Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere skates with the puck past Ottawa Senators right wing Tyler Ennis during the first-period on Saturday, December 7, 2019 in Philadelphia.
Will the real Philadelphia Flyers please stand up? The 2020-21 Flyers are just a consistent hockey bunch in the early stages of the season, and a lot of the inconsistencies have been on the defensive side of the puck. It filters all the through the lineup with the defensemen not giving enough support to the forwards, to turnovers, and just being reckless with the puck. Enter last night Shayne Gostisbehere, a defenseman that has had his fair share of criticism these past few years. Rightfully so, with his poor play due to injuries.
He was finally 100% healthy this season, and then he tested positive with the novel Coronavirus. This sidelined him for about two weeks, as he missed the first six games of the season. Ghost is a Veteran that hails from the great state of Florida. For three years Ghost attended a very good hockey college of Union College in Upstate New York, until he eventually he found himself playing for the Adirondack Phantoms in 2013-14, to which they became the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2014-15. Ghost quickly became an integral part of the Flyers Power Play in 2015-16, which was his first full season with the orange and black. For his rookie campaign, Ghost tallied 8 PP goals, as he owned a rocket from the point. Moreover, the way he is able to hold the puck in on the blue line while on the Flyers are on the man advantage, cannot be taken for granted either. Since his coming out party in 2015-16, Ghost has registered 21 PP goals, which includes the 2018-19 season, as well.
This young 27-year-old in Ghost was primed and ready for a big season last season. Unfortunately, it was anything but blissful, as he only registered nine goals (4 PP goals), and 28 assists for a total of 37 points in 78 games played. These numbers are way down from the career year that he set in 2017-18 when he finished 10th in the league in the Norris Trophy Voting (Awarded to the Best Defenseman). For the 2017-18 season, Ghost tallied 13 goals (7 PP goals) and registered 52 assists in 78 games played.
To put the 2018-19 season into perspective, Ghost’s production was nearly half of what he produced in 2017-18. To make matters worse, he was placed on the 2nd PP at times last season, and Ghost just wanted to get better, but he appeared to be hurt at times.
Ghost struggled mightily last season. There is no denying that Ghost’s reduced production was in large part due a knee injury that may have never recovered. He played in two games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a conditioning stint last season tallying one assist in the process. His injury hurt with the man advantage, and it also hurt while transitioning out of the Defensive Zone to the Offensive Zone.
When healthy Ghost is an integral player on the Power Play. Head Coach Alain Vigneault and Assistant Coach Michel Therrien typically use him on the second Power Play Unit, mainly because of his heavy shot. Look at last night for example, as he saw some time on the Power Play in just his first game of the season. Ghost played a solid hockey game while logging 21:57 of ice time, which happened to be the most ice time he’s logged in a regular season game since November 15, 2019 against the Ottawa Senators. He was also a +2 for his efforts, registered three shots on net, and blocked two shots. Not bad for his first game back, and he transitioned well from defense to offense, “Going forward, I’m just gonna keep doing me,” Ghost said following the game last night, “Not being afraid to make plays.”
The defensive unit has struggled mightily this season with transitioning from defense to offense. There just hasn’t been good puck support by the defensemen to lead the rush up the ice, coupled with bad breakouts/exits. Last night with Ghost in the lineup things appeared to be much smoother, although it wasn’t perfect, “I felt good,” Ghost said, “Some longer shifts in the second period with the long change. I’m pretty pumped. Was a good game for me.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Ghost can rebound in a big way this season, and with that the Flyers could really benefit from his services. Whatever the case maybe Ghost may have his swagger back, which could only spell good news for the orange and black.
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