#Lightning won 2 to 1 against ice so I made a reference for both

[storytellers-and-co]

Tansui's Adventures - #15 Not So Easy Jobs

Things, as it always seemed, had taken a turn to the worse. 

Wystan’s hired help turned out to be less than helpful, and now lives were in danger. Few thugs, Tansui could’ve probably handled. Maybe. It would’ve been hard, but Tansui had come to trust their skills in combat enough to at least cause some harm and then get away.

Except things were never that easy. 

“O mournful voice of creation…”

With those words, a golem had appeared. And suddenly, running away was no longer an option, lest Tansui would leave people at the mercy of the unknown assailant. The young mange gritted his teeth, and took a better hold of his staff - charging in wasn’t exactly a style of a thaumaturge, but flinging in as many destructive spells as possible, even when the golem was charging right at them? 

Now that apparently was the Black Mage way. 

Though Tansui did reconsider his choice of career between the moments when they were flung, and when he felt something around his shoulder pop thanks to the impact against the ground. An electric arc had shot out from his staff mid-air, hitting the golem that was standing in the water - followed soon by ice, as soon as Tansui was back at his feet. Keep the thing still while they checked the damage. 

Nothing was broken - only partially dislocated. Unpleasant, but not unmanageable, and easy to pop it back in place with a quick movement. Especially with all those extra seconds he had managed to buy. 

He’d have to take a few days of rest after this… or maybe dip into the savings, and get a potion or two. At least they weren't out of the fight just yet. 

Flexing fingers, Tansui let out a sigh. He’d have to end this fight, quick. 

[dailyonionsite-blog]

