ago to keep theirselves in the playoff race

 

[Retroram52]

Excellent points all around!

 

[JBM73]

The Under the Radar issues is something that really goes back to the Hartnell trade IMHO. Hextall openly sided with the coach over the players in dealing Hartnell. This created two problems. There was no top line LW for the Giroux line, and Cooter was saddled with in injured Umberger. Look at how well Cooter and Read have been playing since Umberger was removed from the lineup....I like RJ, I like the way he plays ....when he is healthy and isn't skating slower than me. That was and is a coaching decision that hurt the team. Umberger was in no way capable of playing better than Vinny (for example) but was dressed every night. Then add in the Kimmo's health issues and the firing/departure of Reese and the contempt that Berube showed to Mason being injured (prior to his surgery) and then when he returned. The trade of Kimmo really is/was the final straw I think.

I definitely agree that losing Hartnell and Timonen hurt significantly. Besides just losing their talent and Umberger being a disaster, they lost two big voices in the locker room. I think this left a leadership void that wasn't truly filled. On the bright side, it sounds like it opened up an opportunity for guys like Voracek and Mason to step up and gain some leadership experience.

 

[chy1127]

We don't have a 1st pairing defense unit. We have a 2nd and 2 3rds. Mason played out of his mind. Umberger, Read, Vinny, Schenn and Couts scored at least 40 goals fewer than they should have. All 5 under producing in the same year makes for a tough season.

 

[Retroram52]

We have generally been playing better since the exit of Umberger and MacDonald. IS there a connection? Perhaps.

 

[JBM73]

We don't have a 1st pairing defense unit. We have a 2nd and 2 3rds. Mason played out of his mind. Umberger, Read, Vinny, Schenn and Couts scored at least 40 goals fewer than they should have. All 5 under producing in the same year makes for a tough season.

I still think the lack of up-front scoring stems primarily from the woefully inadequate D, and the inability to effectively transition out of the D zone.

 

[4thstreet]

I still think the lack of up-front scoring stems primarily from the woefully inadequate D, and the inability to effectively transition out of the D zone.

I'm sure we all realize just how badly the loss of Timmo hurt the defence.
He was the only one IMO who wouldn't panic and shoot the puck off the boards,and hope it landed on a fellow players stick.

Also,whoever was paired with him,usually came off looking pretty decent.