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Things are not looking good for the Philadelphia Flyers. With today’s 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, they now have been shut out in three consecutive games. This is the first time in Flyers franchise history that this has happened. Plenty of things contribute to this, such as injuries, power play struggles, inconsistent goaltending, etc. Will things turn around for this team? Who knows. What Flyers fans know right now is this team is in a major slump.
With the Flyers already through 54 games this season, time is ticking if things are going to change. As of right now, they are 23-25-6 with 52 points. They, yet again, are in the basement of the Metropolitan Division and six points out of the final wildcard spot. Now let’s set the record straight. Do the Flyers have talent? Yes. Do they know how to win games? Yes. However, the talent isn’t showing right now and as a result, they’re losing. Let’s break down the reasons why the team has made history but in a bad way.
Goaltending
This is going to be the most arguable point that I make. It doesn’t seem like goaltending has been a problem for the Flyers. Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov have been doing their job and keeping the team in games as much as possible. They’re just not getting any goal help.
Ersson, through 29 games played (28 started), has a record of 15-10-2, a 2.84 goals against average (GAA), and a .892 save percentage. His recent play has been rewarded by getting the chance to play for Team Sweden in the Four Nations tournament. Ersson is a play who will hold himself accountable and say “I need to make more saves” or “That goal is one I should have had.” That’s what teams want out of a goaltender. He just isn’t the Flyers problem right now.
Since officially becoming the Flyers backup goaltender, Ivan Fedotov has shown peaks of improvement and confidence. Through 16 games played (15 started), he has a record of 4-7-3, a 3.21 goals against average, and a .881 save percentage. Comparing how he started the season to now, I think Flyers fans would agree with me on the fact that Fedotov has the talent to be an NHL goaltender and can stay one long-term.
All goaltenders are going to have their bad games. Ersson allowed four goals in last Wednesday’s game against the Devils, was pulled, and bounced right back today by allowing two goals that weren’t his fault. Fedotov has had his fair share of bad games too and managed to bounce back, as well. To wrap up here, goaltending isn’t the reason why the Flyers have made horrible history.
Power Play
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the power play hasn’t been good for years and still isn’t. The Flyers power play is a huge reason why the Flyers have been shut out in three consecutive games. There are times when the power play gets hot and they score multiple goals a game and then it goes completely quiet for weeks. This is a factor that makes Flyers fans rage.
Through these three games, the Flyers have had eight power-play opportunities and haven’t scored a single goal. Entering into the opponent’s zone cleanly and keeping the puck in the zone have been issues all season long. Having a shooting mentality is something I, personally, think the Flyers need to have more of. If you put the puck on net, there’s a chance for it to go in. Through my eyes, the Flyers are passing the puck too much or trying for the perfect play. Put the puck on net and anything can happen.
Having Matvei Michkov over in North America and playing for the Flyers is a great start to improving the power play. However, he can’t be the only one doing all the work. He’s going to need help from his linemates to make things happen. An argument here could be his ice time, but we’ll get to that later.
It’s given that power play coach Rocky Thompson has his work cut out for him and has for a while. How long will the experiment last? No one knows. This will be a fact that no Flyers fans want to see or read, but Alexander Appleyard on X posted Thompson’s career percentage in terms of power plays run by him since his days with the San Jose Sharks.
Will the Flyers go searching for a new power play coach next season? Only time will tell.
Injuries
No team in the league stays healthy for all 82 games. Regarding the Flyers, they’ve had their fair share of injuries to key players. Right now, players like Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling, and Nicolas Deslauriers are all out with injuries. Could these players being out be affecting the team’s play?
Tippett got injured after taking a hit from New Jersey Devils forward Brendan Dillon last Wednesday. Poehling sustained a concussion after taking a dangerous hit from New York Islanders forward Maxim Tysplakov back on Jan. 16. Finally, Deslauriers sustained an upper-body injury against the Florida Panthers back on Nov. 9 and was placed on the injured reserve list shortly after.
In my opinion, the team could really use the speed of Tippett, the hands of Poehling, and the physicality of Deslauriers. Hopefully, when these players return, the team can get back on the winning track and stay in the wildcard race.
Matvei Michkov
I’m not noting Michkov because he’s a main factor in the Flyers struggles. However, I do think that his time on the ice each game has become a talking point. Head coach John Tortorella says he knows what’s best for him regarding his play and development. What’s confusing, though, is why he isn’t letting him fix his mistakes by being on the ice and playing. While he may be only a rookie and has lots of growing and learning to do, sitting him for an entire period or longer probably isn’t helping him.
I’m not Tortorella and I’ve never coached in my life, but I think Michkov should learn from his mistakes by playing. This is just my opinion, though.
Michkov’s ice times in the three shutout games:
1/29 vs. Devils: 14:31
1/30 vs. Islanders: 8:30
2/2 vs. Avalanche: 16:49
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Tuesday, Feb 4. in Utah against the Hockey Club.
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