Flyers’ Power Play Looking Grim, but There is Hope

It comes as no shock to Flyers fans that their power play is not doing too hot this season. While the team has been struggling without some of their star players such as Travis Konecny, who tallied eight points in the 12 games he played, and Jakub Voracek, who has 12 points in 13 games, they have yet to be able to truly get themselves together as a healthy team and perform to the best of their ability.

We saw a glimpse of what they’re capable of with a near healthy roster on Wednesday night when they came out swinging against the New York Rangers. Even with Claude Giroux’s three assist game in his return from COVID protocol, there are still holes to be filled.

The Flyers have had 58 power play opportunities this season to date, but only have 12 power play goals to show for it. Scoring about 21% of the time while having a man advantage is not too shabby for a team who has been riddled with missing players, and it certainly could be worse. Room for improvement still persists, but luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel.

James van Riemsdyk currently has nine goals on the season, and seven of them are power play goals. It seems that closing in on the opponent’s net with his stick ready for a lucky pass is a successful strategy for the 31-year-old left winger. He is certainly on pace to break his record of PPG in one season, which is currently the 2017-2018 high of 11.

Two of the other five PPG belong to Konecny, who was placed on COVID protocol on Valentine’s Day. The young forward has a promising season ahead of him, so to have him back in addition to the players taken off protocol today– Voracek, Oskar Lindblom, and Scott Laughton– would be absolutely ideal. Team chemistry will be higher than before, and the power play could definitely benefit from these players being healthy in the coming games.

Jokingly, head coach Alain Vigneault called Voracek, Lindblom, and Laughton his “COVID line.” Their returns to the lineup will in no doubt positively affect the team.

Laughton’s last game was a 7-4 victory over the Washington Capitals with his own personal victory: his first career hat trick. This momentum, although hindered by missing a few games, can persist and prove this season to be successful for the center. Voracek has shown himself to be an assist machine time after time, and Lindblom is certainly getting into the swing of things after missing most of last season and some of the playoffs while he battled Ewing’s Sarcoma. The future is unquestionably bright and promising for them.

With these star players healthy, the team is more than capable of improving their power play and capitalizing off of their opportunities. More shots on net to help outscore the opponent and a little morale boost brought by returning teammates will certainly be a recipe for success.

The Flyers hit the road to Buffalo tomorrow at 1:00 PM EST to kick off a five-game road trip, where they could easily come out with at least 6 points. Keep your heads up, Flyers fans. Brighter days are coming.