For a team that leads the entire National Hockey League in penalty minutes and is attempting to be more disciplined, tonight would seem like a bad time to begin.

Facing off against the Canadiens just six days after an ultra-chippy affair at Montreal last Tuesday, there is no doubt some bad blood is left between the two teams.

The Canadiens were upset by two hits by high-energy forward Darroll Powe that they felt were dirty.  The first was what replays showed was actually a clean shoulder check in which Powe was penalized with an elbowing call. 

Just 27 seconds into the third period, Powe hit Jeff Halpern from behind into the corner boards.  Halpern’s helmet came off on the hit as his head hit the glass, and he fell backwards and struck his head on the ice.  There was no penalty on the play, and Halpern needed assistance to get off the ice.

Maxim Lapierre attempted vigilante justice, asking Powe to drop the gloves as they lined up for a faceoff two minues later.  Powe obliged, and promptly pummelled Lapierre to the ice.

There’s no question this will carry over into tonight, as will the Mike Richards - P.K. Subban battle which turned into a post-game war of words.

The two had to be separated midway through the third period and after the game, Richards said Subban needs to earn the respect of other players before he carries himself on the ice as he does now as a rookie.  Subban’s reply was that he has always played with this type of confidence and will not be changing a thing.

Philadelphia leads the NHL in minor penalties (117), total penalties (141), and penaly minutes (384).  But more importantly, the Flyers lead the league in most times being shorthanded (108), the only team in the league to go over the century mark in being a man down.  And that kind of a number is not good coming in just 21 games, as Philly has found itself shorthanded an average of over five times per contest.

There are many problems created in the aftermath of the parade to the penalty box.  First and foremost, the penalty killing units start to get worn down and tired spending so much time doing one of the most strenuous tasks in any game.

Tired players tend to use their sticks to restrain their opponents more than if they were rested, thereby perpetuating the problem by taking more minors.   

A tired penalty killing unit has a tendancy to break down, and that is what has been happening to the Flyers.  Philadelphia’s penalty killing percentage has fluctuated, but had been heading towards the upper echelon of the NHL statistics.  That is until the recent stretch of three games in which they gave up eight power play goals in the last 23 opponent PP chances.  The team now sits 16th overall in PK percentage.

Saying no to Nikolay

Another situation with the extended time of having special teams units on the ice is that players that are playing well but do not play on special teams go long periods of time without seeing the ice. 

The Flyers’ best players also play on special teams, but look no further than Nikolay Zherdev for the argument as to this case.  One of the most skilled players on the team, Zherdev was sent to the press box to get a message across that nothing but 100% effort will be acceptable.  Zherdev has responded with excellent play while being given minimal ice time since returning.

In 19 games this season, Zherdev is fifth on the club in goal scoring with seven, including five in nine contests since the benching.  He scored two goals and added an assist last Thursday night in the wild 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  And that was in less than nine minutes of ice time.

Peter Laviolette responded by giving Zherdev just over six minutes of ice time on Saturday in Washington. 

In all fairness to Laviolette, there were 16 power play opportunities doled out by the officials in that game.  But what better player than Zherdev to log some time on the power play unit?  Especially when he has been creating numerous scoring chances in a miniscule amount of ice time.

Syvret re-acquired

Defenseman Danny Syvret, who played with the Flyers in 21 contests last season but signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Anaheim Ducks this past summer, was re-acquired yesterday. 

Syvret and minor league forward Rob Bordson were acquired from Anaheim for forwards Patrick Maroon and David Laliberte.  Both Syvret and Bordson will report to the Adirondack Phantoms.

Syvret, 25, will be a welcome addition to the Phantoms blue line as they attempt to re-build a respectable club after a horrific start to the season.  They currently are 3-14-2, and have compiled a 1-12-2 mark in their last 15.  This skid has seen head coach Greg Gilbert fired and John Paddock take over on an interim basis.