2017-18 NHL Season Recap

It's been a little over a month since the 2017-18 NHL season ended, and it was definitely one for the record books. This was a year that saw many firsts, and sadly, many lasts. Let’s take a look at everything that transpired this past year. Starting with the firsts? Obviously expansion was the biggest story this season, as the 30 team National Hockey League became 31, with the Vegas Golden Knights joining the league, becoming the first expansion team in the NHL since the Columbus Bluejackets and the Minnesota Wild at the start the 2000-01 season. However, before it was all said and done, the Knights would go to do things the Jackets and the Wild (and pretty much any expansion team before it) could only dream of doing in their first NHL seasons. But more on that in a few... Continuing with a first (of sorts), for the first time since 1994 the NHL did not participate in the Winter Olympics, with the league announcing this towards the end of the previous season. Several players vowed that they would participate anyway, however this would not come to fruition as the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation established a blacklist prior to the season that forbid national teams from offering invitations to NHL players that were currently under contract. The regular season began on October 4th with the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, opening up at home against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues would upset the Pens in OT, to spoil the fun on a night Pittsburgh raised their 5th Stanley Cup banner in from of their home town fans, and the 2017-18 NHL season was off and running. The aforementioned Vegas Golden Knights established early on that they were not your typical expansion team, coming out of the gate with an 8-3-0 record in the season's first month, including a 6-1-0 record at home. In fact, they were so dominant at home, that it would not be until the middle of February before they lost more than 1 home game in a month. The Knights would go on to have the strongest debut season for any expansion team in North American Profession sports history, and becoming the first NHL team since the 1926-27 New York Rangers to win their division in their inaugural season, not counting the Western Division in the 1967 NHL expansion, which consisted of all expansion teams. This would be just one of many highlights in a historic season for the first year club. As the NHL season rolled along, other highlights would include 3 outdoor games, continuing what has become both a tradition, and a big money maker for the league. The first of these (continuing the league's year long celebration of the NHL's 100th anniversary) was the NHL 100 Classic, which was held on December 16, 2017 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, as the home town Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. The outdoor festivities continued on New Year's Day at the annual Winter Classic, as the New York Rangers defeated the Buffalo Sabres in overtime 3-2, on a goal by JT Miller. This game was held at Citi Field in Flushing, NY, home of the New York Mets, and despite being billed as an "away" game (for tax exempt purposes), the Rangers played to a packed house full of mostly diehard blueshirt fans. The outdoor games concluded on March 3, 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, in Annapolis, Maryland, as the home town Washington Capitals defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. In between the various outdoor games was the annual NHL All Star Game, held on January 28th, at Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In a format established two seasons earlier of 2 separate games featuring division vs division from each conference first, eventually the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division faced the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, with the Pacific prevailing 5-2 in the final game. Rookie Forward, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks was named All-Star Game MVP. In series of lasts, sadly the end of an era came for 2 future Hall Of Famers, as the Sedin Twins, Daniel and Henrik, announced their retirement, having played their entire careers together with the Vancouver Canucks, and having mirroring careers, both playing in over 1,300 games, both amassing over 1,000 points, and both winning the Art Ross and King Clancy Trophies. Also announcing their retirements were Nashville Center, Mike Fisher, long time Chicago Blackhawk Winger, Patrick Sharp, and veteran Forward, Radam Vrbata of the Florida Panthers. As the NHL regular season wound down, it became clear that the NHL playoffs would feature numerous teams that had not made the postseason in several seasons, and a few perennial playoff teams that would fail to qualify for the first time in many years. The New York Rangers saw their streak of 7 straight playoff seasons (and 11 out of the last 12) end, as did the Chicago Blackhawks streak of 9 straight seasons, and the St. Louis Blues streak of 6. Teams returning to the playoffs included the New Jersey Devils for the first time in 5 seasons, the Colorado Avalanche for the first time in 3 seasons, and the Winnipeg Jets for first the time in 2 seasons, and of course, the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time ever. They were joined by perennial playoff mainstays the Washington Capitals, The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the East, and the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators in the West. It has long been said that the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of professional sports, and that can never be understated. The NHL playoffs in general are the most grueling of all the 4 major sports, featuring 16 teams and four rounds of grueling 7 game series that takes around two months to complete. This year's playoffs were no exception, as 4 of the 8 first round series went at least 6 games, with one of them going the full 7 games. The 2nd round was even tougher as 3 of the 4 rounds went to at least 6 games, and one going to 7. In the East, there were 3 compelling stories. The first was whether or not the Pittsburgh Penguins could become the first team since the New York Islanders in the 1980's to win 3 consecutive Stanley Cups. The second was if Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals could finally get over the hump after many years of high expectations, and just get past the 2nd round. And the third was if the #1 seeded Tampa Bay Lightning, who were referred to as the "New York Rangers South" after having acquired JT Miller and Rangers Captain Ryan McDonagh at the trade deadline to add a team that already