Flying into the playoffs

Posted on Monday, May 4, 2020 by WCHL Hockey

Philadelphia sets sights on long post-season run



This Week in Philadelphia- Playoff Edition

The regular season is over, the Philadelphia Flyers have finished 2nd in the Met Division with 51 wins and 106 points. Carried by their offense, which scored the 3rd most goals  and had the #1 power play for the season. The Flyers finished the season with a loss to Washington and an OT loss to Carolina. The Flyers received an injury to PK specialist Jay Beagle who will miss the start of the first round. Worse news Captain Zdeno Chara the teams best defensive dman received a 6 game suspension in game 81 and will miss the first 5 games of the first round.

Gm Bourque
" The loss of Jay and Zdeno right out of the gate, hurts the team in a number of areas, leadership and defense among the very top of that list, we are going to have to pull together to weather the storm."

Assist Captain Alex Ovechkin
" Zdeno is our leader and Captain, he got that 6 game suspension sticking up for his team and team mates, we have to play well enough to give him a chance to get into the series, Jay too, we are going to see what we are made of thats for sure."

The Match Up

The Philadelphia Flyers will play Division rival the Washington Capitals. The teams mirror each other in many respects, both a very strong offensive teams, you wouldn't want to try and make a living based on the two teams differences, both have tremendous offensive talent, both have survived on middle of the pack goaltending and wicked power plays, Philadelphia finished 3rd in goals scored, Washington 4th, Philadelphia had 106 points, Washington 103, both teams have been 1-2 on the power play all season long, both teams play in the toughest Division in the WCHL. The difference may be on defense, at the deadline Washington made a move to get a veteran rental dman, Philadelphia had a deal in place but failed to get it in before the deadline add to that Chara's 6 game suspension, 5 games remaining and this could be where the rubber hits the road. The series begins tonight in Philadelphia, the Flyers one of the league's best home teams, Washington is the league's best road team. The season series belongs to Washington at 3-2, they also won all three games after the addition of that all important rental dman. So even though the Flyers have the home ice, most pundits would suggest that a slight edge goes to the Capitals based on the above. Either team that makes it through should be trouble in the 2nd round. Go Flyers Go !

see you at the Wachovia Center.....out for now...peace

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It's Always Sunny in Philaldelphia

Posted on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 by WCHL Hockey


A look at the week that was in Philadelphia

Bo Knows Hockey

Bo Horvat has missed eight games over the last two weeks and the Flyers have really missed his leadership and work ethic, Bo is the consummate team player, no matter what his role, he accepts and always is productive. Bo finally made it back last night as the Florida Panthers came a visiting at the Wachovia Center. The Flyers were a little flat to say the least, even after Bo in his return to the line up, set up James Neal and  gave the home team a 1-0 lead. The Flyers would not score again and lost 5-1.

Bo Horvat
" I am really happy to be back in the line up, life without ice is no life at all, hockey is all I know, I can't remember a time when I wasn't involved in hockey, you know really know how much you miss it until its taken away from you, the team has been just fine without me, but I know I can contribute and help the team, and now that we have moved Ryan, I think I will be playing in other situations."

What Bo is referring to in case you missed it was a blockbuster trade with San Jose to finally provide Bo Horvat with a dynamic top line winger. Jonathan Huberdeau fits that to a tee, the 26 year old former 3rd overall pick has been steadily rounding into a superstar, Huberdeau and Ovechkin may give the Flyers the best top two left wingers in the business and that's important when your centers are Horvat and Duchene, both probably better suited to C2 than C1. Don't get me wrong they are both fine center-men with good upsides, both can drive a line and both are reliable.

The Trade:

To San Jose: Ryan Getslaf, William Nylander and Jacob Chychrun
To Philadelphia: Jonathan Huberdeau

The is the second big trade that Philadelphia has made, involving multiple pieces of youth from the farm, last deal was for Colton Parayko. Both players look to be key blocks in the Philadelphia wall. The deal for Parayko did not involve a pro roster player, this time Ryan Getslaf and important cog in the wheel is moving. Now Getslaf was playing 3rd line center and Huberdeau will play top line left wing, so there is that, Huberdeau is a better offensive weapon and then there's that too.

GM Bourque
" This is an upgrade offensively Huberdeau is one of the game's best players and he appears to be just getting better and he is only 26, Ryan is a terrific player and person with rare leadership skills. Part of this deal was finance as well, we were having a hard time getting Nylander and Chychrun into the line up and Ryan's 9 million dollar price tag was going to have to be moved next season for sure, the timing just seemed right as the team is playing well and looking to try and be a playoff team this season, well you know best laid plans, sometimes its better to just leave things alone, but we think Huberdeau is worth it."

