ok, when is stevens going to wake up and TRY this???

i just did the math.

2006/7:
nitty: 17 saves on 23 shots
biron: 1 save on 3 shots

2007/8:
nitty: 3 saves on 3 shots
biron: 7 save on 20 shots

2008/9
nitty: 0 saves on 0 shots
biron: 0 save on 2 shots

net:
nitty: 20 saves on 26 shots (77% sv %, nhl avg is 66 % right?)
biron: 8 saves on 25 shots (32% sv %.)

PUT NITTY IN FOR THE SHOOTOUT. i mean why the heck not?? who's with me... obviously ronny wilson thought it was a good idea, he just did it w/toronto (didn't work but was worth a shot.)

Nitty is just as bad. We just suck at the shootout as a whole team both scoring and goaltending

Niitty isn't that good but he isn't that bad

Does anyone have any idea why the Flyers are so completely inept in the SO?? I mean, it's gotten to the point where I EXPECT them to lose 2-0.....but despite all the aggravation it's almost impossible not to watch the SO.

I desperately want a switch to 3 on 3 for an additional 5 minutes....it was soooo much fun watching the future starts 3 on 3 at the all-star game. I was laughing out loud at the constant odd-man rushes; fun, exciting and at least somewhat dependent upon teamwork. Also a lot less waiting around. And it's unlikely that many games will still be tied after that; I really don't see anything wrong with ties either...

Ever since he pulled off that nifty goal during the All-Star Game skills competition, Stevens has been making Timmonen the lead-off shooter during shootouts.

Why?

The All-Star skills competition isn't a game situation, nor are the goalies focused as they would be in a shootout where actual points are on the line. It's the equivalent of practice.

Kimmo is a great playmaker, but he's not someone who drives the net or makes plays one-on-one against goaltenders, nor is it something he's called upon to do during a game. He's a playmaker, not a scorer.

He's 0-for-3 so far with points in the standings on the line. I think the experiment is a failure. Let's let the actual scorers focus on the shootouts from now on.

He scored the 1st time so hes 1 for 3 not 0 for 3.

He is being used because our natural scorers have worse numbers then him. Coming into this game he was going 50%

Tell me who in the Flyers that has done much better..

It's obvious that the Flyers can't win shootouts no matter who they put out there; although I agree with you that Timmonen wouldn't be the best choice either.

Do they work on the shootout in practice? Just curious.

if they don't they better start.

What's Nitty's numbers? He's at least 50%..

It just doesn't look like it. I also wonder if Stevens pulls names out of a hat or something.

what determines,who is in the shootout?

Nitty is much better than biron at the shootout...

And Kimmo scored on the shootout before didn't he?

Yeah, I was mistaken. Before he shot, the stats guy on NBC posted a graphic that he was 0-2, so I assumed they were correct. It took me a while to find the SO stats buried on NHL.com that contradicted them after GOAT pointed out my error.

http://www.nhl.com/stats/shootout_report.pdf

Well I think now Carter should be in it..he buried in the buffalo game and hit a post today. Prospal is 5-9 for I believe, and Briere looks a bit more confident. I wouldnt even mind seeing guys that havent done it as much give it a whirl, Kapanen, Thor, Hartnell maybe, just to get a new look.

I don't mind the decision to use Kimmo. Stevens could have just done the generic Briere-Carter-Upshall deal like he has all year, and we could have booked a loss like we have all year. So there is no harm in trying something new. It worked the first time with Kimmo up in Ottawa, so why not try to stick with it? Also, Biron is horrible at shootouts, but I don't think it's fair to say Nitty is any better. I don't think we've seen Nitty in any this year, and last year other than that first Rangers game where he stopped like 11 shootout shots, he was pretty bad in them if my memory serves correctly.

Carter was in...

Prospal should be in though, those numbers are good

I would have started with Prospal. I told Mr. Lope before we argued about the merits of the shootout that I thought it should be Prospal, Carter, Umberger or Briere (based on Umby's recent play and Danny's recent SO goal). But I don't coach the Flyers, so I guess it's a moot point.

Briere, Carter, Umberger, Knuble, Upshall, Hartnell, and our newest addition Prospal. So why did we have a defensmen leading off the shootout???

