What If…The Last 10 Flyers Games Had Been Played?
We’re all missing Philadelphia Flyers hockey terribly.
This season just seemed different for the Flyers who were well on their way to doing something really special.
In the last 10 games they played, the Flyers were the hottest team in the NHL with a record of 9-1 and even in that 1 loss, they clearly were the better team on the ice against the Boston Bruins.
As of Monday, March 30th, the Flyers have missed the last 10 games on the schedule due to the cancelation/postponement of games and would have had only 3 games remaining in this season’s schedule.
For a brief moment, allow me to show you some of the highlights, at least in my mind, that Flyers fans were robbed of seeing had those 10 games actually been played.
1) The Record
With the Flyers having been so hot at 9-1 in their previous 10 games, the Flyers would have duplicated that record during these missed games and gone on another 9-1 stretch. Alain Vigneault had them playing so well, outscoring their opponents 39-19 during that 10-game span.
Taking a look at the schedule of upcoming games, the only loss I see would have been against the Lightning, meaning the Flyers would again be on another 9-game winning streak as of March 30th. They would have been 4 points clear of the Capitals for 1st place in the Metropolitan Division and 7 points clear of the Penguins with 3 games to play, meaning the Flyers would have, at the very least, already secured home-ice advantage in the first round.
2) The BEATDOWN of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Game 79 of the Flyers schedule would have been against the hated Penguins. At the time of the work stoppage, the Penguins had a record of 3-7 in their previous 10 games which included losses to the Sabres, Kings, Ducks, and Sharks. With all due respect to those teams, they are not exactly powerhouses. The Penguins also had been shutout twice in their previous 11 games.
These were 2 teams going in opposite directions and the Flyers would have just had their way with the Penguins. Carter Hart would have started this game and would have recorded a shutout in a 5-0 victory.
3) Travis Konecny’s Hunt For 30
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Travis Konecny has had one heck of a season, and a young career for that matter. TK has improved on his stats year after year since entering the league in the 2016-17 season. This season, he already had matched his career-high with 24 goals and was in the process of just obliterating his career-high in points, with 61 points in 66 games.
I tend to believe that trend would have continued with TK scoring 5 goals in these 10 games, including his first NHL hat trick against the Red Wings on March 26th, meaning he would have been at 29 goals right now with 3 games to play and on the verge of hitting his first of many 30-goal seasons.
4) Carter Hart Hits the 30 Win Plateau
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There’s no denying Carter Hart was having a really good season, especially once the calendar hit 2020. Overall, Hart had a .914 SV% and a 2.42 GAA in 43 games this season, including 20 wins on home ice. Hart started 8 of the 10 games before the stoppage of play and Alain Vigneault would have allowed that trend to continued.
Adding 8 of those 9 wins to the 24 he already had, gives Hart his first season of 30+ wins. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, he would have been in nets during that 5-0 beatdown of the Penguins. Carter Hart is the real deal folks.
5) Odds and Ends
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Sean Couturier would have hit the 30 goal and 70-point marks for the 3rd straight year and would have built on his plus (+) 21 to a plus (+) 25, cementing his Selke Trophy nomination and win later this summer.
Kevin Hayes would be at 28 goals right now, which would have been a new career-high and just 2 shy of his first 30 goal season with 3 games remaining. One of those goals would have been shorthanded giving him 5 on the season.
Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim and Nicolas Aube-Kubel all would have already hit the 10-goal plateau. Ivan Provorov would currently be at 16 goals, just 1 shy of his career-high of 17 with 3 games to play. And finally, captain Claude Giroux, who was absolutely on fire before the stoppage, would have already hit the 25-goal mark for the 6th time in his career.
In the last couple of weeks, we have been robbed of some pretty amazing hockey in Philadelphia and as we anxiously await for the NHL to resume, I can’t help but wonder what might have been or what is still on the verge of happening once we get hockey back.
One thing is for sure, the Philadelphia Flyers have some unfinished business to take care of.
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