The Games:
835 Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs Minnesota Wild (2)
852 Florida Panthers (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (3)
871 Philadelphia Flyers (3) vs Colorado Avalanche (4) - OT
881 Philadelphia Flyers (3) vs Detroit Red Wings (1)
892 Florida Panthers (5) vs Philadelphia Flyers (1)

....out for this week....peace ya'all

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Rangers ready for strong finish

Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 by WCHL Hockey



As we hit the 2/3's mark of the WCHL season, an annual trend continues; The Eastern Conference standings are mayhem. 7 points separate the 4th seed in the East, to the 12th seed in the east. Each night, teams jump into the playoff picture, or plummet a few spots out of the playoff picture. The Rangers have been lucky enough to stay a bit ahead of the group for most of the season. With a current streak of 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, the blue shirts have moved into 1st place in the overall standings with 80 points in 55 games.

The Rangers have done this with a very balanced attack. Unlike in year's past, where they have had mainstays in the top 10 in scoring, top 10 in defensive scoring, or having Lundqvist up near the top of goalie stats. The Rangers are the lone team in the league to have 14 players who have reached the 20 point plateau so far to date. Leading the charge are Anze Kopitar with 60 points and Mark Scheifele with 59 points. The defense is led by Matt Dumba with 44 points, followed closely by Rasmus Ristolainen with 41 points, and Alex Pietrangelo with 39 points. In goal, Henrik Lundqvist has had a solid, not spectacular season. In fact, Lundqvist's backup, Carter Hart, has put up far superior numbers. Lundqvist has had a 2.41 GAA and a 0.916 save %. While Carter Hart has a 1.96 GAA and a 0.932.

The Rangers have also recently signed 2 big pieces of their future, extending both Jake Guentzel and Patrik Laine for 5 years. They join a top 6 are all signed long term, including Anze Kopitar, Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Landeskog and off season signing, TJ Oshie. The Rangers also re-signed their 3rd line center, Dylan Strome, to a long term contract.

Looking ahead to next season, the Rangers will have some tough decisions to move on from some of their bottom of the lineup veterans.

The Rangers got a jump on the trade deadline, and solidified their defense by acquiring Alex Goligoski. The Rangers will likely stand pat on deals the rest of the season, and will go forward from here with the following lineup:

Gabriel Landeskog - Anze Kopitar - TJ Oshie
Jake Guentzel - Mark Scheifele - Patrik Laine
Erik Haula - Dylan Strome - Thomas Vanek
Marcus Granlund - Chris Mueller - Jason Pominville

Alex Pietrangelo - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam Fowler - Matt Dumba
Joel Edmundson - Alex Goligoski

Henrik Lundqvist
Carter Hart

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Flyers keep making moves

Posted on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 by WCHL Hockey


This Week in Philadelphia

We are 28 games into the Flyer season, here in S 29. The Flyers currently sit in the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-10-3 for 33 points. The Philadelphia Flyers went 4-2 for this past week. The team is playing solid two way hockey emphasis on defense one would think, but the Stats to date tell a wider lensed story. The Flyers do have the 4th best goals against in the league, which is also the best GA in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers boast the league's best PK unit at 90.12 %. They are also 9th in the league in shots against. They are the 4th least penalized team in the league at 7.29 PIM per game. Their face off win percentage is 11th at 52.03 %. But the Flyers have been playing offense, they are #1 in the league in shots for at 39.0 per game. The teams GF and GA differential is at 123,53%, while the teams shot differential is at 126.36%. The PP is only 17th in the league at 15.24%. What do the numbers say? The top thing that stands out is although the teams top scorers at 90 or better are shooting only about 8% and that has held the team back on some nights, which has in turn cost the Flyers valuable points in the standings. The team is playing outstanding hockey generating almost 40 shots a night, but are averaging just 3.0 goals a game. If they can start generating at 9 or 10%, the Flyers could be a dangerous team.

The Flyers are trying to make some moves, this week they traded Frankie Vatrano to LA for a future 2nd round pick as the try to improve their draft capital to make a move or two.

Gm Bourque
" We are out there making calls trying to see what is available, we thought we had closed a deal to bring in a power forward but our trade partner is having cap issues and the deal fell through, but we are still very active and will keep looking at what is possible."

