The Flyers are trying to become a consistent team in 2020. One way to do that is by becoming a better team with the man advantage. They currently own the 13th best Power Play, with a success rate of 20.1%. There is just way too much talent on the offensive side of the puck for the Flyers to be in the middle of the pack with the man advantage. At times on this six game road trip, I’d rather see the Flyers be at full strength (5-on-5), as opposed to them having the man advantage. I’m pretty certain I’m not the only one thinking this, especially after a 6-on-3 man advantage last night that the Flyers failed to convert on.
Unfortunately, the Flyers cannot take the next step, until they figure out what’s wrong with the PP. If the Flyers want to be considered a threat in the Eastern Conference, then the PP has to improve it’s as simple as that. One solution to this!!! How about the Flyers go back to a 3 Forward, 2 Defensive set. The Flyers have been in the middle of the pack in terms of the PP for the past few seasons. Yes, one can make the argument losing Joey Mullen hurt, but the orange and black have operated with a 4 Forward, 1 Defensive set for too long. It’s time to switch it up, and here is what the PP lines could look like:
PP1: G, Coots, Voracek, Provy, Niskanen
PP2: JVR, Hayes, TK, Ghost, Sanheim
Of course, the “Ginger line” has good chemistry with one another, and hopefully Therrien places Giroux back on the left side PERMANENTLY. Ivan Provorov has the most the PP goals for a defencemen with six, and Matt Niskanen has a bullet from the point that is accurate. Personally, if Shayne Gostisbehere was on the top unit it could be predictable. Moreover, giving Travis sanheim an extra role should help his confidence at even strength, as well. JVR makes his money on the PP, and having a familiar linemates in Hayes should hopefully help him get things going. Travis Konecny is an All-Star, and has crazy moves. Konecny will have no problem cycling the puck with these linemates on the PP.
The Power Play, or power outage has been inconsistent for the majority of the season, and this is one reason they currently sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. A few years ago the orange and black were dynamite with the man advantage, since then it’s been like a power outage. Moreover, the orange and black have tallied 40 PP goals for, out of 234 opportunities. With how talented this bunch is, it’s unbelievable they are this bad with the man advantage.
Should the Flyers and Coach of the PP unit in Michel Therrien figure things out, then they could be considered for an extended playoff run. However, if the orange and black do not improve with the man advantage, then it could be a first-round playoff exit