That's not going to go far in scoring popularity points as far as Stevens is concerned. Prospal, Briere and Carter should have been our first three, they are the best we got, plain and simple!!

To the poster who asked what goes into the decision of the shootout lineups. It's the coaches call, he submits who he will have shooting, it's all his call!!

On a more positive note though, the boys look like they are starting to come together and playing much better these last few games. Hopefully they can keep it up, although the extra point would have been huge today, considering we're trying to catch the Rangers!! The bad call by Stevens could cost us dearly if we miss the playoffs by one point!!

i would agree with the last post most important we got at least a point today and we have showed signs of playing better. I really dont understand the shootout. i mean one hand it is cool because a penalty shot is always exciting to see but playoff points at this time of year shouldnt come down to individual plays resulting from the shootout. They should change the rule so every player has to shoot once in the shootout before a player can go again this would make it more of a tougher decision for the coaches becasue you wouldnt be able to use the same players every time. you should have to cycle through your lineup one time before a player can be eligible to be in a shootout again and it shouldnt count if the player hasnt played more the a certain amount of games like for injury call ups and what not. i mean some teams play defensively in the overtime cause they know they have skilled guys in the shoot outs. i would rather go to 5 min of 3 on 3 before this bulldeleted. Just my 2 cents

ive always disliked the shootout. its letting the fate of a win be decided on a single person, when this is a team based sport.

He went with the shooters that won the game for us in Buffalo. I don't have a problem with that.

nitty is just as bad and it seems we can never catch a break shooting

stevens needs to take at least 15 minutes out of each practice and do shootouts

because kimmo is better then half the forwards on this team at shootouts

i actually think its a great idea sending kimmo down

reggie lemelin has been our G coach for so long now... maybe it's time they move him. biron was incredible when he got here last year and early this season.

all of our goalies have sucked since the middle of hexy's career. so they need to draft better and maybe get better coaching.

also, I hope the flyers are practicing for shoot outs. goalies and players. biron may as well play agressive on 1 of 3, since he isn't stopping anything otherwise.

bernie bernie bernie!

Yeah, but neither is the shootout.
Because he's good at it?

I was fine with all the selections. I think our shootout slump is mostly a mental thing.

We suck in the shootout, nothing more needs to be said. Thank God there is none of this nonsense in the playoffs.

timonen needs a new move

Not at all.

They dont work on it all, they play to win not to get to shoot outs. Some teams play just for it. Last year the Pens won a bunch of games down the stretch and all by SO. Look at what it got them a first rnd exit by the Sens. The Oilers have something like 17 SO wins this season and they still stink. I dont know points are everything right now so we need the SO wins. On the other hand its a gimmic cause people could not stand ties anymore. I'm not ok with losing to a gimmic by any means but we stole a point. It would have been great for the other but it is what it is. I would rather them spend them time practing winning games, by PK's and PP's. We will see how far these shoot out teams go.



Also did anyone have a problem with the head start Shannahan was given? It seemed like to me that he started from the far blue line. I thought you had to start at center ice?

The Flyers' repeated failure in these shootouts in ridiculous. The shootout is apart of the game (whether we want it to be, or not), and Stevens and the Flyers need to realize that. I understand Kimmo scored the first time he was in the shootout, but since then has tried basically the same move (with a slight variation in Buffalo) and has failed. I don't know why he keeps putting the guy out there when he has one move, based on the All-Star skills competition. Other than that, I would've liked to see either Upshall or Umby instead of Kimmo, and not that they could do anything about it because Nitty was already replaced, but Biron flat out sucks in the shootout. I think he's better in regular play than Nitty, but clearly cannot handle the shootout. He constantly looks slow and out of position.

I understand that we want to play to win. I totally agree with that. And obviously if you win, the shootout is a moot point. However, the shootout is now a part of the game, like it or not. It seems ridiculous to give up a point nearly every time we end up in the shootout. I'm not saying that they need to have a shootout drill at every practice, but maybe they should treat it like a special teams situation. Have certain guys that you're going to use most of the time in shootout situations. Let them practice once a week or something. To be totally unprepared for that aspect of the game just seems silly. I know that shootout wins do not a Cup winner make, but the points we give up in the standings could mean the difference between making the playoffs and watching the playoffs on Versus.