The Games

1.(342) The last place Edmonton Oilers traveled to Philadelphia for the first tilt of the week. They gave the Flyers everything they could handle, shots were equal at 38. However David Backes gives 3 point performance and Grubauer makes 37 of 38 saves and Philadelphia escapes a trap game with a 3-1 win.

2.(362) The Flyers are on the road heading west to San Jose. The Flyers fired 47 shots at San Jose and received 33. The Flyers never trailed but this was a tight game Raanta stops 31 of 33 and the Flyers manage a 3-2 win against a very good team.

3.(374) Columbus comes to Philadelphia and once again for the 3rd time it is the Jacob Markstrom show. He stops 30 of 31 and the Blue Jackets down the Flyers yet again, 3-1.

4.(391) Philadelphia travels to Motown to take on an extremely good Detroit Red Wings team. Once again the Flyers hit the 40 shot mark, out shooting the Wings 42-32. Detroit opens the scoring in the first, but the Flyers get a shooting % close to 10 and drive 4 past Detroit, numbers 9,10 for Parise. Grubauer has a strong game stopping 31 of 32 shots.

5.(401)Philadelphia travels to Toronto for the first leg of a home and home.The Flyers out shoot the Leafs a whopping 44-17. Including 30-5 in the 1st period. The Flyers escape the 1st period with a 3-2 lead, as Grubauer has an off night giving up 3 goals on just 17 shots. The Flyers need a 3rd period Kessel PP goal to escape with a 4-3 win.

6.(418) It Toronto's turn to travel to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The shots were much more even at 36-28 in favor of the Flyers. Brendan Perlini scores twice for the Flyers, regulation end with a 2-2 tie. Overtime solves nothing and Toronto wins it in a shoot out. Flyers take the loss but get a loser point.

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Rangers revamp roster

Posted on Monday, May 13, 2019 by WCHL Hockey

Club focused on rebound after first round defeat



Well it has been an eventful offseason for the Rangers, as is the case for all teams when it is an offseason involving the draft. The Rangers had more selections in this 2017 draft, than they have ever had previously, in any other draft, but we will talk about the draft at another time. 

For the immediate future, the Rangers made a few moves, but nothing earth shattering. The Rangers will return next season with the same top 6 forward group, the same top 4 dmen, and the same starting goalie. It was the bottom 6 and the bottom pairing that received some tinkering, after the Rangers were eliminated in the 1st round of the playoffs last season. 

The Rangers first moves off the offseason saw them shore up the backup goaltender position, which is essentially a door opener, in Jeff Glass. Glass will likely see under 60 minutes of action this season, and for 650k, how do I sign up for that job? The Rangers have been notorious for calling up Juuse Saros when Henrik Lundqvist needs a breather, leaving Glass to sit and watch both the present, and future goalie of the team. 

The other move was for the Rangers to sign Chris Conner to Hartford, to replace the veteran leadership on the farm, which the Wolfpack lost with Erik Condra moving along. 

The Rangers then dipped into the trade market, acquiring Markus Granlund from the Flyers and Dan Hamhuis from the Capitals, both in exchange for 4th rd picks. Granlund will see limited minutes at 5v5 on the 4th line, but should see a bunch of PK time. Hamhuis will be the veteran stay at home defenceman on the 3rd pairing for the Rangers. 

Finally, the Rangers added 2 more pieces near the tail end of free agency, securing Jason Pominville and his veteran presence for the bottom 6, as well as Cal O'Reilly, who will likely be the 13th forward on the Rangers. When all is said and done, the Rangers will likely be icing an opening day roster which looks like the following: 

Gabriel Landeskog / Anze Kopitar / Patrik Laine 
Jake Guentzel / Mark Scheifele / Alex Steen 
Alex Tuch / Erik Haula / Jason Pominville 
Markus Granlund / Ben Street / Troy Brouwer 

Alex Pietrangelo / Rasmus Ristolainen 
Cam Fowler / Matt Dumba 
Dan Hamhuis / Brad Hunt 

Henrik Lundqvist 
Jeff Glass 

There wasn't too much turnover on the Hartford Wolfpack either, although the teams 2 leading scorers, Devin Shore and Alex Tuch, have either been promoted, or moved along. The goaltending should be extremely strong with Juuse Saros and Carter Hart between the pipes. There is still some tinkering to be done by Wolfpack management, as there will likely be players brought in on tryouts, but here is a rough idea of what fans can expect down on the farm. 

