In a regular season that was essentially lost in December, there haven’t been many things to look forward to, there haven’t been many things to be proud of, and there haven’t been many things to look at with a positive outlook. In a season with two separate 10+ game losing streaks, a mid-season coaching change, and a trade deadline with a “for sale sign” entrenched on our front lawns, it’s been another tough year for Philadelphia Flyers fans. We were promised better results, we were promised different outcomes, and we were promised change. What we have received in return for those false promises are losses, empty seats, and a feeling of disdain when watching our favourite team hit the ice 3 times a week.
However, amongst all the rubble and ashes, there have been a few things to look at with a glass half-full approach. The off-season acquisition of Cam Atkinson has paid dividends, the continued consistency of Claude Giroux is taking us right to the trade deadline on a high, Carter Hart has actually played very well in front of an abysmal defense, and the resurgence of some top players as well as bottom 6 forwards like Gerry Mayhew and Isaac Ratcliffe have given us something to cheer about lately.
Cam Atkinson is one of the lone positives from an otherwise busy off-season
Trading Jakub Voracek was never going to be easy, but if the Flyers wanted to execute big moves and ordain changes, a contract like his would have to be off-set. The writing was on the wall for the long-time Flyer as he had clashed with the coaching staff that was to be brought back. In other words, it was between the coaching staff and the outspoken players and Chuck Fletcher stuck by his hand-picked coaches.
In return, the Flyers received something they desperately needed and haven’t had in quite some time; a shoot-first winger. Cam Atkinson has been everything as advertised and then some as he currently leads the team with 17 goals, is second in points with 37, has a team-high 154 shots on goal, is a team-high +5, and has 3 shorthanded goals. He has already eclipsed his numbers from last year in far fewer games and is only a few years removed from scoring 41 goals in a full regular season. If things were different this year and he had healthier line mates, he would definitely be on track for 30 goals.
He plays hard every night, plays in all situations, is an excellent penalty killer, has given life to a mundane penalty killing unit, and has enamoured himself with the fans. You notice him on a nightly basis and that’s saying something when your team is constantly losing. He has found himself parked on the top line with captain Claude Giroux and the duo have fed off each other for quite some time.
Carter Hart continues to play his heart out
Before the All-Star break, Carter Hart had a .915 save percentage with a losing record on a losing team. His numbers have dropped since the break with some poor performances in front of him against the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. He faces an inordinate amount of shots per game, his defense leaves him out to dry on a consistent basis, and yet he turns in solid performances while being held back. For a team that allows the 5th-most shots on goal, given up the 7th-most goals, possess the 8th-worst penalty kill, and have a defensive corps that includes Keith Yandle, Kevin Connauton, and Nick Seeler; Hart has done all that he can and then some.
His numbers right now don’t look great as he holds a 9-16-6 record, 2.96 GAA, and .910 save percentage. However he went through a stretch where he hadn’t allowed more than 3 goals in a game from mid-January to mid-February, as well as not allowing more than 2 goals in 4 of 5 games. Once again, not eye popping numbers or statistics but when you look at the context of the team and what he has in front of him, that’s pretty impressive. To have a save percentage about 90% deserves applause, yet alone 91%. He has kept the team in the games on a nightly basis before the wheels fall off in predictable fashion.
Claude Giroux is aging like fine wine
Claude Giroux gets a lot of flack for how the team has performed over the years but his production has never wavered. He is turning in another consistent season, he is second in goals with 16 in 3 fewer games, he leads the team in assists and points with 22 and 38 respectively, he has won a whopping 61.7% of his face-offs, and with his continuing production his name has surfaced at the forefront of the trade deadline.
He owns a no-movement clause so the decision is in his hands but the rumours are only getting hotter and stronger by the day and by the losses. Without the likes of Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, and Joel Farabee for large parts of the season, the offense has fallen on his shoulders, making it very easy to defend the Flyers and draw up the perfect schemes as the opposing coaches. However, in a season where consistency and productivity is at its lowest, Giroux continues to defy his age and his doubters, which only helps the Flyers at the the trade deadline.
