What Should Fans Expect from the Flyers the Rest of the Way?
Yes, the Flyers may remain out of the playoffs at the moment, but they are 11th overall in the NHL, and as the lion’s share of the inner division games gets played in the second half, the playoff spots won’t really take shape until a fair amount of time after the All-Star Break.
This is good and bad; on one hand, the Flyers’ current playoff position doesn’t really have any meaning until these games start coming thick and fast. On the other hand, the heavy amount of games against teams in the Metro as well as the Eastern Conference makes any potential slumps that the Flyers could possibly have, hurt that much more. Thankfully, the Flyers have notoriously been a second-half team, and as long as that long-standing trend continues under the guidance of Alain Vigneault, the Flyers should be in good shape.
Now, where should fans place their expectations for the rest of the season?
Well it is clear now that anything less than a playoff birth would be a failure, this team has proved, even in the face of some unfortunate circumstances and devastating injuries, this group has persevered and put themselves in a position to push for the playoffs and potentially, make some noise. Nolan Patrick continues to progress, but there is still no timeline for his return as of yet, he maintains, however, that he will indeed play this year. If that is to be taken at face value, and he does come back before the playoffs, that would give the Flyers a center corps consisting of Sean Couturier, who was awarded the mid-season Selke award by the PHWA earlier this week.
Kevin Hayes, who has performed as advertised, and has been instrumental in reinvigorating a Penalty Kill that currently sits at 9th in the league. The aforementioned Patrick, who, if he is able to hit the ground running with more talented linemates and lessened responsibilities, is a massive asset to a team missing a 3C to supplement Couturier and Hayes’ and who is always in need of Bottom 6 scoring. Finally, the eternal foot soldier Scott Laughton, who has been one of the most consistent and versatile members of the roster for the past few years, is the perfect 4th liner, who has even shown in stints that he can more than manage as a 3C when called upon.
The wing depth to start the season was teeming with talent, unfortunately, the diagnosis of Oskar Lindblom amidst what was set up to be his breakout season hurt both the morale and the talent pool of a fairly deep unit. Even still, the team persevered and the wings were supplanted by the arrival of Joel Farabee from Lehigh Valley, who has had ups and downs but overall has been an asset for the team no matter where he plays in the lineup.
The real keys to the Flyers solid last month though have been the resurgence of Jake Voracek and James Van Riemsdyk.
Two players who have been mired in slumps over various parts of the season, who now seem to be playing up to their potential. JVR tallied 6 points over his last 5 games before the break, and Voracek became much more of a physical force and a play driver, to go along with 4 points in 5 before the bye week as well.
If the big guns can keep firing, including NHL All-Star Travis Konecny, all of the bottom 6 production coming from names such as Raffl, Pitlick, and Aube-Kubel become another added bonus.
Besides the forward depth, the Flyers look deep on the back end. The defense is basically set, and lacking any sort of anchor that the previous iterations were burdened with in the past. No A-Mac, No Brandon Manning, just 6 guys who are all legitimate NHL players with high-end skill sets. Ivan Provorov has cemented himself as a number 1 defenseman, with Matt Niskanen providing valuable veteran leadership alongside him. The young Sanhiem/Myers pairing has also provided sparks of brilliance when not marred by the mistakes of their youth. The depth provided by Hagg, Braun, and Gostisbehere makes it so that the load is equally spread throughout the top 6 every single night.
Goaltending has been the responsibility of a two-headed monster of Carter Hart and Brian Elliott, two very different goalies who, despite their inconsistencies, have held down the fort admirably and at times stole games outright.
When you watch the Flyer team that ran over the Penguins’ last game, you see a team that can beat anyone on any given night, as proven even further by the impressive run of recent victories against the Capitals, Bruins, and Blues in a short span of time.
If this team can get healthy, and the late-season push trend continues for another year, the Flyers should have a good shot at making some noise come April.
But for now, let’s enjoy Travis Konecny All-Star Game highlights.
Featured Image: NHL.com
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