Not Prepared - Not Motivated

[wbon22]

Don't let scoring the first goal fool you...this team came out on their heals and tentative and unprepared....AGAIN.

Lavvy is not preparing this team, he is reacting once games start....he is giving away entire periods with poor pre-game preperation. I am tired of people defending him. He has no system. There is no sense of team defense. It is nearly impossible to be a fan of a team that has such little interest in competing.

 

[raptorlife4]

I dont think you can blame Lavi.

The players have to take some blame as well. They know what they are supposed to do. Its up to them.

 

[mall3013]

Don't let scoring the first goal fool you...this team came out on their heals and tentative and unprepared....AGAIN.

Lavvy is not preparing this team, he is reacting once games start....he is giving away entire periods with poor pre-game preperation. I am tired of people defending him. He has no system. There is no sense of team defense. It is nearly impossible to be a fan of a team that has such little interest in competing.

How the fuck is this Lavi's fault? He's not on the ice. Heck, Briere and Co. Flat out said they were ready. Let's face it, we all thought we would steamroll NJ in 5 or maybe 6 games. We still can, but I'm having doubts. Our defense has been exposed badly. NJ is forechecking us and causing us to turnover the puck. NJ keeps it simple, they wait for the turnover and jump on a odd man rush. We are in trouble in this series. We have not figured out how to get the puck in and control the puck. JVR is useless, much like our defense.

 

[mall3013]

Oh boy, shorthanded. Dumb penalty Cooter. We are getting manhandled it's ridiculous.

 

[wbon22]

You start a game flat...that is 50% coach and 50% players. You come out in the second period and can't get a shot for over 10 minutes for the second time in a series...that is coaching.

 

[SuperFlyer13]

You start a game flat...that is 50% coach and 50% players. You come out in the second period and can't get a shot for over 10 minutes for the second time in a series...that is coaching.

How did we start out flat? We got 2 PP's because our feet were moving, Not the coaches fault if the players go into shell shocked mode. Don't see Lavy taken the rap for this one, JMO..

 

[raptorlife4]

Devils simply want it more. They are winning all the battles

 

[awaz]

Devils simply want it more. They are winning all the battles

This.

The flyers are on the downside of the emotional wave of beating the pens.

And Lavy has a very well defined system.

 

[chy1127]

NO HEART!!!! I can take losing, but this is BULL shit!

 

[ProppRules]

How come every time this team starts to lose, someone has to point out that the players have "no heart" or that the coaches "have no clue" or "no system?" Sometimes the anser isn't to trade away everyone because they are losers or fire the staff b/c they don't know how to motivate highly paid athletes? They seemed to have a great system against the Pens. They seemed pretty motivated then. The players seemed to be trying then too.
Maybe the Flyers shot their load against the Pens. Maybe the Devils system is frustrating the Flyers right now and they can't break out of it. Maybe their youth is catching up to them. Maybe they just suck right now. Maybe the Devils picked a good time to play great hockey. They did end the season with more wins than the Flyers...

 

[wbon22]

ProppRules...I have been, to one degree or another, saying that ONE of the key issues that seems to be holding the Flyers back this year is the coaches "system" or lack thereof. Even when winning they were not playing 60 minute games, they routinely come out flat in games that they need to win. It is not all Lavvy, it is not all players coasting. Injuries have hurt this team. Having to rely on rookies as much as they have means that there are nights when brain farts undo solid efforts in other zones. But it is the responsibility of the head coach to prepare his team with a system and tone that they carry through a game. It is the coaches responsibility to prepare a team to respond to what the other team is doing. Lavvy completely out coached Bylsma in the Penguins series. But it now appears he is being undone.

 

[jerseyjigroe]

This.

The flyers are on the downside of the emotional wave of beating the pens.

And Lavy has a very well defined system.

Exactly. People may not like his system but he definitely has one.

 

[awaz]

ProppRules...I have been, to one degree or another, saying that ONE of the key issues that seems to be holding the Flyers back this year is the coaches "system" or lack thereof. Even when winning they were not playing 60 minute games, they routinely come out flat in games that they need to win. It is not all Lavvy, it is not all players coasting. Injuries have hurt this team. Having to rely on rookies as much as they have means that there are nights when brain farts undo solid efforts in other zones. But it is the responsibility of the head coach to prepare his team with a system and tone that they carry through a game. It is the coaches responsibility to prepare a team to respond to what the other team is doing. Lavvy completely out coached Bylsma in the Penguins series. But it now appears he is being undone.