The 22-year-old Bordson played in 15 games with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, recording a goal and three points.  This is the six-foot, two-inch, 190 pound forwards first year of professional hockey after spending the past three years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth

The 22-year-old, six-foot, four-inch, 225 pound Maroon had problems in Adirondack this season, been disciplined by the team, and was awaiting a trade. 

Laliberte, 24, had been recalled last season and played 11 games, recording two goals and three assists. 

While the deal was to strictly bolster the Flyers AHL-affiliate’s roster, it could pay dividends down the road with a more positive atmosphere if the Phantoms start winning.  The confidence of the youngsters has to be very low at this time with Adirondack’s horrible winning percentage.

Wellwood recalled

The Flyers have recalled forward Eric Wellwood, who had been impressive in an earlier three game stint with the Flyers.  Wellwood had provided a high amount of energy on a line with Richards and Andreas Nodl, and had picked up an assist in the three contests.

Though Nodl told CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio he was in the lineup tonight against Montreal, Panaccio reported the contrary via Twitter.

David Strehle
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia

With the arrival of Andreas Lilja in Anaheim and the return to health of Toni Lydman, the Ducks placed defenseman, Brendan Mikkelson on waivers from which he was subsequently claimed by the Calgary Flames. This move left an opening for a 7^th d-man on Anaheim’s roster.

Having been sent to the Ducks’ AHL affiliate before the 2010-11 season got underway, Danny Syvret played the first 4 regular season games for the Syracuse Crunch, putting together 2 assists and 7 penalty minutes. Last season with the Adirondack Phantoms, Syvret skated in 15 games scoring 5 goals and 8 assists with a total of 6 penalty minutes. Signed by Anaheim as a free agent on July 21^st, 2010, he also appeared in 21 games as a Philadelphia Flyer in 2010-11.

Yesterday, Danny got the call to join the big team on the road in Columbus. This young defenseman could be just what the team needs to shore up and finalize the defensive pairings. With his hockey sense and toughness, he could bring the spark and heart that will pull the Ducks’ struggling defense together.  Having won two out of three at home, the Anaheim Ducks face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in the first of a 4 game road series. Back in the line-up is Toni Lydman, who after experiencing a bout of double-vision, appears to be symptom free and has been a very pleasant surprise since hitting the ice for Anaheim. Lydman, who is not considered a point getting defenseman, has 2 goals on 6 shots and is a +2 in his first two games for the team. Another high note is the noticeable production of the Ducks’ big guns.  The R-P-G line combined for 19 points during these past three games, with Bobby Ryan notching 1 goals and4 assists, Corey Perry getting 3 goals as well as 3 assists and Ryan Getzlaf putting up 3 goals with 5 assists. Teemu Selanne added two goals  and two assists of his own, tying him for 15^th with Dino Ciccarelli on the All-time goal scorer’s list. Cam Fowler continues to impress, despite suffering a broken nose after a hit from Phoenix Coyotes’ captain, Shane Doan, he is still putting in approximately 20 minutes of ice time per game and notched his first career NHL goal this past Sunday (October 17^th, 2010).

Cam Fowler’s 1st NHL Goal

What I am expecting from the Ducks on this road trip:

-          Continued and improved production from the name players. Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne and Saku Koivu are just getting started, I think we will see a big jump in point production from these players.

-          A much more stable defense. With Lydman and Lilja starting to get comfortable in the line-up as well as with Head Coach Randy Carlyle’s style and the addition of Syvret, the Ducks’ defense should begin showing a marked improvement. I expect to see a drop in the number of shots on goal that the team’s goaltenders, Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney are having to face per game.

