Date Published: 12-25-2022
Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Happy Holidays Flyers Fans! I’m going to start this very brisk Christmas Eve by boldly stating that I think it is time for our us to get behind the 2022-23 Philadelphia Flyers big time. You can call me a “homer”, you can say I am willing to accept mediocrity, you can say anything you like, but at least allow me to make my case. I can clearly see the reality of the situation. I am familiar with the lack of foresight and questionable moves that got us here. I could go on and on about how much I wish John Tortorella had been handed the line-up that Alain Vigneault didn’t seem to know what to do with, but none of that matters right now. You can look at all the missteps taken by the powers that be and absolutely not one player on the ice is responsible for any of that.
This team started the 2022-23 season with an underdog roster and a confused fanbase that was told they were getting a re-build, a re-tool, an aggressive set of minor adjustments, a nibbling about the edges so to speak. The season opened with a Flyers team that showed they could battle back and win games they were not supposed to be winning. It was starting to look like there may be some real surprises ahead, then the unbelievable avalanche of injuries started …and it just would not stop. Every time it looked bleak it got bleaker. Bleak, bleaker, bleakest. Every game it seemed brought with it another Flyer leaving the line-up. As the losses were piling up unbelievably the Flyers were almost always still within striking distance well into the 3rd period of most games. They were not only relying on AHL guys to cover NHL players, they were relying on their third and fourth line guys to go against the top lines in the league every single night.
If you have read this far I know there’s no way you are a bandwagon jumper or a fair weather fan. You are of the die-hard hockey fan variety, so am I. So lets all face reality together. I am not saying this Flyers team is going to go all the way this year and it’s time to get on board. This is going to be a rough ride for everyone, the deck is stacked against them. BUT, (this is the important part) I believe this team is striving to do everything they can to the best of their ability. Every night is a struggle, almost every game is an attempted comeback. They walk into every building as the underdog and they put up the best fight that they possibly can. I don’t see them making excuses or laying back.
This is the Flyers team we are going to have for the foreseeable future. This is the line-up that is going to see us through the dog days of winter. No one else is coming off the injured list for a long while. This is what we got and I say it’s time to get behind them and stop adding to the negativity that can only prove to add an extra level of drag on their confidence and enthusiasm. I am sure that everyone on this team knows exactly the situation they are in and what they are up against every single night. And they are still going out there and plugging away and doing what we as fans have been asking for, giving it all they can. Cheese! Last night they were down 6-2 and still made a run at it, losing yet again by just one goal. I feel the players on this team are really fighting hard in an uphill battle and are getting far more grief than they deserve.
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No one in the NHL “stinks”, it is the most elite Ice Hockey League in the world. Everyone who has made it to this level possesses skill and ability that is above and beyond. Some teams are just assembled better than others. This is our team, this is our hockey season (the most wonderful time of the year). Tortorella promised us a team that would match the city it plays in. Well Fans it’s “never say die” time. I feel it is time to get behind this team and show some appreciation for the effort they are putting in. It is not going to be a first place finish, but maybe they reach over 500? Maybe we as fans can step it up a bit. Maybe the next time the Flyers are down by a goal late in the third period (as they often are) we all stay in the building and make more noise than usual. Some nights that energy just might be where that tying goal comes from.
Wishing you all a very happy Holiday Season! Keep your chins up and enjoy all the beautiful things that are around you, if you can’t find them look harder. Wishing you all the best in 2023. …and of course LETS GO FLYERS!