featured former Blueshirts defensemen, Dan Giradi, Anton Stralman, and former Captain Ryan Callahan, could fulfill their designation as the odds on favorite to win the Cup. All 3 teams answered the bell right away, winning their first round series' against the Flyers, Columbus and New Jersey, respectively. Boston defeated Toronto in 7 games, and the 2nd round was set. In the West the story, of course, was the Vegas Golden Knights. The team that had shocked the world in the regular season with an expansion team record of 109 points faced off against the Los Angeles Kings in a first round match up. The Knights trumped the Kings in 4 straight, making short work of a team that 4 seasons earlier had won their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years. San Jose also swept the Anaheim Ducks, and powerhouses Winnipeg and Nashville prevailed in their series against the Wild and the Avalanche, setting the stage for the always grueling second round, which is probably the toughest round in the playoffs to win. The Washington Capitals are perennial second round losers. I mean, what else do you call a team that hadn’t gotten out of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals since 1998, when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals, and routinely lost in the middle round to both the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins (6 of the last 9 times in fact), dating back the 2008-09 playoffs? Well, this was the year they finally got over the hump. And what better team to get over it against than the aforementioned Penguins, who had almost been as much a thorn in the Caps sides as the Rangers? It took 6 games, but Washington finally took out the defending Cup Champions, setting up an Eastern Conference Finals showdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who made short work of the Boston Bruins in 5 games. Out in the West, the power struggle between the top 2 point getters in the entire NHL went the full 7 games, with Winnipeg Jets prevailing against the defending Western Conference Champion Nashville Predators. In the meantime, the Western Conference version of the Capitals, a.k.a. the San Jose Sharks fell to the freight train that was the Golden Knights in 6, setting up two conference finals match ups that would, at the very least, guarantee a team would win the Stanley Cup that hadn’t done so in 14 years, but making even more likely the chance that we would actually see a team that had never won before, get a chance to hoist Lord Stanley. Who would it be? As previously mentioned, the second round of the NHL playoffs is probably the most difficult to win, but the Eastern Conference finals is the one that gets more of the spotlight, simply because that’s the round that decides who actually gets to play for the 35.25 inch, 34.5 lb fabled chalice known as the Stanley Cup. Out in the West, Vegas once again proved that not only do expansions rules not apply to them, but they are disregarded with relative ease. Sure the Jets gave them a wake-up call with a Game 1 victory in a packed Bell MTS Place full of Winnipeg fans all decked out in white…but after that, the Golden Knights won 4 straight games ensuring themselves a full week’s rest before they had to worry about another game. Meanwhile over in the Eastern Conference, you had the Washington Capitals, finally getting past the second round after years of playoff letdowns, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, appearing in their second Eastern Conference Final in 4 years, also with the pressure of being the team everyone felt was the odds on favorite to win it all. Who would prevail? Well, it was my thinking that once the Capitals got past the Penguins, there was no stopping them, and I was right. But it wasn’t easy, as it took 7 games, with the Capitals shutting out the Lightning 4-0 in Tampa Bay. This set the stage for the Stanley Cup Finals, featuring 2 teams who had never won a championship before. The end result would either be a long time contender, and a hall of fame player in Ovechkin, finally fulfilling years of promise, or the biggest upset in the history of organized sports taking place. The Stanley Cup Finals are no different than any of the other final championship rounds or games in professional sports. Like the World Series, the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals, it is often dragged down by too much advertising, ridiculous start times, and celebrity and corporate sports “fans” who either want to be “seen”, or entertain clients. It’s annoying at times, and disheartening as a true sports fan, but it is what it is. The fact remains, this is what the players have fought, scratched and clawed for all season long, and after months of hard work, this is the round where a champion will finally be crowned. With more points than Washington in the regular season, The Vegas Golden Knights had home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Capitals, and immediately took advantage with a 6-4 victory in Game 1, but the Caps bounced back with a 3-2 win in Game 2, as the series shifted to Washington. This was where the Capitals put an end to the dream season for Vegas with a 3-1 victory in Game 3, and 6-2 trouncing in Game 4, setting the stage for the Capital to win the Stanley Cup back in Vegas for Game 5. After a scoreless 1st period, Washington took the lead early in the 2nd on a goal by Jakub Varna. The Knights would tie the game shortly after on a goal by Nate Schmidt, but Washington would regain the lead on a power play goal by Alex Ovechkin. However, Vegas would not go down without a fight as they rattled off 2 consecutive goals to take a 3-2 lead into the 3rd period. The Capitals would tie the game halfway through the third period on a goal by Devante Smith-Pelly, and less than 3 minutes later would take the lead for good on a goal by Lars Eller with 7:37 remaining. The Knights would pull goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury for the extra skater and make a final push, but it was to no avail as the Capitals hung on to win their first ever Stanley Cup, and set off a wild celebration in Sin City. Alexander Ovechkin, with 15 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. As a long time Rangers fan, I was obviously disappointed that my team did not make the playoffs this past year...however, this was one of the more memorable NHL seasons I can recall in recent memory. From an expansion team shocking the world, to a memorable Winter Classic featuring my Rangers, to the retirement of 2 legendary players, to the fulfillment of a long time destiny by another, I already cannot wait for the 2018-19 season to start. Who knows what surprises lay ahead? Read the full article