Upcoming games:

Tonight, Oct. 20^th, 2010 @Columbus Blue Jackets

Oct. 21^st, 2010 @Philadelphia Flyers (a homecoming for former Flyer, Danny Syvret)

Oct. 23^rd, 2010 @Detroit Red Wings

Oct. 26^th, 2010 @Dallas Stars

Selly (Karen) Heddaeus-Robinson

NHLHS Anaheim Ducks Correspondent

SelanneGirl@NHLHotStove.com

Twitter: @SelanneGirl

- How many points can we expect from a healthy, 40-year old, Teemu Selanne?

Playing in only 54 games of the 2009-10 season, the Finnish Flash was able to tally 48 points, 27 goals and 21 assists. That makes nearly a point a game for last year. If Selanne can remain uninjured for the upcoming season and play in 70 – 82 games and he can produce points with this same amount of consistency, I would expect to see, at the very least, a 50 point season from Teemu. I really think we’d be looking at closer to a 70 point year with very close if not 50 of those points being goals.

- Will Bobby Ryan remain at center instead of wing? Can he build on his success from last season?
GM Bob Murray and Head Coach Randy Carlyle made the decision to try out the natural winger at the center position during training camp and part of preseason. Ryan, Anaheim’s leading goal scorer for 2009-10, seems to have adjusted fairly well to playing center in the short time he has been there, but I don’t think we can expect to see the point production from him if he is remain there.

- Who is going to step up and captain the defense? Which young d-man is going to make his mark?
With the retirement of Scott Niedermayer, a huge hole needs to be filled in the Ducks’ defensive as well as in the locker room. Lubomir Visnovsky, an offensive type defenseman, could be just the one to take over. While no-one can fully replace a player like Niedermayer, Visnovsky has the skill and the attitude to give the team the leadership on and off the ice as well as providing some defensive scoring.
The additions of Andy Sutton and Paul Mara will also help to fill the void left by Nieds.
Toni Lydman could also be a big help defensively for the team, but with the cause of his recently occurring double vision, his future is a bit uncertain at this point in time.
I was thinking that either, Danny Syvret or Brett Festerling was going to fill one of the remaining defensive roster spots, if not two of them, but with both of them clearing waivers and being assigned to the Syracuse Crunch (Anaheim’s AHL affiliate) this morning, it looks like Luca Sbisa and Cam Fowler will be here for at least the start of 2010-11.

- What can we expect from Jonas Hiller this season? If Hiller falters, can Curtis McElhinney come in a do the job?
After appearing in 59 games for 2009-10, Hiller ended the year with a 2.73 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Although, the goals against was slightly higher than expected, he did come up with 30 wins. I am expecting to see the Swiss goalie in 65-70 games in 2010-11 with a GAA around 2.35 or so and 37 – 40 wins which should be enough to carry the Ducks into post-season play. Hiller is a wall when he’s on his game and it seems to me that he’s only going to get better.

McElhinney, who was acquired from Calgary near the end of last season, played in a total of 20 games for 2009-10. Ten of those games were guarding the Anaheim net. His record with the team was 5 wins and 1 loss with a 2.76 GAA and a .917 save percentage. I think we will see 27 year-old starting 15 or so games with wins coming in about 9 of those.

Stats:
Teemu Selanne’s Player Page at NHL.com
Bobby Ryan’s Player Page at NHL.com
Lubomir Visnovsky’s Player Page at NHL.com
Jonas Hiller’s Player Page at NHL.com
Curtis McElhinney’s Player Page at NHL.com

Preseason results:
09/21/10 – Coyotes 4 @ Ducks 1
09/22/10 – Sharks 2 @ Ducks 5
09/24/10 – Ducks 5 @ Sharks 4
09/25/10 – Ducks 1 @ Canucks 4
09/28/10 – Ducks 3 @ Kings 8

Upcoming games:
10/01/10 – Canucks @ Ducks 7:00 pm PST (preseason)
10/03/10 – Kings @ Ducks 5:00 pm PST (preseason)
1st regular season game – 10/08/10 – Ducks @ Red Wings 4:00 pm PST

