MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 22: Montreal Canadians head coach Michel Therrien attends the State Funeral Service for Celine Dion's Husband Rene Angelil at Notre-Dame Basilica on January 22, 2016 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage)
Why is Michel Therrien so reluctant to go with what worked in the past with this Flyers team on the Power Play (PP)? This unit is struggling mightily, so predictability should go out the window. How many more games have to go by until Therrien finally sees the light?
The PP is now 0-11 in the last four games, and the PP or power outage is now costing the Flyers games. This includes at least two winnable games on this past road trip, and the Tampa Bay game this past Saturday night. What gives?
Well folks, the PP1 tonight against the Boston Bruins are:
Giroux (Right side), Konecny and JVR (Net front), Hayes (Left side), and Provy
Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek are now off PP1. Voracek was frustrated following Saturday’s game with being the net front presence of PP1, maybe that’s why he was taken off the unit. How many more games do the Flyers have to lose before Therrien puts the old successful unit back together of Giroux (Left Side), Coots (Slot), Voracek (Right Side), to include JVR (Net Front), and Provy.
Giroux should be a permanent fixture on the left side near the wall. That is where he has made a living on torching his opponents this past decade with the man advantage (277 PP points since September 2010). Giroux should not fluctuate from the right side to the left, just keep him on the left side.
Voracek was frustrated after Saturday’s loss for being the net front presence on the PP. The Flyers have not replaced Wayne Simmonds on the PP. JVR just hasn’t been good this season with the man advantage, but JVR could rewrite his script. He has made a living with being successful on the PP throughout the course of his career. The Flyers need him now more than ever to start producing with the man advantage (Currently just 2 goals, and 1 assist on the season). Voracek shouldn’t be the net front presence, he’s too gifted of a playmaker to play that role.
Coots is an elite Center. He does everything, and does it well. The Flyers are lacking the one-timer from the slot, Coots should be placed there as he has a wicked shot.
I am not a coach, nor do I preach to be one, but how much longer does this have to go before the old successful unit is put back together? Every point matters at this point in the season. The Flyers can ill afford to let their struggling power play dictate the fate of their season.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
It’s not just the power play that’s struggling, it’s the offense in general. The Flyers are having trouble scoring goals. I will say this however, Tampa played an outstanding defensive game in the 1-0 win in Philly. One bad bounce of the puck turned into a goal. The biggest problem the Flyers have seems to be a lack of offense from the veterans. They have been missing in most of the losses.
Not a Therrien fan. I hope AV doesn’t protect this guy for the whole season.