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Jets Cruising; Vegas Wins Again; Chychrun Returns – December 4

It was another round of rather mostly dull Sunday night games so let’s hop to it.

Kyle Connor missed Winnipeg’s game last night against Ottawa and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Mathieu Perreault took his spot on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. There’s no indication as to the severity of Connor’s injury, but he finished the game on Friday, so I’d assume it’s nothing too serious. We’ll see.

Over the last three-plus seasons, the line of Scheifele-Wheeler-Perreault has legitimately been one of the best in the league. Whether by adjusted shot share or expected goal differential at five-on-five, this trio ranks among the top-10, alongside names like Anze Kopitar, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane. Even if Connor only misses a couple games, I’ll be interested to see how coach Paul Maurice handles it. Scheifele-Wheeler-Perreault could be a true top line in every sense of the word, and if they show that over a couple games, will Maurice change it? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but it’s something worth keeping in mind if you have a spot to stash Perreault.

It didn’t take long for that line to get going in Sunday’s game against Ottawa, either. Perreault and Scheifele both scored in the first period for the Jets, a period they dominated from start to finish. Wheeler assisted on both goals, which pushed both he and Scheifele into top-5 in scoring league-wide. It could have been worse than 2-0 were it not for Mike Condon and saves like this:

#Sens' Mike Condon stretches across the crease to rob Bryan Little of a sure goal. pic.twitter.com/8lx4bPQAcd

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2017

Anyway, the Jets throttled Ottawa 5-0 in this one, and it wasn’t really close from the start. Winnipeg put up 50 shots, and Craig Anderson saved all 27 he faced when he took over from Condon after the fifth goal.

Since returning from Europe, Ottawa has one win in nine games. Now, when a team goes into a slide like this, I like to tell a cautionary tale of the 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings. That season, from December 23rd through February 3rd, a span of 21 games, they went 5-14-2. Panic was setting in, this team had high expectations, etc. etc. They led the league in adjusted five-on-five corsifor percentage in that span, though. The problem was they shot 3.4 percent and their save percentage was .914. They rebounded (predictably) and eventually won the Stanley Cup.

Now, during this tailspin, Ottawa isn’t close to leading the league in shot share, but they’re not awful either, coming in at 19th (before Sunday night). The problem is .903 goaltending. So, no, the Sens aren’t a great team, and probably aren’t a playoff team, but they haven’t necessarily been nearly as bad as they’ve shown of late.

*

I posted this poll on Twitter out of sheer boredom:

Random poll: where would you rank Blake Wheeler among all wingers since the 2005 lockout?

— Michael Clifford (@SlimCliffy) December 4, 2017

I got to thinking about this. Here are guys that I would definitely rank above him: Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla, and Marian Hossa. Other guys I would consider include Daniel Alfredsson, Jamie Benn, Taylor Hall, Daniel Sedin, Corey Perry, Martin St. Louis, Marian Gaborik, and Rick Nash. You can probably make arguments for a few guys in the most recent crop like Nikita Kucherov and Vladimir Tarasenko. All said, he’d be in my top-15. What say you? 

*

The Kings beat the Blackhawks 3-1 in a dull contest. All the goals were scored in the final 11 minutes of the game and, really, the only question as whether Jonathan Quick would hold onto his shutout.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown both had a goal and an assist in this one, giving Kopitar 31 points on the year now. Brown, by the way, needs four more goals to set a four-year high. Anton Forsberg only allowed one goal (the Kings had two empty-netters).

This type of game was kind of expected, I guess. It was Chicago’s fifth game in seven days and Los Angeles’ fourth in six.