Injuries:
Joffrey Lupul – Lower back – Indefinite
Toni Lydman – Double vision/? – Indefinite
Jason Jaffray – Torn ACL & Sprained MCL – Indefinite

Moves:
Assigned to Syracuse Crunch (AHL):
Nick Bonino (Center)
Rob Bordson (Left Wing)
Mat Clark (Defenseman)
Nicolas Deschamps (Left Wing)
Joe DiPenta (Defenseman)
Brandon McMillan (Left Wing)
Mark Mitera (Defenseman)
Kyle Palmieri (Right Wing)
Brett Festlering (Defenseman)
Danny Syvret (Defenseman)
JP Levasseur (Goaltender)
Trevor Smith (Center)
MacGregor Sharp (Center)
Timo Pielmeier (Goaltender)
Jake Newton (Defenseman)

Assigned to juniors:
Emerson Etem (Right Wing)
Peter Holland (Center)
Devante Smith-Pelly (Right Wing)
Scott Valentine (Defenseman)
Igor Bobkov (Goaltender)
Released from Pro Tryout:
Stephane Veilleux (Left Wing)

Selly (Karen) Heddaeus-Robinson

NHLHS Anaheim Ducks Correspondent

SelanneGirl@NHLHotStove.com

Twitter: @SelanneGirl

Position: Defense
Height: 5’ 11”
Weight: 203 lbs.
Birthday: June 13^th, 1985 – Milgrove, Ontario, Canada

Coming to the Anaheim Ducks as an unrestricted free agent on July 20^th of this year, Danny Syvret was signed to a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $600K at the NHL level and $105K in the AHL.

A former member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Syvret notched his first career NHL goal (the Flyers’ only goal) in Philadelphia’s 2 – 1 loss to the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

Danny Syvret’s 1st Career NHL Goal At The 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic

In 21 games for the Flyers’ during the 2009-10 season, the 25-year old Syvret  managed 2 goals and 2 assists before sustaining a severe should injury in January. The injury, a result of a hit from behind by the Dallas Stars’ Steve Ott, fully separated Syvret’s collar bone and tore ligaments. The shoulder, although completely healed now, features an ugly lump caused by the bones in the shoulder not reconnecting exactly as they should have.  Syvret would fight back from the this injury to finish the 2009-10 season in Adirondack with the Phantoms of the AHL but,  it did keep out of the Flyers’ line-up for the remainder of the season.

Danny Syvret’s 2nd Career NHL Goal

The Captain of the 2004-05, Memorial Cup winning London Knights of the OHL, Syvret already has ties to the Ducks. Both Perry brothers, Corey and Adam (recently signed to the Syracuse Crunch, the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate) were also members of that championship team and the three players have remained friends since their time together in Ontario.

Danny Syvret’s Career Stats At NHL.com

My expectations:

In my opinion, Danny has an excellent chance of securing a roster spot with the 2010-11 Anaheim Ducks.  I think his style of play and Randy Carlyle’s style of coaching are going to mesh extremely well.  I expect a hard fought, inspired training camp from him with the end result being a defensive pairing with Sheldon Brookbank or Brett Festerling as the 3^rd or 4^th line in the NHL this season.

Quotes from Danny Syvret:

On his shoulder:

“It’s strong and everything, but it looks gross.”

On training camp with the Anaheim Ducks:

“They (the Anaheim Ducks) said they will have their D set for training camp and there will be a spot or two open. That’s one of the spots I have to win in training camp. I feel like I have a good, fair crack at making the team.”

Selly Heddaeus-Robinson
NHLHS Anaheim Ducks Correspondent
SelanneGirl@NHLHotStove.com
Twitter: @SelanneGirl

Based on Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team. Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.

1. Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team. This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
2. I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).

Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season. All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending. After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order. This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe and Grant Fuhr. This group won 4 Stanley Cups together. It’s almost impossible to fill those skates. Check that, it IS impossible to fill those skates. The Oilers have fallen on hard times since the glory days of the 1980’s. Today’s squad can barely fill out an NHL calibre defensive 6. 3 of the D are currently in the minors and 2 of those have never played an NHL game outside of preseason. How the mighty have fallen.

Forwards:
Definitely not the high powered group that struck fear into every goalie they faced during the 80’s. Still, the forwards would have to be the strength of this team. With a formidable checking line sitting on the bench, the Oilers should have little problem putting the puck into the opponents net.

Matthew Lombardi – Sam Gagner – Ales Hemsky
Ryan Smyth – Shawn Horcoff – Jason Arnott
Jason Chimera – Mike Comrie – Miroslav Satan
Andrew Cogliano – Rob Schremp – Jordan Eberle
Bench: Marc-Antoine Pouliot,  Zack Stortini, Fernando Pisani, Georges Laraque, Curtis Glencross

Familiarity is the key. Four of the top 6 are currently line mates on their current NHL rosters, so as the old saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Smyth can still stand in front of the goalie, take a beating and score like no one else. ‘Captain Canada’ was left of the Canadian National Men’s roster, for what I believe to be the first time in his active career, for the coming Olympics. I believe this was due mainly to an early season injury that caused him to miss 15 games. Satan, after sitting the beginning of the season, has returned to the NHL and while playing on the third line for Boston, is showing that he can still produce and is good for 40-50 points a season. The rest of the line-up is filled with young players that have shown a lot of promise.

Grade: B+

Defence:
From being a “Who’s who” of NHL Defensemen to a “who’s that?” can’t be a good thing. With only 2 defensemen having played more than a season in the NHL and another 2 never seeing a regular season game, the defence is in for a rough time.

Tom Poti – Danny Syvret
Mathieu Roy – Matt Greene
Alex Plante – Jeff Petry
Bench: Theo Peckham, Taylor Chorney

Poti and Syvret have proven themselves to be serviceable defensemen in their careers, but neither is a top pair guy, yet. Roy and Green are better suited for clean-up minutes, but instead are forced into playing 15-20 minutes a night as top 4 D on this weak corps. Plante and Petry are the unknowns in this group. Plante is a solid, stay at home type of defenseman who can skate the puck out of harm’s way, and may one day become a top 4 guy. Petry was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 2008. Hopefully this pair can move up to the top and play off of each other. Only time and steady development will tell for sure.

Grade: C-

Goaltending:
Andy Moog, Grant Fuhr…Deslauriers? Yes sir you read that right, Deslauriers. Well actually it’s Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, but come on, how would you get that to fit on the back of a jersey. Being forced into the starters role earlier than expected this season due to an injury to Nikolai Khabibulin, Deslauriers is the only goalie in the Edmonton Oilers system with any significant NHL experience. If you can call 36 games significant.  Conklin should backstop this team on a full-time basis, helping this team stay afloat.

Ty Conklin
Jeff Deslauriers
Devan Dubnyk
Olivier Roy

Outside Conklin, this trio of goalies has a grand total of 44 NHL games to their credit. In his 8 games this season Dubnyk has yet to taste victory compiling a 0-5-1 record with a 3.92 GAA and a 0.869 save %. Hardly inspiring numbers for Oiler fans. Roy may be the dark horse in the group. Many, me included, feel that he should have been added to the Canadian Juniors in favour of incumbent starter Jake Allen, who just never got it going in pre-tournament games and that carried over into the tournament where he gave up 10 goals to a strong US team in 2 games. He makes up for his supposed lack of size, an even 6’ while the rest of the league is moving to goalies in the 6’3” range, by being technically sound in his positioning. Again, only time will tell how this young group of goalies develops.

Grade: D+

Aside from the goaltending black cloud that has been over Philadelphia for so many years, this season a bigger situation arises.

