Coming off a four-game Western road trip where the Philadelphia Flyers finished 1-2-1, including back to back regulation losses that snapped their 7-game point streak, the Flyers find themselves in a familiar spot yet again. They’re not good enough to compete with the league’s top half, but they’re also not bad enough to be true basement dwellers. There’s too much optimism and pessimism, but not enough realism when it comes to this team and trying to find that middle ground is paramount moving forward.
The optimistic view point is that the Flyers have been ravaged by injuries and COVID protocols and they have yet to fully field a healthy lineup. Kevin Hayes, Joel Farabee, Scott Laughton, Carter Hart, Derick Brassard, and now Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov were either recently on or currently on the COVID protocol list, leaving the current roster shorthanded. If they can get a fully healthy lineup rolling, they can possibly make inroads and stake their claim to a Wild Card playoff spot.
The pessimistic view point is that that Flyers have played horribly all season, and they didn’t need to fire the coach because it’s the players on the ice who have dictated the horrible play for the last few years. This team has no future and no present, and while they have some potential talent in the lineup, it’s not close to being enough to salvage this season or any season down the line.
Both sides have their merits because COVID protocols and injuries to players like Ryan Ellis and Sean Couturier have a huge impact on the lineup moving forward. However, the Flyers aren’t the only team dealing with COVID, as most of the league has been hit at some point with some teams like Montreal having 22 players and coaches in the protocols and only fielding a team with 8 veterans.
The current road trip was abhorrent because they played two good periods out of a possible 12, excluding overtime. The Seattle Kraken, who were 10-17-3 going into their game against the Flyers, really let them have it as they peppered Martin Jones with chance after chance and controlled the puck and play all throughout.
The Flyers squeaked by on an overtime game winner and then transitioned to San Jose the following night and played the exact same way. They ended up in overtime, but fell flat and couldn’t help out Felix Sandstrom who was making his NHL debut. He made a franchise record 43 saves in his team debut, but it wasn’t enough as the listless Flyers couldn’t find a way to grab two pivotal points.
After two overtime games on back to back nights, the Flyers then travelled to Los Angeles on New Year’s Day and got steamrolled by a legitimate team, 6-3. The Sharks and Kraken were the lesser of evils during this trip and even then the Flyers couldn’t control play. Heading into the third period, the game seemed all but over with the Kings up 4-1. The Flyers played their best period in 3 games in the third, scoring twice but also giving up 2 more goals themselves.
Still, the optimistic viewpoint was that the Flyers were 1-1-1 on a rough Western road trip post-Christmas going into last night’s game. They found themselves in Anaheim facing a Ducks team that is chasing the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the division. Both teams were hit by COVID with the Ducks missing key players in Trevor Zegras and Ryan Getzlaf.
It was somewhat even with a slight edge given to the Ducks but heading into the third period, down 3-1, the Flyers tried their darnedest to make the comeback but couldn’t get any of their 15 third period shots past John Gibson. The Flyers did their best to throw everything including the kitchen sink at the Ducks without the likes of Giroux, Couturier, and Provorov, but the goaltender was on top of his game when needed and Troy Terry outpaced the Flyers with a hat-trick.
So now as we head into a 3-game home-stand against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, and the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the Flyers find themselves in another microscopic juncture of their season; needing at least 4 points against 3 teams with winning records.
The Penguins are currently on an 8-game winning streak, the Sharks have already defeated the Flyers, and the Hurricanes are currently the 5th-best team in the NHL in terms of points. Without Giroux and Provorov, for at least Thursday and Saturday, the last few weeks have shown us the Flyers don’t possess the depth or the mettle to handle their business until the reinforcements return.
Their goaltending is probably the brightest spot, their penalty killing has improved, their offense is up and down, and the defense is in tatters, especially without the likes of Provorov now. We’ve seen a change of play from the likes of Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Cam Atkinson, Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim, and Rasmus Ristolainen, however the rest of the current lineup has been rather dormant since Yeo took over 11 games ago.
It’s time we take off the optimistic and pessimistic lenses and see this team for what they really are. First things first, the landscape of the NHL with COVID protocols and injuries aren’t going anywhere, so every team is on a nearly equal playing field on any given night. Some teams have it bad now, some teams have had it bad before, some teams are getting their games postponed, while others who are in desperate need for a postponement aren’t getting it.
The reinforcements that the Flyers are in dire need of aren’t coming back to the lineup anytime soon. We’re looking at the losses of Ryan Ellis and Sean Couturier specifically, who are currently on week-to-week timetables and just coming off the COVID list as well. Giroux and Provorov will miss both games against the Penguins and the Sharks, and Derick Brassard remains day-to-day with the chance of returning on Thursday.
If we take this team and add Brassard to the mix and face them off against the Penguins and Sharks to end the week, I don’t think the outcome changes all that much. You can give an emotional edge against the Penguins but that can only take you so far against a team that is clicking to the tune of 8 straight wins.
The annoying state that the Flyers find themselves in is that they’re good enough to sort of stick around with the playoffs “in sight” and not bad enough to lose out and find themselves at the bottom of the pile in an attempt to get a higher pick in next year’s draft. With most of the NHL in a tightly packed playoff race at the moment, not many teams are going to show their cards and add players to their trading block. The only teams that would are teams that don’t have much to offer in terms of NHL-ready talent.
So the Flyers are seemingly going to continue their hot and cold run until they get closer to the NHL trade deadline, and from there they’re going to have to make several tough decisions in terms of roster personnel for this year and next. There’s always a chance they click and find a groove to start winning games and go on a run, however that seems to be a very optimistic viewpoint after what we’ve seen, not only this year, but in years past.
Tearing down the fabric of this team is also going to be very difficult because it’s not something that can be achieved in a summer or two. With the lack of trade value for certain players, the Flyers could be willing to unload, but they might be stuck eating money and playing mediocre hockey for years to come. This is more of a pessimistic viewpoint so trying to find the middle ground is key.
Everything is taken on a game by game basis now, but the way they’re playing isn’t any indication that they’re on the right track. “A win is a win” is a good mantra to hold if you’re struggling for 4-5 games, not when you’re struggling for months on end. This 4-game road trip was abhorrent by all accounts and if they really want to salvage anything, a win against their cross-state rivals on Thursday, on home ice, will be the way to start.
