Buyer or Cellar? Thoughts after Sabres 5, Flyers 3
Here’s a Sesame Street lesson for you, courtesy of the Flyers and the letter B.
How would you describe your hockey weekend?
Beating Boston was Beautiful even if the team was still Behind the eight Ball.
But…
Losing to Buffalo was Brutal. Not just a Bummer either. No. It was Bad hockey by a calamitously Bad hockey team.
And with this loss, even though Boston was shellacked and the Flyers are still just four points out of a playoff spot, GM Chuck Fletcher can not Be a Buyer before Monday’s 3PM deadline, Because this team doesn’t deserve the playoffs and should sink as far down the standings, as close to the cellar as it can.
After all, it can’t Beat Buffalo, the worst team in the NHL:
Am I crazy in thinking this?
2021 @BuffaloSabres vs. @NHLFlyers ≥ 2019-2020 @Marlins vs. @Phillies
— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) April 11, 2021
That’s the lesson folks. Thanks for stopping by.
If you can’t beat bad teams – in this instance the WORST team in the NHL, then forget the playoffs. You don’t belong.
Look, it would be different if it were a one-off. Sometimes you just have a bad day in hockey and the bad teams do win games from time to time.
But the Sabres have won 10 games and lost 31 this year (including OT and shootout). Their 26 points are the lowest in the NHL. Their minus-46 goal differential is the second-worst in the NHL, and would be the worst if they weren’t so successful against the Flyers.
Here’s how the games against the worst team in hockey have played out for the Flyers this season:
- LOSE 6-1
- WIN 3-0
- WIN 3-0
- WIN 3-0
- WIN 5-4 (shootout, down 3-1 in the game)
- WIN 4-3 (Overtime, down 3-0 in the game)
- LOSE 6-1
- LOSE 5-3
All told the Flyers were 5-3 against the Sabres, which on the surface doesn’t sound terrible until you realize that the Sabres haven’t beaten anyone else three times this season. Haven’t earned points against any other team five times this season. And haven’t outscored another team besides the Flyers (24-22, not counting the Flyers’ shootout goal).
An it got worse as the season went on. After shutting out the Sabres in three-consecutive games against them, the Flyers proceeded to allow the most pitiful offense in hockey to score 18 goals over their final four meetings.
You can’t let that happen.
And you really can’t let it happen like it did on Sunday:
- The Flyers led 2-0. And completely coughed up the lead in 46 seconds.
- The Flyers led 3-2, but couldn’t put the game away, missing not one, not two, but three empty-net chances to bury the Sabres. Instead, they let them hang around.
- The Flyers let the lead, the game, and the season slip away in the span of 25 seconds in the third period where the Sabres tied the score and then took the lead.
Again. Can. Not. Happen.
“It’s hard to explain,” said exasperated coach Alain Vigneaut. “We had that game in total control. We were giving them almost nothing. We just blew it. The icing that we didn’t need to do and lost the puck in our end in the corner there when we had control and they found a way to jump on one of their rebounds. We just couldn’t get it done.”
Sounds like a microcosm of the entire season:
5️⃣3️⃣ + 2️⃣3️⃣ = 🚨#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/Zgm133ntpb
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 11, 2021
This is the first Buffalo goal and it was a smart play by the Sabres’ Jeff Skinner, but I have to wonder, what in the hell the Flyers were doing on the play with their setup.
Skinner lets Sean Couturier win the draw and then skates by him to grab the puck in open space. Travis Sanheim is late to react, which gives Skinner the time to not only get to the puck but slide a pass to Sam Reinhart, who gets to an open spot for the goal.
Lots of things breakdown here.
- Does Coots forget the Flyers are in the faceoff setup they are, with three players closer to the front of the net and draws it straight back instead?
- Is Sanheim out of position at the start and should be a stride closer to the bottom of the circle so he can gather that puck sooner?
- How can there be three players set up in front of the net, and not a one of them marks Reinhart?
- Based on the smile that was on every Buffalo player’s face as soon as it happened, this was obviously a set play, so it must be a weakness they’ve seen in video for the Flyers an took advantage of it.
Now, the second goal, just 46 seconds later:
Arttu Ruotsalainen's first NHL goal just changed the entire game.
Congrats! pic.twitter.com/vgWyVya2nx
— NHL (@NHL) April 11, 2021
More breakdowns! Yay!
- First Scott Laughton loses the puck on the wall, then appears gassed as he tries to catch up with Dylan Cozens across the zone, and can’t.
- Sanheim lets his original man go, which is fine because the skater is headed to the bench, but then Sanheim gets too high in his zone coverage as he tries to mark Cozens skating with the puck, forget that a fresh substitute, in this case Arttu Ruotsalainen, was coming hard off the bench into open ice, and could never get back to him.