The only note here is that John Hayden took Richard Panik’s spot on the top line in the middle of the first period and stayed there until the end. Panik moved down to the fourth line where he also stayed. Coach Quenneville is a notorious lineup blender, so we’ll see if they stick with this in practice. I doubt it, but just something to monitor.

*

Before Vegas’s game on Sunday night, we got an update on Marc-Andre Fleury’s progression and recovery from a concussion:

GMGM on Fleury: “he has passed all his tests and barring any setbacks should be able to practice Wednesday.”

— Steve Carp (@stevecarprj) December 3, 2017

It’s been nearly two months since Fleury’s injury, and given the team has a back-to-back this weekend, a target of the middle of next week seems about right assuming there are no set backs. That would give Fleury about a week to get back into rhythm, though there is still a lot of hurdles to pass between now and a regular season start.

The Golden Knights are currently occupying a playoff spot, but heading into Sunday, the team was 26th in five-on-five save percentage since Fleury’s last game. The team is scoring, they aren’t taking many penalties, and their penalty kill is solid. This is keeping them afloat. They also don’t need all-world goaltending to win games. However, if Fleury can return and perform at a level near what he did for his Penguins career, this team could be even better. All this is great news for Fleury fantasy owners, and let’s hope everything goes smoothly for him.

*

Arizona-Vegas was basically the Ottawa-Winnipeg game with less lopsided scoring; the shots were 26-14 Golden Knights after two periods. Arizona was on a back-to-back so I won’t kill them too much for it.

The Karlsson-Marchessault-Smith line just keeps rolling. They had 31 even-strength points as a trio heading into Sunday, more than Chicago’s top line (22), or Dallas’ (25), or the Islanders’ (26), or Calgary’s (30), and, well, you get the point. Jonathan Marchessault scored very early in the third, his 10th of the year. Reilly Smith scored the overtime winner from Marchessault in a wildly entertaining overtime.

*

Jakob Chychrun made his season debut Sunday night for Arizona following knee surgery during the off-season. Fun fact: he and Aaron Ekblad are the only 18-year old defencemen to manage 20 points in a season since the 1994 lockout.

He scored Arizona’s first goal, and not only was it a nice shot, it was a great pinch:

CHYCHRUN! SEASON DEBUT FOR CHYCHRUN AND HE FINDS TWINE, 1-1! pic.twitter.com/jYIZx67M3t

— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) December 4, 2017

As soon as he sees his teammates get possession, he moves down low instead of staying 60 feet away from the goalie. Those are the kind of instincts that should make dynasty owners drool.

He was paired with Alex Goligoski on the second pair and played over 20 minutes, though none on the power play.  

*

Pretty quietly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is on pace for 16 goals and nearly 50 points, which is much more what we’re accustomed to compared to his 2016-17 season. It’s nice to see him bounce back for himself after a tough campaign both on and off the ice.

Pretty quietly was a relative term there, I hope everyone read up on OEL in yesterday's Geek of the Week here on Dobber. 

*

Colorado had an interesting giveaway on Sunday night:

When you leave the game tonight, don’t forget your free energy efficient showerhead, courtesy of Xcel Energy!

Grab it, install it and fill out a survey to enter-to-win four Club Lexus tickets and a Zamboni ride! pic.twitter.com/M89CbO3ukO

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 3, 2017

I wonder if it’s the Commando 450.

Julius Honka drew into this game for Jamie Oleksiak, which is of interest to dynasty owners still hanging onto that dream. He was on the third pair and only played about 15 minutes.

Colorado had their chances but Dallas just did a better job capitalizing on theirs. Tyler Seguin had two goals, and Alex Radulov and John Klingberg had two assists each en route to a 7-2 win over the Avs.

Jonathan Bernier was pulled after the fourth goal (on nine shots).

*

Colour me interested in the new Tampa Bay second line of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov. I’m sure some will have forgotten (I did), but those three played a fair amount together on the top line for Tampa in 2016-17 with Steven Stamkos injured. They crushed it together, too, as the Lightning register 63 shot attempts per 60 minutes with those three on the ice. For reference, Stamkos-Kucherov-Namestnikov generated about 65.4.

