Saturday, June 5, 2010

Flyers Answer Challenge. Hawks? Hello?



Two unassisted goals in the first period. For that matter the game. When you have that going for you, you have to like your chances in the Stanley Cup finals. The Philadelphia Flyers responded when presented with the opportunity to dictate terms in this series, recording a 5-3 victory in Game 4. The series is tied at two games apiece.

Patrick Kane, Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews have struggled as a line in this series, which is why we are having this conversation now. The Puck Daddy blog raised the issue of breaking up the top line in this post on five questions the Blackhawks must answer.

I'd like to ask a question to the list, this one going out to Chicago Coach Joel Quenneville, who has placed his toes dangerously close to the the tires of the team bus with his comments that the Flyers were setting the tone of the game with more ease than the Blackhawks liked.



That's the coach's job to address. But the Hawks appeared, from my seat well north of Philadelphia, to keep butting their heads against a wall rather than devise a new plan to get around it.

Smarter, more composed, more disciplined. Yes, that one is on the players. But when it's not there, it's on the coach to regain control on the situation.

On the other bench, the Flyers are feeling better about life after having erased a two-game deficit in the finals. They're confident and relaxed. Maybe too relaxed, according to Daniel Briere.



Go through the spreadsheet bookwork below and see if you can come up with a plan that might work for the Blackhawks in Game 5. The Flyers' Peter Laviolette thinks his team has been on the right track all along. After Laviolette's comments, you will find the spreadsheet bookwork and then, as a treat, a look at the top draft prospects as presented by "Coach's Corner."



NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Stanley Cup Finals
Best of 7
At Philadelphia 5, Chicago 3
(Series tied, 2-2)
Recap is here.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

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