Posted on Mon, Nov. 18, 2002
Hitchcock may give a Flyers rookie a bigger role
It's decision time for Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. The dilemma is whether he should scratch rookie defenseman Dennis Seidenberg from the lineup for anything other than injury.
Seidenberg was one of just two Flyers - Marty Murray was the other - who finished Saturday's 2-2 tie against the Boston Bruins at plus-2.
Yet the statistic that stood out was his whopping 10 shots on goal, a season high for any Flyer, which produced a number of scoring chances and both Flyers goals when the teams were at even strength.
This is no small deal. Right now, the Flyers cannot buy a goal via the power play; they are 0 for their last 26 chances. Firing shots from the point for rebounds and scoring chances at even strength is the only hope this team has of scoring.
"It's funny," Hitchcock said. "This is something we have to review as a coaching staff. We sat out Dennis twice now, and he has come back with a nervous performance and then a good performance.
"I think we have to review something now about whether we just keep him in and keep him going, because I am not sure it is advantageous for us to worry about whether he is going to get tired or overwhelmed by the length of the season or anything like that.
"When he is playing and he is consistently in the lineup, he plays like he did against Boston. But he was nervous [Friday] night [at Carolina] and probably feels a little bit of pressure because he was coming back into the lineup."
Actually, Seidenberg has been a healthy scratch three times this season. Even though he has only six points (two goals, four assists), his ability to move the puck and pass it through traffic, plus his booming point shot, are reasons to keep him in the lineup every night.
Seidenberg did look shaky against the Hurricanes when under pressure, yet he still carried the puck up the middle of the ice and challenged players to take it away from him. He doesn't back down. He doesn't retreat to the sideboards, which some Flyers defensemen do under pressure.
"He has so much poise for a rookie," center Jeremy Roenick said. "Obviously, he played in a high league in Germany. But one thing he does so well is he gets the puck on net and takes good shots. He has a very, very hard shot, which creates good stuff in front of the net. He created two scoring chances and two goals [against Boston] because of getting shots on net and us getting rebounds."
If Hitchcock elects to keep Seidenberg in the lineup, that will be bad news for Dan McGillis and Chris McAllister. McAllister took Seidenberg's spot in all three games the rookie sat out. McGillis has been benched once this season for poor play and his ice time has steadily diminished to 17 minutes a game from 21 minutes last season.
Although Eric Desjardins at times has played poorly with the puck, including Saturday night against Boston, Hitchcock and Flyers management still consider him their No. 1 defenseman. It's unthinkable that they would bench their former team captain.
But Seidenberg continues to demonstrate an upside the Flyers cannot ignore.
"He takes the puck up the ice as well as any of our defensemen," team captain Keith Primeau said. "He is not afraid to do that. He gets the red line every time. He makes good decisions when he gets the puck in, and good decisions in the defensive zone - which is what you want. That has been a nice bonus."
Face-offs. The Flyers won the battle of the draws against Boston, taking 62 percent. Roenick had another outstanding night, winning 73 percent (11 of 15) of his draws. He won 6 of 8 against Brian Rolston and 2 of 3 against both Jozef Stumpel and Joe Thornton... . Primeau won 69 percent (18 of 26) of his face-offs. He was a perfect 3 of 3 against Rolston and won 6 of 7 against Stumpel and 8 of 13 against Thornton.
Loose pucks. Roenick was the eighth Flyers player to hit an NHL milestone for games played, joining an impressive cast that includes "Only God Saves More Than" Bernie Parent, Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittler, Craig MacTavish, Ron Hextall, Luke Richardson and Mark Recchi. Parent and Hextall reached the 500-game mark as goaltenders, and the six skaters reached 1,000... . Lost in the crowd's ovation for Roenick in the first period against Boston was the fact that defenseman Chris Therien played in his 600th NHL game - all with the Flyers, another impressive feat. Does Therien have 400 games left in him? "I hope so," he said. "I'm 30, so I think I have a few years left. I've been fortunate that all 600 have been with the Flyers. It's been a real honor."
Méschda Hoschbess holy
...und nichts ist wie es scheint!! I can´t give You what the fuck You want!!<<<<<<<<<<<...visit: broadstreetbully´s or the flyer´s seats or flyers.com>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sie sind vermutlich noch nicht im Forum angemeldet - Klicken Sie hier um sich kostenlos anzumelden
Offline
:
!!