This always seemed kind of inevitable. Like other teams with a few premier players like Boston or Dallas, you’ll see the top line stacked for stretches of time, but the team is probably better off long-term sprinkling their talent around. Maybe this only lasts for a couple games, but the team’s schedule going to the Christmas break isn’t very difficult; they face Colorado twice, host the Islanders, Sens, and Wild, and there’s a game in Arizona, among other contests. It would pretty reasonable for this new second line to dominate against some of the softer competition they’re going to be facing, so maybe this lasts longer than two or three games.

*

As of Wednesday night, the Habs had the second-worst five-on-five shooting percentage in the league at 5.71 percent, and fourth-worst on the power play at 8.59 percent. Two games against the Red Wings later, and the team is now tied for 25th at five-on-five with 6.98 percent and 25th on the power play at 9.94 percent. There is still more room for this team to regress at both strengths, but it’s nice to see the team finally finish.

Also, small shout out to Paul Byron? An article from Mike Fail at Matchstick and Gasoline a couple years ago outlined how he could help teams if he was given a particular role. Well, Montreal gave him that role and are reaping the rewards.

It’s probably time to believe in his goal-scoring potential. Since the start of the 2015 season, his first with Montreal, he’s shooting an even 22 percent (20 percent this year). With 15-16 minutes a game, and that kind of conversion rate, there’s no reason to think he can’t pop 20 goals. Those fantasy owners in hits leagues (he’s on pace for 140 this year) take note.

*

How worried is everyone about San Jose? At least fantasy-wise. I know they’re in a playoff spot, and the team, as they have for a few years, are among the league’s best in driving the play. As of Sunday afternoon, though, they were 29th in the league in goals per game with only Arizona and Buffalo worse. Both Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski have zero power-play goals. Logan Couture is the only player on the roster on pace for at least 55 points, and on and on and on…

At some point, “it’s still early” doesn’t apply, and we’re two months into the NHL season. They won't shoot six percent at five-on-five all year, but what's the concern level among the Dobber community? Let us know in the comments.

from All About Sports http://www.dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-jets-cruising-vegas-wins-again-chychrun-returns-december-4/

[flauntpage]

No Ghost for Halloween? Seven Takeaways from Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 2

I spent Saturday night on the couch under a blanket, with my head pounding and everything seeming foggy as I drifted in and out of consciousness rather than attend a Halloween party.

I can only imagine that’s what Gostisbehere is experiencing right now (minus the chills) after he had to leave the Flyers impressive 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto Saturday.

He was a victim of an unnecessary hit by Leafs center Leo Komorov that drove him into the boards face first, resulting in a probable concussion.

It’s the second head injury this month for Gostisbehere, who was in danger of missing the season opener after a similar hit in the Flyers’ final preseason game, but he played and prospect defenseman Sam Morin sat in the press box for the first four games of the season before being sent back to the Phantoms.

With Andrew MacDonald already sidelined for at least a month with a knee injury, the Flyers defense could be in dire straits if Gostisbehere has to miss any extended time.

And since I’m feeling pretty crappy myself, let’s just move on to the takeaways:

  1) What’s left of the defense?

O.K. first we have to look at the hit on Gostisbehere and once again shake our heads at the incompetence of the officials:

Shayne Gostisbehere isn't coming back to the game. Upper-body injury. http://pic.twitter.com/aYrbuoeCxA

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 29, 2017

I mean you can see the referee in the background watching this play happen, and he just turns away and lets the hit go.

Komorov hits Ghost from behind, right between the numbers, and drives him face first into the boards.

That. Is. Illegal.

