I see Bryzgalov continues to be the 60 million dollar bust he clearly was when Philly signed him to that putrid contract.  Did their scouts not watch one of his playoff games for 2 years vs Detroit??

And Holtby.  I absolutely couldn't wait for the Holtby/Ken Dryden mirage to end once he started playing in the regular season and didn't have a team stacking up in front of him and eliminating every tip, screen or rebound.

Nice numbers: 3.62, .891 %    Dryden, move over.

 

Yep, Holtby is a joke.  Everyone (including people here) was on his jock last spring.  Look at him now.

 

 

In response to SoxFanInIL's comment:

Brizz had that one good play-off in the 05-06 season with the Ducks & ever since then, people overrated him! At least in Holtby's case he has some time to get it together. 

I'm one who thought Holtby played very well last spring against the Bruins and also against the Rangers. I still think the kid is a good goaltender, that whole teams numbers are down.

Bryzgalov, different story, never liked him..

 

In response to SoxFanInIL's comment:

I agree that Holmgren did not consult with his scouts or ignored them and then gave that kind of money out. Yes Ilya has had some bad games however I have to defend Bryzgalov a bit cause the defense in front of him has been horrible this year n last.

In response to kelvana33's comment:

I also said holtby is a good goalie.  Still think he will be a good goalie.  Hes young and with team success he will be fine.  Never liked bryz.  his winnipeg comments and all.  

This post has been removed.

Living close to Philly, I watch almost all of the Flyer games. Until the last couple of games, Bryz has actually played very well in front of a less then stellar defence. He was not the reason for their slow start. Hence, the fans and press have been very kind to him so far because of his play. It will be interesting to see how he reacts if they get down on him as was the case last year. If he starts to slide, look for a buyout next year.

In response to mxt's comment:

I enjoy watching the Flyers. They're an entertaining team to watch.

This article is old but this year's Bryzgalov is a lot better then last year's debacle . He was more entertaining with a microphone in front of his face then with equipment on.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/05/giroux-bryzgalovs-our-best-player-right-now/

In response to mxt's comment:

Does this still hold true after he got pulled against the panthers?

In response to NeelyOrrBourque's comment:

Philly fans hate their teams when they lose and love them when they win.  If he posts a shutout or good game they will cheer him.  Philly fans are ruthless.   

Not unlike Boston fans who still corronate Thornton. Holtby did play well against the bruins, but it also might have been the entire CAPS defensive play that helped him.

In response to bogie6's comment:

Of course it helped him, but anyone who watched could see he also made some very nice stops. That team is just a mess right now, hard to tell if they are a defensive team or if they are an offensive team. Boudreau changed their style,from offense to defense, Hunter came in and went extreme on the defense now Oates wants them to play his brand but didnt have much of a training camp to implement it.

They've got the one superstar and it's like they don't know what to do with him. Backstrom is an elite playmaker, but he likes to slow the game down...Ovechkin is at his best when he's going full speed, like a bull in a china shop..Kind pf player to me that you get the most out of him when you just turn him lose, stop trying to make him responsible defensively...The good will far outweigh the bad, you'll have plays where the other team scores and wonder where was Ovechkin, but he'll have numerous goals and scoring chances that will make those defensive mishaps outnumbered 10 to 1.

Holtby had nothing to do with the Bruins losing to Washington last year.  The B's lost because they had a bad powerplay.

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

Explain the cup win then.  Holtby was outstanding.  

In response to shuperman's comment:

Wait.  The B's won the Cup with a bad powerplay?  Not possible.  Without a good powerplay, a team cannot win.

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

That was my point.  Unless yours was sarcasm.  Which you arent known for.   Bruins were te highest scoring team in the league last year and defending cup champs.  They got beat by a hot goalie and sound def play.  It was boring but worked.   

Our PP is still awful... what are our chances this year?

In response to shuperman's comment:

C'mon, Shupe!  There is a thread with 8,000 pages in which my disdain for the powerplay stats is magnified!

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

I only read things with colorful pictures.  

No player I'd rather see bust and tank than Bryz. Universally hated in the Peg.

In response to red75's comment:

Thats why i mentioned it red.  Who is he.  Id love to see his hoe town.  Hes making millions to play the game.  Sure there are more desirable places but to openly say it.   Total knob

In response to red75's comment:

Why do people hate him? 

Here's his statement:  "Not many people live there, not many Russian people there. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family.  I've been there for just once, maybe twice, when I play in minors. It was really cold. I used the tunnels between the buildings to get to the arena. Because it was minus 40-something. Real cold."

Which part is untrue?  It sure is cold there.  There aren't many Russains there.  I don't know about the nightlife, but if someone said they didn't want to play in Boston because of these things, I wouldn't hate them.

He made no comments about the people of the city.  He didn't say they were jerks or dumb or anything.  He said it is cold, there aren't a lot of people from his country, and there isn't much to do.

What's incorrect or wrong about any of that?

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

Russia is cold as well.  Last time i checked it wasnt a resort.  And the coyotes didnt move and he was running his yap.  Hes lucky to be playing a game for a job.  

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

 

In response to red75's comment:

 

Why do people hate him? 

 

Here's his statement:  "Not many people live there, not many Russian people there. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family.  I've been there for just once, maybe twice, when I play in minors. It was really cold. I used the tunnels between the buildings to get to the arena. Because it was minus 40-something. Real cold."

Which part is untrue?  It sure is cold there.  There aren't many Russains there.  I don't know about the nightlife, but if someone said they didn't want to play in Boston because of these things, I wouldn't hate them.

He made no comments about the people of the city.  He didn't say they were jerks or dumb or anything.  He said it is cold, there aren't a lot of people from his country, and there isn't much to do.

What's incorrect or wrong about any of that?

 

Everything except the temperature. That was why he ticked off so many people. Winnipeg has the largest urban park in NA as well as hundreds of others, (that was the one that honked off people the most because it is so amazingly ignorant).

 

The second overwhelmingly stupid statement was about no Russians. I grew up two blocks away from the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Canada. Most of the East End, or about a fifth of the city, is of either Russian or Ukranian descent (including myself, with two of my granparents coming from the USSR). It's easier to find borscht in Winnipeg than it is to find pizza in New York. Saying there's no Russians in Winnipeg is like saying there's no Irish in Boston.

A solid nightlife, more festivals than any other city I've been to, entertainment options for both families and kids that are numerous including the world's third ranked ballet, and numerous other activities that i'm too lazy to list.

If he was right about anything other than the temp. he wouldn't have honked off so many people.