Many figured Chris Pronger to be the solution or missing link if you will, that would solve the Flyers issues on the blue line. Adding his leadership abilities was another key element this Flyers team was searching for. Prior to the season, Ed Snider went on record stating the teams defense was the best this team has ever had. Unfortunately, the Flyers defense has not met expectations.

Earlier this week information became available on the status of Ryan Parent who has been suffering from back issues. The Flyers fifth d-man underwent successful back surgery to repair disc issues on Monday. He will miss at least six weeks of action.

Danny Syvret, prior to his shoulder injury, began playing consistent hockey and logged top four minutes in Philadelphia. Holmgren hopes to have Syvret back before the Olympic break. Syvret isn’t sure that will happen. In light of these recovery times, the Flyers need a solution, even if temporary.

Recently, Flyers beat writer for CSN Philly Tim Panaccio put out an article on what Paul Holmgren has gone public in discussing; the need to acquire a defenseman.

Paul Holmgren went on record to say:

“Danny Syvret is still a couple weeks away, and to be honest, we talk all the time, around the league to improve your hockey team, so that doesn’t change.”

Holmgren making the case known publicly that he is searching for defensive help brings us to just who is available? In scanning the league for availability we are left with some interesting names:

Sheldon Souray, Scott Neidermayer, Joe Corvo, Dion Phaneuf, Dennis Wideman, Milan Jurcina, Joran Leopold, Mike Commodore, Aaron Ward, Marek Zidlicky, Garnet Exelby, Pavel Kubina, Niclas Wallin and Dennis Seidenberg all stand out due to their UFA status and the fact that they are currently on non-playoff teams or teams looking to shake up their roster.

With Kimmo Timonen and Pronger not getting any younger, Parent’s injuries (RFA) and Coburn being an RFA after this season one would wonder why the Flyers wouldn’t take a look at Phaneuf? The move could slide Coburn down to that fifth or sixth d-man Homer seeks. The names to move in the other direction to balance the cap hit are there as well. Phaneuf’s age as well as the interest presented by the club presents an option the team must seriously consider.

There are still other things to consider as Tim Panaccio points out:

“General manager Paul Holmgren, who said he’d like to make a deal to fortify his defense, doesn’t have draft picks, lacks cap room and his best players, with the exception of Jeff Carter, all have no-trade clauses. There’s not a lot he can do.”

There is an additional problem in that the Flyers need to re-sign a goalie. It would be wise for the Flyers to create a sound defense in front of their goalie, whoever that goalie may be. A solid core of Pronger, Phaneuf and Timonen brings security for the team in front of their goaltender, if Phaneuf was indeed the d-man coveted.

After solidifying the veteran blue-liners, Flyers prospects Kevin Marshal and Marc-Andre Bourdon have the opportunity to slide into a number five or six role out of training camp next year. This year these players cannot provide immediate help as rushing them into Flyers action could be detrimental to their development.

With all this said the cap hit is difficult to take on for Philly. However, there are pieces in play to create balance in obtaining such a high priced d-man.

Aside from Phanuef, if Holmgren is true to his word and is purely seeking that “band-aid” option, Kubina, Zidlicky, Jurcina or Seidenberg are instant upgrades in comparison to AHL call-ups.

Keep in mind whatever route the Flyers brass decide to take, there is minimal cap room so the quick fix option becomes even more difficult. Unless the Flyers are planning on making two separate moves or one giant blockbuster, the questions will remain.

Denis Bodrov of Russia recently signed an AHL contract with the Adirondack Phantoms.  Do not be surprised to see him in the orange and black prior to the Olympic break if Holmgren can not get a deal done.

What will the Flyers do in order to solidify their blue line heading into the playoff stretch and will it be a move that carries over into the future for this organization?

Editors note:  Hat tip to Dustin Leed, Flyers writer for PhillySportsSpace.com and CrashtheCrease.com. You can find Dustin on Twitter: @HockeyGuy_DLEED – a great voice of the Philadelphia Flyers.