Another game, and another lack of energy from the Flyers. One can say the Flyers are missing Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes, but there are no excuses for this type of play as of late from Flyers.
Gone are winning puck battles, forechecking well, and winning board battles. Enter a lack of energy and spirit, thus leading to losses in back-to-back games and a 1-3-1 record in their last five. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as they play a tough Florida Panthers team tonight.
Unfortunately, the Flyers are having difficulty scoring as of late, and it really makes the Flyers look less competitive. In their last five games the Flyers are scoring at a rate of 1.80 goals per game, but they are allowing 3.8 goals per game in their last five. This is just unacceptable, and they are digging themselves a hole. No one is going to come save the Flyers now I’m not even Morgan Frost, but the lack of energy is concerning regardless of who is playing. On the offensive side of the puck two players that have energy and they are Claude Giroux and Zack MacEwen. These two players cannot do it alone, and they have tried inspiring their teammates. This is no knock on MacEwen, but it just shows you how bad things are when he is one of the best players for the Flyers. MacEwen is with the Flyers to provide energy, and some physicality. Not be one of the best players for the Flyers.
The Keith Yandle-Nick Seeler pairing is a mess right now, and teams are capitalizing while the Flyers fourth line is on the ice with the Yandle-Seeler pairing with them, as well. Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault has to be more creative, and place the first or second defensive pairing on the ice when the fourth line is on the ice. This is not a roasting of Yandle or Seeler, mind you Seeler has stepped up and played more than he’s supposed to, but this is merely just an observation. If it weren’t for stellar goaltending believe it or not, Not only would the Flyers record be worse, but they would be getting a shellacking on a nightly basis.
Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, James van Riemsdyk, Oskar Lindblom, Cam Atkinson, and even Travis Konecny are integral parts to the Flyers overall success. Unfortunately, there is no production coming from these Flyers Forwards. As a matter of fact they are being careless with the puck, and losing battles. All recipes for disaster, and this is leading to less sustained offensive time in their own zone to produce.
The Flyers have to get back to basics, and keep their game simple to try to get out of this funk. If you look at the film from last night, Tampa Bay’s Power Play gave them energy, while the Flyers power play sucked the life out of them completely. I cannot stress this enough, the Flyers have to find a way to capitalize with the man advantage or this will be a long season. Michel Therrien’s seat seems to be very warm at the moment, and he shouldn’t get comfortable.
In the end, tonight is a tough matchup for the struggling Flyers. The Florida Panthers are scoring at a rate of 3.9 goals per game, which is good enough for second best in the NHL, while the Flyers are scoring at a rate of 1.80 in their last five games. Hopefully, the Flyers come out of the gate with good energy, and take down a complete Panthers team the night before Thanksgiving.
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