Very good point. All those points that we've lost because of the shootouts add up, and if we miss the playoffs by a point or two, it will be because of our inability to win these shootouts, among other things. We can't take for granted how much these things are worth.

Yes, they do. I don't know how often but I know that Briere said in an interview after the Buffalo game that they had been practicing frequently.

How many teams have winning shootout records? Link To PDF http://www.nhl.com/stats/shootout_report.pdf

Of the 16 teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, only 9 of them are .500 or better in the shootout, so you make a reasonable point.

However, of the 5 teams that the Flyers have lost SO games to this season, all but 1 are ahead of them in the standings currently. Of those 5, only the 2 SO losses to the Rangers would change the current playoff seeding, moving the Flyers from 8th to 7th.

So, while the importance of the SO may seem a bit overstated, if the team misses the playoffs by more than 2 points, but less than 5 (which is wholly possible given the tightness of the race in the East this year) then the SO becomes a very big deal.

Of course, if they hadn't lost 11 of their last 14 games, we wouldn't be having this conversation because they'd still be on top of their division and no one would have given a rat's *** about the SO losses.

Of course, if they hadn't lost 11 of their last 14 games, we wouldn't be having this conversation because they'd still be on top of their division and no one would have given a rat's *** about the SO losses.
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Now that's my point. Lol

We prolly suck at shootouts since we hardly go in to them unlike other teams do.

Has anyone noticed the mistake in the picture supposedly from Sundays game on the homepage? Its quite funny. Why couldnt they just use a real picture from Sunday's game? Weird.

I've never seen them practice them.
But hopefully they are.

The only math Stevens is going to be doing will be adding a milk shake to your fast food order. Good Bye NHL, hello McDonalds

Definatelly.First he pulls him for Biron which was a big mistake obviously.Then he keeps him for the SO knowing that Nitty is the man in that department.Still don't understand the decisions he made.

Biron disgusts me. All season long he has looked horrible. I knew as soon as nitty was not in the shootout that the flyers had lost the game. Biron is absolutely horrible 1on1. Biron is absolutely horrible period. Nitty should be the No 1 goalie for the flyers.

Apparently steven's didn't watch the last winter olympics when nitty shut down the entire world. I am so disgusted at steves decision to pull nitty tonight. All 4 goals on nitty were not his fault, they were all do to his front porch being loaded with sharks. Stevens puts biron in and biron doesn't make one good save, he falls on rump and then the puck is in the net. And then a deja vu with biron in horrible position just letting the sharks have an entire open net (defense shouldve pressured the sharks on that one, but biron was still in VERY BAD position)

AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!! I am SOOO DISGUSTED!

Nitty's stats for those who didn't watch the olympics:

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%

2006 Finland Oly 6 5 1 - 359 8 3 1.34 .951

2006 Winter Olympics men's ice hockey Most Valuable Player and member of the media All-Star team

When nitty is #1 goalie, he has a boatload of confidence, just look at the Olympic #'s or for another matter, go look at the phantom's calder cup season..

Biron is finished... I wasn't even impressed with him last season, he plays poor position, hes just a large body of mass and tends to stop alot of rubber, but it isn't because of skill. If you watch him in shootouts he looks extremely uncomfortable, and his reaction times are that of a drunk person.

Yes indeed.Now as I come to think about it Nitty would get us the SC last season,big thing to say I know.But he's an awesome goalie who has alot of potential and ******* Stevens don't see that.Biron is his "golden boy" I presume.

I agree. People who say Nitty is not #1, I don't see your reasoning. He has been unhealthy in the past which has held him back. Now he is healthy. And he has never gotten to be the consistent starter because Stevens has a love affair with Biron. Even when Esche was here, Nitty got no respect. Nitty is just way more composed in net. When the puck is behind the net, Biron looks so nervous and all over the place. He needs to go. Trade him for a d-man. He is in the final year of his contract, so it should be easy to ship him somewhere with Knuble or someone like that attached in the deal.

I like Biron, but he is pretty much a guaranteed loss in the shootout. I guess Stevens doesn't care since we still get the loser point.

I agree. I just really don't get what is going on in Stevens' head. It's frustrating. I do like Biron, but he always chokes when it comes to shootouts. Anyways, Biron just isn't on point this year. Nitty is our #1 guy right now and he needs to be in net during the game and during shootouts.