I was listening to the midday show on Sportsradio WIP yesterday afternoon. Anthony Gargano was out for the day, so it was Glen Macnow and Rob Ellis on the mic. Their first order of business was to torch the Flyers on their weekend of failure. Of that, the Flyers were well deserving of that disdain. Once they got to the subject of trades and other problems though, that’s where things started to go downhill.

Earlier that day, and throughout, Ilya Bryzgalov was the scapegoat on the air. Even though he hadn’t played in over a week due to his bout with the flu, it was his fault the team is where it is now. Bryzgalov had nothing to do with the Flyers’ latest slide. Not only should the Flyers be worried, but apparently according to these experts, he should be dealt, too. They did make one good point—he is untradeable, but isn’t that the point of his contract?

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I have a question: what can you do in five minutes? Plenty, right? For a lot of NHL teams, though, it’s not enough time to score a goal at four-on-four. For teams like the Philadelphia Flyers, what comes after overtime is affecting their regular season success—the ever-dreaded shootout.

For the record, they happen to be 20-38 in the skills competition known as the shootout since it was conceived as a result of the lockout in 2005. The shootout does not count for much in the standings, as it was removed as a decider of ties in the standings, and of course, there are no shootouts in the playoffs.

It is frankly unfortunate when it decides thrilling defensive-minded games, or games that you swear, if it lasted just another five minutes, a team could give it a fitting end. In a time where points mean so much in the second half of the season, the shootout continues to ruin the feeling of earning two points.
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You can expect growing pains with a team coming together as it has been over the past couple of months. For the Philadelphia Flyers, one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, times have been rough every once in a while as a new obstacle seems to present itself to the team.

First, it was the loss of captain Chris Pronger. Then, Claude Giroux. Potentially Kimmo Timonen next. The losses have not been easy to bear for the surprising number of rookie skaters with the orange and black. Players like Sean Couturier, Matt Read, Harry Zolnierczyk, Zac Rinaldo, Marc-Andre Bourdon, among others, are being put in key roles at important times.

It obviously cannot be blamed on the rookies, but it can be blamed on a few trends becoming blisteringly apparent in the last couple of weeks.

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For American history buff, Ilya Bryzgalov, Philadelphia is a wet dream.

When visiting for the first time, amidst contract negotiations with the Flyers, the team focused on the cities rich historical landmarks to wink its eye and lure the free agent goaltender to the orange and black, by tease.

Soon, both parties were in lust.

The Flyers got their first legitimate goaltender in close to 15 years, and Ilya Bryzgalov got a 9 year, 51 million dollar deal, wrapped in Betsy Ross’ panties.

But while Bryzgalov lurked through Ross’ underwear drawer, gazed at Independence Hall, and learned what cracked the Liberty Bell, the Flyers forgot another landmark that may be more of use to him than just sights.

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It didn’t take long for “goaltender controversy” to become popular reality here once again in Philadelphia. Today’s fiasco behind deciding a goaltender for the Winter Classic, and in the manner that it happened, has soured opinions about Ilya Bryzgalov and his role on the team moving forward.

Photo: Reuters

If you haven’t heard yet, Sergei Bobrovsky is starting the Winter Classic. As he should. The stats (and not advanced stats, mind you) tell the whole story. “Bob” has simply been better than Bryzgalov this season in all facets. Some could argue that it’s because Bobrovsky has gotten close to zero exposure on 24/7 Flyers/Rangers and that Bryzgalov is caught up in it.

There’s no real way to prove that—it’s simply a possibility. However, Bryzgalov has built himself a hole that he can get out of. All it will take is a lot of hard work, and maybe in a role he won’t like.
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