Justin Fischetti
Staff Writer
On Dec. 16, in a game against the Dallas Stars, the Wells Fargo Center erupted when Shayne Gostisbehere scored a game-winning overtime goal on a powerplay, his second goal of a game, in a 2-1 victory for the Philadelphia Flyers. This victory was the sixth in a row for the Flyers, bringing them within just four points behind the second wild card spot with still plenty of season left in the NHL.
It is hard to believe that just two weeks earlier, the Flyers were skating to their tenth straight loss in front of a furious home crowd chanting for head coach Dave Hakstol to be fired.
These streaks have perfectly defined the rollercoaster-like season that the 2017-18 Flyers have endured. After a decent start, a 10-game losing streak occurred that seemed to suck all the enthusiasm out of a young, rebuilding team that was hoping to compete for a playoff spot, though five of the losses came in overtime where the Flyers were able to get a point. A surprising 6-game winning streak immediately followed however, getting the Flyers right back into the thick of the playoff race with still over three months of the season left. The winning streak would end on Dec. 18 with a loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and it will be interesting to see if the team can rebound quickly from the loss.
The Flyers currently have 35 points and a 14-12-7 record as of Dec. 19. With plenty of games against the Eastern Conference coming up - the Flyers schedule was loaded with Western Conference games early - winning games will especially be important for the Flyers playoff chances now. The Flyers though face a challenge in their playoff quest in that they are playing in the strongest division in the league; the Metropolitan Division. Despite being just four points back of the last playoff spot, the Flyers are tied for the fewest points of any team in their 8-team division. By comparison, the Flyers would be in 4th place if they were in the other Eastern Conference division, the Atlantic Division, instead.
In an encouraging sign, many players have taken a step forward in their performance so far this season compared to last season. Center Sean Couturier has enjoyed a breakout season, with 15 goals and 15 assists; his 15 goals are already more than the 14 he had all of last season. Right winger Jakub Voracek currently leads all NHL players with 33 assists. Left winger Claude Giroux is bouncing back from a disappointing performance last season with 13 goals and 23 assists so far this season. Younger players, such as defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov as well as center Travis Konecny are also performing well. Goalie Brian Elliott, signed to a two-year contract last summer, is off to a fairly good start as well.
When asked about Couturier’s strong start in what seems to be a breakout season, Giroux replied by saying that “I’d seen potential, yeah. He’s just a really smart player, gets open really well. For us it’s trying to build on it. We had a good chemistry early on in preseason. We just need to keep building on it.”
With the more important part of the schedule about to begin, it will be crucial for the team to perform well if they have playoff aspirations. With how inconsistent the Flyers have been so far in this rollercoaster year, it is impossible to tell where the team will take off from here. A non-playoff year won’t be disastrous for the franchise as management continues to rebuild by developing youth, but it would be disappointing. But if the Flyers continue to get strong performances from their team leaders and the other players step it up, a playoff berth for this season is definitely a good possibility.
Staff Writer
On Dec. 16, in a game against the Dallas Stars, the Wells Fargo Center erupted when Shayne Gostisbehere scored a game-winning overtime goal on a powerplay, his second goal of a game, in a 2-1 victory for the Philadelphia Flyers. This victory was the sixth in a row for the Flyers, bringing them within just four points behind the second wild card spot with still plenty of season left in the NHL.
It is hard to believe that just two weeks earlier, the Flyers were skating to their tenth straight loss in front of a furious home crowd chanting for head coach Dave Hakstol to be fired.
These streaks have perfectly defined the rollercoaster-like season that the 2017-18 Flyers have endured. After a decent start, a 10-game losing streak occurred that seemed to suck all the enthusiasm out of a young, rebuilding team that was hoping to compete for a playoff spot, though five of the losses came in overtime where the Flyers were able to get a point. A surprising 6-game winning streak immediately followed however, getting the Flyers right back into the thick of the playoff race with still over three months of the season left. The winning streak would end on Dec. 18 with a loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and it will be interesting to see if the team can rebound quickly from the loss.
The Flyers currently have 35 points and a 14-12-7 record as of Dec. 19. With plenty of games against the Eastern Conference coming up - the Flyers schedule was loaded with Western Conference games early - winning games will especially be important for the Flyers playoff chances now. The Flyers though face a challenge in their playoff quest in that they are playing in the strongest division in the league; the Metropolitan Division. Despite being just four points back of the last playoff spot, the Flyers are tied for the fewest points of any team in their 8-team division. By comparison, the Flyers would be in 4th place if they were in the other Eastern Conference division, the Atlantic Division, instead.
In an encouraging sign, many players have taken a step forward in their performance so far this season compared to last season. Center Sean Couturier has enjoyed a breakout season, with 15 goals and 15 assists; his 15 goals are already more than the 14 he had all of last season. Right winger Jakub Voracek currently leads all NHL players with 33 assists. Left winger Claude Giroux is bouncing back from a disappointing performance last season with 13 goals and 23 assists so far this season. Younger players, such as defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov as well as center Travis Konecny are also performing well. Goalie Brian Elliott, signed to a two-year contract last summer, is off to a fairly good start as well.
When asked about Couturier’s strong start in what seems to be a breakout season, Giroux replied by saying that “I’d seen potential, yeah. He’s just a really smart player, gets open really well. For us it’s trying to build on it. We had a good chemistry early on in preseason. We just need to keep building on it.”
With the more important part of the schedule about to begin, it will be crucial for the team to perform well if they have playoff aspirations. With how inconsistent the Flyers have been so far in this rollercoaster year, it is impossible to tell where the team will take off from here. A non-playoff year won’t be disastrous for the franchise as management continues to rebuild by developing youth, but it would be disappointing. But if the Flyers continue to get strong performances from their team leaders and the other players step it up, a playoff berth for this season is definitely a good possibility.
