What’s Wrong With The Flyers’ Power Play?
VOORHEES, N.J. – When the Flyers power play got off to a horrible start to the season, Ville Leino, Danny Briere and others blamed the problem on a lack of chemistry – with players shuttling on and off power-play units trying to get something going.
The power play caught fire for a while – and then fell into the slump that it’s in currently, as the Flyers are 1-for-18 and 2-for-34 with the man advantage. This time, there are a variety of theories of what’s wrong.
“You tell me,” Chris Pronger said Friday. “I don’t know. Couldn’t tell ya.”
OK, seriously, there are real theories as to the root of the Flyers’ power-play problem. Leino’s was the most critical – that the Flyers are just lacking concentration to get the job done.
“I think we’re not focusing enough. I don’t know if we haven’t practiced enough. I think we’re just going out there and not knowing what we’re doing, pretty much,” Leino said. “It’s all about working hard and having desperation and shooting the puck.
“It’s not a secret, but maybe we’ve been a little tired or doing real good, so we haven’t had that desperation level that we need on the power play.”
The Flyers just went through a stretch of 10 games in 17 days, grueling even by NHL standards, so fatigue could be a factor. So they’re back to switching players in and out on the power play – with Nikolay Zherdev and even Andreas Nodl seeing some time on one of the units recently.
That’s partially because the Flyers have so many talented offensive players and partially so the guys don’t take being on the power play for granted.
“I don’t want us to become complacent with that either, ’cause we got good players waiting to go,” Laviolette said. “If Zherdev’s sitting on the bench, he’s a damn good power-play player. But if he comes on, then somebody’s gotta come off.”
Briere said he read that as his coach sending a message to players that they’d better produce on the power play. It’s something Leino had mentioned as a source of pressure early on. Laviolette said that’s not necessarily his intent.
“The guys that we put on the ice, there’s an expectation that we’re gonna score a goal and we’re gonna be successful, and you have to work at that,” he said. “If the power play’s not working or connecting the way you want, we’ve got other personnel on the bench. I don’t know if it’s message-sending or trying to score a goal.”
Over the past four games as the power play has struggled, eight different forwards have seen significant time on one of the units.
But according to Briere, this time the mixing and matching isn’t at the heart of the problem. No matter who’s on the ice, the Flyers are having difficulty setting up and getting good shots.
“We didn’t do a good job lately of coming up the ice together, supporting each other, retrieving pucks,” Briere said. “When you’re always chasing the puck in the offensive zone, when you keep it on the boards and you’re getting pressured, getting pressured, getting pressured, you can’t really get a handle on it. It creates a lot of frustration.
“I think that’s part of the reason we’re not getting shots on net because it seems the puck is always stuck on the boards and we’re fighting to retrieve it more than we have it set up and looking to make plays.”
Laviolette said Tuesday’s workouts will include an emphasis on the power play, including a film session. And while the Flyers know they have a problem with the power play right now, they’re still on a five-game point streak. That’s a positive, knowing that success is still happening even as a major part of the offense has gone stagnant.
“It seems things [on the power play] are always in a cycle up and down,” Briere said. “I think our 5-on-5 play has been good, really good even, a major part of the reason we’re still winning games or getting points in a lot of games.”
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