motivating a team and having a system are completely different.. lavy's system is high pressure in all ends of the ice.. its very aggressive.. get the puck in, charge it down with 2 forwards, 3rd man high.. they frequently like to force the team to go up the right side.. and they are supposed to be hitting a lot.. his system can be defined in one word, attack. everywhere. guy has the puck, you attack him. you have the puck, you attack the net. people mucking in front of your net, you attack them. he's got a very solid system, and its a system i love. its the reverse of the trap pretty much

and its tough for me to put it on the coach to be a better motivator when his timeouts normally result in 2 or 3 goals for the flyers in the 10 minutes following.. that's some damn good motivation

lavy cant help when rookies hit the wall, or when dmen go down to injury, or when your star players get hit with an injury

plus its human nature to lose some motivation for this series.. i mean honestly, tell me you didnt lose motivation.. i stood, in my living room, for most of the pens series.. i yelled, clapped, fist pumped, jumped around, after every single goal in the pens series.. the devils series isn't the same.. playing a team you hate just as much as you love your own team is going to get a level of motivation that you can just conjure up out of thin air.. its not the coaches fault he cant make the team hate the devils as much as they hate the pens

the devils are a good team, the flyers probably overlooked them because they are a VERY young team that most pundits agreed was a cup favorite after taking out the team EVERYONE (except us) expected to win the cup.. ya its the coaches job to make sure they dont overlook a team, but he really has an uphill battle to pound that in to a bunch of 20-25 year olds.. and if you want examples of the flyers overlooking the devils, just look on this board.. look at the series board in NHL general, its a bunch of cocky flyer fans.. i'm sure the team wasn't arrogant to that level, but to think they didn't have a level of arrogance is just not smart

on top of the flyers not having the same level of hate, and the devils being good, the week long layoff is a good way to get a team out of playoff mode.. i'm sure we'll see a similar situation with the kings next round as they're poised to have at least a week off now.. once you get out of that mindset, its not easy to get it back, and its not the coaches fault if it takes a little while to get it back

there's a reason the superstar pens team took 3 years to win a cup (bounced by ottawa in round 1, beaten by the wings in the cup, then finally won).. you need the experience and the flyers have very little.. briere, giroux, hartnell, timonen, kubina, and talbot round out probably 95% of the team's playoff games.. that's only 5 regulars.. thats an extremely inexperienced team

 

[chy1127]

I am blaming the players for not having any HEART. I see a Devils team that wants it more. I see a Flyers team that has stopped do little things that result in wins. They are back to trying to make the perfect play rather than making the play. We have seen Fylers teams go through slumps in the regular season and they are boring to watch at those times. They are in a major slump and need to pull there heads out of their asses before its too late.

 

[ProppRules]

Chy, "no heart" is a ridiculous statement. A team with "no heart" doesn't make the playoffs, or beat a team as loaded as the Pens. There are plenty of teams with heart that don't win it all...

 

[chy1127]

Chy, "no heart" is a ridiculous statement. A team with "no heart" doesn't make the playoffs, or beat a team as loaded as the Pens. There are plenty of teams with heart that don't win it all...

propp: We are either talking about 2 different things, 2) watching 2 different games; or 3) I should have said LOsT their heart. I am waching a better team being outplayed by a lesser team. Flyers (jvr) are letting men go right by them as devils are tight in coverage. The Devils want it more. More drive, more hustle, more Heart/desire. If the Flyers come to play game 5, we will have a 6, even w/o G. The need to play with depretarion!

 

[TOX1]

propp: We are either talking about 2 different things, 2) watching 2 different games; or 3) I should have said LOsT their heart. I am waching a better team being outplayed by a lesser team. Flyers (jvr) are letting men go right by them as devils are tight in coverage. The Devils want it more. More drive, more hustle, more Heart/desire. If the Flyers come to play game 5, we will have a 6, even w/o G. The need to play with depretarion!

Agreed on the highlighted. Embarrassing.


Oh well.. Truth be told, none of us expected our boys to go far in this years playoffs anyways.. This year is just another stepping stone for the future.

 

[chy1127]

Chy, "no heart" is a ridiculous statement. A team with "no heart" doesn't make the playoffs, or beat a team as loaded as the Pens. There are plenty of teams with heart that don't win it all...

Common Propp, I never said heart was the only factor. 1st and foremost you need talent. You need good goaltending (and they are getting it), some luck and desire (heart). The players look like they are going through the motions. There have been periods where I can't remember some guys even taking a shift. This is not Flyers hockey. I have seen alot of losing over the years. I can live with that, but not going out without 100% effort. Carle, Jvr, Briere, simmond, Hartnell, Jagr, Read and Grossmann have all disappeared during games. Guys like G, schenn, Talbot, Wellwood, Voracek and Couturier are bringing it every night. Kimmo is gassed. Coburn ha been very good. Guss is young and Lilja is old.

For a long time I wanted Carle re-signed but now I think they can spend that money better. I really want Jagr to do well, but I think age has caught up to him. With those 2 and Prongs out, they have a good chunk to bring in suter. They still have some depth to play forward and we can get our stud.

1st thing 1st. I don't want this season to end just yet. Win Game 5. 1 game at a time. Flyers hockey with 100% effort and HEART. As always,

LET's GO FLYERs!!!!!

 

[ProppRules]

CHy, I completely agree that this series had been deflating to watch. And it is solely because of the way they are losing. Whether it is system, energy, or age, they are getting badly outplayed by a team we are at worst equals with. But I can never agree that this team has no heart. Maybe they are over-confident from the Pens series and can't break out of it. That is not acceptable, but not a lack of heart. I think your last post points out what is probably at the root of it all. Jags and Kimmo are starting to show their age. The young guys are starting to show their youth. And the middle guys like Carle haven't stepped up on the ice or the locker room. Remember, this is a team that started the season with pronger and Mez on the blue line, and now are relying on Lilja and Gus instead. They are directly responsible for the OT goal and at least two others. Just erasing their mistakes and placing 20 and 41 in their place could have made this an entirely different series.