Yeo pushing all the right buttons for certain players
Speaking of injuries, due to the absences of Couturier, Farabee, Hayes, Derick Brassard, and Nate Thompson among others, the Flyers have had to rely on the skills and availability of a lot of AHL players. A few of them have really started to shine and develop in front of our eyes as they are finally getting their chances at the NHL level. Gerry Mayhew and Isaac Ratcliffe have been fun to watch, have delivered on the scoresheet, and have developed chemistry with their new teammates, which will be something to look for when the team gets healthy.
Mayhew has 6 goals on the season with 5 of them coming in his last 7 games, while Ratcliffe has 4 points in the 7 games he has suited up for the Orange and Black. Mayhew brings energy, speed, and tenacity that has been missing all year. He has been rewarded by his fine play with a chance to skate on the top line with Giroux and Atkinson and he hasn’t let this opportunity slip with 3 goals in his last 2 games. Ratcliffe has points in 4 of his last 5 games, is using his big body to screen opposing goalies or to win puck battles, and has shown flashes of his offensive abilities with the puck on his stick. Both these players have played well enough to earn spots on the roster when everyone starts getting healthier and return to the lineup.
Under Mike Yeo’s tutelage the Flyers haven’t looked any better than their days with Alain Vigneault. The coaching change was necessary in the sense that the Flyers had tuned out Vigneault and weren’t listening to the coach after he lost the locker room. Yeo was only named as an interim coach and it doesn’t seem like he will be returning next year, but there have been a few positives in Oskar Lindblom, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim.
Lindblom had 0 goals and 1 assist in 21 games with Alain Vigneault, featuring mainly on the fourth line with very little opportunity in the top 6. After his firing and under Yeo’s coaching regime, the young Swede has amassed 8 goals and 18 points in 29 games, which would put him on pace for 52 points in an 82 game season. Konecny had 5 goals and 10 points in 22 games under Vigneault, which included 3 goals and 4 points in the team’s first 3 games. He was mired in a heavy scoring drought, where he hadn’t scored a goal in 20 games. Under Yeo he only has 3 goals but he has collected 18 assists in 27 games, which would put him on pace for 50 points.
Travis Sanheim is another player who has thrived under the new regime, as he has accumulated a wild 16 even strength points in 27 games under Yeo. He had only amassed 2 assists in the first 22 games but after Vigneault’s firing, Yeo flipped the switch and Sanheim has truly become the most noticeable defenseman on a nightly basis and very well the best defenseman on the team today.
For whatever reason, he doesn’t get any power play time even though Ivan Provorov and Keith Yandle keep producing donuts on the man advantage. Whenever he gets the random shift on the power play you notice a difference right away with his skating, puck senses, IQ, and ability to make plays; instead of the stagnant, predictable, and momentum killing plays his teammates continue to produce. It seems like Vigneault was stagnating their progress and production because these 3 are very noticeable on a nightly basis and the most important facet is that they are back to playing their specific type of hockey; something that Vigneault was holding them back on.
There’s not a lot to keep your head held high on, but that’s to be expected from a team that has lost 19 of their last 21 games, 31 of their last 38 games, and own two separate 10+ game losing streaks. However, with a glass half-full outlook there are still a few things to look for on a nightly basis. Carter Hart is still young, developing, and doing everything in his power to help the team win games this year. Atkinson and Giroux have fed off each other and continue to produce for a team that has been relatively injured in their top 6, and the resurgences of Konecny, Lindblom, and Sanheim as well as the insurgence of AHL talent like Mayhew and Ratcliffe have been important parts of a losing season. It gives us an idea of what could be when the coaching staff is allowing their players to play their authentic style as well as what could be when everyone is healthy.
