I know we havent played that bad but how are we losing games? we let the rangers get up 4-0 before we started to play. and then we went down to montreal cuz of 4 goals in the 3rd period which is unacceptable by me. Is it the defense or goaltending or what? 3 goals is enough to win a game.

I think it is poor coaching and partly goaltending. Biron isn't 100% at blame, but he needs to step it up a notch. And we are relying too much on Luca Sbisa. He is 18. Stevens also needs to do something better. He either can't get this team going at the beginning, or he can't get them to finish. He kind of reminds me of Charlie Manuel. Sometimes he will make a move that works out great and he looks like a genius. But when it doesn't work he looks retarded.

Sadly I think this is just a natural extension of last year. The Flyers were among the worst in the league at scoring goals at even strength. That doesn't seem to have changed, but the Gagne-Richards-Briere line looks like it will help.

Since the PP historically takes a while to jell, and the team relies on it so heavily, it will probably be a while until they can count on their most potent offensive weapon. Once that starts to click, they'll be a different team.

Again, the defense is banged up, and the goalies are what they are. Streaky.

There's no reason to panic. I expect the regular season to go much the same way it did last year. Unfortunately, they almost didn't make the playoffs last year before they got hot, so that's not a ringing endorsement.

They're a good team that has the potential to be great. They're also playing a brutal early schedule.

Agreed. There's no reason to panic.

As for last year, if it hadn't been for that awful losing streak, I don't think the Flyers would've been in danger of missing the playoffs. If we don't have a streak like that again this year, I think we'll be fine.

I thought Sbisa was awesome. I'm incredibly impressed with his play so far. I'm not sure what Stevens could've possibly done differently. Biron hasn't looked very sharp to me.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sbisa has been great. But to rely on him this much at 18. I mean he hasn't been perfect. That 4th goal was partly his fault. But he is 18, he shouldn't be put in those high pressure situations yet. Against the Rangers, the one thing that stuck out to me was how much our 4th line was out when we were trailing 4-0. I know its for energy, but you need your scoring lines more in that situation. They did better on the PK so I was pleased with that, but what is with the powerplay. They cannot setup, and the 5 on 3 has been horrible. Biron has been terrible. He should have saved at least 2 of their goals in both games. All you Biron lovers, blame it on the defense all you want, but Biron has looked lost, and has shown he is still vulnerable moving east to west and through the five hole. Nitty had the same defense on Saturday and came up with the spectacular saves to keep them in the game. Nitty finally looks like he is healthy and feels confident with his hip. I say we see what he can do starting tomorrow in Pittsburgh.

Lupul and Knuble have also been disappointing in these games.

Ughhh.... Frustrating. I don't know where to start. But the crowd this year has been TERRIBLE so far. I'm not sure if everyone wanted to stay home and watch the Phils (as bad as they are playing tonight) but it looks like a sixers game.

I like Biron but I think Niitty should get the start against Pittsburgh. That is not to say that he should be the new #1 starter, but it should send a message to Biron that he needs to wake up.

Ughhh.... Frustrating. I don't know where to start. But the crowd this year has been TERRIBLE so far. I'm not sure if everyone wanted to stay home and watch the Phils (as bad as they are playing tonight) but it looks like a sixers game.

Can't really place blame with Stevens, he's done a decent job preparing the team. Frankly, the Flyers typically start slow. There is a solid nucleus, but a defensive crew that is still learning how to play together. Take a look a tonites pairings, no real chemistry as of yet.

If nothing else, the guys need to take-away the intensity of the 2nd period, combine that with the embarrassment of the third and realize they've got to play a complete game.

RE: Nitty in goal, he needs the work...
RE: Sbisa - the kids got talent and heart...

Biron's concentration looks off a bit, for every great save he makes, there is a flub or bad rebound he can't control. Lets give him the night off tomorrow, start Niity, get the 2 points, and move on. Not a shot at Biron, he just needs to watch some film, and re-focus on the task ahead. He is our #1 goalie.

The team looks great so far, we certainly played well enough to win tonight.

Thats the way Biron is though, he will make an amazing save one second, but let in a 60 foot wrist shot the next..
it was like that last year too

As I recently stated in the Game Day Thread, Gagne's back on form, Briere is picking up assists, these two are going to only get better along with Richie. Gagne is a great defensive forward and as soon as we start cutting out our mistakes, we'll be fine.

That line is scary good. I think they have the potential to be the top scoring line in the league.