Ivan Barbashev / Dylan Strome / Jack Roslovic 
Chris Conner / Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson / Aleksi Saarela 
Marcus Power / Chris Mueller / Dmitry Sokolov 
Brett McKenzie / Mitch Hults / J.J. Piccinich 

Samuel Girard / David Makowski 
Olli Juolevi / Kyle Wood 
Peter Stoykewych / Louis Belpedio 

Juuse Saros 
Carter Hart

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Caps set lines for Season 28

Posted on Saturday, November 3, 2018 by WCHL Hockey



After 3 games in, the Washington Capitals are pleased to announce our forward lines for season 28:

Line 1 – Beast Line: Rickard Rakell (LW) Steven Stamkos (C) Alexander Radulov (RW)

First things first, no Caps first line is complete without an elite puck handling Russian sniper named Alexander (who is also money in the bank on the shootout) and a Swede who can pass the puck. Stamkos is the pivot that glues the line together. All three players are lightning quick, aren't shy to hit, can razzle dazzle with the puck, and are gifted offensively with a birthright to score goals. Look for them on the nightly ESPN/TSN/Sportsnet highlight reel. These three are simply beasts!

Line 2 – OuO Line: Nick Bonino (LW) Mikko Koivu (C) Vladimir Tarasenko (RW)

What happens when an American, a Finn, and a Russian skate on to the ice? OuO... Let's start with the veteran Koivu who plays a 2-way centre game and collects assists merely by winning the draw. Tarasenko's another elite speedy Russian winger who can score in his sleep. Bonino is solid at both ends of the ice and is always ready to win the face-off. Together, they provide a potent and fearless secondary offence.

Line 3 – Bear Line: Mattias Janmark (LW) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C) Tobias Rieder (RW)

Every season, the Caps ice a Bear line which is made up of players who have come up from our system – either drafted by the organization and/or developed in Hershey. This season's iteration includes two Caps' draftees – Janmark and Rieder – and one developee in Pageau. All three players are versatile: they can chip in offensively, are responsible defensively, and can move up or down the line-up as needed.

Line 4 – Beaver Line: Zach Hyman (LW) Derek Grant (C) Jamie McGinn (RW)

The Caps are rounded out by an industrious and hard-working group of Canadians. These guys grind away at their opponents, love to hit, go into the corners, and retrieve the puck in enemy territory. They can also deliver on the scoreboard.

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Flyers climb standings with positive week

Posted on Monday, June 25, 2018 by WCHL Hockey

Five straight victories highlight Philly surge





There hasn't been much positive to talk about in Philadelphia for the last three weeks. After three weeks of losing records,the Flyers finally showed signs of life. Their spot in the standings hasn't changed,they are still 9th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 29-15-2 for 60 points, 46 games played. They did have five starts this week winning all five. Gone are the gawdy shot totals, they were also outshot in two of the games, but we are talking 30-28 and 34-31. The Flyers did however score 4 + goals in four of the five games and finally the home fans had something to cheer about with three wins coming at home.

Game 1- at Florida, a 2-1 win, the Flyers did not give up an even strength goal and Crawford stopped 29 of 30 shots by the Panthers.

Game 2- Tampa Bay in Philadelphia, Flyers outshot the Lightning 37-21 and were rewarded with a 4-0 victory, Corey Crawford earning the Shut out,Conner McDavid with a goal and a helper.

Game 3- Minnesota at Philadelphia, Flyers win a very close highly contested game 4-3, shots were in favor of the Flyers 32-28. Nice team effort. Flyers scored 4 in the 1st and hung on for the next two periods as the Wild made a game of it. Conner McDavid with a goal and two helpers.

Game 4- Boston visits Philadelphia and out shoot the Flyers 34-31, the Flyers come away with a 5-2 victory, defensive 3rd line forward Antoine Roussel led the charge, with a goal, an assist,4 shots and 4 hits.

Game 5- Philadelphia travels to La Belle Provence to play Montreal. If you remember the last time these two met the Flyers outshot Montreal 64-15 and barely escaped with a win. This time the shots were 26-21, but the Flyers managed to get a few past Quick and then Nilsson,Flyers win 5-2 with young Christian Dvorak leading the way with a goal and two assists.

It was a positive week,with no change in positioning but a change in feeling, the Flyers got off the snide and maybe the bullseye is off their backs,lets just see how next week goes?

The Flyers topline has slipped in recent weeks, McDavid is 3rd in scoring league wide with 60  points, Saad has dropped to 22nd with 47 points and Oshie who still leads the league in hits at 208, just past the halfway mark is sitting 48th with 42 points. The production is still among the better lines in the league,but a far cry from where they were a month ago.

Flyers hope to keep the momentum going, but are still cautious after all it has been one decent week after three horrible weeks.

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