How there’s no penalty called there is beyond me. I know it’s a fast game and things get missed, but that’s why several years ago, the NHL switched from one referee to two per game, so that things like this don’t get missed, and yet…

Credit to Gostisbehere, who after a minute, got up, made his way to the bench, and on his very next shift made a perfect bank shot pass to Travis Konecny who then made an even better pass to Valtteri Filppula for what would eventually be the game-winning goal:

But a goal for the second unit. Val Filppula with the wrist shot. #Flyers http://pic.twitter.com/ykp4hF5uRw

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 29, 2017

It was Gostisbehere’s 12th assist of the season, tops among defensemen in the NHL. His 13 points are not only best among league defensemen, but ranks tied for eighth among all players in the NHL.

But back to the hit… We are all assuming it’s a head injury, but the Flyers don’t tell you anything for certain. They keep you guessing and are calling it an upper body injury.

However, if you look at the hit again, there’s a chance this is an arm/shoulder injury as well as his left arm and shoulder really get pinned, and his left arm is crunched against the unforgiving dasher.

And, the fact that he came back onto the ice for another shift might mean it’s not a head injury – so we’ll have to wait and see.

But now, the Flyers are down to five defensemen, so someone has to be brought in. But who?

Sam Morin has to be the frontrunner since he was the eighth guy the first four games of the season, but the Flyers may want to opt for more of a puck-mover to replace Gostisbehere.

This is why I suggested Mark Friedman last week when MacDonald went down. He only has two assists so far with the Phantoms, but he’s similar in style to Gostisbehere and could fit that role better than Morin.

Mark Alt is another possibility, he’s gotten off to a solid start for the Phantoms and is more of a tweener because he isn’t an electric skater, but provides offense and uses his size on the defensive end.

T.J. Brennan has NHL experience, but he’s hurt. Anyone else?

@AntSanPhilly what could Mark Streit skating today at Skatezone in #Flyers gear mean? 🤔🤔 http://pic.twitter.com/dDlAmDDN2p

— Pete Mitchell (@CrangesMcB13) October 28, 2017

No. They couldn’t be… could they?

I sent a message yesterday before the game to both Ron Hextall and Streit’s agent Pat Brisson asking about this and neither answered.

I don’t think this is realistic. After not being able to play for the crummy Montreal defense, he was waived, went unclaimed (he was only making $700,000 with the Canadians, so he would have been really cheap as a waiver claim) and then rather than take an assignment to the AHL, agreed with Montreal to have his contract terminated, making him a free agent.

Streit, 39, did go to Pittsburgh to receive his Stanley Cup ring and probably made his way back here since he still has a home in Philadelphia.

It’s more than likely that he just asked the Flyers for permission to use the rink to get a skate in while they were away.

I was also told that Streit is debating between waiting for the phone to ring or calling it a career and getting into coaching – more in a player development role, which he has discussed with at least one team I am aware of (not the Flyers).

So, although the Flyers might be desperate, I don’t think they’re that desperate.

  2) The new third line

I’m sorry, but I just can’t call the line of Taylor Leier, Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl the Flyers fourth line anymore.

They play like a prototypical shutdown third line and provide additional offense that you don’t see many fourth lines offering.

Not only that, Laughton and Leier also play together on the penalty kill. So when you see Laughton posting 16 minutes in a game and Leier 13 minutes – as they did last night – while a line of Matt Read, Jori Lehtera and Travis Konecny all had less than nine minutes of ice time, I think it’s safe to say this unit is not a fourth line, no matter what a scout may have told Elliott Friedman of Sportsnet in Canada.

They have been a revelation this season, and arguably the most impressive decision by Dave Hakstol aside from moving Claude Giroux to the wing and promoting Sean Couturier to top line center.

I mean, look at this play:

4th line the best line. http://pic.twitter.com/NFa4A9Be0r

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 28, 2017

Raffl doesn’t get an assist, but he makes the play happen in the neutral zone. Leier and Laughton do the rest moving the puck nicely and setting up Brandon Manning for the goal. It’s really smart hockey by that trio. Hey speaking of Manning…

  3) Man-Dog

Woo is back!

