I went with Toronto as the Tuesday opening night NHL free play and the Maple Leafs came through with an exciting 4-3 win at Montreal. Tonight, I’ll try to bite the hand that just fed me.
Early season fatigue is not something to be ignored. NHL players are in great shape, but playing back to back games is still something that players have to get acclimated to. I think that could be exacerbated here as the Leafs just polished off their chief rivals on the road and now have to don the away jerseys again tonight.
The Leafs also have a little back to back history working against them. While trends come and go and are not a major factor for me in breaking down games, the fact remains Toronto has done very poorly when playing that second game in two nights. The Leafs are just 16-35 on back ends in their last 51 of these situations, so this can’t qualify as a positive situation for them.
The Flyers are one of a handful of NHL teams I’m not getting much of a read on to start the season. I’m not sold on their goalie situation with the Emery/Mason duo. On the other hand, one has to think Emery has a point to prove after playing caddy throughout the playoffs last year with the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, Mason seemed rejuvenated after finally escaping Columbus and could do well with Philly. This has been a problem position for some time for the Flyers, so they’re just hoping one of the keepers steps forward.
I very much like two pickups the Flyers made in the off season. Longtime Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier and stellar ex-Islanders defenseman Mark Streit are good veteran fits for Philadelphia.
The downside here is that the Flyers looked lousy in the pre-season skirmishes. But those games didn’t count, so I’m not going to put too much stock into the results. Philly gets to start 0-0 like everyone else. I do think it’s important that this team gets out of the gate in positive fashion after missing the playoffs last year, so this could in a sense be considered more than just your run of the mill home opener.
Bottom line is that the situation favors the Flyers and the Maple Leafs will have to prove to me they have figured out how to play those back end scheduling scenarios. The price is not sensational, but it’s also not outlandish, so I’ll give the Flyers a roll tonight.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Early season fatigue is not something to be ignored. NHL players are in great shape, but playing back to back games is still something that players have to get acclimated to. I think that could be exacerbated here as the Leafs just polished off their chief rivals on the road and now have to don the away jerseys again tonight.
The Leafs also have a little back to back history working against them. While trends come and go and are not a major factor for me in breaking down games, the fact remains Toronto has done very poorly when playing that second game in two nights. The Leafs are just 16-35 on back ends in their last 51 of these situations, so this can’t qualify as a positive situation for them.
The Flyers are one of a handful of NHL teams I’m not getting much of a read on to start the season. I’m not sold on their goalie situation with the Emery/Mason duo. On the other hand, one has to think Emery has a point to prove after playing caddy throughout the playoffs last year with the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, Mason seemed rejuvenated after finally escaping Columbus and could do well with Philly. This has been a problem position for some time for the Flyers, so they’re just hoping one of the keepers steps forward.
I very much like two pickups the Flyers made in the off season. Longtime Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier and stellar ex-Islanders defenseman Mark Streit are good veteran fits for Philadelphia.
The downside here is that the Flyers looked lousy in the pre-season skirmishes. But those games didn’t count, so I’m not going to put too much stock into the results. Philly gets to start 0-0 like everyone else. I do think it’s important that this team gets out of the gate in positive fashion after missing the playoffs last year, so this could in a sense be considered more than just your run of the mill home opener.
Bottom line is that the situation favors the Flyers and the Maple Leafs will have to prove to me they have figured out how to play those back end scheduling scenarios. The price is not sensational, but it’s also not outlandish, so I’ll give the Flyers a roll tonight.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS