Flyers Leave Winnipeg with an Overtime Victory

            After a crazy goal-happy victory in Toronto on Saturday, the Flyers headed into Winnipeg to face-off against the Jets on Sunday night. Philadelphia struck early with a goal from NHL point leader Jakub Voracek (13). The Jets would not let the Flyer’s lead last long as they responded with three straight goals by Matt Halishuk, Dustin Byfuglien, and Mathieu Perreault; giving Winnipeg a 3-1 lead heading into the 3^rd period.

            The Flyers would step up their game-play in the 3^rd period as Vincent Lecavalier, yes Vincent Lecavalier, would score two goals tying things up and sending the game into overtime. The overtime period would last a whopping 10 seconds as Voracek would find his 2^nd goal of the game, and give the Flyers a 4-3 victory.

            Recently, the game-play of the Flyers has improved a great deal. Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux have been on fire, proving they are the most dominant duo in hockey. The Flyers head into Minnesota on Tuesday night hoping to continue their winning streak.  

Flyers Get Impressive Win Against Devils

SILVER LININGS. That is what you look for when you are a struggling hockey team looking to turn your season around. With Thursday night’s 4-1 victory over their division rival, the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers put forth the kind of effort Craig Berube hopes to see out his team every game.         

            The Flyers were able to enter the locker room after the first period with a 2-0 lead, and never looked back. Philadelphia was able to double the amount of shots put up by the Devils in all 3 periods, which is an area the Flyers have struggled in all season long. When you put up a lot of shots, it increases the chances of you scoring goals (crazy, I know). Although the Devils were able to cut the lead in half in the 2^nd period, the Orange & Black responded in the 3^rd with two more goals (yes, in know one was an empty net goal but it still counts). 

            The Philadelphia Flyers played on one their best games, if not the best, of the season last night against the New Jersey Devils. They are going to need to put forth that kind of effort every game from this point on if they want a chance to even be in the playoff discussion towards the end of the season. The Flyers look to build off their win when they go up against the struggling Carolina Hurricanes Saturday afternoon.

Flyers Can’t Complete Comeback Against Blue Jackets

The Philadelphia Flyers went into Tuesday night’s matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets hoping to end their recent road trip on a high note. Although the Blue Jackets have struggle so far this season due to numerous injuries to key players, they went into the game currently riding a 3-game winning streak, and looking to turn their season around. Although it was a low-scoring contest, the Blue Jackets dominated the possession game, as the Flyers struggled to get into any sort of rhythm on offense. The Flyers faced the same difficulties against the Kings on Saturday afternoon; but were able to ride the dominant play of goaltender Steve Mason to victory. Philadelphia would not be able to rely solely on the play of Mason this time around as he did not have the best night in goal. With less than a minute to play in the game, the Blue Jackets led the Flyers 2-1 when Braydon Schenn was able to put the puck in the back of the net for the 2^nd time and send the game into overtime. Columbus would eventually score the game-winner in overtime, and send the Flyers home with only one point. The Flyers can be grateful they were able to get one point out of the game; as they find themselves quite desperate these days.

            The Flyers are noticeably playing better as of late; but they still have a long ways to go. The Orange and Black need find a way to get their offense going. As of right now, it is pretty much nonexistent. The Flyers look to gain two points when the New Jersey Devils come into Philadelphia on Thursday night.  

State of the Philadelphia Flyers Address

            The first 26 games of the 2014-2015 season have not been kind to the Flyers of Philadelphia. With a 9-13-4 (22 pts.) record, Philadelphia currently sits in 6^th place in the Metropolitan division and is ranked among the bottom-feeders of the league in 26^th place. Only 3 points separate them from the last place Oilers, panic is starting to set in among Flyers Nation. The question that so many are now asking is, where do the Flyers go from here? Although I am far from an expert, I will do my best to answer a few of these questions now.

            When a team is doing poorly, the first action that is normally taken is firing the head coach. In this case, I do not believe that firing Craig Berube is the right choice. What the Flyers need is consistency and their problems reside on the ice, not on the bench. Berube has proven that he can get guys to play for him, and I believe that the Flyers can be successful with him at the helm.

            What the Philadelphia Flyers lack is enough talent to consistently put forth a good effort on the ice. Along with not enough talent, the Flyers also have way to many bad contracts on their current roster. The front office needs to be active in the trade market; but focus more on getting rid of contracts instead of acquiring talent for the future. If they can do both, that is a plus; but they need to make getting rid of guys Lecavalier and Umberger. On this current roster, there are only a few players that Hextall and company should view as untradeable. This list includes Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Michael Del Zotto, and Steve Mason. The likes of B. Schenn and MDZ on this list may surprise some, but I feel that Schenn still has star potential and his production and skill increases every year. MDZ is only signed for one year and has played pretty well. There is no need to trade a player that will be gone at the end of the season if the Flyers do not want him back.

            If the Flyers continue to play the way they have, they could be in the run for the 1^st overall draft pick this offseason. Although this is appealing, Philadelphia must not tank the season. Giving up on the season will not help produce winners for future seasons. Look at how well tanking has worked for the 76ers………

            What are your thoughts on my thoughts? Feel free to share in the comment section below. 

Flyers Sweep Season Series Against Kings

During the first two games of their three-game California road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers have shown signs of an improved hockey team but were unable to produce a win. All of that changed when the Flyers went into Los Angeles to face off against the Kings Saturday afternoon as the Orange & Black were able to come away with a 2-1 victory.

            As you can see by the final score, there was not a whole lot of offense going on; however that is to be expected when you go against arguably the best goaltender in the NHL, Jonathan Quick. Luckily Steve Mason was able to show signs of greatness as well, stopping 37 of the 38 shots that came his way. Philadelphia was able to get goals from their stars as Claude Giroux tallied his 8^th of the season in the 1^st period of play, and Wayne Simmonds scored his 11^th of the season in period number two. 

            Philadelphia did not play a perfect game by any means, and if it were not for fantastic play in goal by Mason they most likely would have continued their losing streak. The Flyers must take what worked and build off of it. They play a very winnable game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, and look to start a much needed winning streak. 

Flyers Fall in Shootout

            When your season is not quite going the way you hoped it would, it is important to find a “silver lining” whenever possible, and build off of it. Although the Flyers ended up losing last night’s contest to the Ducks in a shootout, the team showed some signs that they could possibly turn this woeful season into a mediocre one. One thing I have noticed about this team is their inability to have productive performances from both the scoring and goaltending departments in the same game. During games where either Mason or Emery is lights out, the offense is close to nonexistent. For games where the offense is able to put four or five pucks in the back of the net, the goalies forget to show up and let in five or six goals. I truly do not know if there is any sort of hockey voodoo out there that can assist Philadelphia in this; but something has seriously got to give!

            Once again, I am fully aware that losing stinks. However, Flyers fans can at least be a little pleased knowing that their team was at least able to get a point out of the game. During a season where points have been scarce, we will definitely take what we can get. Another bright spot for the Flyers in last night’s game was the performance from Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds gave his team a two-goal night, and scored one of those bad boys with three seconds left to play in regulation. The Wayne Train started his season off hot; but has cooled off since then. Everyone in the Flyers organization can only hope that last night’s effort turns things around for a player they need to perform consistently at a high level. One last bright spot, the Flyers and their fans can take away from last night is R.J. Umberger freaking scored a goal! Since Umberger arrived in the trade with Columbus, he has been an absolute failure. Honestly, I do not think that he is going to play any better; but at least he has given the team more hope than Lecavalier.

            The Flyers look to finally get back into the win column when they head to Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to take on the Kings. 

Flyers Lose Hard Fought Battle to Sharks

Coming into Tuesday’s contest against the San Jose Sharks, Craig Berube and the Philadelphia Flyers were desperate for a winning effort on the ice. In hope of making things for his team better, Berube made some big moves on his roster benching the struggling Vincent Lecavalier, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Not much noise was made about the Del Zotto benching; but Vinny made enough noise for the both of them. I will go into more about the Lecavalier whining session; but first, lets discuss the game.

The game was well played by both teams, and you could get a sense that it was going to go down to the wire. With six minutes gone in the 1^st period, Sean Couturier was able to find the back of the net, scoring his 5^th goal of the season and giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead early. The score would remain 1-0 until late in the 2^nd period when Marc-Edouard Vlasic was able to not things up with a little over two minutes before the horn sounded. As the 3^rd period moved along, all signs pointed to overtime and at least one point for the orange and black. Then, Matt Nieto played the role of heartbreaker, as he was able to get to a rebound following a shot by Patrick Marleau and put it in the back of the net. The Sharks were able to take a 2-1 lead with 12 seconds left and eventually give the Flyers their 5^th loss in a row.

Overall, Philadelphia played a very good game. However, all it takes in this league is one big mistake late, and all that hard work will count for nothing. The Flyers have only tallied 19 points this season and are officially member of the bottom-feeders club. It is safe to say that the Flyers season to this point has been a complete failure. Although their have been some players showing their ability to be dominant, there are also some players that have stunk-on-ice, and not lived up to their potential. Leading this group of players is former all-star Vincent Lecavalier. He has been a disappointment since he got to Philly and Berube finally put his butt on the bench making him a healthy-scratch for last night’s game. Vinny was clearly not happy about the coach’s decision and made his feelings public. He went as far as saying that he would retire after the 2015-2016 season if that meant that a team would trade for him and get him out of Philadelphia. I have always been a huge fan of Lecavalier; but yesterday’s comments made me lose a great deal of respect for the guy. It has been obvious that he can no longer produce the way he used to and his team is struggling because of it. Instead of taking the decision to bench him like a man and fight to get his spot on roster back, he decides to go after his coach and abandon his teammates. Personally, I hope the Flyers some team dumb enough to take this fool. He is no good for an already hostile atmosphere.