- Carter Hart drops to his knees, likely instinctively, but it’s after the shot has left Ruotsalainen’s stick, which in essence makes him smaller in net and opens the window to Hart’s most vulnerable spot – high glove side.
With this being Ruotsalinen’s first NHL goal, I’m disappointed in both the Sabres’ Twitter manager and the Buffalo fans that I saw on Twitter, that didn’t include this:
OK… on to the third period meltdown….
This first goal was, qualified after the game as bad luck, but doesn’t Hart need to keep this shot in front of him so that the crazy ending of the goal (and no, it wasn’t a kick) doesn’t happen? –
Skinner crashes the net and ties it up at 3-3 #LetsGoBuffalo #AnytimeAnywhere pic.twitter.com/Q4aOTkViUr
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) April 11, 2021
- Pause the video above anywhere in the first three seconds and you’ll see five Flyers on one side of the ice. Not good. Not only that, but the two guys closes to the middle of the ice, Jake Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere, are totally facing the half wall on the far side of the rink. There are two Sabres players creeping in behind them meaning they have to completely turn and skate to get there in coverage, meaning they would be late.
- Again, Hart’s got to smother that puck. He can’t leave it laying loose in the crease.
- Giroux does a nice job to deny Skinner’s stick and even physically tie up Skinner, but the bad luck occurs as Giroux takes Skinner down and on the way down the puck rides in too off Skinner’s skate. But it wasn’t a kicking motion, which is why its a good goal.
- Not on the video is what leads up to this play is an unforced icing by Giroux. It was a killer in that his line was tied and is now forced to defend fresh players on this play. AV mentioned the icing after the game, and while I don’t agree with Jenna’s last sentence before her hashtags, what she says about Giroux is spot on accurate:
imagine being so unwilling to take responsibility for your team being bad that you blame the entire game on a single icing from the guy who was singlehandedly keeping the team afloat. AV is a clown. #Flyers #AnytimeAnywhere https://t.co/mJLHXZkfUC
— Jenna (@jlshaw18) April 12, 2021
But here’s the topper. Just 25 seconds later, and the Flyers now in total crash and burn mode:
🚨ASPLUND🚨
25 seconds after the Skinner goal Rasmus puts the Sabres in the lead!pic.twitter.com/mHN4AFsIwo
— BS Buff Wes (@WesBSBuffalo) April 11, 2021
- Lost faceoff by Sean Couturier.
- Weak effort by the defensive pair of Ivan Provorov and Justin Braun. Both get caught watching the play in front of them and lose track of Rasmus Asplund, who scores the goal.
- Another rebound – although in Hart’s defense, this one is a little harder to control considering where the shot came from and hit him. Still. When the Flyers need their goalie to make a play… he doesn’t.
- Not seen on this video: Coots absolutely shattering his stick across the crossbar after the goal. He’s mad at himself for losing the draw but equally mad that his team completely fell apart against the worst team in the NHL.
So, What should Chuck Fletcher do?
Chuck should look to trade unrestricted free agents if they have value.
I think Scott Laughton can bring you decent return. Michael Raffl might even garner you a middle round draft pick. Erik Gustafsson has been buried so far on the defensive depth chart that I’m not sure he’s even on the radar for a team like Minnesota, whose power play is as bad as I’ve ever seen for a team that could make some playoff noise.
Can he move salary?
He’d have to get creative ,and likely include teams that have cap space to harbor salary in exchange for future value. He’d have to be on the phone with teams like San Jose, Detroit, and yes, even rivals like the Rangers and Devils to incorporate their cap room into a trade. As such, maybe Ghost to Minnesota through one of those teams.
I doubt he can move a big salary at the deadline. Those are more offseason type moves. So, if you are considering moving on from a JVR or a Voracek, it’s going to take a lot more than what is usually moved at the deadline.
Can he move Nolan Patrick?
I’m hearing that both the team and the player would be happy with this. Patrick feels like he needs a fresh start somewhere else. The Flyers have pretty much run out of patience with him. He wasn’t Chuck’s draft pick, so Fletcher isn’t beholden to him.
And, Patrick is an RFA, meaning the team he gets traded too can likely re-sign him without much worry. The big question is, what is his value?
There is always the possibility of Fletcher buying something too. Maybe a player who can help the team next season and beyond. But, the players we have previously discussed may no longer be available now (maybe in the summer) because the circumstances have changed both for the Flyers and their potential trade partners.
The 2021-22 Flyers are going to look a lot different when their season starts in six months than it does today. Maybe as much as 40% of the roster could be different, which is a lot in a normal year, but even more so in this pandemic-forced flat cap era.
Whatever it ends up looking like, it’ll be shaped in Fletcher’s image. And it will all start with whatever he does before the deadline, even if it’s the smallest move possible.
[the_ad id=”103880″]