I am going to say one more thing that might get me in some trouble on this board however here it goes.

I think that Niittymaki is better than Biron. He is positionally more sound than Biron and he stays on his skates longer. He doesn't flop to his knees so easily like Biron does. He sees the shot better that way and is not beaten high.

Ok..I'm done.

LETS GO FLYERS!!!!

I keep saying this but nobody wants to listen. Its going to be a rough month without Parent and Jones. Jone's isn't even that stellar of a D-man, but the alternatives are worse. We have a great kid in Sbisa out there, but any 18 year old is going to make plenty of mistakes. Biron is a decent goalie and so is Nitty (I actually don't think either one is that better than the other), but neither are good enough to make up for the lack of depth we have on our D. I think we going to drift through this first month-month and a half of the season playing .500 hockey. Hopefully we take off when these guys get back and lets hope for no more D injuries! (or any for that matter)

The reason for the loss against the Habs is simple, the Flyers stopped skating in the third. They played a great first two periods. They had great puck support and were almost always first to the loose pucks. In the first half of the third though, that wasn't the case. The Habs were getting to those loose pucks and creating scoring chances because of it.
You can single out one or two players all you want but that's not the reason for this loss, nor the Rangers loss. Play 60 minutes of hockey and it's a different story. Plain and simple.

Tommorows game in Pitt is huge. We cant afford another loss. It may seem early but the rags already have 10 points. yikes

DENVER – Sound the alarms. Batten down the hatches. Line up all the women and children first.

The Flyers have reached a breaking point.

Tempers are short. Nerves are frayed. Fingers are being pointed. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.

But it has. And while coach John Stevens bears the burden of trying to find a way to turn his team around pronto, captain Mike Richards has the task of keeping the locker room together as one unit, and not splintered off into factions of grumbling workers.

Following the debacle that was a 5-2 loss to Colorado on Thursday that kept the Flyers winless for the new season, Richards first tact was to blame himself.

Sounding a lot like Eagles coach Andy Reid in a day after press conference snooze fest, Richards put a lot of the responsibility for the team’s lackluster performance on his own shoulders.

“I’m not leading by example right now,” Richards said. “You can’t tell other people how to do it if you’re not doing it yourself. It starts with me and kind of trails on.”

And although Richards has been one of the few players on the roster who has given a consistently solid effort in each of the four games, the fact that the team is not winning is one he takes personally and for which he feels ultimately responsible.

He was great in the 3-2 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, and the Flyers did play their best game of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Richards, who was angry after the game.

“I hate losing,” he said.

And that’s a good trait. Problem is, it doesn’t seem to be imbedded in all the souls that reside in the Flyers locker room.

Which is where the bleeding is coming from.

Danny Briere, who plays on a line with Richards and has had a so-so start to his season, hinted that there was discord in the locker room following the loss.

“The worst thing we can do right now is point fingers,” said Briere. “We need to stay together. We need to regroup. It’s only four games. We have lots of time. Urgency is something that needs to show up now in our game.”

It was a curious statement from a player who chooses his words carefully and with purpose.

Was Briere, a leader without a letter on the Flyers, firing off the flare gun to publicly let everyone know that things are not all good?

“Sometimes that’s where you can get in trouble a little bit,” said Briere. “That’s where you have to be careful. It’s important we stick together. We’re going to be together all season.”

Or not – if things keep going this badly.

“I don’t think there are too many guys in this (locker) room, including myself, who have had such great games where they can point fingers at different people,” said Richards. Collectively, we have to be better as a group.”

Plain and simple. But will Richards be able to rein in the strong personalities on the roster right away? Has he earned enough respect from his teammates as their vocal and emotional leader yet to send messages and have them resonate?

“He gauges his own success on the success of the team,” Stevens said confidently about his captain. “His enjoyment comes from the team not himself personally. He may be a little more outspoken now and little more willing to jump out in front and take charge.

“He wants the stage. He wants to be the go-to guy. He wants to be on the ice. He’s going to have to have a bigger voice.”

And with the immediate schedule showing no signs of lightning, he needs to speak loud and clear to his teammates, or risk falling together into the abyss of two seasons ago.

That can’t happen. Not with the talent of this group. It just absolutely can not.

I know we havent played that bad but how are we losing games? we let the rangers get up 4-0 before we started to play. and then we went down to montreal cuz of 4 goals in the 3rd period which is unacceptable by me. Is it the defense or goaltending or what? 3 goals is enough to win a game.