SAME OLD, SAME OLD
Mice can be taught to negotiate mazes. Chimpanzees can learn sign
language. Hell, Andy Katzenmoyer managed to pass Golf, Music
Appreciation, and AIDS Awareness. And yet the Philadelphia Flyers
can't figure out how to beat the New Jersey Devils. Does that put
it in perspective or what?
The Flyers' October 22 loss to the Devils, their first of the
season, runs their winless streak against New Jersey to six games
(0-5-1). And since that loss mirrored every other loss to the
Devils in the recent past, maybe it's time to wonder if the
Flyers' fast start wasn't an illusion created by a soft
early-season schedule.
How can you get off to a bad start when your first three games
are against the Rangers, Anaheim, and Tampa Bay? Those kindly NHL
czars couldn't be much nicer without slipping the Muskegee
Industrial Institute for the Blind on the schedule somewhere.
I'm sure a lot of readers are thinking it's too early to panic
about this. But perhaps those optimistic souls should consider
this: when the Devils came into Philly, they weren't exactly
setting the world on fire. They were 1-3-0 with six goals scored.
For the math-impaired, that's 1.5 goals per game. Yet they still
managed to look like their old selves against the Flyers, turning
innocuous-looking rushes into crushing goals. And NO, NO, NO, Ron
Hextall wasn't in the net. So it's definitely time for the Flyers
to find a new excuse.
What is it about the Devils? The gritty work ethic? Martin
Brodeur? The pungent stench of North Jersey that never washes out
of their jerseys? The pure, unadulterated ugliness of Ken
Daneyko? Hell if I know.
LACK OF SCORING DEPTH
It's bad enough that the Flyers aren't scoring much, 18 goals in
seven games. But what's worse is that three players have
accounted for 14 of them. Throw out those three players, Lindros,
LeClair, and Brind'Amour, who sometimes appear on the same line
and almost always make up the first power-play unit, and the team
has scored 0.57 goals per game. That's disturbing -- particularly
because this Flyers team has been heralded for their depth.
Still, there are some reasons to be optimistic. Although the
"Wasted Potential" line of Alexandre Daigle, Chris Gratton, and
Dainius Zubrus has just one goal (by Daigle) so far, the line
generated numerous quality scoring chances against the Rangers on
the 24th. That's well and good. But it would be nice to see them
finish some of them. Good chances don't feed the bulldog.
In an effort to get more goals from the young underachievers, the
short-lived Daigle to center experiment is temporarily over.
Zubrus will take over at center for now and Daigle will return to
his former home on the right wing. Sure, a more rational solution
might be to keep the three biggest malingerers on the team off of
the same line. But then again, at least this beats another year
or waiting for Pat Buffoon (Falloon) to "unlock" his potential.
THEO?
With Mike Maneluk struggling to score goals on the first line,
the Theo Fleury to the Flyers rumors are starting to intensify.
Pierre McGuire, a color analyst for the Canadians, reported on
the air that Bob Clarke has had preliminary discussions with
Flames GM Al Coates. Clarke, of course, denies that report. He
also denies that the sky is blue and that Liberace was fruitier
than Hawaiian Punch. So stay tuned.
GOODBYE, TRENT
The writing was on the wall for Trent Klatt. When the Flyers
placed him on waivers to add Jody Hull to their roster, it didn't
take a rocket scientist to figure out that Klatt's stock with the
club had fallen off the map. But doesn't it seem a little odd
that a club struggling for offense essentially gave away a guy
who scored 38 goals in the past two seasons? Sure, Klatt isn't
Mike Bossy. But last I checked, Jody Hull wasn't the guy who
scored all those goals for the Blues. And Valeri Zelepukin and
Marc Bureau aren't exactly renowned as scoring machines, either.
Maybe this was a case of Bob Clarke returning the favor the
Canucks did for him last spring when they traded Mike Sillinger
to the Flyers for the proverbial used puck bag. That explanation
makes sense, except for the fact that Clarke isn't exactly known
for his warm, fuzzy streak.