“WOOO” -Man Dog http://pic.twitter.com/2xSk287qII

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 29, 2017

Manning was stylin’ and profilin’ in the locker room because he had a damn good game. Seriously. And not just because he scored a goal either.

Nope, Manning may have played his best game as a Flyer. He also picked up an assist. He played 20 minutes – filling in a lot of shifts with Gostisbehere out, got a couple other good shots on goal, and played physical with three hits.

I normally don’t consider Manning anything more than a 6th/7th defenseman. But, the guy is a hard-worker and it’s nice to see him get rewarded for his effort.

He’s going to be playing under a bigger spotlight if Gostisbehere has to miss any extended time, so things could start getting tougher for him, but for one night, he can strut in that robe proudly. Good game, Man-Dog.

  4) Scoreacheck

Jake Voracek finally scored a real goal:

More neutral zone play leads to another #Flyers goal. Voracek with his second of the year and the second in as many games. http://pic.twitter.com/dgStijo0TP

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 28, 2017

He scored against Ottawa, but that was a pass that ricocheted off a Senator into the net. This time, it was intentional. And it has to be a relief to him.

For all the times Voracek frustrates you with his defensive shortcomings, the guy can flat-out make up for it on the offensive end.

With two more points, he now has 16 this season, putting him third in the NHL behind only the sick duo of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov in Tampa, who are on a ridiculously torrid pace playing together for the first place Lightning.

Frankly, the entire top line is scoring at will for the Flyers. Couturier’s 13 points is tied for eighth in the league and Giroux’s 12 has him tied for 16th in scoring. That’s 41 points from the line in 11 games. Pretty impressive.

Oh, here’s Giroux’s goal from the game. Check out the pass from Voracek:

G with the snipe, but another deep assist pass from Jake. #Flyers back up 2. http://pic.twitter.com/DnURQVJIHE

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 29, 2017

  5) Look, a good goaltending performance

Credit Brian Elliott for rebounding nicely from his woeful start against Anaheim. He made 28 saves, including this one on Kasperi Kapanen:

Elliott stops Sami Kapanen's son. http://pic.twitter.com/vW1vnr4zjK

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) October 29, 2017

The Flyers need more starts like this from Elliott. He has won five of his seven starts, but hasn’t looked good in all of the wins. This one he did, giving up two goals to Nazem Kadri, neither of which were his fault.

It’s going to be important for the goaltending to be reliable for a stretch here if Gostisbehere is going to miss extended time. This was an encouraging first step.

  6) Nolan Patrick

Patrick missed his second straight game with an injury. The Flyers won’t call it a concussion. But this was my favorite quote from Patrick when interviewed by NBCSports Philly (that’s still so clunky to say) beat guy John Boruk in Toronto Friday:

“It’s my first time that I’ve ever had any kind of injury like this before,” Patrick said. “It’s a lot of protocol things you have to go through. I think the league is pretty big on that kind of stuff. There’s a few things I got to do first. I’m feeling good though.”

Don’t come down too hard on him, Hexy. He’s only 19. He hasn’t mastered the art of lying about injuries yet. Give him time. It’s O.K. that you still refer to it as an upper body injury. We all know he’s concussed. It’s cool.

This brings me to my final observation (since I was too sick to come up with a good Loose Pucks list:)

  7) Shut it down

The Flyers in the third period really put a clamp on their own zone and made life miserable for the Maple Leafs.

They switched their style and went into shutdown mode, which is different than usual, as the Flyers are a team that likes to keep the gas pedal to the floor.

But, playing short a defenseman and against a good offensive team, the Flyers decided to go into a defensive-first system – and it worked.

The Flyers are now 5-0-0 when leading after two periods – and maybe found something that could work for them moving forward if they have a two-goal lead, or better, heading into the final 20 minutes.

No Ghost for Halloween? Seven Takeaways from Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 2 published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv