What an up and down week of Flyers hockey it was. What started out sort of promising, it ended up with a sour taste in most Flyers fans Mouthes. Without further delay, here are our answers to your questions.
The Flyers are 3-2-1 on the season, and they are tied with the Boston Bruins for second place in the division. Even though, teams have game in hands on the Flyers (New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Boston Bruins), the Flyers have yet to play their best game of the season. It is remarkable that they have seven points and sit atop of the division in the East.
What do the Flyers have to fix? Well, for starters their defense is as leaky as a leaking faucet. Moreover, they have to have to be better with puck possession, which is leading to increased turnovers, have to be better on the forecheck, and they have to be a bit more physical.
To answer your question the Flyers are still Cup contenders. Six games does not define a team, and this team is too talented not to be considered a Cup contender. They have good Goaltending, can score goals, a good Head Coach, and players that are usually crisp with their games. The defense needs to tighten up, and close gaps (Minus Travis Sanheim and Ivan Provorov). This week I want to see the defense improve, and it starts with two big games against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
This will be my area of focus this week. I’ve been side tracked trying to ask other questions to Head Coach Alain Vigneault and players. I will revisit this this week, and include it in next week’s mail bag.
Samuel Morin should move back to defense, as it really cannot get much worse than it has been. Realistically I would love to see Yegor Zamula get recalled to replace Philippe Myers, but the Flyers may be hesitant with doing that. Hopefully, the Flyers get Sean Couturier back sooner rather than later, in two weeks. The Flyers do have enough depth within this system to withstand these type of injuries. Connor Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski are two I would like to see in the lineup. Twarynski is physical, and can pot a big goal at times. Bunnaman played well on Thursdsy night against Boston, and should be given a shot.
At this point, I could see Chuck Fletcher trying to make a move to improve the defense. Shayne Gostisbehere should return on Tuesday after a full practice with the team in Voorhees tomorrow. However, I do not believe that is enough, and I would presume in a shortened season that Fletcher understands the weakness of this team at the moment with no time to waste. The question then remains, who is available. Well, Alec Martinez, Dougie Hamilton (Wish), Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, and Tyson Barrie are free agents at the end of the season. Maybe Fletcher could get lucky and pry one away. One can be rest assured that adding a Defenseman will be at top of Chuck Fletcher’s list, and it will happen sooner rather than later.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Twitter page @flyersknitty using #Flyersmail, or @JameyBaskow. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers.
Tanner Laczynski should be given a shot at 4th line center. Move Scott Laughten up to 3rd line center. Laczynskl is not a big scorer, but he’s a physical 200 foot player and his defensive play is excellent. Gregg L. Bucks County